Vers. 5, 6.-Spirit'll,(1,Z farming. Our Lord told the apostles that be would make them" fishers of men." We may hear him telling us that be will make us farmers of men; for there is much to be done in the way of sowing and reaping in spiritual husbandry. • I. THE son. OF THE HUMAN souL. That in which the sacred seed must be ca~t is the soul of man: not any one special part of it. Our appeal must be made to the entire nature--to the understanding, with all its powers of spiritual discernment, of reasoning, of memory, of anticipation; to the affections, which have gathered round objects that are unworthy of them, and that may be directed to the highest, even to God himself; to the will, which has, in the last resort, to determine whether or not we will choose Christ for our Saviour, and his service for our portion. We fail as Christian bosbandmen unless we direct our efforts to mind, heart, and will, when we work under our Master in these sacred fields. II. THE SEED OF DxvrnE TRUTH. 'fhe "precious seed" we have to eow is that truth which is distinctively Christian. We have to teach what Christ bas taught UH; we have to present him, himself, to the minds and hearts of men. The surpassing value of every human spirit in the sight of God; the yearning of the Divine Father over his absent children, and bis longing to welcome them to his heart and to bis home; the truth tbat Jesus Christ died for the ~ins of men, and now offers himself to all penitent souls as their Saviour and Lord; the great fact that every one who humbles bim~elf before God, and heartily accepts Jesus Christ for all he offers to be, is imme- diately and absolutely forgiven, and taken up into the loving and abiding favour of God; the promise of eternal life to those who are faithful unto death ;-these are the great truths which ."·e are charged to deliver, to implant into the soil of the human soul. III. THE SERVICE OF sowrno. 1. The spirit in which we should sow the seed is that of our Master himself-the spirit of tender interest, of brotherly affection, of an inexhaustible faith, of patient hope. 2. The methods we adopt are various; we may converse, or we may write the friendly letter, or we may print the elaborate treatise, or we may teach the Email group of boys or girls, or we may address the great congre- gation. 3. The conditions may be favourable or unfavourable. We may go forth hopefully, expecting great things; for we may know that the spirit of inquiry and receptiveness is prevailing. Or we may "go forth weeping;" we may "sow in tears;" we may be discoura"ed and disheartened, for we may fee.I that. the hearts nre bard, and the minds are dull, ~nd tbi purpose is set against the truth an-i t'!::a claims of God. IV. THE CERTAINTY AND THE JOY OF nEAPH!G. 1. "'\Ve have the definite promise of God: "They that ,JW in tears shall rc?.IJ in j0y," ek. (sec Isa. Iv. 10-13; 1 Cor, PB. OXXVI, 1-6.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 221
xv, 68). 2. We know that the truL11 of Jesus Christ is perfectly adapted to the needs an~ cravings of the human soul, and that the ~ivine Spirit has power to break the stomest heart o.nd to bow the mJst stubborn will, as well as to enlicrhten the darkest understanding. 3. We remember that the seed of truth may slumber in the soul for many years, and may yet prove to be fruitful of life. 4. We look forward to the hour, beyond the horizon of time, when we shall know that our labour was not in vain in the Lord. The farmer sows his seed, looking for rain and wind and sunshine, hoping for the harvest in the autumn: but he may be disappointed; there may come the blight, or the drought, or the flood, and his waggons may never "come a"ain " laden with the golden grain. But we who labour earnestly and prayerfully in :acred fields of usefulness, shall not be disappointed. The Divine promise will certainly be fulfilled; "our work sho.11 be rewarded;" "He that gocth forth ,veeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him,"