rable. And that which causes now their misery has also caused their sin; for lust when it has conceived brings forth sin naturally; and there is surely no lesson which the history of Adam in Paradise more clearly teaches us than this. Adam failed to keep his natural desires in check and under control; and thereby the Devil obtained a victory over him. Doubtless the tree was good to eat; but it was better to be able so to master himself so as to have still no desire for it, when GOD had commanded that he should not eat it. Temptations such as these meet us at every step; but to him who has learnt the lesson of self-control they are no temptations at all. And this surely is happiness to be without the reach of temptation.

These lessons, then, my Brethren, I conceive we gain from considering the history of Adam in Paradisefor as was said at the beginning, the new creation in CHRIST restores us as it were to the very same state in which Adam was first created; and Paradise is a type 、of the Church :-generally that we are to live to GOD'S glory. Next that GOD designs our happiness now and eternally. And that the ways in which He has instructed us to seek happiness are these-by preserving, by all possible means, that resemblance to HIMSELF in which we were created: by remembering that we consist of a spiritual as well as an earthly element : by active employment in obedience to God's commandments; and above all (because the experience of Adam proves to us that it is the most difficult) by acquiring a habit of self-control. And to this, if we add that Adam by the derivation of Eve from himself, was taught the rule of loving others literally as himself, for the only other human being was part of himself, we have a complete picture of paradisaical

happiness-a picture of which we ought to see the counterpart or exact representation among ourselves. May God give us grace, my Brethren, to realise it less imperfectly than we do. Then indeed shall we be "as Gods." In Adam we all die; but in CHRIST all should be made alive; for HE is made unto us, "Wisdom, and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption," so that we may use these words without boasting only "let him that glorieth, glory in the LORD."

T. C.

SERMON XXIII.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER AND HIS SEED.

Seragesima Sunday.

LUKE VIII. 4, 5.1

WHEN MUCH PEOPLE WERE GATHERED together, AND WERE COME TO HIM OUT OF EVERY CITY, HE SPAKE BY A PARABLE-A SOWER WENT OUT TO SOW HIS SEED.

THE parable of the sower and his seed, my Brethren, which is appointed as the Gospel for this day's service, is one of the few, of which our LORD HIMSELF has given the interpretation. He did this, too, under circumstances which ought to be deeply considered, because, like the parable itself, they convey an important lesson to all hearers of the Word. May HE, Who alone is able, both give us good seed to sow in His field, and prepare among you honest and good hearts, that it may bring forth fruit an hundredfold!

"Much people were gathered together," we read, "out of every city, and to them all JESUS spake the parable, yet He spake not equally to the benefit of all. When He had done speaking, HE intimated by a Part of the Gospel for the day.

1

strong proverb, that all ought to hear, receive, and profit by His preaching, but that all would not. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."-As if He had said: 'I have spoken to you all, but I know that some are dull of hearing. Into the ears of your body My Word has entered without difference of persons; but the ears of your souls have some of them been shut. Let those, then, who have the spiritual faculty of hearing, hear with reverence and profit: but, as for the rest, let them remember that they, too, have heard with their ears, though their hearts have been closed. The word has been spoken to them, but they have rejected it.'

Many were not aroused to greater attention even by this warning; for when our LORD had spoken to the multitude, it was only the disciples who stayed with HIM to ask what the parable might be. Now here, my Brethren, you see the difference between the disciple and the mere hearer; and it is a difference which still remains. There are, for instance, so many persons here present: some of them with a careless indifference mind little what GOD has said to them by His Word and Ministers; and if they were asked, as they left the church, what were the Psalms and the Lessons, what were the Epistle and Gospel, what were the words of the preacher, they would be obliged to confess that they had forgotten, or had never known. They had no ears for these things; though if they fell immediately after into some exciting conversation, or if they were attracted by the sound of sweet music, or of anything else that they thought agreeable, for that they would have ears quick enough, and a memory, too; they would be able to recite their conversation over again, and enjoy their

pleasure in the recollection. These are only just as bad -no better and no worse,—than the people who went away not having heard to any good purpose, the parable of the sower and his seed.

There are others who have, so to speak, an intellectua ear, but no spiritual ear; and these are much the same, worse in some respects, though perhaps a little better in others. They can hear to criticise, to approve, or condemn; and that not merely the preacher, who is a man like themselves, but even the REVEALED WORD OF GOD; for this, too, they can look upon in the light of fine literature, and speak of it as they would of a beautiful poem, or a noble oration. As for the preacher, they can tell whether he spoke cleverly and forcibly, or weakly, and without skill; whether his speech was contemptible,' or whether it was in their ears as "a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument." They can exactly balance between the different merits of several preachers, and have their favourites accordingly. Above all, they can tell, very exactly, when what has been said is applicable to some persons beside themselves; whether it ought to be felt as a severe reproof by one who sits next them. But all this time, though their intellectual ear, the ear of their minds, has been open, their hearts have heard nothing. Seeing, they see not, hearing, they understand not; nor will they ever, until the LORD shall open their hearts,-not their minds, but their hearts, to attend to those things that are spoken.

Others, again, are like the disciples, as those before

1As some of the Corinthians had dared to say of St. Paul. See 2 Cor. x. 10.

2 Ezekiel xxxiii. 32.

Luke viii. 10.

4 Acts xvi. 14.