SERMON X.

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THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.

LUKE VIII. 5.

"A sower went out to sow his seed."

THIS is a well-known parable, and my remarks upon it shall be as brief and simple as possible; such as occur to the mind, when it is consecutively read; and such as I trust will be adapted to the circumstances and experiences of all, when they hear or read this portion of God's holy word.

Let us strive to keep before our eyes the different readings of this parable, as they are recorded in three of the gospels, namely, in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, in the fourth of Mark, and in the eighth of Luke. These three accounts, when carefully compared, throw much light upon each other: may the Lord be present with us, by his Spirit, while we meditate upon them

We have, in these passages of holy writ, four classes of hearers enumerated. Of the first it is said, "Some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it." In the explanation, our Lord says, "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts." St. Mark has it, "Satan cometh immediately;" and St. Matthew, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.” Let us not, however, suppose that this class of hearers understand nothing of what they hear if nothing was sown in their hearts, there would be nothing for satan to take away. Their condition

is forcibly expressed by St. Matthew, "they hear the word of the kingdom, and understand it not;" (i. e.) they enter not into the nature of Christ's spiritual kingdom. The beauty of true holiness, the grace of God in Christ,-and the real influences of his holy Spirit, these they understand not,-they have no right knowledge either of the law, of the gospel, or of themselves. If they did understand, they would believe,-and believing, be saved, as our Lord intimates in St. Luke. These careless hearers are sometimes stirred up a little in conscience, they feel that they are not right, that it must be an excellent thing to serve God, that sin is provoking to him, and dreadful in its consequences, and that there is a judgment day coming in which they must give an account of themselves to God. What, however, they really understand is confused, and small in quantity; yet they understand sufficient to disturb, at times, their carnal repose, and, like Felix, they tremble; but they do not understand all the depths of their disorder, still less how helpless they are in themselves, and least of all the way of recovery by Christ Jesus. Here we may remark how satan proceeds with his operations; and however apt we are to make light of his agency, yet what ready access he has to the human mind! There, he knows, the poison which, six thousand years ago, he infused into the hearts of our first parents, still rankles; and will, unless counteracted by divine grace, bring every soul of the sons and daughters of Adam into the same condemnation as himself. In every congregation where the word of gospel grace is attempted to be sown, there is he present, by himself or his emissaries, (we deny his ubiquity,) ready to catch away the good seed as it falls. Brethren, appalling thought!-he is present among us with his influences, he comes immediately,-he loses no time, he sees that hitherto careless hearer, who may, perchance at this moment, be partially awakened, and thinking seriously of his present state and condition, and the concerns of his precious and immortal soul.-Could we but see how he bestirs himself,

to quell the rising thoughts of contrition, and dissipate the attention of the careless one! we should, indeed, be greatly alarmed. Large as are his dominions, he is unwilling to lose a single subject. Let us beware, my beloved brethren, "lest satan should get an advantage over us: for," says the apostle, "we are not ignorant of his devices." On the present occasion, no doubt he will be ready to infuse into our minds other thoughts than our solemn assembling and meeting together requires;-namely, to confess our sins, and humble ourselves before the face of Almighty God, our Heavenly Father;-to praise him for his many and unmerited mercies, both temporal and spiritual;-"to hear his most holy word; and to ask such things as are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul." It is, I repeat it, an appalling thought to know, from the words of unerring truth, that there is present among us an enemy ever ready to distract our attention, to stifle our convictions, to hinder our prayers, and to catch away the word out of our hearts, lest we should thereby become wise unto salvation, through faith that is in Christ Jesus. Does it not therefore behoove us at all times, and more especially when we meet together to worship God, to take to ourselves "the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil ?" "For we wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness;"-or as it is in the margin, "against wicked spirits." Thus we perceive how peculiarly suitable and appropriate is our Lord's admonition,-"Take heed how ye hear."

Let us now consider the next case stated in the parable. "And some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture." These are they, "who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.' Such are unstable hearers, their natural affections are easily excited, they are moved even to tears by a strong

impassioned appeal, just appeal, just as the gay and thoughtless throng-the frequenters of theatres-are moved when they witness a solemn and tragic scene. Oh! say they, what a charming thing religion is !-what an eloquent preacher !-how sad that any should be so stupid, and blind, as not to receive these solemn truths! In short, they are quite delighted with it; on their first hearing the truths of the gospel, they receive them gladly. Such alas! understand not the holy and heavenly nature of the gospel ;-they are unacquainted with the cross that belongs to it ;-they are not rooted in a right apprehension of the grace of God in Christ, nor in any just sense of their own sinfulness, helplessness, and ignorance. In their way they believe for a time, yet not with that saving faith which lays hold of the Saviour, and secures his merits in their behalf: their temporary faith never leads to the saving of the soul. For a time they may appear as zealous and sincere christians as the best: their want of deepness of earth is the cause of their springing up so fast. Having experienced only a slight conviction of sin, and knowing little of the misery and helplessness of a fallen nature, they can show more joy and alacrity at the first than the best of christians.

How beautifully Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Progress, portrays such a character as this! If any have not read that interesting book, I would recommend them at once to do so, it is indeed an epitome of real experimental religion. A character there brought forward bears the name of Pliable, and very much resembles the stony ground hearers in the parable. He was delighted with the joys of heaven, and was desirous of moving faster forward in the way to it. "I cannot go so fast," says Christian, his companion, " because of the burden on my back." Assuredly, a truly humble soul cannot make such rapid advances in the way of godliness, as one of these precipitate, presumptuous hearers. Wait but a while, a time of trial comes,-persecution, affliction, temptation;-the cross is to be borne, difficulties to be endured. This inconstant one is selfish and worldly

minded, he has no true love to God and his Christ, and therefore in time of trial he falls away. Call you such as this christianity? Call you these the fruits of godliness? Call you this trusting and relying on God's word, and following its directions, through evil report and good report? It is like counterfeit money, it may resemble the current coin, but it is not of the genuine metal. In time of trial or persecution he will forsake the ways of his God, he will cling to the world, and show to all his want of a sincere root, by returning to sin and folly. Thus the stony ground hearer makes more hopeful advances than the way side hearer, but, like him, produces no fruit, and, becoming offended, falls away.

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The third case, however, seems to proceed still further, and yet believes not to salvation. We read, "And that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." St. Mark says, "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit And St. Matthew, "He also that received seed among the thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." We have here a picture of the worldly minded hearer. He is remarkably distinguished from the last described the inconstant hearer-by this, that he seems to go on in a uniform course of the profession of godliness to the end. He does not openly and plainly forsake the christian standard; you do not see him one while very zealous for godliness, and then openly forsaking it and living in direct opposition to his former professions, as with the stony ground hearer; he has some understanding, but not a divine and spiritual one. So true is it that no christianity will stand its ground against the wiles of the tempter, but that which has its seat equally in the understanding and in the heart. If we would be christians indeed, we must understand and be able to give a reason of the hope that is in us; and we must also be affected,