Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-10-27
Caln1age
sermon
ny Rev.
Frank DC Witt Taimaac. d. d.


sermon. using the familiar type of the
seed spwcr. the preacher shows that no
worthy effort nj winning men and wo
men from Sin Is over wasted hut Is re-.
wardcd hy a spiritual harvest The
text Il Ecclcsiastcs ii. !. Cast thy
bread upon the waters. for thou shnlt
lind ii after many days"
This text has been impressed on my
mind ever since journcycd around
the world and came home hy the land
of the pharaohs When wandered
amid tho ancient ruins md stood under
the shadows Of Its ohcllsks and pyrn.
ml,ls and reflected that All these tenn
pies and palaces and monuments and
tnmhS were The relies ot the ancient
racc which was attracted hy the fer
OF the river Nile. these words have had
for me IA complete fascination. for In
ihc light Of Egyptian lore | thought
King Solomon was abiding to the Gus
tom with which the descendants Of the
ancient subjects of the Harnesses are
wont 10 SOW their seed. That custom IS
very interesting To Traveller from this
hemisphere. Egypt Is vast desert
From one end of the year to the other
no rain fails Oh that parched soil. How
then. Is the land cultivated by the rlv-
or Nile. which, when the spring fresh
cts How into ii. rises above its banks
and oycrfows the low lying lands on
each sid" Then as the river Nile
dries NJ again most II tho Overlooking
water i drawn back into the original
gipnS under u layer OF thick mud, with
hero ma there small shallow lakes and
pools Then the Egyptian farmer goes
forth and scattcrs his seeds upon this
winter The seeds sink into the mud
They take root Then. when the har
vest tim" comes. the lands alongside OF
the M" are covered with luXuriaut
crops
In light OF this strange custom of
Egyptian agriculture used 10 say:
"Ah. know what King solomon meant
when h" said. cast thy brcud upon the
waters for thun shnlt find IL after
many days He is practically saying:
Pick out your richest grounds Go up
"a the rich mud col cred fields hy the
Nile. Drop here seed and there a
seed II Cod given teaching You VIII
never iind that those seeds will die
Your harvests win soon yield their thlr-
y, their sixty, their hundrcdiold The
ground - So rich that il Is certain 10
bring forth u harvest Thus | would
always pictur" n" christian IN obey.
Ing this injunction na casting his seed
upon rich soil and then IN few
months driving NJ 10 the gospel gran.
nries with his wagons laden with the
heavy golden shcuvcs which he had
harvested for his Muster
Not "a True Vision.
That IS a very beautiful vision which
| had about the message of my text
There Wa only one trouble about IL
The vision was not true Wien be.
gan 20 hook up what the Bible scholars
said alou, this theme | found they
made no alluslon 10 the river Nile and
Its vast muddy banks. with their mud
tillcd with he sowora' seeds Accord.
lng to Thomas Scott this text alludes
20 the lulc-tinc farmer ana not 10 the
Egyptian II pictures "a Palestine farm.
or scattering the seed over his fields
and coming % swgmpy region. II is
the poorest part Of his farm He has
never cultivated II before. because.
when he came 10 H. he always said.
What T. The use of my planting there2
] Will never get any return for my In
hor My seed will only rot ana never
bring me back any sheayes." rut Solo
mon says 30 farmer 70 to the most
unpronlSing parts OF the farm Seat
ter Your good seeds amid the swnmpy
soils where you and all good people
nrc skepttcal about getting any return.
Your gospel seeds will never be useless.
~ thrown away The harvests will
come. Relieve me. the harvcsts will
come" Let me read 20 YOU his very
words. Cast thy bread upon the wa.
tiers. for thou shalt find IL after many
daya." Could we have more practical
advice for Christian work?
Instead Of seeking the richest fields.
God IL here telling us 10 SOW IN the
most undesirable ones Now, as
begin 10 run over some ri the most
unpromising regions for gospel seed
planting. my mind IA the first place
naturally turns toward the child who
is horn of disSolutc OF degraded par.
ents. "0h." you say a. you look NJ
bin, there Is no use wasting nny-
thing upon that boy! He was born Of
bad mother His father was divorced
from her on account of her Migrant
sins She Is never NJ home You might
as we'll try "a change a leopnrd's spots
as 70 overcome the parental faint In
his blood - Or You say What Is the
usof That boys father * a drunknrd
and an inillcl lie daily SCOTS NJ the
Bible Any good seed we might SOW
IN that child's heart would hc rooted
ont Ia might 10y The ridicule Of his
parent" Yes sunday school teacher.
| know how discouraged you arr over
TINT boy Hut do not dcspnir Go on
sowing your gospel seed In that child's