The Parables of Our Lord | Page 7

notice that the lavish and bold imagery of
Ezekiel effectually served the immediate purpose for which it was
employed; it attracted the people's regard, explained the prophecy to
their understandings, and fixed the lessons in their memories. It is true,
indeed, that they did not repent; but this only shows that parables, even
when dictated by the Spirit, have not inherent power to convert; even
God's word may, through the hearer's sin, remain a dead letter in his
hand. It emerges incidentally in the history that the preaching of
Ezekiel was eminently popular; crowds came out to hear and see.
The ultimate spiritual success lies in other hands; but in as far as the
instrument is concerned, it is proved, from the experience of this
ancient prophet, that the mastery of analogies draws the people round
the preacher's feet, and brings his lessons into contact with their minds
and hearts.
In modern times, much argument is employed to prove that the drama
may be pure in itself, and effectual as a moral educator,--argument
which, however excellent it may be in theory, has hitherto proved
impotent in fact. But from the beginning it was not so; Ezekiel was a
dramatist; he acted his prophecies and his preachings on a stage. The
warnings were in this form clearly articulated, and forcefully driven
home; if they failed to produce the ultimate result of repentance, the
obstacle lay not in the feebleness of the instrument, but in the wilful
hardness of the subject whereon the instrument was plied. Dramatic
representation in the simplicity of its infancy was a golden vessel of the
sanctuary, employed in the service of God; long ago it was carried
away into Babylon, and profanely used as a wine cup in the orgies of
idols. Whether it shall ever be wrenched from the enemy, purified, and
restored to the service of the temple, I know not.
In the general history of the world, the most interesting parable of this
class that occurs to my memory is one attributed to a North American
Indian in conversation with a Christian missionary. The red man had
previously been well instructed in the Scriptures, understood the way of
salvation, and enjoyed peace with God. Desiring to explain to his

teacher the turning point of his spiritual experience, he had recourse, in
accordance, perhaps, with the instincts and habits of his tribe, to the
language of dramatic symbols rather than to the language of articulate
words. Having gathered a quantity of dry withered tree leaves, he
spread them in a thin layer, and in a circular form on the level ground.
He then gently laid a living worm in the centre, and set fire to the
circumference on every side. The missionary and the Indian then stood
still and silent, watching the motions of the imprisoned reptile. It
crawled hastily and in alarm towards one side, till it met the advancing
girdle of fire, and then crawled back as hastily to the other. After
making several ineffectual efforts to escape, the creature retired to the
centre, and coiled itself up to await its fate. At this crisis, and just
before the flames reached their helpless victim, the Indian stept gravely
forward, lifted the worm from its fiery prison, and deposited it in a
place of safety. "Thus," this simple preacher of the cross indicated to
the missionary,--"Thus helpless and hopeless I lay, while the wrath due
to my sin advanced on every side to devour me; and thus sovereignly,
mightily, lovingly did Christ deliver my soul from death."
III.--THE PARABLES OF THE LORD.
Metaphorical language, as we have seen, is deeply rooted in the
fundamental analogy which subsists between the several departments
of our Creator's work; and the parable is a species of figure which, for
all practical purposes, is sufficiently distinguished from others,
although it is scarcely possible to isolate it by a complete logical
definition. Nor is it enough to say that those specimens which are found
in the record of Christ's ministry belong to the species; they may be
said to constitute a species by themselves. The parables which are
known to literature beyond the pale of the evangelic histories are either
very diverse in kind, or very few in number. The practical result is, that
while we treat the parable as a distinct species of analogical instruction,
we must treat the parables spoken by the Lord as a unique and separate
class. As the Lord's people in ancient times dwelt alone, and were not
reckoned among the nations, the Lord's parabolic teaching stands apart
by itself, and cannot with propriety be associated with other specimens
of metaphorical teaching. Logically as well as spiritually it is true, that

"never man spake like this man."
But, when setting aside all other forms of comparison, we