6. Satan's object in all this. This object is plainly stated in the words, "lest they should believe and be saved," or, as the Revised Version renders them, "that they may not believe and be saved." Here we have the whole plan of salvation in the briefest form; here we have the system of Divine grace for saving the souls of men. Here, too, we have the subject, the object, the instrument, and the result. The subject is every one on whose heart the seed of Divine truth is sown; the object to be accepted by faith is that truth; that faith, again, is the instrument; while salvation is the grand result. The object offered for our belief is the Word of God; the means by which we embrace that Word is faith; and the final and blessed end is salvation. Reader, this Word is now presented to you, and even pressed on your acceptance; if you prefer remaining in ignorance of it, or refuse to believe it, or neglect to apply it, and so fail to feel its saving efficacy, and obey, and enjoy it; then do you judge yourself unworthy of everlasting life, reject the offer of mercy, and put away from you the means—the only means of salvation. If when the truth of God, with its sanctifying and saving influences, is sown on your heart, you allow Satan to snatch it away, or, what amounts to the same thing, to occupy your mind with other topics, or divert your attention from it, or perhaps provoke your hostility against it, then will the end which should be the salvation of your soul remain unattained!
V. PRACTICAL LESSONS.
1. We learn from all this the great sin of carelessness, heedlessness, and thoughtlessness, or rather thinking of other things, when the Word of God is being read or preached.
2. We learn the necessity of careful preparation for Divine ordinances. If we would hear the Word of God with profit, we must supplicate the Spirit of God to prepare our hearts to receive the Word, and to enlighten our minds to understand it, and to bring it home to our souls in demonstration and power.
3. We learn the importance of withdrawment from worldly thoughts as well as worldly business, of spending the morning of the sabbath in religious exercises and hallowed engagements, of avoiding idle gossip and all trifling conversation, and also of watchfulness against vain thoughts and wandering thoughts and sinful thoughts when in the house of God, so that Satan may neither hinder the work of God in, nor snatch the Word of God out of, our hearts.
4. Three processes are thus indispensable—breaking up the fallow ground by previous preparation, covering the seed sown by subsequent meditation and faithful pleading for the dews of Divine grace to water the seed sown, as well as taking earnest heed that we do not let it slip.
VI. THE STONY-GROUND HEARERS.
1. Their shallowness. The first characteristic of such is their shallowness. This is better expressed by rocky ( πετρῶδες),than stony ground. The first class of hearers had no receptivity in consequence of their heart being so hard, and the traffic along its thoroughfare so continuous. The seed falling on its surface lay there, was instantly trodden down, and immediately taken away by the evil one himself or some of his numerous emissaries. Now, this second class of hearers is so far superior to the former that they possess receptivity, but only to a limited extent. The surface of this soil is soft, it is true, but shallow. A soil may be stony in the proper sense; the stones may be small and loose; they may be tolerably close together or considerably apart. In either case the plant makes way in the inter-spaces, and roots itself where there is sufficient depth of earth. The present case is different. The ground is in the strict sense rocky; the rock—the limestone rock which prevails so extensively in Palestine—reaches the surface and comes fully into view, or is only covered and concealed from the eye by a sparse and shallow sprinkling of earth. Seed sown on such soil soon springs up, quickened into vegetation and warmed into life by the heat of an Eastern clime; and all the more so as the plant, when impeded in its development downward, would, by curious plant-instinct, the more rapidly propagate itself upward. But the very heat that helps the rapid springing of the seed upward out of that thin, shallow soil, soon becomes hurtful because of that very shallowness of soil, where the root has no room for healthy development, and finds no moisture to invigorate its growth and counteract the excess of heat. Soon as the plant has sprung up and the sun has risen upon it, it is scorched. The sun's heat, so beneficial to a strongly rooted plant, is thus most prejudicial to that of which the root is not sufficiently developed. The whole is a correct representation of those shallow, impulsive creatures who at once fall in with any current excitement, or are carried away by some shallow sensationalism.
2. Immediate and joyful reception of the Word. This is the first particular which our Lord, in his exposition of this portion of the parable, specifics. Those who hear the Word in this way are in advance of that large portion of the population, sometimes called the lapsed masses, who never enter the house of God, nor wait at the posts of wisdom's doors to hear what God the Lord will say to their souls. They are also in advance of those who do indeed frequent the house of God, but who, like the wayside hearers, from carelessness, heedlessness, difference, inattention, and the indulgence of vain, wandering, and sinful thoughts, are entirely irreceptive, never admitting the Word into their understanding or minds at all. They are in advance of those too who, though they attend the public worship of God, do so only as a matter of form, and regard it as a piece of decent drudgery, to which the force of public opinion, or compliance with the wishes of friends, or a notion of respectability, obliges them to submit. The persons referred to hear the Word with a large amount of satisfaction, and so far they are considerably ahead of multitudes of mankind and of many of their neighbors; yet they fail miserably at the end, and fall short of heaven. They receive it anon, at once, and without hesitancy or delay; but they are somewhat precipitate in their reception of it; they do not take time to "mark, learn, and inwardly digest" it. They receive it readily, neither "proving all things" nor" holding fast that which is good." They receive it with pleasure, but without profit. They receive it as an intellectual treat or literary enjoyment, but there its influence is at an end. They receive it with mental approbation, but, though gratified with it, they are neither guided nor governed by it. They receive it with eagerness as the good Word of God, and it is sweet to their taste; but it does not check their beloved lusts and besetting sins, nor change their evil habits and ungodly lives. Or, if it do produce any change, that change is merely transient. Their goodness is like the morning cloud, now careering it in the vault of heaven, and for a short time visible as a rain-cloud, then vanishing without the promised shower—a moment seen, then gone for ever; or like the early dew-drops scattered as pearls upon the grass, and sparkling in the morning sun, but brushed away by the foot of the passing traveler before it reaches the earth to moisten its surface or fructify its soil. But how or why is this? How is it possible that persons may receive the Word with gravity and solemnity, with frequency and apparent fervor, with eagerness and gladness, and yet without any beneficial effect or abiding result? Because they do not receive it with faith, and therefore "the Word does not profit, not being mixed with faith in them that hear it?'
3. They want root. The secret of unsuccess here is want of root; "they have no root in themselves," and so they "endure but for a time," or last only for a season ( πρόσκαιροι). The seed falling on the surface soon penetrates the thin layer of soil, but when it has pierced through that shallow covering, it comes upon the hard, impenetrable rock. It can go no further; it can neither go round that stratum of rock nor enter it. So with the seed of the Divine Word when sown on rocky hearts. It has no real root in them, and so it dies away and is soon gone; it has no root in the judgment, and so there can be no fixed principles of life or action; it has no root in the understanding, and so there are no clear conceptions of truth nor correct apprehensions of duty; it has no root in the will, and so the will remains without proper restraint and right direction; it has no root in the affections, and so no habits of goodness are properly formed or of permanent continuance; it has no root in the conscience, and so no regulative force is exercised over that vicegerent of God in the heart of man; it has no root in the memory, and, as a matter of course, it is either consigned to oblivion or is only remembered as the sound of a pleasant song. The tender plant cannot penetrate the hard rock nor root itself in the unyielding limestone; it is no wonder, then, that the rootless plant cannot in any case exist for long, much less resist for any considerable time the scorching rays of the midday sun. There is
(1) no fixity in the root and no firmness in the stem. See the languishing aspect of that lovely floweret which has been uprooted from the genial soil of its parent earth; how soon it droops and dies! Compare it with the plant, or shrub, or tree fast rooted in the earth. Look at you old oak tree deep moored in the rifted rock; it is subjected to every blast; it is assailed by every storm, fretted by every gust of heaven, and exposed to every wind that blows. The wind has bent it, but never broken it; the storm has shaken it, but could never uproot it; the tempest assailed it, but it has withstood the shock. Centuries have rolled over its aged top and widespread branches, but time has only left it sturdier than ever—deeper rooted than before. "Woodman, spare that tree," for the strength of wind and the stress of weather have proved its deep-rooted stability—firm as the rock in which it is rooted, and immovable as the everlasting hill of which that rock is a part. May the Word of the eternal God take root in our hearts, and, when so rooted, may it gradually attain a greater depth of soil; and may the Spirit of the living God enable us, by meditation, prayer, self-examination, and closer communion with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to maintain to the end such deep-rooted strength and Christian stability! But the root serves another purpose, for not only does it give fixity and firmness to the plant, it is
4. A temporary semblance of life. "For a while they believe," or for a season they endure. We have seen a young twig sprout seemingly verdant and vigorous from the lifeless trunk; and so for a while a plant may appear to have life, while it is virtually dead. For a while it may seem even to flourish, where the root is dying or already dead, and where the source of life and vigor, as well as the means of communicating it, are wanting. Just so is it in things spiritual: men may for a while have a name to live, while yet they are dead; the blade of profession may be green, while the root of grace may be withered or wanting; men may profess much and seem to practice what they profess, while that profession is hollow and that practice heartless; there may be a beautiful blossom and a fair flower, and yet no fruit ever come to maturity or even come forth at all. Without the power of life in the root there is no vital principle, no genuine practice, and therefore no final perseverance. But to put the case more practically, there may be both conviction and confession of sin, and yet no conversion. Felix trembled when St. Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come;" but yet to St, Paul, after his powerful sowing of the heavenly seed, the answer was, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." There may be a commendable disposition to hear God's Word and so receive the seed; there may be many good resolutions formed, and yet the result may be the same as in the case of Agrippa, when he said to St. Paul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian;" still the almost Christian, as the old divines used quaintly yet truly to say, is only almost saved. Men may not only wait on the ordinances of religion with satisfaction, listen to the gospel with pleasure, and receive the preached Word with gratification and gladness, but also reform much in life and conduct, just as it is written of Herod, that he" feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him he did many things, and heard him gladly;" and yet the end may be no better than that of that wicked and unhappy monarch.
5. The testing-time. A time of temptation or trial cometh—"tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word." Here we have the genus and the species very clearly set before us; the trial in general and its specific kinds. The trial is of a hostile kind and the two sorts of it are distinctly stated, namely, personal affliction within, and persecution without. The affliction or painful pressure is such as comes upon us in connection with our own individual circumstances, and may affect us in soul, body, or estate. The persecution is that which assails us from without. But why is this? Why does this persecution arise? "Because of the Word." The world hates God's Word, because the holy doctrines of that Word are opposed to and condemn the unholy principles of the world, and because the pure precepts of that Word are contrary to and rebuke the unrighteous practices of the world. The carnal mind hates the Word, for that Word exposes and reprobates its sinful and shocking enmity to God. The flesh hates the Word, because that Word denounces "those fleshly lusts that war against the soul," and commands men to "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts." The sinner hates the Word, for the principles of that Word are the means which the Spirit employs to reprove him, as well as "convince him of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." Every unrenewed heart and every unregenerate soul hates the Word, because the Law of God, which it contains, is holy and just and good—exceeding "spiritual," and its "commandments are exceeding broad." Satan hates the Word, because it is "the sword of the Spirit" by which he is vanquished, by which souls are rescued from his grasp, and the destroyer deprived of his prey. Hell hates the Word, for where that Word is unknown, or unread, or unpractised, hell enlarges itself beyond measure. Hence it is that tribulation and persecution arise because of the Word.
6. Their failure in the day of trial. "Immediately they are offended"—scandalized; that is to say, a stumbling-block is laid in their way, and they fall over it. After a season of special privileges and gracious influences, a time of trial may be expected to come, in order to prove the sincerity of professors and the genuineness of their religion. After such a period a testing-time may be looked for, and then it is seen who in reality have the root of the matter in them. Persecution is like the heat of the sun's rays, and this indeed is the figure which our Lord himself employs in this parable. If the plant be well rooted, the heat of the sun exercises a genial influence on it, promoting its growth and bringing it to maturity. Once the Word of God has struck deep root and become firmly rooted in our hearts, the clouds of adversity may roll over us, the tempest of persecution rage around us, and the storms of temptation beat at our feet; yet the firmness of our attitude shall defy the storm, and the fixity of our root shall be strengthened instead of shaken. The tree rooted in the rock may be uptorn, the grey rock of centuries may itself be upheaved by the earthquake; the oaks of Bashan may be uprooted, and the cedars of Lebanon may be rent and riven by the lightning of heaven; the mountains may shake with the swelling of the waters, and the solid earth itself be removed from its deep foundations; yet, with the seed of truth fast rooted in the heart, and the heart itself grounded in love, the believer stands unmoved, unterrified, and unhurt. He stands like the spectator on the high summit of a lofty mountain that seems to pierce the clouds; he hears the hoarse and dreadful roarings of the storm far below him; he sees the broad and vivid flashes of the lightning glare beneath him; and listens to the "live thunder as it leaps far along from peak to peak among the rattling crags." The eminence he occupies elevates him above the storm; the firmness of his position secures him against its fury; the storms of an angry world may rage, but he is rooted. How different it is with plants where there is no deepness or depth of earth, where there is lack of moisture, and where the root is deficient or defective! The sun's heat scorches them, and they wither. Thus it ever is: the Word of God is either "the savor of life unto life," or "of death unto death;" Christ crucified is to "the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." So is it with trial, whether tribulation or persecution; while it only confirms the faithful and leaves them more firmly rooted, it becomes an occasion of stumbling and even of final apostasy to the unfaithful who have no root in themselves. The trials, that help the believer onward to an "exceeding and eternal weight of glory," are such a hindrance in the way of the barren professor that he is offended and falls away. "The same fire," says Augustine, "turns straw into ashes, and takes away the dross from gold."
7. Final apostasy. "They fall away. How sad this statement! "They fall away," that is finally. Such is the closing scene! Many a one runs well for a time, but something hinders him, and then he stumbles and finally falls! Many a one, who bade fair to be the Lord's in the great "day when he maketh up his jewels," thus falls away and sinks into apostasy! Many a one, who appeared to be so running that he might obtain the incorruptible crown in company with the pure and holy, falls away from these high hopes and glorious prospects, and perishes for ever! Alas! how dreadful the thought of having a reward so rich in prospect, a diadem so bright in anticipation, an inheritance so incorruptible to look forward to, and yet of finally and for ever falling away and forfeiting all!
VII. PRACTICAL LESSONS.
1. Warned by all this, we are surely called on solemnly to consider how we hear, and carefully examine our motives as well as our manner of hearing.
2. We should ever have in recollection the Scripture admonition in reference to such matters, which says, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
3. We must not be content with a certain change of conduct and conversation; this may last for a time, but, unless the heart be changed, there is no permanence in the change. Unless there is the root of faith, there can never be the real fruit of righteousness.
4. We are warned to expect trial. "All who wilt live godly in Christ Jesus" must be prepared for it. But, instead of being discouraged thereby or deterred from the path of duty, we must rather rejoice as the apostle directs, saying, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [or trials];" and again, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."
5. We must beware of being turned aside from the path of duty, or from the study of God's Word, or from prayer, or from the worship of the sanctuary, or from religious service of any kind, either by sneers or taunts, or by unkindness or even persecution on the part of the ungodly. By doing so we prove ourselves of those here represented by the rocky ground.
6. What need we have earnestly to seek the aid of the Holy Spirit to preserve us from an evil and hard heart of unbelief, in which the seed of God's Word can neither take root nor grow!
VIII. THE THORNY GROUND.
1. Superiority to the two preceding. "Some fell among thorns." Now, we have, in the descriptions of the several kinds of ground, an ascending climax. In the first the seed lies on the surface, and never enters the soil at all, and by such are understood the unenlightened or unintelligent hearers. In the next the seed finds its way into the soil, but that soil is so shallow and so sparse—a mere thin coating on a rock—that the progress of the root downward is soon prevented by the hard, opposing, impenetrable rock: by these conditions are represented the superficial hearers or readers of God's Word. We now enter on a third stage upward. The seed, instead of lying on the surface, or remaining rootless in the layer of mould thinly spread upon a rock, has good soil to sustain it, and takes root therein; but the soil, though of itself good enough sad deep enough, suffers from preoccupation; thorns, or roots of thorns, have found a place in it: by this description worldly hearers are meant.
2. The growth of the thorns. We are not to understand full-grown thorns, but thorn roots that had been left in the ground through defective tillage. Proper culture would have completely eradicated them. On the contrary, these thorns grew up along with the sprouting seed ( συμφυεῖσαι), and quite choked it. The thorns overtopped the young plant that sprang from the good seed; in this way they over-shadowed it, shutting out at the same time both light and air; while a still worse consequence ensued from their roots absorbing the nourishment furnished by the soil, and withdrawing it from the tender plant. The inevitable result was, by robbing it of the strengthening nutriment afforded by the richness of the soil and moisture, to reduce it to a thing of sickly, stunted growth.
3. The signification of the thorns. Our Lord, in his interpretation of this part of the parable, shows us that by the thorns we are to understand cares and riches, according to the first Gospel; while a third element is added by St. Luke, namely, "the pleasures of life;" and by St. Mark under the still more general expression of "the lusts of other things." All classes of society are comprehended here; all sides of human life are here exhibited. The poor and rich here, as elsewhere, meet together. The third class, embracing such as are devoted to the pleasures of life, or who are concerned about lustings after other things, may be regarded either as a distinct class, or may be reckoned as a sub-class under either the poor or rich; especially the latter, inasmuch as the poor have often as keen a desire for pleasure, and as much zest in pleasure, as the rich, but without equal means of gratification.
4. How thorny cares choke the seed of God's Word. The cares referred to are distracting cares—anxieties pulling a man like so many cords in different directions. When such harassing cares come into conflict with thoughts about the things of God, the man in whose breast such a struggle is going on must needs be a double-minded man, in the sense of his heart being divided between God and the world. The cares here mentioned are more particularly such as distress the poor. With many the struggle for daily bread is a severe one—the battle a hard one. To provide food and raiment, a suitable place of abode, and proper education for the members of a household, with requisite preparation for their business in life or special life-work, whatever it is to be, demands a certain amount of careful attention. Nor is this anywhere forbidden in the Word of God; nay, it is commanded. We are required to "provide things honest in the sight of all men;" to be "not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;" while it is added that "if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Besides such domestic duties, there are social duties, and personal individual duties, which we are bound to discharge as individuals and as members of society, as well as those which belong to us in our family relations. For the faithful and efficient discharge of such duties care and thought must be employed, time and pains expended.
5. Two extremes to be avoided. But, while carelessness about duties of the kind specified is sinful, there is another and opposite extreme, which our Lord deemed it necessary to rebuke by two most beautiful comparisons—the fowls of the air and the flowers of the field; the birds which in such multitudes frequented the lake and plain of Gennesaret, and the flowers which in such variety and surpassing loveliness clothed with spring beauty the hillsides of Galilee. It is our heavenly Father who clothes the one and feeds the other, thus caring for both. How much more will he take care of his children by redemption and adoption as well as by creation! "If," says an old divine, in his own plain and pithy way, "our heavenly Father feeds his birds, he will never starve his babes." God will have us cast our care upon him; he will have us feel convinced that he careth for us; he will have us to be "careful"—that is, anxiously careful—"for nothing, but in everything"—little as well as great, momentous or minute—"by prayer and supplication … make our requests known unto God." In this way, avoiding either extreme—that of criminal carelessness on the one hand, and that of corroding carefulness or over-anxiety on the other, and ever by prayer rolling our burden over on the Lord, we get rid of those thorny cares that choke and strangle the growth of the good seed in our hearts. Worldly objects do claim a due share of attention, worldly duties must not be neglected; but heavenly subjects are of paramount importance, and heavenly interests bear the same ratio to earthly that heaven itself does to earth, or eternity to time. Thorns served for fences, and in some places separated the fields in Palestine, as we infer from Micah (Micah 7:4), where the prophet uses the comparison of "a thorn hedge." They were useful, therefore, in their own way and in their own place for fences in fields, but most baneful when left to grow up in fields of corn, or grain, or other crops. So with worldly cares; they have their place. Of course, by worldly cares we do not mean those anxieties which are strictly forbidden under all circumstances, but only that amount of attention that is required for the right discharge of the worldly duties that devolve upon us. Anything beyond this is injurious to our best and highest interests. Uneasy, anxious cares, like the thorns among the growing grain, choke the Divine Word and strangle the springing plant of grace. Such cares, when yielded to or indulged in, interfere unduly with those thoughts and feelings and affections that are claimed, and justly claimed, by the lessons of God's Word. Things present take the place of things everlasting; anxieties about our worldly affairs crush out altogether, or leave little room for, spiritual concerns. The thorns of this parable are represented as encroaching on the good seed, and usurping the place which of right belongs to the useful plant; so these cares of the present world, if allowed, are sure to usurp the place that belongs to the world to come. The thorns took away from the seed-root, and drew to themselves the nourishment of the rich soil; so the concernments of a passing and perishing world take away our thoughts from God and heaven and eternity. The things that are seen and temporal withdraw our attention from things unseen and eternal. The body and its wants take the place of the soul and its necessities. Exertions and energies that should be devoted to higher and spiritual objects are squandered on the trifles of earth and sense. Under such conditions and in such circumstances the seed of the Word sown in the heart necessarily becomes unfruitful. The soil may be excellent, the seed may be carefully sown, the Word faithfully ministered, it may, moreover, take root and grow; but the thorns deprive it of its proper nourishment, its growth is obstructed, the plant becomes weak and sickly; without strength or vigor it can yield no fruit. It may have stem, and leaf, and bud, and blossom, and growth to a certain extent, but it brings no fruit to perfection or maturity ( οὐ πελεσφοροῦσι). In such hearers of the Word there is no fruit of the Spirit, no Christian grace, no works of faith, or deeds of charity, or labour of love in any direction; "it becometh unfruitful."
6. Another class of thee mental thorns. With the Cares of this world our Lord classes riches, as another division of the thorns of this parable. There is nothing, sinful in riches when honestly acquired or justly inherited, and when at the same time they are rightly used. We read of the father of the faithful himself that he was "rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Two circumstances make the possession of riches to be perilous. The circumstances referred to are the love of riches and the abuse of riches. "The love of money," we read, "is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows;" or, according to the Revised Version, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows;" and hence it is that they occupy the thoughts and engross the affections to the exclusion of the lessons of inspired truth—the precepts of the Law and the promises of the gospel. They pierce and pain, moreover, like the pricking of thorns. What sorrow as well as solicitude they occasion! Men set their minds to work, and perplex themselves with plans to obtain them, and minds thus preoccupied have no room-left for better objects and holier pursuits; men torture themselves most unwarrantably in order to increase them and augment their store; men are distressed with restless schemes in order to retain secure possession of them; men, again, are so in love with them that they cannot bear to part with them, or share them with others for the noblest purposes—religious, educational, or charitable, nor even for the means of profiting their own souls. When the love of riches thus dominates the heart, and when such plans and projects regulate its thoughts and rule its affections, no wonder that such bushy and prickly thorns choke out ( ἀπεπνίξαν), or crushing together suffocate ( συμπνίγουσι) and stifle the seeds or plants in their growth.
7. "The deceitfulness of riches." Both St. Matthew and St. Mark mention this characteristic of riches. How often does it occur that men rise up early, sit up late, and eat the bread of carefulness with the hope of becoming rich; but the wealth they are in quest of, like some phantom form, eludes their grasp. Wealth, just as the meteor of the marsh, leads them till it leaves them in the quagmire, deluded, deceived, disappointed. They die neither rich in worldly goods, nor rich toward God. Again, men struggle long and hard for many years, and at length succeed in amassing wealth ( πλοῦτος, from the root πλε entering into the verb "to fill," the noun "multitude," and the word "wealth," in Greek), and in scraping together much of this world's goods; but scarce has their object been attained, their hopes realized, when, lo! through some untoward event, such as a conflagration, the breaking of a bank, or a robbery, their riches "make to themselves wings and fly away;" and thins they are deceived by a fluctuating, vanishing possession, for the attainment of which they have strained every power of mind and body, to the entire neglect of the soul and spiritual things. Once more, we can well suppose the case of men succeeding in the race for riches, and retaining in security the fruits of their labour. But by this time they are no longer young; desire has failed, the power of enjoyment has ceased; the advance of age, with its accompanying decay and decrepitude, kept pace with the accumulation of wealth; and now in the end, after years of toil, they have no relish for the enjoyments they had anticipated; they have experienced "the deceitfulness of riches," and, what is worse, their heart is now hard, their conscience seared, the seed of truth has been so long stifled, and its instructions so long suffocated by the crowding thoughts of wealth. Further, riches deceive by their promises. They promise happiness, but instead of happiness they often bring miserable apprehensions; they promise peace of mind, but they often prove the chief disturbers of that peace; they promise contentment, but the craving for more produces restlessness and dissatisfaction; they promise to lighten the burdens of life, but they frequently superadd a crushing load of care to all its other burdens; they promise relief from care, but it is as true now as in the poet's day, that "black care mounts behind the knight." The seed of the Word may be sown on the rich soil of a young, warm heart, it may strike root deeply downward, it may develop a tender stem and green leaf upward, it may struggle for light and air, but in vain! These thorns rob the root of nourishment, and shut out the genial sunlight and healthy atmosphere from the top; and though there may be foliage, there is no fruitage. If, then, poverty distresses with its cares and distracts by its anxieties, riches may divert the mind by their abundance and deceive by their promises; in either case, the Word may be unfruitful, the life barren, heaven missed, salvation lost, and the soul ruined.