The Parables of Our Lord

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The Parables of Our Lord, by William Arnot

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Title: The Parables of Our Lord
Author: William Arnot
Release Date: May 5, 2007 [EBook #21328]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD.

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
I.
NEW EDITION, COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME,
LAWS FROM HEAVEN FOR LIFE ON EARTH: Illustrations of the Book of Proverbs. Crown?8vo, cloth. Price 7s.?6d.
II.
ROOTS AND FRUITS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Crown?8vo. Price 7s.?6d.
III.
THE RACE FOR RICHES, AND SOME OF THE PITS INTO WHICH THE RUNNERS FALL. Foolscap?8vo. Price 1s.?6d.

T. NELSON AND SONS. LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK

THE
PARABLES
OF
OUR LORD.
By the
REV. WILLIAM ARNOT.
LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1874.

CONTENTS.
Page INTRODUCTION, 11
I. The Sower, 43
II. The Tares, 75
III. The Mustard Seed, 101
IV. The Leaven, 111
V. The Hidden Treasure, 128
VI. The Pearl, 144
VII. The Draw-Net, 160
VIII. The Unmerciful Servant, 185
IX. The Vineyard Labourers, 204
X. The Two Sons, 223
XI. The Wicked Husbandmen, 237
XII. The Royal Marriage Feast, 254
XIII. The Ten Virgins, 282
XIV. The Entrusted Talents, 299
XV. The Seed Growing Secretly, 312
XVI. The Two Debtors, 326
XVII. The Good Samaritan, 341
XVIII. The Friend at Midnight, 357
XIX. The Rich Fool, 369
XX. The Barren Fig-Tree, 378
XXI. The Excuses, 387
XXII. The Lost Sheep, 402
XXIII. The Lost Coin, 422
XXIV. The Prodigal Son, 427
XXV. The Prudent Steward, 451
XXVI. The Rich Man and Lazarus, 465
XXVII. Unprofitable Servants, 483
XXVIII. The Importunate Widow, 497
XXIX. The Pharisee and the Publican, 509
XXX. The Servants and the Pounds, 520

INTRODUCTION.
We have been accustomed to regard with affectionate veneration the life-work of the Reformers, and the theology of the Reformation. Of a later date, and in our own vernacular, we have inherited from the Puritans an indigenous theology, great in quantity and precious in kind,--a legacy that has enriched our age more, perhaps, than the age is altogether willing to acknowledge. At various periods from the time of the Puritans to the present, our stock of sacred literature has received additions of incalculable value. So vast and varied have our stores become at length, that an investigator of the present day can scarcely expect to find a neglected spot where he may enjoy the luxury of cultivating virgin soil: so ably, moreover, have our predecessors fulfilled their tasks, that a modern inquirer, obliged to deal with familiar themes, cannot console himself with the expectation of dealing with them to better purpose. It does not follow, however, that a contribution to the literature of theology is useless, because it neither touches a new theme, nor treats an old more ably.
The literature of one century, whether sacred or common, will not, when served up in the lump, satisfy the craving and sustain the life of another. The nineteenth century must produce its own literature, as it raises its own corn, and fabricates its own garments. The intellectual and spiritual treasures of the past should indeed be reverently preserved and used; but they should be used as seed. Instead of indolently living on the stores which our fathers left, we should cast them into the ground, and get the product fresh every season--old, and yet ever new. The intellectual and spiritual life of an age will wither, if it has nothing wherewith to sustain itself, but the food which grew in an earlier era; it must live on the fruits that grow in its own time, and under its own eye.
Nor will a servile imitation of the ancient masters suffice. A mere reproduction, for example, of the Puritan theology would not be suitable in our day; while the truth, which constitutes its essence, remains the same, it must be cast in the moulds of modern thought, and tinged with the hues of modern experience.
Engineers surveying for a railway lay down the line level, or as nearly level as the configuration of the surface will permit; but an engineer's