The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-05-17
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
May 20, 10OO-Parable OF
the S0wer.
Prepared by H. c. Lenington.l
THE LESSON TEXT.


stood on the shore.
{, And He spake many things unto them
IN parallels. saying: Behold. sower went
forth to sow:
I. And when he sowed. some seeds fell
by the way side, and the fowls came and
deyoured them up;
8 Some fell upon stony places. where
they had not much earth: and forthwith
they sprung up, because they had no
deepness Of earth;
6. And when the sun was up. they were
scorched; and because they had no root.
they withered away.
T. And some fell among thorns: and the
thorns sprung up. and choked them;
5. But other fell into good ground. and
brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold,
some sixtyfold. some thirtyfold.
49, Hear ye. therefore. the parable of the
sower.
the Kingdom. and understandeth 1t not.
then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth
away that which was sown In his heart.
This Is he which received seed by the
way side.
90 But he that received the seed into
stony places, the same is he that heareth
the word and anon with joy receiveth 1t;
2l Yet hath he not root in himself, but
dureth for awhile: for when tribulation
or persecution ariseth because OF the
Word by and by he is offended.
% He also that receiveth seed among
the thorns IL he that heareth the Word:
aud the care of this world and the de.
cetfulness of riches, choke the Word, and
he becometh unfruitful.
g But he that received seed into the
good ground Is he that heareth the Word,
and understandeth it, which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an nun
dredfold, some 90, some 80
GOLDEN TEXT.-The seed is the Word
of God.-Luke Sill.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
In the short period that intervenes
between the events of last lesson and
those of the present lesson Jesus had
made with His disciples tour of Cali
lee.
Shortly after His return to Caper-
naum Jesus began preaching by the
seaside. A great multitude soon gath
cred, so great that Jesus used boat
Il little out from the shore for u pulpit.
The ground rising directly from the
water formed a vast amphltheater.
and here the people listened to the
words of the Master.
The Sower and the Sowing.-Jesus
in His explanation does not tell us who
the sower was. All who teach Divine
truths may be considered as sewers,
but probably for this parable the sow
er was Jesus, who sowed the good seed
in the hearts of men by His life on
earth and teaching. The sowing was
broadcast. Some of the seed fell by
the wayside, some upon stony places.
some among thorns, and some into
good ground. We sometimes hear of
people who complain that they have
had mo chance in life" This can
hardly be true of anyone who has
heard the teaching of Jesus. The good
seed has fallen in the promising places
as well as the unpromising. Two
things Jesus evidently meant to teach:
(D That He had sowed the good seed
in His possession among all classes and
conditions of men; and (2) that those
who wished to be sewers of this seed
should not choose their field of work.
We can tell what is good ground for
wheat growing, but the hearts of men
are hidden from our sight, and there
may be good soil where we least eX
pect it.
The Seed and the Soil.-The seed, we
are tcld, was good seed. If it does not
grow, then we can safely conclude that
the fault Is not in the seed but in the
soil. The hearts of men form the soil.
and our own heart is a part of that
soil. We can change that soil and make
it what we will. The doctrine of this
parable is not fatalstic. The element
of human choice comes in right here.
The seed that has been sown was good
seed, and it has fallen into our hearts.
Nurture of the plant will do little
good. We must have depth of soil.
and the soil must be free from other
useless growths that will crowd out
what we wish to have grow.
Good Seed by the ayside.-Jesus
refers to those who have deliberately
hardened their hearts. The seed can
not abide there, so is soon taken away.
Another thought is suggested. The
beaten paths of men are not the places
for cultvating the good seed. Medi
tation and prayer can be had at their
''' 'hIN III SoiitHb'' We
should give ourselves such moments
as we can.
Good Seed on Stony Ground.-This
refers to shallow" people, people of
no depth of character. who have not as
siduously cultivated what soil they
have, who have no aim in life.
Good Seed Among Thorns.-This re-
fers to the cultivation rather than to
the soil. After the seed is sown, care
must be taken that the hurtful things
do not crowd out that which has
sprung up from the good seed. Per-
haps we cannot help the weeds start
ing, but we can pull them out as soon
as they begin to show themselves.
Good Seed in Good Ground.-How re-
freshing it is to turn from the barren
and uncultivated places to field tina:
is well taken care Of. This field is one
that is all that the others we have con-
sldered are not. 1t is away from the
highway, there is depth of soil, and the
cultivation is complete. Even here
some of the seed has done better than