Jefus, though he taught, as hath been shewn, with a noble impartial Freedom and a Divine Fortitude, and never declined to declare necessary Truth for Fear of Men, or on Account of any worldly Confiderations, yet was not acted by a hot indifcreet Zeal, and therefore was as far from the Character of an Enthusiast, as from that of an Impoftor. A calm Prudence, a confummate Wisdom and Difcretion, shone in his excellent Discourses, as well as in his whole Deportment; all was wife, well weighed, and in the fittest Season; all excellently suited to answer the great Ends of his Ministry, to promote the Edification of the People, and to lead them in the properest Way to the right Knowledge of the Truth, and to the Practice of their Duty. On On the Parables of our Saviour. DISCOURSE XI. MATTHEW xiii. 3. And be spake many Things unto them in A NY one, that impartially confiders the Accounts given by the Evangelists, will find Reason to admire the Excellency of our Saviour's Teaching, both with Regard to the Matter and Manner of of it. I have already made several Observations upon this Subject. But there is one Thing that has not yet been particularly insisted upon; and which every one must have observed, that is acquainted with the Writings of the Evangelists, viz. that i that in his Discourses to the People he made frequent Use of Parables. This Part of his Teaching is so remarkable, and the Instructions he gives this Way are so peculiarly excellent, that they well deferve a distinct Confideration. I shall not fpend Time in making a particular Inquiry into the various Significations of the Word Parable. It is known to be derived from a Word that signifies to compare Things together. It is sometimes used for a wife Sentence or Instruc. tion delivered in a concise proverbial Way and in which a Comparison is generally included. Thus we are told, Luke vi. 39, That he spake a Parable unto them, Can the Blind lead the Blind? Shall they not both fall into the Ditch? And, Luke iv. 23, Ye will furely say unto me this Proverb, in the Original it is this Parable, Physician, heal thyfelf. When he advanced that Maxim, Not that which goeth into the Mouth defileth a Man, but that which cometh out of the Mouth, this defileth a Man: Peter faid unto him, Declare unto us this Parable. Matt. xv. 11, 15. In like Manner we read, Mark iii. 23, &c. That our Lord called the People unto him, and faid unto them in Parables, How can Satan caft out Satan? And, if a Kingdom be divided against itself, that Kingdom cannot stand. And, if an an House be divided against itself, that House cannot stand. And, if Satan rise up against bimself and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an End. No Man can enter into a Strong Man's House and Spoil bis Goods, except he will first bind the strong Man, and then he will spoil bis House. Here there is one short Comparison heaped upon another, all tending to the fame Purpose, viz. the more clearly to shew the great Abfurdity of fuppofing, as the Pharisees did, that he cast out Devils by the Afsistance of Beelzebub, the Prince of the Devils. According to this Sense of the Word Parable, many of our Saviour's wife and comprehenfive Sentences, which I had Occafion to take Notice of before, may be called Parables: And we may observe every-where, in his Discourses, Comparisons which are short and lively, and which tend mightily to illuftrate the Argument he is upon, and to fet it in an easy and familiar Light. But Parables, in the Sense in which we are now to consider them, and as that Word is commonly taken in the Evangelifts, are not to be understood merely of short Sayings or Aphorifms, though including a Comparison, and delivered in a figurative Way; but they fignify continued Comparisons or extended Similitudes, in |