The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-07-12

NOLDES IEAT-'ReCeive with meek
ness the implanted word which Is able 10
save your souls" James l:21.
Jesus tells us plainly why he taught
SO much by means of parallels Matt.
13:l0-l3) viz, to teach the truth to
those who sought it, and to hide il
from those who refused to receive it.
The truth had to be taught, hence the
parable, that those to whom 1t was
given to know the mysteries Of the
kingdom might know and understand
but that to the others it might be hid
den MARK 4:11-12). We have in this
lesson n of the best known of the
masters many parallels. Like all the
rest Jesus draws his picture from the
common experiences Of life. Jesus
uses the fields, the home. etc, while
Paul in his preaching and teaching
draws from the city, the army, the
markets, etc. We have in this pic
ture the seed, the soweT and the soil.
We must turn to the parable accounts
In Luke and Matthew to get the full
and the complete picture.
What Is the seed? Luke records
that Jesus told the disciples that the
seed is the word of God duke SID.
Mark also tells us practically the same
thing in V. IA of the lesson. A great
deal Is being made today Of seed Sc
lection and some wonderful results
have been obtained. How. much more
important for us who deal with immor-
tai souls that we select the best, viz,
the word of God.
Sought Not AduIation.
Next the sower ". A.. Notice he
went forth not to SOAR, nor Is 1t
recorded that he was SORE. He did
not have a crouch nor did he enter
into his work that he might receive
the adulation Of men Matt. 6:2).
1t is however the soil that seems to
be most emphasized in this lesson.
both in the direct teaching and also
In the explanation Of the parable.
There are four kinds of soil and it is
also very significant the manner by
which the seed came into contact with
each kind of soil. Some fell by the
wayside." The path was well trod-
den, the ground was preoccupied, e. g.,
used for other purposes rather than
to yield a harvest. 1t was hard to be
broken and hence It was an easy mat
ter for the birds of the air (Satan V.
15) soon to pluck 1t away. We need
to remember that IL men receive with
meekness the implanted word there
will be of course no such opportunity
for the evil one. The trouble is that
In this case the word was not implant-
ed Thus 1t is that one-fourth OF the
seed is lost. That the result Is a de-
plorable one is shown In Heb. 2:1-4.
The seed in this case fell "by" the
wayside, in the next 1t fell ION" the
rocky ground. The first is the picture
of the needless, this is a picture OF
the superficial ones. Oh for a time
they did run well, they even received
the word with gladness ". 16) but
they had no stability; they lacked the
element Of persistence; their surround.
ings We're superficial, there was no
chance for the seed to get a real grip
upon their lives. Luke tells us what
the master taught about the man who,
before building a tower sat down to
consider the cost. We cannot build
except upon a rock If the structure is
to be a stable one. We must not play
at our religion, It's a grim reality, a
glorious abandonment. It must reach
the bottomless deeps of our souls. All
else must be eliminated.
Three Fourths Lost.
In the third place Jesus speaks Of
seed that fell among" the thorns.
Here In this worldly soil it Is not so
much the character of the soil as the
character of that which already occu-
pied the soil ere the sower sowed the
seed. The cares Of this world, the
deceitfulness OF riches and "other
things" ". 10) had so entered In that
the good seed never had a real chance
In the soil Of that human heart, hence
It was choked and yielded no fruit.
There was no real grip Of the will, no
wh~oie-hearted surrender. How often
these thorns, "the cares of life" keep
the housewife, or the business man
away from the word. How often the
"deceitfulness of riches" snare men so
as to choke the word that at one time
gave such promise in their lives. And
then the "lusts and other things"
which the evil one SO well knows how
to use that he may keep us from the
word, for he knows that by it we may
be saved duke s:12).
We have thus seen ~three-fourths Of
the word lost. Of the remaining
fourth which fell into" (R. W the
good soil, not all yielded the same re-
turn. 1t all brought forth ". y 1t all
yielded, 1t all sprang up, but not all
in the same ratio. We ought to re-
member at this point that this parable
plainly teaches us that we who receive
the implanted seed, we who receive
and obey shall In turn become the seed
of the kingdom. If, as Luke records,
we receive the word In good and hon
est hearts, II we hear 1t, hold 1t fast,
II will bring forth fruit. The process
will not necessarily be rapid, we will
bring 1t forth with patience luke
God speaking by the mouth Of
Moses exclaimed: ooh that there were
such an heart In them, that they would
fear me and keep all of my command.
ments always that It might be we'll
with them and their children forever"
(Deut. 5:2S.)
What is It to receive the word With
meekness? Clearly 1t Is a volitFnal
act upon the part of him who hears.