ble, every trifling and ludicrous word that we have ever uttered in the gaiety of the heart during the whole course . of our lives. If this be the cafe, how hard is it, will the enemies of the Gospel fay, in the Author of your religion, to exact from you what is utterly inconfiftent with the infirmities of human nature, and which must completely deftroy all the freedom, all the eafe, all the cheerfulness, all the comforts of focial converse, and render it necessary for every man that hopes to be faved to feclude himself from fociety, and like the once celebrated fathers of the order of La Trappe, impofe upon themselves an everlasting filence! That this must be the confequence of the sentence here pronounced by our Lord, if it is to be understood in that strict, literal, and rigorous fense which has just been stated, and which at the first view the words feem to import, cannot be denied; and therefore we may fairly conclude, that it is not the true meaning of the paffage in question; because we know that we do not ferve a hard master, who requires more from us than our strength will bear; but one who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and who has declared, that "his yoke is eafy, and his burthen light."

In order then to fet this text of fcripture in its true light, we must look back to what had juft paffed; we must remember that the Pharifees had a little before reproached our Lord with having cast out devils through Beelzebub the prince of the devils; and it is this calumny that he alludes to in the words before us; for they are a continua. tion of that very fame converfation which he was holding with the Jews. Now the words made ufe of by the Pharifees in the above mentioned charge are not merely idle, or foolish, or trifling words, they are in the highest degree malevolent, falfe, and wicked; they conftitute one of the groffeft, most detestable, and most infamous calumnies that ever was uttered by man. Confequently by idle words our Saviour plainly meant, falfe, lying, and malicious words, fuch as thofe which the Pharifees had a few minutes before applied to him.

In confirmation of this it should be observed, that the language then spoken by the Jews was not their primitive

tongue, but one mixed and made up of the dialects and idioms of the feveral nations that furrounded them, particularly of the Chaldeans, Syrians, and Arabians. In this our Saviour delivered all his inftructions, and held all his difcourfes. In this (as fome learned men think) St. Matthew originally wrote his Gofpel for the use of the Jewish converts: and it has been remarked, that in almost all the languages of which this miscellaneous one is made up, by idle or unprofitable words are meant, falfe, lying, malicious, and fcandulous calumnies.

But though in the paffage before us the phrafe of idle words refers more immediately to the malignant calumny of the Pharifees against Jefus ; yet it certainly includes all false, flanderous, and vindictive accufations of our neighbor; all discourse which is in any respect injurious to God or man, which is contrary to truth, to decency, and evangelical purity of heart. All converfation of this fort is plainly inconfiftent with the fanctity of our religion, and muft of course fubject us to God's difpleafure here, and his judgments hereafter. And even in the literal and moft obvious fenfe of idle words, though we are not excluded from the innocent cheerfulness of focial converfe, yet we must beware of giving way too much to trifling, foolish, unprofitable and unmeaning talk. Even this, when carried to excefs, becomes in fome degree criminal; it produces, or at least increases a frivolous turn of mind; unfits us for the discharge of any thing manly and ferious; and indicates a degree of levity and thoughtleffness not very confiftent with a just sense of those important interefts, which as candidates for heaven we should have conftantly present to our thoughts, nor fuitable to thofe awful profpects into eternity which the Christian revelation opens to our view, and which ought to make the most serious impreffions on every fincere believer in the Gofpel of Chrift.

LECTURE XI.

MATTHEW xiii..

W

E are now arrived at the thirteenth chapter of St. Matthew, in which our bleffed Lord introduces a new mode of conveying his inftructions to the people.. Hitherto he had confined himself entirely to the plain didactic method, of which his fermon on the mount is a large and noble specimen. But his discourses now affume a different shape, and he begins in this chapter, for the first time, to addrefs his hearers in parables. "The fame day, fays the evangelift, went Jefus out of the house, and fat by the fea-fide; and great multitudes were gathered together unto him, fo that he went into a fhip and fate: and the whole multitude ftood on the fhore, and he spake many things unto them in parables."

The word parable is sometimes used in scripture in a large and general fenfe, and applied to fhort fententious. fayings, maxims, or aphorifms, expreffed in a figurative, proverbial, or even poetical manner.

But in its strict and appropriate meaning, especially as applied to our Saviour's parables, it fignifies a fhort narrative of fome event or fact, real or fictitious, in which a continued comparison is carried on between sensible and fpiritual objects; and under this fimilitude fome important doctrine, moral or religious, in conveyed and enforced.

This mode of inftruction has many advantages over every other, more particularly in recommending virtue, or reproving vice.

1. In the first place, when divine and spiritual things are represented by objects well known and familiar to us,

fuch as prefent themselves perpetually to our obfervation, in the common occurrences of life, they are much more eafily comprehended, especially by rude and uncultivated minds (that is, by the great bulk of mankind) than if they were propofed in their original form.

2. In all ages of the world there is nothing with which mankind hath been so much delighted as with thofe little fictitious stories, which go under the name of fables or apologues among the ancient heathens, and of parables in the facred writings. It is found by experience, that this fort of compofition is better calculated to command attention, to captivate the imagination, to affect the heart, and to make deeper and more lafting impreffions on the memory, than the moft ingenious and moft elegant difcourfes that the wit of man is capable of producing.

3. The very obscurity in which parables are fometimes involved, has the effect of exciting a greater degree of curiofity and intereft, and of urging the mind to a more vigorous exertion of its faculties and powers, than any other mode of inftruction. There is something for the understanding to work upon; and when the concealed meaning is at length elicited, we are apt to value ourselves on the discovery as the effect of our own penetration and difcernment, and for that very reafon to pay more regard to the moral it conveys.

4. When the mind is under the influence of strong prejudices, of violent paffions, or inveterate habits, and when under thefe circumstances it becomes neceffary to rectify error, to diffipate delufion, to reprove fin, and bring the offender to a sense of his danger and his guilt; there is no way in which this difficult task can be fo well executed, and the painful truths that must be told fo fuccessfully infinuated into the mind, as by difguifing them under the veil of a well-wrought and interesting parable.

This obfervation cannot be better illuftrated than by referring to two parables, one in the New Teftament, the other in the Old, which will amply confirm the truth, and unfold the meaning of the preceding remarks.