The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 367

ditions? Is the.t not coming down to lower principles upon the failure of higher principles? And Is it likely that these lower principles will be accompanied with the ea.me spiritual results? The apoatolic mode of aupport haa advantageafor the minister. He is put more on doing hie best. He is under less temptation to consult his ease, and under greater necessity to work for his people. He is under less temptation to preach according to his fancy, and under greater necessity to bind himself to the word that is most fitted to interest and to benefit. He is under less temptation to be indifferent to his people, and under greater necessity to live well in their affection. The apostolic mode of support has also advantages for the people, It delivers them from the feelin" of dependence on others. It delivers them from spiritual inertia. .And, 1'l'hen they be.ve a field for their own exertions and sacrifices in connection with the gospel message, they are more likely to be interested, both in the message and in the messenger. II. PRINCIPLE INVOLVED. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoeve,· a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap etemal life." It.is remarkable here how the apostle, in support of the particular duty which he has been inculcating, introduces a great and wide principle. There is a similar i~ste.nce in 2 Ocr. viii. He is inculcating there the duty of liberality, and he brings in the transcendent consideration of Christ's self-sacrificing love : " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich." Here he is inculcating the duty of the taught in the Word doing well by their teachers; and he brings in the great princ;:iple of sowing and reaping. The immediate application is this. There are certain conditio~ upon which God blesses congregations. One of these is that they do well by their ministers. Let them not, then, be deceived. God is not mocked. Let them not think that he will act independently of his own regulation, or reverse it for their particular benefit. Only as they do well by their spiritual teacher shall they prosper. What a powerful enforcement of the duty I But let us look at the principle in its generality, and let us learn, in connection with the consideration of it, lessons suitable to seed-time and harvest. 1. The sowBr is also the reaper. " ·whatsoever a man soweth, tliat shall he also reap. n The seed he puts into the ground he gets back in the form of fruit. Everywhere is this arrangement carried out. The seed, small and hard, or we.lied up in stone, or blown about, is, of all objects in nature, the most suggestive. Nature sows innumerable seeds, far up in rocky places, and far away in lonely islands of the sea. Me.n principally confines hiinself to the sowing of a. few seeds which are necessary for his life and would perish but for his care. A seed is a force, has power stored up in it which does not yet appear. It may be buried in the dry earth for centuries; but, under favouring conditions, it will burst forth, spring up, and come to maturity. And there. is what is analogous within the spiritual sphere. Ail human life is a sowing. Whether we think of it or not, every time that we think and feel and exercise our wills we are sowing. All our acts are forces, which unite and form che.re.cter. That is •the great harvest which even here we are reaping. Let us not, then, be deceived. God is not mocked. Let us not think that he will not do what he is constantly teaching us in nature. Let us not think that we can do an action and have done with it when it is done. It is impossible. Even our slight words are forces that are productive. Our listless moods will be found by us again. As certainly as we sow-shall there appear a harvest. 2. Wereapinthesamekindthatwesow. "Whatso- ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." We are familiar with this too in nature. If we sow in our flower-plots mignonette seed, there will grow up mignonette plants. If we sow in our fields oats, there will not grow up barley; if we sow barley, there will not grow up wheat. The type of what is sown is impressed on what is produced from it. And the analogy is carried out within the spiritual sphere. We reap in the same kind that we sow. The character of our actions is stamped upon the results that they produce in our nature. We are only liberal as we have acted liberally. \Ve are only :levout as we have cultivated devout habits. Wisdom does not spring from the same kind of seed as zeal; nor [:?;entleness from the same kind of seed as courage. Whatever fruit we would have, we must sow in that kind. Let us not, then, be deceived. God is not mocked. Let us not think that he will disregard his own appointment-like seed, like harvest. Let us-not think that we can sow niggardliness and reap fatness;  THE EPISTLE 'I'O '1'HE GALATIANS.' [tn. VI, 1-19,