The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 199

seed upward out of that thin, shallow soil, soon becomes hurtful because of that very shallowness of soil, where the root bas 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. 'l'he whole is a correct representation of those shallow, impulsive creatures who at once fa.II in with any current excitement, or are carried away by some shallow sensationalism. 2. Immediate and;'oyfulreception of the Word. 'fhis is the first particular which our Lord, in his exposition of this portion of the parable, specifies. 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, in- 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 neighbours; 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. 'l'hey 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 traveller be lore 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 fervour, 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 iu themselves," and so they "endure but for a time," or last only for a season (1rp&,r,,a.1po1). 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  190 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [oH. xv. 1-41.