The Bible is full of perfect examples of illustrative teaching. The parables are mostly of this order. The parable of the sower, with the field and husbandman before him, as is probable, is a striking example of illustrative teaching. In the gospels, how constantly our Saviour began His parables with, "The kingdom of heaven is _likened_ unto," or is "_like_," etc. Said an old divine to a young preacher: "I see you do not follow Christ's example in your preaching; for you have no '_likes_' in your sermons." Do we _liken_ Bible truth to something with which our scholars are familiar, and thus help them to understand it? Illustrations abound all around us. Some years ago there was published a work entitled "Spiritual Honey from Natural Hives." I do not know but it is now out of print; but it contained no less than 258 illustrations of various passages of Scripture--all drawn from the honey-bee, and most of them were valuable. For example: "Mercy comes naturally from God, like honey from the bee; but justice, like the sting, only when she is provoked." "If nature teaches the bee not only to gather honey out of sweet flowers, but out of bitter, shall not grace teach us to draw, even out of the bitterest condition, something to better our souls?" "Many hate not sin, nor fly from it, because it is _sin_; but as children do bees; not because they are bees, but because they have a _sting_. So do these persons flee from sin; not because it is _sinful_, but because it is _hurtful_." The following convey important lessons to Bible-students: "If you do but take and pierce God's word, and do but stay upon it, as the bee doth on the flower, and _will not off_ till you have got something out of it; if you still be digging in this mine, this will make you rich in knowledge; and if you be rich in knowledge, it will make you rich in grace." Finally: "Some use flowers only for the beauty or the smell; the physicians, for health; the bees, for honey; so do wise and prudent persons apply their studies for the enriching and feeding of their minds."