News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1914-04-15
ALL ARE FRUITFUL
Wherever the Word of God Is
Sown There Can Be No
Barren Ground.

There are times and seasons for
sowing and reaping, and all are SOW
ers and reapers. There are none
whose limitations are so great that
they are without a field in which
they are planting some seed and from
which they must reap harvest of the
! seed sown.
The teacher is the sower and all in
some degree are teachers Of good or
evil. This is the great and solemn
truth of life. All are sowing, and
Whatsoever q man soweth, that shall
he also reap"
The dispersion of knowledge is the
avocation Of life, but it is only the
lips of the wise who dispense true
knowledgey Planting the seeds OF
truth is the highest occupation in
which man can engage An ignorant
man is always an object of pity, and
some Of his follies may be excused,
| but Ito him that knoweth to do good,
and dOeth it not, to him is sin"
knowledge, however great, is value
less unless put into practice.
We learn trades and professions
that we may follow them, and thereby
| reap the fruits of a comfortable liyeli-
| hood.
farmer may know the best seeds
| for his fields, but if he does not use
them his knowledge does not improve
! the harvest. So a knowledge Of the
teachings and precepts of religion is
! of no use to one who does not obey
its precepts, for in that way only can
he enjoy its privileges.
The right kind of sowing and reap
ing can only be done by the wise.
Wisdom is defined to be a happy union
of knowledge and prudence Man
without knowledge is like a brute, and
without prudence IS like a devil"
There is a worldly wisdom and a
worldly prudence that stands in oppo-
sition to Divine wisdom.
1t is written that "the children Of
this world are wiser in their genera
| ton than the children of light" But
that can only mean that they are more
ingenious in their own sphere to help
themselves than Christians are in
their sphere.
The men of the world work harder
for the things of the world-for the
things that are seen and temporal
than the Christians do for the far
more important things that are eter-
nal
The sowing and reaping of the
worldly wise and prudent is on the soil
of selfshness. The harvest planted
and reaped for self alone, however
abundant, has no market value, and
the rust of covetousness destroyeth it
all. Of all such harvests it is writ
ten: your riches are corrupted and
your garments are moth-eaten, your
silver and gold is cankered and the
rust of them shall be a witness
against you and shall eat your flesh
as it were fire."
Behold, sower went forth to
sow"
What should he sow? Where should
he sow?
There is but one seed for the soil
of human life. It is the wood and
word and truth of God. 1t makes all
fields fruitful even the most unprom-
Using ground
BLESSED are We that SOW beside
all waters"
Sow the seed by the wayside. AS
it lies on the surface, the birds Of
heaven may carry it, or angels wings
watt It to fruitful soil.
Sowing it with infinite patience and
unchanging expectancy.
Wesley tells of hearing his father
ask of his mother once: How
could you have the patience to tell
that blockhead the same thing twen-
ty times over?"
And he never forgot her answer:
why" said she, "if l had only told
him nineteen times l should have
lost all my labor"
/ once read Of teacher of imbe-
cile children to whom was brought
a boy of five years, who had never
spoken word, given look OF recog-
milton or made a voluntary motion.
The teacher lay beside the child for
half an hour every day, watching and
waiting and hoping for some sign OF
or volition. To improve
the time for himself his habit was to
read aloud. After six months, being
one day very weary, he did not read.
Presently he noticed that the child
was uneasy and trying to move. He
brought his mouth near to the child's
hands, who, after repeated effort sue
ceeded in placing its fingers on the
teachers lips as II to say. Make that
sound again"
After this first encouragement the
child was, with long and patient eff
tort taught to speak, to think and to
walk.
What Divine patience? What in
Unite Joy in such a victory? 1t was
he very spirit Of the great Sewer, the
Teacher of all teachers.
One who heard this dumb boy
speak and saw this lame boy walk
said: 1T was like one who came
Town from heaven and laid himself
Town beside me, his great heart by
ny heart; watched me with perpetual
are; infused into me his own life, and
waited for nearly twenty years before
reached my fingers to his lips and