impress Divine truth upon the human heart, that sower soweth the Word. 2. The husbandman should perfectly understand the nature and quality of the seed, and of the soil, and the proper adaptation of the one to the other. And he that Sows the Word should be experimentally acquainted with the truth which he sows. He ought to be a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost, and mighty in the Scriptures. And if he intends to be a successful sower, that is, if he would have a good, moral crop, he must study the human heart, and the best way of access to it 3. The husbandman is entirely dependent upon the blessing of God for a crop. His seed and his ground may be good, and he may be a very dexterous seedsman; but if Providence does not bless the earth with refreshing showers, and fruitful seasons, his labour will be in vain. So it is with the sower of the Word. He may have his memory well stored with Divine truth, and he may deliver it with all the eloquence of which he is master, and enforce it by every possible argument and persuasion, but yet, except the heat of the Holy Spirit cause it to germinate, and the showers of Divine grace sweetly descend upon it, and the rays of the Sun of Righteousness ripen and mellow it, there will be no fruit for the great moral harvest. 4. But although the husbandman feels his dependence upon God, yet he sows in hope and confidence. As he casts the seed into the ground, he is aware that some of it will be lost, but still he does not fear that that circumstance will affect or hinder the general crop. He is as confident of a crop as if he already beheld it springing up green at his feet. Such ought to be the confidence of him that soweth the Word. The operations of grace are as uniform and certain as those of Providence; and those who in faith and hope sow plentifully shall reap also plentifully. The sower must expect that all will not receive the truth. Out of the four different kinds of ground into which the seed fell, three were unproductive; but still this did not prevent a bountiful harvest. Therefore, "in the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand, for thou knowest not whether shall prosper-either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good;" Eccles. xi, 6. III. The soil, or those who hear the Word. 1. "Some seeds fell by the way-side, and the fowls came and devoured them up." And thus saith the Lord :-"When any one heareth the Word of the kingdom, and understandeth or regardeth it not, then cometh the wicked one; Matt. xiii, 19; Satan; Mark, iv, 15; the devil; Luke, viii, 12, to such persons, and taketh away the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe, and be saved." It is worthy of remark that the three evangelists should use each a different appellative of this mortal enemy of mankind, probably to show that the devil, with all his powers and properties, opposes everything that tends to the salvation of the soul. This class of hearers are they who receive seed by the wayside. Their careless hearts are as an open road, where evil affections, and foolish and hurtful desires continually pass and repass without either notice or restraint. Amongst these the Word is sown; but although it is the Word of Life, they do not esteem nor receive it. Their hearts are permitted and encouraged to wander at pleasure, and are receiving other impressions. A strange face, or a new dress, is sufficient to divert their attention; and hence, while in the very act of hearing “the Word of the kingdom," their hearts are ingress, egress, regress, and progress for the devil; in a word, they are the devil's thoroughfare, out of which he takes care to drive the Word. My friend, is this your way of hearing? 2. Some seed "fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away." "And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended." This class of hearers listen with attention, anon with joy receive the Word. They are smitten with the beauty and excellency of Divine truth, yet have they not root in them selves; their knowledge and experience are but superficial; they have not thoroughly considered their own. depravity and weakness, the requirements of the Saviour, and the difficulties of the way; hence they endure but for a time; when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word, immediately they are offended. Have you been thus turned out of the way? 66 3. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit." "And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the Word; and the cares of this world entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful." These hear and receive the truth; they count the cost, and are willing to submit to the ordeal of self-denial, and endurance of every opposition and hardship. But what the frowns of the world cannot achieve is effectually accomplished by its smiles and attachments. Worldly cares, riches, and pleasures, choke the Word, and it becometh fruitless, and dieth away. Dear reader, since you heard and received the Word with gladness, have riches increased? and have you set your heart upon them? and have they allured, and distracted, and fascinated your mind, and choked the Word? Then you are not now a child of God; for whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Repent, and do your first works, and return to your God, and love not the world; for if you do, be sure of this-the love of the Father is not in you. But other seed "fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased." And these are they which receive seed into good ground, such as hear the Word, and receive it into honest and good hearts, and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred. These hear with attention and desire, receive with gladness and humility, retain with diligence and watchfulness, and bring forth fruit to perfection, namely, the fruit of the Spirt-love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, and temperance; Gal. v, 22. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Let every person who feels the necessity of being instructed in the things which concern the present and eternal welfare of his soul, pay attention to this most expressive and interesting parable, and he will become wise unto salvation. O multiply the sower's seed! And fruit we every hour shall bear; We all, in perfect love renew'd, Shall know the greatness of Thy pow'r; As pillars, and go out no more. THE ANCIENT ORDER OF DETECTIVES. NUM. XXXII, 23. "Be sure your sin will find you out.” As the children of Israel, in journeying to the promised land, approached the Jordan, the Reubenites and Gadites, observing the fertility of the lands of Jazer and Gilead, which lay on the eastern banks of that river, besought Moses to allot them their inheritance in that fruitful soil. Their leader naturally enough attributed this choice to motives of selfishness and cowardice; and he said unto them,-" Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here ?" But they came near unto him, and said, "We build sheep-folds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones; but we ourselves will go ready armed before the children, until we have brought them into their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities, because of the inhabitants of the land; we will not return unto our houses until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance." And Moses replied, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until He hath driven out His enemies from before Him, and the land be subdued before the Lord,.then afterwards ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord; but if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out." But the Reubenites, and Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, to the number of 40,000, generously and courageously went up in the fore-front of the army, until the land of Canaan was completely subdued; Josh. iv, 12, 13; after which they returned to their own inheritance, which they had previously assisted in taking from the uncourteous and tyrannical Amorite princes, Sihon and Og; Num. xxi, 21; Josh. xxii. By their fidelity and bravery, the two tribes and a host avoided the visitation alluded to by Moses; but still the doctrine and law of retribution, as contained in the words of our text, is a fact which has been established and corroborated by innumerable instances in the annals both of sacred and profane history; and with respect both to national and individual circumstances. The doctrine might be substantiated by numberless facts gathered from the well-authenticated pages of ancient and modern historians, as well as from the records of the inspired penmen: we will, however, only adduce a few striking instances from the latter authority, as confirmatory and illustrative of the truth in question. When the tribes of Judah and Simeon went up against the Canaanites and the Perizzites, they found N |