and set forth according to Matthew as a consecutive discourse. Dean Alford’s words on the subject may be quoted as giving one simple and yet sufficient reason for holding this view. The seven parables related in this chapter cannot be regarded as a collection made by the evangelist, as related to one subject, the Kingdom of Heaven and its development; they are clearly indicated by verse 53 to have been all spoken on one and the same occasion,* and form indeed a complete and glorious whole in their