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diff --git a/42518-0.txt b/42518-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b634288 --- /dev/null +++ b/42518-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8472 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42518 *** + + Transcriber's Notes: + + Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal + signs=. + + Blank pages have been eliminated. + + Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the + original. + + A few typographical errors have been corrected. + + + + + _Funk & Wagnalls' Important Publications._ + + + The Science of Politics. + + BY WALTER THOMAS MILLS, + + Secretary of the National Intercollegiate Association. A timely work + for every citizen. The book is wholly practical and untechnical and is + directly suited to the needs of every citizen. 12mo, cloth, 204 pages. + Price, $1.00. + + Pres. Julius H. Seelye, of Amherst College, says: + "With its clearness and force I am much pleased." + + Frances E. Willard says: + + "Mr. Mills has done an important service to the cause of good + government by setting in a clear light before the citizen his personal + relation to government by a political party. May his book have a + million readers." + + Public Opinion, Washington, D. C., says: + + "The book is interesting and instructive, and the style is vigorous + and refined." + + + Foundation of Death. + + BY AXEL GUSTAFSON, + + the celebrated English Reformer. A practical study of the Drink + Question. 12mo, cloth, $1.50. + + The Boston Transcript: + + The entire subject is handled in a most judicious manner, and we + recommend the book as one of exceptional value in these times of + alcoholic discussions. No advocate of temperance can do without it, + for it is a compendium of the world's experience and the world's + opinions. + + + Nobody Knows. + + BY "A NOBODY." + + A treatise on applied Christianity under the guise of fiction. An + original, interesting work. 12mo, cloth, $1.25. + + A book of great directness and earnestness, in which the hero brings + about a moral and social reformation by a reconciliation between + employer and employee, between the church and the masses. A model of + terse epigrammatic English. Not a dull line in it. + + + + + TALKS TO FARMERS. + + + BY + REV. CHARLES H. SPURGEON. + + + NEW YORK: + FUNK & WAGNALLS, PUBLISHERS, + 18 AND 20 ASTOR PLACE. + 1889. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + + THE SLUGGARD'S FARM, 1 + + THE BROKEN FENCE, 24 + + FROST AND THAW, 39 + + THE CORN OF WHEAT DYING TO BRING FORTH FRUIT, 56 + + THE PLOUGHMAN, 71 + + PLOUGHING THE ROCK, 88 + + THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, 103 + + THE PRINCIPAL WHEAT, 118 + + SPRING IN THE HEART, 132 + + FARM LABORERS, 149 + + WHAT THE FARM LABORERS CAN DO, AND WHAT THEY + CANNOT DO, 164 + + THE SHEEP BEFORE THE SHEARERS, 181 + + IN THE HAY-FIELD, 196 + + THE JOY OF HARVEST, 211 + + SPIRITUAL GLEANING, 226 + + MEAL-TIME IN THE CORNFIELDS, 241 + + THE LOADED WAGON, 258 + + THRESHING, 275 + + WHEAT IN THE BARN, 290 + + + + +TALKS TO FARMERS. + + + + +THE SLUGGARD'S FARM. + +"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man +void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and +nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was +broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and +received instruction."--PROVERBS 24:30-32. + + +No doubt Solomon was sometimes glad to lay aside the robes of state, +escape from the forms of court, and go through the country unknown. On +one occasion, when he was doing so, he looked over the broken wall of a +little estate which belonged to a farmer of his country. This estate +consisted of a piece of ploughed land and a vineyard. One glance showed +him that it was owned by a sluggard, who neglected it, for the weeds had +grown right plentifully and covered all the face of the ground. From +this Solomon gathered instruction. Men generally learn wisdom if they +have wisdom. The artist's eye sees the beauty of the landscape because +he has beauty in his mind. "To him that hath shall be given," and he +shall have abundance, for he shall reap a harvest even from the field +that is covered with thorns and nettles. There is a great difference +between one man and another in the use of the mind's eye. I have a book +entitled, "The Harvest of a Quiet Eye," and a good book it is: the +harvest of a quiet eye can be gathered from a sluggard's land as well as +from a well-managed farm. When we were boys we were taught a little +poem, called, "Eyes and no Eyes," and there was much of truth in it, for +some people have eyes and see not, which is much the same as having no +eyes; while others have quick eyes for spying out instruction. Some look +only at the surface, while others see not only the outside shell but the +living kernel of truth which is hidden in all outward things. + +_We may find instruction everywhere._ To a spiritual mind nettles have +their use, and weeds have their doctrine. Are not all thorns and +thistles meant to be teachers to sinful men? Are they not brought forth +of the earth on purpose that they may show us what sin has done, and the +kind of produce that will come when we sow the seed of rebellion against +God? "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the +man void of understanding," says Solomon; "I saw, and considered it +well: I looked upon it, and received instruction." Whatever you see, +take care to consider it well, and you will not see it in vain. You +shall find books and sermons everywhere, in the land and in the sea, in +the earth and in the skies, and you shall learn from every living beast, +and bird, and fish, and insect, and from every useful or useless plant +that springs out of the ground. + +_We may also gather rare lessons from things that we do not like._ I am +sure that Solomon did not in the least degree admire the thorns and the +nettles that covered the face of the vineyard, but he nevertheless found +instruction in them. Many are stung by nettles, but few are taught by +them. Some men are hurt by briers, but here is one who was improved by +them. Wisdom hath a way of gathering grapes of thorns and figs of +nettles, and she distils good from herbs which in themselves are noisome +and evil. Do not fret, therefore, over thorns, but get good out of them. +Do not begin stinging yourself with nettles, grip them firmly, and then +use them for your soul's health. Trials and troubles, worries and +turmoils, little frets and little disappointments, may all help you if +you will. Like Solomon, see and consider them well--look upon them, and +receive instruction. + +As for us, we will now, first, consider _Solomon's description of a +sluggard_: he is "a man void of understanding"; secondly, we shall +notice _his description of the sluggard's land_: "it was all grown over +with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof." When we have +attended to these two matters we will close by _endeavoring to gather +the instruction which this piece of waste ground may yield us_. + +First, think of SOLOMON'S DESCRIPTION OF A SLOTHFUL MAN. Solomon was a +man whom none of us would contradict, for he knew as much as all of us +put together; and besides that, he was under divine inspiration when he +wrote this Book of Proverbs. Solomon says, a sluggard is "a man void of +understanding." The slothful does not think so; he puts his hands in his +pockets, and you would think from his important air that he had all the +Bank of England at his disposal. You can see that he is a very wise man +in his own esteem, for he gives himself airs which are meant to impress +you with a sense of his superior abilities. How he has come by his +wisdom it would be hard to say. He has never taken the trouble to +think, and yet I dare not say that he jumps at his conclusions, because +he never does such a thing as jump, he lies down and rolls into a +conclusion. Yet he knows everything, and has settled all points: +meditation is too hard work for him, and learning he never could endure; +but to be clever by nature is his delight. He does not want to know more +than he knows, for he knows enough already, and yet he knows nothing. +The proverb is not complimentary to him, but I am certain that Solomon +was right when he called him "a man void of understanding." Solomon was +rather rude according to the dainty manners of the present times, +because this gentleman had a field and a vineyard, and as Poor Richard +saith, "When I have a horse and a cow every man biddeth me good morrow." +How can a man be void of understanding who has a field and a vineyard? +Is it not generally understood that you must measure a man's +understanding by the amount of his ready cash? At all events you shall +soon be flattered for your attainments if you have attained unto wealth. +Such is the way of the world, but such is not the way of Scripture. +Whether he has a field and a vineyard or not, says Solomon, if he is a +sluggard he is a fool, or if you would like to see his name written out +a little larger, he is a man empty of understanding. Not only does he +not understand anything, but he has no understanding to understand with. +He is empty-headed if he is a sluggard. He may be called a gentleman, he +may be a landed proprietor, he may have a vineyard and a field; but he +is none the better for what he has: nay, he is so much the worse, +because he is a man void of understanding, and is therefore unable to +make use of his property. + +I am glad to be told by Solomon so plainly that a slothful man is void +of understanding, for it is useful information. I have met with persons +who thought they perfectly understood the doctrines of grace, who could +accurately set forth the election of the saints, the predestination of +God, the firmness of the divine decree, the necessity of the Spirit's +work, and all the glorious doctrines of grace which build up the fabric +of our faith; but these gentlemen have inferred from these doctrines +that they have to do nothing, and thus they have become sluggards. +Do-nothingism is their creed. They will not even urge other people to +labor for the Lord, because, say they, "God will do his own work. +Salvation is all of grace!" The notion of these sluggards is that a man +is to wait, and do nothing; he is to sit still, and let the grass grow +up to his ankles in the hope of heavenly help. To arouse himself would +be an interference with the eternal purpose, which he regards as +altogether unwarrantable. I have known him look sour, shake his aged +head, and say hard things against earnest people who were trying to win +souls. I have known him run down young people, and like a great steam +ram, sink them to the bottom, by calling them unsound and ignorant. How +shall we survive the censures of this dogmatic person? How shall we +escape from this very knowing and very captious sluggard? Solomon +hastens to the rescue and extinguishes this gentleman by informing us +that he is void of understanding. Why, he is the standard of orthodoxy, +and he judges everybody! Yet Solomon applies another standard to him, +and says he is void of understanding. He may know the doctrine, but he +does not understand it; or else he would know that the doctrines of +grace lead us to seek the grace of the doctrines; and that when we see +God at work we learn that he worketh in us, not to make us go to sleep, +but to will and to do of his own good pleasure. God's predestination of +a people is his ordaining them unto good works that they may show forth +his praise. So, if you or I shall from any doctrines, however true, draw +the inference that we are warranted in being idle and indifferent about +the things of God, we are void of understanding; we are acting like +fools; we are misusing the gospel; we are taking what was meant for meat +and turning it into poison. The sluggard, whether he is sluggish about +his business or about his soul, is a man void of understanding. + +As a rule we may measure a man's understanding by his useful activities; +this is what the wise man very plainly tells us. Certain persons call +themselves "cultured," and yet they cultivate nothing. Modern thought, +as far as I have seen anything of its actual working, is a bottle of +smoke, out of which comes nothing solid; yet we know men who can +distinguish and divide, debate and discuss, refine and refute, and all +the while the hemlock is growing in the furrow, and the plough is +rusting. Friend, if your knowledge, if your culture, if your education +does not lead you practically to serve God in your day and generation, +you have not learned what Solomon calls wisdom, and you are not like the +Blessed One, who was incarnate wisdom, of whom we read that "he went +about doing good." A lazy man is not like our Saviour, who said, "My +Father worketh hitherto, and I work." True wisdom is practical: boastful +culture vapors and theorizes. Wisdom ploughs its field, wisdom hoes its +vineyard, wisdom looks to its crops, wisdom tries to make the best of +everything; and he who does not do so, whatever may be his knowledge of +this, of that, or of the other, is a man void of understanding. + +Why is he void of understanding? Is it not because _he has opportunities +which he does not use_? His day has come, his day is going, and he lets +the hours glide by to no purpose. Let me not press too hardly upon any +one, but let me ask you all to press as hardly as you can upon +yourselves while you enquire each one of himself, Am I employing the +minutes as they fly? This man had a vineyard, but he did not cultivate +it; he had a field, but he did not till it. Do you, brethren, use all +your opportunities? I know we each one have some power to serve God; do +we use it? If we are his children he has not put one of us where we are +of necessity useless. Somewhere we may shine by the light which he has +given us, though that light be only a farthing candle. Are we thus +shining? Do we sow beside all waters? Do we in the morning sow our seed, +and in the evening still stretch out our hand? for if not, we are +rebuked by the sweeping censure of Solomon, who saith that the slothful +is a "man void of understanding." + +Having opportunities he did not use them, and next, _being bound to the +performance of certain duties he did not fulfil them_. When God +appointed that every Israelite should have a piece of land, under that +admirable system which made every Israelite a land owner, he meant that +each man should possess his plot, not to let it lie waste, but to +cultivate it. When God put Adam in the garden of Eden it was not that he +should walk through the glades and watch the spontaneous luxuriance of +the unfallen earth, but that he might dress it and keep it, and he had +the same end in view when he allotted each Jew his piece of land; he +meant that the holy soil should reach the utmost point of fertility +through the labor of those who owned it. Thus the possession of a field +and a vineyard involved responsibilities upon the sluggard which he +never fulfilled, and therefore he was void of understanding. What is +your position, dear friend? A father? A master? A servant? A minister? A +teacher? Well, you have your farms and your vineyards in those +particular spheres; but if you do not use those positions aright you +will be void of understanding, because you neglect the end of your +existence. You miss the high calling which your Maker has set before +you. + +The slothful farmer was unwise in these two respects, and in another +also; _for he had capacities which he did not employ_. He could have +tilled the field and cultivated the vineyard if he had chosen to do so. +He was not a sickly man, who was forced to keep his bed, but he was a +lazy-bones who was there of choice. + +You are not asked to do in the service of God that which is utterly +beyond you, for it is expected of us according to what we have and not +according to what we have not. The man of two talents is not required to +bring in the interest of five, but he is expected to bring in the +interest of two. Solomon's slothful was too idle to attempt tasks which +were quite within his power. Many have a number of dormant faculties of +which they are scarcely aware, and many more have abilities which they +are using for themselves, and not for Him who created them. Dear +friends, if God has given us any power to do good, pray let us do it, +for this is a wicked, weary world. We should not even cover a +glow-worm's light in such a darkness as this. We should not keep back a +syllable of divine truth in a world that is so full of falsehood and +error. However feeble our voices, let us lift them up for the cause of +truth and righteousness. Do not let us be void of understanding, because +we have opportunities that we do not use, obligations that we do not +fulfil, and capacities which we do not exercise. + +As for a sluggard in soul matters, he is indeed void of understanding, +for _he trifles with matters which demand his most earnest heed_. Man, +hast thou never cultivated thy heart? Hast the ploughshare never broken +up the clods of thy soul? Has the seed of the Word never been sown in +thee? or has it taken no root? Hast thou never watered the young plants +of desire? Hast thou never sought to pull up the weeds of sin that grow +in thy heart? Art thou still a piece of the bare common or wild heath? +Poor soul! Thou canst trim thy body, and spend many a minute at the +glass; dost thou not care for thy soul? How long thou takest to decorate +thy poor flesh, which is but worm's meat, or would be in a minute if God +took away thy breath! And yet all the while thy soul is uncombed, +unwashed, unclad, a poor neglected thing. Oh it should not be so. You +take care of the worse part and leave the better to perish through +neglect. This is the height of folly! He that is a sluggard as to the +vineyard of his heart is a man void of understanding. If I must be idle, +let it be seen in my field and my garden, but not in my soul. + +Or are you a Christian? Are you really saved, and are you negligent in +the Lord's work? Then, indeed, whatever you may be, I cannot help saying +you have too little understanding; for surely, when a man is saved +himself, and understands the danger of other men's souls, he must be in +earnest in trying to pluck the firebrands from the flame. A Christian +sluggard! Is there such a being? A _Christian_ man on half time? A +Christian man working not at all for his Lord; how shall I speak of him? +_Time_ does not tarry, DEATH does not tarry, HELL does not tarry; Satan +is not lazy, all the powers of darkness are busy: how is it that you and +I can be sluggish, if the Master has put us into his vineyard? Surely we +must be void of understanding if, after being saved by the infinite love +of God, we do not spend and be spent in his service. The eternal fitness +of things demands that a saved man should be an earnest man. + +The Christian who is slothful in his Master's service _has no idea what +he is losing_; for the very cream of religion lies in holy consecration +to God. Some people have just enough religion to make it questionable +whether they have any or no. They have enough godliness to make them +uneasy in their ungodliness. They have washed enough of their face to +show the dirt upon the rest of it. "I am glad," said a servant, "that my +mistress takes the sacrament, for otherwise I should not know she had +any religion at all." You smile, and well you may. It is ridiculous that +some people should have no goods in their shop, and yet advertise their +business in all the papers; should make a show of religion, and yet have +none of the Spirit of God. I wish some professors would do Christ the +justice to say, "No, I am _not_ one of his disciples; do not think so +badly of him as to imagine that I can be one of them." We ought to be +reflections _of_ Christ; but I fear many are reflections _upon_ Christ. +When we see a lot of lazy servants, we are apt to think that their +master must be a very idle person himself, or he would never put up with +them. He who employs sluggards, and is satisfied with their snail-like +pace, cannot be a very active man himself. O, let not the world think +that Christ is indifferent to human woe, that Christ has lost his zeal, +that Christ has lost his energy: yet I fear they will say it or think it +if they see those who profess to be laborers in the vineyard of Christ +nothing better than mere sluggards. The slothful, then, is a man void of +understanding; he loses the honor and pleasure which he would find in +serving his Master; he is a dishonor to the cause which he professes to +venerate, and he is storing up thorns for his dying pillow. Let that +stand as settled--the slothful, whether he be a minister, deacon, or +private Christian, is a man void of understanding. + + +Now, secondly, LET US LOOK AT THE SLUGGARD'S LAND: "I went by the field +of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; +And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the +face thereof." Note, first, that _land will produce something_. Soil +which is good enough to be made into a field and a vineyard must and +will yield some fruit or other; and so you and I, in our hearts and in +the sphere God gives us to occupy, will be sure to produce something. We +cannot live in this world as entire blanks; we shall either do good or +do evil, as sure as we are alive. If you are idle in Christ's work, you +are active in the devil's work. The sluggard by sleeping was doing more +for the cultivation of thorns and nettles than he could have done by any +other means. As a garden will either yield flowers or weeds, fruits or +thistles, so something either good or evil will come out of our +household, our class, or our congregation. If we do not produce a +harvest of good wheat, by laboring for Christ, we shall grow tares to be +bound up in bundles for the last dread burning. + +Note again that, if it be not farmed for God, _the soul will yield its +natural produce_; and what is the natural produce of land if left to +itself? What but thorns and nettles, or some other useless weeds? What +is the natural produce of your heart and mine? What but sin and misery? +What is the natural produce of your children if you leave them untrained +for God? What but unholiness and vice? What is the natural produce of +this great city if we leave its streets, and lanes, and alleys without +the gospel? What but crime and infamy? Some harvest there will be, and +the sheaves will be the natural produce of the soil, which is sin, +death, and corruption. + +If we are slothful, _the natural produce of our heart and of our sphere +will be most inconvenient and unpleasant to ourselves_. Nobody can sleep +on thorns, or make a pillow of nettles. No rest can come out of an +idleness which lets ill alone, and does not by God's Spirit strive to +uproot evil. While you are sleeping, Satan will be sowing. If you +withhold the seed of good, Satan will be lavish with the seed of evil, +and from that evil will come anguish and regret for time, and it may be +for eternity. O man, the garden put into thy charge, if thou waste thy +time in slumber, will reward thee with all that is noisome and painful. +"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee." + +_In many instances there will be a great deal of this evil produce_; for +a field and a vineyard will yield more thistles and nettles than a piece +of ground that has never been reclaimed. If the land is good enough for +a garden, it will present its owner with a fine crop of weeds if he +only stays his hand. A choice bit of land fit for a vineyard of red wine +will render such a profusion of nettles to the slothful that he shall +rub his eyes with surprise. The man who might do most for God, if he +were renewed, will bring forth most for Satan if he be let alone. The +very region which would have glorified God most if the grace of God were +there to convert its inhabitants, will be that out of which the vilest +enemies of the gospel will arise. Rest assured of that; the best will +become the worst if we neglect it. Neglect is all that is needed to +produce evil. If you want to know the way of salvation, I must take some +pains to tell you; but if you want to know the way to be lost, my reply +is easy; for it is only a matter of negligence:--"How shall we escape if +we neglect so great salvation?" If you desire to bring forth a harvest +unto God, I may need long to instruct you in ploughing, sowing, and +watering; but if you wish your mind to be covered with Satan's hemlock, +you have only to leave the furrows of your nature to themselves. The +slothful asks for "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of +the hands to sleep," and the thorns and thistles multiply beyond all +numbering, and prepare for him many a sting. + +While we look upon the lazy man's vineyard let us also peep into the +ungodly sluggard's heart. He does not care about repentance and faith. +To think about his soul, to be in earnest about eternity, is too much +for him. He wants to take things easy, and have a little more folding of +the arms to sleep. What is growing in his mind and character? In some of +these spiritual sluggards you can see drunkenness, uncleanness, +covetousness, anger, and pride, and all sorts of thistles and nettles; +or where these ranker weeds do not appear, by reason of the restraint of +pious connections, you find other sorts of sin. The heart cannot be +altogether empty, either Christ or the devil will possess it. My dear +friend, if you are not decided for God, you cannot be a neutral. In this +war every man is for God or for his enemy. You cannot remain like a +sheet of blank paper. The legible handwriting of Satan is upon you--can +you not see the blots? Unless Christ has written across the page his own +sweet name, the autograph of Satan is visible. You may say, "I do not go +into open sin; I am moral," and so forth. Ah, if you would but look, and +consider, and search into your heart, you would see that enmity to God +and to his ways, and hatred of purity, are there. You do not love God's +law, nor love his Son, nor love his gospel, you are alienated in your +heart, and there is in you all manner of evil desires and vain thoughts, +and these will flourish and increase so long as you are a spiritual +sluggard, and leave your heart uncultivated. O, may the Spirit of God +arouse you; may you be stirred to anxious, earnest thought, and then you +will see that these rank growths must be uprooted, and that your heart +must be turned up by the plough of conviction, and sown with the good +seed of the gospel, till a harvest rewards the great Husbandman. + +Friend, if you believe in Christ, I want to peep over the hedge into +_your heart_ also, if you are a sluggish Christian; for I fear that +nettles and thistles are threatening you also. Did I not hear you sing +the other day-- + + "'Tis a point I long to know"? + +That point will often be raised, for doubt is a seed which is sure to +grow in lazy men's minds. I do not remember reading in Mr. Wesley's +diary a question about his own salvation. He was so busy in the harvest +of the Master that it did not occur to him to distrust his God. Some +Christians have little faith in consequence of their having never sown +the grain of mustard-seed which they have received. If you do not sow +your faith by using it, how can it grow? When a man lives by faith in +Christ Jesus, and his faith exercises itself actively in the service of +his Lord, it takes root, grows upward, and become strong, till it chokes +his doubts. Some have sadly morbid forebodings; they are discontented, +fretful, selfish, murmuring, and all because they are idle. These are +the weeds that grow in sluggards' gardens. I have known the slothful +become so peevish that nothing could please them; the most earnest +Christian could not do right for them; the most loving Christians could +not be affectionate enough; the most active church could not be +energetic enough; they detected all sorts of wrong where God himself saw +much of the fruit of his Spirit. This censoriousness, this contention, +this perpetual complaining is one of the nettles that are quite sure to +grow in men's gardens when they fold their arms in sinful ease. If your +heart does not yield fruit to God it will certainly bring forth that +which is mischievous in itself, painful to you, and injurious to your +fellow-men. Often the thorns choke the good seed; but it is a very +blessed thing when the good seed comes up so thick and fast that it +chokes the thorns. God enables certain Christians to become so fruitful +in Christ that their graces and works stand thick together, and when +Satan throws in the tares they cannot grow because there is no room for +them. The Holy Spirit by his power makes evil to become weak in the +heart, so that it no longer keeps the upper hand. If you are slothful, +friend, look over the field of your heart, and weep at the sight. + +May I next ask you to look into _your own house_ and home? It is a +dreadful thing when a man does not cultivate the field of his own +family. I recollect in my early days a man who used to walk out with me +into the villages when I was preaching. I was glad of his company till I +found out certain facts, and then I shook him off, and I believe he +hooked on to somebody else, for he must needs be gadding abroad every +evening of the week. He had many children, and these grew up to be +wicked young men and women, and the reason was that the father, while he +would be at this meeting and that, never tried to bring his own children +to the Saviour. What is the use of zeal abroad if there is neglect at +home? How sad to say, "My own vineyard have I not kept." Have you never +heard of one who said he did not teach his children the ways of God +because he thought they were so young that it was very wrong to +prejudice them, and he had rather leave them to choose their own +religion when they grew older? One of his boys broke his arm, and while +the surgeon was setting it the boy was swearing all the time. "Ah," said +the good doctor, "I told you what would happen. You were afraid to +prejudice your boy in the right way, but the devil had no such qualms; +he has prejudiced him the other way, and pretty strongly too." It is our +duty to prejudice our field in favor of corn, or it will soon be covered +with thistles. Cultivate a child's heart for good, or it will go wrong +of itself, for it is already depraved by nature. O that we were wise +enough to think of this, and leave no little one to become a prey to the +destroyer. + +As it is with homes, so is it with _schools_. A gentleman who joined +this church some time ago had been an atheist for years, and in +conversing with him I found that he had been educated at one of our +great public schools, and to that fact he traced his infidelity. He said +that the boys were stowed away on Sunday in a lofty gallery at the far +end of a church, where they could scarcely hear a word that the +clergyman said, but simply sat imprisoned in a place where it was +dreadfully hot in summer and cold in winter. On Sundays there were +prayers, and prayers, and prayers, but nothing that ever touched his +heart; until he was so sick of prayers that he vowed if he once got out +of the school he would have done with religion. This is a sad result, +but a frequent one. You Sunday-school teachers can make your classes so +tiresome to the children that they will hate Sunday. You can fritter +away the time in school without bringing the lads and lasses to Christ, +and so you may do more hurt than good. I have known Christian fathers +who by their severity and want of tenderness have sown their family +field with the thorns and thistles of hatred to religion instead of +scattering the good seed of love to it. O that we may so live among our +children that they may not only love us, but love our Father who is in +heaven. May fathers and mothers set such an example of cheerful piety +that sons and daughters shall say, "Let us tread in our father's +footsteps, for he was a happy and a holy man. Let us follow our mother's +ways, for she was sweetness itself." If piety does not rule in your +house, when we pass by your home we shall see disorder, disobedience, +pride of dress, folly, and the beginnings of vice. Let not your home be +a sluggard's field, or you will have to rue it in years to come. + +Let every deacon, every class-leader, and also every minister enquire +diligently into the state of the field he has to cultivate. You see, +brothers and sisters, if you and I are set over any department of our +Lord's work, and we are not diligent in it, we shall be like barren +trees planted in an orchard, which are a loss altogether, because they +occupy the places of other trees which might have brought forth fruit +unto their owners. We shall cumber the ground, and do damage to our +Lord, unless we render him actual service. Will you think of this? If +you could be put down as a mere cipher in the accounts of Christ, that +would be very sad; but, brother, it cannot be so, you will cause a +deficit unless you create a gain. Oh that through the grace of God we +may be profitable to our Lord and Master! Who among us can look upon his +life-work without some sorrow? If anything has been done aright we +ascribe it all to the grace of God; but how much there is to weep over! +How much that we would wish to amend! Let us not spend time in idle +regrets, but pray for the Spirit of God, that in the future we may not +be void of understanding, but may know what we ought to do, and where +the strength must come from with which to do it, and then give ourselves +up to the doing of it. + +I beg you once more to look at the great field of _the world_. Do you +see how it is overgrown with thorns and nettles? If an angel could take +a survey of the whole race, what tears he would shed, if angels could +weep! What a tangled mass of weeds the whole earth is! Yonder the field +is scarlet with the poppy of popery, and over the hedge it is yellow +with the wild mustard of Mahometanism. Vast regions are smothered with +the thistles of infidelity and idolatry. The world is full of cruelty, +oppression, drunkenness, rebellion, uncleanness, misery. What the moon +sees! What God's sun sees! What scenes of horror! How far is all this to +be attributed to a neglectful church? Nearly nineteen hundred years are +gone, and the sluggard's vineyard is but little improved! England has +been touched with the spade, but I cannot say that it has been +thoroughly weeded or ploughed yet. Across the ocean another field +equally favored knows well the ploughman, and yet the weeds are rank. +Here and there a little good work has been done, but the vast mass of +the world still lies a moorland never broken up, a waste, a howling +wilderness. What has the church been doing all these years? She ceased +after a few centuries to be a missionary church, and from that hour she +almost ceased to be a living church. Whenever a church does not labor +for the reclaiming of the desert, it becomes itself a waste. You shall +not find on the roll of history that for a length of time any Christian +community has flourished after it has become negligent of the outside +world. I believe that if we are put into the Master's vineyard, and will +not take away the weeds, neither shall the vine flourish, nor shall the +corn yield its increase. However, instead of asking what the church has +been doing for this nineteen hundred years, let us ask ourselves, What +are we going to do now? Are the missions of the churches of Great +Britain always to be such poor, feeble things as they are? Are the best +of our Christian young men always going to stay at home? We go on +ploughing the home field a hundred times over, while millions of acres +abroad are left to the thorn and nettle. Shall it always be so? God +send us more spiritual life, and wake us up from our sluggishness, or +else when the holy watcher gives in his report, he will say, "I went by +the field of the sluggish church, and it was all grown over with thorns +and nettles, and the stone wall was broken down, so that one could +scarcely tell which was the church and which was the world, yet still +she slept, and slept, and slept, and nothing could waken her." + +I conclude by remarking that THERE MUST BE SOME LESSON IN ALL THIS. I +cannot teach it as I would, but I want to learn it myself. I will speak +it as though I were talking to myself. + +The first lesson is, that _unaided nature always will produce thorns and +nettles, and nothing else_. My soul, if it were not for grace, this is +all thou wouldst have produced. Beloved, are you producing anything +else? Then it is not nature, but the grace of God that makes you produce +it. Those lips that now most charmingly sing the praises of God would +have been delighted with an idle ballad if the grace of God had not +sanctified them. Your heart, that now cleaves to Christ, would have +continued to cling to your idols--you know what they were--if it had not +been for grace divine. And why should grace have visited you or me--why? +Echo answers, Why? What answer can we give? "'Tis even so, Father, for +so it seemed good in thy sight." Let the recollection of what grace has +done move us to manifest the result of that grace in our lives. Come, +brothers and sisters, inasmuch as we were aforetime rich enough in the +soil of our nature to produce so much of nettle and thistle--and God +only knows how much we did produce--let us now pray that our lives may +yield as much of good corn for the great Husbandman. Will you serve +Christ less than you served your lusts? Will you make less sacrifice +for Christ than you did for your sins? Some of you were whole-hearted +enough when in the service of the evil one, will you be half-hearted in +the service of God? Shall the Holy Spirit produce less fruit in you than +that which you yielded under the spirit of evil? + +God grant that we may not be left to prove what nature will produce if +left to itself. + +We see here, next, _the little value of natural good intentions_; for +this man, who left his field and vineyard to be overgrown, always meant +to work hard one of these fine days. To do him justice, we must admit +that he did not mean to sleep much longer, for he said--"Yet a little +sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep." Only a +little doze, and then he would tuck up his sleeves and show his muscle. +Probably the worst people in the world are those who have the best +intentions, but never carry them out. In that way Satan lulls many to +sleep. They hear an earnest sermon; but they do not arise and go to +their Father; they only get as far as saying, "Yes, yes, the far country +is not a fit place for me; I will not stay here long. I mean to go home +by-and-by." They said that forty years ago, but nothing came of it. When +they were quite youths they had serious impressions, they were almost +persuaded to be Christians, and yet they are not Christians even now. +They have been slumbering forty years! Surely that is a liberal share of +sleep! They never intended to dream so long, and now they do not mean to +lie in bed much longer. They will not turn to Christ at once, but they +are resolved to do so one day. When are you going to do it, friend? +"Before I die." Going to put it off to the last hour or two, are you? +And so, when unconscious, and drugged to relieve pain, you will begin +to think of your soul? Is this wise? Surely you are void of +understanding. Perhaps you will die in an hour. Did you not hear the +other day of the alderman who died in his carriage? Little must he have +dreamed of that. How would it have fared with you had you also been +smitten while riding at your ease? Have you not heard of persons who +fall dead at their work? What is to hinder your dying with a spade in +your hand? I am often startled when I am told in the week that one whom +I saw on Sunday is dead--gone from the shop to the judgment-seat. It is +not a very long time ago since one went out at the doorway of the +Tabernacle, and fell dead on the threshold. We have had deaths in the +house of God, unexpected deaths; and sometimes people are hurried away +unprepared who never meant to have died unconverted, who always had from +their youth up some kind of desire to be ready, only still they wanted a +little more sleep. Oh, my hearers, take heed of little delays, and short +puttings-off. You have wasted time enough already, come to the point at +once before the clock strikes again. May God the Holy Spirit bring you +to decision. + +"Surely you do not object to my having a little more sleep?" says the +sluggard. "You have waked me so soon. I only ask another little nap." +"My dear man, it is far into the morning." He answers, "It is rather +late, I know; but it will not be much later if I take just another +doze." You wake him again, and tell him it is noon. He says, "It is the +hottest part of the day: I daresay if I had been up I should have gone +to the sofa and taken a little rest from the hot sun." You knock at his +door when it is almost evening, and then he cries, "It is of no use to +get up now, for the day is almost over." You remind him of his overgrown +field and weedy vineyard, and he answers, "Yes, I must get up, I know." +He shakes himself and says, "I do not think it will matter much if I +wait till the clock strikes. I will rest another minute or two." He is +glued to his bed, dead while he liveth, buried in his laziness. If he +could sleep forever he would, but he cannot, for the judgment-day will +rouse him. It is written, "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in +torment." God grant that you spiritual sluggards may wake before that; +but you will not unless you bestir yourselves betimes, for "now is the +accepted time"; and it may be now or never. To-morrow is only to be +found in the calendar of fools; to-day is the time of the wise man, the +chosen season of our gracious God. Oh that the Holy Spirit may lead you +to seize the present hour, that you may at once give yourselves to the +Lord by faith in Christ Jesus, and then from his vineyard-- + + "Quick uproot + The noisome weeds, that without profit suck + The soil's fertility from wholesome plants." + + + + +THE BROKEN FENCE. + +"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man +void of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and +nettles had covered the face thereof, and _the stone wall thereof was +broken down_. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it and +received instruction."--PROVERBS 24:30-32. + + +THIS slothful man did no hurt to his fellow-men: he was not a thief, nor +a ruffian, nor a meddler in anybody else's business. He did not trouble +himself about other men's concerns, for he did not even attend to his +own--it required too much exertion. He was not grossly vicious; he had +not energy enough to care for that. He was one who liked to take things +easily. He always let well alone, and, for the matter of that, he let +ill alone, too, as the nettles and the thistles in his garden plainly +proved. What was the use of disturbing himself? It would be all the same +a hundred years hence; and so he took things just as they came. He was +not a bad man, so some said of him; and yet, perhaps, it will be found +at last that there is no worse man in the world than the man who is not +good, for in some respects he is not good enough to be bad; he has not +enough force of character about him to serve either God or Baal. He +simply serves himself, worshipping his own ease and adoring his own +comfort. Yet he always meant to be right. Dear me! he was not going to +sleep much longer, he would only have forty winks more, and then he +would be at his work, and show you what he could do. One of these days +he meant to be thoroughly in earnest, and make up for lost time. The +time never actually came for him to begin, but it was always coming. He +always meant to repent, but he went on in his sin. He meant to believe, +but he died an unbeliever. He meant to be a Christian, but he lived +without Christ. He halted between two opinions because he could not +trouble himself to make up his mind; and so he perished of delay. + +This picture of the slothful man and his garden and field overgrown with +nettles and weeds represents many a man who has professed to be a +Christian, but who has become slothful in the things of God. Spiritual +life has withered in him. He has backslidden; he has come down from the +condition of healthy spiritual energy into one of listlessness, and +indifference to the things of God; and while things have gone wrong +within his heart, and all sorts of mischiefs have come into him and +grown up and seeded themselves in him, mischief is also taking place +externally in his daily conduct. The stone wall which guarded his +character is broken down, and he lies open to all evil. Upon this point +we will now meditate. "The stone wall thereof was broken down." + +Come, then, let us take a walk with Solomon, and stand with him and +consider and learn instruction while we _look at this broken-down +fence_. When we have examined it, let us _consider the consequences of +broken-down walls_; and then, in the last place, let us try to _rouse up +this sluggard that his wall may yet be repaired_. If this slothful +person should be one of ourselves, may God's infinite mercy rouse us up +before this ruined wall has let in a herd of prowling vices. + +I. First let us take a LOOK AT THIS BROKEN FENCE. + +You will see that in the beginning it was a very good fence, for it was +a stone wall. Fields are often surrounded with wooden palings which soon +decay, or with hedges which may very easily have gaps made in them; but +this was a stone wall. Such walls are very usual in the East, and are +also common in some of our own counties where stone is plentiful. It was +a substantial protection to begin with, and well shut in the pretty +little estate which had fallen into such bad hands. The man had a field +for agricultural purposes, and another strip of land for a vineyard or a +garden. It was fertile soil, for it produced thorns and nettles in +abundance, and where these flourish better things can be produced; yet +the idler took no care of his property, but allowed the wall to get into +bad repair, and in many places to be quite broken down. + +Let me mention some of the stone walls that men permit to be broken down +when they backslide. + +In many cases _sound principles were instilled in youth_, but these are +forgotten. What a blessing is Christian education! Our parents, both by +persuasion and example, taught many of us the things that are pure and +honest, and of good repute. We saw in their lives how to live. They also +opened the word of God before us, and they taught us the ways of right +both toward God and toward men. They prayed for us, and they prayed with +us, till the things of God were placed round about us and shut us in as +with a stone wall. We have never been able to get rid of our early +impressions. Even in times of wandering, before we knew the Lord +savingly, these things had a healthy power over us; we were checked when +we would have done evil, we were assisted when we were struggling +toward Christ. It is very sad when people permit these first principles +to be shaken, and to be removed like stones which fall from a boundary +wall. Young persons begin at first to talk lightly of the old-fashioned +ways of their parents. By-and-by it is not merely the old-fashionedness +of the ways, but the ways themselves that they despise. They seek other +company, and from that other company they learn nothing but evil. They +seek pleasure in places which it horrifies their parents to think of. +This leads to worse, and if they do not bring their fathers' gray hairs +with sorrow to the grave it is no virtue of theirs. I have known young +men, who really were Christians, sadly backslide through being induced +to modify, conceal, or alter those holy principles in which they were +trained from their mother's knee. It is a great calamity when +professedly converted men become unfixed, unstable, and carried about +with every wind of doctrine. It shows great faultiness of mind, and +unsoundness of heart, when we can trifle with those grave and solemn +truths which have been sanctified by a mother's tears and by a father's +earnest life. "I am thy servant," said David, "and the son of thy +handmaid": he felt it to be a high honor, and, at the same time, a +sacred bond which bound him to God, that he was the son of one who could +be called God's handmaid. Take care, you who have had Christian +training, that you do not trifle with it. "My son, keep thy father's +commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them +continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck." + +Protection to character is also found in the fact that _solid doctrines +have been learned_. This is a fine stone wall. Many among us have been +taught the gospel of the grace of God, and they have learned it well, +so that they are able to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered +to the saints. Happy are they who have a religion that is grounded upon +a clear knowledge of eternal verities. A religion which is all +excitement, and has little instruction in it, may serve for transient +use; but for permanent life-purposes there must be a knowledge of those +great doctrines which are fundamental to the gospel system. I tremble +when I hear of a man's giving up, one by one, the vital principles of +the gospel and boasting of his liberality. I hear him say, "These are my +views, but others have a right to their views also." That is a very +proper expression in reference to mere "views," but we may not thus +speak of _truth_ itself as revealed by God: that is one and unalterable, +and all are bound to receive it. It is not your view of truth, for that +is a dim thing; but the very truth itself which will save you if your +faith embraces it. I will readily yield my way of stating a doctrine, +but not the doctrine itself. One man may put it in this way, and one in +another; but the truth itself must never be given up. The spirit of the +Broad School robs us of everything like certainty. I should like to ask +some great men of that order whether they believe that anything is +taught in the Scriptures which it would be worth while for a person to +die for, and whether the martyrs were not great fools for laying down +their lives for mere opinions which might be right or might be wrong. +This Broad-churchism is a breaking down of stone walls, and it will let +in the devil and all his crew, and do infinite harm to the church of +God, if it be not stopped. A loose state of belief does great damage to +any man's mind. + +We are not bigots, but we should be none the worse if we so lived that +men called us so. I met a man the other day who was accused of bigotry, +and I said, "Give me your hand, old fellow. I like to meet with bigots +now and then, for the fine old creatures are getting scarce, and the +stuff they are made of is so good that if there were more of it we might +see a few men among us again and fewer mollusks." Lately we have seen +few men with backbone; the most have been of the jelly-fish order. I +have lived in times in which I should have said, "Be liberal, and shake +off all narrowness": but now I am obliged to alter my tone and cry, "Be +steadfast in the truth." The faith once delivered to the saints is now +all the more attractive to me because it is called narrow, for I am +weary of that breadth which comes of broken hedges. There are fixed +points of truth, and definite certainties of creed, and woe to you if +you allow these stone walls to crumble down. I fear me that the slothful +are a numerous band, and that ages to come may have to deplore the +laxity which has been applauded by this negligent generation. + +Another fence which is too often neglected is that of _godly habits +which had been formed_: the sluggard allows this wall to be broken down. +I will mention some valuable guards of life and character. One is the +habit of _secret prayer_. Private prayer should be regularly offered, at +least in the morning and in the evening. We cannot do without set +seasons for drawing near to God. To look into the face of man without +having first seen the face of God is very dangerous: to go out into the +world without locking up the heart and giving God the key is to leave it +open to all sorts of spiritual vagrants. At night, again, to go to your +rest as the swine roll into their sty, without thanking God for the +mercies of the day, is shameful. The evening sacrifice should be +devoutly offered as surely as we have enjoyed the evening fireside: we +should thus put ourselves under the wings of the Preserver of men. It +may be said, "We can pray at all times." I know we can: but I fear that +those who do not pray at stated hours seldom pray at all. Those who pray +in season are the most likely persons to pray at all seasons. Spiritual +life does not care for a cast-iron regulation, but since life casts +itself into some mould or other, I would have you careful of its +external habit as well as its internal power. Never allow great gaps in +the wall of your habitual private prayer. + +I go a step farther; I believe that there is a great guardian power +about _family prayer_, and I feel greatly distressed because I know that +very many Christian families neglect it. Romanism, at one time, could do +nothing in England, because it could offer nothing but the shadow of +what Christian men had already in substance. "Do you hear that bell +tinkling in the morning?" "What is that for?" "To go to church to pray." +"Indeed," said the Puritan, "I have no need to go there to pray. I have +had my children together, and we have read a passage of Scripture, and +prayed, and sang the praises of God, and we have a church in our house." +Ah, there goes that bell again in the evening. What is that for? Why, it +is the vesper bell. The good man answered that he had no need to trudge +a mile or two for that, for his holy vespers had been said and sung +around his own table, of which the big Bible was the chief ornament. +They told him that there could be no service without a priest, but he +replied that every godly man should be a priest in his own house. Thus +have the saints defied the overtures of priestcraft, and kept the faith +from generation to generation. Household devotion and the pulpit are, +under God, the stone walls of Protestantism, and my prayer is that these +may not be broken down. + +Another fence to protect piety is found in _week-night services_. I +notice that when people forsake week-night meetings the power of their +religion evaporates. I do not speak of those lawfully detained to watch +the sick, and attend to farm-work and other business, or as domestic +servants and the like; there are exceptions to all rules: but I mean +those who could attend if they had a mind to do so. When people say, "It +is quite enough for me to be wearied with the sermons of the Sunday; I +do not want to go out to prayer-meetings, and lectures, and so +forth,"--then it is clear that they have no appetite for the word; and +surely this is a bad sign. If you have a bit of wall built to protect +the Sunday and then six times the distance left without a fence, I +believe that Satan's cattle will get in and do no end of mischief. + +Take care, also, of the stone wall of _Bible reading_, and of speaking +often one to another concerning the things of God. Associate with the +godly, and commune with God, and you will thus, by the blessing of God's +Spirit, keep up a good fence against temptations, which otherwise will +get into the fields of your soul, and devour all goodly fruits. + +Many have found much protection for the field of daily life in the stone +wall of _a public profession of faith_. I am speaking to you who are +real believers, and I know that you have often found it a great +safeguard to be known and recognized as a follower of Jesus. I have +never regretted--and I never shall regret--the day on which I walked to +the little river Lark, in Cambridgeshire, and was there buried with +Christ in baptism. In this I acted contrary to the opinions of all my +friends whom I respected and esteemed, but as I had read the Greek +Testament for myself, I felt bound to be immersed upon the profession of +my faith, and I was so. By that act I said to the world, "I am dead to +you, and buried to you in Christ, and I hope henceforth to live in +newness of life." That day, by God's grace, I imitated the tactics of +the general who meant to fight the enemy till he conquered, and +therefore he burned his boats that there might be no way of retreat. I +believe that a solemn confession of Christ before men is as a thorn +hedge to keep one within bounds, and to keep off those who hope to draw +you aside. Of course it is nothing but a hedge, and it is of no use to +fence in a field of weeds, but when wheat is growing a hedge is of great +consequence. You who imagine that you can be the Lord's, and yet lie +open like a common, are under a great error; you ought to be +distinguished from the world, and obey the voice which saith, "Come ye +out from among them, be ye separate." The promise of salvation is to the +man who with his heart believeth and with his mouth confesseth. Say +right boldly, "Let others do as they will; as for me and my house, we +will serve the Lord." By this act you come out into the king's highway, +and put yourself under the protection of the Lord of pilgrims, and he +will take care of you. Oftentimes, when otherwise you might have +hesitated, you will say, "The vows of the Lord are upon me: how can I +draw back?" I pray you, then, set up the stone wall, and keep it up, and +if it has at any corner been tumbled over, set it up again, and let it +be seen by your conduct and conversation that you are a follower of +Jesus, and are not ashamed to have it known. + +Keep to your religious principles like men, and do not turn aside for +the sake of gain, or respectability. Do not let wealth break down your +wall, for I have known some make a great gap to let their carriage go +through, and to let in wealthy worldlings for the sake of their society. +Those who forsake their principles to please men will in the end be +lightly esteemed, but he who is faithful shall have the honor which +cometh from God. Look well to this hedge of steadfast adherence to the +faith, and you shall find a great blessing in it. + +There is yet another stone wall which I will mention, namely, _firmness +of character_. Our holy faith teaches a man to be decided in the cause +of Christ, and to be resolute in getting rid of evil habits. "If thine +eye offend thee"--wear a shade? No; "pluck it out." "If thine arm offend +thee"--hang it in a sling? No; "cut it off and cast it from thee." True +religion is very thorough in what it recommends. It says to us, "Touch +not the unclean thing." But many persons are so idle in the ways of God +that they have no mind of their own: evil companions tempt them, and +they cannot say, "No." They need a stone wall made up of noes. Here are +the stones "no, _no_, NO." Dare to be singular. Resolve to keep close to +Christ. Make a stern determination to permit nothing in your life, +however gainful or pleasurable, if it would dishonor the name of Jesus. +Be dogmatically true, obstinately holy, immovably honest, desperately +kind, fixedly upright. If God's grace sets up this hedge around you, +even Satan will feel that he cannot get in, and will complain to God +"hast thou not set a hedge about him?" + + +I have kept you long enough looking over the wall, let me invite you in, +and for a few minutes let us CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BROKEN-DOWN +FENCE. + +To make short work of it, first, _the boundary has gone_. Those lines of +separation which were kept up by the good principles which were +instilled in him by religious habits, by a bold profession and by a firm +resolve, have vanished, and now the question is, "Is he a Christian, or +is he not?" The fence is so far gone that he does not know which is his +Lord's property and which remains an open common: in fact, he does not +know whether he himself is included in the Royal domain or left to be +mere waste of the world's manor. This is for want of keeping up the +fences. If that man had lived near to God, if he had walked in his +integrity, if the Spirit of God had richly rested on him in all holy +living and waiting upon God, he would have known where the boundary was, +and he would have seen whether his land lay in the parish of All-saints, +or in the region called No-man's-land, or in the district where Satan is +the lord of the manor. I heard of a dear old saint the other day who, +when she was near to death, was attacked by Satan, and, waving her +finger at the enemy, in her gentle way, she routed him by saying, +"Chosen! chosen! chosen!" She knew that she was chosen, and she +remembered the text, "The Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee." +When the wall stands in its integrity all round the field, we can resist +the devil by bidding him leave the Lord's property alone. "Begone! Look +somewhere else. I belong to Christ, not to you." To do this you must +mend the hedges well so that there shall be a clear boundary line, and +you can say, "Trespassers, beware!" Do not yield an inch to the enemy, +but make the wall all the higher, the more he seeks to enter. O that +this adversary may never find a gap to enter by! + +Next, when the wall has fallen, _the protection is gone_. When a man's +heart has its wall broken all his thoughts will go astray, and wander +upon the mountains of vanity. Like sheep, thoughts need careful folding, +or they will be off in no time. "I hate vain thoughts," said David, but +slothful men are sure to have plenty of them, for there is no keeping +your thoughts out of vanity unless you stop at every gap and shut every +gate. Holy thoughts, comfortable meditations, devout longings, and +gracious communings will be off and gone if we sluggishly allow the +stone wall to get out of repair. + +Nor is this all, for as good things go out so bad things come in. When +the wall is gone every passer-by sees, as it were, an invitation to +enter. You have set before him an open door, and in he comes. Are there +fruits? He plucks them, of course. He walks about as it were a public +place, and he pries everywhere. Is there any secret corner of your heart +which you will keep for Jesus? Satan or the world will walk in; and do +you wonder? Every passing goat, or roaming ox, or stray ass visits the +growing crops and spoils more than he eats, and who can blame the +creature when the gaps are so wide? All manner of evil lust and desires, +and imaginations prey upon an unfenced soul. It is of no use for you to +say, "Lead us not into temptation." God will hear your prayer, and he +will not lead you there; but you are leading yourself into it, you are +tempting the devil to tempt you. If you leave yourself open to evil +influences the Spirit of God will be grieved, and he may leave you to +keep the result of your folly. What think you, friend? Had you not +better attend to your fences at once? + +And then there is another evil, for _the land itself will go away_. +"No," say you; "how can that be?" If a stone wall is broken down round a +farm in England a man does not thereby lose his land, but in many parts +of Palestine the land is all ups and downs on the sides of the hills, +and every bit of ground is terraced and kept up by walls. When the walls +fall the soil slips over, terrace upon terrace, and the vines and trees +go down with it; then the rain comes and washes the soil away, and +nothing is left but barren crags which would starve a lark. In the same +manner a man may so neglect himself, and so neglect the things of God, +and become so careless and indifferent about doctrine, and about holy +living, that his power to do good ceases, and his mind, his heart, and +his energy seem to be gone. The prophet said, "Ephraim is a silly dove, +without heart:" there are flocks of such silly doves. The man who +trifles with religion sports with his own soul, and will soon degenerate +into so much of a trifler that he will be averse to solemn thought, and +incapable of real usefulness. I charge you, dear friends, to be sternly +true to yourselves and to your God. Stand to your principles in this +evil and wicked day. Now, when everything seems to be turned into marsh +and mire and mud, and religious thought appears to be silently sliding +and slipping along, descending like a stream of slime into the Dead Sea +of Unbelief--get solid walls built around your life, around your faith, +and around your character. Stand fast, and having done all, still +stand. May God the Holy Ghost cause you to be rooted and grounded, built +up and established, fixed and confirmed, never "casting away your +confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." + + +Lastly, I want, if I can, TO WAKE UP THE SLUGGARD. I would like to throw +a handful of gravel up to his window. It is time to get up, for the sun +has drunk up all the dew. He craves "a little more sleep." My dear +fellow, if you take a little more sleep, you will never wake at all till +you lift up your eyes in another world. Wake at once. Leap from your bed +before you are smothered in it. Wake up! Do you not see where you are? +You have let things alone till your heart is covered with sins like +weeds. You have neglected God and Christ till you have grown worldly, +sinful, careless, indifferent, ungodly. I mean some of you who were once +named with the sacred name. You have become like worldlings, and are +almost as far from being what you ought to be as others who make no +profession at all. Look at yourselves and see what has come of your +neglected walls. Then look at some of your fellow-Christians, and mark +how diligent they are. Look at many among them who are poor and +illiterate, and yet they are doing far more than you for the Lord Jesus. +In spite of your talents and opportunities, you are an unprofitable +servant, letting all things run to waste. Is it not time that you +bestirred yourself? Look, again, at others who, like yourself, went to +sleep, meaning to wake in a little while. What has become of them? Alas, +for those who have fallen into gross sin, and dishonored their +character, and who have been put away from the church of God; yet they +only went a little farther than you have done. Your state of heart is +much the same as theirs, and if you should be tempted as they have been, +you will probably make shipwreck as they have done. Oh, see to it, you +that slumber, for an idle professor is ready for anything. A slothful +professor's heart is tinder for the devil's tinderbox; does your heart +thus invite the sparks of temptation? + +Remember, lastly, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Shall he come and +find you sleeping? Remember the judgment. What will you say to excuse +yourself, for opportunities lost, time wasted, and talents wrapped up in +a napkin, when the Lord shall come? + +As for you, my unconverted friend, if you go dreaming through this +world, without any sort of trouble, and never look to the state of your +heart at all, you will be a lost man beyond all question. The slothful +can have no hope, for "if the righteous scarcely are saved," who strive +to serve their Lord, where will those appear who sleep on in defiance of +the calls of God? Salvation is wholly and alone of grace, as you well +know; but grace never works in men's minds toward slumbering and +indifference; it tends toward energy, activity, fervor, importunity, +self-sacrifice. God grant us the indwelling of his Holy Spirit, that all +things may be set in order, sins cut up by the roots within the heart, +and the whole man protected by sanctifying grace from the wasters which +lurk around, hoping to enter where the wall is low. O Lord, remember us +in mercy, fence us about by thy power, and keep us from the sloth which +would expose us to evil, for Jesus' sake. Amen. + + + + +FROST AND THAW. + +"He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He +casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He +sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and +the waters flow."--PSALM 147:16-18. + + +LOOKING out of our window one morning we saw the earth robed in a white +mantle; for in a few short hours the earth had been covered to a +considerable depth with snow. We looked out again in a few hours and saw +the fields as green as ever, and the ploughed fields as bare as if no +single flake had fallen. It is no uncommon thing for a heavy fall of +snow to be followed by a rapid thaw. + +These interesting changes are wrought by God, not only with a purpose +toward the outward world, but with some design toward the spiritual +realm. God is always a teacher. In every action that he performs he is +instructing his own children, and opening up to them the road to inner +mysteries. Happy are those who find food for their heaven-born spirits, +as well as for their mental powers, in the works of the Lord's hand. + +I shall ask your attention, first, _to the operations of nature spoken +of in the text_; and, secondly, _to those operations of grace of which +they are the most fitting symbols_. + +I. Consider, first, THE OPERATIONS OF NATURE. We shall not think a few +minutes wasted if we call your attention to the hand of God in frost and +thaw, even upon natural grounds. + +1. Observe the _directness_ of the Lord's work. I rejoice, as I read +these words, to find how present our God is in the world. It is not +written, "the laws of nature produce snow," but "HE _giveth snow_," as +if every flake came directly from the palm of his hand. We are not told +that certain natural regulations form moisture into hoarfrost; no, but +as Moses took ashes of the furnace and scattered them upon Egypt, so it +is said of the Lord "HE _scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes_." It is +not said that the Eternal has set the world going and by the operation +of its machinery ice is produced. Oh, no, but every single granule of +ice descending in the hail is from God; "HE _casteth forth his ice like +morsels_." Even as the slinger distinctly sends the stone out of his +sling, so the path of every hailstone is marked by the Divine power. The +ice is called, you observe, _his_ ice; and in the next sentence we read +of _his_ cold. These words make nature strangely magnificent. When we +look upon every hailstone as God's hail, and upon every fragment of ice +as his ice, how precious the watery diamonds become! When we feel the +cold nipping our limbs and penetrating through every garment, it +consoles us to remember that it is _his_ cold. When the thaw comes, see +how the text speaks of it:--"_he sendeth out his word_." He does not +leave it to certain forces of nature, but like a king, "_He sendeth out +his word and melteth them: he causeth_ HIS _wind to blow_." He has a +special property in every wind; whether it comes from the north to +freeze, or from the south to melt, it is _his_ wind. Behold how in God's +temple everything speaketh of his glory. Learn to see the Lord in all +scenes of the visible universe, for truly he worketh all things. + +This thought of the directness of the Divine operations must be carried +into providence. It will greatly comfort you if you can see God's hand +in your losses and crosses; surely you will not murmur against the +direct agency of your God. This will put an extraordinary sweetness into +daily mercies, and make the comforts of life more comfortable still, +because they are from a Father's hand. If your table be scantily +furnished it shall suffice for your contented heart, when you know that +your Father spread it for you in wisdom and love. This shall bless your +bread and your water; this shall make the bare walls of an ill-furnished +room as resplendent as a palace, and turn a hard bed into a couch of +down;--my Father doth it all. We see his smile of love even when others +see nothing but the black hand of Death smiting our best beloved. We see +a Father's hand when the pestilence lays our cattle dead upon the plain. +We see God at work in mercy when we ourselves are stretched upon the bed +of languishing. It is ever our Father's act and deed. Do not let us get +beyond this; but rather let us enlarge our view of this truth, and +remember that this is true of the little as well as of the great. Let +the lines of a true poet strike you:-- + + "If pestilence stalk through the land, ye say the Lord hath done it-- + + Hath he not done it when an aphis creepeth upon the rosebud? + + If an avalanche tumbles from its Alp, ye tremble at the will of + Providence-- + + Is not that will as much concerned when the sere leaves fall from + the poplar?" + +Let your hearts sing of everything, Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there. + +2. Next, I beg you to observe, with thanksgiving, the _ease_ of Divine +working. These verses read as if the making of frost and snow were the +simplest matter in all the world. A man puts his hand into a wool-pack +and throws out the wool; God giveth snow as easily as that: "He giveth +snow like wool." A man takes up a handful of ashes, and throws them into +the air, so that they fall around: "He scattereth the hoarfrost like +ashes." Rime and snow are marvels of nature: those who have observed the +extraordinary beauty of the ice-crystals have been enraptured, and yet +they are easily formed by the Lord. "He casteth forth his ice like +morsels"--just as easily as we cast crumbs of bread outside the window +to the robins during wintry days. When the rivers are hard frozen, and +the earth is held in iron chains, then the melting of the whole--how is +that done? Not by kindling innumerable fires, nor by sending electric +shocks from huge batteries through the interior of the earth--no; "He +sendeth forth his word, and melteth them; he causeth his wind to blow, +and the waters flow." The whole matter is accomplished with a word and a +breath. If you and I had any great thing to do, what puffing and +panting, what straining and tugging there would be: even the great +engineers, who perform marvels by machinery, make much noise and stir +about it. It is not so with the Almighty One. Our globe spins round in +four-and-twenty hours, and yet it does not make so much noise as a +humming-top; and yonder ponderous worlds rolling in space track their +way in silence. If I enter a factory I hear a deafening din, or if I +stand near the village mill, turned by water dropping over a wheel, +there is a never-ceasing click-clack, or an undying hum; but God's great +wheels revolve without noise or friction: divine machinery works +smoothly. This ease is seen in providence as well as in nature. Your +heavenly Father is as able to deliver you as he is to melt the snow, and +he will deliver you in as simple a manner if you rest upon him. He +openeth his hand, and supplies the want of every living thing as readily +as he works in nature. Mark the ease of God's working--he does but open +his hand. + +3. Notice in the next place the _variety_ of the Divine operations in +nature. When the Lord is at work with frost as his tool he creates snow, +a wonderful production, every crystal being a marvel of art; but then he +is not content with snow--from the same water he makes another form of +beauty which we call hoarfrost, and yet a third lustrous sparkling +substance, namely glittering ice; and all these by the one agency of +cold. What a marvellous variety the educated eye can detect in the +several forms of frozen water! The same God who solidified the flood +with cold soon melts it with warmth; but even in thaw there is no +monotony of manner: at one time the joyous streams rush with such +impetuosity from their imprisonment that rivers are swollen and floods +cover the plain; at another time by slow degrees, in scanty driblets, +the drops regain their freedom. The same variety is seen in every +department of nature. So in providence the Lord has a thousand forms of +frosty trials with which to try his people, and he has ten thousand +beams of mercy with which to cheer and comfort them. He can afflict you +with the snow trial, or with the hoarfrost trial, or with the ice trial, +if he will; and anon he can with his word relax the bonds of adversity, +and that in countless ways. Whereas men are tied to two or three methods +in accomplishing their will, God is infinite in understanding and +worketh as he wills by ways unguessed of mortal mind. + +4. I shall ask you also to consider the works of God in nature in their +_swiftness_. It was thought a wonderful thing in the days of Ahasuerus +that letters were sent by post upon swift dromedaries. In our country we +thought we had arrived at the age of miracles when the axles of our cars +glowed with speed, and now that the telegraph is at work we stretch out +our hands into infinity; but what is our rapidity compared with that of +God's operations? Well does the text say, "He sendeth forth his +commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly." Forth went the +word, "Open the treasures of snow," and the flakes descended in +innumerable multitudes; and then it was said, "Let them be closed," and +not another snow-feather was seen. Then spake the Master, "Let the south +wind blow and the snow be melted": lo, it disappeared at the voice of +his word. Believer, you cannot tell how soon God may come to your help. +"He rode upon a cherub and did fly," says David; "yea, he did fly upon +the wings of the wind." He will come from above to rescue his beloved. +He will rend the heavens and come down; with such speed will he descend, +that he will not stay to draw the curtains of heaven, but he will rend +them in his haste, and make the mountains to flow down at his feet, that +he may deliver those who cry unto him in the hour of trouble. That +mighty God who can melt the ice so speedily can take to himself the same +eagle wings, and haste to your deliverance. Arise, O God! and let thy +children be helped, and that right early. + +5. One other thought: consider the _goodness_ of God in all the +operations of nature and providence. Think of that goodness negatively. +"Who can stand before his cold?" You cannot help thinking of the poor in +a hard winter--only a hard heart can forget them when you see the snow +lying deep. But suppose that snow continued to fall! What is there to +hinder it? The same God who sends us snow for one day could do the like +for fifty days if he pleased. Why not? And when the frost pinches us so +severely, why should it not be continued month after month? We can only +thank the goodness which does not send "His cold" to such an extent that +our spirits expire. Travellers toward the North Pole tremble as they +think of this question, "Who can stand before his cold?" For cold has a +degree of omnipotence in it when God is pleased to let it loose. Let us +thank God for the restraining mercy by which he holds the cold in check. + +Not only negatively, but positively there is mercy in the snow. Is not +that a suggestive metaphor? "He giveth snow _like wool_." The snow is +said to warm the earth; it protects those little plants which have just +begun to peep above the ground, and might otherwise be frost-bitten; as +with a garment of down the snow protects them from the extreme severity +of cold. Hence Watts sings, in his version of the hundred and +forty-seventh Psalm-- + + "His flakes of snow like wool he sends, + And thus the springing corn defends." + +It was an idea of the ancients that snow warmed the heart of the soil, +and gave it fertility, and therefore they praised God for it. Certainly +there is much mercy in the frost, for pestilence might run a far longer +race if it were not that the frost cries to it, "Hitherto shalt thou +come, but no farther." Noxious insects would multiply until they +devoured the precious fruits of the earth, if sharp nights did not +destroy millions of them, so that these pests are swept off the earth. +Though man may think himself a loser by the cold, he is a great +ultimate gainer by the decree of Providence which ordains winter. The +quaint saying of one of the old writers that "snow is wool, and frost is +fire, and ice is bread, and rain is drink," is true, though it sounds +like a paradox. There is no doubt that frost in breaking up the soil +promotes fruitfulness, and so the ice becomes bread. Thus those +agencies, which for the moment deprive our workers of their means of +sustenance, are the means by which God supplies every living thing. +Mark, then, God's goodness as clearly in the snow and frost as in the +thaw which clears the winter's work away. + +Christian, remember the goodness of God in the frost of adversity. Rest +assured that when God is pleased to send out the biting winds of +affliction he is in them, and he is always love, as much love in sorrow +as when he breathes upon you the soft south wind of joy. See the +lovingkindness of God in every work of his hand! Praise him--he maketh +summer and winter--let your song go round the year! Praise him--he +giveth day and sendeth night--thank him at all hours! Cast not away your +confidence, it hath great recompense of reward. As David wove the snow, +and rain, and stormy wind into a song, even so combine your trials, your +tribulations, your difficulties and adversities into a sweet psalm of +praise and say perpetually-- + + "Let us, with a gladsome mind, + Praise the Lord, for he is kind." + +Thus much upon the operations of nature. It is a very tempting theme, +but other fields invite me. + +II. I would address you very earnestly and solemnly Upon THOSE +OPERATIONS OF GRACE, OF WHICH FROST AND THAW ARE THE OUTWARD SYMBOLS. + +There is a period with God's own people when he comes to deal with them +by _the frost of the law_. The law is to the soul as the cutting north +wind. Faith can see love in it, but the carnal eye of sense cannot. It +is a cold, terrible, comfortless blast. To be exposed to the full force +of the law of God would be to be frost-bitten with everlasting +destruction; and even to feel it for a season would congeal the marrow +of one's bones, and make one's whole being stiff with affright. "Who can +stand before his cold?" When the law comes forth thundering from its +treasuries, who can stand before it? The effect of law-work upon the +soul is to bind up the rivers of human delight. No man can rejoice when +the terrors of conscience are upon him. When the law of God is sweeping +through the soul, music and dancing lose their joy, the bowl forgets its +power to cheer, and the enchantments of earth are broken. The rivers of +pleasure freeze to icy despondency. The buds of hope are suddenly +nipped, and the soul finds no comfort. It was satisfied once to grow +rich, but rust and canker are now upon all gold and silver. Every +promising hope is frost-bitten, and the spirit is winter-bound in +despair. This cold makes the sinner feel how ragged his garments are. He +could strut about, when it was summer weather, and think his rags right +royal robes, but now the cold frost finds out every rent in his garment, +and in the hands of the terrible law he shivers like the leaves upon the +aspen. The north wind of judgment searches the man through and through. +He did not know what was in him, but now he sees his inward parts to be +filled with corruption and rottenness. These are some of the terrors of +the wintry breath of the law. + +This frost of law and terrors only tends to harden. Nothing splits the +rock or makes the cliff tumble like frost when succeeded by thaw, but +frost alone makes the earth like a mass of iron, breaking the +ploughshare which would seek to pierce it. A sinner under the influence +of the law of God, apart from the gospel, is hardened by despair, and +cries, "There is no hope, and therefore after my lusts will I go. +Whereas there is no heaven for me after this life, I will make a heaven +out of this earth; and since hell awaits me, I will at least enjoy such +sweets as sin may afford me here." This is not the fault of the law; the +blame lies with the corrupt heart which is hardened by it; yet, +nevertheless, such is its effect. + +When the Lord has wrought by the frost of the law, he sends _the thaw of +the gospel_. When the south wind blows from the land of promise, +bringing precious remembrances of God's fatherly pity and tender +lovingkindness, then straightway the heart begins to soften and a sense +of blood-bought pardon speedily dissolves it. The eyes fill with tears, +the heart melts in tenderness, rivers of pleasure flow freely, and buds +of hope open in the cheerful air. A heavenly spring whispers to the +flowers that were sleeping in the cold earth; they hear its voice, and +lift up their heads, for "the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear +on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of +the turtle is heard in our land." God sendeth his Word, saying, "Thy +warfare is accomplished, and thy sin is pardoned;" and when that +blessedly cheering word comes with power to the soul, and the sweet +breath of the Holy Spirit acts like the warm south wind upon the heart, +then the waters flow, and the mind is filled with holy joy, and light, +and liberty. + + "The legal wintry state is gone, + The frosts are fled, the spring comes on, + The sacred turtle-dove we hear + Proclaim the new, the joyful year." + +Having shown you that there is a parallel between frost and thaw in +nature and law and gospel in grace, I would utter the same thoughts +concerning grace which I gave you concerning nature. + +1. We began with the directness of God's works in nature. Now, beloved +friends, remark the _directness of God's works in grace_. When the heart +is truly affected by the law of God, when sin is made to appear +exceeding sinful, when carnal hopes are frozen to death by the law, when +the soul is made to feel its barrenness and utter death and ruin--this +is the finger of God. Do not speak of the minister. It was well that he +preached earnestly: God has used him as an instrument, but God worketh +all. When the thaw of grace comes, I pray you discern the distinct hand +of God in every beam of comfort which gladdens the troubled conscience, +for it is the Lord alone who bindeth up the broken in heart and healeth +all their wounds. We are far too apt to stop in instrumentalities. Folly +makes men look to sacraments for heart-breaking or heart-healing, but +sacraments all say, "It is not in us." Some of you look to the preaching +of the Word, and look no higher; but all true preachers will tell you, +"It is not in us." Eloquence and earnestness at their highest pitch can +neither break nor heal a heart. This is God's work. Ay, and not God's +secondary work in the sense in which the philosopher admits that God is +in the laws of nature, but God's personal and immediate work. He putteth +forth his own hand when the conscience is humbled, and it is by his own +right hand that the conscience is eased and cleansed. + +I desire that this thought may abide upon your minds, for you will not +praise God else, nor will you be sound in doctrine. All departures from +sound doctrine on the point of conversion arise from forgetfulness that +it is a divine work from first to last; that the faintest desire after +Christ is as much the work of God as the gift of his dear Son; and that +our whole spiritual history through, from the Alpha to the Omega, the +Holy Spirit works in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure. As +you have evidently seen the finger of God in casting forth his ice and +in sending thaw, so I pray you recognize the handiwork of God in giving +you a sense of sin, and in bringing you to the Saviour's feet. Join +together in heartily praising the wonder-working God, who doeth all +things according to the counsel of his will. + + "Our seeking thy face + Was all of thy grace, + Thy mercy demands, and shall have all the praise: + No sinner can be + Beforehand with thee, + Thy grace is preventing, almighty and free." + +2. The second thought upon nature was _the ease with which the Lord +worked_. There was no effort or disturbance. Transfer that to the work +of grace. How easy it is for God to send law-work into the soul! You +stubborn sinner, _you_ cannot touch him, and even providence has failed +to awaken him. He is dead--altogether dead in trespasses and sins. But +if the glorious Lord will graciously send forth the wind of his Spirit, +that will melt him. The swearing reprobate, whose mouth is blackened +with profanity, if the Lord doth but look upon him and make bare his +arm of irresistible grace, shall yet praise God, and bless his name, and +live to his honor. Do not limit the Holy One of Israel. Persecuting Saul +became loving Paul, and why should not that person be saved of whose +case you almost despair? Your husband may have many points which make +his case difficult, but no case is desperate with God. Your son may have +offended both against heaven and against you, but God can save the most +hardened. The sharpest frost of obstinate sin must yield to the thaw of +grace. Even huge icebergs of crime must melt in the Gulf-stream of +infinite love. + +Poor sinner, I cannot leave this point without a word to you. Perhaps +the Master has sent the frost to you, and you think it will never end. +Let me encourage you to hope, and yet more, to pray for gracious +visitations. Miss Steele's verses will just suit your mournful yet +hopeful state. + + "Stern winter throws his icy chains, + Encircling nature round: + How bleak, how comfortless the plains, + Late with gay verdure crown'd! + + The sun withdraws his vital beams, + And light and warmth depart: + And, drooping lifeless, nature seems + An emblem of my heart-- + + My heart, where mental winter reigns + In night's dark mantle clad, + Confined in cold, inactive chains; + How desolate and sad! + + Return, O blissful sun, and bring + Thy soul-reviving ray; + This mental winter shall be spring, + This darkness cheerful day." + +It is easy for God to deliver you. He says, "I have blotted out like a +thick cloud thy transgressions." I stood the other evening looking up at +a black cloud which was covering all the heavens, and I thought it would +surely rain; I entered the house, and when I came out again the sky was +all blue--the wind had driven the cloud away. So may it be with your +soul. It is an easy thing for the Lord to put away sin from repenting +sinners. All obstacles which hindered our pardon were removed by Jesus +when he died upon the tree, and if you believe in him you will find that +he has cast your sins into the depths of the sea. If thou canst believe, +all things are possible to him that believeth. + +3. The next thought concerning the Lord's work in nature was the +_variety_ of it. Frost produces a sort of trinity in unity--snow, +hoarfrost, ice; and when the thaw comes its ways are many. So it is with +God in the heart. Conviction comes not alike to all. Some convictions +fall as the snow from heaven: you never hear the flakes descend, they +alight so gently one upon the other. There are soft-coming convictions; +they are felt, but we can scarcely tell when we began to feel them. A +true work of repentance may be of the gentlest kind. On the other hand, +the Lord casteth forth his ice like morsels, the hailstones rattle +against the window, and you think they will surely force their way into +the room, and so to many persons convictions come beating down till they +remind you of hailstones. There is variety. It is as true a frost which +produces the noiseless snow as that which brings forth the terrible +hail. Why should you want hailstones of terror? Be thankful that God has +visited you, but do not dictate to him the way of his working. + +With regard to the gospel thaw. If you may but be pardoned by Jesus, do +not stipulate as to the manner of his grace. Thaw is universal and +gradual, but its commencement is not always discernible. The chains of +winter are unloosed by degrees: the surface ice and snow melt, and by +and by the warmth permeates the entire mass till every rock of ice gives +way. But while thaw is universal and visible in its effects you cannot +see the mighty power which is doing all this. Even so you must not +expect to discern the Spirit of God. You will find him gradually +operating upon the entire man, enlightening the understanding, freeing +the will, delivering the heart from fear, inspiring hope, waking up the +whole spirit, gradually and universally working upon the mind and +producing the manifest effects of comfort, and hope, and peace; but you +can no more see the Spirit of God than you can see the south wind. The +effect of his power is to be felt, and when you feel it, do not marvel +if it be somewhat different from what others have experienced. After +all, there is a singular likeness in snow and hoarfrost and ice, and so +there is a remarkable sameness in the experience of all God's children; +but still there is a great variety in the inward operations of divine +grace. + +4. We must next notice the _rapidity_ of God's works, "His word runneth +very swiftly." It did not take many days to get rid of the last snow. A +contractor would take many a day to cart it away, but God sendeth forth +his word, and the snow and ice disappear at once. So is it with the +soul: the Lord often works rapidly when he cheers the heart. You may +have been a long time under the operation of his frosty law, but there +is no reason why you should be another hour under it. If the Spirit +enables you to trust in the finished work of Christ, you may go out of +this house rejoicing that every sin is forgiven. Poor soul, do not think +that the way from the horrible pit is to climb, step by step, to the +top. Oh no; Jesus can set your feet upon a rock ere the clock shall have +gone round the dial. He can in an instant bring you from death to life, +from condemnation to justification. "To-day shall thou be with me in +Paradise," was spoken to a dying thief, black and defiled with sin. Only +believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be +saved. + +5. Our last thought upon the operation of God was _his goodness_ in it +all. What a blessing that God did not send us more law-work than he did! +"Who can stand before his cold?" Oh! beloved, when God has taken away +from man natural comfort, and made him feel divine wrath in his soul, it +is an awful thing. Speak of a haunted man; no man need be haunted with a +worse ghost than the remembrance of his old sins. The childish tale of +the sailor with the old man of the mountain on his back, who pressed him +more and more heavily, is more than realized in the history of the +troubled conscience. If one sin do but leap on a man's back, it will +sink the sinner through every standing-place that he can possibly mount +upon; he will go down, down, under its weight, till he sinks to the +lowest depths of hell. There is no place where sin can be borne till you +get upon the Rock of Ages, and even there the joy is not that _you_ bear +it, but that Jesus has borne it all for you. The spirit would utterly +fail before the law, if it had full sway. Thank God, "he stayeth his +rough wind in the day of his east wind." At the same time, how thankful +we may be, that we ever felt the law-frost in our soul. The folly of +self-righteousness is killed by the winter of conviction. We should +have been a thousand times more proud, and foolish, and worldly, than we +are, if it had not been for the sharp frost with which the Lord nipped +the growths of the flesh. + +But how shall we thank him sufficiently for the thaw of his +lovingkindness? How great the change which his mercy made in us as soon +as its beams had reached our soul! Hardness vanished, cold departed, +warmth and love abounded, and the life-floods leaped in their channels. +The Lord visited us, and we rose from our grave of despair, even as the +seeds arise from the earth. As the bulb of the crocus holds up its +golden cup to be filled with sunshine, so did our new-born faith open +itself to the glory of the Lord. As the primrose peeps up from the sod +to gaze upon the sun, so did our hope look forth for the promise, and +delight itself in the Lord. Thank God that spring-tide has with many of +us matured into summer, and winter has gone never to return. We praise +the Lord for this every day of our lives, and we will praise him when +time shall be no more in that sunny land-- + + "Where everlasting spring abides, + And never withering flowers. + A thread-like stream alone divides + That heavenly land from ours." + +Believe in the Lord, ye who shiver in the frost of the law, and the thaw +of love shall soon bring you warm days of joy and peace. So be it. +Amen. + + + + +THE CORN OF WHEAT DYING TO BRING FORTH FRUIT. + +"And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man +should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of +wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it +bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he +that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life +eternal."--JOHN 12:23-25. + + +CERTAIN Greeks desired to see Jesus. These were Gentiles and it was +remarkable that they should, just at this time, have sought an interview +with our Lord. I suppose that the words "We would see Jesus" did not +merely mean that they would like to look at him, for that they could +have done in the public streets; but they would "see" him as we speak of +seeing a person with whom we wish to hold a conversation. They desired +to be introduced to him, and to have a few words of instruction from +him. + +These Greeks were the advanced guard of that great multitude that no man +can number, of all nations, and people, and tongues, who are yet to come +to Christ. The Saviour would naturally feel a measure of joy at the +sight of them, but he did not say much about it, for his mind was +absorbed just then with thoughts of his great sacrifice and its results; +yet he took so much notice of the coming of these Gentiles to him that +it gave a color to the words which are here recorded by his servant +John. + +I notice that the Saviour here _displays his broad humanity_, and +announces himself as the "Son of man." He had done so before, but here +with new intent. He says, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should +be glorified." Not as "the Son of David" does he here speak of himself, +but as "the Son of man." No longer does he make prominent the Jewish +side of his mission, though as a preacher he was not sent to save the +lost sheep of the house of Israel; but as the dying Saviour he speaks of +himself as one of the race, not the Son of Abraham, or of David, but +"the Son of man": as much brother to the Gentile as to the Jew. Let us +never forget the broad humanity of the Lord Jesus. In him all kindreds +of the earth are joined in one, for he is not ashamed to bear the nature +of our universal manhood; black and white, prince and pauper, sage and +savage, all see in his veins the one blood by which all men are +constituted one family. As the Son of man Jesus is near akin to every +man that lives. + +Now, too, that the Greeks were come, our Lord _speaks somewhat of his +glory_ as approaching. "The hour is come," saith he, "that the Son of +man should be glorified." He does not say "that the Son of man should be +crucified," though that was true, and the crucifixion must come before +the glorification; but the sight of those first-fruits from among the +Gentiles makes him dwell upon his glory. Though he remembers his death, +he speaks rather of the glory which would grow out of his great +sacrifice. Remember, brethren, that Christ is glorified in the souls +that he saves. As a physician wins honor by those he heals, so the +Physician of souls gets glory out of those who come to him. When these +devout Greeks came, saying, "Sirs, we would see Jesus," though a mere +desire to see him is only as the green blade, yet he rejoiced in it as +the pledge of the harvest, and he saw in it the dawn of the glory of his +cross. + +I think, too, that the coming of these Greeks somewhat _led the Saviour +to use the metaphor of the buried corn_. We are informed that wheat was +largely mixed up with Grecian mysteries, but that is of small +importance. It is more to the point that our Saviour was then undergoing +the process which would burst the Jewish husk in which, if I may use +such terms, his human life had been enveloped. I mean this: aforetime +our Lord said that he was not sent save to the lost sheep of the house +of Israel, and when the Syrophenician woman pleaded for her daughter he +reminded her of the restricted character of his commission as a prophet +among men. When he sent out the seventy, he bade them not to go into the +cities of the Samaritans, but to seek after the house of Israel only. +Now, however, that blessed corn of wheat is breaking through its outer +integument. Even before it is put into the ground to die the divine corn +of wheat begins to show its living power, and the true Christ is being +manifested. The Christ of God, though assuredly the Son of David, was, +on the Father's side, neither Jew nor Gentile, but simply man; and the +great sympathies of his heart were with all mankind. He regarded all +whom he had chosen as his own brethren without distinction of sex, or +nation, or the period of the world's history in which they should live; +and, at the sight of these Greeks, the true Christ came forth and +manifested himself to the world as he had not done before. Hence, +perhaps, the peculiar metaphor which we have now to explain. + +In our text, dear friends, we have two things upon which I will speak +briefly, as I am helped of the Spirit. First, we have _profound +doctrinal teaching_, and, secondly, we have _practical moral principle_. + +First, we have PROFOUND DOCTRINAL TEACHING. + +Our Saviour suggested to his thoughtful disciples a number of what might +be called doctrinal paradoxes. + +First, that, _glorious as he was, he was yet to be glorified_. "The hour +is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." Jesus was always +glorious. It was a glorious thing for the human person of the Son of man +to be personally one with the Godhead. Our Lord Jesus had also great +glory all the while he was on earth, in the perfection of his moral +character. The gracious end for which he came here was real glory to +him: his condescending to be the Saviour of men was a great +glorification of his loving character. His way of going about his +work--the way in which he consecrated himself to his Father and was +always about his Father's business, the way in which he put aside Satan +with his blandishments, and would not be bribed by all the kingdoms of +the world--all this was his glory. I should not speak incorrectly if I +were to say that Christ was really as to his moral nature never more +glorious than when throughout his life on earth he was obscure, +despised, rejected, and yet the faithful servant of God, and the ardent +lover of the sons of men. The apostle says, "The Word was made flesh, +and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only +begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," in which he refers not +only to the transfiguration, in which there were special glimpses of the +divine glory, but to our Lord's tabernacling among men in the common +walks of life. Saintly, spiritual minds beheld the glory of his life, +the glory of grace and truth such as never before had been seen in any +of the sons of men. But though he was thus, to all intents and purposes, +already glorious, Jesus had yet to be glorified. Something more was to +be added to his personal honor. Remember, then, that when you have the +clearest conceptions of your Lord, there is still a glory to be added to +all that you can see even with the word of God in your hands. Glorious +as the living Son of man had been, there was a further glory to come +upon him through his death, his resurrection, and his entrance within +the veil. He was a glorious Christ, and yet he had to be glorified. + +A second paradox is this--that _his glory was to come to him through +shame_. He says, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be +glorified," and then he speaks of his death. The greatest fulness of our +Lord's glory arises out of his emptying himself, and becoming obedient +to death, even the death of the cross. It is his highest reputation that +he made himself of no reputation. His crown derives new lustre from his +cross; his ever living is rendered more honorable by the fact of his +dying unto sin once. Those blessed cheeks would never have been so fair +as they are in the eyes of his chosen if they had not once been spat +upon. Those dear eyes had never had so overpowering a glance if they had +not once been dimmed in the agonies of death for sinners. His hands are +as gold rings set with the beryl, but their brightest adornments are the +prints of the cruel nails. As the Son of God his glory was all his own +by nature, but as Son of man his present splendor is due to the cross, +and to the ignominy which surrounded it when he bore our sins in his own +body. We must never forget this, and if ever we are tempted to merge +the crucified Saviour in the coming King we should feel rebuked by the +fact that thus we should rob our Lord of his highest honor. Whenever you +hear men speak lightly of the atonement stand up for it at once, for out +of this comes the main glory of your Lord and Master. They say, "Let him +come down from the cross, and we will believe on him." If he did so what +would remain to be believed? It is on the cross, it is from the cross, +it is through the cross that Jesus mounts to his throne, and the Son of +man has a special honor in heaven to-day because he was slain and has +redeemed us to God by his blood. + +The next paradox is this--_Jesus must be alone or abide alone_. Notice +the text as I read it: "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and +die," and so gets alone, "it abideth alone." The Son of man must be +alone in the grave, or he will be alone in heaven. He must fall into the +ground like the corn of wheat, and be there in the loneliness of death, +or else he will abide alone. This is a paradox readily enough explained; +our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of man, unless he had trodden the +winepress alone, unless beneath the olives of Gethsemane he had wrestled +on the ground, and as it were sunk into the ground until he died, if he +had not been there alone, and if on the cross he had not cried, "My God, +my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" so that he felt quite deserted and +alone, like the buried corn of wheat--could not have saved us. If he had +not actually died he would as man have been alone forever: not without +the eternal Father and the divine Spirit, not without the company of +angels; but there had not been another man to keep him company. Our Lord +Jesus cannot bear to be alone. A head without its members is a ghastly +sight, crown it as you may. Know ye not that the church is his body, the +fulness of him that filleth all in all? Without his people Jesus would +have been a shepherd without sheep; surely it is not a very honorable +office to be a shepherd without a flock. + +He would have been a husband without his spouse; but he loves his bride +so well that for this purpose did he leave his Father and become one +flesh with her whom he had chosen. He clave to her, and died for her; +and had he not done so he would have been a bridegroom without a bride. +This could never be. His heart is not of the kind that can enjoy a +selfish happiness which is shared by none. If you have read Solomon's +Song, where the heart of the Bridegroom is revealed, you will have seen +that he desires the company of his love, his dove, his undefiled. His +delights were with the sons of men. Simon Stylites on the top of a +pillar is not Jesus Christ; the hermit in his cave may mean well, but he +finds no warrant for his solitude in him whose cross he professes to +venerate. Jesus was the friend of men, not avoiding them, but seeking +the lost. It was truly said of him, "This man receiveth sinners, and +eateth with them." He draws all men unto him, and for this cause he was +lifted up from the earth. Yet must this great attractive man have been +alone in heaven if he had not been alone in Gethsemane, alone before +Pilate, alone when mocked by soldiers, and alone upon the cross. If this +precious grain of wheat had not descended into the dread loneliness of +death it had remained alone, but since he died he "bringeth forth much +fruit." + +This brings us to the fourth paradox--_Christ must die to give life_. +"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: +but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit": Jesus must die to give +life to others. Persons who do not think confound dying with +non-existence, and living with existence--very, very different things. +"The soul that sinneth it shall die:" it shall never go out of +existence, but it shall die by being severed from God who is its life. +There are many men who exist, and yet have not true life, and shall not +see life, but "the wrath of God abideth on them." The grain of wheat +when it is put into the ground dies; do we mean that it ceases to be? +Not at all. What is death? It is the resolution of anything possessing +life into its primary elements. With us it is the body parting from the +soul; with a grain of wheat it is the dissolving of the elements which +made up the corn. Our divine Lord when put into the earth did not see +corruption, but his soul was parted from his body for a while, and thus +he died; and unless he had literally and actually died he could not have +given life to any of us. + +Beloved friends, this teaches us where the vital point of Christianity +lies, _Christ's death is the life of his teaching_. See here: if +Christ's preaching had been the essential point, or if his example had +been the vital point, he could have brought forth fruit and multiplied +Christians by his preaching, and by his example. But he declares that, +except he shall die, he shall not bring forth fruit. Am I told that this +was because his death would be the completion of his example, and the +seal of his preaching? I admit that it was so, but I can conceive that +if our Lord had rather continued to live on--if he had been here +constantly going up and down the world preaching and living as he did, +and if he had wrought miracles as he did, and put forth that +mysterious, attracting power, which was always with him, he might have +produced a marvellous number of disciples. If his teaching and living +had been the way in which spiritual life could have been bestowed, +without an atonement, why did not the Saviour prolong his life on earth? +But the fact is that no man among us can know anything about spiritual +life except through the atonement. There is no way by which we can come +to a knowledge of God except through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, +by which we have access to the Father. If, as some tell us, the ethical +part of Christianity is much more to be thought of than its peculiar +doctrines, then, why did Jesus die at all? The ethical might have been +brought out better by a long life of holiness. He might have lived on +till now if he had chosen, and still have preached, and still have set +an example among the sons of men; but he assures us that only by death +could he have brought forth fruit. What, not with all that holy living? +No. What, not by that matchless teaching? No. Not one among us could +have been saved from eternal death except an expiation had been wrought +by Jesus' sacrifice. Not one of us could have been quickened into +spiritual life except Christ himself had died and risen from the dead. + +Brethren, all the spiritual life that there is in the world is the +result of Christ's death. We live under a dispensation which shadows +forth this truth to us. Life first came into the world by a creation: +that was lost in the garden. Since then, the father of our race is Noah, +and life by Noah came to us by a typical death, burial, and +resurrection. Noah went in unto the ark, and was shut in, and so buried. +In that ark Noah went among the dead, himself enveloped in the rain and +in the ark, and he came out into a new world, rising again, as it were, +when the waters were assuaged. That is the way of life to-day. We are +dead with Christ, we are buried with Christ, we are risen with Christ; +and there is no real spiritual life in this world except that which has +come to us by the process of death, burial, and resurrection with +Christ. Do you know anything about this, dear friends?--for if you do +not, you know not the life of God. You know the theory, but do you know +the experimental power of this within your own spirit? Whenever we hear +the doctrine of the atonement attacked, let us stand up for it. Let us +tell the world that while we value the life of Christ even more than +they do, we know that it is not the example of Christ that saves +anybody, but his death for our sakes. If the blessed Christ had lived +here all these nineteen hundred years, without sin, teaching all his +marvellous precepts with his own sublime and simple eloquence, yet he +had not produced one single atom of spiritual life among all the sons of +men. Without dying he brings forth no fruit. If you want life, my dear +hearer, you will not get it as an unregenerate man by attempting to +imitate the example of Christ. You may get good of a certain sort that +way, but you will never obtain spiritual life and eternal salvation by +that method. You must believe on Jesus as dying for you. You have to +understand that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's dear Son, cleanses us +from all sin. When you have learned that truth, you shall study his life +with advantage; but unless you recognize that the grain of wheat is cast +into the ground, and made to die, you will never realize any fruit from +it in your own soul, or see fruit in the souls of others. + +One other blessed lesson of deep divinity is to be learnt from our +text: it is this--_since Jesus Christ did really fall into the ground +and die, we may expect much as the result of it_. "If it die, it +bringeth forth much fruit." Some have a little Christ, and they expect +to see little things come of him. I have met with good people who appear +to think that Jesus Christ died for the sound people who worship at Zoar +Chapel, and, perhaps, for a few more who go to Ebenezer in a neighboring +town, and they hope that one day a chosen few--a scanty company indeed +they are, and they do their best by mutual quarrelling to make them +fewer--will glorify God for the salvation of a very small remnant. I +will not blame these dear brethren, but I do wish that their hearts were +enlarged. We do not yet know all the fruit that is to come out of our +Lord Jesus. May there not come a day when the millions of London shall +worship God with one consent? I look for a day when the knowledge of the +glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, when +kings shall fall down before the Son of God, and all nations shall call +him blessed. "It is too much to expect," says one; "missions make very +slow progress." I know all that, but missions are not the seed: all that +we look for is to come out of that corn of wheat which fell into the +ground and died: this is to bring forth much fruit. When I think of my +Master's blessed person as perfect Son of God and Son of man; when I +think of the infinite glory which he laid aside, and of the unutterable +pangs he bore, I ask whether angels can compute the value of the +sacrifice he offered. God only knows the love of God that was manifested +in the death of his Son, and do you think that there will be all this +planning and working and sacrifice of infinite love, and then an +insignificant result? It is not like God that it should be so. The +travail of the Son of God shall not bring forth a scanty good. The +result shall be commensurate with the means, and the effect shall be +parallel with the cause. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. +Hallelujah! Ay, as the groanings of the cross must have astounded +angels, so shall the results of the cross amaze the seraphim, and make +them admire the excess of glory which has arisen from the shameful death +of their Lord. O beloved, great things are to come out of our Jesus yet. +Courage, you that are dispirited. Be brave, you soldiers of the cross. +Victory awaits your banner. Wait patiently, work hopefully, suffer +joyfully, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor among +the nations. + +Thus have I spoken upon profound divinity. + +I close with a few words upon PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION. Learn now that what +is true of Christ is in measure true of every child of God: "Except a +corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it +die, it bringeth forth much fruit." This is so far applicable to us, as +the next verse indicates--"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he +that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." + +First, _we must die if we are to live_. There is no spiritual life for +you, for me, for any man, except by dying into it. Have you a fine-spun +righteousness of your own? It must die. Have you any faith in yourself? +It must die. The sentence of death must be in yourself, and then you +shall enter into life. The withering power of the Spirit of God must be +experienced before his quickening influence can be known: "The grass +withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth +upon it." You must be slain by the sword of the Spirit before you can be +made alive by the breath of the Spirit. + +Next, _we must surrender everything to keep it_. "He that loveth his +life shall lose it." Brother, you can never have spiritual life, hope, +joy, peace, heaven, except by giving everything up into God's hands. You +shall have everything in Christ when you are willing to have nothing of +your own. You must ground your weapons of rebellion, you must drop the +plumes of your pride, you must give up into God's hand all that you are +and all that you have; and if you do not thus lose everything in will, +you shall lose everything in fact; indeed, you have lost it already. A +full surrender of everything to God is the only way to keep it. Some of +God's people find this literally true. I have known a mother keep back +her child from God, and the child has died. Wealthy people have +worshipped their wealth, and as they were God's people, he has broken +their idols into shivers. You must lose your all if you would keep it, +and renounce your most precious thing if you would have it preserved to +you. + +Next, _we must lose self in order to find self_. "He that hateth his +life shall keep it unto life eternal." You must entirely give up living +for yourself, and then you yourself shall live. The man who lives for +himself does not live; he loses the essence, the pleasure, the crown of +existence; but if you live for others and for God you will find the life +of life. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and +all these things shall be added unto you." There is no way of finding +yourself in personal joy like losing yourself in the joy of others. + +Once more: if you _wish to be the means of life to others, you must in +your measure die yourself_. "Oh," say you, "will it actually come to +death?" Well, it may not, but you should be prepared for it if it +should. Who have most largely blessed the present age? I will tell you. +I believe we owe our gospel liberties mainly to the poor men and women +who died at the stake for the faith. Call them Lollards, Anabaptists, or +what you will, the men who died for it gave life to the holy cause. Some +of all ranks did this, from bishops downward to poor boys. Many of them +could not preach from the pulpit, but they preached grander sermons from +the fagots than all the reformers could thunder from their rostrums. +They fell into the ground and died, and the "much fruit" abides to this +day. The self-sacrificing death of her saints was the life and increase +of the church. If we wish to achieve a great purpose, establish a great +truth, and raise up a great agency for good, it must be by the surrender +of ourselves, yea, of our very lives to the one all-absorbing purpose. +Not else can we succeed. There is no giving out to others, without +taking so much out of yourself. He who serves God and finds that it is +easy work will find it hard work to give in his account at the last. A +sermon that costs nothing is worth nothing; if it did not come from the +heart it will not go to the heart. Take it as a rule that wear and tear +must go on, even to exhaustion, if we are to be largely useful. Death +precedes growth. The Saviour of others cannot save himself. We must not, +therefore, grudge the lives of those who die under the evil climate of +Africa, if they die for Christ; nor must we murmur if here and there +God's best servants are cut down by brain exhaustion: it is the law of +divine husbandry that by death cometh increase. + +And you, dear friend, must not say, "Oh, I cannot longer teach in the +Sunday-school: I work so hard all the week that I--I--I"--shall I finish +the sentence for you? You work so hard for yourself all the week that +you cannot work for God one day in the week. Is that it? "No, not quite +so, but I am so fagged." Very true, but think of your Lord. He knew what +weariness was for you, and yet he wearied not in well-doing. You will +never come to sweat of blood as he did. Come, dear friend, will you be a +corn of wheat laid up on the shelf alone? Will you be like that wheat in +the mummy's hand, unfruitful and forgotten, or would you grow? I hear +you say, "Sow me somewhere." I will try to do so. Let me drop you into +the Sunday-school field, or into the Tract-lending acre, or into the +Street-preaching parcel of land. "But if I make any great exertion it +will half kill me." Yes; and if it shall quite kill, you will then prove +the text, "If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Those who have +killed themselves of late in our Lord's service are not so numerous that +we need be distressed by the fear that an enormous sacrifice of life is +likely to occur. Little cause is there just now to repress fanaticism, +but far more reason to denounce self-seeking. O, my brethren, let us +rise to a condition of consecration more worthy of our Lord and of his +glorious cause, and henceforth may we be eager to be as the buried, +hidden, dying, yet fruit-bearing wheat for the glory of our Lord. Thus +have I merely glanced at the text; another day may it be our privilege +to dive into its depths. + + + + +THE PLOUGHMAN. + +"Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?"--ISAIAH 28:24. + + +UNLESS they are cultivated, fields yield us nothing but briers and +thistles. In this we may see ourselves. Unless the great Husbandman +shall till us by his grace, we shall produce nothing that is good, but +everything that is evil. If one of these days I shall hear that a +country has been discovered where wheat grows without the work of the +farmer, I may then, perhaps, hope to find one of our race who will bring +forth holiness without the grace of God. Hitherto all land on which the +foot of man has trodden has needed labor and care; and even so among men +the need of gracious tillage is universal. Jesus says to all of us, "Ye +must be born again." Unless God the Holy Spirit breaks up the heart with +the plough of the law, and sows it with the seed of the gospel, not a +single ear of holiness will any of us produce, even though we may be +children of godly parents, and may be regarded as excellent moral people +by those with whom we live. + +Yes, and the plough is needed not only to produce that which is good, +but to destroy that which is evil. There are diseases which, in the +course of ages, wear themselves out, and do not appear again among men; +and there may be forms of vice, which under changed circumstances, do +not so much abound as they used to do; but human nature will always +remain the same, and therefore there will always be plentiful crops of +the weeds of sin in man's fields, and nothing can keep these under but +spiritual husbandry, carried on by the Spirit of God. You cannot destroy +weeds by exhortations, nor can you tear out the roots of sin from the +soul by moral suasion; something sharper and more effectual must be +brought to bear upon them. God must put his own right hand to the +plough, or the hemlock of sin will never give place to the corn of +holiness. Good is never spontaneous in unrenewed humanity, and evil is +never cut up till the ploughshare of almighty grace is driven through +it. + +The text leads our thoughts in this direction, and gives us practical +guidance through asking the simple question, "Doth the ploughman plough +all day to sow?" _This question may be answered in the affirmative_, +"Yes, in the proper season he does plough all day to sow;" and, +secondly, _this text may more properly be answered in the negative_, +"No, the ploughman does not plough every day to sow; he has other work +to do according to the season." + +I. First, our text may be ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE--"Yes, the +ploughman does plough all day to sow." + +When it is ploughing time he keeps on at it till his work is done; if it +requires one day, or two days, or twenty days to finish his fields, he +continues at his task while the weather permits. The perseverance of the +ploughman is instructive, and it teaches us a double lesson. When the +Lord comes to plough the heart of man he ploughs all day, and herein is +his patience; and, secondly, so ought the Lord's servants to labor all +day with men's hearts, and herein is our perseverance. + +"Doth the ploughman plough all day?" _So doth God plough the heart of +man, and herein is his patience._ The team was in the field in the case +of some of us very early in the morning, for our first recollections +have to do with conscience and the furrows of pain which it made in our +youthful mind. When we were little children we woke in the night under a +sense of sin; our father's teaching and our mother's prayers made deep +and painful impressions upon us, and though we did not then yield our +hearts to God, we were greatly stirred, and all indifference to religion +was made impossible. When we were boys at school the reading of a +chapter in the Word of God, or the death of a playmate, or an address at +a Bible-class, or a solemn sermon, so affected us that we were uneasy +for weeks. The strivings of the Spirit of God within urged us to think +of higher and better things. Though we quenched the Spirit, though we +stifled conviction, yet we bore the marks of the ploughshare; furrows +were made in the soul, and certain foul weeds of evil were cut up by the +roots although no seed of grace was as yet sown in our hearts. Some have +continued in this state for many years, ploughed but not sown; but, +blessed be God, it was not so with others of us; for we had not left +boyhood before the good seed of the gospel fell upon our heart. Alas! +there are many who do not thus yield to grace, and with them the +ploughman ploughs all day to sow. I have seen the young man coming to +London in his youth, yielding to its temptations, drinking in its +poisoned sweets, violating his conscience, and yet continuing unhappy in +it all, fearful, unrestful, stirred about even as the soil is agitated +by the plough. In how many cases has this kind of work gone on for +years, and all to no avail. Ah! and I have known the man come to middle +life, and still he has not received the good seed, neither has the +ground of his hard heart been thoroughly broken up. He has gone on in +business without God; day after day he has risen and gone to bed again +with no more religion than his horses: and yet all this while there have +been ringing in his ears warnings of judgment to come, and chidings of +conscience, so that he has not been at peace. After a powerful sermon he +has not enjoyed his meals, or been able to sleep, for he has asked +himself, "What shall I do in the end thereof?" The ploughman has +ploughed all day, till the evening shadows have lengthened and the day +has faded to a close. What a mercy it is when the furrows are at last +made ready and the good seed is cast in, to be received, nurtured, and +multiplied a hundred fold. + +It is mournful to remember that we have seen this ploughing continue +till the sun has touched the horizon and the night dews have begun to +fall. Even then the long-suffering God has followed up his +work--ploughing, ploughing, ploughing, ploughing, till darkness ended +all. Do I address any aged ones whose lease must soon run out? I would +affectionately beseech them to consider their position. What! Threescore +years old and yet unsaved? Forty years did God suffer the manners of +Israel in the wilderness, but he has borne with you for sixty years. +Seventy years old, and yet unregenerated! Ah, my friend, you will have +but little time in which to serve your Saviour before you go to heaven. +But will you go there at all? Is it not growing dreadfully likely that +you will die in your sins and perish for ever? How happy are those who +are brought to Christ in early life; but still remember-- + + "While the lamp holds out to burn, + The vilest sinner may return." + +It is late, it is very late, but is not too late. The ploughman ploughs +all day; and the Lord waits that he may be gracious unto you. I have +seen many aged persons converted, and therefore I would encourage other +old folks to believe in Jesus. I once read a sermon in which a minister +asserted that he had seldom known any converted who were over forty +years of age if they had been hearers of the gospel all their lives. +There is certainly much need to caution those who are guilty of delay, +but there must be no manufacturing of facts. Whatever that minister +might think, or even observe, my own observation leads me to believe +that about as many people are converted to God at one age as at another, +taking into consideration the fact that the young are much more numerous +than the old. It is a dreadful thing to have remained an unbeliever all +these years; but yet the grace of God does not stop short at a certain +age; those who enter the vineyard at the eleventh hour shall have their +penny, and grace shall be glorified in the old as well as in the young. +Come along, old friend, Jesus Christ invites you to come to him even +now, though you have stood out so long. You have been a sadly tough +piece of ground, and the ploughman has ploughed all day; but if at last +the sods are turned, and the heart is lying in ridges, there is hope of +you yet. + +"Doth the ploughman plough all day?" I answer--Yes, however long the day +may be, God in mercy ploughs still, he is long-suffering, and full of +tenderness and mercy and grace. Do not spurn such patience, but yield to +the Lord who has acted toward you with so much gentle love. + +The text, however, not only sets forth patience on God's part, but it +teaches _perseverance on our part_. "Doth the ploughman plough all day?" +Yes, he does; then if I am seeking Christ, ought I to be discouraged +because I do not immediately find him? The promise is, "He that asketh, +receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it +shall be opened." There may be reasons why the door is not opened at our +first knock. What then? "Doth the ploughman plough all day?" Then will I +knock all day. It may be at the first seeking I may not find; what then? +"Doth the ploughman plough all day?" Then will I seek all day. It may +happen that at my first asking I shall not receive; what then? "Doth the +ploughman plough all day?" Then will I ask all day? Friends, if you have +begun to seek the Lord, the short way is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus +Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Do that at once. In the name of God do +it at once, and you are saved at once. May the Spirit of God bring you +to faith in Jesus, and you are at once in the kingdom of Christ. But if +peradventure in seeking the Lord, you are ignorant of this, or do not +see your way, never give up seeking; get to the foot of the cross, lay +hold of it, and cry, "If I perish I will perish here. Lord, I come to +thee in Jesus Christ for mercy, and if thou art not pleased to look at +me immediately, and forgive my sins, I will cry to thee till thou dost." +When God's Holy Spirit brings a man to downright earnest prayer which +will not take a denial, he is not far from peace. Careless indifference +and shilly-shallying with God hold men in bondage. They find peace when +their hearts are roused to strong resolve to seek until they find. I +like to see men search the Scriptures till they learn the way of +salvation, and hear the gospel till their souls live by it. If they are +resolved to drive the plough through doubts, and fears, and +difficulties, till they come to salvation, they shall soon come to it by +the grace of God. + +The same is true in seeking the salvation of others. "Doth the ploughman +plough all day?" Yes, when it is ploughing-time. Then, so will I work +on, and on, and on. I will pray and preach, or pray and teach, however +long the day may be that God shall appoint me, for-- + + "'Tis all my business here below + The precious gospel seed to sow." + +Brother worker, are you getting a little weary? Never mind, rouse +yourself, and plough on for the love of Jesus, and dying men. Our day of +work has in it only the appointed hours, and while they last let us +fulfil our task. Ploughing is hard work; but as there will be no harvest +without it, let us just put forth all our strength, and never flag till +we have performed our Lord's will, and by his holy Spirit wrought +conviction in men's souls. Some soils are very stiff, and cling +together, and the labor is heart-breaking; others are like the +unreclaimed waste, full of roots and tangled bramble; they need a steam +plough, and we must pray the Lord to make us such, for we cannot leave +them untilled, and therefore we must put forth more strength that the +labor may be done. + +I heard some time ago of a minister who called to see a poor man who was +dying, but he was not able to gain admittance; he called the next +morning, and some idle excuse was made so that he could not see him; he +called again the next morning, but he was still refused; he went on till +he called twenty times in vain, but on the twenty-first occasion he was +permitted to see the sufferer, and by God's grace he saved a soul from +death. "Why do you tell your child a thing twenty times?" asked some one +of a mother. "Because," said she, "I find nineteen times is not enough." +Now, when a soul is to be ploughed, it may so happen that hundreds of +furrows will not do it. What then? Why, plough all day till the work is +done. Whether you are ministers, missionaries, teachers, or private +soul-winners, never grow weary, for your work is noble, and the reward +of it is infinite. The grace of God is seen in our being permitted to +engage in such holy service; it is greatly magnified in sustaining us in +it, and it will be pre-eminently conspicuous in enabling us to hold out +till we can say, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." + +We prize that which costs us labor and service, and we shall set all the +higher value upon the saved ones when the Lord grants them to our +efforts. It is good for us to learn the value of our sheaves by going +forth weeping to the sowing. When you think of the ploughman's ploughing +all day, be moved to plod on in earnest efforts to win souls. Seek-- + + "With cries, entreaties, tears to save + And snatch them from the fiery wave." + +Doth the ploughman plough all day for a little bit of oats or barley, +and will not you plough all day for souls that shall live for ever, if +saved, to adore the grace of God, or shall live for ever, if unsaved, in +outer darkness and woe? Oh, by the terrors of the wrath to come and the +glory that is to be revealed, gird up your loins, and plough all day. + +I would beg all the members of our churches to keep their hands on the +gospel plough, and their eyes straight before them. "Doth the ploughman +plough all day?" let Christians do the same. Start close to the hedge, +and go right down to the bottom of the field. Plough as close to the +ditch as you can, and leave small headlands. What though there are +fallen women, thieves, and drunkards in the slums around, do not neglect +any of them; for if you leave a stretch of land to the weeds they will +soon spread among the wheat. When you have gone right to the end of the +field once, what shall you do next? Why, just turn round, and make for +the place you started from. And when you have thus been up and down, +what next? Why, up and down again. And what next? Why, up and down +again. You have visited that district with tracts; do it again, +fifty-two times in the year--multiply your furrows. We must learn how to +continue in well doing. Your eternal destiny is to go on doing good for +ever and ever, and it is well to go through a rehearsal here. So just +plough on, plough on, and look for results as the reward of continued +perseverance. Ploughing is not done with a skip and jump; the ploughman +ploughs all day. Dash and flash are all very fine in some things, but +not in ploughing; there the work must be steady, persistent, regular. +Certain persons soon give it up, it wears out their gloves, blisters +their soft hands, tires their bones, and makes them eat their bread +rather more in the sweat of their face than they care for. Those whom +the Lord fills with his grace will keep to their ploughing year after +year, and verily I say unto you, they shall have their reward. "Doth the +ploughman plough all day?" Then let us do the same, being assured that +one day every hill and valley shall be tilled and sown, and every desert +and wilderness shall yield a harvest for our Lord, and the angel reapers +shall descend, and the shouts of the harvest-home shall fill both earth +and heaven. + +II. But, now, somewhat briefly, THE TEXT MAY BE ANSWERED IN THE +NEGATIVE. "Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?" No, he does not +always plough. After he has ploughed he breaks the clods, sows, reaps, +and threshes. In the chapter before us you will see that other works of +husbandry are mentioned. The ploughman has many other things to do +beside ploughing. There is an advance in what he does; this teaches us +that there is the like on God's part, and should be the like on ours. + +First, _on God's part, there is an advance in what he does_. "Doth the +ploughman plough all day?" No, he goes forward to other matters. It may +be that in the case of some of you the Lord has been using certain +painful agencies to plough you. You are feeling the terrors of the law, +the bitterness of sin, the holiness of God, the weakness of the flesh, +and the shadow of the wrath to come. Is this going to last forever? Will +it continue till the spirit fails and the soul expires? Listen: "Doth +the ploughman plough all day?" No, he is preparing for something +else--he ploughs to sow. Thus doth the Lord deal with you; therefore be +of good courage, there is an ending to the wounding and slaying, and +better things are in store for you. You are poor and needy, and you seek +water, and there is none and your tongue faileth for thirst; but the +Lord will hear you, and deliver you. He will not contend forever, +neither will he be always wroth. He will turn again, and he will have +compassion upon us. He will not always make furrows by his chiding, he +will come and cast in the precious corn of consolation, and water it +with the dews of heaven and smile upon it with the sunlight of his +grace; and there shall soon be in you, first the blade, then the ear, +after that the full corn in the ear, and in due season you shall joy as +with the joy of harvest. O ye who are sore wounded in the place of +dragons, I hear you cry, Doth God always send terror and conviction of +sin? Listen to this: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the +good of the land," and what is the call of God to the willing and +obedient but this: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be +saved." Thou shalt be saved now, find peace now, if thou wilt have done +with thyself and all looking to thine own good works to save thee, and +wilt turn to him who paid the ransom for thee upon the tree. The Lord is +gentle and tender and full of compassion, he will not always chide, +neither will he keep his anger for ever. Many of your doubts and fears +come of unbelief, or of Satan, or of the flesh, and are not of God at +all. Blame him not for what he does not send, and does not wish you to +suffer. His mind is for your peace, not for your distress; for thus he +speaks: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye +comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is +accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned." "I have blotted out, as a +thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto +me; for I have redeemed thee." He has smitten, but he will smile; he has +wounded, but he will heal; he has slain, but he will make alive; +therefore turn unto him at once and receive comfort at his hands. The +ploughman does not plough for ever, else would he reap no harvest; and +God is not always heart-breaking, he also draws near on heart-healing +errands. + +You see, then, that the great husbandman advances from painful agencies, +and I want you to mark that he goes on to _productive work_ in the +hearts of his people. He will take away the furrows, you shall not see +them, for the corn will cover them with beauty. As she that was in +travail remembers no more her sorrow for joy that a man is born into the +world, so shall you, who are under the legal rod, remember no more the +misery of conviction, for God will sow you with grace, and make your +soul, even your poor, barren soul, to bring forth fruit unto his praise +and glory. "Oh!" says one, "I wish that would come true to me." It will. +"Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?" You expect by-and-by to see +ploughed fields clothed with springing corn; and you may look to see +repentant hearts gladdened with forgiveness. Therefore, be of good +courage. + +You shall advance, also, to a _joyful experience_. See that ploughman; +he whistles as he ploughs, he does not own much of this world's goods, +but yet he is merry. He looks forward to the day when he will be on the +top of the big wagon, joining in the shout of the harvest home, and so +he ploughs in hope, expecting a crop. And, dear soul, God will yet joy +and rejoice over you when you believe in Jesus Christ, and you, too, +shall be brimful of joy. Be of good cheer, the better portion is yet to +come, press forward to it. Gospel sorrowing leads on to gospel hoping, +believing, rejoicing, and the rejoicing knows no end. God will not +chasten all day, but he will lead you on from strength to strength, from +glory unto glory, till you shall be like himself. This, then, is the +advance that there is in God's work among men, from painful agencies to +productive work and joyful experience. + +But what if the ploughing should never lead to sowing; what if you +should be disturbed in conscience, and should go on to resist it all? +Then God will make another advance, but it will be to put up the plough, +and to command the clouds that they rain no rain upon the land, and then +its end is to be burned. Oh! man, there is nothing more awful than for +your soul to be left to go out of cultivation; God himself giving you +up. Surely that is hell. He that is unholy will be unholy still. The law +of fixity of character will operate eternally, and no hand of the +merciful One shall come near to till the soul again. What worse than +this can happen? + +We conclude by saying that _this advance is a lesson to us_; for we, +too, are to go forward. "Doth the ploughman plough all day?" No, he +ploughs to sow, and in due time he sows. Some churches seem to think +that all they have to do is to plough; at least, all they attempt is a +kind of scratching of the soil, and talking of what they are going to +do. It is fine talk, certainly; but doth the ploughman plough all day? +You may draw up a large programme and promise great things; but pray do +not stop there. Don't be making furrows all day; do get to your sowing. +I fancy that those who promise most perform the least. Men who do much +in the world have no programme at first, their course works itself out +by its own inner force by the grace of God; they do not propose but +perform. They do not plough all day to sow, but they are like our Lord's +servant in the parable of whom he saith, "the sower went forth to sow." + +Let the ministers of Christ also follow the rule of advance. _Let us go +from preaching the law to preaching the gospel._ "Doth the ploughman +plough all day?" He does plough; he would not sow in hope if he had not +first prepared the ground. Robbie Flockart, who preached for years in +the Edinboro' streets, says, "It is in vain to sew with the silk thread +of the gospel, unless you use the sharp needle of the law." Some of my +brethren do not care to preach eternal wrath and its terrors. This is a +cruel mercy, for they ruin souls by hiding from them their ruin. If they +must needs try to sew without a needle, I cannot help it; but I do not +mean to be so foolish myself; my needle may be old-fashioned, but it is +sharp, and when it carries with it the silken thread of the gospel, I am +sure good work is done by it. You cannot get a harvest if you are afraid +of disturbing the soil, nor can you save souls if you never warn them of +hell fire. We must tell the sinner what God has revealed about sin, +righteousness, and judgment to come. Still, brethren, we must not plough +all day. No, no, the preaching of the law is only preparatory to the +preaching of the gospel. The stress of our business lies in proclaiming +glad tidings. We are not followers of John the Baptist, but of Jesus +Christ; we are not rugged prophets of woe, but joyful heralds of grace. +Be not satisfied with revival services, and stirring appeals, but preach +the doctrines of grace so as to bring out the full compass of covenant +truth. Ploughing has had its turn, now for planting and watering. +Reproof may now give place to consolation. We are first to make +disciples of men, and then to teach them to observe all things +whatsoever Jesus has commanded us. We must pass on from the rudiments to +the higher truths, from laying foundations to further upbuilding. + +And now, another lesson to those of you who are as yet hearers and +nothing more. I want you to go from ploughing to something better, +namely, _from hearing and fearing to believing_. How many years some of +you have been hearing the gospel! Do you mean to continue in that state +for ever? Will you never believe in him of whom you hear so much? You +have been stirred up a good deal; the other night you went home almost +broken-hearted; I should think you are ploughed enough by this time; and +yet you have not received the seed of eternal life, for you have not +believed in the Lord Jesus. It is dreadful to be always on the brink of +everlasting life, and yet never to be alive. It will be an awful thing +to be almost in heaven, and yet forever shut out. It is a wretched thing +to rush into a railway station just in time to see the train steaming +out; I had much rather be half-an-hour behind time. To lose a train by +half-a-second is most annoying. Alas, if you go on as you have done for +years, you will have your hand on the latch of heaven, and yet be shut +out. You will be within a hair's-breadth of glory, and yet be covered +with eternal shame. O beware of being so near to the kingdom, and yet +lost; almost, but not altogether saved. God grant that you may not be +among those who are ploughed, and ploughed, and ploughed, and yet never +sown. It will be of no avail at the last to cry, "Lord, we have eaten +and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. We had a +seat at the chapel, we attended the services on week-nights as well as +on Sundays, we went to prayer-meetings, we joined a Bible-class, we +distributed tracts, we subscribed our guinea to the funds, we gave up +every open sin, we used a form of prayer, and read a chapter of the +Bible every day." All these things may be done, and yet there may be no +saving faith in the Lord Jesus. Take heed lest your Lord should answer, +"With all this, your heart never came to me; therefore, depart from me, +I never knew you." If Jesus once knows a man he always knows him. He can +never say to _me_, "I never knew you," for he has known me, as his poor +dependant, a beggar for years at his door. Some of you have been all +that is good except that you never came into contact with Christ, never +trusted him, never knew him. Ah me, how sad your state! Will it be +always so? + +Lastly, I would say to you who are being ploughed and are agitated about +your souls, Go at once to the next stage of believing. Oh! if people did +but know how simple a thing believing is, surely they would believe. +Alas, they do not know it, and it becomes all the more difficult to them +because in itself it is so easy. The difficulty of believing lies in +there being no difficulty in it. "If the prophet had bid thee do some +great thing, wouldst thou not have done it?" Oh, yes, you would have +done it, and you would have thought it easy too; but when he simply +says, "Wash, and be clean," there is a difficulty with pride and self. +If you can truly say that you are willing to abase your pride, and do +anything which the Lord bids you, then I pray you understand that there +is no further preparation required, and believe in Jesus at once. May +the Holy Spirit make you sick of self, and ready to accept the gospel. +The word is nigh thee, let it be believed; it is in thy mouth, let it be +swallowed down; it is in thy heart, let it be trusted. With your heart +believe in Jesus, and with your mouth make confession of him, and you +shall be saved. A main part of faith lies in the giving up of all other +confidences. O give up at once every false hope. I tried once to show +what faith was by quoting Dr. Watts's lines: + + "A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, + On thy kind arms I fall. + Be thou my strength, and righteousness, + My Jesus and my all." + +I tried to represent faith as falling into Christ's arms, and I thought +I made it so plain that the wayfaring man could not err therein. When I +had finished preaching, a young man came to me and said, "But, sir, I +cannot fall upon Christ's arms." I replied at once, "Tumble into them +anyhow; faint away into Christ's arms, or die into Christ's arms, so +long as you get there." Many talk of what they can do and what they +cannot do, and I fear they miss the vital point. Faith is leaving off +can-ing and cannot-ing, and leaving it all to Christ, for _he_ can do +all things, though you can do nothing. "Doth the ploughman plough all +day to sow?" No, he makes progress, and goes from ploughing to sowing. +Go, and do thou likewise; sow unto the Spirit the precious seed of faith +in Christ, and the Lord will give thee a joyous harvest. + + + + +PLOUGHING THE ROCK. + +"Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plough there with oxen?"--AMOS +6:12. + + +THESE expressions are proverbs, taken from the familiar sayings of the +east country. A proverb is generally a sword with two edges, or, if I +may so say, it has many edges, or is all edge, and hence it may be +turned this way and that way, and every part of it will have force and +point. A proverb has often many bearings, and you cannot always tell +what was the precise meaning of him who uttered it. The connection would +abundantly tolerate two senses in this place. An ancient commentator +asserts that it has seven meanings, and that any one of them would be +consistent with the context. I cannot deny the assertion, and if it be +correct it is only one among many instances of the manifold wisdom of +the Word of God. Like those curiously carved Chinese balls in which +there is one ball within another, so in many a holy text there is sense +within sense, teaching within teaching, and each one worthy of the +Spirit of God. + +The first sense of the text upon which I would say just a word or two is +this: The prophet is expostulating with ungodly men upon their _pursuit +of happiness where it never can be found_. They were endeavoring to grow +rich and great and strong by oppression. The prophet says, "Ye have +turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock." +Justice was bought and sold among them, and the book of the law was made +the instrument of fraud. "Yet," says the prophet, "there is no gain to +be gotten in this way--no real profit, no true happiness. As well may +horses run upon a rock, and oxen plough the sand; it is labor in vain." + +If any of you try to content yourselves with this world, any hope to +find a heaven in the midst of your business and your family without +looking upward for it, you labor in vain. If you hope to find pleasure +in sin, and think that it will go well with you if you despise the law +of God, you will make a great mistake. You might as well seek for roses +in the grottoes of the sea, or look for pearls on the pavements of the +city. You will find what your soul requires nowhere but in God. To seek +after happiness in evil deeds is to plough a rock of granite. To labor +after true prosperity by dishonest means is as useless as to till the +sandy shore. "Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not +bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not?" Young man, you are +killing yourself with ambition; you seek your own honor and emolument, +and this is a poor, poor object for an immortal soul. And you, too, sir, +are wearing out your life with care; your mind and body both fail you in +endeavoring to amass riches, as if a man's life consisted in the +abundance of the things which he possesses; you are ploughing a rock; +your cares will not bring you joy of heart or content of spirit; your +toil will end in failure. And you, too, who labor to weave a +righteousness by your works apart from Christ and fancy that with the +diligent use of outward ceremonies you may be able to do the work of the +Holy Spirit upon your own heart, you, too, are ploughing thankless +rock. The strength of fallen nature exerted at its utmost can never save +a soul. Why, then, plough the rock any longer? Give over the foolish +task. + +So far, I believe, we have not misread the text, but have mentioned a +very probable meaning of the words; still another strikes me, which I +think equally suitable, and upon it I shall dwell, by God's help. + +It is this. _God will not always send his ministers to call men to +repentance._ When men's hearts remain obdurate, and they do not and will +not repent, then God will not always deal with them in mercy. "My Spirit +shall not always strive with man." There is a time of ploughing, but +when it is evident that the heart is wilfully hardened, then wisdom +itself suggests to mercy that she should give over her efforts. "Shall +horses run upon the rock? will one plough there with oxen?" No, there is +a limit to the efforts of kindness, and in fulness of time the labor +ceases, and the rock remains unploughed henceforth and for ever. + + +I. Taking that sense, we shall speak upon it, and remark, first, that +MINISTERS LABOR TO BREAK UP MEN'S HEARTS; the wise preacher tries by the +power of the Holy Ghost to break up the hard clods of the heart, so that +it may receive the heavenly seed. + +Many truths are used like sharp ploughshares to break up the heart. Men +must be made to feel that they have sinned, and they must be led to +repent of sin. They must receive Christ, not with the head only, but +with the heart; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. +There must be emotion; we must cut into the heart with the ploughshare +of the law. A farmer who is too tender-hearted to tear and harrow the +land will never see a harvest. Here is the failing of certain divines, +they are afraid of hurting any one's feelings, and so they keep clear of +all the truths which are likely to excite fear or grief. They have not a +sharp ploughshare on their premises, and are never likely to have a +stack in their rickyard. They angle without hooks for fear of hurting +the fish, and fire without bullets out of respect to the feelings of the +birds. This kind of love is real cruelty to men's souls. It is much the +same as if a surgeon should permit a patient to die because he would not +pain him with the lancet, or by the necessary removal of a limb. It is a +terrible tenderness which leaves men to sink into hell rather than +distress their minds. It is pleasant to prophesy smooth things, but woe +unto the man who thus degrades himself. Is this the spirit of Christ? +Did he conceal the sinner's peril? Did he cast doubt upon the +unquenchable fire and the undying worm? Did he lull souls into slumber +by smooth strains of flattery? Nay, but with honest love and anxious +concern he warned men of the wrath to come, and bade them repent or +perish. Let the servant of the Lord Jesus in this thing follow his +Master, and plough deep with a sharp ploughshare, which will not be +balked by the hardest clods. This we must school ourselves to do. If we +really love the souls of men, let us prove it by honest speech. The hard +heart must be broken, or it will still refuse the Saviour who was sent +to bind up the broken-hearted. There are some things which men may or +may not have, and yet may be saved; but those things which go with the +ploughing of the heart are indispensable; there must be a holy fear and +a humble trembling before God; there must be an acknowledgment of guilt +and a penitent petition for mercy; there must, in a word, be a thorough +ploughing of the soul before we can expect the seed to bring forth +fruit. + + +II. But the text indicates to us that AT TIMES MINISTERS LABOR IN VAIN. +"Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plough there with oxen?" In a +short time a ploughman feels whether the plough will go or not, and so +does the minister. He may use the very same words in one place which he +has used in another, but he feels in the one place great joy and +hopefulness in preaching, while with another audience he has heavy work, +and little hope. The plough in the last case seems to jump out of the +furrow; and a bit of the share is broken off now and then. He says to +himself, "I do not know how it is, but I do not get on at this," and he +finds that his Master has sent him to work upon a particularly heavy +soil. All laborers for Christ know that this is occasionally the case. +You must have found it so in a Sunday-school class, or in a cottage +meeting, or in any other gathering where you have tried to teach and +preach Jesus. You have said to yourself every now and then, "Now I am +ploughing a rock. Before, I turned up rich mould which a yoke of oxen +might plough with ease, and a horse might even run at the work; but now +the horse may tug, and the oxen may wearily toil till they gall their +shoulders, but they cannot cut a furrow; the rock is stubborn to the +last degree." + +There are such hearers in all congregations. They are as iron, and yet +they are side by side with a fine plot of ground. Their sister, their +brother, their son, their daughter, all these have readily felt the +power of the gospel; but _they_ do not feel it. They hear it +respectfully; and they so far allow it free course that they permit it +to go in at one ear and out at the other, but they will have nothing +more to do with it. They would not like to be Sabbath-breakers and stop +away from worship; they therefore do the gospel the questionable +compliment of coming where it is preached and then refusing to regard +it. They are hard, hard, hard bits of rock, the plough does not touch +them. + +Many, on the other hand, are equally hard; but it is in another way. The +impression made by the word is not deep or permanent. They receive it +with joy, but they do not retain it. They listen with attention, but it +never comes to practice with them. They hear about repentance, but they +never repent. They hear about faith, but they never believe. They are +good judges of what the gospel is, and yet they have never accepted it +for themselves. They will not eat; but still they insist that good bread +shall be put on the table. They are great sticklers for the very things +which they personally reject. They are moved to feeling; they shed tears +occasionally; but still their hearts are not really broken up by the +word. They go their way, and forget what manner of men they are. They +are rocky-hearted through and through; all our attempts to plough them +are failures. + +Now this is all the worse, because certain of these rocky-hearted people +have been ploughed for years, and have become harder instead of softer. +Once or twice ploughing, and a broken share or two, and a disappointed +ploughman or two, we might not mind, if they would yield at last; but +these have since their childhood known the gospel and never given way +before its power. It is a good while since their childhood now with some +of them. Their hair is turning gray, and they themselves are getting +feeble with years. They have been entreated and persuaded times beyond +number, but labor has been lost upon them. In fact, they used to feel +the word, in a certain fashion, far more years ago than they do now. The +sun, which softens wax, hardens clay, and the same gospel which has +brought others to tenderness and repentance has exercised a contrary +effect upon them, and made them more careless about divine things than +they were in their youth. This is a mournful state of things, is it not? + +Why are certain men so extremely rocky? Some are so from a _peculiar +stolidity of nature_. There are many people in the world whom you cannot +very well move, they have a great deal of granite in their constitution, +and are more nearly related to Mr. Obstinate than to Mr. Pliable. Now, I +do not think badly of these people, because one knows what it is to +preach to an excitable people, and to get them all stirred, and to know +that in the end they are none the better; whereas some of the more +stolid and immovable people when they are moved are moved indeed; when +they do feel they feel intensely, and they retain any impression that is +made. A little chip made in granite by very hard blows will abide there, +while the lashing of water, which is easy enough, will leave no trace +even for a moment. It is a grand thing to get hold of a fine piece of +rock and to exercise faith about it. The Lord's own hammer has mighty +power to break, and in the breaking great glory comes to the Most High. + +Worse still, certain men are hard because of their _infidelity_--not +heart-infidelity all of it, but an infidelity which springs out of a +desire not to believe, which has helped them to discover difficulties. +These difficulties exist, and were meant to exist, for there would be no +room for faith if everything were as plain as the nose on one's face. +These persons have gradually come to doubt, or to think that they doubt, +essential truths, and this renders them impervious to the gospel of +Christ. + +A much more numerous body are orthodox enough, but hard-hearted for all +that. _Worldliness_ hardens a man in every way. It often dries up all +charity to the poor, because the man must make money, and he thinks that +the poor-rates are sufficient excuse for neglecting the offices of +charity. He has no time to think of the next world; he must spend all +his thoughts upon the present one. Money is tight, and therefore he must +hold it tight; and when money brings in little interest, he finds +therein a reason for being the more niggardly. He has no time for +prayer, he _must_ get down to the counting-house. He has no time for +reading his Bible, his ledger wants him. You may knock at his door, but +his heart is not at home; it is in the counting-house, wherein he lives +and moves and has his being. His god is his gold, his bliss is his +business, his all in all is himself. What is the use of preaching to +him? As well may horses run upon a rock, or oxen drag a plough across a +field sheeted with iron a mile thick. + +With some, too, there is a hardness, produced by what I might almost +call the opposite of stern worldliness, namely, a _general levity_. They +are naturally butterflies flitting about and doing nothing. They never +think, or want to think. Half a thought exhausts them, and they must +needs be diverted, or their feeble minds will utterly weary. They live +in a round of amusement. To them the world is a stage, and all the men +and women only players. It is of little use to preach to them; there is +no depth of earth in their superficial nature; beneath a sprinkling of +shifting worthless sand lies an impenetrable rock of utter stupidity and +senselessness. I might thus multiply reasons why some are harder than +others, but it is a well-assured fact that they are so, and there I +leave the matter. + + +III. I shall now ask everybody to judge whether the running of horses +upon a rock and the ploughing there with oxen shall always be continued. +I assert that IT IS UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT GOD'S SERVANTS SHOULD +ALWAYS CONTINUE TO LABOR IN VAIN. These people have been preached to, +taught, instructed, admonished, expostulated with, and advised; shall +this unrecompensed work be always performed? We have given them a fair +trial; what do reason and prudence say? Are we bound to persevere till +we are worn out by this unsuccessful work? We will ask it of men who +plough their own farms; do they recommend perseverance when failure is +certain? Shall horses run upon the rock? Shall one plough there with +oxen? Surely not for ever. + +I think we shall all agree that labor in vain cannot be continued for +ever if we consider _the ploughman_. He does not want to be much +considered; but still his Master does not overlook him. See how weary he +grows when the work discourages him. He goes to his Master with, "Who +hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" +"Why hast thou sent me," says he, "to a people that have ears but hear +not? They sit as thy people sit, and they hear as thy people hear, and +then they go their way and they forget every word that is spoken, and +they obey not the voice of the Lord." See how disappointed the preacher +becomes. It is always hard work when you appear to get no forwarder, +although you do your utmost. No man, whoever he may be, likes to be set +upon work which appears to be altogether a waste of time and effort. To +his own mind it seems to have a touch of the ridiculous about it, and he +fears that he will be despised of his fellows for aiming at the +impossible. Shall it always be the lot of God's ministers to be trifled +with? Will the great Husbandman bid his ploughmen spill their lives for +nought? Must his preachers continue to cast pearls before swine? If the +consecrated workers are so bidden by their Lord they will persevere in +their painful task; but their Master is considerate of them, and I ask +_you_ also to consider whether it is reasonable to expect a zealous +heart to be for ever occupied with the salvation of those who never +respond to its anxiety? Shall the horses always plough upon the rock? +Shall the oxen always labor there? + +Again, there is _the Master_ to be considered. The Lord--is he always to +be resisted and provoked? Many of you have had eternal life set before +you as the result of believing in Jesus; and you have refused to +believe. It is a wonder that my Lord has not said to me, "You have done +your duty with them; never set Christ before them again; my Son shall +not be insulted." If you offer a beggar in the street a shilling and he +will not have it, you cheerfully put it into your purse and go your way; +you do not entreat him to have his wants relieved. But, behold, our God +in mercy begs sinners to come to him, and implores them to accept his +Son. In his condescension he even stands like a salesman in the market, +crying, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he +that hath no money; come, buy wine and milk without money and without +price." In another place he says of himself, "All day long have I +stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying generation." If +the Lord of mercy has been refused so long in the sight of you who +reverence him, does not some indignation mingle with your pity, and +while you love sinners and would have them saved, do you not feel in +your heart that there must be an end to such insulting behavior? I ask +even the careless to think of the matter in this light, and if they do +not respect the ploughman, yet let them have regard to his Master. + +And then, again, there are so many _other people_ who are needing the +gospel, and who would receive it if they had it, that it would seem to +be wise to leave off wearying oneself about those who despise it. What +did our Lord say? He said that if the mighty things which had been done +in Bethsaida and Chorazin had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would +have repented. What is more wonderful still, he says that if he had +wrought the same miracles in Sodom and Gomorrah which were wrought in +Capernaum, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Does it not +occur to us at once to give the word to those who will have it, and +leave the despisers to perish in their own wilfulness? Does not reason +say, "Let us send this medicine where there are sick people who will +value it?" Thousands of people are willing to hear the gospel. See how +they crowd wherever the preacher goes--how they tread upon one another +in their anxiety to listen to him; and if these people who hear him +every day will not receive his message, "in God's name," saith he, "let +me go where there is a probability of finding soil that can be +ploughed." "Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plough there with +oxen?" Must I work always where nothing comes of it? Does not reason +say, let the word go to China, to Hindostan, or to the utmost parts of +the earth, where they will receive it; for those who have it preached in +the corners of their streets despise it? + +I shall not lengthen this argument, but shall solemnly put the question +again. Would any of you continue to pursue an object when it has proved +to be hopeless? Do you wonder that when the Lord has sent his servants +to speak kind, gracious, tender words, and men have not heard, he says +to them, "They are joined unto their idols; let them alone"? There is a +boundary to the patience of men, and we soon arrive at it; and assuredly +there is a limit, though it is long before we outrun it, to the patience +of God. "At length," he says, "it is enough. My Spirit shall no longer +strive with them." If the Lord says this can any of us complain? Is not +this the way of wisdom? Does not prudence itself dictate it? Any +thoughtful mind will say, "Ay, ay, a rock cannot be ploughed for ever." + + +IV. Fourthly. THERE MUST BE AN ALTERATION, then, and that speedily. The +oxen shall be taken off from such toil. It can be easily done, and done +soon. It can be effected in three ways. + +First, the unprofitable hearer can be removed so that he shall no more +hear the gospel from the lips of his best approved minister. There is a +preacher who has some sort of power over him; but as he rejects his +testimony, and remains impenitent, the man shall be removed to another +town, where he shall hear monotonous discourses which will not touch +his conscience. He shall go where he shall be no longer persuaded and +entreated; and there he will sleep himself into hell. That may be +readily enough done; perhaps some of you are making arrangements even +now for your own removal from the field of hope. + +Another way is to take away the ploughman. He has done his work as best +he could, and he shall be released from his hopeless task. He is weary. +Let him go home. The soil would not break up, but he could not help +that; let him have his wage. He has broken his plough at the work; let +him go home and hear his Lord say, "Well done." He was willing to keep +on at the disheartening labor as long as his Master bade him; but it is +evidently useless, therefore let him go home, for his work is done. He +has been sore sick, let him die, and enter into his rest. This is by no +means improbable. + +Or, there may happen something else. The Lord may say, "That piece of +work shall never trouble the ploughman any more. I will take it away." +And he may take it away in this fashion: the man who has heard the +gospel, but rejected it, will die. I pray my Master that he will not +suffer any one of you to die in your sins, for then we cannot reach you +any more, or indulge the faintest hope for you. No prayer of ours can +follow you into eternity. There is one name by which you may be saved, +and that name is sounded in your ears--the name of Jesus; but if you +reject him now, even that name will not save you. If you do not take +Jesus to be your Saviour he will appear as your judge. I pray you, do +not destroy your own souls by continuing to be obstinate against +almighty love. + +God grant that some better thing may happen. Can nothing else be done? +This soil is rock; can we not sow it without breaking it? No. Without +repentance there is no remission of sin. But is there not a way of +saving men without the grace of God? The Lord Jesus did not say so; but +he said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that +believeth not shall be damned." He did not hint at a middle course or +hold out a "larger hope;" but he declared "He that believeth not shall +be damned," _and so he must be_. Dream not of a back door to heaven, for +the Lord has provided none. + +What then? Shall the preacher continue his fruitless toil? If there is +only half a hope left him, he is willing to go on and say, "Hear, ye +deaf, and see, ye blind, and live, ye dead." He will even so speak this +day, for his Master bids him preach the gospel to every creature; but it +will be hard work to repeat the word of exhortation for years to those +who will not hear it. + +Happily there is one other turn which affairs may take. There is a God +in heaven, let us pray to him to put forth his power. Jesus is at his +side, let us invoke his interposition. The Holy Ghost is almighty, let +us call for his aid. Brothers who plough and sisters who pray, cry to +the Master for help. The horse and the ox evidently fail, but there +remains One above who is able to work great marvels. Did he not once +speak to the rock, and turn the flint into a stream of water? Let us +pray him to do the same now. + +And, oh, if there is one who feels and mourns that his heart is like a +piece of rock, I am glad he feels it; for he who feels that his heart is +a rock gives some evidence that the flint is being transformed. O rock, +instead of smiting thee, as Moses smote the rock in the wilderness and +erred therein, I would speak to thee. O rock, wouldst thou become like +wax? O rock, wouldst thou dissolve into rivers of repentance? Hearken to +God's voice! O rock, break with good desire! O rock, dissolve with +longing after Christ, for God is working upon thee now. Who knows but at +this very moment thou shall begin to crumble down. Dost thou feel the +power of the Word? Does the sharp ploughshare touch thee just now? Break +and break again, till by contrition thou art dissolved, for then will +the good seed of the gospel come to thee, and thou shalt receive it into +thy bosom, and we shall all behold the fruit thereof. And so I will +fling one more handful of good corn, and have done. If thou desirest +eternal life, trust Jesus Christ, and thou art saved at once. "Look unto +me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," says Christ, "for I am +God, and beside me there is none else." He that believeth in him hath +everlasting life. "Like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the +wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever +believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." + +O Lord, break up the rock, and let the seed drop in among its broken +substance, and get thou a harvest from the dissolved granite, at this +time, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. + + + + +THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER. + +"And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out +of every city, he spake by a parable: a sower went out to sow his seed: +and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and +the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon +as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And +some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. +And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an +hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath +ears to hear, let him hear."--LUKE 8:4-8. + + +IN our country, when a sower goes forth to his work, he generally enters +into an enclosed field, and scatters the seed from his basket along +every ridge and furrow; but in the East, the corn-growing country, hard +by a small town, is usually an open area. It is divided into different +properties, but there are no visible divisions, except the ancient +landmarks, or perhaps ridges of stones. Through these open lands there +are footpaths, the most frequented being called the highways. You must +not imagine these highways to be like our macadamized roads; they are +merely paths, trodden tolerably hard. Here and there you notice by-ways, +along which travellers who wish to avoid the public road may journey +with a little more safety when the main road is infested with robbers; +hasty travellers also strike out short cuts for themselves, and so open +fresh tracks for others. When the sower goes forth to sow he finds a +plot of ground scratched over with the primitive Eastern plough; he +aims at scattering his seed there most plentifully; but a path runs +through the centre of his field, and unless he is willing to leave a +broad headland, he must throw a handful upon it. Yonder, a rock crops +out in the midst of the ploughed land, and the seed falls on its shallow +soil. Here is a corner full of the roots of nettles and thistles, and he +flings a little here; the corn and the nettles come up together, and the +thorns being the stronger soon choke the seed, so that it brings forth +no fruit unto perfection. The recollection that the Bible was written in +the East, and that its metaphors and allusions must be explained to us +by Eastern travellers, will often help us to understand a passage far +better than if we think of English customs. + +The preacher of the gospel is like the sower. He does not make his seed; +it is given him by his divine Master. No man could create the smallest +grain that ever grew upon the earth, much less the celestial seed of +eternal life. The minister goes to his Master in secret, and asks him to +teach him his gospel, and thus he fills his basket with the good seed of +the kingdom. He then goes forth in his Master's name and scatters +precious truth. If he knew where the best soil was to be found, perhaps +he might limit himself to that which had been prepared by the plough of +conviction; but not knowing men's hearts, it is his business to preach +the gospel to every creature--to throw a handful on the hardened heart, +and another on the mind which is overgrown with the cares and pleasures +of the world. He has to leave the seed in the care of the Lord who gave +it to him, for he is not responsible for the harvest, he is only +accountable for the care and industry with which he does his work. If no +single ear should ever make glad the reaper, the sower will be rewarded +by his Master if he had planted the right seed with careful hand. If it +were not for this fact with what despairing agony should we utter the +cry of Esaias, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of +the Lord revealed?" + +Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the +command of our God. We are bound to preach the gospel, whether men will +hear, or whether they will forbear. It is ours to sow beside all waters. +Let men's hearts be what they may the minister must preach the gospel to +them; he must sow the seed on the rock as well as in the furrow, on the +highway as well as in the ploughed field. + +I shall now address myself to the four classes of hearers mentioned in +our Lord's parable. We have, first of all, those who are represented by +the _way-side_, those who are "hearers only"; then those represented by +the _stony ground_; these are transiently impressed, but the word +produces no lasting fruit; then, those _among thorns_, on whom a good +impression is produced, but the cares of this life, and the +deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of the world choke the seed; +and lastly, that small class--God be pleased to multiply it +exceedingly--that small class of _good ground_ hearers, in whom the Word +brings forth abundant fruit. + + +I. First of all, I address myself to those hearts which are like the +WAY-SIDE: "Some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the +fowls of the air devoured it." Many of you do not go to the place of +worship desiring a blessing. You do not intend to worship God, or to be +affected by anything that you hear. You are like the highway, which was +never intended to be a cornfield. If a single grain of truth should fall +into your heart and grow it would be as great a wonder as for corn to +grow up in the street. If the seed shall be dexterously scattered, some +of it will fall upon you, and rest for a while upon your thoughts. 'Tis +true you will not understand it; but, nevertheless, if it be placed +before you in an interesting style, you will talk about it till some +more congenial entertainment shall attract you. Even this slender +benefit is brief, for in a little season you will forget all that you +have heard. Would to God we could hope that our words would tarry with +you; but we cannot hope it, for the soil of your heart is so hard beaten +by continual traffic, that there is no hope of the seed finding a living +root-hold. Satan is constantly passing over your heart with his company +of blasphemies, lusts, lies, and vanities. The chariots of pride roll +along it, and the feet of greedy mammon tread it till it is hard as +adamant. Alas! for the good seed, it finds not a moment's respite; +crowds pass and repass; in fact, your soul is an exchange, across which +continually hurry the busy feet of those who make merchandise of the +souls of men. You are buying and selling, but you little think that you +are selling the truth, and that you are buying your soul's destruction. +You have no time, you say, to think of religion. No, the road of your +heart is such a crowded thoroughfare, that there is no room for the +wheat to spring up. If it did begin to germinate, some rough foot would +crush the green blade ere it could come to perfection. The seed has +occasionally lain long enough to begin to sprout, but just then a new +place of amusement has been opened, and you have entered there, and as +with an iron heel, the germ of life that was in the seed was crushed +out. Corn could not grow in Cornhill or Cheapside, however excellent the +seed might be; your heart is just like those crowded thoroughfares; for +so many cares and sins throng it, and so many proud, vain, evil, +rebellious thoughts against God pass through it, that the seed of truth +cannot grow. + +We have looked at this hard roadside, let us now describe what becomes +of the good word, when it falls upon such a heart. It would have grown +if it had fallen on right soil, but it has dropped into the wrong place, +and it remains as dry as when it fell from the sower's hand. The word of +the gospel lies upon the surface of such a heart, but never enters it. +Like the snow, which sometimes falls upon our streets, drops upon the +wet pavement, melts, and is gone at once, so is it with this man. The +word has not time to quicken in his soul; it lies there an instant, but +it never strikes root, or takes the slightest effect. + +Why do men come to hear if the word never enters their hearts? That has +often puzzled us. Some hearers would not be absent on the Sunday on any +account; they are delighted to come up with us to worship, but yet the +tear never trickles down their cheek, their soul never mounts up to +heaven on the wings of praise, nor do they truly join in our confessions +of sin. They do not think of the wrath to come, nor of the future state +of their souls. Their heart is as iron; the minister might as well speak +to a heap of stones as preach to them. What brings these senseless +sinners here? Surely we are as hopeful of converting lions and leopards +as these untamed, insensible hearts. Oh feeling! thou art fled to +brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason! Do these people come to +our assemblies because it is respectable to attend a place of worship? +Or is it that their coming helps to make them comfortable in their sins? +If they stopped away conscience would prick them; but they come hither +that they may flatter themselves with the notion that they are +religious. Oh! my hearers, your case is one that might make an angel +weep! How sad to have the sun of the gospel shining on your faces, and +yet to have blind eyes that never see the light! The music of heaven is +lost upon you, for you have no ears to hear. You can catch the turn of a +phrase, you can appreciate the poetry of an illustration, but the hidden +meaning, the divine life, you do not perceive. You sit at the +marriage-feast, but you eat not of the dainties; the bells of heaven +ring with joy over ransomed spirits, but you live unransomed, without +God, and without Christ. Though we plead with you, and pray for you, and +weep over you, you still remain as hardened, as careless, and as +thoughtless as ever you were. May God have mercy on you, and break up +your hard hearts, that his word may abide in you. + +We have not, however, completed the picture. The passage tells us that +the fowls of the air devoured the seed. Is there here a wayside hearer? +Perhaps he did not mean to hear this sermon, and when he has heard it he +will be asked by one of the wicked to come into company. He will go with +the tempter, and the good seed will be devoured by the fowls of the air. +Plenty of evil ones are ready to take away the gospel from the heart. +The devil himself, that prince of the air, is eager at any time to +snatch away a good thought. And then the devil is not alone--he has +legions of helpers. He can set a man's wife, children, friends, +enemies, customers, or creditors, to eat up the good seed, and they will +do it effectually. Oh, sorrow upon sorrow, that heavenly seed should +become devil's meat; that God's corn should feed foul birds! + +O my hearers, if you have heard the gospel from your youth, what +wagon-loads of sermons have been wasted on you! In your younger days, +you heard old Dr. So-and-so, and the dear old man was wont to pray for +his hearers till his eyes were red with tears! Do you recollect those +many Sundays when you said to yourself, "Let me go to my chamber and +fall on my knees and pray"? But you did not; the fowls of the air ate up +the seed, and you went on to sin as you had sinned before. Since then, +by some strange impulse, you are very rarely absent from God's house; +but now the seed of the gospel falls into your soul as if it dropped +upon an iron floor, and nothing comes of it. The law may be thundered at +you; you do not sneer at it, but it never affects you. Jesus Christ may +be lifted up; his dear wounds may be exhibited; his streaming blood may +flow before your very eyes, and you may be bidden with all earnestness +to look to him and live; but it is as if one should sow the sea-shore. +What shall I do for you? Shall I stand here and rain tears upon this +hard highway? Alas! my tears will not break it up; it is trodden too +hard for that. Shall I bring the gospel plough? Alas! the ploughshare +will not enter ground so solid. What shall we do? O God, thou knowest +how to melt the hardest heart with the precious blood of Jesus. Do it +now, we beseech thee, and thus magnify thy grace, by causing the good +seed to live, and to produce a heavenly harvest. + + +II. I shall now turn to the second class of hearers: "And some fell upon +a ROCK; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it +lacked moisture." You can easily picture to yourselves that piece of +rock in the midst of the field thinly veiled with soil; and of course +the seed falls there as it does everywhere else. It springs up, it +hastens to grow, it withers, it dies. None but those who love the souls +of men can tell what hopes, what joys, and what bitter disappointments +these stony places have caused us. We have a class of hearers whose +hearts are hard, and yet they are apparently the softest and most +impressible of men. While other men see nothing in the sermon, these men +weep. Whether you preach the terrors of the law or the love of Calvary, +they are alike stirred in their souls, and the liveliest impressions are +apparently produced. Such may be listening now. They have resolved, but +they have procrastinated. They are not the sturdy enemies of God who +clothe themselves in steel, but they seem to bare their breasts, and lay +them open to the minister. Rejoiced in heart, we shoot our arrows there, +and they appear to penetrate; but, alas, a secret armor blunts every +dart, and no wound is felt. The parable speaks of this character thus: +"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and +forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth." Or as +another passage explains it: "And these are they likewise which are sown +on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive +it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for +a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's +sake, immediately they are offended." Have we not thousands of hearers +who receive the word with joy? They have no deep convictions, but they +leap into Christ on a sudden, and profess an instantaneous faith in him, +and that faith has all the appearance of being genuine. When we look at +it, the seed has really sprouted. There is a kind of life in it, there +is apparently a green blade. We thank God that a sinner is brought back, +a soul is born to God. But our joy is premature; they sprang up on a +sudden, and received the word with joy, because they had no depth of +earth, and the self-same cause which hastened their reception of the +seed also causes them, when the sun is risen with his fervent heat, to +wither away. These men we see every day in the week. They come to join +the church; they tell us a story of how they heard us preach on +such-and-such an occasion, and, oh, the word was so blessed to them, +they never felt so happy in their lives! "Oh, sir, I thought I must leap +from my seat when I heard about a precious Christ, and I believed on him +there and then; I am sure I did." We question them as to whether they +were ever convinced of sin. They think they were; but one thing they +know, they feel a great pleasure in religion. We put it to them. "Do you +think you will hold on?" They are confident that they shall. They hate +the things they once loved, they are sure they do. Everything has become +new to them. And all this is on a sudden. We enquire when the good work +began. We find it began when it ended, that is to say, there was no +previous work, no ploughing of the soil, but on a sudden they sprang +from death to life, as if a field should be covered with wheat by magic. +Perhaps we receive them into the church; but in a week or two they are +not so regular as they used to be. We gently reprove them, and they +explain that they meet with such opposition in religion that they are +obliged to yield a little. Another month and we lose them altogether. +The reason is that they have been laughed at or exposed to a little +opposition, and they have gone back. And what, think you, are the +feelings of the minister? He is like the husbandman, who sees his field +all green and flourishing, but at night a frost nips every shoot, and +his hoped-for gains are gone. The minister goes to his chamber, and +casts himself on his face before God, and cries, "I have been deceived; +my converts are fickle, their religion has withered as the green herb." +In the ancient story Orpheus is said to have had such skill upon the +lyre, that he made the oaks and stones to dance around him. It is a +poetical fiction, and yet hath it sometimes happened to the minister, +that not only have the godly rejoiced, but men, like oaks and stones, +have danced from their places. Alas! they have been oaks and stones +still. Hushed is the lyre. The oak returns to its rooting-place, and the +stone casts itself heavily to the earth. The sinner, who, like Saul, was +among the prophets, goes back to plan mischief against the Most High. + +If it is bad to be a wayside hearer, I cannot think it is much better to +be like the rock. This second class of hearers certainly gives us more +joy than the first. A certain company always comes round a new minister; +and I have often thought it is an act of God's kindness that he allows +these people to gather at the first, while the minister is young, and +has but few to stand by him; these persons are easily moved, and if the +minister preaches earnestly they feel it, and they love him, and rally +round him, much to his comfort. But time, that proves all things, +proves them. They seemed to be made of true metal; but when they are put +into the fire to be tested, they are consumed in the furnace. Some of +the shallow kind are here now. I have looked at you when I have been +preaching, and I have often thought, "That man one of these days will +come out from the world, I am sure he will." I have thanked God for him. +Alas, he is the same as ever. Years and years have we sowed him in vain, +and it is to be feared it will be so to the end, for he is without +depth, and without the moisture of the Spirit. Shall it be so? Must I +stand over the mouth of your open sepulchre, and think, "Here lies a +shoot which never became an ear, a man in whom grace struggled but never +reigned, who gave some hopeful spasms of life and then subsided into +eternal death?" God save you! Oh! may the Spirit deal with you +effectually, and may you, even you, yet bring forth fruit unto God, that +Jesus may have a reward for his sufferings. + + +III. I shall briefly treat of the third class, and may the Spirit of God +assist me to deal faithfully with you. "And some fell among THORNS; and +the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it." Now, this was good soil. +The two first characters were bad; the wayside was not the proper place, +the rock was not a congenial situation for the growth of any plant; but +this is good soil, for it grows thorns. Wherever a thistle will spring +up and flourish, there would wheat flourish too. This was fat, fertile +soil; it was no marvel therefore that the husbandman dealt largely +there, and threw handful after handful upon that corner of the field. +See how happy he is when in a month or two he visits the spot. The seed +has sprung up. True, there's a suspicious little plant down there of +about the same size as the wheat. "Oh!" he thinks, "that's not much, the +corn will outgrow _that_. When it is stronger it will choke these few +thistles that have unfortunately mixed with it." Ay, Mr. Husbandman, you +do not understand the force of evil, or you would not thus dream! He +comes again, and the seed has grown, there is even the corn in the ear; +but the thistles, the thorns, and the briers have become inter-twisted +with one another, and the poor wheat can hardly get a ray of sunshine. +It is so choked with thorns every way, that it looks quite yellow; the +plant is starved. Still it perseveres in growing, and it does seem as if +it would bring forth a little fruit. Alas, it never comes to anything. +With it the reaper never fills his arm. + +We have this class very largely among us. These hear the word and +understand what they hear. They take the truth home; they think it over; +they even go the length of making a profession of religion. The wheat +seems to spring and ear; it will soon come to perfection. Be in no +hurry, these men and women have a great deal to see after; they have the +cares of a large concern; their establishment employs so many hundred +hands; do not be deceived as to their godliness--they have no time for +it. They will tell you that they must live; that they cannot neglect +this world; that they must anyhow look out for the present, and as for +the future, they will render it all due attention by-and-by. They +continue to attend gospel-preaching, and the poor little stunted blade +of religion keeps on growing after a fashion. Meanwhile they have grown +rich, they come to the place of worship in a carriage, they have all +that heart can wish. Ah! now the seed will grow, will it not? No, no. +They have no cares now; the shop is given up, they live in the country; +they have not to ask, "Where shall the money come from to meet the next +bill?" or "how shall they be able to provide for an increasing family." +Now they have too much instead of too little, for they have _riches_, +and they are too wealthy to be gracious. "But," says one, "they might +spend their riches for God." Certainly they might, but they do not, for +riches are deceitful. They have to entertain much company, and chime in +with the world, and so Christ and his church are left in the lurch. + +Yes, but they begin to spend their riches, and they have surely got over +that difficulty, for they give largely to the cause of Christ, and they +are munificent in charity; the little blade will grow, will it not? No, +for now behold the thorns of pleasure. Their liberality to others +involves liberality to themselves; their pleasures, amusements, and +vanities choke the wheat of true religion; the good grains of gospel +truth cannot grow because they have to attend that musical party, that +ball, and that soirée, and so they cannot think of the things of God. I +know several specimens of this class. I knew one, high in court circles, +who has confessed to me that he wished he were poor, for then he might +enter the kingdom of heaven. He has said to me, "Ah! sir, these +politics, these politics, I wish I were rid of them, they are eating the +life out of my heart. I cannot serve God as I would." I know of another, +overloaded with riches, who has said to me, "Ah! sir, it is an awful +thing to be rich; one cannot keep close to the Saviour with all this +earth about him." + +Ah! my dear readers, I will not ask for you that God may lay you on a +bed of sickness, that he may strip you of all your wealth, and bring +you to beggary; but, oh, if he were to do it, and you were to save your +souls, it would be the best bargain you could ever make. If those mighty +ones who now complain that the thorns choke the seed could give up all +their riches and pleasures, if they that fare sumptuously every day +could take the place of Lazarus at the gate, it were a happy change for +them if their souls might be saved. A man may be honorable and rich, and +yet go to heaven; but it will be hard work, for "It is easier for a +camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter +into the kingdom of heaven." God does make some rich men enter the +kingdom of heaven, but hard is their struggle. Steady, young man, +steady! Hurry not to climb to wealth! It is a place where many heads are +turned. Do not ask God to make you popular; they that have popularity +are wearied by it. Cry with Agur, "Give me neither poverty nor riches." +God give me to tread the golden mean, and may I ever have in my heart +that good seed, which shall bring forth fruit a hundredfold to his own +glory. + + +IV. I now close with the last character, namely, the GOOD GROUND. Of the +good soil, as you will mark, we have but one in four. Will one in four +of our hearers, with well-prepared heart, receive the Word? + +The ground is described as "good"; not that it was good by nature, but +it had been made good by grace. God had ploughed it; he had stirred it +up with the plough of conviction, and there it lay in ridge and furrow +as it should lie. When the gospel was preached, the heart received it, +for the man said, "That is just the blessing I want. Mercy is what a +needy sinner requires." So that the preaching of the gospel was THE +thing to give comfort to this disturbed and ploughed soil. Down fell the +seed to take good root. In some cases it produced fervency of love, +largeness of heart, devotedness of purpose of a noble kind, like seed +which produces a hundredfold. The man became a mighty servant for God, +he spent himself and was spent. He took his place in the vanguard of +Christ's army, stood in the hottest of the battle, and did deeds of +daring which few could accomplish--the seed produced a hundredfold. It +fell into another heart of like character; the man could not do the +most, but still he did much. He gave himself to God, and in his business +he had a word to say for his Lord; in his daily walk he quietly adorned +the doctrine of God his Saviour--he brought forth sixtyfold. Then it +fell on another, whose abilities and talents were but small; he could +not be a star, but he would be a glow-worm; he could not do as the +greatest, but he was content to do something, however humble. The seed +had brought forth in him tenfold, perhaps twentyfold. How many are there +of this sort here? Is there one who prays within himself, "God be +merciful to me a sinner"? The seed has fallen in the right spot. Soul, +thy prayer shall be heard. God never sets a man longing for mercy +without intending to give it. Does another whisper, "Oh that I might be +saved"? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou, even thou, shalt be +saved. Hast thou been the chief of sinners? Trust Christ, and thy +enormous sins shall vanish as the millstone sinks beneath the flood. Is +there no one here that will trust the Saviour? Can it be possible that +the Spirit is entirely absent? that he is not moving in one soul? not +begetting life in one spirit? We will pray that he may now descend, that +the word may not be in vain. + + + + +THE PRINCIPAL WHEAT. + +"The principal wheat."--ISAIAH 28:25. + + +THE prophet mentions it as a matter of wisdom on the part of the +husbandman, that HE KNOWS WHAT IS THE PRINCIPAL THING TO CULTIVATE, and +makes it his principal care. The text, with the connection, runs thus: +"Does not the husbandman cast in the principal wheat?" He does not go to +the granary and take out wheat, and cummin, and barley, and rye, and +fling these about right and left, but he estimates the value of each +grain, and arranges them in his mind accordingly. He does not think that +cummin and caraway, which he merely grows to give a flavor to his meal, +are of half such importance as his bread-corn; and, though rye and +barley have their values, yet he does not reckon that even these are +equal to what he calls "the principal wheat." He is a man of discretion, +he arranges things; he places the most important crop in the front rank, +and spends upon it the most care. + +Here let us learn a lesson. Do keep things distinct in your minds--not +huddled and muddled by a careless thoughtlessness. Do not live a +confused life, without care and discretion, running all things into one; +but sort things out, and divide and distinguish between the precious and +the vile. See what this is worth, and what the other is worth, and set +your matters in rank and order, making some of them principal, and +others of them inferior. I suggest to you young people especially that, +in starting life, you say to yourselves, "What shall we live for? There +is a principal thing for which we ought to live, what shall it be?" Have +you turned over that question, or have you gone at it hit or miss? What +are you living for? What is your principal aim? Is it going to be that +of the old gentleman in Horace who said to his boy, "Get money: get it +honestly, if you can; but, by all means, get money." Will you be a +money-spinner? Shall coin be your principal corn? Or will you choose a +life of pleasure--"a short life and a merry one," as so many fools have +said to their great sorrow? Is it in dissipation that your life is to be +spent? Are thistles to be your principal crop? Because there is a +pleasure in looking at a Scotch thistle, do you intend to grow acres of +pleasurable vice? And will you make your bed upon them when you come to +die? Search and see what is worthy of being the principal object in +life; and, when you have found it out, then beseech the Holy Spirit to +help you to choose that one thing, and to give all your powers and +faculties to the cultivation of it. The farmer, who finds that wheat +ought to be his principal crop, makes it so, and lays himself out with +that end in view; learn from this to have a main object, and to give +your whole mind to it. + +This farmer was wise, because _he counted that to be principal which was +the most needful_. His family could do without cummin, which was but a +flavoring. Perhaps the mistress might complain, or the cook might +grumble, but that did not signify so much as it would do if the children +cried for bread. They certainly must have wheat, for bread is the staff +of life. It is bread that strengtheneth man's heart, and therefore the +farmer must grow wheat if he does not grow anything else. That which is +necessary he regarded as the principal thing. Is not this common sense? +If we were wisely to sit down and estimate, should we not say, "To be +forgiven my sins, to be right with God, to be holy, to be fit to live +eternally in heaven, is the greatest, the most needful thing for me, and +therefore I will make it the principal object of my pursuit"? A creature +cannot be satisfied unless he is answering the end for which he is +created; and the end of every intelligent creature is first, to glorify +God, and next, to enjoy God. What a bliss it must be to enjoy God +himself for ever and ever! Other things may be desirable, but this thing +is needful. A competence of income, a measure of esteem among men, a +degree of health--all these are the flavoring of life, but to be saved +in the Lord with an everlasting salvation is life itself. Jesus Christ +is the bread by which our soul's best life is sustained. Oh, that we +were all wise enough to feel that to be one with Christ is the one thing +needful; that to be at peace with God is the principal thing; that to be +brought into harmony with the Most High is the true music of our being. +Other herbs may take their place in due order, but grace is the +principal wheat, and we must cultivate it. + +This farmer was wise, because _he made that to be the principal thing +which was the most fit to be so_. Of course, barley is useful as food, +for nations have lived on barley bread, and lived healthily too; and rye +has been the nutriment of millions; neither have they starved on oats +and other grains. Still, give me a piece of wheaten bread, for it is the +best staff for life's journey. This farmer knew that wheat was the most +fitting food for man, and so he did not put the inferior grain, which +might act as a substitute, into the prominent place; but he gave his +wheat the preference. He did not say, "the principal barley," or "the +principal rye," much less "the principal cummin," or "the principal +fitches," but "the principal wheat." + +And what is there, brethren, that is so fit for the heart, the mind, the +soul of man, as to know God and his Christ? Other mental foods, such as +the fruits of knowledge, and the dainties of science, excellent though +they may be--are inferior nutriment and unsuitable to build up the inner +manhood. In my God and my Saviour, I find my heaven and my all. My soul +sits down to a crumb of truth about Jesus, and finds great satisfaction +in living upon it. The more we can know God, and enjoy God, and become +like to God, and the more Christ is our daily bread, the more do we +perceive the fitness of all this to our new-born natures. O beloved, +make that to be your principal object which is the fittest pursuit of an +immortal mind. + + "Religion is the chief concern + Of mortals here below; + May I its great importance learn, + Its sovereign virtue know! + + "More needful this than glittering wealth, + Or aught the world bestows: + Not reputation, food, or health, + Can give us such repose." + +Moreover, this farmer was wise, because _he made that the principal +thing which was the most profitable_. Under certain circumstances, in +our own country, wheat is not the most profitable thing which a man can +grow; but, ordinarily, it is the best crop that the earth yields, and +therefore the text speaks of "the principal wheat." Our grandfathers +used to rely upon the wheat stack to pay their rent. They looked to +their corn as the arm of their strength; and though it is not so now, it +always was so of old, and perhaps it may yet be so again. Anyhow, the +figure holds good with regard to true religion. That is the most +profitable thing. I am told that rich men find it very hard to get hold +of anything which yields five per cent, nowadays; but this blessed fear +of the Lord is an extraordinarily profitable investment, for it does not +yield a hundred per cent, or a thousand per cent, but a man begins with +nothing and all things become his by faith. Being freely discharged of +our sins, we are by overflowing grace greatly enriched, so that we +number among our possessions heaven itself, Christ himself, God himself. +All things are ours. Oh, what a blessed crop to sow! What a harvest +comes of it! Godliness is profitable for the life that now is, and for +that which is to come. Godliness is a blessing to a man's body, it keeps +him from drunkenness and vice; and it is a blessing to his soul, it +makes him sweet and pure. It is a blessing to him every way. If I had to +die like a dog, I would like to live like a Christian. If there were no +hereafter, yet still, for comfort and for joy, give me the life of one +who strives to live like Christ. There is a practical everyday truth in +the verse-- + + "'Tis religion that can give + Sweetest pleasures while we live; + 'Tis religion must supply + Solid comfort when we die." + +Only that religion must not be of the common sort; it must have for its +root a hearty faith in Jesus Christ. See ye to it. Our religion must be +either everything or nothing, either first or nowhere. Make it "the +principal wheat," and it will richly repay you. + + +II. Secondly, the husbandman is a lesson to us because HE GIVES THIS +PRINCIPAL THING THE PRINCIPAL PLACE. I find that the Hebrew is rendered +by some eminent scholars, "He puts the wheat into the principal place." +That little handful of cummin for the wife to flavor the cakes with he +grows in a corner; and the various herbs he places in their proper +borders. The barley he sets in its plot, and the rye in its acre; but if +there is a good bit of rich soil--the best he has--he appropriates it to +the principal wheat. He gives his choicest fields to that which is to be +the main means of his living. + +Now, here is a lesson for you and for me. Let us give to true godliness +our principal powers and abilities. Let us give to the things of God our +best and _most intense thought_. I pray you, do not take religion at +second hand from what I tell you, or from what somebody else tells you; +but think it over. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the word of +God. The thoughtful Christian is the growing Christian. Remember, the +service of God deserves our first consideration and endeavor. We are +poor things at our prime, but we ought to give the Lord nothing short of +our best. God would not have us serve him heedlessly, but he would have +us use all the brain and intellect and mind that we have in studying and +practising his word. "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace." +"Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them." If your mind +is more clear and active at one time than at another, then sow the +principal wheat. If you feel more fresh and more inclined to think at +one time of the day than at another, let your mind then go towards the +best things. + +Be sure, also, to yield to this subject _your most earnest love_. The +best field in the little estate of manhood is not the head, but the +heart; sow the principal wheat there. Oh, to have true religion in the +heart; to love what we know--intensely to love it; to hold it fast as +with the grip of life and death--never to let it go! The Lord says, "My +son, give me thy heart," and he will not be contented with anything less +than our heart. Oh, when your zeal is most burning, and your love is +most fervent, let the warmth and the fervency all go towards the Lord +your God, and to the service of him who has redeemed you with his +precious blood. Let the principal wheat have the principal part of your +nature. Towards God and his Christ also turn your _most fervent +desires_. When you enlarge your desire, desire Christ; when you become +ambitious let your ambition be all for God. Let your hunger and your +thirst be after righteousness. Let your aspirations and your longings be +all towards holiness, and the things that shall make you like to Christ. +Give to this principal wheat your principal desires. + +Then let the Lord have _the attentive respect of your life_. Let the +principal wheat be sown in every action. If we are truly Christians we +must be as much Christians outside the church as in it. We shall try to +make our eating and our drinking, and everything we do, tend to the +glory of God. Draw no line between the secular and the religious part of +your conduct, but let the secular be made religious by a devout desire +to glorify God in the one as much as in the other. Let us worship God +in the commonest duties of life, even as they do who stand before his +throne. So it ought to be. Let us sow the principal wheat in all the +fields of our conversation, in business, in the family, among our +friends, and with our children. May we each one feel, "For me to live is +Christ. I cannot live without Christ, or for anything but Christ." Let +your whole nature yield itself to Jesus, and to none else. + +We should give to this principal wheat _our most earnest labors_. We +should spend ourselves for the spread of the gospel. A Christian man +ought to lay himself out to serve Jesus. I hate to see a professing man +zealous in politics and lukewarm in devotion; all on fire at a parish +vestry, and chill as winter when he comes to a prayer-meeting. Some fly +like eagles when they are serving the world, but they have a broken wing +in the service of God. This should not be. If anything could rouse us +up, and make the lion within us roar in his strength, it should be when +we confront the foes of Jesus or fight in his cause. Our Lord's service +is the principal wheat, let us labor most in connection with it. + +This, I think, should also take possession of us so as to lead to _our +greatest sacrifices_. The love of Christ ought to be so strong as to +swallow up self, and make sacrifice our daily joy. For Christ's name's +sake we should be willing to endure poverty, reproach, slander, exile, +death. Nothing should be dear to a Christian in comparison with Christ. +Now, I will put it to you whether it is so or no. Is the love of Jesus +the principal wheat with us? Are we giving our religion the chief place +or not? I am afraid some people treat religion as certain gentlemen +treat an off-hand farm; they put a bailiff into it, and only give an +eye to it now and then. Their minister is the bailiff, and they expect +him to see to it for them. These off-hand farms are losing concerns. +Look at these half-and-half brethren. They have religion? Certainly. But +they are like the man of whom the child spoke at the Sunday-school. "Is +your father a Christian?" said the teacher. "Yes," said the child, "but +he has not worked much at it lately." I could point out several of this +sort, who are sowing their wheat very sparingly, and choosing the most +barren patch to sow it in. They profess to be Christians, but religion +is a tenth-rate article on their farm. Some have a large acreage for the +world, and a poor little plot for Christ. They are growers of worldly +pleasure and self-indulgence, and they sow a little religion by the +roadside for appearance sake. This will not do. God will not thus be +mocked. If we despise him and his truth we shall be lightly esteemed. O +come let us give our principal time, talent, thought, effort to that +which is the chief concern of immortal spirits. May we imitate the +husbandman who gives the principal wheat the principal place in his +farm. + + +III. Let us learn a third lesson. THE HUSBANDMAN SELECTS THE PRINCIPAL +SEED-CORN WHEN HE IS SOWING HIS WHEAT. When a farmer is setting aside +wheat for sowing, he does not choose the tail corn and the worst of his +produce, but if he is a sensible man he likes to sow the best wheat in +the world. Many farmers search the country round for a good sample of +wheat for sowing, for they do not expect to get a good harvest out of +bad seed. The husbandman is taught of God to put into the ground "the +principal wheat." Let me learn that if I am going to sow to the Lord +and to be a Christian, I should sow the best kind of Christianity. + +I should try to do this, first, _by believing the weightiest doctrines_. +I would believe not this "ism," nor that, but the unadulterated truth +which Jesus taught; for a holy character will only grow by the Spirit of +God out of true doctrine. Falsehood breeds sin: truth begets and fosters +holiness. You and I therefore ought to select our seed carefully, and +cast out all error. If we are wise we shall think most of the most +important truths, for I have known people attach the greatest importance +to the smallest things. They fight over the fitches, and leave the wheat +to the crows. As for me, those who will may dispute over vials and +trumpets, I shall mainly preach the doctrine of the precious blood and +the glorious truths of substitution and atonement. These doctrines are +the principal wheat, and therefore these shall have my choice. + +Next to that, we ought to sow _the noblest examples_. Many men are +dwarfed because they choose a bad model to start with. They imitate dear +old Mr. So-and-so till they grow wonderfully like him with the best of +him left out. A minister happens to be of a gloomy turn of mind, and he +preaches the deep experience of the children of God, and in consequence +a band of good people think it their duty to be melancholy. Why need +they fall into a ditch because their leader has splashed himself? We +should never copy any man's infirmities. To be like Paul there is no +need to have weak eyes; to be like Thomas there is no necessity to +doubt. If you copy any good man, there is a point at which you ought to +stop short. If I must have a human model, I would prefer one of the +bravest of the saints of God; but oh how much better to follow that +perfect pattern which you have in Christ Jesus! + +We should sow the best wheat by seeing that we have _the purest spirit_. +Alas! how soon do spirits become soiled by self or pride, or despondency +or sloth, or some earthly taint. But what a grand thing it is to live in +the spirit of Christ! May we be humble, lowly, bold, self-sacrificing, +pure, chaste, and holy. + +And, then, there is one more mode of sowing selected seed. We should +endeavor to live in _the closest communion with God_. A dear brother +prayed just now that we might have as much grace as we were capable of +receiving, and that God would bring us into such a state that we might +not hinder him in anything which he willed to do by us. This is a good +prayer. It should be our desire to rise to the highest form of spiritual +life. If you sow this principal wheat, get the best sort of it. There is +a spirit and a spirit; and there are doctrines and doctrines; the best +is the best for you. O young men, if you mean to have piety, go in for +it thoroughly. Do not sneak through the world as if you were ashamed of +your Lord. If you are Christ's, show your colors. Rally to his banner, +gather to his trumpet call, and then stand up, stand up for Jesus. If +there is any manhood in you, this great cause calls for it all; exhibit +it, and may the Spirit of God help you so to do. + + +IV. Fourthly, THE HUSBANDMAN GROWS THE PRINCIPAL WHEAT WITH THE +PRINCIPAL CARE. Some critics say that the proper translation is that the +husbandman plants his wheat in rows. It is said that the large crops in +Palestine in olden time were due to the fact that they planted the +wheat. They set it in lines, so that it was not checked or suffocated +by its being too thick in one place, neither was there any fear of its +being too thin in another. The wheat was planted, and then streams of +water were turned by the foot to each particular plant. No wonder, +therefore, that the land brought forth abundantly. + +We should give our principal care to the principal thing. Our godliness +should be carried out with discretion and care. Brethren, are we careful +enough as to our religious walk? Have you ever searched to the bottom of +your profession? Why do you happen to be members of a certain church? +Your mother was so. Well, there is some good in that reason, but not +enough to justify you in the sight of God. I pray you judge your +standing. If any Christian minister is afraid to urge you to this duty, +I stand in doubt of him. I am not at all afraid. I beg you to examine +all that I teach you, for I would not like to be responsible for another +man's creed. Like the Bereans, search and see whether these things be +according to Scripture or not. One of the greatest blessings that could +come upon the church would be a searching spirit which would refer +everything to the Holy Scriptures. If they speak not according to this +word it is because there is no light in them. Do your service to God as +carefully as the eastern farmer planted his wheat, when he set it in +rows with great orderliness and exactness. You serve a precise God, +therefore serve him precisely. He is a jealous God, therefore be jealous +of the least taint of error or will-worship. + +Take care, also, that you water every part of your religion, as the +farmer watered each plant. Pray for grace from on high that you may +never be parched and dried up. Perform to your faith, to your hope, to +your love, and to all the plants that are in your soul every other +service which the husbandman renders to his wheat. Give grace your +principal care, for it deserves it. + + +V. With this I close. Do this, because FROM THIS YOU MAY EXPECT YOUR +PRINCIPAL CROP. If religion be the principal thing, you may look to +religion for your principal reward. The harvest will come to you in +various ways. You will make the greatest success in this life if you +wholly live to the glory of God. Success or failure must much depend +upon the fitness of our object. It is of no use _my_ attempting to sing, +for I shall never be able to conduct a choir. I could not succeed in +that, but if I preach, I may succeed, for that is my work. Now you, +Christian man, if you try to live to the world you will not prosper, for +you are not fitted for it. Grace has spoiled you for sin. If you live to +God with all your heart you will succeed in it, for God has made you on +purpose for it. As he made the fish for the water, and the birds for the +air, so he made the believer for holiness, and for the service of God; +and you will be out of your element, a fish out of water, or a bird in +the stream, if you leave the service of God. The Eastern farmer's +prosperity hinges on his wheat, and yours upon your devotion to God. It +is to Godliness that you must look for your joy. Is there any bliss like +the bliss of knowing that you are in Christ, and are the beloved of the +Lord? It is to your religion that you must look for comfort on a sick +and dying bed, and you may be there very soon. + +In the world to come what a crop, what a harvest will come of serving +the Lord! What will come out of all else? What but mere smoke? A man has +made a million of money, and he is dead. What has he got by his wealth? +A man's fame rings throughout the earth as a great and successful +warrior, and he is dead. What has he as the result of all his honors? To +live to the world is like playing with boys in the street for halfpence, +or with babes for bits of platter and oyster shells. Life for God is +real and substantial, but all else is waste. Let us think so, and gird +up our loins to serve the Lord. May the divine Spirit help us to sow +"the principal wheat," and to live in joyful expectation of reaping a +happy harvest according to the promise, "They that sow in tears shall +reap in joy." + + + + +SPRING IN THE HEART. + +"Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows +thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing +thereof."--PSALM 65:10. + + +THOUGH other seasons excel in fulness, spring must always bear the palm +for freshness and beauty. We thank God when the harvest hours draw near, +and the golden grain invites the sickle, but we ought equally to thank +him for the rougher days of spring, for these prepare the harvest. April +showers are mothers of the sweet May flowers, and the wet and cold of +winter are the parents of the splendor of summer. God blesses the +springing thereof, or else it could not be said, "Thou crownest the year +with thy goodness." There is as much necessity for divine benediction in +spring as for heavenly bounty in summer; and, therefore, we should +praise God all the year round. + +Spiritual spring is a very blessed season in a church. Then we see +youthful piety developed, and on every hand we hear the joyful cry of +those who say, "We have found the Lord." Our sons are springing up as +the grass and as willows by the water-courses. We hold up our hands in +glad astonishment and cry, "Who are these that fly as a cloud and as +doves to their windows?" In the revival days of a Church, when God is +blessing her with many conversions, she has great cause to rejoice in +God and to sing, "Thou blessest the springing thereof." + +I intend to take the text in reference to individual cases. There is a +time of springing of grace, when it is just in its bud, just breaking +through the dull cold earth of unregenerate nature. I desire to talk a +little about that, and concerning the blessing which the Lord grants to +the green blade of new-born godliness, to those who are beginning to +hope in the Lord. + + +I. First, I shall have a little to say about THE WORK PREVIOUS TO THE +SPRINGING THEREOF. + +It appears from the text that there is work for God alone to do before +the springing comes, and we know that there is work for God to do +through us as well. + +_There is work for us to do._ Before there can be a springing up in the +soul of any, there must be _ploughing_, harrowing, and sowing. There +must be a ploughing, and we do not expect that as soon as ever we plough +we shall reap the sheaves. Blessed be God, in many cases, the reaper +overtakes the ploughman, but we must not always expect it. In some +hearts God is long in preparing the soul by conviction: the law with its +ten black horses drags the ploughshare of conviction up and down the +soul till there is no one part of it left unfurrowed. Conviction goes +deeper than any plough to the very core and centre of the spirit, till +the spirit is wounded. The ploughers make deep furrows indeed when God +puts his hand to the work: the soil of the heart is broken in pieces in +the presence of the Most High. + +Then comes the _sowing_. Before there can be a springing up it is +certain that there must be something put into the ground, so that after +the preacher has used the plough of the law, he applies to his Master +for the seed-basket of the gospel. Gospel promises, gospel doctrines, +especially a clear exposition of free grace and the atonement, these are +the handfuls of corn which we scatter broadcast. Some of the grain falls +on the highway, and is lost; but other handfuls fall where the plough +has been, and there abide. + +Then comes the _harrowing_ work. We do not expect to sow seed and then +leave it: the gospel has to be prayed over. The prayer of the preacher +and the prayer of the Church make up God's harrow to rake in the seed +after it is scattered, and so it is covered up within the clods of the +soul, and is hidden in the heart of the hearer. + +Now there is a reason why I dwell upon this, namely, that I may exhort +my dear brethren who have not seen success, not to give up the work, but +to hope that they have been doing the ploughing, and sowing, and +harrowing work, and that the harvest is to come. I mention this for yet +another reason, and that is, by way of warning to those who expect to +have a harvest without this preparatory work. I do not believe that much +good will come from attempts at sudden revivals made without previous +prayerful labor. A revival to be permanent must be a matter of growth, +and the result of much holy effort, longing, pleading, and watching. The +servant of God is to preach the gospel whether men are prepared for it +or not; but in order to large success, depend upon it there is a +preparedness necessary among the hearers. Upon some hearts warm earnest +preaching drops like an unusual thing which startles but does not +convince; while in other congregations, where good gospel preaching has +long been the rule, and much prayer has been offered, the words fall +into the hearers' souls and bring forth speedy fruit. We must not expect +to have results without work. There is no hope of a church having an +extensive revival in its midst unless there is continued and importunate +waiting upon God, together with earnest laboring, intense anxiety, and +hopeful expectation. + +_But there is also a work to be done which is beyond our power._ After +ploughing, sowing, and harrowing, there must come the shower from +heaven. "Thou visitest the earth and waterest it," says the Psalmist. In +vain are all our efforts unless God shall bless us with the rain of his +Holy Spirit's influence. O Holy Spirit! thou, and thou alone, workest +wonders in the human heart, and thou comest from the Father and the Son +to do the Father's purposes, and to glorify the Son. + +Three effects are spoken of. First, we are told _he waters the ridges_. +As the ridges of the field become well saturated through and through +with the abundant rain, so God sends his Holy Spirit till the whole +heart of man is moved and influenced by his divine operations. The +understanding is enlightened, the conscience is quickened, the will is +controlled, the affections are inflamed; all these powers, which I may +call the ridges of the heart, come under the divine working. It is ours +to deal with men as men, and bring to bear upon them gospel truth, and +to set before them motives that are suitable to move rational creatures; +but, after all, it is the rain from on high which alone can water the +ridges: there is no hope of the heart being savingly affected except by +divine operations. + +Next, it is added, "_Thou settlest the furrows_," by which some think +it is meant that the furrows are drenched with water. Others think there +is an allusion here to the beating down of the earth by heavy rain till +the ridges become flat, and by the soaking of the water are settled into +a more compact mass. Certain it is that the influences of God's Spirit +have a humbling and settling effect upon a man. He was unsettled once +like the earth that is dry and crumbly, and blown about and carried away +with every wind of doctrine; but as the earth when soaked with wet is +compacted and knit together, so the heart becomes solid and serious +under the power of the Spirit. As the high parts of the ridge are beaten +down into the furrows, so the lofty ideas, the grand schemes, and carnal +boastings of the heart begin to level down, when the Holy Spirit comes +to work upon the soul. Genuine humility is a very gracious fruit of the +Spirit. To be broken in heart is the best means of preparing the soul +for Jesus. "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not +despise." Brethren, always be thankful when you see high thoughts of man +brought down; this settling the furrows is a very gracious preparatory +work of grace. + +Yet again, it is added, "_Thou makest it soft with showers_." Man's +heart is naturally hardened against the gospel; like the Eastern soil, +it is hard as iron if there be no gracious rain. How sweetly and +effectively does the Spirit of God soften the man through and through! +He is no longer towards the Word what he used to be: he feels +everything, whereas once he felt nothing. The rock flows with water; the +heart is dissolved in tenderness, the eyes are melted into tears. + +All this is God's work. I have said already that God works through us, +but still it is God's immediate work to send down the rain of his grace +from on high. Perhaps he is at work upon some of you, though as yet +there is no springing up of spiritual life in your souls. Though your +condition is still a sad one, we will hope for you that ere long there +shall be seen the living seed of grace sending up its tender green shoot +above the soil, and may the Lord bless the springing thereof. + + +II. In the second place, let us deliver A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE +SPRINGING THEREOF. + +After the operations of the Holy Spirit have been quietly going on for a +certain season as pleaseth the great Master and Husbandman, then there +are signs of grace. Remember the apostle's words, "First the blade, then +the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Some of our friends are greatly +disturbed because they cannot see the full corn in the ear in +themselves. They suppose that, if they were the subjects of a divine +work, they would be precisely like certain advanced Christians with whom +it is their privilege to commune, or of whom they may have read in +biographies. Beloved, this is a very great mistake. When first grace +enters the heart, it is not a great tree covering with its shadow whole +acres, but it is the least of all seeds, like a grain of mustard seed. +When it first rises upon the soul, it is not the sun shining at high +noon, but it is the first dim ray of dawn. Are you so simple as to +expect the harvest before you have passed through the springing-time? I +shall hope that by a very brief description of the earliest stage of +Christian experience you may be led to say, "I have gone as far as +that," and then I hope you may be able to take the comfort of the text +to yourselves: "Thou blessest the springing thereof." + +What then is the springing up of piety in the heart? We think it is +first seen in _sincerely earnest desires after salvation_. The man is +not saved, in his own apprehension, but he longs to be. That which was +once a matter of indifference is now a subject of intense concern. Once +he despised Christians, and thought them needlessly earnest; he thought +religion a mere trifle, and he looked upon the things of time and sense +as the only substantial matters; but now how changed he is! He envies +the meanest Christian, and would change places with the poorest believer +if he might but be able to read his title clear to mansions in the +skies. Now worldly things have lost dominion over him, and spiritual +things are uppermost. Once with the unthinking many, he cried, "Who will +show us any good?" but now he cries, "Lord, lift thou up the light of +thy countenance upon me." Once it was the corn and the wine to which he +looked for comfort, but now he looks to God alone. His rock of refuge +must be God, for he finds no comfort elsewhere. His holy desires, which +he had years ago, were like smoke from the chimney, soon blown away; but +now his longings are permanent, though not always operative to the same +degree. At times these desires amount to a hungering and a thirsting +after righteousness, and yet he is not satisfied with these desires, but +wishes for a still more anxious longing after heavenly things. These +desires are among the first springings of divine life in the soul. + +"The springing thereof" shows itself next in _prayer_. It _is_ prayer +now. Once it was the mocking of God with holy sounds unattended by the +heart; but now, though the prayer is such that he would not like a human +ear to hear him, yet God approves it, for it is the talking of a spirit +to a Spirit, and not the muttering of lips to an unknown God. His +prayers, perhaps, are not very long: they do not amount to more than +this, "Oh!" "Ah!" "Would to God!" "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!" +and such-like short ejaculations; but, then, they _are_ prayers. "Behold +he prayeth," does not refer to a long prayer; it is quite as sure a +proof of spiritual life within, if it only refers to a sigh or to a +tear. These "groanings that cannot be uttered," are among "the +springings thereof." + +There will also be manifest _a hearty love for the means of grace_, and +the house of God. The Bible, long unread, which was thought to be of +little more use than an old almanac, is now treated with great +consideration; and though the reader finds little in it that comforts +him just now, and much that alarms him, yet he feels that it is the book +for him, and he turns to its pages with hope. When he goes up to God's +house, he listens eagerly, hoping that there may be a message for him. +Before, he attended worship as a sort of pious necessity incumbent upon +all respectable people; but now he goes up to God's house that he may +find the Saviour. Once there was no more religion in him than in the +door which turns upon its hinges; but now he enters the house praying, +"Lord, meet with my soul," and if he gets no blessing, he goes away +sighing, "O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even +to his seat." This is one of the blessed signs of "the springing +thereof." + +Yet more cheering is another, namely, that the soul in this state has +_faith in Jesus Christ_, at least in some degree. It is not a faith +which brings great joy and peace, but still it is a faith which keeps +the heart from despair, and prevents its sinking under a sense of sin. +I have known the time when I do not believe any man living could see +faith in me, and when I could scarcely perceive any in myself, and yet I +was bold to say, with Peter, "Lord, thou knowest all things, _thou_ +knowest that I love thee." What man cannot see, Christ can see. Many +people have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are so much engaged +in looking at it that they do not see it. If they would look to Christ +and not to their own faith, they would not only see Christ but see their +own faith too; but they measure their faith, and it seems so little when +they contrast it with the faith of full-grown Christians, that they fear +it is not faith at all. Oh, little one, if thou hast faith enough to +receive Christ, remember the promise, "To as many as received him, to +them gave he power to become the sons of God." Poor, simple, +weak-hearted, and troubled one, look to Jesus and answer, Can such a +Saviour suffer in vain? Can such an atonement be offered in vain? Canst +thou trust him, and yet be cast away? It cannot be. It never was in the +Saviour's heart to shake off one that did cling to his arm. However +feeble the faith, he blesses "the springing thereof." The difficulty +raises partly from misapprehension and partly from want of confidence in +God. I say misapprehension: now if like some Londoners you had never +seen corn when it is green, you would cry out, "What! Do you say that +yonder green stuff is wheat?" "Yes," the farmer says, "that is wheat." +You look at it again and you reply, "Why, man alive, that is nothing but +grass. You do not mean to tell me that this grassy stuff will ever +produce a loaf of bread such as I see in the baker's window; I cannot +conceive it." No, you could not conceive it, but when you get +accustomed to it, it is not at all wonderful to see the wheat go through +certain stages; first the blade, then the ear, and afterwards the full +corn in the ear. Some of you have never seen growing grace, and do not +know anything about it. When you are newly converted you meet with +Christians who are like ripe golden ears, and you say, "I am not like +them." True, you are no more like them than that grassy stuff in the +furrows is like full-grown wheat; but you will grow like them one of +these days. You must expect to go through the blade period before you +get to the ear period, and in the ear period you will have doubts +whether you will ever come to the full corn in the ear; but you will +arrive at perfection in due time. Thank God that you are in Christ at +all. Whether I have much faith or little faith, whether I can do much +for Christ or little for Christ, is not the first question; I am saved, +not on account of what I am, but on account of what Jesus Christ is; and +if I am trusting to him, however little in Israel I may be, I am as safe +as the brightest of the saints. + +I have said, however, that mixed with misapprehension there is a great +deal of unbelief. I cannot put it all down to an ignorance that may be +forgiven: for there is sinful unbelief too. O sinner, why do you not +trust Jesus Christ? Poor, quickened, awakened conscience, God gives you +his word that he who trusts in Christ is not condemned, and yet you are +afraid that you are condemned! This is to give God the lie! Be ashamed +and confounded that you should ever have been guilty of doubting the +veracity of God. All your other sins do not grieve Christ so much as the +sin of thinking that he is unwilling to forgive you, or the sin of +suspecting that if you trust him he will cast you away. Do not slander +his gracious character. Do not cast a slur upon the generosity of his +tender heart. He saith, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast +out." Come in the faith of his promise, and he will receive you just +now. + +I have thus given some description of "the springing thereof." + + +III. Thirdly, according to the text, THERE IS ONE WHO SEES THIS +SPRINGING. Thou, Lord--_thou_ blessest the springing thereof. + +I wish that some of us had quicker eyes to see the beginning of grace in +the souls of men; for want of this we let slip many opportunities of +helping the weaklings. If a woman had the charge of a number of children +that were not her own, I do not suppose she would notice all the +incipient stages of disease; but when a mother nurses her own dear +children, as soon as ever upon the cheek or in the eye there is a token +of approaching sickness, she perceives it at once. I wish we had just as +quick an eye, because just as tender a heart, towards precious souls. I +do not doubt that many young people are weeks and even months in +distress, who need not be, if you who know the Lord were a little more +watchful to help them in the time of their sorrow. Shepherds are up all +night at lambing time to catch up the lambs as soon as they are born, +and take them in and nurse them; and we, who ought to be shepherds for +God, should be looking out for all the lambs, especially at seasons when +there are many born into God's great fold, for tender nursing is wanted +in the first stages of the new life. God, however, when his servants do +not see "the springing thereof," sees it all. + +Now, you silent, retired spirits, who dare not speak to father or +mother, or brother or sister, this text ought to be a sweet morsel to +you. "_Thou_ blessest the springing thereof," which proves that God sees +you and your new-born grace. The Lord sees the first sign of penitence. +Though you only say to yourself, "I will arise and go to my Father," +your Father hears you. Though it is nothing but a desire, your Father +registers it. "Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in +thy book?" He is watching your return; he runs to meet you, and puts his +arms about you, and kisses you with the kisses of his accepting love. O +soul, be encouraged with that thought, that up in the chamber or down by +the hedge, or wherever it is that thou hast sought secrecy, God is +there. Dwell on the thought, "Thou God seest me." That is a precious +text--"All my desire is before thee;" and here is another sweet one, +"The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in +his mercy." He can see you when you only hope in his mercy, and he takes +pleasure in you if you have only begun to fear him. Here is a third +choice word, "Thou wilt perfect that which concerneth me." Have you a +concern about these things? Is it a matter of soul-concern with you to +be reconciled to God, and to have an interest in Jesus' precious blood? +It is only "the springing thereof," but he blesses it. It is written, "A +bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking flax he will not quench, +till he bring forth judgment unto victory." There shall be victory for +you, even before the judgment-seat of God, though as yet you are only +like the flax that smokes and gives no light, or like the reed that is +broken, and yields no music. God sees the first springing of grace. + + +IV. A few words upon a fourth point: WHAT A MISERY IT WOULD BE, IF IT +WERE POSSIBLE, TO HAVE THIS SPRINGING WITHOUT GOD'S BLESSING! + +The text says, "Thou _blessest_ the springing thereof." We must, just a +moment, by way of contrast, think of how the springing would have been +without the blessing. Suppose we were to see a revival among us without +God's blessing. It is my conviction that there are revivals which are +not of God at all, but are produced by excitement merely. If there be no +blessing from the Lord, it will be all a delusion, a bubble blown up +into the air for a moment, and then gone to nothing. We shall only see +the people stirred, to become the more dull and dead afterwards; and +this is a great mischief to the church. + +In the individual heart, if there should be a springing up without God's +blessing, there would be no good in it. Suppose you have good desires, +but no blessing on these desires, they will only tantalize and worry +you; and then, after a time, they will be gone, and you will be more +impervious than you were before to religious convictions; for, if +religious desires are not of God's sending, but are caused by +excitement, they will probably prevent your giving a serious hearing to +the Word of God in times to come. If convictions do not soften they will +certainly harden. To what extremities have some been driven who have had +springings of a certain sort which have not led them to Christ! Some +have been crushed by despair. They tell us that religion crowds the +madhouse: it is not true; but there is no doubt whatever that +religiousness of a certain kind has driven many a man out of his mind. +The poor souls have felt their wound but have not seen the balm. They +have not known Jesus. They have had a sense of sin and nothing more. +They have not fled for refuge to the hope which God has set before them. +Marvel not if men do go mad when they refuse the Saviour. It may come as +a judicial visitation of God upon those men who, when in great distress +of mind, will not fly to Christ. I believe it is with some just +this--you must either fly to Jesus, or else your burden will become +heavier and heavier until your spirit will utterly fail. This is not the +fault of religion, it is the fault of those who will not accept the +remedy which religion presents. A springing up of desires without God's +blessing would be an awful thing, but we thank him that we are not left +in such a case. + + +V. And now I have to dwell upon THE COMFORTING THOUGHT THAT GOD DOES +BLESS "THE SPRINGING THEREOF." I wish to deal with you who are tender +and troubled; I want to show that God _does_ bless your springing. He +does it in many ways. + +Frequently he does it by the cordials which he brings. You have a few +very sweet moments: you cannot say that you are Christ's, but at times +the bells of your heart ring very sweetly at the mention of his name. +The means of grace are very precious to you. When you gather to the +Lord's worship you feel a holy calm, and you go away from the service +wishing that there were seven Sundays in the week instead of one. By the +blessing of God the Word has just suited your case, as if the Lord had +sent his servants on purpose to you: you lay aside your crutches for +awhile, and you begin to run. Though these things have been sadly +transient, they are tokens for good. + +On the other hand, if you have had none of these comforts, or few of +them, and the means of grace have not been consolations to you, I want +you to look upon that as a blessing. It may be the greatest blessing +that God can give us to take away all comforts on the road, in order to +quicken our running towards the end. When a man is flying to the City of +Refuge to be protected from the man-slayer, it may be an act of great +consideration to stay him for a moment that he may quench his thirst and +run more swiftly afterwards; but perhaps, in a case of imminent peril, +it may be the kindest thing neither to give him anything to eat or to +drink, nor invite him to stop for a moment, in order that he may fly +with undiminished speed to the place of safety. The Lord may be blessing +you in the uneasiness which you feel. Inasmuch as you cannot say that +you are in Christ, it may be the greatest blessing which heaven can give +to take away every other blessing from you, in order that you may be +compelled to fly to the Lord. You perhaps have a little of your +self-righteousness left, and while it is so you cannot get joy and +comfort. The royal robe which Jesus gives will never shine brilliantly +upon us till every rag of our own goodness is gone. Perhaps you are not +empty enough, and God will never fill you with Christ till you are. Fear +often drives men to faith. Have you never heard of a person walking in +the fields into whose bosom a bird has flown because pursued by the +hawk? Poor, timid thing, it would not have ventured there had not a +greater fear compelled it. All this may be so with you; your fears may +be sent to drive you more swiftly and more closely to the Saviour, and +if so, I see in these present sorrows the signs that God is blessing +"the springing thereof." + +In looking back upon my own "springing" I sometimes think God blessed me +then in a lovelier way than now. Though I would not willingly return to +that early stage of my spiritual life, yet there were many joys about +it. An apple tree when loaded with apples is a very comely sight: but +give me, for beauty, the apple tree in bloom. The whole world does not +present a more lovely sight than an apple blossom. Now, a full-grown +Christian laden with fruit is a comely sight, but still there is a +peculiar loveliness about the young Christian. Let me tell you what that +blessedness is; you have probably now a greater horror of sin than +professors who have known the Lord for years; they might wish that they +felt your tenderness of conscience. You have now a graver sense of duty, +and a more solemn fear of the neglect of it, than some who are further +advanced. You have also a greater zeal than many: you are now doing your +first works for God, and burning with your first love; nothing is too +hot or too heavy for you: I pray that you may never decline, but always +advance. + +And now to close. I think there are three lessons for us to learn. +First, _let older saints be very gentle and kind to young believers_. +God blesses the springing thereof--mind that you do the same. Do not +throw cold water upon young desires: do not snuff out young believers +with hard questions. While they are babes and need the milk of the Word, +do not be choking them with your strong meat; they will eat strong meat +by-and-by, but not just yet. Remember, Jacob would not overdrive the +lambs; be equally prudent. Teach and instruct them, but let it be with +gentleness and tenderness, not as their superiors, but as nursing +fathers for Christ's sake. God, you see, blesses the springing +thereof--may he bless it through you! + +The next thing I have to say is, _fulfil the duty of gratitude_. +Beloved, if God blesses the springing thereof we ought to be grateful +for a little grace. If you have only seen the first shoot peeping up +through the mould be thankful, and you shall see the green blade waving +in the breeze; be thankful for the ankle-deep verdure and you shall soon +see the commencement of the ear; be thankful for the first green ears +and you shall see the flowering of the wheat, and by-and-by its +ripening, and the joyous harvest. + +The last lesson is one of _encouragement_. If God blesses "the springing +thereof," dear beginners, what will he not do for you in after days? If +he gives you such a meal when you break your fast, what dainties will be +on your table when he says to you, "Come and dine"; and what a banquet +will he furnish at the supper of the Lamb! O troubled one! let the +storms which howl and the snows which fall, and the wintry blasts that +nip your springing, all be forgotten in this one consoling thought, that +God blesses your springing, and whom God blesses none can curse. Over +your head, dear, desiring, pleading, languishing soul, the Lord of +heaven and earth pronounces the blessing of the Father, and the Son, and +the Holy Spirit. Take that blessing and rejoice in it evermore. Amen. + + + + +FARM LABORERS. + +"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then +neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God +that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are +one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own +labor. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's +husbandry."--1 CORINTHIANS 3:6-9. + + +I SHALL begin at the end of my text, because I find it to be the easiest +way of mapping out my discourse. We shall first remark that _the church +is God's farm_: "Ye are God's husbandry." In the margin of the revised +version we read, "Ye are God's tilled ground," and that is the very +expression for me. "Ye are God's tilled ground," or farm. After we have +spoken of the farm we will next say a little upon the fact that _the +Lord employs laborers_ on his estate: and when we have looked at the +laborers--such poor fellows as they are--we will remember that _God +himself is the great worker_: "We are laborers together with God." + + +I. We begin by considering that THE CHURCH IS GOD'S FARM. The Lord has +made the church his own by his sovereign _choice_. He has also secured +it unto himself by _purchase_, having paid for it a price immense. "The +Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." +Every acre of God's farm cost the Saviour a bloody sweat, yea, the blood +of his heart. He loved us, and gave himself for us: that is the price +he paid. Henceforth the church is God's freehold, and he holds the title +deeds of it. It is our joy to feel that we are not our own, we are +bought with a price. The church is God's farm by choice and purchase. + +And now he has made it his by _enclosure_. It lay exposed aforetime as +part of an open common, bare and barren, covered with thorns and +thistles, and the haunt of every wild beast; for we were "by nature the +children of wrath, even as others." Divine foreknowledge surveyed the +waste, and electing love marked out its portion with a full line of +grace, and thus set us apart to be the Lord's own estate forever. In due +time effectual grace came forth with power, and separated us from the +rest of mankind, as fields are hedged and ditched to part them from the +open heath. Hath not the Lord declared that he hath chosen his vineyard +and fenced it? + + "We are a garden wall'd around, + Chosen and made peculiar ground; + A little spot, enclosed by grace + Out of the world's wide wilderness." + +The Lord has also made this farm evidently his own by _cultivation_. +What more could he have done for his farm? He has totally changed the +nature of the soil: from being barren he hath made it a fruitful land. +He hath ploughed it, and digged it, and fattened it, and watered it, and +planted it with all manner of flowers and fruits. It hath already +brought forth to him many a pleasant cluster, and there are brighter +times to come, when angels shall shout the harvest home, and Christ +"shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." + +This farm is preserved by the Lord's continual _protection_. Not only +did he enclose it, and cultivate it by his miraculous power, to make it +his own farm, but he continually maintains possession of it. "I the +Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will +keep it night and day." If it were not for God's continual power her +hedges would soon be thrown down, and wild beasts would devour her +fields. Wicked hands are always trying to break down her walls and lay +her waste again, so that there should be no true church in the world; +but the Lord is jealous for his land, and will not allow it to be +destroyed. A church would not long remain a church if God did not +preserve it unto himself. What if God should say, "I will take away the +hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall +thereof, and it shall be trodden down"? What a wilderness it would +become. What saith he? "Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, +where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the +wickedness of my people Israel." Go ye to Jerusalem, where of old was +the city of his glory and the shrine of his indwelling, and what is left +there to-day? Go ye to Rome, where once Paul preached the gospel with +power: what is it now but the centre of idolatry? The Lord may remove +the candlestick, and leave a place that was bright as day to become +black as darkness itself. Hence God's farm remains a farm because he is +ever in it to prevent its returning to its former wildness. Omnipotent +power is as needful to keep the fields of the church under cultivation +as to reclaim them at the first. + +Inasmuch as the church is God's own farm, _he expects to receive a +harvest from it_. The world is waste, and he looks for nothing from it; +but we are tilled land, and therefore a harvest is due from us. +Barrenness suits the moorland, but to a farm it would be a great +discredit. Love looks for returns of love; grace given demands gracious +fruit. Watered with the drops of the Saviour's bloody sweat, shall we +not bring forth a hundredfold to his praise? Kept by the eternal Spirit +of God, shall there not be produced in us fruits to his glory? The +Lord's husbandry upon us has shown a great expenditure of cost, and +labor, and thought; ought there not to be a proportionate return? Ought +not the Lord to have a harvest of obedience, a harvest of holiness, a +harvest of usefulness, a harvest of praise? Shall it not be so? I think +some churches forget that an increase is expected from every field of +the Lord's farm, for they never have a harvest or even look for one. +Farmers do not plough their lands or sow their fields for amusement; +they mean business, and plough and sow because they desire a harvest. If +this fact could but enter into the heads of some professors, surely they +would look at things in a different light; but of late it has seemed as +if we thought that God's church was not expected to produce anything, +but existed for her own comfort and personal benefit. Brethren, it must +not be so; the great Husbandman must have some reward for his husbandry. +Every field must yield its increase, and the whole estate must bring +forth to his praise. We join with the bride in the Song in saying, "My +vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have +thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred." + +But I come back to the place from which I started. This farm is, by +choice, by purchase, by enclosure, by cultivation, by preservation, +entirely the Lord's. See, then, the injustice of allowing any of the +laborers to call even a part of the estate his own. When a great man +has a large farm of his own, what would he think if Hodge the ploughman +should say, "Look here, I plough this farm, and therefore it is mine: I +shall call this field Hodge's Acres"? "No," says Hobbs, "I reaped that +land last harvest, and therefore it is mine, and I shall call it Hobbs's +Field." What if all the other laborers became Hodgeites and Hobbsites, +and so parcelled out the farm among them? I think the landlord would +soon eject the lot of them. The farm belongs to its owner, and let it be +called by his name; but it is absurd to call it by the names of the men +who labor upon it. Shall insignificant nobodies rob God of his glory? +Remember how Paul put it: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos?" "Is +Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the +name of Paul?" The entire church belongs to him who has chosen it in his +sovereignty, bought it with his blood, fenced it by his grace, +cultivated it by his wisdom, and preserved it by his power. There is but +one church on the face of the earth, and those who love the Lord should +keep this truth in mind. Paul is a laborer, Apollos is a laborer, Cephas +is a laborer; but the farm is not Paul's, not so much as a rood of it, +nor does a single parcel of land belong to Apollos, or the smallest +allotment to Cephas; for "Ye are Christ's." The fact is that in this +case the laborers belong to the land, and not the land to the laborers: +"For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas." "We +preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your +servants for Jesus' sake." + + +II. We have now to notice, as our second head, that THE GREAT HUSBANDMAN +EMPLOYS LABORERS. _By human agency God ordinarily works out his +designs._ He can, if he pleases, by his Holy Spirit get directly at the +hearts of men, but that is his business, and not ours; we have to do +with such words as these: "It pleased God by the foolishness of +preaching to save them that believe." The Master's commission is not, +"Sit still and see the Spirit of God convert the nations;" but, "Go ye +into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Observe +God's method in supplying the race with food. In answer to the prayer, +"Give us this day our daily bread," he might have bidden the clouds drop +manna, morning by morning, at each man's door; but he sees that it is +for our good to work, and so he uses the hands of the ploughman and the +sower for our supply. God might cultivate his chosen farm, the church, +by miracle, or by angels; but in great condescension he blesses her +through her own sons and daughters. He employs us for our own good; for +we who are laborers in his fields receive much more good for ourselves +than we bestow. Labor develops our spiritual muscle and keeps us in +health. "Unto me," says Paul, "who am less than the least of all saints, +is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the +unsearchable riches of Christ." + +Our great Master means that every laborer on his farm should receive +some benefit from it, for he never muzzles the mouth of the ox that +treadeth out the corn. The laborer's daily bread comes out of the soil. +Though he works not for himself, but for his Master, yet still he has +his portion of food. In the Lord's granary there is seed for the sower, +but there is also bread for the eater. However disinterestedly we may +serve God in the husbandry of his church, we are ourselves partakers of +the fruit. It is a great condescension on God's part that he uses us at +all, for we are poor tools at the best, and more hindrance than help. + +The laborers employed by God are all _occupied upon needful work_. +Notice: "I have planted, Apollos watered." Who beat the big drum, or +blew his own trumpet? Nobody. On God's farm none are kept for ornamental +purposes. I have read some sermons which could only have been meant for +show, for there was not a grain of gospel in them. They were ploughs +with the share left out, drills with no wheat in the box, clod-crushers +made of butter. I do not believe that our God will ever pay wages to men +who only walk about his grounds to show themselves. Orators who display +their eloquence in the pulpit are more like gypsies who stray on the +farm to pick up chickens, than honest laborers who work to bring forth a +crop for their master. Many of the members of our churches live as if +their only business on the farm was to pluck blackberries or gather wild +flowers. They are great at finding fault with other people's ploughing +and mowing; but not a hand's turn will they do themselves. Come on, my +good fellows. Why stand ye all the day idle? The harvest is plenteous, +and the laborers are few. You who think yourselves more cultivated than +ordinary people, if you are indeed Christians, must not strut about and +despise those who are hard at work. If you do, I shall say, "That person +has mistaken his master; he may probably be in the employ of some +gentleman farmer, who cares more for show than profit; but our great +Lord is practical, and on his estate his laborers attend to needful +labor." When you and I preach or teach it will be well if we say to +ourselves, "What will be the use of what I am going to do? I am about +to teach a difficult subject; will it do any good? I have chosen an +abstruse point of theology; will it serve any purpose?" Brethren, a +laborer may work very hard at a whim of his own, and yet it may be all +waste labor. Some discourses do little more than show the difference +between tweedle-_dum_ and tweedle-_dee_, and what is the use of that? +Suppose we sow the fields with sawdust, or sprinkle them with +rose-water, what of that? Will God bless our moral essays, and fine +compositions, and pretty passages? Brethren, we must aim at usefulness: +we must as laborers together with God be occupied with something that is +worth doing. "I," says one, "have planted": it is well, for planting +must be done. "I," answers another, "have watered": that also is good +and necessary. See to it that ye can each bring in a solid report; but +let no man be content with the mere child's-play of oratory, or the +getting up of entertainments and such like. + +On the Lord's farm _there is a division of labor_. Even Paul did not +say, "I have planted and watered." No, Paul planted. And certainly +Apollos could not say, "I have planted as well as watered." No, it was +enough for him to attend to the watering. No man has all gifts. How +foolish, then, are they who say, "I enjoy So-and-so's ministry because +he edifies the saints in doctrine; but when he was away the other Sunday +I could not profit by the preacher because he was all for the conversion +of sinners." Yes, he was planting; you have been planted a good while, +and do not need planting again; but you ought to be thankful that others +are made partakers of the benefit. One soweth and another reapeth, and +therefore instead of grumbling at the honest ploughman because he did +not bring a sickle with him, you ought to have prayed for him that he +might have strength to plough deep and break up hard hearts. + +Observe that, on God's farm, _there is unity of purpose_ among the +laborers. Read the text. "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are +one." One Master has employed them, and though he may send them out at +different times, and to different parts of the farm, yet they are all +one in being used for one end, to work for one harvest. In England we do +not understand what is meant by watering, because the farmer could not +water all his farm; but in the East a farmer waters almost every inch of +his ground. He would have no crop if he did not use all means for +irrigating the fields. If you have ever been in Italy, Egypt, or +Palestine, you will have seen a complete system of wells, pumps, wheels, +buckets, channels, little streamlets, pipes, and so on, by which the +water is carried all over the garden to every plant, otherwise in the +extreme heat of the sun it would be dried up. Planting needs wisdom, +watering needs quite as much, and the piecing of these two works +together needs that the laborers should be of one mind. It is a bad +thing when laborers are at cross purposes, and work against each other, +and this evil is worse in the church than anywhere else. How can I plant +with success if my helper will not water what I have planted; or what is +the use of my watering if nothing is planted? Husbandry is spoiled when +foolish people undertake it, and quarrel over it; for from sowing to +reaping the work is one, and all must be done to one end. Let us pull +together all our days, for strife brings barrenness. + +We are called upon to notice in our text that _all the laborers put +together are nothing at all_. "Neither is he that planteth anything, +neither he that watereth." The workmen are nothing at all without their +master. All the laborers on a farm could not manage it if they had no +one at their head, and all the preachers and Christian workers in the +world can do nothing unless God be with them. Remember that every +laborer on God's farm has derived all his qualifications from God. No +man knows how to plant or water souls except the Lord teaches him from +day to day. All these holy gifts are grants of free grace. All the +laborers work under God's direction and arrangement, or they work in +vain. They would not know when or how to do their work if their Master +did not guide them by his Spirit, without whose help they cannot even +think a good thought. All God's laborers must go to him for their seed, +or else they will scatter tares. All good seed comes out of God's +granary. If we preach, it must be the true word of God, or nothing can +come of it. More than that, all the strength that is in the laborer's +arm to sow the heavenly seed must be given by the Master. We cannot +preach except God be with us. A sermon is vain talk and dreary +word-spinning unless the Holy Spirit enlivens it. He must give us both +the preparation of the heart and the answer of the tongue, or we shall +be as men who sow the wind. When the good seed is sown the whole success +of it rests with God. If he withhold the dew and the rain the seed will +never rise from the ground; and unless he shall shine upon it the green +ear will never ripen. The human heart will remain barren, even though +Paul himself should preach, unless God the Holy Ghost shall work with +Paul and bless the word to those that hear it. Therefore, since the +increase is of God alone, put the laborers into their place. Do not make +too much of us; for when we have done all we are unprofitable servants. + +Yet, though inspiration calls the laborers nothing, it says that _they +shall be rewarded_. God works our good works in us, and then rewards us +for them. Here we have mention of a personal service, and a personal +reward: "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own +labor." The reward is proportionate, not to the success, but to the +labor. Many discouraged workers may be comforted by that expression. You +are not to be paid by results, but by endeavors. You may have a stiff +bit of clay to plough, or a dreary plot of land to sow, where stones, +and birds, and thorns, and travellers, and a burning sun may all be +leagued against the seed; but you are not accountable for these things; +your reward shall be according to your work. Some put a great deal of +labor into a little field, and make much out of it. Others use a great +deal of labor throughout a long life, and yet they see but small result, +for it is written, "One soweth, and another reapeth": but the reaping +man will not get all the reward, the sowing man shall receive his +portion of the joy. The laborers are nobodies, but they shall enter into +the joy of their Lord. + +_Unitedly_, according to the text, _the workers have been successful_, +and that is a great part of their reward. "I have planted, Apollos +watered; but God gave the increase." Frequently brethren say in their +prayers, "A Paul may plant, an Apollos may water, but it is all in vain +unless God gives the increase." This is quite true; but another truth is +too much overlooked, namely, that when Paul plants and Apollos waters, +God does give the increase. We do not labor in vain. There would be no +increase without God; but then we are not without God: when such men as +Paul and Apollos plant and water, there is sure to be an increase; they +are the right kind of laborers, they work in a right spirit, and God is +certain to bless them. This is a great part of the laborer's wages. + + +III. So much upon the laborers. Now for the main point again. GOD +HIMSELF IS THE GREAT WORKER. He may use what laborers he pleases, but +the increase comes alone from him. Brethren, you know it is so in +natural things: the most skilful farmer cannot make the wheat germinate, +and grow, and ripen. He cannot even preserve a single field till harvest +time, for the farmer's enemies are many and mighty. In husbandry there's +many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip; and when the farmer thinks, good +easy man, that he shall reap his crop, there are blights and mildews +lingering about to rob him of his gains. God must give the increase. If +any man is dependent on God it is the husbandman, and through him we are +all of us dependent upon God from year to year for the food by which we +live. Even the king must live by the produce of the field. God gives the +increase in the barn and the hay-rick; and in the spiritual farm it is +even more so, for what can man do in this business? If any of you think +that it is an easy thing to win a soul I should like you to attempt it. +Suppose that without divine aid you should try to save a soul--you might +as well attempt to make a world. Why, you cannot create a fly, how can +you create a new heart and a right spirit? Regeneration is a great +mystery, it is out of your reach. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, +and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it +cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the +Spirit." What can you and I do in this matter? it is far beyond our +line. We can tell out the truth of God; but to apply that truth to the +heart and conscience is quite another thing. I have preached Jesus +Christ with my whole heart, and yet I know that I have never produced a +saving effect upon a single unregenerate man unless the Spirit of God +has opened the heart and placed the living seed of truth within it. +Experience teaches us this. Equally is it the Lord's work to keep the +seed alive when it springs up. We think we have converts, and we are not +long before we are disappointed in them. Many are like blossoms on our +apple trees; they are fair to look upon, but they do not come to +anything; and others are like the many little apples which fall off long +before they have come to any size. He who presides over a great church, +and feels an agony for the souls of men, will soon be convinced that if +God does not work there will be no work done: we shall see no +conversion, no sanctification, no final perseverance, no glory brought +to God, no satisfaction for the passion of the Saviour, unless the Lord +be with us. Well said our Lord, "Without me ye can do nothing." + + +Briefly I would draw certain practical lessons out of this important +truth: the first is, if the whole farm of the church belongs exclusively +to the great Master Worker, and the laborers are worth nothing without +him, _let this promote unity among all whom he employs_. If we are all +under one Master, do not let us quarrel. It is a miserable business when +we cannot bear to see good being done by those of a different +denomination who work in ways of their own. If a new laborer comes on +the farm, and he uses a hoe of a new shape, shall I become his enemy? If +he does his work better than I do mine, shall I be jealous? Do you not +remember reading in the Scriptures that, upon one occasion, the +disciples could not cast out a devil? This ought to have made them +humble; but to our surprise we read a few verses further on that they +saw one casting out devils in Christ's name, and they forbade him +because he followed not with their company. _They_ could not cast out +the devil themselves, and they forbade those who could. A certain band +of people are going about winning souls, but because they are not doing +it in our fashion, we do not like it. It is true they have odd ways; but +they do really save souls, and that is the main point. Instead of +cavilling, let us encourage all on Christ's side. Wisdom is justified of +her children, though some of them are far from handsome. The laborers +ought to be satisfied with the new ploughman if their Master smiles upon +him. Brother, if the great Lord has employed you, it is no business of +mine to question his choice. Can I lend you a hand? Can I show you how +to work better? Or can you show me how I can improve? This is the proper +behavior of one workman to another. + +This truth, however, ought to _keep all the laborers very dependent_. +Are you going to preach, young man? "Yes, I am going to do a great deal +of good." Are you? Have you forgotten that you are nothing? "Neither is +he that planteth anything." A divine is coming brimful of the gospel to +comfort the saints. If he is not coming in strict dependence upon God, +he, too, is nothing. "Neither is he that watereth anything." Power +belongeth unto God. Man is vanity and his words are wind; to God alone +belongeth power and wisdom. If we keep our places in all lowliness our +Lord will use us; but if we exalt ourselves he will leave us to our +nothingness. + +Next notice that _this fact ennobles everybody who labors in God's +husbandry_. My soul is lifted up with joy when I mark these words, "For +we are laborers together with God": mere laborers on his farm, and yet +laborers _with him_. Does the Lord work with us? We know he does by the +signs following. "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work," is language +for all the sons of God as well as for the great Firstborn. God is with +you, my brethren, when you are serving him with all your heart. Speaking +to your class concerning Jesus, it is God that speaks by you; picking up +that stranger on the way, and telling him of salvation by faith, Christ +is speaking through you even as he spoke with the woman at the well; +addressing the rough crowd in the open air, young man, if you are +preaching pardon through the atoning blood, it is the God of Peter who +is testifying of his Son, even as he did on the day of Pentecost. + +But, lastly, _how this should drive us to our knees_. Since we are +nothing without God, let us cry mightily unto him for help in this our +holy service. Let both sower and reaper pray together, or they will +never rejoice together. If the blessing be withheld, it is because we do +not cry for it and expect it. Brother laborers, come to the mercy-seat, +and we shall yet see the reapers return from the fields bringing their +sheaves with them, though, perhaps, they went forth weeping to the +sowing. To our Father, who is the husbandman, be all glory, for ever and +ever. Amen. + + + + +WHAT THE FARM LABORERS CAN DO AND WHAT THEY CANNOT DO. + +"And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed +into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed +should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth +forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the +full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately +he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."--MARK 4:26-29. + + +THERE is a lesson for "laborers together with God." It is a parable for +all who are concerned in the kingdom of God. It will be of little value +to those who are in the kingdom of darkness, for they are not bidden to +sow the good seed: "Unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to +declare my statutes?" But all who are commissioned to scatter seed for +the Royal Husbandman, will be glad to know how the harvest is preparing +for him whom they serve. Listen, then, ye that sow beside all waters; ye +that with holy diligence seek to fill the garners of heaven--listen, and +may the Spirit of God speak into your ears as you are able to bear it. + + +I. We shall, first, learn from our text WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE +CANNOT DO. Let this stand as our first head. + +"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the +ground:" this the gracious worker can do. "And the seed should spring +and grow up, he knoweth not how:" this is what he cannot do: seed once +sown is beyond human jurisdiction, and man can neither make it spring +nor grow. Yet ere long the worker comes in again:--"When the fruit is +brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle." We can reap in due +season, and it is both our duty and our privilege to do so. You see, +then, that there is a place for the worker at the beginning, and though +there is no room for him in the middle passage, yet another opportunity +is given him further on when that which he sowed has actually yielded +fruit. + +Notice, then, that _we can sow_. Any man who has received the knowledge +of the grace of God in his heart can teach others. I include under the +term "man" all who know the Lord, be they male or female. We cannot all +teach alike, for all have not the same gifts; to one is given one +talent, and to another ten; neither have we all the same opportunities, +for one lives in obscurity and another has far-reaching influence; yet +there is not within the family of God an infant hand which may not drop +its own tiny seed into the ground. There is not a man among us who needs +to stand idle in the market-place, for work suitable to his strength is +waiting for him. There is not a saved woman who is left without a holy +task; let her do it and win the approving word, "She hath done what she +could." + +We need never quarrel with God because we cannot do everything, if he +only permits us to do this one thing; for sowing the good seed is a work +which will need all our wit, our strength, our love, our care. Holy seed +sowing should be adopted as our highest pursuit, and it will be no +inferior object for the noblest life. You will need heavenly teaching +that you may carefully select the wheat, and keep it free from the +darnel of error. You will require instruction to winnow out of it your +own thoughts and opinions; for these may not be according to the mind of +God. Men are not saved by our word, but by God's word. We need grace to +learn the gospel aright, and to teach the whole of it. To different men +we must, with discretion, bring forward that part of the word of God +which will best bear upon their consciences; for much may depend upon +the word being _in season_. + +Having selected the seed, we shall have plenty of work if we go forth +and sow it broadcast everywhere, for every day brings its opportunity, +and every company furnishes its occasion. "In the morning sow thy seed, +and in the evening withhold not thy hand." "Sow beside all waters." + +Still, wise sowers discover favorable opportunities for sowing, and +gladly seize upon them. There are times when it would clearly be a waste +to sow; for the soil could not receive it, it is not in a fit condition. +After a shower, or before a shower, or at some such time as he that hath +studied husbandry prefers, then must we be up and doing. While we are to +work for God always, yet there are seasons when it were casting pearls +before swine to talk of holy things, and there are other times when to +be silent would be a great sin. Sluggards in the time for ploughing and +sowing are sluggards indeed, for they not only waste the day, but throw +away the year. If you watch for souls, and use hours of happy vantage, +and moments of sacred softening, you will not complain of the scanty +space allowed for agency. Even should you never be called to water, or +to reap, your office is wide enough if you fulfil the work of the +sower. + +For little though it seem to teach the simple truth of the gospel, yet +it is essential. How shall men hear without a teacher? Servants of God, +the seed of the word is not like thistle-down, which is borne by every +wind; but the wheat of the kingdom needs a human hand to sow it, and +without such agency it will not enter into men's hearts, neither can it +bring forth fruit to the glory of God. The preaching of the gospel is +the necessity of every age; God grant that our country may never be +deprived of it. Even if the Lord should send us a famine of bread and of +water, may he never send us a famine of the word of God. Faith cometh by +hearing, and how can there be hearing if there is no teaching? Scatter +ye, scatter ye, then, the seed of the kingdom, for this is essential to +the harvest. + +This seed should be sown often, for many are the foes of the wheat, and +if you repeat not your sowing you may never see a harvest. The seed must +be sown everywhere, too, for there are no choice corners of the world +that you can afford to let alone, in the hope that they will be +self-productive. You may not leave the rich and intelligent under the +notion that surely the gospel will be found among them, for it is not +so: the pride of life leads them away from God. You may not leave the +poor and illiterate, and say, "Surely they will of themselves feel their +need of Christ." Not so: they will sink from degradation to degradation +unless you uplift them with the gospel. No tribe of man, no peculiar +constitution of the human mind, may be neglected by us; but everywhere +we must preach the word, in season and out of season. I have heard that +Captain Cook, the celebrated circumnavigator, in whatever part of the +earth he landed, took with him a little packet of English seeds, and +scattered them in suitable places. He would leave the boat and wander up +from the shore. He said nothing, but quietly scattered the seeds +wherever he went, so that he belted the world with the flowers and herbs +of his native land. Imitate him wherever you go; sow spiritual seed in +every place that your foot shall tread upon. + +Let us now think of what you cannot do. _You cannot, after the seed has +left your hand, cause it to put forth life._ I am sure you cannot make +it grow, for you do not know how it grows. The text saith, "And the seed +should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how." That which is beyond the +range of our knowledge is certainly beyond the reach of our power. Can +you make a seed germinate? You may place it under circumstances of damp +and heat which will cause it to swell and break forth with a shoot, but +the germination itself is beyond you. How is it done? We know not. After +the germ has been put forth, can you make it further grow, and develop +its life into leaf and stem? No; that, too, is out of your power. And +when the green, grassy blade has been succeeded by the ear, can you +ripen it? It will be ripened; but can _you_ do it? You know you cannot; +you can have no finger in the actual process, though you may promote the +conditions under which it is carried on. Life is a mystery; growth is a +mystery; ripening is a mystery: and these three mysteries are as +fountains sealed against all intrusion. How comes it that there is +within the ripe seed the preparations for another sowing and another +growth? What is this vital principle, this secret reproducing energy? +Knowest thou anything about this? The philosopher may talk about +chemical combinations, and he may proceed to quote analogies from this +and that; but still the growth of the seed remains a secret; it springs +up, he knoweth not how. Certainly this is true of the rise and progress +of the life of God in the heart. It enters the soul, and roots itself we +know not how. Naturally men hate the word, but it enters and it changes +their hearts, so that they come to love it; yet we know not how. Their +whole nature is renewed, so that instead of producing sin it yields +repentance, faith, and love; but we know not how. How the Spirit of God +deals with the mind of man, how he creates the new heart and the right +spirit, how we are begotten again unto a lively hope, we cannot tell. +The Holy Ghost enters into us; we hear not his voice, we see not his +light, we feel not his touch; yet he worketh an effectual work upon us, +which we are not long in perceiving. We know that the work of the Spirit +is a new creation, a resurrection, a quickening from the dead; but all +these words are only covers to our utter ignorance of the mode of his +working, with which it is not in our power to meddle. We do not know how +he performs his miracles of love, and, not knowing how he works, we may +be quite sure that we cannot take the work out of his hands. We cannot +create, we cannot quicken, we cannot transform, we cannot regenerate, we +cannot save. + +This work of God having proceeded in the growth of the seed, what next? +_We can reap the ripe ears._ After a season God the Holy Spirit uses his +servants again. As soon as the living seed has produced first of all the +blade of thought, and afterwards the green ear of conviction, and then +faith, which is as full corn in the ear, then the Christian worker comes +in for further service, for _he can reap_. "When the fruit is brought +forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle." This is not the reaping of +the last great day, for that does not come within the scope of the +parable, which evidently relates to a human sower and reaper. The kind +of reaping which the Saviour here intends is that which he referred to +when he said to his disciples, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the +fields; for they are white already to harvest." After he had been sowing +the seed in the hearts of the Samaritans, and it had sprung up, so that +they began to evince faith in him, the Lord Jesus cried, "The fields are +white to harvest." The apostle saith, "One soweth, and another reapeth." +Our Lord said to the disciples, "I sent you to reap that whereon ye +bestowed no labor." Is there not a promise, "In due season we shall +reap, if we faint not"? + +Christian workers begin their harvest work by watching for signs of +faith in Christ. They are eager to see the blade, and delighted to mark +the ripening ear. They often hope that men are believers, but they long +to be sure of it; and when they judge that at last the fruit of faith is +put forth, they begin to encourage, to congratulate, and to comfort. +They know that the young believer needs to be housed in the barn of +Christian fellowship, that he may be saved from a thousand perils. No +wise farmer leaves the fruit of the field long exposed to the hail which +might beat it out, or to the mildew which might destroy it, or to the +birds which might devour it. Evidently no believing man should be left +outside of the garner of holy fellowship; he should be carried into the +midst of the church with all the joy which attends the home-bringing of +sheaves. The worker for Christ watches carefully, and when he discerns +that his time is come, he begins at once to fetch in the converts, that +they may be cared for by the brotherhood, separated from the world, +screened from temptation, and laid up for the Lord. He is diligent to do +it at once, because the text saith, "immediately he putteth in the +sickle." He does not wait for months in cold suspicion; he is not afraid +that he shall encourage too soon when faith is really present. He comes +with the word of promise and the smile of brotherly love at once, and he +says to the new believer, "Have you confessed your faith? Is not the +time come for an open confession? Hath not Jesus bidden the believer to +be baptized? If you love him, keep his commandments." He does not rest +till he has introduced the convert to the communion of the faithful. For +our work, beloved, is but half done when men are made disciples and +baptized. We have then to encourage, to instruct, to strengthen, to +console, and succor in all times of difficulty and danger. What saith +the Saviour? "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, +baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the +Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have +commanded you." + +Observe, then, the sphere and limit of agency. We can introduce the +truth to men, but that truth the Lord himself must bless; the living and +growing of the word within the soul is of God alone. When the mystic +work of growth is done, we are able to garner the saved ones in the +church. For Christ to be formed in men the hope of glory is not of our +working, that remains with God; but, when Jesus Christ is formed in +them, to discern the image of the Saviour and to say, "Come in, thou +blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without?" this is our duty +and delight. To create the divine life is God's, to cherish it is ours. +To cause the hidden life to grow is the work of the Lord; to see the +uprising and development of that life and to harvest it is the work of +the faithful, even as it is written, "When the fruit is brought forth, +immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." + +This, then, is our first lesson; we see what we can do and what we +cannot do. + + +II. Our second head is like unto the first, and consists of WHAT WE CAN +KNOW AND WHAT WE CANNOT KNOW. + +First, _what we can know_. We can know when we have sown the good seed +of the word that it will grow; for God has promised that it shall do so. +Not every grain in every place; for some will go to the bird, and some +to the worm, and some to be scorched by the sun; but, as a general rule, +God's word shall not return unto him void, it shall prosper in the thing +whereto he hath sent it. This we can know. And we can know that the seed +when once it takes root will continue to grow; that it is not a dream or +a picture that will disappear, but a thing of force and energy, which +will advance from a grassy blade to corn in the ear, and under God's +blessing will develop to actual salvation, and be as the "full corn in +the ear." God helping and blessing it, our work of teaching will not +only lead men to thought and conviction, but to conversion and eternal +life. + +We also can know, because we are told so, that the reason for this is +mainly because there is life in the word. In the word of God itself +there is life, for it is written--"The word of God is quick and +powerful," that is, "living and powerful." It is "the incorruptible +seed which liveth and abideth for ever." It is the nature of living +seeds to grow; and the reason why the word of God grows in men's hearts +is because it is the living word of the living God, and where the word +of a king is there is power. We know this, because the Scriptures teach +us so. Is it not written, "Of his own will begat he us by the word of +truth"? + +Moreover, the earth, which is here the type of the man, "bringeth forth +fruit of herself." We must mind what we are at in expounding this, for +human hearts do not produce faith of themselves; they are as hard rock +on which the seed perishes. But it means this--that as the earth under +the blessing of the dew and the rain is, by God's secret working upon +it, made to take up and embrace the seed, so the heart of man is made +ready to receive and enfold the gospel of Jesus Christ within itself. +Man's awakened heart wants exactly what the word of God supplies. Moved +by a divine influence the soul embraces the truth, and is embraced by +it, and so the truth lives in the heart, and is quickened by it. Man's +love accepts the love of God; man's faith wrought in him by the Spirit +of God believes the truth of God; man's hope wrought in him by the Holy +Ghost lays hold upon the things revealed, and so the heavenly seed grows +in the soil of the soul. The life comes not from you who preach the +word, but it is placed within the word which you preach by the Holy +Spirit. The life is not in your hand, but in the heart which is led to +take hold upon the truth by the Spirit of God. Salvation comes not from +the personal authority of the preacher, but through the personal +conviction, personal faith, and personal love of the hearer. So much as +this we may know, and is it not enough for all practical purposes? + +Still, there is _a something which we cannot know_, a secret into which +we cannot pry. I repeat what I have said before: you cannot look into +men's inward parts and see exactly how the truth takes hold upon the +heart, or the heart takes hold upon the truth. Many have watched their +own feelings till they have become blind with despondency, and others +have watched the feelings of the young till they have done them rather +harm than good by their rigorous supervision. In God's work there is +more room for faith than for sight. The heavenly seed grows secretly. +You must bury it out of sight, or there will be no harvest. Even if you +keep the seed above ground, and it does sprout, you cannot discover +_how_ it grows; even though you microscopically watched its swelling and +bursting, you could not see the inward vital force which moves the seed. +Thou knowest not the way of the Spirit. His work is wrought in secret. +"Explain the new birth," says somebody. My answer is, "Experience the +new birth, and you shall know what it is." There are secrets into which +we cannot enter, for their light is too bright for mortal eyes to +endure. O man, thou canst not become omniscient, for thou art a +creature, and not the Creator. For thee there must ever be a region not +only unknown but unknowable. So far shall thy knowledge go, but no +farther; and thou mayest thank God it is so, for thus he leaves room for +faith, and gives cause for prayer. Cry mightily unto the Great Worker to +do what thou canst not attempt to perform, that so, when thou seest men +saved, thou mayest give the Lord all the glory evermore. + + +III. Thirdly, our text tells us WHAT WE MAY EXPECT IF WE WORK FOR GOD, +AND WHAT WE MAY NOT EXPECT. According to this parable _we may expect to +see fruit_. The husbandman casts his seed into the ground: the seed +springs and grows, and he naturally expects a harvest. I wish I could +say a word to stir up the expectations of Christian workers; for I fear +that many work without faith. If you had a garden or a field, and you +sow seed in it, you would be very greatly surprised and grieved if it +did not come up at all; but many Christian people seem quite content to +work on without expectation of result. This is a pitiful kind of +working--pulling up empty buckets by the year together. Surely, I must +either see some result for my labor and be glad, or else, failing to see +it, I must be ready to break my heart if I be a true servant of the +great Master. We ought to have expected results; if we had expected more +we should have seen more; but a lack of expectation has been a great +cause of failure in God's workers. + +_But we may not expect to see all the seed which we sow spring up the +moment we sow it._ Sometimes, glory be to God, we have but to deliver +the word, and straightway men are converted: the reaper overtakes the +sower, in such instances; but it is not always so. Some sowers have been +diligent for years upon their plots of ground, and yet apparently all +has been in vain; at last the harvest has come, a harvest which, +speaking after the manner of men, had never been reaped if they had not +persevered to the end. This world, as I believe, is to be converted to +Christ; but not to-day, nor to-morrow, peradventure not for many an age; +but the sowing of the centuries is not being lost, it is working on +toward the grand ultimatum. A crop of mushrooms may soon be produced; +but a forest of oaks will not reward the planter till generations of his +children have mouldered in the dust. It is ours to sow, and to hope for +quick reaping; but still we ought to remember that "the husbandman +waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for +it, until he receive the early and latter rain," and so must we. We are +to expect results, but not to be dispirited if we have to wait for them. + +We are also to expect to see the good seed grow, but _not always after +our fashion_. Like children, we are apt to be impatient. Your little boy +sowed mustard and cress yesterday in his garden. This afternoon Johnny +will be turning over the ground to see if the seed is growing. There is +no probability that his mustard and cress will come to anything, for he +will not let it alone long enough for it to grow. So is it with hasty +workers; they must see the result of the gospel directly, or else they +distrust the blessed word. Certain preachers are in such a hurry that +they will allow no time for thought, no space for counting the cost, no +opportunity for men to consider their ways and turn to the Lord with +full purpose of heart. All other seeds take time to grow, but the seed +of the word must grow before the speaker's eyes like magic, or he thinks +nothing has been done. Such good brethren are so eager to produce blade +and ear there and then, that they roast their seed in the fire of +fanaticism, and it perishes. They make men think that they are +converted, and thus effectually hinder them from coming to a saving +knowledge of the truth. Some men are prevented from being saved by being +told that they are saved already, and by being puffed up with a notion +of perfection when they are not even broken in heart. Perhaps if such +people had been taught to look for something deeper they might not have +been satisfied with receiving seed on stony ground; but now they exhibit +a rapid development, and an equally rapid decline and fall. Let us +believingly expect to see the seed grow; but let us look to see it +advance after the manner of the preacher--firstly, secondly, thirdly: +first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. + +We may expect also to see the seed ripen. Our works will by God's grace +lead up to real faith in those he hath wrought upon by his word and +Spirit; but _we must not expect to see it perfect at first_. How many +mistakes have been made here. Here is a young person under impression, +and some good, sound brother talks with the trembling beginner, and asks +profound questions. He shakes his experienced head, and knits his +furrowed brows. He goes into the corn-field to see how the crops are +prospering, and though it is early in the year, he laments that he +cannot see an ear of corn; indeed, he perceives nothing but mere grass. +"I cannot see a trace of corn," says he. No, brother, of course you +cannot; for you will not be satisfied with the blade as an evidence of +life, but must insist upon seeing everything at full growth at once. If +you had looked for the blade you would have found it; and it would have +encouraged you. For my own part, I am glad even to perceive a faint +desire, a feeble longing, a degree of uneasiness, or a measure of +weariness of sin, or a craving after mercy. Will it not be wise for you, +also, to allow things to begin at the beginning, and to be satisfied +with their being small at the first? See the blade of desire, and then +watch for more. Soon you shall see a little more than desire; for there +shall be conviction and resolve, and after that a feeble faith, small +as a mustard seed, but bound to grow. Do not despise the day of small +things. Do not examine the new-born babe to see whether he is sound in +doctrine after your idea of soundness; ten to one he is a long way off +sound, and you will only worry the dear heart by introducing difficult +questions. Speak to him about his being a sinner, and Christ a Saviour, +and you will in this way water him so that his grace in the ear will +become the full corn in the ear. It may be that there is not much that +looks like wheat about him yet; but by-and-by you shall say, "Wheat! ah, +that it is, if I know wheat. This man is a true ear of corn, and gladly +will I place him among my Master's sheaves." If you cut down the blades, +where will the ears come from? Expect grace in your converts; but do not +look to see glory in them just yet. + + +IV. Under the last head we shall consider WHAT SLEEP WORKERS MAY TAKE, +AND WHAT THEY MAY NOT TAKE; for it is said of this sowing man, that he +sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs and grows up he +knoweth not how. They say a farmer's trade is a good one because it is +going on while he is abed and asleep; and surely ours is a good trade, +too, when we serve our Master by sowing good seed; for it is growing +even while we are asleep. + +But how may a good workman for Christ lawfully go to sleep? I answer, +first, he may sleep the sleep of _restfulness_ born of confidence. You +are afraid the kingdom of Christ will not come, are you? Who asked you +to tremble for the ark of the Lord? Afraid for the infinite Jehovah that +his purposes will fail? Shame on you! Your anxiety dishonors your God. +Shall Omnipotence be defeated? You had better sleep than wake to play +the part of Uzzah. Rest patiently; God's purpose will be accomplished, +his kingdom will come, his chosen will be saved, and Christ shall see of +the travail of his soul. Take the sweet sleep which God gives to his +beloved, the sleep of perfect confidence, such as Jesus slept in the +hinder part of the ship when it was tossed with tempest. The cause of +God never was in jeopardy, and never will be; the seed sown is insured +by Omnipotence, and must produce its harvest. In patience possess your +soul, and wait till the harvest comes, for the pleasure of the Lord must +prosper in the hands of Jesus. + +Also take that sleep of _joyful expectancy_ which leads to a happy +waking. Get up in the morning and feel that the Lord is ruling all +things for the attainment of his own purposes, and the highest benefit +of all who put their trust in him. Look for a blessing by day, and close +your eyes at night calmly expecting to meet with better things +to-morrow. If you do not sleep you will not wake up in the morning +refreshed, and ready for more work. If it were possible for you to sit +up all night and eat the bread of carefulness you would be unfit to +attend to the service which your Master appoints for the morning; +therefore take your rest and be at peace, and work with calm dignity, +for the matter is safe in the Lord's hands. Is it not written, "So he +giveth his beloved sleep"? + +Take your rest because you have consciously resigned your work into +God's hands. After you have spoken the word, resort to God in prayer, +and commit the matter into God's hand, and then do not fret about it. +It cannot be in better keeping, leave it with him who worketh all in +all. + +But do not sleep the sleep of unwatchfulness. The farmer sows his seed, +but he does not therefore forget it. He has to mend his fences, to drive +away birds, to remove weeds, or to prevent floods. He does not watch the +growth of the seed, but he has plenty else to do. He sleeps, but it is +only in due time and measure, and is not to be confounded with the +sluggard's slumbers. He never sleeps the sleep of indifference, or even +of inaction, for each season has its demand upon him. He has sown one +field, but he has another to sow. He has sown, but he has also to reap; +and if reaping is done, he has to thresh and to winnow. A farmer's work +is never done, for in one part or the other of the farm he is needed. +His sleep is but a pause that gives him strength to continue his +occupation. The parable teaches us to do all that lies within our +province, but not to intrude into the domain of God: in teaching to the +era we are to labor diligently, but with regard to the secret working of +truth upon man's mind, we are to pray and rest, looking to the Lord for +the inward power. + + + + +THE SHEEP BEFORE THE SHEARERS. + +"As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his +mouth."--ISAIAH 53:7. + + +OUR Lord Jesus so took our place that we are in this chapter compared to +sheep: "All we like sheep have gone astray," and he is compared to a +sheep also--"As a sheep before her shearers is dumb." It is wonderful +how complete was the interchange of positions between Christ and his +people, so that he became what they were in order that they might become +what he is. We can well understand how we should be the sheep and he the +shepherd; but to liken the Son of the Highest to a sheep would have been +unpardonable presumption had not his own Spirit employed the +condescending figure. + +Though the emblem is very gracious, its use in this place is by no means +singular, for our Lord had been before Isaiah's day typified by the lamb +of the Passover. Since then he has been proclaimed as "the Lamb of God +which taketh away the sin of the world;" and indeed even in his glory he +is the Lamb in the midst of the throne. + + +I. In opening up this divine emblem I would invite you to consider, +first, OUR SAVIOUR'S PATIENCE, set forth under the figure of a sheep +dumb before her shearers. + +Our Lord was brought to the shearers that he might be shorn of his +comfort, and of his honor, shorn even of his good name, and shorn at +last of his life itself; but when under the shearers he was as silent as +a sheep. How patient he was before Pilate, and Herod, and Caiaphas, and +on the cross! You have no record of his uttering any exclamation of +impatience at the pain and shame which he received at the hands of these +wicked men. You hear not one bitter word. Pilate cries, "Answerest thou +nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee"; and Herod is +wofully disappointed, for he expected to see some miracle wrought by +him. All that our Lord does say is in submissive tones, like the +bleating of a sheep, though infinitely more full of meaning. He utters +sentences like these--"For this purpose was I born, and came into the +world, that I might bear witness to the truth," and, "Father, forgive +them, for they know not what they do." Otherwise he is all patience and +silence. + +Remember, first, that our Lord was dumb and opened not his mouth +_against his adversaries_, and did not accuse one of them of cruelty or +injustice. They slandered him, but he replied not; false witnesses +arose, but he answered them not. One would have thought he must have +spoken when they spat in his face. Might he not have said, "Friend, why +doest thou this? For which of all my works dost thou insult me?" But the +time for such expostulations was over. When they smote him on the face +with the palms of their hands, it would not have been wonderful if he +had said, "Wherefore do you smite me so?" But no; he is as though he +heard not their revilings. He brings no accusation to his Father. He +needed only to have lifted his eye to heaven, and legions of angels +would have chased away the ribald soldiery; one flash of a seraph's wing +and Herod had been eaten by worms, and Pilate had died the death he well +deserved as an unjust judge. The hill of the cross might have become a +volcano's mouth to swallow up the whole multitude who stood there +jesting and jeering at him: but no, there was no display of power, or +rather there was so great a display of power over himself that he +restrained Omnipotence itself with a strength which never can be +measured. + +Again, as he did not utter a word against his adversaries, so he did not +say a word _against any one of us_. You remember how Zipporah said to +Moses, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me," as she saw her child +bleeding; and surely Jesus might have said to his church, "Thou art a +costly spouse to me, to bring me all this shame and bloodshedding." But +he giveth liberally, he openeth the very fountain of his heart, and he +upbraideth not. He had reckoned on the uttermost expenditure, and +therefore he endured the cross, despising the shame. + + "This was compassion like a God, + That when the Saviour knew, + The price of pardon was his blood, + His pity ne'er withdrew." + +No doubt he looked across the ages; for that eye of his was not dim, +even when bloodshot on the tree: he must have foreseen your indifference +and mine, our coldness of heart, and base unfaithfulness, and he might +have left on record some such words as these: "I am suffering for those +who are utterly unworthy of my regard; their love will be a miserable +return for mine. Though I give my whole heart for them, how lukewarm is +their love to me! I am sick of them, I am weary of them, and it is woe +to me that I should be laying down my heart's blood for such a worthless +race as these my people are." But there is not a hint of such a feeling. +No. "Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto +the end," and he did not utter a syllable that looked like murmuring at +his suffering on their behalf, or regretting that he had commenced the +work. + +And again, as there was not a word against his adversaries, nor a word +against you nor me, so their was not a word _against his Father_, nor a +syllable of repining at the severity of the chastisement laid upon him +for our sakes. You and I have murmured when under a comparatively light +grief, thinking ourselves hardly done by. We have dared to cry out +against God, "My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the +shadow of death; not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is +pure." But not so the Saviour; in his mouth were no complaints. It is +quite impossible for us to conceive how the Father pressed and bruised +him, yet was there no repining. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken +me?" is an exclamation of astonished grief, but it is not the voice of +complaint. It shows manhood in weakness, but not manhood in revolt. Many +are the Lamentations of Jeremiah, but few are the lamentations of Jesus. +Jesus wept, and Jesus sweat great drops of blood, but he never murmured +nor felt rebellion in his heart. + +Behold your Lord and Saviour lying in passive resignation beneath the +shearers, as they take away everything that is dear to him, and yet he +openeth not his mouth. I see in this our Lord's _complete submission_. +He gives himself up; there is no reserve about it. The sacrifice did not +need binding with cords to the horns of the altar. How different from +your case and mine! He stood there willing to suffer, to be spit upon, +to be shamefully entreated, and to die, for in him there was a complete +surrender. He was wholly given to do the Father's will, and to work out +our redemption. There was _complete self-conquest_ too. In him no +faculty arose to plead for liberty, and ask to be exempted from the +general strain; no limb of the body, no portion of the mind, no faculty +of the spirit started, but all submitted to the divine will: the whole +Christ gave up his whole being unto God, that he might perfectly offer +himself without spot for our redemption. + +There was not only self-conquest, but _complete absorption in his work_. +The sheep, lying there, thinks no more of the pastures, it yields itself +up to the shearer. The zeal of God's house did eat up our Lord in +Pilate's hall as well as everywhere else, for there he witnessed a good +confession. No thought had he but for the clearing of the divine honor, +and the salvation of God's elect. Brethren, I wish we could arrive at +this, to submit our whole spirit to God, to learn self-conquest, and the +delivering up of conquered self entirely to God. + +The wonderful serenity and submissiveness of our Lord are still better +set forth by our text, if it be indeed true that sheep in the East are +even more docile than with us. Those who have seen the noise and +roughness of many of our washings and shearings will hardly believe the +testimony of that ancient writer Philo-Judæus when he affirms that the +sheep came voluntarily to be shorn. He says: "Woolly rams laden with +thick fleeces put themselves into the shepherd's hands to have their +wool shorn, being thus accustomed to pay their yearly tribute to man, +their king by nature. The sheep stands in a silent inclining posture, +unconstrained under the hand of the shearer. These things may appear +strange to those who do not know the docility of the sheep, but they are +true." Marvellous indeed was this submissiveness in our Lord's case; let +us admire and imitate. + + +II. Thus I have feebly set forth the patience of our beloved Master. Now +I want you to follow me, in the second place, to VIEW OUR OWN CASE UNDER +THE SAME METAPHOR AS THAT WHICH IS USED IN REFERENCE TO OUR LORD. + +Did I not begin by saying that because we were sheep he deigns to +compare himself to a sheep? Let us look from another point of view; our +Lord was a sheep under the shearers, and as he is so are we also in this +world. Though we shall never be offered up like lambs in the temple by +way of expiation, yet the saints for ages were the flock of slaughter, +as it is written, "For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are +accounted as sheep for the slaughter!" Jesus sends us forth as sheep in +the midst of wolves, and we are to regard ourselves as living +sacrifices, ready to be offered up. I dwell, however, more particularly +upon the second symbol: we are brought as sheep under the shearers' +hands. + +Just as a sheep is taken by the shearer, and its wool is all cut off, so +doth the Lord take his people and shear them, taking away all their +earthly comforts, and leaving them bare. I wish when it came to our turn +to undergo this shearing operation it could be said of us as of our +Lord, "As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his +mouth." I fear that we open our mouths a great deal, and make no end of +complaining without any apparent cause, or with the very slenderest +reason. But now to the figure. + +First, remember that _a sheep rewards its owner for all his care and +trouble by being shorn_. There is nothing else that I know of that a +sheep can do. It yields food when it is killed, but while it is alive +the one payment that the sheep can make to the shepherd is to yield its +fleece in due season. Some of God's people can give to Christ a tribute +of gratitude by active service, and they should do so gladly every day +of their lives; but many others cannot do much in active service, and +about the only reward they can give to their Lord is to render up their +fleece by suffering when he calls upon them to suffer, submissively +yielding to be shorn of their personal comfort when the time comes for +patient endurance. + +Here comes the shearer; he takes the sheep and begins to cut, cut, cut, +cut, taking away the wool wholesale. Affliction is often used as the big +shears. The husband, or perhaps the wife, is removed, little children +are taken away, property is shorn off, and health is gone. Sometimes the +shears cut off the man's good name; slander follows; comforts vanish. +Well, this is your shearing time, and it may be that you are not able to +glorify God to any very large extent except by undergoing this process. +If this be the fact, do you not think that we, like good sheep of +Christ, should surrender ourselves cheerfully, feeling, "I lay myself +down with this intent, that thou shouldst take from me anything and +everything, and do what thou wilt with me; for I am not mine own, I am +bought with a price"? + +Notice that the sheep is itself _benefited by the operation of +shearing_. Before they begin to shear the sheep the wool is long and +old, and every bush and brier tears off a bit of the wool, until the +sheep looks ragged and forlorn. + +If the wool were left, when the heat of summer came the sheep would not +be able to bear itself, it would be so overloaded with clothing that it +would be as uncomfortable as we are when we have kept on our borrowed +wool, our flannels and broadcloths, too late. So, brethren, when the +Lord shears us, we do not like the operation any more than the sheep do; +but first, it is for _his glory_; and secondly, it is for _our benefit_, +and therefore we are bound most willingly to submit. There are many +things which we should have liked to have kept which, if we had kept +them, would not have proved blessings but curses. A stale blessing is a +curse. The manna, though it came from heaven, was only good so long as +God's command made it a blessing, but when they kept it over its due +time it bred worms and stank, and then it was no blessing. Many persons +would keep their mercies till they turn to corruption; but God will not +have it so. Up to a certain point for you to be wealthy was a blessing; +it would not have been a blessing any longer, and so the Lord took your +riches away. Up to that point your child was a boon, but it would have +been no longer so, and therefore it fell sick and died. You may not be +able to see it, but it is so, that God, when he withdraws a blessing +from his people, takes it away because it would not be a blessing any +longer. + +Before sheep are shorn _they are always washed_. Were you ever present +at the scene when they drive them down to the brook? Men are placed in +rows, leading to the shepherd who stands in the water. The sheep are +driven down, and the men seize them, throw them into the pool, keeping +their faces above water, and swirl them round and round and round to +wash the wool before they clip it off. You see them come out on the +other side frightened to death, poor things, wondering whatever is +coming. I want to suggest to you, brethren, that whenever a trial +threatens to overtake you, you should entreat the Lord to sanctify it to +you. If the good Shepherd is going to clip your wool, ask him to wash it +before he takes it off; ask to be cleansed in spirit, soul, and body. +That is a very good custom Christian people have of asking a blessing on +their meals before they eat bread. Do you not think it is even more +necessary to ask a blessing on our troubles before we get into them? +Here is your dear child likely to die; will you not, dear parents, meet +together and ask God to bless the death of that child, if it is to +happen? The harvest fails; would it not be well to say--"Lord, sanctify +this poverty, this loss, this year's bad harvest: cause it to be a means +of grace to us." Why not ask a blessing on the cup of bitterness as well +as upon the cup of thanksgiving? Ask to be washed before you are shorn, +and if the shearing must come, let it be your chief concern to yield +clean wool. + +After the washing, when the sheep has been dried, it actually _loses +what was its comfort_. The sheep is thrown down, and the shearers get to +work; the poor creature is losing its comfortable fleece. You also will +have to part with your comforts. Will you recollect this? The next time +you receive a fresh blessing call it a loan. Poor sheep, there is no +wool on your back but what will have to come off; child of God, there is +no earthly comfort in your possession but what will either leave you, +or you will leave it. Nothing is our own except our God. "Why," says +one, "not our sin?" Sin was our own, but Jesus has taken it upon +himself, and it is gone. There is nothing our own but our God, for all +his gifts are held on lease, terminable at his sovereign will. We +foolishly consider that our mercies belong to us, and when the Lord +takes them away we half grumble. A loan, they say, should go laughing +home, and so should we rejoice when the Lord takes back that which he +had lent us. All our possessions are but brief favors borrowed for the +hour. As the sheep yields up its wool and so loses its comfort, so must +we yield up all our earthly properties; or if they remain with us till +we die, we shall part with them then, we shall not take so much as one +of them across the stream of death. + +The shearers _take care not to hurt the sheep_; they clip as close as +they can, but they do not cut the skin. If possible, they will not draw +blood, even in the smallest degree. When they do make a gash, it is +because the sheep does not lie still; but a careful shearer has +bloodless shears. Of this Thomson sings in his "Seasons," and the +passage is so good an illustration of the whole subject that I will +adorn my discourse with it: + + "How meek, how patient, the mild creature lies! + What softness in its melancholy face, + What dumb complaining innocence appears! + Fear not, ye gentle tribes! 'tis not the knife + Of horrid slaughter that is o'er you waved; + No, 'tis the tender swain's well guided shears, + Who having now, to pay his annual care, + Borrow'd your fleece, to you a cumbrous load, + Will send you bounding to your hills again." + +It is the kicking and the struggling that make the shearing work at all +hard, but if we are dumb before the shearers no harm can come. The Lord +may clip wonderfully close; I have known him clip some so close that +they did not seem to have a bit of wool left, for they were stripped +entirely, even as Job when he cried, "Naked came I out of my mother's +womb, and naked shall I return thither." Still, like Job, they have +added, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name +of the Lord." + +Notice that the shearers always _shear at a suitable time_. It would be +a very wicked, cruel, and unwise thing to begin sheep-shearing in winter +time. There is a proverb which talks about God "tempering the wind to +the shorn lamb." It may be so, but it is a very cruel practice to shear +lambs while winds need tempering. Sheep are shorn when it is warm, +genial weather, when they can afford to lose their fleeces, and are all +the better for being relieved of them. As the summer comes on +sheep-shearing time comes. Have you ever noticed that whenever the Lord +afflicts us he selects the best possible time? There is a prayer that he +puts into his disciples' mouths, "Pray that your flight be not in the +winter;" the spirit of that prayer may be seen in the seasonableness of +our sorrows. He will not send us our worst troubles at our worst times. +If your soul is depressed the Lord does not send you a very heavy +burden; he reserves such a load for times when you have joy in the Lord +to be your strength. It has come to be a kind of feeling with us that +when we have much delight a trial is near, but when sorrow thickens +deliverance is approaching. The Lord does not send us two burdens at a +time; or, if he does, he sends double strength. His shearing time is +chosen with tender discretion. + +There is another thing to remember. It is with us as with the sheep, +_there is new wool coming_. Whenever the Lord takes away our earthly +comforts with one hand, one, two, three, he restores with the other hand +six, a score, a hundred; we are crying and whining about the little +loss, and yet it is necessary in order that we may be able to receive +the great gain. Yes, it will be so, we shall have cause for rejoicing, +"joy cometh in the morning." If we have lost one position, there is +another for us; if we have been driven out of one place, a better refuge +is prepared. Providence opens a second door when it shuts the first. If +the Lord takes away the manna, as he did from his people Israel, it is +because they have the old corn of the land of Canaan to live upon. If +the water of the rock did not follow the tribes any longer, it was +because they drank of the Jordan, and of the brooks. O sheep of the +Lord's fold, there is new wool coming: therefore do not fret at the +shearing. I have given these thoughts in brief, that we may come to the +last word. + + +III. Let us, in the third place, endeavor to IMITATE THE EXAMPLE OF OUR +BLESSED LORD WHEN OUR TURN COMES TO BE SHORN. Let us be dumb before the +shearers, submissive, quiescent, even as he was. + +I have been giving, in everything I have said, a reason for so doing. I +have shown that our shearing by affliction glorifies God, rewards the +Shepherd, and benefits ourselves. I have shown that the Lord measures +and tempers our affliction, and sends the trial at the right time. I +have shown you in many ways that it will be wise to submit ourselves as +the sheep does to the shearer, and that the more completely we do so the +better. + +We struggle far too much, and we are apt to make excuses for so doing. +Sometimes we say, "Oh, this is so painful, I cannot be patient! I could +have borne anything else but this." When a father is going to correct +his child, does he select something pleasant? No. The painfulness of the +punishment is the essence of it, and even so the bitterness of our +sorrow is the soul of our chastening. By the blueness of the wound the +heart will be made better. Do not repine because your trial seems +strange and sharp. That would in fact be saying, "If I have it all my +own way I will, but if everything does not please me I will rebel;" and +that is not a fit spirit for a child of God. + +Sometimes we complain because of our great weakness. "Lord, were I +stronger I would not mind this heavy loss; but I am frail as a sere leaf +driven of the tempest." But who is to be the judge of the suitability of +your trial? You or God? Since the Lord judges this trial to be suitable +to your weakness, you may be sure that it is so. Lie still! Lie still! +"Alas," you say, "my grief comes from the most cruel quarter; this +trouble did not arise directly from God, it came through my cousin or my +brother who ought to have treated me with gratitude. It was not an +enemy; then I could have borne it." My brother, let me assure you that +in reality trial comes not from an enemy after all. God is at the bottom +of all your tribulation; look through the second causes to the great +First Cause. It is a great mistake when we fret over the human +instrument which smites us, and forget the hand which uses the rod. If I +strike a dog, he bites my stick; poor creature, he knows no better; but +if he could think a little he would bite _me_, or else take the blow +submissively. Now, you must not begin biting the stick. After all, it +is your heavenly Father that uses the staff; though it be of ebony or of +blackthorn, it is in his hand. It is well to have done with picking and +choosing our trials, and to leave the whole matter in the hand of +infinite wisdom. A sweet singer has put this matter very prettily; let +me quote the lines: + + "But when my Lord did ask me on what side + I were content, + The grief whereby I must be purified, + To me was sent, + + "As each imagined anguish did appear, + Each withering bliss + Before my soul, I cried, 'Oh! spare me here, + Oh, no, not this!' + + "Like one that having need of, deep within, + The surgeon's knife, + Would hardly bear that it should graze the skin, + Though for his life. + + "Nay, then, but he, who best doth understand + Both what we need, + And what can bear, did take my case in hand, + Nor crying heed." + +This is the pith of my sermon: oh, believer, yield thyself! Lie passive +in the hands of God! Yield thee, and struggle not! There is no use in +struggling, for our great Shearer, if he means to shear, will do it. Did +I not say just now that the sheep, by struggling, might be cut by the +shears? So you and I, if we struggle against God, will get two strokes +instead of one; and after all there is not half so much trouble in a +trouble as there is in kicking against the trouble. The Eastern +ploughman has a goad, and pricks the ox to make it move more actively; +he does not hurt it much by his gentle prodding, but suppose the ox +flings out its leg the moment it touches him, he drives the goad into +himself, and bleeds. So it is with us, we shall find it hard to kick +against the pricks; we shall endure much more pain by rebelling than +would have come if we had yielded to the divine will. What good comes of +fretting? We cannot make one hair white or black. You that are troubled, +rest with us, for you cannot make shower or shine, foul or fair, with +all your groaning. Did you ever bring a penny into the till by fretting, +or put a loaf on the table by complaint? Murmuring is wasted breath, and +fretting is wasted time. To lie passive in the hand of God brings a +blessing to the soul. I would myself be more quiet, calm, and +self-possessed. I long to cry habitually, "Lord, do what thou wilt, when +thou wilt, as thou wilt, with me, thy servant; appoint me honor or +dishonor, wealth or poverty, sickness or health, exhilaration or +depression, and I will take all right gladly from thy hand." A man is +not far from the gates of heaven when he is fully submissive to the +Lord's will. + +You that have been shorn have, I hope, received comfort through the ever +blessed Spirit of God. May God bless you. Oh that the sinner, too, would +humble himself under the mighty hand of God! Submit yourselves unto God, +let every thought be brought into captivity to him, and the Lord send +his blessing, for Christ's sake. Amen. + + + + +IN THE HAY-FIELD. + +"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle."--PSALM 104:14. + + +AT the appointed season all the world is busy with ingathering the grass +crop, and you can scarcely ride a mile in the country without scenting +the delicious fragrance of the new-mown hay, and hearing the sharpening +of the mower's scythe. There is a gospel in the hay-field, and that +gospel we intend to bring out as we may be enabled by the Holy Spirit. + +Our text conducts us at once to the spot, and we shall therefore need no +preface. "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle"--three things we +shall notice; first, that _grass is in itself instructive_; secondly, +that _grass is far more so when God is seen in it_; and thirdly, that +_by the growth of grass for the cattle, the ways of grace may be +illustrated_. + + +I. First, then, "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle." Here we +have SOMETHING WHICH IS IN ITSELF INSTRUCTIVE. Scarcely any emblem, with +the exception of water and light, is more frequently used by inspiration +than the grass of the field. + +In the first place, the grass may be instructively looked upon as _the +symbol of our mortality_. "All flesh is grass." The whole history of man +may be seen in the meadow. He springs up green and tender, subject to +the frosts of infancy, which imperil his young life; he grows, he comes +to maturity, he puts on beauty even as the grass is adorned with +flowers; but after a while his strength departs and his beauty is +wrinkled, even as the grass withers and is followed by a fresh +generation, which withers in its turn. Like ourselves, the grass ripens +but to decay. The sons of men come to maturity in due time, and then +decline and wither as the green herb. Some of the grass is not left to +come to ripeness at all, but the mower's scythe removes it, even as +swift-footed death overtakes the careless children of Adam. "In the +morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, +and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are +we troubled." "As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the +field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; +and the place thereof shall know it no more." This is very humbling; and +we need frequently to be reminded of it, or we dream of immortality +beneath the stars. We ought never to tread upon the grass without +remembering that whereas the green sod covers our graves, it also +reminds us of them, and preaches by every blade a sermon to us +concerning our mortality, of which the text is, "All flesh is grass, and +all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." + +In the second place, grass is frequently used in Scripture as _an emblem +of the wicked_. David tells us from his own experience that the +righteous man is apt to grow envious of the wicked when he sees the +prosperity of the ungodly. We have seen them spreading themselves like +green bay trees, and apparently fixed and rooted in their places; and +when we have smarted under our own troubles, and felt that all the day +long we were scourged, and chastened every morning, we have been apt to +say, "How can this be consistent with the righteous government of God?" +We are reminded by the Psalmist that in a short time we shall pass by +the place of the wicked, and lo, he shall not be; we shall diligently +consider his place, and lo, it shall not be; for he is soon cut down as +the grass, and withereth as the green herb. The grass withereth, the +flower thereof fadeth away, and even so shall pass away forever the +glory of those who build upon the estate of time, and dig for lasting +comfort in the mines of the earth. As the Eastern husbandman gathers up +the green herb, and, despite its former beauty, casts it into the +furnace, such must be your lot, O vainglorious sinners! Thus will the +judge command his angels, "Bind them in bundles to burn." Where now your +merriment? Where now your confidence? Where now your pride and your +pomp? Where now your boastings and your loud-mouthed blasphemies? They +are silent for ever; for, as thorns crackle under a pot, but are +speedily consumed, and leave nothing except a handful of ashes, so shall +it be with the wicked as to this life; the fire of God's wrath shall +devour them. + +It is more pleasing to recollect that the grass is used in Scripture as +_a picture of the elect of God_. The wicked are comparable to the +dragons of the wilderness, but God's own people shall spring up in their +place, for it is written, "In the habitation of dragons, where each lay, +shall be grass with reeds and rushes." The elect are compared to grass, +because of their number as they shall be in the latter days, and because +of the rapidity of their growth. You remember the passage, "There shall +be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains: the +fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall +flourish like grass of the earth." O that the long expected day might +soon come, when God's people shall no longer be like a lone tuft of +grass, but when they shall spring up as among the grass, as "willows by +the water-courses." Grass and willows are two of the fastest growing +things we know of; so shall a nation be born in a day, so shall crowds +be converted at once; for when the Spirit of God shall be mightily at +work in the midst of the church, men shall fly unto Christ as doves fly +to their dovecots, so that the astonished church shall exclaim, "These, +where had they been?" O that we might live to see the age of gold, the +time which prophets have foretold, when the company of God's people +shall be innumerable as the blades of grass in the meadows, and grace +and truth shall flourish. + +How like the grass are God's people for this reason, that they are +absolutely dependent upon the influences of heaven! Our fields are +parched if vernal showers and gentle dews are withheld, and what are our +souls without the gracious visitations of the Spirit? Sometimes through +severe trials our wounded hearts are like the mown grass, and then we +have the promise, "He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass; as +showers that water the earth." Our sharp troubles have taken away our +beauty, and lo, the Lord visits us, and we revive again. Thank God for +that old saying, which is a gracious doctrine as well as a true proverb, +"Each blade of grass has its own drop of dew." God is pleased to give +his own peculiar mercies to each one of his own servants. "Thy blessing +is upon thy people." + +Once again, grass is comparable to _the food where-with the Lord +supplies the necessities of his chosen ones_. Take the twenty-third +Psalm, and you have the metaphor worked out in the sweetest form of +pastoral song: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth +me beside the still waters." Just as the sheep has nourishment according +to its nature, and this nourishment is abundantly found for it by its +shepherd, so that it not only feeds, but then lies down in the midst of +the fodder, satiated with plenty, and perfectly content and at ease; +even so are the people of God when Jesus Christ leads them into the +pastures of the covenant, and opens up to them the precious truths upon +which their souls shall be fed. Beloved, have we not proved that promise +true, "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a +feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of +marrow, of wines on the lees well refined"? My soul has sometimes fed +upon Christ till I have felt as if I could receive no more, and then I +have laid me down in the bounty of my God to take my rest, satisfied +with favor, and full of the goodness of the Lord. + +Thus, you see, the grass itself is not without instruction for those who +will incline their ear. + + +II. In the second place, GOD IS SEEN IN THE GROWING OF THE GRASS. He is +seen first as a worker, "He _causeth_ the grass to grow." He is seen +secondly as a caretaker, "He causeth the grass to grow _for the +cattle_." + +1. First, as a _worker_, God is to be seen in every blade of grass, if +we have but eyes to discern him. A blind world this, which always talks +about "natural laws," and "the effects of natural causes," but forgets +that laws cannot operate of themselves, and that natural causes, so +called, are not causes at all unless the First Cause shall set them in +motion. The old Romans used to say, _God_ thundered; _God_ rained. We +say _it_ thunders; _it_ rains. What "it"? All these expressions are +subterfuges to escape from the thought of God. We commonly say, "How +wonderful are the works of _nature_!" What is "nature"? Do you know what +_nature_ is? I remember a lecturer in the street, an infidel, speaking +about nature, and he was asked by a Christian man standing by whether he +would tell him what nature was. He never gave a reply. The production of +grass is not the result of natural law apart from the actual work of +God; mere law would be inoperative unless the great Master himself sent +a thrill of power through the matter which is regulated by the +law--unless, like the steam engine, which puts force into all the +spinning-jennies and wheels of a cotton mill, God himself were the +motive power to make every wheel revolve. I find rest on the grass as on +a royal couch, now that I know that my God is there at work for his +creatures. + +Having asked you to see God as a worker, I want you to make use of +this--therefore I bid you to see God in _common things_. He makes the +grass to grow--grass is a common thing. You see it everywhere, yet God +is in it. Dissect it and pull it to pieces; the attributes of God are +illustrated in every single flower of the field, and in every green +leaf. In like manner see God in your common matters, your daily +afflictions, your common joys, your everyday mercies. Do not say, "I +must see a miracle before I see God." In truth everything teems with +marvel. See God in the bread of your table and the water of your cup. +It will be the happiest way of living if you can say in each +providential circumstance, "My Father has done all this." See God also +in _little things_. The little things of life are the greatest troubles. +A man will hear that his house is burned down more quietly than he will +see an ill-cooked joint of meat upon his table, when he reckoned upon +its being done to a turn. It is the _little_ stone in the shoe which +makes the pilgrim limp. To see God in little things, to believe that +there is as much the presence of God in a limb falling from the elm as +in the avalanche which crushes a village; to believe that the guidance +of every drop of spray, when the wave breaks on the rock, is as much +under the hand of God, as the steerage of the mightiest planet in its +course; to see God in the little as well as in the great--all this is +true wisdom. + +Think, too, of God working among _solitary things_; for grass does not +merely grow where men take care of it, but up there on the side of the +lone Alp, where no traveller has ever passed. Where only the eye of the +wild bird has beheld their lonely verdure, moss and grass display their +beauty; for God's works are fair to other eyes than those of mortals. +And you, solitary child of God, dwelling, unknown and obscure, in a +remote hamlet; you are not forgotten by the love of heaven. He maketh +the grass to grow all alone, and shall he not make you flourish despite +your loneliness? He can bring forth your graces and educate you for the +skies in solitude and neglect. The grass, you know, is a thing we tread +upon, nobody thinks of its being crushed by the foot, and yet God makes +it grow. Perhaps you are oppressed and down-trodden, but let not this +depress your spirit, for God executeth righteousness for all those that +are oppressed; he maketh the grass to grow, and he can make your heart +to flourish under all the oppressions and afflictions of life, so that +you shall still be happy and holy though all the world marches over you; +still living in the immortal life which God himself bestows upon you, +though hell itself set its heel upon you. Poor and needy one, unknown, +unobserved, oppressed and down-trodden, God makes the grass to grow, and +he will take care of you. + +2. But I said we should see in the text God also as a great _caretaker_. +"He causeth the grass to grow _for the cattle_." "Doth God take care for +oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes?" "Thou shalt not muzzle +the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn," shows that God has a +care for the beasts of the field; but it shows much more than that, +namely that he would have those who work for him feed as they work. God +cares for the beasts, and makes grass to grow for them. Then, my soul, +though sometimes thou hast said with David, "So foolish was I, and +ignorant: I was as a beast before thee," yet God cares for thee. "He +giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry"--there +you have an instance of his care for birds, and here we have his care +for beasts; and though you, my hearer, may seem to yourself to be as +black and defiled as a raven, and as far from anything spiritually good +as the beasts, yet take comfort from this text; he gives grass to the +cattle, and he will give grace to you, though you think yourself to be +as a beast before him. + +Observe, he cares for these beasts who are _helpless_ as to caring for +themselves. The cattle could not plant the grass, nor cause it to grow. +Though they can do nothing in the matter, yet he does it all for them; +_he_ causeth the grass to grow. You who are as helpless as cattle to +help yourselves, who can only stand and moan out your misery, but know +not what to do, God can prevent you in his loving-kindness, and favor +you in his tenderness. Let the bleatings of your prayer go up to heaven, +let the meanings of your desires go up to him, and help shall come to +you though you cannot help yourselves. Beasts are _dumb, speechless +things_, yet God makes the grass grow for them. Will he hear those that +cannot speak, and will he not hear those who can? Since our God views +with kind consideration the cattle in the field, he will surely have +compassion upon his own sons and daughters when they desire to seek his +face. + +There is this also to be said, God not only cares for cattle, but _the +food_ which he provides for them is fit food--he causeth _grass_ to grow +for the cattle, just the sort of food which ruminants require. Even thus +the Lord God provides fit sustenance for his people. Depend upon him by +faith and wait upon him in prayer, and you shall have food convenient +for you. You shall find in God's mercy just that which your nature +demands, suitable supplies for peculiar wants. + +This "convenient" food the Lord takes care to reserve for the cattle, +for no one eats the cattle's food but the cattle. There is grass for +them, and nobody else cares for it, and thus it is kept for them; even +so God has a special food for his own people; "the secret of the Lord is +with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant." Though the +grass be free to all who choose to eat it, yet no creature careth for it +except the cattle for whom it is prepared; and though the grace of God +be free to all men, yet no man careth for it except the elect of God, +for whom he prepared it, and whom he prepares to receive it. There is as +much reserve of the grass for the cattle as if there were walls around +it; and so, though the grace of God be free, and there be no bound set +about it, yet it is as much reserved as if it were restricted. + +God is seen in the grass as the worker and the caretaker; then _let us +see his hand in providence at all times_. Let us see it, not only when +we have abundance, but even when we have scant supplies; for the grass +is preparing for the cattle even in the depth of winter. And you, ye +sons of sorrow, in your trials and troubles, are still cared for by God; +he will accomplish his own divinely gracious purposes in you; only be +still and see the salvation of God. Every winter's night has a direct +connection with the joyous days of mowing and reaping, and each time of +grief is linked to future joy. + + +III. Our third head is most interesting. GOD'S WORKING IN THE GRASS FOR +THE CATTLE GIVES US ILLUSTRATIONS CONCERNING GRACE. + +I will soliloquize, and say to myself as I read the text, "He causeth +the grass to grow for the cattle. In this I perceive a satisfying +provision for that form of creature. I am also a creature, but I am a +nobler creature than the cattle. I cannot imagine for a moment that God +will provide all that the cattle need and not provide for me. But +naturally I feel uneasy; I cannot find in this world what I want--if I +were to win all its riches I should still be discontented; and when I +have all that heart could wish of time's treasures, yet still my heart +feels as if it were empty. There must be somewhere or other something +that will satisfy me as a man with an immortal soul. God altogether +satisfies the ox; he must therefore have something or other that would +altogether satisfy me if I could get it. There is the grass, the cattle +get it, and when they have eaten their share, they lie down and seem +perfectly contented; now, all I have ever found on earth has never +satisfied me so that I could lie down and be satisfied; there must, +then, be something somewhere that would content me if I could get at +it." Is not this good reasoning? I ask both the Christian and the +unbeliever to go with me so far; but then let us proceed another step: +The cattle do get what they want--not only is the grass provided, but +they get it. Why should not I obtain what I want? I find my soul +hungering and thirsting after something more than I can see with my eyes +or hear with my ears; there must be something to satisfy my soul, why +should I not find it? The cattle pasture upon that which satisfies them; +why should not I obtain satisfaction too? Then I begin to pray, "O Lord, +satisfy my mouth with good things, and renew my youth." + +While I am praying I also meditate and think--God has provided for +cattle that which is consonant to their nature; they are nothing but +flesh, and flesh is grass, there is therefore grass for their flesh. I +also am flesh, but I am something else beside; I am spirit, and to +satisfy me I need spiritual meat. Where is it? When I turn to God's +word, I find there that though the grass withereth, the word of the Lord +endureth for ever; and the word which Jesus speaks unto us is spirit and +life. "Oh! then," I say, "here is spiritual food for my spiritual +nature, I will rejoice therein." O may God help me to know what that +spiritual meat is, and enable me to lay hold upon it, for I perceive +that though God provides the grass for the cattle, _the cattle must eat +it themselves_. They are not fed if they refuse to eat. I must imitate +the cattle, and receive that which God provides for me. What do I find +provided in Scripture? I am told that the Lord Jesus came into this +world to suffer, and bleed, and die instead of me, and that if I trust +in him I shall be saved; and, being saved, the thoughts of his love will +give solace and joy to me and be my strength. What have I to do but to +feed on these truths? I do not find the cattle bringing any preparation +to the pasture except hunger, but they enter it and partake of their +portion. Even so must I by an act of faith live upon Jesus. Lord, give +me grace to feed upon Christ; make me hungry and thirsty after him; give +me the faith by which I may be a receiver of him, that so I may be +satisfied with favor, and full of the goodness of the Lord. + +My text, though it looked small, grows as we meditate upon it. I want to +introduce you to a few more illustrations of divine grace. _Preventing +grace may here be seen in a symbol._ Grass grew before cattle were made. +We find in the first chapter of Genesis that God provided the grass +before he created the cattle. And what a mercy that covenant supplies +for God's people were prepared before they were born. God had given his +Son Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of his chosen before Adam fell; long +before sin came into the world the everlasting mercy of God foresaw the +ruin of sin, and provided a refuge for every elect soul. What a thought +it is for me, that, before I hunger, God has prepared the manna; before +I thirst, God has caused the rock in the wilderness to send forth +crystal streams to satisfy the thirst of my soul! See what sovereign +grace can do! Before the cattle come to the pasture the grass has grown +for them, and before I feel my need of divine mercy that mercy is +provided for me. Then I perceive an illustration of free grace, for +_when the ox comes into the field he brings no money with him_. So I, a +poor needy sinner, having nothing, come and receive Christ without money +and without price. The Lord maketh the grass to grow for the cattle, and +so doth he provide grace for my needy soul, though I have now no money, +no virtue, no excellence of my own. + +And why is it, my friends, why is it that God gives the cattle the +grass? The reason is, _because they belong to him_. Here is a text to +prove it. "The silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle upon a +thousand hills." God provides grass for his own cattle, and grace is +provided for God's people. Of every herd of cattle in the world, God +could say, "They are mine." Long before the grazier puts his brand on +the bullock God has set his creating mark upon it; so, before the stamp +of Adam's fall was set upon our brow, the stamp of electing love was set +there: "In thy book all my members were written, which in continuance +were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." + +God also feeds cattle because _he has entered into a covenant with them +to do so_. "What! a covenant with the cattle!" says somebody. Ay! truly +so, for when God spake to his servant Noah, in that day when all the +cattle came out of the ark, we find him saying, "I establish my covenant +with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature +that is with you, of the fowl, of _the cattle_, and of every beast of +the earth with you." Thus a covenant was made with the cattle, and that +covenant was that seed-time and harvest should not fail; therefore the +earth brings forth for them, and for them the Lord causeth the grass to +grow. Does Jehovah keep his covenant with cattle, and will he not keep +his covenant with his own beloved? Ah! it is because his chosen people +are his covenanted ones in the person of the Lord Jesus, that he +provides for them all things that they shall need in time and in +eternity, and satisfies them out of the fulness of his everlasting love. + +Once, again, God feeds the cattle, and then _the cattle praise him_. We +find David saying, in the hundred and forty-eighth Psalm, "Praise the +Lord ... ye beasts and all cattle." The Lord feeds his people to the end +that their glory may sing praise unto him and not be silent. While other +creatures give glory to God, let the redeemed of the Lord especially say +so, whom he has redeemed out of the hand of the enemy. + +Nor even yet is our text exhausted. Turning one moment from the cattle, +I want you to notice the grass. It is said of the grass, "_He causeth_ +the grass to grow": here is a doctrinal lesson, for if grass does not +grow without God's causing it to grow, how could grace arise in the +human heart apart from divine operations? Surely grace is a much more +wonderful product of divine wisdom than the grass can be! And if grass +does not grow without a divine cause, depend upon it grace does not +dwell in us without a divine implantation. If I have so much as one +blade of grace growing within me, I must trace it all to God's divine +will, and render to him all the glory. + +Again, if God thinks it worth his while to make grass, and take care of +it, much more will he think it to his honor to cause his grace to grow +in our hearts. If the great invisible Spirit, whose thoughts are high +and lofty, condescends to look after that humble thing which grows by +the hedge, surely he will condescend to watch over his own nature, which +he calls "the incorruptible seed, which liveth and abideth for ever!" +Mungo Park, in the deserts of Africa, was much comforted when he took up +a little piece of moss, and saw the wisdom and power of God in that +lonely piece of verdant loveliness. So, when you see the fields ripe and +ready for the mower, your hearts should leap for joy to see how God has +produced the grass, caring for it all through the rigorous cold of +winter, and the chill months of spring, until at last he sent the genial +rain and sunshine, and brought the fields to their best condition. And +so, my soul, though thou mayest endure many a frost of sorrow and a long +winter of trial, yet the Lord will cause thee to grow in grace, and in +the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for +ever. Amen. + + + + +THE JOY OF HARVEST. + +"They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest."--ISAIAH 9:3. + + +THE other day I kept the feast with a company who shouted "Harvest +Home." I was glad to see the rich and poor rejoicing together; and when +the cheerful meal was ended, I was glad to turn one of the tables into a +pulpit, and in the large barn to preach the gospel of the ever-blessed +God to an earnest audience. My heart was merry in harmony with the +occasion, and I shall now keep in the same key, and talk to you a little +upon the joy of harvest. Londoners forget that it is harvest time; +living in this great desert of dingy bricks we hardly know what a +wheat-ear is like, except as we see it dry and white in the window of a +corn dealer's shop; yet let us all remember that there is such a season +as harvest, when by God's goodness the fruits of the earth are gathered +in. + +WHAT IS THE JOY OF HARVEST which is here taken as the simile of the joy +of the saints before God? I am afraid that to the mere selfish order of +spirits the joy of harvest is simply that of personal gratification at +the increase of wealth. Sometimes the farmer only rejoices because _he +sees the reward of his toils_, and is so much the richer man. I hope +that with many there mingles the second cause of joy; namely, gratitude +to God that an abundant harvest will give bread to the poor, and remove +complaining from our streets. There is a lawful joy in harvest, no +doubt, to the man who is enriched by it; for any man who works hard has +a right to rejoice when at last he gains his desire. It would be well if +men would always recollect that their last and greatest harvest will be +to them according to their labor. He that soweth to the flesh will of +the flesh reap corruption, and only the man that soweth to the spirit +will of the spirit reap life everlasting. Many a young man commences +life by sowing what he calls his wild oats, which he had better never +have sown, for they will bring him a terrible harvest. He expects that +from these wild oats he will gather a harvest of true pleasure, but it +cannot be; the truest pleasures of life spring from the good seed of +righteousness, and not from the hemlock of sin. As a man who sows +thistles in his furrows must not expect to reap the golden wheatsheaf, +so he who follows the ways of vice must not expect happiness. On the +contrary, if he sows the wind he will reap the whirlwind. When a sinner +feels the pangs of conscience he may well say, "This is what I sowed." +When he shall at last receive the punishment of his evil deeds he will +blame no one but himself; he sowed tares and he must reap tares. On the +other hand, the Christian man, though his salvation is not of works, but +of grace, will have a gracious reward given to him by his Master. Sowing +in tears, he shall reap in joy. Putting out his talents to interest, he +shall enter into his Master's joy, and hear him say, "Well done, good +and faithful servant." The joy of harvest in part consists of the reward +of labor; may such be our joy in serving the Lord. + +The joy of harvest has another element in it, namely, that of _gratitude +to God for favors bestowed_. We are singularly dependent on God; far +more so than most of us imagine. When the children of Israel were in the +wilderness they went forth every morning and gathered the manna. Our +manna does not come to us every morning, but it comes once a year. It is +as much a heavenly supply as if it lay like a hoarfrost round about the +camp. If we went out into the field and gathered food which dropped from +the clouds we should think it a great miracle; and is it not as great a +marvel that our bread should come up from the earth as that it should +come down from the sky? The same God who bade the heavens drop with +angels' food bids the dull earth in its due season yield corn for +mankind. Therefore whenever we find that harvest comes, let us be +grateful to God, and let us not suffer the season to pass over without +psalms of thanksgiving. I believe I shall be correct if I say that there +is never in the world, as a rule, more than sixteen months' supply of +food; that is to say, when the harvest is gathered in, there may be +sixteen months' supply; but at the time of harvest there is not usually +enough wheat in the whole world to last the population more than four or +five months; so that if the harvest did not come we should be on the +verge of famine. We live still from hand to mouth. Let us pause and +bless God, and let the joy of harvest be the joy of gratitude. + +To the Christian it should be great joy, by means of the harvest, _to +receive an assurance of God's faithfulness_. The Lord has promised that +seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, shall never cease; and when +you see the loaded wain carrying in the crop you may say to yourself, +"God is true to his promise. Despite the dreary winter and the damp +spring, autumn has come with its golden grain." Depend upon it, that as +the Lord keeps this promise he will keep all the rest. All his promises +are yea and amen in Christ Jesus; if he keeps his covenant to the earth, +much more will he keep his covenant with his own people, whom he hath +loved with an everlasting love. Go, Christian, to the mercy-seat with +the promise on your lip and plead it. Be assured it is not a dead +letter. Let not unbelief cause you to stammer when you mention the +promise before the throne, but say it boldly--"Fulfil this word unto thy +servant on which thou hast caused me to hope." Shame upon us that we so +little believe our God. The world is full of proofs of his goodness. +Every rising sun, every falling shower, every revolving season certifies +his faithfulness. Wherefore do we doubt him? If we never doubt him till +we have cause for it we shall never know distrust again. Encouraged by +the return of harvest, let us resolve in the strength of the Spirit of +God that we will not waver, but will believe in the divine word and +rejoice in it. + +Once more. To the Christian, in the joy of harvest there will always be +_the joy of expectation_. As there is a harvest to the husbandman for +which he waiteth patiently, so there is a harvest for all faithful +waiters who are looking for the coming and the appearing of our Lord and +Saviour Jesus Christ. The mature Christian, like the ripe ear of corn, +hangs down his head with holy humility. When he was but green in the +things of God he stood erect and was somewhat boastful, but now that he +has become full of the blessing of the Lord he is humbled thereby, and +bows himself down; he is waiting for the sickle, and he dreads it not, +for no common reaper shall come to gather Christ's people--he himself +shall reap the harvest of the world. The Lord leaves the destroying +angel to reap the vintage and to cast it into the wine-vat to be trodden +with vengeance; but as for the grain which he himself has sown, he will +gather it himself with his own golden sickle. We are looking for this. +We are growing among the tares, and sometimes we are half afraid lest +the tares should be stronger than ourselves and choke the wheat; but we +shall be separated by-and-by, and when the corn is well winnowed and +stored in the garner, we shall be there. It is this expectation which +even now makes our hearts throb with joy. We have gone to the grave with +precious sheaves that belonged to our Master, and when we were there we +thought we could almost say, "Lord, if they sleep they shall do well. +Let us die with them." Our joy of harvest is the hope of being at rest +with all the saints, and for ever with the Lord. A view of these shadowy +harvests upon earth should make us exceedingly glad, because they are +the image and foreshadowing of the eternal harvest above. + + +So much about the joy of harvest; but I hasten onward. WHAT JOYS ARE +THOSE WHICH TO THE BELIEVER ARE AS THE JOY OF HARVEST? It is a common +notion that Christians are an unhappy people. It is true that we are +tried, but it is false that we are miserable. With all their trials, +believers have such a compensation in the love of Christ that they are +still a blessed generation, and it may be said of them, "Happy art thou, +O Israel." + +One of the first seasons in which we knew a joy equal to the joy of +harvest--a season which has continued with us ever since it +commenced--was _when we found the Saviour_, and so obtained salvation. +You recollect for yourselves, brethren and sisters, the time of the +ploughing of your souls. My heart was fallow, and covered with weeds; +but on a certain day the great Husbandman came and began to plough my +soul. Ten black horses were his team, and it was a sharp ploughshare +that he used, and the ploughers made deep furrows. The ten commandments +were those black horses, and the justice of God, like a ploughshare, +tore my spirit. I was condemned, undone, destroyed, lost, helpless, +hopeless--I thought hell was before me. Then there came a cross +ploughing, for when I went to hear the gospel it did not comfort me; it +made me wish I had a part in it, but I feared that such a boon was out +of the question. The choicest promises of God frowned at me, and his +threatenings thundered at me. I prayed, but found no answer of peace. It +was long with me thus. After the ploughing came the sowing. God who +ploughed the heart made it conscious that it needed the gospel, and the +gospel seed was joyfully received. Do you recollect that auspicious day +when at last you began to have some little hope? It was very +little--like a green blade that peeps up from the soil; you scarce knew +whether it was grass or corn, whether it was presumption or true faith. +It was a little hope, but it grew very pleasantly. Alas, a frost of +doubt came; snow of fear fell; cold winds of despondency blew on you, +and you said, "There can be no hope for me." But what a glorious day was +that when at last the wheat which God had sown ripened, and you could +say, "I have looked unto him and have been lightened; I have laid my +sins on Jesus, where God laid them of old, and they are taken away, and +I am saved." I remember well that day, and so no doubt do many of you. +O sirs! no husbandman ever shouted for joy as our heart shouted when a +precious Christ was ours, and we could grasp him with full assurance of +salvation in him. Many days have passed since then, but the joy of it is +still fresh with us. And, blessed be God, it is not the joy of the first +day only that we look back upon; it is the joy of every day since then, +more or less; for our joy no man taketh from us; still we are walking in +Christ, even as we received him. Even now all our hope on him is stayed, +all our help from him we bring; and our joy and peace continue with us +because they are based upon an immovable foundation. We rejoice in the +Lord, yea, and we will rejoice. + +The joy of harvest generally shows itself by the farmer giving a feast +to his friends and neighbors; and, usually, those who find Christ +express their joy by telling their friends and their neighbors how great +things the Lord hath done for them. The grace of God is communicative. A +man cannot be saved, and always hold his tongue about it; as well look +for dumb choirs in heaven as for a silent church on earth. If a man has +been thirsty, and has come to the living stream, his first impulse will +be to cry, "Ho! every one that thirsteth!" Do you feel the joy of +harvest, the joy that makes you wish that others should share with you? +If so, do not repress the impulse to proclaim your happiness. Speak of +Christ to brothers and sisters, to friends and kinsfolk; and, if the +language be stammering, the message in itself is so important that the +words in which you couch it will be a secondary consideration. Tell it, +tell it out far and wide--that there is a Saviour, that you have found +him, and that his blood can wash away transgression. Tell it every +where; and so the joy of harvest shall spread o'er land and sea, and God +shall be glorified. + +We have another joy which is like the joy of harvest. We frequently have +it, too. It is _the joy of answered prayer_. I hope you know what it is +to pray in faith. Some prayer is not worth the words used in presenting +it, because there is no faith mixed with it. "With all thy sacrifices +thou shalt offer salt," and the salt of faith is needful if we would +have our sacrifices accepted. Those who are familiar with the mercy-seat +know that prayer is a reality, and that the doctrine of divine answers +to prayer is no fiction. Sometimes God will delay to answer for wise +reasons; then his children must cry, and cry, and cry again. They are in +the condition of the husbandman who must wait for the precious fruits of +the earth; and when at last the answer to prayer comes, they are then in +the husbandman's position when he receives the harvest. Remember +Hannah's wail and Hannah's word. In the bitterness of her soul she cried +to God, and when her child was given to her she called it "Samuel," +meaning, "Asked of God;" for, said she, "For this child I prayed." He +was a dear child to her, because he was a child of prayer. Any mercy +that comes to you in answer to prayer will be your Samuel mercy, your +darling mercy. You will say of it, "For this mercy I prayed," and it +will bring the joy of harvest to your spirit. If the Lord desires to +surprise his children he has only to answer their prayers; for the most +of them would be astonished if an answer came to their petitions. I know +how they speak about answers to prayer. They say, "How remarkable! How +wonderful!" as if it were anything remarkable that God should be true, +and that the Most High should keep his promise. Oh for more faith to +rest upon his word! and we should have more of these harvest joys. + +We have another joy of harvest in ourselves _when we conquer a +temptation_. We know what it is to get under a cloud sometimes; sin +within us rises with a darkening force, or an external adversity +beclouds us, and we miss the plain path we were accustomed to walk in. A +child of God at such times will cry mightily for help; for he is fearful +of himself and fearful of his surroundings. Some of God's people have +been by the week and month together exposed to the double temptation, +from without and from within, and have cried to God in bitter anguish. +It has been a very hard struggle; the sinful action has been painted in +very fascinating colors, and the siren voice of temptation has almost +enchanted them. But when at last they have got through the valley of the +shadow of death without having slipped with their feet; when, after all, +they have not been destroyed by Apollyon, but have come forth again into +the daylight, they feel a joy unspeakable, compared with which the joy +of harvest is mere childish merriment. Those know deep joy who have felt +bitter sorrow. As the man feels that he is the stronger for the +conflict, as he feels that he has gathered experience and stronger faith +from having passed through the trial, he lifts up his heart, and +rejoices, not in himself, but before his God, with the joy of harvest. +Brethren beloved, you know what that means. + +Again, there is such a thing as the joy of harvest _when we have been +rendered useful_. The master passion of every Christian is to be useful. +There should be a burning zeal within us for the glory of God. When the +man who desires to be useful has laid his plans and set about his work, +he begins to look out for the results; but perhaps it will be weeks, or +years, before results will come. The worker is not to be blamed that +there are no fruits as yet, but he is to be blamed if he is content to +be without fruits. A preacher may preach without conversions, and who +shall blame him? but if he be happy, who shall excuse him? It is ours to +break our own hearts if we cannot by God's grace break other men's +hearts, if others will not weep for their sins it should be our constant +habit to weep for them. When the heart becomes earnest, warm, zealous, +God usually gives a measure of success, some fiftyfold, some a +hundredfold. When the success comes it is the joy of harvest indeed. I +cannot help being egotistical enough to mention the joy I felt when +first I heard that a soul had found peace through my youthful ministry. +I had been preaching in a village some few Sabbaths with an increasing +congregation, but I had not heard of a conversion, and I thought, +"Perhaps I am not called of God. He does not mean me to preach, for if +he did he would give me spiritual children." One Sabbath my good deacon +said, "Don't be discouraged. A poor woman was savingly impressed last +Sabbath." How long do you suppose it was before I saw that woman? It was +just as long as it took me to reach her cottage. I was eager to hear +from her own lips whether it was a work of God's grace or not. I always +looked upon her with interest, though only a poor laborer's wife, till +she was taken away to heaven, after having lived a holy life. Many since +then have I rejoiced over in the Lord, but that first seal to my +ministry was peculiarly dear to me. It gave me a sip of the joy of +harvest. If somebody had left me a fortune it would not have caused me +one-hundredth part of the delight I had in discovering that a soul had +been led to the Saviour. I am sure Christian people who have not this +joy have missed one of the choicest delights that a believer can know +this side heaven. In fact, when I see souls saved, I do not envy Gabriel +his throne nor the angels their harps. It shall be our heaven to be out +of heaven for a season if we can but bring others to know the Saviour +and so add fresh jewels to the Redeemer's crown. + +I will mention another delight which is as the joy of harvest, and that +is _fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ_. This is not so much a matter +for speech as for experience and delight. If we try to speak of what +communion with Christ is, we fail. Solomon, the wisest of men, when +inspired to write of the fellowship of the church with her Lord, was +compelled to write in allegories and emblems, and though to the +spiritual mind the Book of Canticles is always delightful, yet to the +carnal mind it seems a mere love song. The natural man discerneth not +the things that be of God, for they are spiritual, and can only be +spiritually discerned. But, oh, the bliss of knowing that Christ is +yours, and of entering into nearness of communion with him. To thrust +your hand into his side, and your finger into the print of the nails; +these be not everyday joys; but when such near and dear communings come +to us on our highdays and holydays, they make our souls like the +chariots of Ammi-nadib, or, if you will, they cause us to tread the +world beneath our feet and all that earth calls good or great. Our +condition matters nothing to us if Christ be with us--he is our God, our +comfort, and our all, and we rejoice before him as with the joy of +harvest. + + +I have no time to enlarge further; for I want to close with one other +practical word. Many of us are anxiously desiring a harvest which would +bring to us an intense delight. Of late, divers persons have +communicated to me in many ways the strong emotion they feel of pity for +the souls of men. Others of us have felt a mysterious impulse to pray +more than we did, and to be more anxious than ever we were that Christ +would save poor perishing sinners. We shall not be satisfied until there +is a thorough awakening in this land. We did not raise the feeling in +our own minds, and we do not desire to repress it. We do not believe it +can be repressed; but others will feel the same heavenly affection, and +will sigh and cry to God day and night until the blessing comes. This is +the sowing, this is the ploughing, this is the harrowing--may it go on +to harvesting. I long to hear my brethren and sisters universally +saying, "We are full of anguish, we are in agony till souls be saved." +The cry of Rachel, "Give me children, or I die," is the cry of your +minister this day, and the longing of thousands more besides. As that +desire grows in intensity a revival is approaching. We must have +spiritual children born to Christ, or our hearts will break for the +longing that we have for their salvation. Oh for more of these longings, +yearnings, cravings, travailings! If we plead till the harvest of +revival comes we shall partake in the joy of it. + +Who will have the most joy? Those who have been the most concerned about +it. You who do not pray in private, nor come out to prayer-meetings, +will not have the joy when the blessing comes, and the church is +increased. You had no share in the sowing, therefore you will have +little share in the reaping. You who never speak to others about their +souls, who take no share in Sunday-school or mission work, but simply +eat the fat and drink the sweet--you shall have none of the joy of +harvest, for you do not put your hands to the work of the Lord. And who +would wish that idlers should be happy? Rather in our zeal and jealousy +we feel inclined to say, "Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the +inhabitants thereof; because they came not up to the help of the Lord, +to the help of the Lord against the mighty." If you come to the help of +the Lord by his own divine Spirit, you shall share the joy of harvest. +Perhaps none will have more of that joy than those who shall have the +privilege of seeing their own dear ones brought to God. Some of you have +children who are a trial to you whenever you think of them; let them be +such a trial to you that they drive you to incessant prayer for them, +and, if the blessing comes, why should it not drop on them? If a revival +comes, why should not your daughter yet be converted, and that wild boy +of yours be brought in, or even your gray-headed father, who has been +sceptical and unbelieving--why should not the grace of God come to him? +And, oh, what a joy of harvest you will have then? What bliss will +thrill through your spirit when you see those who are united to you in +ties of blood united to Christ your Lord! Pray much for them with +earnest faith, and you shall yet have the joy of harvest in your own +house, a shout of harvest home in your own family. + +Possibly, my hearer, you have not much to do with such joy, for you are +yourself unsaved. Yet it is a grand thing for an unconverted person to +be under a ministry that God blesses, and with a people that pray for +conversions. It is a happy thing for you, young man, to have a Christian +mother. It is a great boon for you, O unconverted woman, that you have a +godly sister. These make us hopeful for you. While your relations are +prayerful, we are hopeful for _you_. May the Lord Jesus be yours yet. +But, oh! if you remain unbelieving, however rich a blessing comes to +others, it will leave _you_ none the better for it. "If ye be willing +and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land;" but there are some who +may cry in piteous accents, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, +and we are not saved." It has been remarked that those who pass through +a season of revival and remain unconverted are more hardened and +unimpressed than before. I believe it to be so, and I therefore pray the +divine Spirit to come with such energy that none of you may escape his +power. May you be led to pray, + + "Pass me not, O mighty Spirit! + Thou canst make the blind to see; + Witnesser of Jesus' merit, + Speak the word of power to me, + Even me. + + "Have I long in sin been sleeping, + Long been slighting, grieving thee? + Has the world my heart been keeping? + Oh forgive and rescue me, + Even me." + +Oh for earnest, importunate prayer from all believers throughout the +world! If our churches could be stirred up to incessant, vehement crying +to God, so as to give him no rest till he make Zion a praise in the +earth, we might expect to see God's kingdom come and the power of Satan +fall. As many of you as love Christ, I charge you by his dear name to be +much in prayer; as many of you as love the Church of God, and desire her +prosperity, I beseech you keep not back in this time of supplication. +The Lord grant that you may be led to plead till the harvest joy is +granted. Do you remember one Sabbath my saying, "The Lord deal so with +you as you deal with his work during this next month." I feel as if it +will be so with many of you--that the Lord will deal so with you as you +shall deal with his Church. If you scatter little you shall have little, +if you pray little you shall have little favor; but if you have zeal and +faith, and plead much and work much for the Lord, good measure, pressed +down and running over, shall the Lord return into your own bosoms. If +you water others with drops you shall receive drops in return; but if +the Spirit helps you to pour out rivers of living water from your own +soul, then floods of heavenly grace shall flow into your spirit. God +bring in the unconverted, and lead them to a simple trust in Jesus; then +shall they also know the joy of harvest. We ask it for his name's sake. +Amen. + + + + +SPIRITUAL GLEANING. + +"Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not."--RUTH +2:15. + + +COUNTRY friends need no explanation of what is meant by gleaning. I hope +the custom will never be banished from the land, but that the poor will +always be allowed their little share of the harvest. I am afraid that +many who see gleaning every year in the fields of their own parish are +not yet wise enough to understand the heavenly art of spiritual +gleaning. That is the subject which I have chosen on this occasion, and +my text is taken from the charming story of Ruth, which is known to +every one of you. I shall use the story as setting forth our own case, +in a homely but instructive way. In the first place, we shall observe +that there is _a great Husbandman_; it was Boaz in Ruth's case, it is +our heavenly Father who is the Husbandman in our case. Secondly, we +shall notice _a humble gleaner_; the gleaner was Ruth in this instance, +but she may be looked upon as the representative of every believer. And, +in the third place, here is a _gracious permission given_ to Ruth: "Let +her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not," and the same +permission is spiritually given to us. + + +I. In the first place, the God of the whole earth is A GREAT HUSBANDMAN. +This is true in _natural_ things. As a matter of fact all farm +operations are carried on by his power and prudence. Man may plough the +soil, and sow the seed; but as Jesus said, "My Father is the +husbandman." He appoints the clouds and allots the sunshine; he directs +the winds and distributes the dew and the rain; he also gives the frost +and the heat, and so by various processes of nature he brings forth food +for man and beast. All the farming, however, which God does, is for the +benefit of others, and never for himself. He has no need of any of our +works of husbandry. If he were hungry, he would not tell us. "The cattle +on a thousand hills," says he, "are mine." The purest kindness and +benevolence are those which dwell in the heart of God. Though all things +are God's, his works in creation and in providence are not for himself, +but for his creatures. This should greatly encourage us in trusting to +him. + +In _spiritual_ matters God is a great husbandman; and there, too, all +his works are done for his children, that they may be fed upon the +finest of the wheat. Permit me to speak of the wide gospel fields which +our heavenly Father farms for the good of his children. There is a great +variety of these fields, and they are all fruitful; for "the fountain of +Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop +down dew." Deut. 33:28. Every field which our heavenly Father tills +yields a plentiful harvest, for there are no failures or famines with +him. + +1. One part of his farm is called _Doctrine field_. What full sheaves of +finest wheat are to be found there! He who is permitted to glean in it +will gather bread enough and to spare, for the land brings forth by +handfuls. Look at that goodly sheaf of election; full, indeed, of heavy +ears of corn, such as Pharaoh saw in his first dream--ears full and +strong. There is the great sheaf of final perseverance, where each ear +is a promise that the work which God has begun he will assuredly +complete. If we have not faith enough to partake of either of these +sheaves, we may glean around the choice sheaves of redemption by the +blood of Christ. Many a poor soul who could not feed on electing love, +nor realize his perseverance in Christ, can yet feed on the atonement +and rejoice in the sublime doctrine of substitution. Many and rich are +the sheaves which stand thick together in Doctrine field; these, when +threshed by meditation and ground in the mill of thought, furnish royal +food for the Lord's family. + +I wonder why it is that some of our Master's stewards are so prone to +lock the gate of this field, as if they thought it dangerous ground. For +my part, I wish my people not only to glean here, but to carry home the +sheaves by the wagon-load, for they cannot be too well fed when truth is +the food. Are my fellow-laborers afraid that Jeshurun will wax fat and +kick, if he has too much food? I fear there is more likelihood of his +dying of starvation if the bread of sound doctrine is withheld. If we +have a love to the precepts and warnings of the word, we need not be +afraid of the doctrines; on the contrary, we should search them out and +feed upon them with joy. The doctrines of distinguishing grace are to be +set forth in due proportions to the rest of the word, and those are poor +pulpits from which these grand truths are excluded. We must not keep the +Lord's people out of this field. I say, swing the gate open, and come +in, all of you who are children of God! I am sure that in my Master's +field nothing grows which will harm you. Gospel doctrine is always safe +doctrine. You may feast upon it till you are full, and no harm will come +of it. Be afraid of no revealed truth. Be afraid of spiritual ignorance, +but not of holy knowledge. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of your +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Everything taught in the word of God is +meant to be the subject of a Christian's study, therefore neglect +nothing. Visit the doctrine field daily, and glean in it with the utmost +diligence. + +2. The great Husbandman has another field called _Promise field_; of +that I shall not need to speak, for I hope you often enter it and glean +from it. Just let us take an ear or two out of one of the sheaves, and +show them to you that you may be induced to stay there the live-long +day, and carry home a rich load at night. Here is an ear: "The mountains +shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart +from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed." Here is +another: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and +through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest +through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame +kindle upon thee." Here is another; it has a short stalk, but a heavy +ear: "My strength is sufficient for thee." Another is long in the straw, +but very rich in corn: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in +God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it +were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and +if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again, and receive you +unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." What a word is +that!--"I will come again." Yes, beloved, we can say of the Promise +field what cannot be said of a single acre in all England; namely, that +it is so rich a field that it could not be richer, and that it has so +many ears of corn in it that you could not insert another. As the poet +sings: + + "What more can he say, than to you he hath said,-- + You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?" + +Glean in that field, O ye poor and needy ones, and never think that you +are intruding. The whole field is your own, every ear of it; you may +draw out from the sheaves themselves, and the more you take the more you +may. + +3. Then there is _Ordinance field_; a great deal of good wheat grows in +this field. The field of Baptism has been exceedingly fruitful to some +of us, for it has set forth to us our death, burial, and resurrection in +Christ, and thus we have been cheered and instructed. It has been good +for us to declare ourselves on the Lord's side, and we have found that +in keeping our Lord's commandments there is great reward. But I will not +detain you long in this field, for some of our friends think it has a +damp soil: I wish them more light and more grace. However, we will pass +on to the field of the Supper, where grows the very best of our Lord's +corn. What rich things have we fed upon in this choice spot! Have we not +there tasted the sweetest and most sustaining of all spiritual food? In +all the estate no field is to be found to rival this centre and crown of +all the domain; this is the King's Acre. Gospel gleaner, abide in that +field; glean in it on the first day of every week, and expect to see +your Lord there; for it is written, "He was known of them in the +breaking of bread." + +4. The heavenly Husbandman has one field upon a hill, which equals the +best of the others, even if it does not excel them. You cannot really +and truly go into any of the other fields unless you pass into this; for +the road to the other fields lies through this hill farm; it is called +_Fellowship and Communion with Christ_. This is the field for the Lord's +choicest ones to glean in. Some of you have only run through it, you +have not stopped long enough in it; but he who knows how to stay here, +yea, to live here, shall spend his hours most profitably and pleasantly. +It is only in proportion as we hold fellowship with Christ, and +communion with him, that either ordinances, or doctrines, or promises +can profit us. All other things are dry and barren unless we are +enjoying the love of Christ, unless we bear his likeness, unless we +dwell continually with him, and rejoice in his love. I am sorry to say +that few Christians think much of this field; it is enough for them to +be sound in doctrine, and tolerably correct in practice; they care far +less than they should about intimate inter course with Christ Jesus, +their Lord, by the Holy Ghost. I am sure that if we gleaned in this +field we should not have half so many naughty tempers nor a tenth as +much pride, nor a hundredth part so much sloth. This is a field hedged +and sheltered, and in it you will find better food than that which +angels feed upon; yea, you will find Jesus himself as the bread which +came down from heaven. Blessed, blessed field, may we visit it every +day. The Master leaves the gate wide open for every believer; let us +enter in and gather the golden ears till we can carry no more. Thus we +have seen the great Husbandman in his fields; let us rejoice that we +have such a great Husbandman near, and such fields to glean in. + + +II. And now, in the second place, we have A HUMBLE GLEANER. Ruth was a +gleaner, and may serve as an illustration of what every believer should +be in the fields of God. + +1. The believer is a favored gleaner, for he _may take home a whole +sheaf if he likes_; he may bear away all that he can possibly carry, for +all things are freely given him of the Lord. I use the figure of a +gleaner because I believe that few Christians ever go much beyond it, +and yet they are free to do so if they are able. Some may say, Why does +not the believer reap all the field, and take all the corn home with +him? I answer that he is welcome to do so if he can; for no good thing +will the Lord withhold from them that walk uprightly. If your faith is +like a great wagon, and you can carry the whole field of corn, you have +full permission to take it. Alas, our faith is so little that we rather +glean than reap; we are straitened in ourselves, not in our God. May you +all outgrow the metaphor, and come home, bringing your sheaves with you. + +2. Again, we may remark, that the gleaner in her business _has to endure +much toil and fatigue_. She rises early in the morning, and she trudges +off to a field; if that be closed, she hastens to another; and if that +be shut up, or gleaned already, she hurries farther still; and all day +long, while the sun is shining upon her, she seldom sits down to refresh +herself, but still she goes on, stoop, stoop, stoop, gathering the ears +one by one. She returns not to her home till nightfall; for she desires, +if the field is good, to do much business that day, and she will not go +home until she is loaded down. Beloved, so let each one of us do when we +seek spiritual food. Let us not be afraid of a little fatigue in the +Master's fields; if the gleaning is good, we must not soon weary in +gathering the precious spoil, for the gains will richly reward our +pains. I know a friend who walks five miles every Sunday to hear the +gospel, and has the same distance to return. Another thinks little of a +ten miles' journey; and these are wise, for to hear the pure word of God +no labor is extravagant. To stand in the aisle till ready to drop, +listening all the while with strained attention, is a toil which meets a +full reward if the gospel be heard and the Spirit of God bless it to the +soul. A gleaner does not expect that the ears will come to her of +themselves; she knows that gleaning is hard work. We must not expect to +find the best field next to our own house, we may have to journey to the +far end of the parish, but what of that? Gleaners must not be choosers, +and where the Lord sends the gospel, there he calls us to be present. + +3. We remark, next, that _every ear the gleaner gets she has to stoop +for_. Why is it that proud people seldom profit under the word? Why is +it that certain "intellectual" folk cannot get any good out of our +soundest ministers? Why, because they must needs have the corn lifted up +for them; and if the wheat is held so high over their heads that they +can hardly see it, they are pleased, and cry, "Here is something +wonderful." They admire the extraordinary ability of the man who can +hold up the truth so high that nobody can reach it; but truly that is a +sorry feat. The preacher's business is to place truth within the reach +of all, children as well as adults; he is to let fall handfuls on +purpose for poor gleaners, and these will never mind stooping to collect +the ears. If we preach to the educated people only, the wise ones can +understand, but the illiterate cannot; but when we preach in all +simplicity to the poor, other classes can understand it if they like, +and if they do not like, they had better go somewhere else. Those who +cannot stoop to pick up plain truth had better give up gleaning. For my +part, I would be taught by a child if I could thereby know and +understand the gospel better: the gleaning in our Lord's field is so +rich that it is worth the hardest labor to be able to carry home a +portion of it. Hungry souls know this, and are not to be hindered in +seeking their heavenly food. We will go down on our knees in prayer, and +stoop by self-humiliation, and confession of ignorance, and so gather +with the hand of faith the daily bread of our hungering souls. + +4. Note, in the next place, that what a gleaner gets _she wins ear by +ear_; occasionally she picks up a handful at once, but as a rule it is +straw by straw. In the case of Ruth, handfuls were let fall on purpose +for her; but she was highly favored. The gleaner stoops, and gets one +ear, and then she stoops again for another. Now, beloved, where there +are handfuls to be got at once, there is the place to go and glean; but +if you cannot meet with such abundance, be glad to gather ear by ear. I +have heard of certain persons who have been in the habit of hearing a +favorite minister, and when they go to another place, they say, "I +cannot hear anybody after my own minister; I shall stay at home and read +a sermon." Please remember the passage, "Not forsaking the assembling of +yourselves together, as the manner of some is." Let me also entreat you +not to be so foolishly partial as to deprive your soul of its food. If +you cannot get a handful at one stoop, do not refuse to gather an ear at +a time. If you are not content to learn here a little and there a +little, you will soon be half starved, and then you will be glad to get +back again to the despised minister and pick up what his field will +yield you. That is a sorry ministry which yields nothing. Go and glean +where the Lord has opened the gate for you. Why the text alone is worth +the journey; do not miss it. + +5. Note, next, that _what the gleaner picks up she keeps in her hand_; +she does not drop the corn as fast as she gathers it. There is a good +thought at the beginning of the sermon, but the hearers are so eager to +hear another, that the first one slips away. Toward the end of the +sermon a large handful falls in their way, and they forget all that went +before in their eagerness to retain this last and richest portion. The +sermon is over, and, alas, it is nearly all gone from the memory, for +many are about as wise as a gleaner would be if she should pick up one +ear, and drop it; pick up another, and drop it, and so on all day. The +net result of such a day's work in a stubble is a bad backache; and I +fear that all our hearers will get by their hearing will be a headache. +Be attentive, but be retentive too. Gather the grain and tie it up in +bundles for carrying away with you, and mind you do not lose it on the +road home. Many a person when he has got a fair hold of the sermon, +loses it on the way to his house by idle talk with vain companions. I +have heard of a Christian man who was seen hurrying home one Sunday with +all his might. A friend asked him why he was in such haste. "Oh!" said +he, "two or three Sundays ago, our minister gave us a most blessed +discourse, and I greatly enjoyed it; but when I got outside, there were +two deacons discussing, and one pulled the sermon one way, and the +other the other, till they pulled it all to pieces, and I lost all the +savor of it." Those must have been very bad deacons; let us not imitate +them; and if we know of any who are of their school, let us walk home +alone in dogged silence sooner than lose all our gleanings by their +controversies. After a good sermon go home with your ears and your mouth +shut. Act like the miser, who not only gets all he can, but keeps all he +can. Do not lose by trifling talk that which may make you rich to all +eternity. + +6. Then, again, the gleaner _takes the wheat home and threshes it_. It +is a wise thing to thresh a sermon, whoever may have been the preacher, +for it is certain that there is a portion of straw and chaff about it. +Many thresh the preacher by finding needless fault; but that is not half +so good as threshing the sermon to get out of it the pure truth. Take a +sermon, beloved, when you get one which is worth having, and lay it down +on the floor of meditation, and beat it out with the flail of prayer, +and you will get bread-corn from it. This threshing by prayer and +meditation must never be neglected. If a gleaner should stow away her +corn in her room, and leave it there, the mice would get at it; but she +would have no food from it if she did not thresh out the grain. Some get +a sermon, and carry it home, and allow Satan and sin, and the world, to +eat it all up, and it becomes unfruitful and worthless to them. But he +who knows how to flail a sermon well, so as to clear out all the wheat +from the straw, he is it that makes a good hearer and feeds his soul on +what he hears. + +7. And then, in the last place, the good woman, after threshing the +corn, no doubt _winnowed it_. Ruth did all this in the field; but you +can scarcely do so. You must do some of the work at home. And observe, +she did not take the chaff home; she left that behind her in the field. +It is a prudent thing to winnow all the discourses you hear so as to +separate the precious from the vile; but pray do not fall into the silly +habit of taking home all the chaff, and leaving the corn behind. I think +I hear you say, "I shall recollect that queer expression; I shall make +an anecdote out of that odd remark." Listen, then, for I have a word for +you--if you hear a man retail nothing about a minister except his +oddities, just stop him, and say, "We have all our faults, and perhaps +those who are most ready to speak of those of others are not quite +perfect themselves: cannot you tell us what the preacher said that was +worth hearing?" In many cases the virtual answer will be, "Oh, I don't +recollect that." They have sifted the corn, thrown away the good grain, +and brought home the chaff. Ought they not to be put in an asylum? +Follow the opposite rule; drop the straw, and retain the good corn. +Separate between the precious and the vile, and let the worthless +material go where it may; you have no use for it, and the sooner you are +rid of it the better. Judge with care; reject false teaching with +decision, and retain true doctrine with earnestness, so shall you +practise the enriching art of heavenly gleaning. May the Lord teach us +wisdom, so that we may become "rich to all the intents of bliss;" so +shall our mouth be satisfied with good things, and our youth shall be +renewed like the eagle's. + + +III. And now, in the last place, here is A GRACIOUS PERMISSION GIVEN: +"Let her glean among the sheaves, and reproach her not." Ruth had no +right to go among the sheaves till Boaz gave her permission by saying, +"Let her do it." For her to be allowed to go among the sheaves, in that +part of the field where the wheat was newly cut, and none of it carted, +was a great favor: but Boaz whispered that handfuls were to be dropped +on purpose for her, and that was a greater favor still. Boaz had a +secret love for the maiden, and even so, beloved, it is because of our +Lord's eternal love to us that he allows us to enter his best fields and +glean among the sheaves. His grace permits us to lay hold upon doctrinal +blessings, promise blessings, and experience blessings: the Lord has a +favor toward us, and hence these singular kindnesses. We have no right +to any heavenly blessings of ourselves; our portion is due to free and +sovereign grace. + +I tell you the reasons that moved Boaz's heart to let Ruth go among the +sheaves. The master motive was _because he loved her_. He would have her +go there, because he had conceived an affection for her, which he +afterward displayed in grander ways. So the Lord lets his people come +and glean among the sheaves, because he loves them. Didst thou have a +soul-enriching season among the sheaves the other Sabbath? Didst thou +carry home thy sack, filled like those of Joseph's brothers, when they +returned from Egypt? Didst thou have an abundance? Wast thou satisfied? +Mark; that was thy Master's goodness. It was because he loved thee. +Look, I beseech thee, on all thy spiritual enjoyments as proof of his +eternal love. Look on all heavenly blessings as being tokens of heavenly +grace. It will make thy corn grind all the better, and eat all the +sweeter, if thou wilt reflect that eternal love gave it thee. Thy sweet +seasons, thy high enjoyments, thy unspeakable ravishments of spirit are +all proofs of divine affection, therefore be doubly glad of them. + +There was another reason why Boaz allows Ruth to glean among the +sheaves; it was because he was her _relative_. This is why our Lord +gives us choice favors at times, and takes us into his banqueting-house +in so gracious a manner. He is our next of kin, bone of our bone, and +flesh of our flesh. Our Redeemer, our kinsman, is the Lord Jesus, and he +will never be strange to his own flesh. It is a high and charming +mystery that our Lord Jesus is the Husband of his church; and sure he +may well let his spouse glean among the sheaves; for all that he +possesses is hers already. Her interests and his interests are one, and +so he may well say, "Beloved, take all thou pleasest; I am none the +poorer because thou dost partake of my fulness, for thou art mine. Thou +art my partner, and my choice, and all that I have is thine." What, +then, shall I say to you who are my Lord's beloved? How shall I speak +with a tenderness and generosity equal to his desires, for he would have +me speak right lovingly in his name. Enrich yourselves out of that which +is your Lord's. Go a spiritual gleaning as often as ever you can. Never +lose an opportunity of picking up a golden blessing. Glean at the +mercy-seat; glean in private meditation; glean in reading pious books; +glean in associating with godly men; glean everywhere; and if you can +get only a little handful it will be better than none. You who are so +much in business, and so much penned up by cares; if you can only spend +five minutes in the Lord's field gleaning a little, be sure to do so. If +you cannot bear away a sheaf, carry an ear; and if you cannot find an +ear, pick up even a grain of wheat. Take care to get a little, if you +cannot get much: but gather as much as ever you can. + +Just one other remark. O child of God, never be afraid to glean. Have +faith in God, and take the promises home to yourself. Jesus will rejoice +to see you making free with his good things. His voice is "Eat +abundantly; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." Therefore, if you +find a rich promise, live upon it. Draw the honey out of the comb of +Scripture, and live on its sweetness. If you meet with a most +extraordinary sheaf, carry it away rejoicing. You cannot believe too +much concerning your Lord; let not Satan cheat you into contentment with +a meagre portion of grace when all the granaries of heaven are open to +you. Glean on with humble industry and hopeful confidence, and know that +he who owns both fields and sheaves is looking upon you with eyes of +love, and will one day espouse you to himself in glory everlasting. +Happy gleaner who finds eternal love and eternal life in the fields in +which he gleans! + + + + +MEAL-TIME IN THE CORNFIELDS. + +"And Boaz said unto her, At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the +bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the +reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was +sufficed, and left."--RUTH 2:14. + + +WE are going to the cornfields, not so much to glean, as to rest with +the reapers and gleaners, when under some wide-spreading oak they sit +down to take refreshment. We hope some timid gleaner will accept our +invitation to come and eat with us, and will have confidence enough to +dip _her_ morsel in the vinegar. May all of us have courage to feast to +the full on our own account, and kindness enough to carry home a portion +to our needy friends at home. + + +I. Our first point of remark is this--THAT GOD'S REAPERS HAVE THEIR +MEAL-TIMES. + +Those who work for God will find him a good master. He cares for oxen, +and he has commanded Israel, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he +treadeth out the corn." Much more doth he care for his servants who +serve him. "He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be +mindful of his covenant." The reapers in Jesus' fields shall not only +receive a blessed reward at the last, but they shall have plenteous +comforts by the way. He is pleased to pay his servants twice; first in +the labor itself, and a second time in the labor's sweet results. He +gives them such joy and consolation in the service of their Master that +it is a sweet employ, and they cry, "We delight to do thy will, O Lord." +Heaven is made up of serving God day and night, and a foretaste of +heaven is enjoyed in serving God on earth with earnest perseverance. + +God has ordained certain meal-times for his reapers; and he has +appointed that one of these shall be _when they come together to listen +to the Word preached_. If God be with ministers they act as the +disciples did of old, for they received the loaves and the fishes from +the Lord Jesus, and then they handed them to the people. _We_, of +ourselves, cannot feed one soul, much less thousands; but when the Lord +is with us we can keep as good a table as Solomon himself, with all his +fine flour, and fat oxen, and roebucks, and fallow-deer. When the Lord +blesses the provisions of his House, no matter how many thousands there +may be, all his poor shall be filled with bread. I hope, beloved, you +know what it is to sit under the shadow of the Word with great delight, +and find the fruit thereof sweet unto your taste. Where the doctrines of +grace are boldly and plainly delivered to you in connection with the +other truths of revelation; where Jesus Christ upon his cross is always +lifted up; where the work of the Spirit is not forgotten; where the +glorious purpose of the Father is never despised, there is sure to be +rich provision for the children of God. + +Often, too, our gracious Lord appoints us meal-times _in our private +readings and meditations_. Here it is that his "paths drop fatness." +Nothing can be more fattening to the soul of the believer than feeding +upon the Word, and digesting it by frequent meditation. No wonder that +men grow so slowly when they meditate so little. Cattle must chew the +cud; it is not that which they crop with their teeth, but that which is +masticated, and digested by rumination, that nourishes them. We must +take the truth, and turn it over and over again in the inward parts of +our spirit, and so shall we extract suitable nourishment therefrom. My +brethren, is not meditation the land of Goshen to you? If men once said, +"There is corn in Egypt," may they not always say that the finest of the +wheat is to be found in secret prayer? Private devotion is a land which +floweth with milk and honey; a paradise yielding all manner of fruits; a +banqueting house of choice wines. Ahasuerus might make a great feast, +but all his hundred and twenty provinces could not furnish such dainties +as meditation offers to the spiritual mind. Where can we feed and lie +down in green pastures in so sweet a sense as we do in our musings on +the Word? Meditation distils the quintessence of joy from the +Scriptures, and gladdens our mouth with a sweetness which excels the +virgin honey. Your retired periods and occasions of prayer should be to +you refreshing seasons, in which, like the reapers at noonday, you sit +with the Master and enjoy his generous provisions. The Shepherd of +Salisbury Plain was wont to say that when he was lonely, and his wallet +was empty, his Bible was to him meat and drink, and company too; he is +not the only man who has found a fulness in the Word when all else has +been empty. During the battle of Waterloo a godly soldier, mortally +wounded, was carried by his comrade into the rear, and being placed with +his back propped up against a tree, he besought his friend to open his +knapsack and take out the Bible which he had carried in it. "Read to +me," he said, "one verse before I close my eyes in death." His comrade +read him that verse: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: +not as the world giveth, give I unto you;" and there, fresh from the +whistling of the bullets, and the roll of the drum, and the tempest of +human conflict, that believing spirit enjoyed such holy calm that ere he +fell asleep in the arms of Jesus he said, "Yes, I have a peace with God +which passeth all understanding, which keeps my heart and mind through +Jesus Christ." Saints most surely enjoy delightful meal-times when they +are alone in meditation. + +Let us not forget that there is one specially ordained meal-time which +ought to occur at least once in the week--I mean _the Supper of the +Lord_. There you have literally, as well as spiritually, a meal. The +table is richly spread, it has upon it both bread and wine; and looking +at what these symbolize, we have before us a table richer than that +which kings could furnish. There we have the flesh and the blood of our +Lord Jesus Christ, whereof if a man eat he shall never hunger and never +thirst, for that bread shall be unto him everlasting life. Oh! the sweet +seasons we have known at the Lord's Supper. If some of you knew the +enjoyment of feeding upon Christ in that ordinance you would chide +yourselves for not having united with the Church in fellowship. In +keeping the Master's commandments there is "great reward," and +consequently in neglecting them there is great loss of reward. Christ is +not so tied to the sacramental table as to be always found of those who +partake thereat, but still it is "in the way" that we may expect the +Lord to meet with us. "If ye love me, keep my commandments," is a +sentence of touching power. Sitting at this table, our soul has mounted +up from the emblem to the reality; we have eaten bread in the kingdom of +God, and have leaned our head upon Jesus' bosom. "He brought me to the +banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love." + +Besides these regular meal-times, there are others which God gives us, +_at seasons when, perhaps, we little expect them_. You have been walking +the street, and suddenly you have felt a holy flowing out of your soul +toward God; or in the middle of business your heart has been melted with +love and made to dance for joy, even as the brooks, which have been +bound with winter's ice, leap to feel the touch of spring. You have been +groaning, dull, and earth-bound; but the sweet love of Jesus has +enwrapped your heart when you scarce thought of it, and your spirit, all +free, and all on fire, has rejoiced before the Lord with timbrel and +dance, like Miriam of old. I have had times occasionally in preaching +when I would fain have kept on far beyond the appointed hour, for my +overflowing soul has been like a vessel wanting vent. Seasons, too, we +have had on our sick beds, when we would have been content to be sick +always if we could have had our bed so well made by tender love, and our +head so softly pillowed on condescending grace. + +Our blessed Redeemer comes to us in the morning, and wakes us up by +dropping sweet thoughts upon our souls; we know not how they came, but +it is as if, when the dew was visiting the flowers, a few drops had +taken pity upon us. In the cool eventide, too, as we have gone to our +bed, our meditation of him has been sweet; and, in the night watches, +when we tossed to and fro, and could not sleep, he has been pleased to +become our song in the night. + +God's reapers find it hard work to reap; but they gain a blessed solace +when in one way or another they sit down and eat of their Master's rich +provisions; then, with renewed strength, they rise with sharpened +sickle, to reap again in the noontide heat. + +Let me observe that, while these meal-times come we know not exactly +when, there are _certain seasons when we may expect them_. The Eastern +reapers generally sit down under the shelter of a tree, or a booth, to +take refreshment during the heat of the day. And certain I am that when +trouble, affliction, persecution, and bereavement become the most +painful to us, it is then that the Lord hands out to us the sweetest +comforts. We must work till the hot sun forces the sweat from our faces, +and then we may look for repose; we must bear the burden and heat of the +day before we can expect to be invited to those choice meals which the +Lord prepares for true laborers. When thy day of trouble is hottest, +then the love of Jesus shall be sweetest. + +Again, these meal-times frequently occur _before_ a trial. Elijah must +be entertained beneath a juniper tree, for he is to go a forty days' +journey in the strength of that meat. You may suspect some danger nigh +when your delights are overflowing. If you see a ship taking in great +quantities of provision, it is probably bound for a distant port, and +when God gives you extraordinary seasons of communion with Jesus, you +may look for long leagues of tempestuous sea. Sweet cordials prepare for +stern conflicts. + +Times of refreshing also occur _after_ trouble or arduous service. +Christ was tempted of the devil, and _afterward_ angels came and +ministered unto him. Jacob wrestled with God, and afterward, at +Mahanaim, hosts of angels met him. Abraham fought with the kings, and +returned from their slaughter, and then it was that Melchisedec +refreshed him with bread and wine. After conflict, content; after +battle, banquet. When thou hast waited on thy Lord, then thou shalt sit +down, and thy Master will gird himself and wait upon thee. + +Let worldlings say what they will about the hardness of religion, we do +not find it so. We own that reaping for Christ has its difficulties and +troubles; but still the bread which we eat is of heavenly sweetness, and +the wine which we drink is crushed from celestial clusters: + + "I would not change my bless'd estate + For all the world calls good or great; + And while my faith can keep her hold, + I envy not the sinner's gold." + + +II. Follow me while we turn to a second point. TO THESE MEALS THE +GLEANER IS AFFECTIONATELY INVITED. That is to say, the poor, trembling +stranger who has not strength enough to reap, who has no right to be in +the field except the right of charity the poor, trembling sinner, +conscious of his own demerit, and feeling but little hope and little +joy, is invited to the feast of love. + +In the text _the gleaner is invited to come_. "At meal-time _come_ thou +hither." We trust none of you will be kept away from the place of holy +feasting by any shame on account of your dress, or your personal +character, or your poverty; nay, nor even on account of your physical +infirmities. "At meal-time come thou hither." I knew a deaf woman who +could never hear a sound, and yet she was always in the House of God, +and when asked why, her reply was that a friend found her the text, and +then God was pleased to give her many a sweet thought upon it while she +sat with his people; besides, she felt that as a believer she ought to +honor God by her _presence_ in his courts, and by confessing her union +with his people; and, better still, she always liked to be in the best +of company, and as the presence of God was there, and the holy angels, +and the saints of the Most High, whether she could hear or no, she would +go. If _such_ persons find pleasure in coming, we who _can_ hear should +never stay away. Though we feel our unworthiness, we ought to be +desirous to be laid in the House of God, as the sick were at the pool of +Bethesda, hoping that the waters may be stirred, and that we may step in +and be healed. Trembling soul, never let the temptations of the devil +keep thee from the assembly of worshippers; "at meal-time come thou +hither." + +Moreover, _she was bidden not only to come but to eat_. Whatever there +is sweet and comfortable in the Word of God, ye that are of a broken and +contrite spirit are invited to partake of it. "Jesus Christ came into +the world to save _sinners_"--sinners such as you are. "In due time +Christ died for the _ungodly_"--such ungodly ones as you feel yourselves +to be. You desire to be Christ's. You _may_ be Christ's. You are saying +in your heart, "O that I could eat the children's bread!" You _may_ eat +it. You say, "I have no right." But the Lord gives you the invitation. +Come without any other right than the right of his invitation. + + "Let not conscience make you linger, + Nor of fitness fondly dream." + +But since he bids you "come," take him at his word; and if there be a +promise, believe it; if there be an encouraging word, accept it, and let +the sweetness of it be yours. + +Note further, that she was not only invited to eat the bread, but to +_dip her morsel in the vinegar_. We must not look upon this as being +some sour stuff. No doubt there are crabbed souls in the church, who +always dip their morsel in the sourest imaginable vinegar, and with a +grim liberality invite others to share their misery with them; but the +vinegar in my text is altogether another thing. This was either a +compound of various juices expressed from fruits, or else it was that +weak kind of wine mingled with water which is still commonly used in the +harvest-fields of Italy and the warmer parts of the world--a drink not +exceedingly strong, but good enough to impart a relish to the food. It +was, to use the only word which will give the meaning, _a sauce_, which +the Orientals used with their bread. As we use butter, or as they on +other occasions used oil, so in the harvest-field, believing it to have +cooling properties, they used what is here called "vinegar." Beloved, +the Lord's reapers have sauce with their bread; they have not merely +doctrines, but the holy unction which is the essence of doctrines; they +have not merely truths, but a hallowed delight accompanies the truths. +Take, for instance, the doctrine of election, which is like the bread; +there is a sauce to dip it in. When I can say, "He loved _me_ before the +foundations of the world," the personal enjoyment of my interest in the +truth becomes a sauce into which I dip my morsel. And you, poor gleaner, +are invited to dip your morsel in it too. I used to hear people sing +that hymn of Toplady's, which begins-- + + "A debtor to mercy alone, + Of covenant mercy I sing; + Nor fear, with thy righteousness on, + My person and offering to bring." + +The hymn rises to its climax in the lines-- + + "Yes, I to the end shall endure, + As sure as the earnest is given; + More happy, but not more secure, + The glorified spirits in heaven." + +I used to think I should never be able to sing that hymn. It was the +sauce, you know. I might manage to eat some of the plain bread, but I +could not dip it in that sauce. It was too high doctrine, too sweet, too +consoling. But I thank God I have since ventured to dip my morsel in it, +and now I hardly like my bread without it. + +I would have every trembling sinner partake of the _comfortable_ parts +of God's Word, even those which cavillers call "HIGH DOCTRINE." Let him +believe the simpler truth first, and then dip it in the sweet doctrine +and be happy in the Lord. + +I think I see the gleaner half prepared to come, for she is very hungry, +and she has nothing with her; but she begins to say, "I have no right to +come, for I am not a reaper; I do nothing for Christ; I am only a +_selfish gleaner_; I am not a reaper." Ah! but thou art invited to come. +Make no questions about it. Boaz bids thee; take thou his invitation, +and approach at once. "But," you say, "I am such a _poor_ gleaner; +though my labor is all for myself, yet it is little I win by it; I get a +few thoughts while the sermon is being preached, but I lose them before +I reach home." I know you do, poor weak-handed woman. But still, Jesus +invites thee. Come! Take thou the sweet promise as he presents it to +thee, and let no bashfulness of thine send thee home hungry. "But," you +say, "I am _a stranger_; you do not know my sins, my sinfulness, and the +waywardness of my heart." But Jesus does, and yet he invites you. He +knows you are but a Moabitess, a stranger from the commonwealth of +Israel; but he bids you come. Is not that enough? "But," you say, "I owe +so much to him already; it is so good of him to spare my forfeited life, +and so tender of him to let me hear the gospel preached at all; I cannot +have the presumption to be an intruder, and sit with the reapers." Oh! +but he _bids_ you. There is more presumption in your doubting than there +could be in your believing. HE bids you. Will you refuse Boaz? Shall +Jesus' lips give the invitation, and will you say him nay? Come, now, +come. Remember that the little which Ruth could eat did not make Boaz +any the poorer; and all that thou wantest will make Christ none the less +glorious or full of grace. Are thy necessities large? His supplies are +larger. Dost thou require great mercy? He is a great Saviour. I tell +thee that his mercy is no more to be exhausted than the sea is to be +drained. Come at once. There is enough for thee, and Boaz will not be +impoverished by thy feasting to the full. Moreover, let me tell thee a +secret--Jesus _loves_ thee; therefore is it that he would have thee feed +at his table. If thou art now a longing, trembling sinner, willing to be +saved, but conscious that thou deservest it not, Jesus loves thee, and +he will take more delight in seeing thee eat than thou wilt take in the +eating. Let the sweet love he feels in his soul toward thee draw thee to +him. And what is more--but this is a great secret, and must only be +whispered in your ear--_he intends to be married to you_; and when you +are married to him, why, the fields will be yours; for, of course, if +you are his spouse, you are joint proprietor with him. Is it not so? +Doth not the wife share with the husband? All those promises which are +"yea and amen in Christ" shall be yours; nay, they all _are_ yours now, +for "the man is next of kin unto you," and ere long he will take you +unto himself forever, espousing you in faithfulness, and truth, and +righteousness. Will you not eat of your own? "Oh! but," says one, "how +can it be? I am a stranger." Yes, a stranger; but Jesus Christ loves the +stranger. "A publican, a sinner;" but he is "the friend of publicans and +sinners." "An outcast;" but he "gathereth together the outcasts of +Israel." "A stray sheep;" but the shepherd "leaves the ninety and nine" +to seek it. "A lost piece of money;" but he "sweeps the house" to find +thee. "A prodigal son;" but he sets the bells a-ringing when he knows +that thou wilt return. Come, Ruth! Come, trembling gleaner! Jesus +invites thee; accept the invitation. "At meal-time come thou hither, and +eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar." + + +III. Now, thirdly--and here is a very sweet point in the narrative--BOAZ +REACHED HER THE PARCHED CORN. She did "come and eat." Where did she sit? +Note well that she "sat beside the reapers." She did not feel that she +was one of them. Just like some of you who do not come to the Lord's +Supper, but sit and look on. You are sitting "beside the reapers." You +fear that you are not the people of God; still you love them, and +therefore sit beside them. If there is a good thing to be had, and you +cannot get it, you will sit as near as you can to those who _do_ get +it. "She sat beside the reapers." + +And while she was sitting there, what happened? Did she stretch forth +her hand and take the food herself? No, it is written, "HE reached her +the parched corn." Ah! that is it. None but the Lord of the harvest can +hand out the choicest refreshments of spiritual minds. I give the +invitation in my Master's name, and I hope I give it earnestly, +affectionately, sincerely; but I know very well that at my poor bidding +none will come till the Spirit draws. No trembling heart will accept +divine refreshing at my hand; unless the King himself comes near, and +reaches the parched corn to each chosen guest, none will receive it. How +does he do this? By his gracious Spirit, he first of all _inspires your +faith_. You are afraid to think that it can be true that such a sinner +as you are can ever be "accepted in the Beloved"; he breathes upon you, +and your faint hope becomes an expectancy, and that expectation buds and +blossoms into an appropriating faith, which says, "Yes, my beloved is +_mine_, and his desire is toward _me_." + +Having done this, the Saviour does more; _he sheds abroad the love of +God in your heart_. The love of Christ is like sweet perfume in a box. +Now, he who put the perfume in the box is the only person that knows how +to take off the lid. He, with his own skilful hand, opens the secret +blessing, and sheds abroad the love of God in the soul. + +But Jesus does more than this; he reaches the parched corn with his own +hand, when he _gives us close communion with himself_. Do not think that +this is a dream; I tell you there is such a thing as speaking with +Christ to-day. As certainly as I can talk with my dearest friend, or +find solace in the company of my beloved wife, so surely may I speak +with Jesus, and find intense delight in the company of Immanuel. It is +not a fiction. We do not worship a far-off Saviour; he is a God nigh at +hand. His word is in our mouth and in our heart, and we do to-day walk +with him as the elect did of old, and commune with him as his apostles +did on earth; not after the flesh, it is true, but after a real and +spiritual fashion. + +Yet once more let me add, the Lord Jesus is pleased to reach the parched +corn, in the best sense, when _the Spirit gives us the infallible +witness within, that we are "born of God_." A man may know that he is a +Christian beyond all question. Philip de Morny, who lived in the time of +Prince Henry of Navarre, was wont to say that the Holy Spirit had made +his own salvation to him as clear a point as a problem demonstrated in +Euclid. You know with what mathematical precision the scholar of +geometry solves a problem or proves a proposition, and with as absolute +a precision, as certainly as twice two are four, we may "know that we +have passed from death unto life." The sun in the heavens is not more +clear to the eye than his present salvation to an assured believer; such +a man could as soon doubt his own existence as suspect his possession of +eternal life. + +Now let the prayer be breathed by poor Ruth, who is trembling yonder. +Lord, reach me the parched corn! "Show me a token for good." "Deal +bountifully with thy servant." "Draw me, we will run after thee." Lord, +send thy love into my heart! + + "Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, + With all thy quickening powers, + Come, shed abroad a Saviour's love, + And that shall kindle ours." + +There is no getting at Christ except by Christ revealing himself to us. + + +IV. And now the last point. After Boaz had reached the parched corn, we +are told that "SHE DID EAT, AND WAS SUFFICED, AND LEFT." So shall it be +with every Ruth. Sooner or later every penitent shall become a believer, +every mourner a singer. There may be a space of deep conviction, and a +period of much hesitation; but there shall come a season when the soul +decides for the Lord, and cries, "If I perish, I perish. I will go as I +am to Jesus. I will not play the fool any longer with my _buts_ and +_ifs_, but since he bids me believe that he died for me, I _will_ +believe it, and will trust his cross for my salvation." Whenever you +shall be privileged to do this, you shall be "_satisfied_." "She did +eat, and was sufficed." Your _head_ shall be satisfied with the precious +truth which Christ reveals; your _heart_ shall be content with Jesus, as +the altogether lovely object of affection; your _hope_ shall be filled, +for whom have you in heaven but Christ? Your _desire_ shall be satiated, +for what can even your desire hunger for more than "to know Christ, and +to be found in him." You shall find Jesus charm your _conscience_, till +it is at perfect peace; he shall content your _judgment_, till you know +the certainty of his teachings; he shall supply your _memory_ with +recollections of what he did, and gratify your _imagination_ with the +prospects of what he is yet to do. + +"She was sufficed, and left." Some of us have had deep draughts of love; +we have thought that we could take in all of Christ, but when we have +done our best, we have had to leave a vast remainder. We have sat down +with a ravenous appetite at the table of the Lord's love, and said, +"Nothing but the infinite can ever satisfy me," and that infinite has +been granted us. I have felt that I am such a great sinner that nothing +short of an infinite atonement could wash my sins away, and no doubt you +have felt the same; but we have had our sin removed, and found merit +enough and to spare in Jesus; we have had our hunger relieved, and found +a redundance remaining for others who are in a similar case. There are +certain sweet things in the Word of God which you and I have not enjoyed +yet, and which we cannot enjoy yet; and these we are obliged to leave +for a while, till we are better prepared to receive them. Did not our +Lord say, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear +them now"? There is a special knowledge to which we have not attained, a +place of intimate fellowship with Christ which we have not yet occupied. +There are heights of communion which as yet our feet have not +climbed--virgin snows of the mountain of God untrodden by the foot of +man. There is yet a beyond, and there will be for ever. + +A verse or two further on we are told what Ruth did with her leavings. +It is very wrong, I believe, at feasts to carry anything home with you; +but _she_ was not under any such regulation, for that which was left she +took home and gave to Naomi. So it shall be even with you, poor +tremblers, who think you have no right to a morsel for yourselves; you +shall be allowed to eat, and when you are quite sufficed, you shall have +courage to bear away a portion to others who are hungering at home. I am +always pleased to find the young believer beginning to pocket something +for others. When you hear a sermon you think, "My poor mother cannot get +out to-day; how I wish she could have been here, for that sentence +would have comforted _her_. If I forget everything else, I will tell her +that." Cultivate an unselfish spirit. Seek to love as you have been +loved. Remember that "the law and the prophets" are fulfilled in this, +to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as +yourself. How can you love your neighbor as yourself if you do not love +his soul? You _have_ loved your own soul; through grace you have been +led to lay hold on Jesus; love your neighbor's soul, and never be +satisfied till you see him in the enjoyment of those things which are +the charm of your life and the joy of our spirit. Take home your +gleanings for those you love who cannot glean for themselves. + +I do not know how to give you an invitation to Christ more pleasantly, +but I would with my whole heart cry, "Come and welcome to Jesus." I pray +my Lord and Master to reach a handful of parched corn of comfort to you +if you are a trembling sinner, and I also beg him to make you eat till +you are fully sufficed. + + + + +THE LOADED WAGON. + +"Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of +sheaves."--AMOS 2:13. + + +WE have been into the cornfields to glean with Boaz and Ruth; and I +trust that the timid and faint-hearted have been encouraged to partake +of the handfuls which are let fall on purpose for them by the order of +our generous Lord. We go to-day to the gate of the harvest-field with +another object--to see the wagon piled up aloft with many sheaves come +creaking forth, making ruts along the field. We come with gratitude to +God, thanking him for the harvest, blessing him for favorable weather, +and praying him to continue the same till the last shock of corn shall +be brought in, and the husbandmen everywhere shall shout the "Harvest +Home." + +What a picture is a wagon loaded with corn of you and of me, as loaded +with God's mercies! From our cradle up till now, every day has added a +sheaf of blessing. What could the Lord do for us more than he has done? +He has daily loaded us with benefits. Let us adore his goodness, and +yield him our cheerful gratitude. + +Alas! that such a sign should be capable of another reading. Alas! that +while God loadeth us with mercy, we should load him with sin. While he +continually heapeth on sheaf after sheaf of favor we also add iniquity +unto iniquity, till the weight of our sin becomes intolerable to the +Most High, and he cries out by reason of the burden, saying, "I am +pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." + +Our text begins with a "_Behold!_" and well it may. "Beholds" are put in +the Bible as signs are hung out from houses of business, to attract +attention. There is something new, important, deeply impressive, or +worthy of attention wherever we see a "Behold" in sacred Scripture. I +see this "Behold!" standing, as it were, like a maiden upon the steps of +the house of wisdom, crying, "Turn in hither, O ye that are +wise-hearted, and listen to the voice of God." Let us open our eyes that +we may "behold," and may the Spirit make a way through our eyes and ears +to our hearts, that repentance and self-abhorrence may take hold upon +us, because of our evil conduct towards our gracious God. + +It is to be understood before we proceed farther, that our text is only +a figure, since God cannot actually be oppressed by man; all the sin +that man may commit can never disturb the serenity of the divine +perfection, nor cause so much as a wave upon his everlasting calm. He +doth but speak to us after the manner of man, and bring down the +sublimities and mysteries of heaven to the feebleness and ignorance of +earth. He speaketh to us as a great father may talk to his little child. +Just as a cart has the axles bent, and as the wheels creak under the +excessive load, so the Lord says that under the load of human guilt he +is pressed down, until he crieth out, because he can bear no longer the +iniquity of those that offend against him. We shall now turn to our +first point; may the Holy Ghost make it pointed to our consciences! + +The first and most apparent truth in the text is, that SIN IS VERY +GRIEVOUS AND BURDENSOME TO GOD. + +Be astonished, O heavens, and be amazed, O earth, that God should speak +of being pressed and weighed down! I do not read anywhere so much as +half a suggestion that the whole burden of _creation_ is any weight to +the Most High. "He taketh up the isles as a very little thing." Neither +sun, nor moon, nor stars, nor all the ponderous orbs which his +omnipotence has created, cost him any labor in their sustenance. The +heathen picture Atlas as stooping beneath the globe; but the eternal +God, who beareth up the pillars of the universe, "fainteth not, neither +is weary." Nor do I find even the most distant approach to a suggestion +that _providence_ fatigues its Lord. He watches both by night and day; +his power goeth forth every moment. 'Tis he who bringeth forth Mazzaroth +in his season and guideth Arcturus with his sons. He beareth up the +foundations of the earth! and holdeth the cornerstone thereof. He +causeth the dayspring to know its place, and setteth a bound to darkness +and the shadow of death. All things are supported by the power of his +hand, and there is nothing without him. Just as a moment's foam subsides +into the wave that bears it and is lost for ever, so would the universe +depart if the eternal God did not daily sustain it. This incessant +working has not diminished his strength, nor is there any failing or +thought of failing with him. He worketh all things, and when they are +wrought they are as nothing in his sight. But strange, most passing +strange, miraculous among miracles, _sin_ burdens God, though the world +cannot; and iniquity presses the Most High, though the whole weight of +providence is as the small dust of the balance. Ah, ye careless sons of +Adam, ye think sin a trifle; and as for you, ye sons of Belial, ye +count it sport, and say, "He regardeth not; he seeth not; how doth God +know? and if he knoweth he careth not for our sins." Learn ye from the +Book of God, that so far from this being the truth, your sins are a +grief to him, a burden and a load to him, till, like a cart that is +overloaded with sheaves, so is he weighed down with human guilt. + +This will be very clear if we meditate for a moment upon what sin is, +and what sin does. _Sin is the great spoiler of all God's works._ Sin +turned an archangel into an archfiend, and angels of light into spirits +of evil. Sin looked on Eden and withered all its flowers. Ere sin had +come the Creator said of the new-made earth, "It is very good"; but when +sin had entered, it grieved God at his very heart that he had made such +a creature as man. Nothing tarnishes beauty so much as sin, for it mars +God's image and erases his superscription. + +Moreover, _sin makes God's creatures unhappy_, and shall not the Lord, +therefore, abhor it? God never designed that any creature of his hand +should be miserable. He made the creatures on purpose that they should +be glad; he gave the birds their song, the flowers their perfume, the +air its balm; he gave to day the smiling sun and to night its coronet of +stars; for he intended that smiles should be his perpetual worship, and +joy the incense of his praise. But sin has made God's favorite creature +a wretch, and brought down God's offspring, made in his own image, to +become naked, and poor, and miserable; and therefore God hateth sin, and +is pressed down under it, because it maketh the objects of his love +unhappy at their heart. + +Moreover, remember that _sin attacks God in all his attributes_, assails +him on his throne, and stabs at his existence. What is sin? Is it not +an insult to God's _wisdom_? O sinner, God biddeth thee do his will; +when thou doest the contrary it is because thou dost as much as say, "I +know what is good for me, and God does not know." You do in effect +declare that infinite wisdom is in error, and that you, the creature of +a day, are the best judge of happiness. Sin impugns God's _goodness_; +for by sin you declare that God has denied you that which would make you +happy, and this is not the part of a good, tender, and loving Father. +Sin cuts at the Lord's wisdom with one hand, and at his goodness with +the other. + +Sin also abuses the _mercy_ of God. When you, as many of you have done, +sin with the higher hand because of his long-suffering toward you; when, +because you have no sickness, no losses, no crosses, therefore you spend +your time in revelry and obstinate rebellion--what is this but taking +the mercy which was meant for your good and turning it into mischief? It +is no small grief to the loving father to see his substance spent with +harlots in riotous living; he cannot endure it that his child should be +so degraded as to turn even the mercy which would woo him to repentance +into a reason why he should sin the more against him. Besides, let me +remind the careless and impenitent that every sin is a defiance of +divine _power_. In effect it is lifting your puny fists against the +majesty of heaven, and defying God to destroy you. Every time you sin, +you defy the Lord to prove whether he can maintain his law or no. Is +this a slight thing, that a worm, the creature of a day, should defy the +Lord of ages, the God that filleth and upholdeth all things by the word +of his power? Well may he be weary, when he has to bear with such +provocations and insults as those! Mention what attribute you will, and +sin has blotted it; speak of God in any relationship you choose, and sin +has cast a slur upon him. It is evil, only evil, and that continually; +in every view of it must be offensive to the Most High. Sinner, dost +thou know that every act of disobedience to God's law is virtually an +act of _high treason_? What dost thou do but seek to be God thyself, +thine own master, thine own lord? Every time thou swervest from his +will, it is to put thy will into his place; it is to make thyself a god, +and to undeify the Most High. And is this a little offence, to snatch +from his brow the crown, and from his hand the sceptre? I tell thee it +is such an act that heaven itself could not stand unless it were +resented; if this crime were suffered to go unpunished, the wheels of +heaven's commonwealth would be taken from their axles, and the whole +frame of moral government would be unhinged. Such a treason against God +shall certainly be visited with punishment. + +To crown all, _sin is an onslaught upon God himself_, for sin is atheism +of heart. Let his religious profession be what it may, the sinner hath +said in his heart, "No God." He wishes that there were no law and no +Supreme Ruler. Is this a trifle? To be a Deicide! To desire to put God +out of his own world! Is this a thing to be winked at? Can the Most High +hear it and not be pressed down beneath its weight? I pray you do not +think that I would make a needless outcry against sin and disobedience. +It is not in the power of human imagination to exaggerate the evil of +sin, nor will it ever be possible for mortal lips, though they should be +touched like those of Esaias with a live coal from off the altar, to +thunder out the ten-thousandth part of the enormity of the least sin +against God. Think, dear friends! We are his creatures, and yet we will +not do his will. We are fed by him, the breath in our nostrils he gives +us, and yet we spend that breath in murmuring and rebellion. + +Once more, we are always in the sight of our omniscient God, and yet the +presence of God is not enough to compel us to obedience. Surely if a man +should insult law in the very presence of the lawgiver, that were not to +be borne with; but this is your case and mine. We must confess, "Against +thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." We +must remember also, that we offend, knowing that we are offending. We do +not sin as the Hottentot, or the cannibal. We in England sin against +extraordinary light and sevenfold knowledge; and is this a light thing? +Can you expect that God shall pass by wilful and deliberate offences? +Oh, that these lips had language, that this heart could burn for once! +for if I could declare the horrible infamy of sin it would make the +blood chill in even a haughty Pharaoh's veins, and proud Nebuchadnezzar +would bow his head in fear. It is indeed a terrible thing to have +rebelled against the Most High. The Lord have mercy upon his servants +and forgive them. + +This is our first point, but _I_ cannot teach you it, God himself must +teach it by his Spirit. Oh, that the Holy Ghost may make you feel that +sin is exceedingly sinful, so that it is grievous and burdensome to God! + + +Secondly, SOME SINS ARE MORE ESPECIALLY GRIEVOUS TO GOD. The connection +of our text will help you to see the force of this observation. + +There is no such thing as a little sin, but still there are degrees of +guilt, and it were folly to say that a sinful thought hath in it the +same extent of evil as a sinful act. A filthy imagination is +sinful--wholly sinful and greatly sinful, but still a filthy act has +attained a higher degree of provocation. There are sins which especially +provoke God. In the connection of the text we read that _licentiousness_ +does this. The Jewish people in the days of Amos seem to have gone to a +very high degree of fornication and lechery. This sin is not uncommon in +our day; let our midnight streets and our divorce courts be the witness. +I say no more. Let each one keep his body pure; for want of chastity is +a grievous evil before the Lord. + +_Oppression_, too, according to the prophet, is another great +provocation to God. The prophet speaks of selling the poor for a pair of +shoes; and some would grind the widow and the orphan, and make the +laborer toil for nought. How many business men have no "bowels of +compassion." Men form themselves into societies, and then exact an +outrageous usury upon loans from the unhappy beings who fall into their +hands. Cunning legal quibbles and crafty evasions of just debts often +amount to heavy oppression, and are sure to bring down the anger of the +Most High. + +Then, again, it seems that _idolatry_ and _blasphemy_ are highly +offensive to God, and have a high degree of heinousness. He says that +the people drank the wine of false gods. If any man sets up his belly, +or his gold, or his wealth as his god, and if he lives to these instead +of living to the Most High, he hath offended by idolatry. Woe to such, +and equal woe to those who adore crosses, sacraments, or images. + +Specially is _blasphemy_ a God-provoking sin. For blasphemy there is no +excuse. As George Herbert says, "Lust and wine plead a pleasure;" there +is gain to be pleaded for avarice, "but the cheap swearer from his open +sluice lets his soul run for nought." There is nothing gained by profane +talk; there can be no pleasure in cursing; this is offending for +offending's sake, and hence it is a high and crying sin, which makes the +Lord grow weary of men. There may be some among you to whom these words +may be personal accusations. Do I address the lecherous, or the +oppressive, or the profane? Ah, soul, what a mercy God hath borne with +thee so long; the time will come, however, when he will say, "Ah, I will +ease me of mine adversaries," and how easily will he cast you off and +appoint you an awful destruction. + +Again, while some sins are thus grievous to God for their peculiar +heinousness, many men are especially obnoxious to God because of the +_length_ of their sin. That gray-headed man, how many times has he +provoked the Most High! Why, those who are but lads have cause to count +their years and apply their hearts unto wisdom because of the length of +time they have lived in rebellion; but what shall I say of you who have +been half a century in open war against God--and some of you sixty, +seventy, what if I said near upon eighty years? Ah, you have had eighty +years of mercies, and returned eighty years of neglect: for eighty years +of patience you have rendered eighty years of ingratitude. O God, well +mayest thou be wearied by the length and number of man's sins! + +Furthermore, God taketh special note and feeleth an especial weariness +of sin that is mixed with _obstinacy_. Oh how obstinate some men are! +They _will_ be damned; there is no helping them; they seem as if they +would leap the Alps to reach perdition, and swim through seas of fire +that they may destroy their souls. I might tell you cases of men that +have been sore sick of fever, ague, and cholera, and they have only +recovered their health to return to their sins. Some of them have had +troubles in business, thick and threefold: they were once in respectable +circumstances, but they spent their living riotously, and they became +poor; yet they still struggle on in sin. They are growing poorer every +day, most of their clothes have gone to the pawnshop; but they will not +turn from the tavern and the brothel. Another child is dead! The wife is +sick, and starvation stares the family in the face; but they go on still +with a high hand and an outstretched arm. This is obstinacy, indeed. +Sinner! God will let thee have thine own way one of these days, and that +way will be thine everlasting ruin. God is weary of those who set +themselves to do mischief, and, against warnings, and invitations, and +entreaties, are determined to go on in sin. + +The context seems to tell us that _ingratitude_ is intensely burdensome +to God. He tells the people how he brought them out of Egypt; how he +cast out the Amorites; how he raised up their sons for prophets, and +their young men for Nazarites; and yet they rebelled against him! This +was one of the things that pricked my heart when I first came to God as +a guilty sinner, not so much the peculiar heinousness of my outward +life, as the peculiar mercies that I had enjoyed. How generous God has +been to some of us--some of us who never had a want! God has never cast +us into poverty, nor left us to infamy, nor given us up to evil +example, but he has kept us moral, and made us love his house even when +we did not love _him_, and all this he has done year after year: and +what poor returns we have made! To us, his people, what joy he has +given, what deliverances, what love, what comfort, what bliss--and yet +we have sinned to his face! Well may he be as a cart that is pressed +down, that is full of sheaves. + +Let me observe, before I leave this point, that it seems from our text, +that the Lord is so pressed, that _he even crieth out_. Just as the cart +when laden with the sheaves, groaneth under the weight, so the Lord +crieth out under the load of sin. Have you never heard those accents? +"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I +have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against +me!" Hear again: "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye +die, O house of Israel?" Better still, hear the lament from the lip of +Jesus, soft and gentle as the dew--"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that +killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how +often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen +gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Sinner, God +is cut to the heart by thy sin; thy Creator grieves over that which thou +laughest at; thy Saviour crieth out in his spirit concerning that which +thou thinkest to be a trifle--"O do not this abominable thing which I +hate!" For God's sake do it not! We often say "for God's sake," without +knowing what we mean; but here see what it means, for the sake of God, +that ye grieve not your Creator, that ye cause not the Eternal One +himself to cry out by reason of weariness of you. Cease ye, cease ye, +from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? I now +leave those two points to pass on very briefly to the next. + + +While it is true that sin is grievous to the Lord, it magnifies his +mercy when we see that HE BEARS THE LOAD. As the cart is not said to +break, but is pressed only, so is he pressed, and yet he bears. If you +and I were in God's place, should we have borne it? Nay, within a week +we should have burned the universe with fire, or trodden it to powder +beneath our feet. If the Law of heaven were as swift to punish as the +law of man, where were we? How easily could he avenge his honor! How +many servants wait around him ready to do his bidding! As the Roman +consul went out, attended by his lictors carrying the axe, so God is +ever attended by his executioners, who are ready to fulfil his sentence. +A stone, a tile from a roof, a thunderbolt, a puff of wind, a grain of +dust, a whiff of gas, a broken blood-vessel, and all is over, and you +are dead, and in the hands of an angry God. Indeed, the Lord has to +restrain the servants of his anger, for the heavens cry, "Why should we +cover that wretch's head?" Earth asks, "Why should I yield at harvest to +the sinner's plough?" The lightnings thunder, and say, "Let us smite the +rebel," and the seas roar upon the sinner, desiring him as their prey. +There is no greater proof of the omnipotence of God than his +long-suffering; for it shows the greatest possible power for God to be +able to control himself. Sinner, yet Jehovah bears with thee. The angels +have been astonished at it; they thought he would strike, but yet he +bears with you. Have you ever seen a patient man insulted? He has been +met in the street by a villain, who insults him before a mob of boys. +He bears it. The fellow spits in his face. He bears it still. The +offender strikes him. He endures it quietly. "Give him in charge," says +one. "No," says he, "I forgive him all." The fellow knocks him down, and +rolls him in the kennel, but he bears it still; yes, and when he rises +all covered with mire, he says, "If there be anything that I can do to +befriend you, I will do it now." Just at that moment the wretch is +arrested by a sheriff's officer for debt; the man who has been insulted +takes out his purse and pays the debt, and says, "You may go free." See, +the wretch spits in his face after that! "Now," you say, "let the law +have its way with him." Is there any room for patience now? So would it +have been with man; it has not been so with God. Though like the cart he +is pressed under the load of sheaves, yet like the cart the axle does +not break. He bears the load. He bears with impenitent sinners still. + + +And this brings me to the fourth head, on which I would have your +deepest attention. Some of you, I fear, have never seen sin in the light +of grieving God, or else you would not wish to grieve him any more. On +the other hand some of you feel how bitter a thing evil is, and you wish +to be rid of it. This is our fourth head. Not only doth God still bear +with sin, but GOD, IN THE PERSON OF HIS SON, DID BEAR AND TAKE AWAY SIN. + +These words would have deep meaning if put into the lips of Jesus--"I am +pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." Here +stood the great problem. God must punish sin, and yet he desired to have +mercy. How could it be? Lo! Jesus comes to be the substitute for all who +trust him. The load of guilt is laid upon his shoulders. See how they +pile on him the sheaves of human sin! + + "My soul looks back to see + The burdens thou didst bear, + When hanging on the cursed tree, + And hopes her guilt was there." + +"The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." There they lie, +sheaf on sheaf, till he is pressed down like the wain that groaneth as +it moves along. "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, +and acquainted with grief." See him, he did "sweat as it were great +drops of blood falling to the ground." Herod mocks him. Pilate jeers +him. They have smitten the Prince of Judah upon the cheek. "I gave my +back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I +hid not my face from shame and spitting." They have tied him to the +pillar; they are beating him with rods, not this time forty stripes +_save one_, for there is no "save one" with him. "The chastisement of +our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." See him; +like a cart pressed down with sheaves traversing the streets of +Jerusalem. Well may ye weep, ye daughters of Jerusalem, though he bids +ye dry your tears! Abjects hoot at him as he walks along bowed beneath +the load of his own cross, which was the emblem of our sin. They bring +him to Golgotha. They throw him on his back, they stretch out his hands +and his feet. The accursed iron penetrates the tenderest part of his +body, where most the nerves do congregate. They lift up the cross. O +bleeding Saviour, thy time of woe is come! They dash it into the socket +with cruel force, the nails are tearing through his hands and feet. He +hangeth in extremity, for God hath forsaken him; his enemies persecute +and take him, for there is none to deliver him. They mock his nakedness; +they point at his agonies. They look and stare upon him. With ribald +jests they insult his griefs. They make puns upon his prayers. He is now +indeed a worm, and no man, crushed till you can scarcely think that +divinity dwells within him. Fever parches him; his tongue is dried up +like a potsherd, and he cries, "I thirst!" Vinegar is all they yield +him. The sun refuses to shine, and the dense midnight of that awful +mid-day is a fitting emblem of the tenfold darkness of his soul. Out of +that all-encompassing horror he crieth, "My God, my God, why hast thou +forsaken me?" Then, indeed, was he pressed down! There was never sorrow +like unto his sorrow. All mortal griefs found a reservoir in his heart, +and the punishment of human guilt spent itself upon his body and his +soul. Shall sin ever be a trifle to me? Shall I laugh at that which made +my Saviour groan? Shall I toy and dally with that which stabbed him to +the heart? Sinner, wilt thou not give up thy sins for the sake of him +who suffered for sin? "Yes," sayest thou, "yes, if I could believe that +he suffered for my sake." Wilt thou trust thy soul in his hands at once? +Dost thou do so? Then he died _for thee_ and took _thy_ guilt, and +carried all _thy_ sorrows, and thou mayest go free, for God is +satisfied, and thou art absolved. Christ was burdened that thou mightest +be lightened; he was pressed that thou mightest be free. I would I could +talk of my precious Master as John would speak, who saw him and bare +witness, for he could tell in plaintive tones of the sorrows of Calvary. +Such as I have I give you; oh that God would give you with it the +power, the grace to believe on Jesus at once. + + +V. For if not, and here is our last point, God will only bear the load +of our provocation for a little while; and if we are not in Christ when +the end shall come, THAT SAME LOAD WILL CRUSH US FOREVER. + +My text is translated by many learned men in a different way from the +version before us. According to them it should be read, "I will press +you as a cart that is full of sheaves presseth your place." That is, +just as a heavy loaded wagon pressed into the soft eastern roads and +left deep furrows, so will I crush you, saith God, beneath the load of +your sin. This is to be your doom, my hearer, if you are out of Christ: +your own deeds are to press upon you. Need we enlarge upon this terror? +I think not. It only needs that you should make a personal application +of the threatening! Divide yourselves now. Divide yourselves, I say! +Answer each one for himself--Dost thou believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? +then the threatening is not thine. But if thou believest not I conjure +thee listen to me now as if thou wert the only person here. A Christless +soul will ere long be a castaway; he that believeth not in Christ is +condemned already, because he believeth not. How wilt thou escape if +thou wilt neglect so great salvation? Thus saith the Lord unto thee, +"Consider thy ways." By time, by eternity, by life, by death, by heaven, +by hell, I do conjure thee believe in him who is able to save unto the +uttermost them that come unto him; but if thou believest not in Christ +thou shalt die in thy sins. + +After death the judgment! Oh! the judgment, the thundering trumpet, the +multitude, the books, the great white throne, the "Come, ye blessed," +the "Depart, ye cursed!" + +After judgment, to a soul that is out of Christ, Hell! Who among us? who +_among us_ shall abide with the devouring flame? Who among US? Who among +US shall dwell with everlasting burnings? I pray that none of us may. +But we _must_ unless we fly to Christ. I beseech thee, my dear hearer, +fly to Jesus! I may never see thy face again; thine eyes may never look +into mine again; but I shake my skirts of thy blood if thou believest +not in Christ. My tears entreat thee; let his long-suffering lead thee +to repentance. He willeth not the death of any, but that they should +turn unto him and live: and this turning lies mainly in trusting Jesus +with your soul. Wilt thou believe in Christ? Nay, I know thou wilt not +unless the Spirit of God shall constrain thee; but if thou wilt not, it +shall not be for want of pleading and entreating. Come, 'tis mercy's +welcome hour. I pray thee, come. Jesus with pierced hands invites thee, +though thou hast long rejected him. He knocks again. His unconquerable +love defies thy wickedness. He begs thee to be saved. Sinner, wilt thou +have him or no? "Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of +life freely." God help you to come, for the glorious Redeemer's sake. +Amen. + + + + +THRESHING. + +"For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither +is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten +out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; +because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of +his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen."--ISAIAH 28:27, 28. + + +THE art of husbandry was taught to man by God. He would have starved +while he was discovering it, and so the Lord, when he sent him out of +the Garden of Eden, gave him a measure of elementary instruction in +agriculture, even as the prophet puts it--"His God doth instruct him to +discretion, and doth teach him." God has taught man to plough, to break +the clods, to sow the different kinds of grain, and to thresh out the +different sorts of seeds. + +The Eastern husbandman could not thresh by machinery as we do; but still +he was ingenious and discreet in that operation. Sometimes a heavy +instrument was dragged over the corn to tear out the grain. This is what +is intended in the first clause by the "threshing instrument," as also +in that passage, "I have made thee a sharp threshing instrument having +teeth." When the corn-drag was not used, they often turned the heavy +solid wheel of a country cart over the straw. This is alluded to in the +next sentence: "Neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin." +They had also flails not very unlike our own, and then for still +smaller seeds, such as dill and cummin, they used a simple staff, or a +slender switch. "The fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin +with a rod." + +This is not the time or place to give a dissertation upon threshing. We +find every information upon that subject in proper books; but the +meaning of the illustration is this--that as God has taught husbandmen +to distinguish between different kinds of grain in the threshing, so +does he in his infinite wisdom deal discreetly with different sorts of +men. He does not try us all alike, seeing we are differently +constituted. He does not pass us all through the same agony of +conviction: we are not all to the same extent threshed with terrors. He +does not give us all to endure the same family or bodily affliction; one +escapes with only being beaten with a rod, while another feels, as it +were, the feet of horses in his heavy tribulations. + +Our subject is just this. _Threshing_: all kinds of seeds need it, _all +sorts of men need it_. Secondly, _the threshing is done with +discretion_, and, thirdly, _the threshing will not last forever_; for so +the second verse of the text says: "Bread corn is bruised; because he +will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, +nor bruise it with his horseman." + + +I. First, then, WE ALL NEED THRESHING. Some have a foolish conceit of +themselves that they have no sin; but they deceive themselves, and the +truth is not in them. The best of men are men at the best; and being +men, they are not perfect, but are still compassed about with infirmity. +What is the object of threshing the grain? Is it not to separate it from +the straw and the chaff? + +_About the best of men there is still a measure of chaff._ All is not +grain that lies upon the threshing-floor. All is not grain even in those +golden sheaves which have been brought into our garner so joyfully. Even +the wheat is joined to the straw, which was necessary to it at one time. +About the kernel of the wheat the husk is wrapped, and this still clings +to it even when it lies upon the threshing-floor. About the holiest of +men there is something superfluous, something which must be removed. We +either sin by omission or by trespass. Either in spirit, or motive, or +lack of zeal, or want of discretion, we are faulty. If we escape one +error, we usually glide into its opposite. If before an action we are +right, we err in the doing of it, or, if not, we become proud after it +is over. If sin be shut out at the front door, it tries the back gate, +or climbs in at the window, or comes down the chimney. Those who cannot +perceive it in themselves are frequently blinded by its smoke. They are +so thoroughly in the water that they do not know that it rains. So far +as my own observation goes I have found out no man whom the old divines +would have called perfectly perfect; the absolutely all-round man is a +being whom I expect to see in heaven, but not in this poor fallen world. +We all need such cleansing and purging as the threshing-floor is +intended to work for us. + +Now, _threshing is useful in loosening the connection between the good +corn and the husk_. Of course, if it would slip out easily from its +husk, the corn would only need to be shaken. There would be no necessity +for a staff or a rod, much less for the feet of horses, or the wheel of +a cart to separate it. But there's the rub: our soul not only lieth in +the dust, but "cleaveth" to it. There is a fearful intimacy between +fallen human nature and the evil which is in the world; and this compact +is not soon broken. In our hearts we hate every false way, and yet we +sorrowfully confess, "When I would do good, evil is present with me." +Sometimes when our spirit cries out most ardently after God, a holy will +is present with us, but how to perform that which is good we find not. +Flesh and blood have tendencies and weaknesses which, if not sinful in +themselves, yet tend in that direction. Appetites need but slight +excitement to germinate into lusts. It is not easy for us to forget our +own kindred and our father's house even when the king doth most greatly +desire our beauty. Our alien nature remembers Egypt and the flesh-pots +while yet the manna is in our mouths. We were all born in the house of +evil, and some of us were nursed upon the lap of iniquity, so that our +first companionships were among the heirs of wrath. That which was bred +in the bone is hard to get out of the flesh. Threshing is used to loosen +our hold of earthly things and break us away from evil. This needs a +divine hand, and nothing but the grace of God can make the threshing +effectual. Something is done by threshing when the soul ceases to be +bound up with its sin, and sin is no longer pleasurable or satisfactory. +Still, as the work of threshing is never done till the corn is separated +altogether from the husk, so chastening and discipline have never +accomplished their design till God's people give up every form of evil, +and abhor all iniquity. When we shake right out of the straw, and have +nothing further to do with sin, then the flail will lie quiet. It has +taken a good deal of threshing to bring some of us anywhere near that +mark, and I am afraid many more heavy blows will be struck before we +shall reach the total separation. From a certain sort of sins we are +very easily separated by the grace of God early in our spiritual life; +but when those are gone, another layer of evils comes into sight, and +the work has to be repeated. The complete removal of our connection with +sin is a work demanding the divine skill and power of the Holy Ghost, +and by him only will it be accomplished. + +Threshing becomes needful for the sake of our usefulness; for the wheat +must come out of the husk to be of service. We can only honor God and +bless men by being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. +O corn of the Lord's threshing-floor, thou must be beaten and bruised, +or perish as a worthless heap! Eminent usefulness usually necessitates +eminent affliction. + +Unless thus severed from sin, we cannot be gathered into the garner. +God's pure wheat must not be defiled by an admixture of chaff. There +shall in nowise enter into heaven anything that defileth, therefore +every sort of imperfection must come away from us by some means or other +ere we can enter into the state of eternal blessedness and perfection. +Yea, even here we cannot have true fellowship with the Father unless we +are daily delivered from sin. + +Peradventure some of us to-day are lying up on the threshing-floor, +suffering from the blows of chastisement. What then? Why, let us rejoice +therein; for _this testifies to our value in the sight of God_. If the +wheat were to cry out and say, "The great drag has gone over me, +therefore the husbandman has no care for me," we should instantly +reply--The husbandman does not pass the corn-drag over the darnel or the +nettles; it is only over the precious wheat that he turns the wheel of +his cart, or the feet of his oxen. Because he esteems the wheat, +therefore he deals sternly with it and spares it not. Judge not, O +believer, that God hates you because he afflicts you; but interpret +truly and see that he honors you by every stroke which he lays upon you. +Thus saith the Lord, "You only have I known of all the nations of the +earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Because a +full atonement has been made by the Lord Jesus for all his people's +sins, therefore he will not punish us as a judge; but because we are his +dear children, therefore he will chastise us as a father. In love he +corrects his own children that he may perfect them in his own image, and +make them partakers of his holiness. Is it not written, "I will bring +them under the rod of the covenant"? Has he not said, "I have refined +thee, but not with silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of +affliction"? Therefore do not judge according to the sight of the eyes +or the feeling of the flesh, but judge according to faith, and +understand that, as threshing is a testimony to the value of the wheat, +so affliction is a token of God's delight in his people. + +Remember, however, that as threshing is a sign of the impurity of the +wheat, so is _affliction an indication of the present imperfection of +the Christian_. If you were no more connected with evil, you would be no +more corrected with sorrow. The sound of a flail is never heard in +heaven, for it is not the threshing-floor of the imperfect but the +garner of the completely sanctified. The threshing instrument is +therefore a humbling token, and so long as we feel it we should humble +ourselves under the hand of God, for it is clear that we are not yet +free from the straw and the chaff of fallen nature. + +On the other hand, the instrument is _a prophecy of our future +perfection_. We are undergoing from the hand of God a discipline which +will not fail: we shall by his prudence and wisdom be clean delivered +from the husk of sin. We are feeling the blows of the staff, but we are +being effectually separated from the evil which has so long surrounded +us, and for certain we shall one day be pure and perfect. Every tendency +to sin shall be beaten off. "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a +child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." If, we +being evil, yet succeed with our children by our poor, imperfect +chastening, how much more shall the Father of spirits cause us to live +unto himself by his holy discipline? If the corn could know the +necessary uses of the flail, it would invite the thresher to his work; +and since we know whereunto tribulation tendeth, let us glory in it, and +yield ourselves with cheerfulness to its processes. We need threshing, +the threshing proves our value in God's sight, and while it marks our +imperfection, it secures our ultimate cleansing. + + +II. Secondly, I would remark that GOD'S THRESHING IS DONE WITH GREAT +DISCRETION; "for the fitches are not threshed with a threshing +instrument." The poor little fitches, a kind of small seed used for +flavoring cakes, were not crushed out with a heavy drag, for by such +rough usage they would have been broken up and spoiled. "Neither is a +cart wheel turned about upon the cummin;" this little seed, perhaps the +carraway, would have been ground by so great a weight; it would have +been preposterous to treat it in that rough manner. The fitches were +soon removed from the stalks by being "beaten out with a staff," and the +cummin needed nothing but a touch of a rod. For tender seeds the farmer +uses gentle means, and for the hardier grains he reserves the sterner +processes. Let us think of this, as it conveys a valuable spiritual +lesson. + +Reflect, my brother, that your threshing and mine _are in God's hands_. +Our chastening is not left to servants, much less to enemies; "we are +chastened of the Lord!" The Great Husbandman himself personally bids the +laborers do this and that, for they know not the time or the way except +as divine wisdom shall direct; they would turn the wheel upon the +cummin, or attempt to thresh wheat with a staff. I have seen God's +servants trying both these follies; they have crushed the weak and +tender, and they have dealt with partiality and softness with those who +needed to be sternly rebuked. How roughly some ministers, some elders, +some good men and women will go to work with timid, tender souls; yet we +need not fear that they will destroy the true-hearted, for, however much +they may vex them the Lord will not leave his chosen in their hands, but +will overrule their mistaken severity, and preserve his own from being +destroyed thereby. How glad I am of this; for there are many nowadays +who would grind the tender ones to powder if they could! + +As the Lord has not left us in the power of man, so also he has not left +us in the power of the devil. Satan may sift us as wheat, but he shall +not thresh us as fitches. He may blow away the chaff from us even with +his foul breath, but he shall not have the management of the Lord's +corn: "the Lord preserveth the righteous." Not a stroke in providence +is left to chance; the Lord ordains it, and arranges the time, the +force, and the place of it. The divine decree leaves nothing uncertain; +the jurisdiction of supreme love occupies itself with the smallest +events of our daily lives. Whether we bear the teeth of the corn-drag or +men do ride over our heads, or we endure the gentler touches of the +divine hand, everything is by appointment, and the appointment is fixed +by infallible wisdom. Let this be a mine of comfort to the afflicted. + +Next, remark that _the instruments used for our threshing are chosen +also by the Great Husbandman_. The Eastern farmer, according to the +text, has several instruments, and so has our God. No form of threshing +is pleasant to the seed which bears it; indeed, each one seems to the +sufferer to be peculiarly objectionable. We say, "I think I could bear +anything but this sad trouble." We cry, "It was not an enemy, then I +could have borne it," and so on. Perhaps the tender cummin foolishly +fancies that the horse-hoofs would be a less terrible ordeal than the +rod, and the fitches might even prefer the wheel to the staff; but +happily the matter is left to the choice of One who judges unerringly. +What dost thou know about it, poor sufferer? How canst thou judge of +what is good for thee? "Ah!" cries a mother, "I would not mind poverty; +but to lose my darling child is too terrible!" Another laments, "I could +have parted with all my wealth, but to be slandered cuts me to the +quick." There is no pleasing us in the matter of chastisement. When I +was at school, with my uncle for master, it often happened that he would +send me out to find a cane for him. It was not a very pleasant task, and +I noticed that I never once succeeded in selecting a stick which was +liked by the boy who had to feel it. Either it was too thin, or too +stout; and in consequence I was threatened by the sufferers with condign +punishment if I did not do better next time. I learned from that +experience never to expect God's children to like the particular rod +with which they are chastened. You smile at my simile, but you may smile +at yourself when you find yourself crying, "Any trouble but this, Lord. +Any affliction but this." How idle it is to expect a pleasant trial; for +it would then be no trial at all. Almost every really useful medicine is +unpleasant: almost all effectual surgery is painful! no trial for the +present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, yet it is the right trial, +and none the less right because it is bitter. + +Notice, too, that God not only selects the instruments, _but he chooses +the place_. Farmers in the East have large threshing-floors upon which +they throw the sheaves of corn or barley, and upon these they turn +horses and drags; but near the house door I have often noticed in Italy +a much smaller circle of hardened clay or cement, and here I have seen +the peasants beating out their garden seeds in a more careful manner +than would naturally be used toward the greater heaps upon the larger +area. Some saints are not afflicted in the common affairs of life, but +they have peculiar sorrow in their innermost spirits; they are beaten on +the smaller and more private threshing-floor; but the process is none +the less effectual. How foolish are we when we rebel against our Lord's +appointment, and speak as if we had a right to choose our own +afflictions! "Should it be according to thy mind?" Should a child select +the rod? Should the grain appoint its own thresher? Are not these +things to be left to a higher wisdom? Some complain of the time of their +trial; it is hard to be crippled in youth, or to be poor in age, or to +be widowed when your children are young. Yet in all this there is +wisdom. A part of the skill of the physician may lie, not only in +writing a prescription, but in arranging the hours at which the medicine +shall be taken. One draught may be most useful in the morning, and +another may be more beneficial in the evening; and so the Lord knows +when it is best for us to drink of the cup which he has prepared for us. +I know a dear child of God who is enduring a severe trial in his old +age, and I would fain screen him from it because of his feebleness, but +our heavenly Father knows best, and there we must leave it. The +instrument of the threshing, the place, the measure, the time, the end, +are all appointed by infallible love. + +It is interesting to notice in the text the limit of this threshing. The +husbandman is zealous to beat out the seed, but he is careful not to +break it in pieces by too severe a process. His wheel is not to grind, +but to thresh; the horses' feet are not to break, but to separate. He +intends to get the cummin out of its husk, but he will not turn a heavy +drag upon it utterly to smash it up and destroy it. In the same way the +Lord has a measure in all his chastening. Courage, tried friend, you +shall be afflicted as you need, but not as you deserve; tribulation +shall come as you are able to bear it. As is the strength such shall the +affliction be; the wheat may feel the wheel, but the fitches shall bear +nothing heavier than a staff. No saint shall be tempted beyond the +proper measure, and the limit is fixed by a tenderness which never deals +a needless stroke. + +It is very easy to talk like this in cool blood, and quite another thing +to remember it when the flail is hammering you; yet have I personally +realized this truth upon the bed of pain, and in the furnace of mental +distress. I thank God at every remembrance of my afflictions; I did not +doubt his wisdom then, nor have I had any reason to question it since. +Our Great Husbandman understands how to divide us from the husk, and he +goes about his work in a way for which he deserves to be adored for +ever. + +It is a pleasant thought that God's limit is one beyond which trials +never go-- + + "If trials six be fix'd for men + They shall not suffer seven. + If God appoint afflictions ten + They ne'er can be eleven." + +The old law ordained forty stripes save one, and in all our scourgings +there always comes in that "save one." When the Lord multiplies our +sorrows up to a hundred, it is because ninety-and-nine failed to effect +his purpose; but all the powers of earth and hell cannot give us one +blow above the settled number. We shall never endure a superfluity of +threshing. The Lord never sports with the feelings of his saints. "He +does not afflict willingly," and so we may be sure he never gives an +unnecessary blow. + +The wisdom of the husbandman in limiting his threshing is far exceeded +in the wisdom of God by which he sets a limit to our griefs. Some escape +with little trouble, and perhaps it is because they are frail and +sensitive. The little garden seeds must not be beaten too heavily lest +they be injured; those saints who bear about with them a delicate body +must not be roughly handled, nor shall they be. Possibly they have a +feeble mind also, and that which others would laugh at would be death to +them; they shall be kept as the apple of the eye. + +If you are free from tribulation never ask for it; that would be a great +folly. I did meet with a brother a little while ago who said that he was +much perplexed because he had no trouble. I said, "Do not worry about +_that_; but be happy while you may." Only a queer child would beg to be +flogged. Certain sweet and shining saints are of such a gentle spirit +that the Lord does not expose them to the same treatment as he metes out +to others; they do not need it, and they could not bear it; why should +they wish for it? + +Others, again, are very heavily pressed; but what of that if they are a +superior grain, a seed of larger usefulness, intended for higher +purposes? Let not such regret that they have to endure a heavier +threshing since their use is greater. It is the bread corn that must go +under the feet of the horseman and must feel the wheel of the cart; and +so the most useful have to pass through the sternest processes. There is +not one among us but what would say, "I could wish that I were Martin +Luther, or that I could play as noble a part as he did." Yes; but in +addition to the outward perils of his life, the inward experiences of +that remarkable man were such as none of us would wish to feel. He was +frequently tormented with Satanic temptations, and driven to the verge +of despair. At one hour he rode the whirlwind and the storm, master of +all the world, and then after days of fighting with the pope and the +devil he would go home to his bed and lie there broken-down and +trembling. You see God's heroes only in the pulpit, or in other public +places, you know not what they are before God in secret. You do not know +their inner life; else you might discover that the bread corn is +bruised, and that those who are most useful in comforting others have to +endure frequent sorrow themselves. Envy no man; for you do not know how +he may have to be threshed to make him right and keep him so. + +Brethren, we see that our God uses discretion in the chastisement of his +people; let us use a loving prudence when we have to deal with others in +that way. Be gentle as well as firm with your children; and if you have +to rebuke your brother do it very tenderly. Do not drive your horses +over the tender seed. Recollect that the cummin is beaten out with a +staff and not crushed out with a wheel. Take a very light rod. Perhaps +it would be as well if you had no rod at all, but left that work to +wiser hands. Go you and sow and leave your elders to thresh. + +Next let us firmly believe in God's discretion, and be sure that he is +doing the right thing by us. Let us not be anxious to be screened from +affliction. When we ask that the cup may pass from us let it be with a +"nevertheless not as I will." Best of all, let us freely part with our +chaff. The likeliest way to escape the flail is to separate from the +husk as quickly as possible. "Come ye out from among them." Separate +yourselves from sin and sinners, from the world and worldliness, and the +process of threshing will all the sooner be completed. God make us wise +in this matter! + + +III. A word or two is all we can afford upon the third head, which is +that THE THRESHING WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. + +The threshing will not last all our days even here: "Bread corn is +bruised, but he will not always be threshing it." Oh, no. "For a small +moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee." +"He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger for ever." +"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." +Rejoice, ye daughters of sorrow! Be comforted, ye sons of grief! Have +hope in God, for you shall yet praise him who is the health of your +countenance. The rain does not always fall, nor will the clouds always +return. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Threshing is not an +operation which the corn requires all the year round; for the most part +the flail is idle. Bless the Lord, O my soul! The Lord will yet bring +home his banished ones. + +Above all, tribulation will not last forever, for we shall soon be gone +to another and better world. We shall soon be carried to the land where +there are neither threshing-floors nor corn-drags. I sometimes think I +hear the herald calling me. His trumpet sounds: "Up and away! Boot and +saddle! Up and away! Leave the camp and the battle, and return in +triumph." The night is far spent with you, but the morning cometh. The +daylight breaks above yon hills. The day is coming--the day that shall +go no more down forever. Come, eat your bread with joy, and march onward +with a merry heart; for the land which floweth with milk and honey is +but a little way before you. Until the day break and the shadows flee +away, abide the Great Husbandman's will, and may the Lord glorify +himself in you. Amen. + + + + +WHEAT IN THE BARN. + +"Gather the wheat into my barn."--MATTHEW 13:30. + + +"GATHER the wheat into my barn." Then the purpose of the Son of man will +be accomplished. He sowed good seed, and he shall have his barn filled +with it at the last. Be not dispirited, Christ will not be disappointed. +"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." He +went forth weeping, bearing precious seed, but he shall come again +rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. + +"Gather the wheat into my barn;" then Satan's policy will be +unsuccessful. The enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, hopeful +that the false wheat would destroy or materially injure the true; but he +failed in the end, for the wheat ripened and was ready to be gathered. +Christ's garner shall be filled; the tares shall not choke the wheat. +The evil one will be put to shame. + +In gathering in the wheat, good angels will be employed: "the angels are +the reapers." This casts special scorn upon the great evil angel. He +sows the tares, and tries to destroy the harvest; and therefore the good +angels are brought in to celebrate his defeat, and to rejoice together +with their Lord in the success of the divine husbandry. Satan will make +a poor profit out of his meddling; he shall be baulked in all his +efforts, and so the threat shall be fulfilled, "Upon thy belly shalt +thou go, and dust shalt thou eat." + +By giving the angels work to do, all intelligent creatures, of whose +existence we have information, are made to take an interest in the work +of grace; whether for malice or for adoration, redemption excites them +all. To all, the wonderful works of God are made manifest; for these +things were not done in a corner. + +We too much forget the angels. Let us not overlook their tender sympathy +with us; they behold the Lord rejoicing over our repentance, and they +rejoice with him; they are our watchers and the Lord's messengers of +mercy; they bear us up in their hands lest we dash our foot against a +stone; and when we come to die, they carry us to the bosom of our Lord. +It is one of our joys that we have come to an innumerable company of +angels; let us think of them with affection. + +At this time I will keep to my text, and preach from it almost word by +word. It begins with "but," and that is A WORD OF SEPARATION. + +Here note that the tares and the wheat will grow together until the time +of harvest shall come. It is a great sorrow of heart to some of the +wheat to be growing side by side with tares. The ungodly are as thorns +and briers to those who fear the Lord. How frequently is the sigh forced +forth from the godly heart: "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I +dwell in the tents of Kedar!" A man's foes are often found within his +own household; those who should have been his best helpers are often his +worst hinderers; their conversation vexes and torments him. It is of +little use to try to escape from them, for the tares are permitted in +God's providence to grow with the wheat, and they will do so until the +end. Good men have emigrated to distant lands to found communities in +which there should be none but saints, and, alas! sinners have sprung up +in their own families. The attempt to weed the ungodly and heretical out +of the settlement has led to persecution and other evils, and the whole +plan has proved a failure. Others have shut themselves away in +hermitages to avoid the temptations of the world, and so have hoped to +win the victory by running away; this is not the way of wisdom. The word +for this present is, "Let both grow together;" _but_ there will come a +time when a final separation will be made. Then, dear Christian woman, +your husband will never persecute you again. Godly sister, your brother +will heap no more ridicule upon you. Pious workman, there will be no +more jesting and taunting from the ungodly. That "but" will be an iron +gate between the god-fearing and the godless; then will the tares be +cast into the fire, _but_ the Lord of the harvest will say, "Gather the +wheat into my barn." + +This separation must be made; for the growing of the wheat and the tares +together on earth has caused much pain and injury, and therefore it will +not be continued in a happier world. We can very well suppose that godly +men and women might be willing that their unconverted children should +dwell with them in heaven; but it cannot be, for God will not have his +cleansed ones defiled nor his glorified ones tried by the presence of +the unbelieving. The tares must be taken away in order to the +perfectness and usefulness of the wheat. Would you have the tares and +the wheat heaped up together in the granary in one mass? That would be +ill husbandry with a vengeance. They can neither of them be put to +appropriate use till thoroughly separated. Even so, mark you, the saved +and the unsaved may live together here, but they must not live together +in another world. The command is absolute: "Gather the tares, and bind +them in bundles to burn them: _but_ gather the wheat into my barn." +Sinner, can you hope to enter heaven? You never loved your mother's God, +and is he to endure you in his heavenly courts? You never trusted your +father's Saviour, and yet are you to behold his glory for ever? Are you +to go swaggering down the streets of heaven, letting fall an oath, or +singing a loose song? Why, you know, you get tired of the worship of God +on the Lord's day; do you think that the Lord will endure unwilling +worshippers in the temple above? The Sabbath is a wearisome day to you; +how can you hope to enter into the Sabbath of God? You have no taste for +heavenly pursuits, and these things would be profaned if you were +permitted to partake in them; therefore that word "but" must come in, +and you must part from the Lord's people never to meet again. Can you +bear to think of being divided from godly friends for ever and ever? + +That separation involves an awful difference of destiny. "Gather the +tares in bundles to burn them." I do not dare to draw the picture; but +when the bundle is bound up there is no place for it except the fire. +God grant that you may never know all the anguish which burning must +mean; but may you escape from it at once. It is no trifle which the Lord +of love compares to being consumed with fire. I am quite certain that no +words of mine can ever set forth its terror. They say that we speak +dreadful things about the wrath to come; but I am sure that we +understate the case. What must the tender, loving, gracious Jesus have +meant by the words, "Gather the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn +them?" See what a wide distinction between the lot of the Lord's people +and Satan's people. Burn the wheat? Oh, no; "Gather the wheat into my +barn." There let them be happily, safely housed for ever. Oh, the +infinite distance between heaven and hell!--the harps and the angels, +and the wailing and gnashing of teeth! Who can ever measure the width of +that gulf which divides the glorified saint, white-robed and crowned +with immortality, from the soul which is driven forever away from the +presence of God, and from the glory of his power? It is a dreadful +"but"--that "but" of separation. I pray you, remember that it will +interpose between brother and brother--between mother and child--between +husband and wife. "One shall be taken and the other left." And when that +sword shall descend to divide, there shall never be any after union. The +separation is eternal. There is no hope or possibility of change in the +world to come. + +But, says one, "that dreadful '_but_'! Why must there be such a +difference?" The answer is, Because there always was a difference. The +wheat was sown by the Son of man; the false wheat was sown by the enemy. +There was always a difference in character--the wheat was good, the +tares were evil. This difference did not appear at first, but it became +more and more apparent as the wheat ripened, and as the tares ripened +too. They were totally different plants; and so a regenerate person and +an unregenerate person are altogether different beings. I have heard an +unregenerate man say that he is quite as good as the godly man; but in +so boasting he betrayed his pride. Surely there is as great a +difference in God's sight between the unsaved and the believer as +between darkness and light, or between the dead and the living. There is +in the one a life which there is not in the other, and the difference is +vital and radical. Oh, that you may never trifle with this essential +matter, but be really the wheat of the Lord! It is vain to have the name +of wheat, we must have the nature of wheat. God will not be mocked; he +will not be pleased by our calling ourselves Christians while we are not +so. Be not satisfied with church membership; but seek after membership +with Christ. Do not talk about faith, but exercise it. Do not boast of +experience, but possess it. Be not _like_ the wheat, but be the wheat. +No shams and imitations will stand in the last great day; that terrible +"but" will roll as a sea of fire between the true and the false. Oh Holy +Spirit! let each of us be found transformed by thy power. + + +II. The second word of our text is "gather"--that is A WORD OF +CONGREGATION. What a blessed thing this gathering is! I feel it a great +pleasure to gather multitudes together to hear the gospel; and is it not +a joy to see a house full of people, on week-days and Sabbath-days, who +are willing to leave their homes and to come considerable distances to +listen to the gospel? It is a great thing to gather people together for +that; but the gathering of the wheat into the barn is a far more +wonderful business. Gathering is in itself better than scattering, and I +pray that the Lord Jesus may ever exercise his attracting power in this +place; for he is no Divider, but "unto him shall the gathering of the +people be." Has he not said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will +draw all men unto me"? + +Observe, that the congregation mentioned in our text is selected and +assembled by skilled gatherers: "The angels are the reapers." Ministers +could not do it, for they do not know all the Lord's wheat, and they are +apt to make mistakes--some by too great leniency, and others by +excessive severity. Our poor judgments occasionally shut out saints, and +often shut in sinners. The angels will know their Master's property. +They know each saint, for they were present at his birthday. Angels know +when sinners repent, and they never forget the persons of the penitents. +They have witnessed the lives of those who have believed, and have +helped them in their spiritual battles, and so they know them. Yes, +angels by a holy instinct discern the Father's children, and are not to +be deceived. They will not fail to gather all the wheat and to leave out +every tare. + +But they are gathered under a very stringent regulation; for, first of +all, according to the parable, the tares, the false wheat, have been +taken out, and then the angelic reapers gather nothing but the wheat. +The seed of the serpent, fathered by Satan, is thus separated from the +seed of the kingdom, owned by Jesus, the promised deliverer. This is the +one distinction; and no other is taken into consideration. If the most +amiable unconverted persons could stand in the ranks with the saints, +the angels would not bear them to heaven, for the mandate is, "Gather +the wheat." Could the most honest man be found standing in the centre of +the church, with all the members round about him, and with all the +ministers entreating that he might be spared, yet if he were not a +believer he could not be carried into the divine garner. There is no +help for it. The angels have no choice in the matter; the peremptory +command is, "Gather _the wheat_," and they must gather none else. + +It will be a gathering from very great distances. Some of the wheat +ripens in the South Sea Islands, in China, and in Japan. Some flourishes +in France, broad acres grow in the United States; there is scarce a land +without a portion of the good grain. Where all God's wheat grows I +cannot tell. There is a remnant, according to the election of grace, +among every nation and people; but the angels will gather all the good +grain to the same garner. + +"Gather the wheat." The saints will be found in all ranks of society. +The angels will bring in a few ears from palaces, and great armfuls from +cottages! Many will be collected from the lowly cottages of our villages +and hamlets, and others will be upraised from the back slums of our +great cities to the metropolis of God. From the darkest places angels +will bring those children of sweetness and light who seldom beheld the +sun, and yet were pure in heart and saw their God. The hidden and +obscure shall be brought into the light, for the Lord knoweth them that +are his, and his harvestmen will not miss them. + +To me it is a charming thought that they will come from all the ages. +Let us hope that our first father Adam will be there, and mother Eve, +following in the footsteps of their dear son Abel, and trusting in the +same sacrifice. We shall meet Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, +and David, and Daniel, and all the saints made perfect. What a joy to +see the apostles, martyrs, and reformers! I long to see Luther, and +Calvin, and Bunyan, and Whitefield. I like the rhyme of good old father +Ryland: + + "They all shall be there, the great and the small, + Poor I shall shake hands with the blessed St. Paul." + +I do not know how that will be, but I have not much doubt that we shall +have fellowship with all the saints of every age in the general assembly +and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. + +No matter when or where the wheat grew, it shall be gathered into the +one barn; gathered never to be scattered; gathered out of all divisions +of the visible church, never to be divided again. They grew in different +fields. Some flourished on the hillside where Episcopalians grow in all +their glory, and others in the lowlier soil, where Baptists multiply, +and Methodists flourish; but once the wheat is in the barn none can tell +in which field the ears grew. Then, indeed, shall the Master's prayer +have a glorious answer--"That they all may be one." All our errors +removed and our mistakes corrected and forgiven, the one Lord, the one +faith, and the one baptism will be known of us all, and there will be no +more vexings and envyings. What a blessed gathering it will be! What a +meeting! The elect of God, the _élite_ of all the centuries, of whom the +world was not worthy. I should not like to be away. If there were no +hell, it would be hell enough to me to be shut out of such heavenly +society. If there were no weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, it +would be dreadful enough to miss the presence of the Lord, and the joy +of praising him forever, and the bliss of meeting with all the noblest +beings that ever lived. Amid the needful controversies of the age, I, +who have been doomed to seem a man of strife, sigh for the blessed rest +wherein all spiritual minds shall blend in eternal accord before the +throne of God and of the Lamb. Oh that we were all right, that we might +be all happily united in one spirit! + + +In the text there is next A WORD OF DESIGNATION. I have already +trespassed upon that domain. "Gather _the wheat_." Nothing but "the +wheat" must be placed in the Lord's homestead. Lend me your hearts while +I urge you to a searching examination for a minute or two. The wheat was +sown of the Lord. Are you sown of the Lord? Friend, if you have any +religion, how did you get it? Was it self-sown? If so, it is good for +nothing. The true wheat was sown by the Son of man. Are you sown of the +Lord? Did the Spirit of God drop eternal life into your bosom? Did it +come from that dear hand which was nailed to the cross? Is Jesus your +life? Does your life begin and end with him? If so, it is well. + +The wheat sown of the Lord is also the object of the Lord's care. Wheat +needs a deal of attention. The farmer would get nothing from it if he +did not watch it carefully. Are you under the Lord's care? Does he keep +you? Is that word true to your soul, "I the Lord do keep it; I will +water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day?" +Do you experience such keeping? Make an honest answer, as you love your +soul. + +Next, wheat is a useful thing, a gift from God for the life of men. The +false wheat was of no good to anybody; it could only be eaten of swine, +and then it made them stagger like drunken men. Are you one of those who +are wholesome in society--who are like bread to the world, so that if +men receive you and your example and your teaching they will be blessed +thereby? Judge yourselves whether ye are good or evil in life and +influence. + +"Gather the wheat." You know that God must put the goodness, the grace, +the solidity, and the usefulness into you, or else you will never be +wheat fit for angelic gathering. One thing is true of the wheat--that it +is the most dependent of all plants. I have never heard of a field of +wheat which sprang up, and grew, and ripened without a husbandman's +care. Some ears may appear after a harvest when the corn has shaled out; +but I have never heard of plains in America or elsewhere covered with +unsown wheat. No, no. There is no wheat where there is no man, and there +is no grace where there is no Christ. We owe our very existence to the +Father, who is the husbandman. + +Yet, dependent as it is, wheat stands in the front rank of honor and +esteem; and so do the godly in the judgment of all who are of +understanding heart. We are nothing without Christ; but with him we are +full of honor. Oh, to be among those by whom the world is preserved, the +excellent of the earth in whom the saints delight; God forbid we should +be among the base and worthless tares! + + +Our last head, upon which also I will speak briefly, is A WORD OF +DESTINATION. "Gather the wheat _into my barn_." The process of gathering +in the wheat will be completed at the day of judgment, but it is going +on every day. From hour to hour saints are gathered; they are going +heavenward even now. I am so glad to hear as a regular thing that the +departed ones from my own dear church have such joy in being harvested. +Glory be to God, our people die well. The best thing is to live well, +but we are greatly gladdened to hear that the brethren die well; for, +full often, that is the most telling witness for vital godliness. Men of +the world feel the power of triumphant deaths. + +Every hour the saints are being gathered into the barn. That is where +they want to be. We feel no pain at the news of ingathering, for we wish +to be safely stored up by our Lord. If the wheat that is in the field +could speak, every ear would say, "The ultimatum for which we are living +and growing is the barn, the granary." For this the frosty night; for +this the sunny day; for this the dew and the rain; and for this +everything. Every process with the wheat is tending toward the granary. +So is it with us; everything is working toward heaven--toward the +gathering place--toward the congregation of the righteous--toward the +vision of our Redeemer's face. Our death will cause no jar in our +life-music; it will involve no pause or even discord; it is part of a +programme, the crowning of our whole history. + +To the wheat the barn is the place of security. It dreads no mildew +there; it fears no frost, no heat, no drought, no wet, when once in the +barn. All its growth-perils are past. It has reached its perfection. It +has rewarded the labor of the husbandman, and it is housed. Oh, +long-expected day, begin! Oh, brethren, what a blessing it will be when +you and I shall have come to our maturity, and Christ shall see in us +the travail of his soul. + +I delight to think of heaven as _his_ barn; _his_ barn, what must that +be? It is but the poverty of language that such an expression has to be +used at all concerning the home of our Father, the dwelling of Jesus. +Heaven is the palace of the King, but, so far, to us a barn, because it +is the place of security, the place of rest for ever. It is the +homestead of Christ to which we shall be carried, and for this we are +ripening. It is to be thought of with ecstatic joy; for the gathering +into the barn involves a harvest home, and I have never heard of men +sitting down to cry over an earthly harvest home, nor of their following +the sheaves with tears. Nay, they clap their hands, they dance for joy, +and shout right lustily. Let us do something like that concerning those +who are already housed. With grave, sweet melodies let us sing around +their tombs. Let us feel that, surely, the bitterness of death is +passed. When we remember their glory, we may rejoice like the travailing +woman when her child is born, who "remembereth no more the anguish, for +joy that a man is born into the world." Another soul begins to sing in +heaven; why do you weep, O heirs of immortality? Is the eternal +happiness of the righteous the birth which comes of their death-pangs? +Then happy are they who die. Is glory the end and outcome of that which +fills our home with mourning? If so, thank God for bereavements; thank +God for saddest severings. He has promoted our dear ones to the skies! +He has blessed them beyond all that we could ask or even think; he has +taken them out of this weary world to lie in his own bosom for ever. +Blessed be his name if it were for nothing else but this. Would you keep +your old father here, full of pain, and broken down with feebleness? +Would you shut him out of glory? Would you detain your dear wife here +with all her suffering? Would you hold back your husband from the crown +immortal? Could you wish your child to descend to earth again from the +bliss which now surrounds her? No, no. We wish to be going home +ourselves to the heavenly Father's house and its many mansions; but +concerning the departed we rejoice before the Lord as with the joy of +harvest. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." + + + + + _Funk & Wagnalls' Important Publications._ + + + The Ethics of Marriage. + + BY H. S. POMEROY, M.D. + + Prefatory note by Thomas Addis Emmett, M.D., LL.D., and Introduction + by Rev. J. T. Duryea, D.D., of Boston. With an appendix showing the + laws of most of the States and Territories regarding certain forms of + crime. 12mo, cloth, 190 pp. Price, $1.00. + + The Author says in the preface: + + "The matters here treated have been on my heart for many years. + Heart-sickening facts have come to my notice within the past few + months, and I feel it my duty to send out this warning in regard to + what I consider the first and greatest danger of our family and + national life. I believe the prevention or destruction of unborn human + life to be, par-excellence, the American sin, and that, if not + checked, it will sooner or later be our calamity. This sin has its + roots in a low and false idea of marriage on the part of some, and in + others it is fostered by false standards of modesty." + + Chicago Journal says: + + "To the earnest man and woman everywhere, who has watched the reckless + manner in which marriages are contracted, the wicked way in which the + responsibilities are shifted and ignored, and the slow and sure + defilement of society because the criminal classes are allowed to + propagate their vile species, while Christian households and moral + parents ignore their duty to this and to the next world, this book is + almost like a voice from heaven." + + + A Man's Will. + + BY EDGAR FAWCETT. + + It presents pictures of New York life and shows the terribly degrading + effects of drunkenness in the upper ranks of society. A temperance + novel of surprising interest. 12mo, cloth, $1.50. + + The New York Press says: + + "The best temperance story published in many years, if indeed its + equal exists. The author, evidently conscious that his subject is one + on which too much cannot be said, and well aware that the sufferings + of alcoholic victims and all connected with them, are beyond + description, has grappled with his work in deadly earnest. Old and + young people ought to read and ponder over this good and brilliantly + prepared study." + + + + + _Funk & Wagnalls' Important Publications._ + + + Life of John B. Finch. + + BY FRANCES E. FINCH and FRANK J. SIBLEY. + + Mr. Finch was Right Worthy Grand Templar of I. O. G. T. of the World. + Will contain all his great temperance speeches. Introduction by Miss + Frances E. Willard; articles by Mrs. Woodbridge, Prof. Hopkins, + Senator Blair, etc., etc. Agents wanted. Numerous Illustrations. Steel + Portrait. Cloth, crown 8vo, 500 pages. Price, $1.50. + + "Good Templars will mourn his loss as irreparable."--_Gen. Clinton B. + Fisk._ + + "No man his equal as a speaker and organizer."--_Col. R. S. Cheves._ + + "An able and sincere man."--_Ex-Gov. Hoadly of Ohio._ + + + Prohibition Bells, + + And SONGS OF THE NEW CRUSADE. Compiled by the famous SILVER LAKE + QUARTETTE. Stirring words put to catchy music. Second edition. Paper, + 20 cents; board, 30 cents. Special rates on large quantities. + + "These bells are not muffled; they give out no uncertain sound. The + fifty-two notes are clear, high, piercing, pulse-quickening, + soul-uplifting; yet to the old parties, doubtless, very discordant. + They will be heard throughout the land, for they call to better, purer + living, both by the individual and the State. The book cannot but be a + _vade-mecum_ to every Prohibitionist organization, be it large or + small, for a song often wins a vote when an oration fails; and then + how tame is a campaign without music!" + + + The Supreme Court Decision. + + The Great Prohibition Decision announced by the Supreme Court of the + United States. With Introductions and annotations kindly furnished by + Hon. S. W. PACKARD of Chicago, Ill. 12mo, paper, 20 cents. + + Every Prohibitionist recognizes the extreme value of this pamphlet, as + it gives the conclusive testimony of the highest courts as to the + legality of Prohibition laws. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Talks To Farmers, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42518 *** |