"And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed
into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth
forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the
full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately
he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."--MARK 4:26-29.
THERE is a lesson for "laborers together with God." It is a parable for
all who are concerned in the kingdom of God. It will be of little value
to those who are in the kingdom of darkness, for they are not bidden to
sow the good seed: "Unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to
declare my statutes?" But all who are commissioned to scatter seed for
the Royal Husbandman, will be glad to know how the harvest is preparing
for him whom they serve. Listen, then, ye that sow beside all waters; ye
that with holy diligence seek to fill the garners of heaven--listen, and
may the Spirit of God speak into your ears as you are able to bear it.
I. We shall, first, learn from our text WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE
CANNOT DO. Let this stand as our first head.
"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the
ground:" this the gracious worker can do. "And the seed should spring
and grow up, he knoweth not how:" this is what he cannot do: seed once
sown is beyond human jurisdiction, and man can neither make it spring
nor grow. Yet ere long the worker comes in again:--"When the fruit is
brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle." We can reap in due
season, and it is both our duty and our privilege to do so. You see,
then, that there is a place for the worker at the beginning, and though
there is no room for him in the middle passage, yet another opportunity
is given him further on when that which he sowed has actually yielded
fruit.
Notice, then, that _we can sow_. Any man who has received the knowledge
of the grace of God in his heart can teach others. I include under the
term "man" all who know the Lord, be they male or female. We cannot all
teach alike, for all have not the same gifts; to one is given one
talent, and to another ten; neither have we all the same opportunities,
for one lives in obscurity and another has far-reaching influence; yet
there is not within the family of God an infant hand which may not drop
its own tiny seed into the ground. There is not a man among us who needs
to stand idle in the market-place, for work suitable to his strength is
waiting for him. There is not a saved woman who is left without a holy
task; let her do it and win the approving word, "She hath done what she
could."
We need never quarrel with God because we cannot do everything, if he
only permits us to do this one thing; for sowing the good seed is a work
which will need all our wit, our strength, our love, our care. Holy seed
sowing should be adopted as our highest pursuit, and it will be no
inferior object for the noblest life. You will need heavenly teaching
that you may carefully select the wheat, and keep it free from the
darnel of error. You will require instruction to winnow out of it your
own thoughts and opinions; for these may not be according to the mind of
God. Men are not saved by our word, but by God's word. We need grace to
learn the gospel aright, and to teach the whole of it. To different men
we must, with discretion, bring forward that part of the word of God
which will best bear upon their consciences; for much may depend upon
the word being _in season_.
Having selected the seed, we shall have plenty of work if we go forth
and sow it broadcast everywhere, for every day brings its opportunity,
and every company furnishes its occasion. "In the morning sow thy seed,
and in the evening withhold not thy hand." "Sow beside all waters."
Still, wise sowers discover favorable opportunities for sowing, and
gladly seize upon them. There are times when it would clearly be a waste
to sow; for the soil could not receive it, it is not in a fit condition.
After a shower, or before a shower, or at some such time as he that hath
studied husbandry prefers, then must we be up and doing. While we are to
work for God always, yet there are seasons when it were casting pearls
before swine to talk of holy things, and there are other times when to
be silent would be a great sin. Sluggards in the time for ploughing and
sowing are sluggards indeed, for they not only waste the day, but throw
away the year. If you watch for souls, and use hours of happy vantage,
and moments of sacred softening, you will not complain of the scanty
space allowed for agency. Even should you never be called to water, or
to reap, your office is wide enough if you fulfil the work of the
sower.
For little though it seem to teach the simple truth of the gospel, yet
it is essential. How shall men hear without a teacher? Servants of God,
the seed of the word is not like thistle-down, which is borne by every
wind; but the wheat of the kingdom needs a human hand to sow it, and
without such agency it will not enter into men's hearts, neither can it
bring forth fruit to the glory of God. The preaching of the gospel is
the necessity of every age; God grant that our country may never be
deprived of it. Even if the Lord should send us a famine of bread and of
water, may he never send us a famine of the word of God. Faith cometh by
hearing, and how can there be hearing if there is no teaching? Scatter
ye, scatter ye, then, the seed of the kingdom, for this is essential to
the harvest.
This seed should be sown often, for many are the foes of the wheat, and
if you repeat not your sowing you may never see a harvest. The seed must
be sown everywhere, too, for there are no choice corners of the world
that you can afford to let alone, in the hope that they will be
self-productive. You may not leave the rich and intelligent under the
notion that surely the gospel will be found among them, for it is not
so: the pride of life leads them away from God. You may not leave the
poor and illiterate, and say, "Surely they will of themselves feel their
need of Christ." Not so: they will sink from degradation to degradation
unless you uplift them with the gospel. No tribe of man, no peculiar
constitution of the human mind, may be neglected by us; but everywhere
we must preach the word, in season and out of season. I have heard that
Captain Cook, the celebrated circumnavigator, in whatever part of the
earth he landed, took with him a little packet of English seeds, and
scattered them in suitable places. He would leave the boat and wander up
from the shore. He said nothing, but quietly scattered the seeds
wherever he went, so that he belted the world with the flowers and herbs
of his native land. Imitate him wherever you go; sow spiritual seed in
every place that your foot shall tread upon.
Let us now think of what you cannot do. _You cannot, after the seed has
left your hand, cause it to put forth life._ I am sure you cannot make
it grow, for you do not know how it grows. The text saith, "And the seed
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how." That which is beyond the
range of our knowledge is certainly beyond the reach of our power. Can
you make a seed germinate? You may place it under circumstances of damp
and heat which will cause it to swell and break forth with a shoot, but
the germination itself is beyond you. How is it done? We know not. After
the germ has been put forth, can you make it further grow, and develop
its life into leaf and stem? No; that, too, is out of your power. And
when the green, grassy blade has been succeeded by the ear, can you
ripen it? It will be ripened; but can _you_ do it? You know you cannot;
you can have no finger in the actual process, though you may promote the
conditions under which it is carried on. Life is a mystery; growth is a
mystery; ripening is a mystery: and these three mysteries are as
fountains sealed against all intrusion. How comes it that there is
within the ripe seed the preparations for another sowing and another
growth? What is this vital principle, this secret reproducing energy?
Knowest thou anything about this? The philosopher may talk about
chemical combinations, and he may proceed to quote analogies from this
and that; but still the growth of the seed remains a secret; it springs
up, he knoweth not how. Certainly this is true of the rise and progress
of the life of God in the heart. It enters the soul, and roots itself we
know not how. Naturally men hate the word, but it enters and it changes
their hearts, so that they come to love it; yet we know not how. Their
whole nature is renewed, so that instead of producing sin it yields
repentance, faith, and love; but we know not how. How the Spirit of God
deals with the mind of man, how he creates the new heart and the right
spirit, how we are begotten again unto a lively hope, we cannot tell.
The Holy Ghost enters into us; we hear not his voice, we see not his
light, we feel not his touch; yet he worketh an effectual work upon us,
which we are not long in perceiving. We know that the work of the Spirit
is a new creation, a resurrection, a quickening from the dead; but all
these words are only covers to our utter ignorance of the mode of his
working, with which it is not in our power to meddle. We do not know how
he performs his miracles of love, and, not knowing how he works, we may
be quite sure that we cannot take the work out of his hands. We cannot
create, we cannot quicken, we cannot transform, we cannot regenerate, we
cannot save.
This work of God having proceeded in the growth of the seed, what next?
_We can reap the ripe ears._ After a season God the Holy Spirit uses his
servants again. As soon as the living seed has produced first of all the
blade of thought, and afterwards the green ear of conviction, and then
faith, which is as full corn in the ear, then the Christian worker comes
in for further service, for _he can reap_. "When the fruit is brought
forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle." This is not the reaping of
the last great day, for that does not come within the scope of the
parable, which evidently relates to a human sower and reaper. The kind
of reaping which the Saviour here intends is that which he referred to
when he said to his disciples, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the
fields; for they are white already to harvest." After he had been sowing
the seed in the hearts of the Samaritans, and it had sprung up, so that
they began to evince faith in him, the Lord Jesus cried, "The fields are
white to harvest." The apostle saith, "One soweth, and another reapeth."
Our Lord said to the disciples, "I sent you to reap that whereon ye
bestowed no labor." Is there not a promise, "In due season we shall
reap, if we faint not"?
Christian workers begin their harvest work by watching for signs of
faith in Christ. They are eager to see the blade, and delighted to mark
the ripening ear. They often hope that men are believers, but they long
to be sure of it; and when they judge that at last the fruit of faith is
put forth, they begin to encourage, to congratulate, and to comfort.
They know that the young believer needs to be housed in the barn of
Christian fellowship, that he may be saved from a thousand perils. No
wise farmer leaves the fruit of the field long exposed to the hail which
might beat it out, or to the mildew which might destroy it, or to the
birds which might devour it. Evidently no believing man should be left
outside of the garner of holy fellowship; he should be carried into the
midst of the church with all the joy which attends the home-bringing of
sheaves. The worker for Christ watches carefully, and when he discerns
that his time is come, he begins at once to fetch in the converts, that
they may be cared for by the brotherhood, separated from the world,
screened from temptation, and laid up for the Lord. He is diligent to do
it at once, because the text saith, "immediately he putteth in the
sickle." He does not wait for months in cold suspicion; he is not afraid
that he shall encourage too soon when faith is really present. He comes
with the word of promise and the smile of brotherly love at once, and he
says to the new believer, "Have you confessed your faith? Is not the
time come for an open confession? Hath not Jesus bidden the believer to
be baptized? If you love him, keep his commandments." He does not rest
till he has introduced the convert to the communion of the faithful. For
our work, beloved, is but half done when men are made disciples and
baptized. We have then to encourage, to instruct, to strengthen, to
console, and succor in all times of difficulty and danger. What saith
the Saviour? "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you."
Observe, then, the sphere and limit of agency. We can introduce the
truth to men, but that truth the Lord himself must bless; the living and
growing of the word within the soul is of God alone. When the mystic
work of growth is done, we are able to garner the saved ones in the
church. For Christ to be formed in men the hope of glory is not of our
working, that remains with God; but, when Jesus Christ is formed in
them, to discern the image of the Saviour and to say, "Come in, thou
blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without?" this is our duty
and delight. To create the divine life is God's, to cherish it is ours.
To cause the hidden life to grow is the work of the Lord; to see the
uprising and development of that life and to harvest it is the work of
the faithful, even as it is written, "When the fruit is brought forth,
immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
This, then, is our first lesson; we see what we can do and what we
cannot do.
II. Our second head is like unto the first, and consists of WHAT WE CAN
KNOW AND WHAT WE CANNOT KNOW.
First, _what we can know_. We can know when we have sown the good seed
of the word that it will grow; for God has promised that it shall do so.
Not every grain in every place; for some will go to the bird, and some
to the worm, and some to be scorched by the sun; but, as a general rule,
God's word shall not return unto him void, it shall prosper in the thing
whereto he hath sent it. This we can know. And we can know that the seed
when once it takes root will continue to grow; that it is not a dream or
a picture that will disappear, but a thing of force and energy, which
will advance from a grassy blade to corn in the ear, and under God's
blessing will develop to actual salvation, and be as the "full corn in
the ear." God helping and blessing it, our work of teaching will not
only lead men to thought and conviction, but to conversion and eternal
life.
We also can know, because we are told so, that the reason for this is
mainly because there is life in the word. In the word of God itself
there is life, for it is written--"The word of God is quick and
powerful," that is, "living and powerful." It is "the incorruptible
seed which liveth and abideth for ever." It is the nature of living
seeds to grow; and the reason why the word of God grows in men's hearts
is because it is the living word of the living God, and where the word
of a king is there is power. We know this, because the Scriptures teach
us so. Is it not written, "Of his own will begat he us by the word of
truth"?
Moreover, the earth, which is here the type of the man, "bringeth forth
fruit of herself." We must mind what we are at in expounding this, for
human hearts do not produce faith of themselves; they are as hard rock
on which the seed perishes. But it means this--that as the earth under
the blessing of the dew and the rain is, by God's secret working upon
it, made to take up and embrace the seed, so the heart of man is made
ready to receive and enfold the gospel of Jesus Christ within itself.
Man's awakened heart wants exactly what the word of God supplies. Moved
by a divine influence the soul embraces the truth, and is embraced by
it, and so the truth lives in the heart, and is quickened by it. Man's
love accepts the love of God; man's faith wrought in him by the Spirit
of God believes the truth of God; man's hope wrought in him by the Holy
Ghost lays hold upon the things revealed, and so the heavenly seed grows
in the soil of the soul. The life comes not from you who preach the
word, but it is placed within the word which you preach by the Holy
Spirit. The life is not in your hand, but in the heart which is led to
take hold upon the truth by the Spirit of God. Salvation comes not from
the personal authority of the preacher, but through the personal
conviction, personal faith, and personal love of the hearer. So much as
this we may know, and is it not enough for all practical purposes?
Still, there is _a something which we cannot know_, a secret into which
we cannot pry. I repeat what I have said before: you cannot look into
men's inward parts and see exactly how the truth takes hold upon the
heart, or the heart takes hold upon the truth. Many have watched their
own feelings till they have become blind with despondency, and others
have watched the feelings of the young till they have done them rather
harm than good by their rigorous supervision. In God's work there is
more room for faith than for sight. The heavenly seed grows secretly.
You must bury it out of sight, or there will be no harvest. Even if you
keep the seed above ground, and it does sprout, you cannot discover
_how_ it grows; even though you microscopically watched its swelling and
bursting, you could not see the inward vital force which moves the seed.
Thou knowest not the way of the Spirit. His work is wrought in secret.
"Explain the new birth," says somebody. My answer is, "Experience the
new birth, and you shall know what it is." There are secrets into which
we cannot enter, for their light is too bright for mortal eyes to
endure. O man, thou canst not become omniscient, for thou art a
creature, and not the Creator. For thee there must ever be a region not
only unknown but unknowable. So far shall thy knowledge go, but no
farther; and thou mayest thank God it is so, for thus he leaves room for
faith, and gives cause for prayer. Cry mightily unto the Great Worker to
do what thou canst not attempt to perform, that so, when thou seest men
saved, thou mayest give the Lord all the glory evermore.
III. Thirdly, our text tells us WHAT WE MAY EXPECT IF WE WORK FOR GOD,
AND WHAT WE MAY NOT EXPECT. According to this parable _we may expect to
see fruit_. The husbandman casts his seed into the ground: the seed
springs and grows, and he naturally expects a harvest. I wish I could
say a word to stir up the expectations of Christian workers; for I fear
that many work without faith. If you had a garden or a field, and you
sow seed in it, you would be very greatly surprised and grieved if it
did not come up at all; but many Christian people seem quite content to
work on without expectation of result. This is a pitiful kind of
working--pulling up empty buckets by the year together. Surely, I must
either see some result for my labor and be glad, or else, failing to see
it, I must be ready to break my heart if I be a true servant of the
great Master. We ought to have expected results; if we had expected more
we should have seen more; but a lack of expectation has been a great
cause of failure in God's workers.
_But we may not expect to see all the seed which we sow spring up the
moment we sow it._ Sometimes, glory be to God, we have but to deliver
the word, and straightway men are converted: the reaper overtakes the
sower, in such instances; but it is not always so. Some sowers have been
diligent for years upon their plots of ground, and yet apparently all
has been in vain; at last the harvest has come, a harvest which,
speaking after the manner of men, had never been reaped if they had not
persevered to the end. This world, as I believe, is to be converted to
Christ; but not to-day, nor to-morrow, peradventure not for many an age;
but the sowing of the centuries is not being lost, it is working on
toward the grand ultimatum. A crop of mushrooms may soon be produced;
but a forest of oaks will not reward the planter till generations of his
children have mouldered in the dust. It is ours to sow, and to hope for
quick reaping; but still we ought to remember that "the husbandman
waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for
it, until he receive the early and latter rain," and so must we. We are
to expect results, but not to be dispirited if we have to wait for them.
We are also to expect to see the good seed grow, but _not always after
our fashion_. Like children, we are apt to be impatient. Your little boy
sowed mustard and cress yesterday in his garden. This afternoon Johnny
will be turning over the ground to see if the seed is growing. There is
no probability that his mustard and cress will come to anything, for he
will not let it alone long enough for it to grow. So is it with hasty
workers; they must see the result of the gospel directly, or else they
distrust the blessed word. Certain preachers are in such a hurry that
they will allow no time for thought, no space for counting the cost, no
opportunity for men to consider their ways and turn to the Lord with
full purpose of heart. All other seeds take time to grow, but the seed
of the word must grow before the speaker's eyes like magic, or he thinks
nothing has been done. Such good brethren are so eager to produce blade
and ear there and then, that they roast their seed in the fire of
fanaticism, and it perishes. They make men think that they are
converted, and thus effectually hinder them from coming to a saving
knowledge of the truth. Some men are prevented from being saved by being
told that they are saved already, and by being puffed up with a notion
of perfection when they are not even broken in heart. Perhaps if such
people had been taught to look for something deeper they might not have
been satisfied with receiving seed on stony ground; but now they exhibit
a rapid development, and an equally rapid decline and fall. Let us
believingly expect to see the seed grow; but let us look to see it
advance after the manner of the preacher--firstly, secondly, thirdly:
first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
We may expect also to see the seed ripen. Our works will by God's grace
lead up to real faith in those he hath wrought upon by his word and
Spirit; but _we must not expect to see it perfect at first_. How many
mistakes have been made here. Here is a young person under impression,
and some good, sound brother talks with the trembling beginner, and asks
profound questions. He shakes his experienced head, and knits his
furrowed brows. He goes into the corn-field to see how the crops are
prospering, and though it is early in the year, he laments that he
cannot see an ear of corn; indeed, he perceives nothing but mere grass.
"I cannot see a trace of corn," says he. No, brother, of course you
cannot; for you will not be satisfied with the blade as an evidence of
life, but must insist upon seeing everything at full growth at once. If
you had looked for the blade you would have found it; and it would have
encouraged you. For my own part, I am glad even to perceive a faint
desire, a feeble longing, a degree of uneasiness, or a measure of
weariness of sin, or a craving after mercy. Will it not be wise for you,
also, to allow things to begin at the beginning, and to be satisfied
with their being small at the first? See the blade of desire, and then
watch for more. Soon you shall see a little more than desire; for there
shall be conviction and resolve, and after that a feeble faith, small
as a mustard seed, but bound to grow. Do not despise the day of small
things. Do not examine the new-born babe to see whether he is sound in
doctrine after your idea of soundness; ten to one he is a long way off
sound, and you will only worry the dear heart by introducing difficult
questions. Speak to him about his being a sinner, and Christ a Saviour,
and you will in this way water him so that his grace in the ear will
become the full corn in the ear. It may be that there is not much that
looks like wheat about him yet; but by-and-by you shall say, "Wheat! ah,
that it is, if I know wheat. This man is a true ear of corn, and gladly
will I place him among my Master's sheaves." If you cut down the blades,
where will the ears come from? Expect grace in your converts; but do not
look to see glory in them just yet.
IV. Under the last head we shall consider WHAT SLEEP WORKERS MAY TAKE,
AND WHAT THEY MAY NOT TAKE; for it is said of this sowing man, that he
sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs and grows up he
knoweth not how. They say a farmer's trade is a good one because it is
going on while he is abed and asleep; and surely ours is a good trade,
too, when we serve our Master by sowing good seed; for it is growing
even while we are asleep.
But how may a good workman for Christ lawfully go to sleep? I answer,
first, he may sleep the sleep of _restfulness_ born of confidence. You
are afraid the kingdom of Christ will not come, are you? Who asked you
to tremble for the ark of the Lord? Afraid for the infinite Jehovah that
his purposes will fail? Shame on you! Your anxiety dishonors your God.
Shall Omnipotence be defeated? You had better sleep than wake to play
the part of Uzzah. Rest patiently; God's purpose will be accomplished,
his kingdom will come, his chosen will be saved, and Christ shall see of
the travail of his soul. Take the sweet sleep which God gives to his
beloved, the sleep of perfect confidence, such as Jesus slept in the
hinder part of the ship when it was tossed with tempest. The cause of
God never was in jeopardy, and never will be; the seed sown is insured
by Omnipotence, and must produce its harvest. In patience possess your
soul, and wait till the harvest comes, for the pleasure of the Lord must
prosper in the hands of Jesus.
Also take that sleep of _joyful expectancy_ which leads to a happy
waking. Get up in the morning and feel that the Lord is ruling all
things for the attainment of his own purposes, and the highest benefit
of all who put their trust in him. Look for a blessing by day, and close
your eyes at night calmly expecting to meet with better things
to-morrow. If you do not sleep you will not wake up in the morning
refreshed, and ready for more work. If it were possible for you to sit
up all night and eat the bread of carefulness you would be unfit to
attend to the service which your Master appoints for the morning;
therefore take your rest and be at peace, and work with calm dignity,
for the matter is safe in the Lord's hands. Is it not written, "So he
giveth his beloved sleep"?
Take your rest because you have consciously resigned your work into
God's hands. After you have spoken the word, resort to God in prayer,
and commit the matter into God's hand, and then do not fret about it.
It cannot be in better keeping, leave it with him who worketh all in
all.
But do not sleep the sleep of unwatchfulness. The farmer sows his seed,
but he does not therefore forget it. He has to mend his fences, to drive
away birds, to remove weeds, or to prevent floods. He does not watch the
growth of the seed, but he has plenty else to do. He sleeps, but it is
only in due time and measure, and is not to be confounded with the
sluggard's slumbers. He never sleeps the sleep of indifference, or even
of inaction, for each season has its demand upon him. He has sown one
field, but he has another to sow. He has sown, but he has also to reap;
and if reaping is done, he has to thresh and to winnow. A farmer's work
is never done, for in one part or the other of the farm he is needed.
His sleep is but a pause that gives him strength to continue his
occupation. The parable teaches us to do all that lies within our
province, but not to intrude into the domain of God: in teaching to the
era we are to labor diligently, but with regard to the secret working of
truth upon man's mind, we are to pray and rest, looking to the Lord for
the inward power.