Jacob took rods of poplar and peeled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods, and set them before the flocks when they came to drink (verses 37, 38), to instruct us that when the outside peel, or the mere shade of literal truth is removed, the white or spiritual truth is then manifested in its own clearness. It is interior truth that opens heaven to the soul; and this is represented by the white appearing in the rods of poplar.
March Tenth.
MUSTARD-SEED.
"The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed."—Matt. xiii. 31.
IN this parable, the kingdom of heaven is said to be like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and we can only see the force and beauty of this comparison by keeping in mind what the Lord teaches in Luke xvii. 21, "The kingdom of God is within you." Now as the kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven, and this is said to be within, so our Lord says it does not come with any outward observation, with "lo here! or lo there!" It is truly a state or heavenly condition of mind which brings a peace that passeth all understanding.
To impress this truth on our minds, the Apostle says, "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost." (Rom. xiv. 17.) The reason why the Lord compares the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard-seed is, because the beginning or germ of this kingdom in the soul is small and comparatively in-
