fold more hard than the adamantine rock, saying "It is done." This brings me to show, II. What we may understand by " It is done." The first question which naturally arises on the mind is, what is done? When Christ was about expiating for the sins of the world; when he was closing up the work which his Father gave him to do on earth in the flesh; when the spirit was about leaving the tenement of clay which it had inhabited through a life of thirty-three years of pain, sufferings, deprivations, sorrows, groans and tears, made more acute by temptations trying as the arch demon of hell could invent; suffering reproach from the haughty pharisee and the more obstinate sadducee, and contempt and ridicule from the base rabble of his own people ; persecuted even until death by the envy, malice and hatred of those who had received boons and blessings of life at his hands, he had saved them from disease, death and the rage of demons; yet in this moment of great need he was forsaken of all-they stood afar off, and when he was about giving up the ghost, he cried, "It is finished," and bowed his head and died. The fratricide man could do no more; he had followed him to death; beyond that the envy of his brother could not reach him. The rabble, who a few days before had cried hosannabs to the Son of David, this day were crying crucify him! crucify him! now could cry no more-but with downcast looks returned into the city. The pharisees and rulers could do no more; they had plotted his death, and obtained their object, but into the dark recess of the tomb they dare not, they would not follow. The great red dragon (the Roman power) had sought, his life when a child, but the hour had not come. Herod sought his life when a man, but he could not succeed until the last day of the seventy weeks should be accomplished. Then the powers of earth, wicked men and devils could combine to take the life of the Lord of glory. Then while these powers had control, the heavens hid their face; nature stood back aghast, and the material world shuddered with a groan. Then at that awful, fitful period, He who had been the object of all this malice, cried with a loud voice-"It is finished." The work on earth in the flesh is finished; the temptations of satan are finished; the persecution of his brethren are finished; envy, malice and hatred towards the person of Christ are finished; the power of earth, hell and wicked men to do any thing with him, is finished: death has no more terrors over him. It is finished. Although Christ had finished his work and had endured all the sufferings which he was to finish; yet in his spiritual body, the church, the measure of his sufferings were to be filled up. His people must pass through the same scenes in the world as their divine master had experienced from satanic temptations and the hatred of the world. "The world will hate you and persecute you for my name's sake, even as they hated me before they hated you," says our blessed Redeemer. Therefore the same manifestations of cruelty, contempt, persecution and death, were to be acted over again in the church until the 2300 years should be accomplished, when Christ would come again, receive home his weary, persecuted people, conquer death and him that had the power of death, which is the devil." And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, it is done." The power of earth, hell and wicked men over the dear people of God, is done. Their temptation in the flesh is done; their trials, persecutions, sufferings, darkness, fears, and death itself, are done. As the sufferings of the head was finished in Christ, so will all the pains of the body be completed when the seventh and last vial shall be poured into the air and cleanse the atmosphere from all obnoxious vapors, pestilence and death: "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," and then will the great voice from the throne say, It is done. These old heavens and this old earth will have passed away, and the New Jerusalem come "down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Rev. xxi. 3—6. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done.” Here we have the same expression as in our text, having the same identical meaning, the same "great voice," in one as in the other; the same throne, and the same voice speaking, alluding to the same period of time when the old things are done away and the new heavens are finished, to the same point in prophecy, "the end." "the end." Therefore, as we have passed the sixth vial, the seventh and last hangs trembling in the air. The drops of this vial are already contaminating the minds of men, already we see the unclean spirit going forth; the great city is being divided, and the signs of the heavens denote a moral conflict, and on the earth a speedy revolution. Then, my friends, let us be wise, let us make peace. with Him who has power to save or to destroy. For we learn by our subject that the world and worldly scenes are passing away; every vestige of mortal grandeur, ev-. ery form of carnal pride, every fashion of human glory will soon be eclipsed by the grandeur of that great white throne from whose face the heavens and earth will flee away, and the great voice from the throne will sound the last requiem, "It is done." "Yet when the sound shall tear the skies, Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes, There's a new heaven and earth for you." LECTURE XVI. MATT. XXV. 1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. PARABLES are always given to illustrate some doctrine or subject which the speaker wishes to communicate, and is an easy or familiar manner of making his hearers or readers understand the subject, and receive a lasting impression. Nothing has so good an effect on the mind as to teach by parables, moral precepts, or spiritual truths. In this way, we are taught by visible things, or familiar objects, to realize in some measure the truths and subjects presented. This was the manner Christ taught his disciples and followers, that their memories might the more easily retain and be often refreshed, when they beheld any scene like the representation of the parable, and in this way they might always keep in view the important truth that is likened to the parable. A parable rightly applied, and clearly understood, gives good instruction, and is a lasting illustration of the truth. But if we apply the parable wrong, if we put on a false construction, it will serve to lead us into an error, and blind us instead of producing light, as Christ said of the pharisees, he spake to them in parables, that "seeing they might see and not perceive, and hearing they might hear and not understand." Men often explain parables by fancy, to suit their own notions, without any evidence but their own ingenuity, and by this means there will be as many different explanations as there are ingenious men. But I dare not trifle thus with the word of God; if we cannot by the word of God explain, we had better leave the same as we find it, and not attempt what must only result in guess. work at last; but follow scripture rule, and we cannot get far from the truth. Christ has given us rules by which to explain parables, by explaining some himself. The explanations given by Christ of the parable of the tares and the wheat, is a rule that will bear in about all cases. That he has given rules is very evident in his answer to his disciples when they asked him concerning his parables. Mark iv. 13, "And he said unto them, know ye not this parable? How then will ye know all parables?" That is, if ye understand how I explain this parable, you will know how to explain all others; but if you do not understand how I explain this, you cannot explain all others. This is the rule. Christ made all the prominent parts of a parable, figures: such as the sower, Son of man; good seed, children of the kingdom; tares, children of the wicked one; harvest, end of the world; reapers, the angels; "as therefore the tares are gathered and burned, so shall it be in the end of the world," &c. Here is a sample; good sced, tares, harvest and reapers are figures representing other things, as we have shown. But how, say you, shall we always know what these figures represent? Ianswer, by the explanation given in other parts of the Bible. For the word of God is its own expositor; or it can be of no manner of use to us, for if we have to apply to any other rule to explain the Bible, then the other rule would be tantamount and have a precedence, and the Bible must fall of course. But it is not so. Then to explain our subject, I shall, I. Show what is meant by the figures used in the parable. II. The time to which this parable is applicable, and III. Make an application of our subject. This I. I will explain the figures in the parable, and 1st. "Kingdom of heaven," means the gospel day or circle of God's government under the gospel dispensation. I shall prove by the word of God. Matt. iii. 1, 2, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." That is, the gospel day is come. Again: "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand." Luke xvi. 16, "The law and the prophets were until John, since that time the |