MATTHEW Xiii. 22. "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, [and the lusts (or sinful desires of other things) entering in, Mark iv. 19.] choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful:" or, as St. Luke gives it," they bring no fruit to perfection."

can be

Now every labourer, though he may be ignorant in many things, knows this-that seed cannot grow, to do any good, among thorns, for he knows that the thorns will certainly choke its roots below the earth, and keep the air and light from its blade above the earth, and therefore that it never able to bear any fruit. Our Lord shows us what are these thorns, and that they are to be found in the lot both of the poor man and of the rich. Nothing but watchful care can keep them out. 'The poor man's toil is how to live at all, to keep hunger and nakedness from his door, to struggle for his daily bread;' these are cares indeed, and if they are not met in faith, they will crush and hinder the life of his soul. But there are in the rich man's lot cares as great, of which the poor man little dreams. That which our Lord well calls "the deceitfulness of riches," takes a thousand shapes, which choke the word of God and hinder its growth in the heart. The desire of riches is as a choking weed; with it the good seed cannot grow. The misuse of riches is a fearful sin. Selfishness, and pride, and vanity of heart, and the love of sinful pleasure, are thorns with which the word of God cannot grow, so as to bring forth fruit. Christ himself in another place has said, "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." And they who would receive the word of God in very truth, so as to bring forth the fruits of a good life, must instantly set about rooting up the thorns, casting all their care upon God, and whether in poverty or in riches, making His service their labour and their delight, for it is possible to be very poor, and yet free from

MARK IV. 8, 20. MATT. XIII. 23.

LUKE VIII. 15. 189

sinful care it is possible to be rich and not to be deceived, to be in this world, and not to be choked with its cares.

Blessed be God, all the good seed of the word is not lost. Our Saviour in this parable tells us, that

MARK iv. 8. "Other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased, and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred-fold."

And He explains the meaning of this in these words:

Verse 20.

"And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

In the words of Christ as given by St. Matthew, it is

MATTHEW Xiii. 23. "He that heareth the word, and understandeth it.'

And as St. Luke writes :

LUKE viii. 15. “They, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Here at last is a good soil fit for sowing, and in it, the seed takes root, grows, and brings forth fruit abundantly. But the good soil means an honest and good heart, that understands the value of the word; and receiving it, keeps it, and with patient perseverance brings forth the fruits of the religion which the word teaches. How is this? How can any heart be called good, before the word and the Spirit have made it so! And yet in the parable we read that the seed finds a good soil, and does not make it.* In man dwelleth no good thing, and "there is none good but God." How then do the Scriptures often

* Trench.

speak of "good men?" For this reason, that there always have been some who loved the darkness, because their deeds were evil, self-excusers, who called evil good, and good evil; and some, who like Matthew, and Zaccheus, confessed their deeds, justifying God; and like Nathanael, in whom Christ said there was no guile. Some there are, who, before they are taught, feel their need of being taught, for they have not resisted the grace of God that like the sunshine shines on all. Simple, truthful, and earnest, they are in a fit state to receive God's word, and it is sent unto them. Nothing makes us more clearly understand this, than the difference we feel there is between those who, for their souls' sake pressed to hear the words of the Lord Jesus, and those who watched His words that they might find in them something of which they might accuse Him, or who turned away from Him in careless scorn. The difference did not lie in their past lives, for some of those who gladly listened had been known sinners; it lay in the then present state of their hearts, which, under the image of a good soil, our Lord has shown was fit for sowing with the word of God, and would certainly bring forth good fruit. This is what He has called "an honest and good heart," and it is a comfort to know that the great sign of this state of heart, is to feel the need of being taught; for the hard soil may become soft, the shallow soil may become rich and deep, and the soil which has been beset with thorns may become open and clear; and when the seed of the word is once sown deeply in the heart of man, it has the power of giving life to itself, and so producing abundantly the fruits of holiness.

Two things we have to remember. The first thing is, and it is a solemn thought, that each of our hearts is soil which must be sown with the word of God, and that upon ourselves greatly depends the state in which that good seed shall find it; for is it not in our own power to prevent our hearts from being, like the way-side, hard trodden with worldly business?—Is it not in

our own power instead of being shallow and half-hearted, to be earnest and true in our secret trying after the things of religion, so that they may take deep root within us? Is it not in our own power to clear out the briars and thorns of this world's cares and pleasures, and to have our hearts in that state, which the Saviour calls "honest and good;" which will understand the word, receive it, and keep it, so that with patience we may bring forth the fruits of a good life?

It is true that this power is from God. So also is the sunshine and the shower, which comes down from heaven, alike on every soil. God never withholds from his creatures the power to serve Him if they will.

If we diligently attend to all this, we shall not be left untaught, and if we are taught of God, one of the fruits that we shall assuredly bear, is that which makes the second thing which should follow the rightly receiving this parable of our Lord Jesus Christ. This second thing is, to do all we can to help forward the sowing the good seed around us. No words of our's can be called good seed. No, it must be the word of God, and the sowing of this we ought to help forward by every means in our power. There are many means besides preaching, which belongs alone to God's appointed Ministers. We may all help to make ready the soil. We do so when we teach, or in any way help to teach little children and grown-up people how to read the Bible. We do so when we give Bibles and religious books, which show people how to watch their hearts. We do so, when we give as we are able, to help

*The giving of religious books has often been wonderfully blessed to the effectual sowing of the good seed of the word. Often has it lain long without sign of life, but it has taken root at last and brought forth abundant fruit. I remember a curious and very encouraging example of this. A long time ago, one friend gave to another a strikingly-written book explaining what Christianity really is. The book was carefully put away in a box, without being read, and it was forgotten. Many years afterwards, the box was accidentally opened, the book found, and without being read, given to another friend. This

forward the preaching of Christ's kingdom in our own country, and in far-off lands. Let us lay these things to heart, and earnestly pray for the blessing of God upon the soil and upon the seed.

ness.

Prayer.

O God, my heart is before thee. Make it as the garden of the Lord, rich and fruitful in every Christian grace. Fit and prepare me by thy Providence to receive the good seed of the word. Oh let not the world have power to tread down and harden the affections of my heart till it becomes like the common way-side, fit for nothing but the traffic of worldly busiSuffer not this to be. By whatever means thou seest needful, rouse up my soul to the great interests of the life that never ends, and open up the soil of my heart to receive the good seed of thy word. Let not Satan or his ministers of sin last read it, and was so much struck by its contents, that she gave it to a brother who was going to India, making him promise that he would read it. This brother was a young man of very uncommon talent, of fine mind, but of unsettled principle. His heart was softened by the natural grief of leaving home. The book showed him his own state as he was, and it showed him also what was the state he must attain, before he could bring forth fruits acceptable to God. The book was full of God's word, and it led him to the great storehouse of good seed, to the Bible itself. He studied it with deep self-abasement, and with fervent prayer. Before his long voyage was ended he was an altered man, a new creature. He had risen above the ambitions of earth. His only desire was to labour in God's vineyard. This it was not the design of the Allwise God he should live to do. But he lived long enough to be the means of turning many to righteousness. To every word that came from him to his faroff home, there was given a power to rouse and to convince. In his own family, to old and young, his letters were greatly blessed; and one, his most intimate friend, became through his means so impressed with the great truths of religion, that he too changed his views in life, and lived to carry out in the Ministry that labour in Christ's vineyard which death prevented the other from beginning. He died, blessing God for that little book that had been so long forgotten! Perhaps, though it has now given place in religious libraries to many others, it may be well to name it. It was "Bowman's First Principles of Christianity, in Letters addressed to a young man.”