ON
THE THORNS IN THE PARABLE
In the instructive parable of the sower, our divine Redeemer, who
spoke as never man spoke, has discovered
to us the nature of those thorns which
choke and render unfruitful the good
seed of the word of God. "The thorny
ground represents those who hear and
accept the message, but all too quickly
the message is crowded out by the cares
and riches and pleasures of this life.
And so they never grow into maturity."
Luke 8:14.
WORLDLY CARES are thorns. If we are anxious and troubled
about many things; anxious about the
events of tomorrow, and forecasting
evils which have no existence but in our
own minds, we are sowing tares and
thorns, which must of necessity destroy
all the vigor and fruitfulness of the
Gospel seed.
The work of faith is to perform present duty; and then leave the
issue with God, who works all things
after the counsel of his own will. We
have no power over the varied events of
life. Circumstances arise which cannot
be foreseen, nor prevented if foreseen.
Prudence may lay her plans, but he who
rules on high can thwart them all.
"There are many devices in a man's
heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the
Lord, that shall stand." It is, then,
the part of Christian wisdom to obey the
beautiful precept of Solomon: "Trust in
the Lord with all your heart, and lean
not to your own understanding. In all
your ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct your paths."
In such a world as this, which is made up of vicissitude and
agitations, how highly privileged is the
man who can say with David,"The Lord is
my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my
God is my rock, in whom I find
protection. He is my shield, the
strength of my salvation, and my
stronghold." Psalm 18:2. How calm is
that soul whose cares are laid upon God!
This is the Christian's privilege:
"Casting all your care upon him, for he
cares for you." "Cast your burden upon
the Lord, and he will sustain you." Oh
my soul, remember who it is that invites
you to this rest. It is Jesus—the friend
of sinners. How affectionate is his
invitation: "Come unto me, all you that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest."
Cares are vexatious to a worldly mind. Afflictions are viewed as so
many suspensions of worldly happiness.
Poverty is dreaded as the greatest
worldly evil; and even religion itself
is treated as an enemy, because it
demands the separation of the heart from
worldly lusts and pleasures. And yet, it
is owing to the absence of true
religion, that the varied dispensations
of Providence become crosses. We meet
them in an unsubdued frame of spirit. We
murmur and rebel against the correcting
hand of our heavenly Father, and thus
render that burden heavy, and that yoke
grievous, which would otherwise be easy
and light. While in this unhappy state
of mind, we hear the Gospel with
perpetual distraction. The cares of
life, like prickling thorns, cover the
ground of our heart, and prevent the
good seed from springing up and bearing
fruit to the glory of God.
"Oh blessed Spirit! awaken my soul to a due solicitude about my
everlasting state. Let me not be sowing
tares, while your ministers are sowing
wheat. Let not my foolish heart by
worldly cares choke the precious seed of
holy truth. Make me watchful and
vigilant. Break up the fallow ground of
my heart by deep and abiding
convictions, that I may no longer sow
among thorns, but yield abundant fruit
to the praise of the glory of your
grace."
RICHES are thorns. What can riches, so coveted after by the
world, do for wretched man, simply
considered in themselves? They cannot
produce happiness. How many families,
overladen with wealth, are made unhappy
by the very wealth which they possess!
They cannot insure usefulness. How many
people do we continually see, who, with
the most extensive means of usefulness,
are little better than cumberers of the
ground! They cannot promote health. How
many are rendered the victims of
disease, by the facility which wealth
affords for gratifying their carnal
appetites and luxurious inclinations!
They cannot prolong life. How many are
cut off in the midst of their splendor,
when they were fondly promising to
themselves a long succession of joyous
years!
If riches cannot procure temporal blessings; if they cannot, by
their mere possession, even to their
greatest extent, make us happy in
ourselves, or useful to others; if they
cannot promote health, or prolong life;
how much less can they procure spiritual
or eternal blessings: the pardon of sin;
peace with God; purity of heart; and
perpetuity of bliss in heaven!
And yet, wealth is the grand desire of the world. To obtain riches,
men are willing to risk the loss of soul
and all the glories of heaven. The
nominally Christian world is bowing down
to the golden image which Satan has set
up, while all kinds of music are
employed to celebrate its praise. Even
real professors of godliness have need
to watch continually against the
seductive influence of the god of this
world. He can paint upon the imagination
the shadowy glories of the world, and
then whisper to the soul, "all these
will I give you, if you will fall down
and worship me."
But Truth lifts up her warning voice to guard her children against
the snares of this father of lies:
"Those who will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition. For
the love of money is the root of all
evil; which, while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many
sorrows."
Our blessed Lord, whose love is infinite, has given us a double
caution: "take heed—and beware—of
covetousness; for a man's life consists
not in the abundance of the things which
he possesses." And Paul, writing under
the influence of the Spirit of Christ,
exhorts us to "let our conversation be
without covetousness, and to be content
with such things as we have, since God
has said: I will never leave you nor
forsake you."
Riches, when loved and coveted after, become our idols. And even
when they do not captivate the
affections, they will soon choke the
precious seed of divine truth, if not
carefully guarded against. Hence our
Lord calls it "the deceitfulness of
riches." They draw away the heart
insensibly from God, and then they
become a curse, and not a blessing. Many
who, while in the valley of humiliation,
adorned the Gospel and labored with
unwearied diligence to promote its
extension, have become lukewarm when
wealth has filled their coffers.
These characters present an awful instance of the danger of worldly
prosperity, and should make every
professor of the Gospel tremble, lest,
when riches increase, his heart should
be lifted up, and he forget the Lord his
God. Worldly prosperity is almost always
followed by declension. How many
Christian families, once the ornaments
of the church, have, in their posterity,
lost all semblance of piety through the
growing prosperity which attended their
secular concerns.
Oh blessed Lord, give me grace to covet earnestly the best gifts,
even the unsearchable riches of Christ;
to labor after the attainment of those
riches whose value can never be fully
known in this lower world; but after
which, all, without exception, are
graciously invited to seek, that they
may obtain everlasting life.
Blessed Jesus! pearl of great price, may you be my treasure.
"Give what you will; without you, I am poor; And with you, rich;
take what you will away."
WORLDLY PLEASURES are thorns. Man has a natural thirst after
happiness; but, being blinded through
the fall, and having all his appetites
vitiated, he is continually seeking that
from the world which can only be found
in God.
Fallen man, like Cain of old, is a fugitive. He is ever flying from
the presence of his Creator, who is the
source and center of true felicity. He
is daily committing two evils:
"forsaking the fountain of living
waters, and hewing out to himself broken
cisterns which can hold no water."
Hence he is miserable while in quest of
happiness. He drinks of the intoxicating
wine of carnal gratification; revels for
a time in sensual pleasure; and if he
awakens to sober recollection, feels a
thousand stings, which too often drive
him to despair and death.
Consistent professors of godliness readily allow the sinfulness of
gross sensual indulgences, and of such
worldly amusements as lead directly to
the violation of chaste feeling, or into
the vortex of fashionable dissipation.
There are, however, pleasures of a sober and innocent kind, which,
from their friendly aspect, are
unsuspectedly admitted into the heart,
and, like the "little foxes, spoil the
vines." Few seem to consider that even
lawful pleasures, when too eagerly
pursued, become sources of pain, by
secretly alienating the heart from God.
Hence serious Christians have need to guard against giving too much
of their mind and time to those pursuits
which may insensibly draw them off from
private devotion and the daily duties of
social life. The acquirements of music
and drawing, as well as the prosecution
of literary and philosophical studies,
are lawful and agreeable when pursued in
subservience to that great end of life
so plainly enforced by the apostle:
"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God."
Religion does not forbid the improvement
of our intellectual faculties; it only
guards against their abuse.
Lawful things are not always beneficial; and, if abused or used to
excess, they become injurious. Society
is pleasant; yet it becomes a snare, if
it lead us from our secret chamber by
its incessant attractions, and thus make
us strangers to God and our own hearts.
We are everywhere surrounded with danger. Each pleasure has its
poison, and each sweet its snare. And
yet, how fleeting! Worldly delights
resemble the rose, which droops almost
as soon as gathered. Our blessed Lord
warns us against those pleasures which
too frequently choke the word, as thorns
do the growing plant. The enemy knows
this well; and, therefore, when young
people, especially, begin to feel their
consciences awakened under the faithful
preaching of the Gospel, he stirs up
their carnal friends to carry them into
the various gayeties of life, that the
incipient workings of divine grace may
be destroyed in the very germ.
Oh! then, let us be upon our guard, not only against distracting
cares and deceitful riches, but also
against delusive pleasures, which, by
their smiling face and winning form,
would steal away our hearts, and rob us
of eternal glory. Worldly pleasures,
like Solomon's many wives, entice the
soul to idolatrous attachments and
departure from God. There are, however,
pleasures pure and peaceful, holy and
heavenly, which never cloy or injure the
believer.
Communion with God in Christ—the enjoyment of the divine favor,
through faith in the blood of Jesus—the
varied exercises in reading, meditation,
and prayer—the society of experienced
Christians—visiting the sick—instructing
the young—relieving the poor and
needy—pouring the balm of consolation
into the troubled breast—directing the
wanderer to Jesus—restoring the
backslider—reproving the
profane—promoting peace—and supporting
by active and financial exertions those
noble institutions which bless our happy
land—form so many streams of pleasure,
which at once refresh and fructify the
soul.
If to these are added the duties of our secular calling, the
endearments of domestic life, the
well-timed relaxations of music,
painting, and gardening, with the higher
gratifications of mental study. Where,
we may ask, is the lack of enjoyment to
the real Christian? He needs not the
vanity of the ball-room; the irritations
of the card table; the pollutions of the
theater; the snares of the race-track;
the frivolity of the circus; nor the
debaucheries of the club.
If poor, he seeks not for the noisy mirth of the ale-house, which
ends in rags and misery; he is happy in
the bosom of his family, with his Bible
and his God. Oh that my, thirst may
daily increase for the holy enjoyment of
pure and undefiled religion!
How insipid are the boasted pleasures of the world, when compared
with these soul-reviving delights, which
a God of mercy has provided for the
enjoyment of Christian pilgrims!
Blessed Jesus! fill my soul with your presence, and then I shall
never lack a stream of pure delight,
while journeying through this barren
wilderness to the heavenly Canaan. Let
no cares disturb my peace, no riches
deaden my affections, no pleasures
enchain my heart. Like the wise
husbandman, in mercy eradicate every
noxious thorn, and prepare me by your
Spirit to receive and cherish the good
word of your grace, that I may bring
forth fruit a hundred-fold, to the glory
of your holy name.
Touched by a sense of love divine,
Your goodness, Lord, I feel;
What joy to call the Savior mine!
Of endless joys the seal!
Though round my path a thousand snares
Are laid by Satan's art;
Though often assailed by earth-born
cares,
Those traitors of the heart.
Yet still, dear Lord, beneath your smiles,
A heaven of joy appears;
While faith the weary way beguiles,
And hope the prospect cheers.
If, through affliction's darksome vale,
I downward bend my way,
Oh! may your comforts never fail
To shed their cheering ray.
Or, should I mount the dangerous steep,
Where earthly honors shine,
Upheld by you, nor height nor deep,
Shall part my love from thine.
Whatever I be, or rich or poor,
I'll trust your saving name;
To all the seed your word is sure,
To all who love the Lamb.
Oh! let me taste your goodness more,
Each moment as it flies;
Until, landed safe on Canaan's shore,
Where glory never dies,
I see my Savior face to face,
Without a veil between;
And sing loud praises to his grace,
Who saved my soul from sin!
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