THE CHRISTIAN TREASURY. CONTAINING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF VARIOUS EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS. THE SEED. A SPRING MEDITATION. beautiful and expressive emblems of divine things that have dropped, already assorted, from his blessed hands. We do not propose to follow him over all the interesting field, but, confining ourselves to the "seed," as emblematical of the origin of spiritual growth, we may trace a few points of resemblance, not a little striking, and highly instructive. How small is the seed compared with its future produce !-What is the acorn to the oak, or the WHAT human bosom, not overwhelmed with hopeless despair, does not beat more lightly on the approach of spring? The joy of harvest may be more substantial, but the gladness of spring-time is more fresh and buoyant. Nature now awakens from her long and death-like slumber, and, decking herself in her gayest attire, comes forth with light step and smiling face, breathing balmy odours from her rosy lips, scattering the sweetest flowers from her lovely hands, and filling the fields and wood-"handful of corn" to the "prosperous fruit" lands with a voice of the richest melody. All animate creation hails her approach, and the voice of inspiration itself bids her welcome. For, lo! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." Reader, are you not conscious of the exhilarating influence? "Let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages." No scenes are richer in Scripture imagery than those of this lovely season. Every field which we now traverse seems to remind us-" Ye are God's husbandry." Its opening furrows reiterate the admonition, "Break up your fallow ground." The busy teams appear to say, " IIe that ploweth shall plow in hope;" while the "sower" that "goes forth to sow," and the "precious seed" that he scatters, consecrated as these are by the lips of Him who "spake as never man spake," present the most appropriate and familiar symbols of the origin of spiritual life, and the diversified reception and interesting results of gospel truth, in our waste and barren world. Here, indeed, all is hallowed ground. Wherever we tread we trace the Master's footsteps; and he has left us little else to do than to gather up those which shakes on the fertile field? Yet in that small shell, these few tiny grains, are wrapped up germs of vegetable life, which require nothing but the opportunity of expansion to clothe the valleys with waving harvests, and cover the mountains with maguificent forests. And what is the origin of spiritual life? Just a similar embryo-" faith as a grain of mustard seed." To a stranger, it is often imperceptible; by the possessor himself it may be questioned, and its presence be obvious only to that microscopic eye which searches the reins and the heart; but, though its beginning be small, its latter end shall greatly increase. "The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking flax he' will not quench, until he send forth judgment unto victory." "Despise not, then, the day of small things," is the universal language of Nature and of Grace. "A little leaven leavereth the whole lump." One evil principle admitted into the human heart, may soon deprave all its emotions, poison the fountains of action, and corrupt the whole man; and, blessed be God, a single good principle implanted by his hand, and maintained by his grace, can be made effectually to counteract such wide-spread depravity, restore spiritual vitality to the dead soul, and produce "a new creation." "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature" -"but faith, that worketh by love." "For the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which, indeed, is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the fowls of the air come and lodge in the branches of it." Good seed must be sown.-At first, indeed, the earth, at God's command, produced spontaneously all the different forms of vegetable life, and still the seeds of many of these are so profusely scattered by the hand of Nature, that they seem to spring of their own accord. These are all, however, comparatively of a noxious or useless character-an affecting memorial of that sentence on fallen man, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee." On the con. trary, all useful vegetables must now be planted or sown by the hand of man. A mere sample of these might otherwise be preserved, but no quantity of them could be reared for the support of the human family. What a striking symbol of the origin of all spiritual life in the now depraved and cursed soil of the human heart! Once, its spontaneous product was abundant and unmingled good-now, it is only evil, and that continually. Every good principle that is found there is implanted by supernatural agency. "By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Springing out of the divine Word like the radical out of the kernel of the seed, this vital principle of spiritual growth is found only where that Word, thrown broadcast on the field of the world by the hand of the divine Husbandman, has obtained a lodgement in a renewed heart. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Happy, then, those favoured spots of our accursed earth upon which, in the sovereign mercy of God, this seed is scattered, and happier still those faithful hearts into which, by the grace of God, it has found access! Like the oasis in the desert, like the cultivated patch in the midst of the wild, they smile with spiritual beauty and fertility, while all around is a "waste and howling wilderness." "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted" "For this cause thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh in you that believe." Good seed requires a soil prepared for its reception.-This is no less necessary than the sowing of the seed. Weeds, indeed, will grow any. where. We see them readily striking root through the green sward, the unbroken heath, and the crevices of the barren rock; but, without previous cultivation, useful grain would be entirely thrown away. For the proper vegetation of the spiritual seed, is required a heart similarly prepared. Evil principles, like weeds in cultivated ground, no doubt, often attain. under mental and moral cultivation, a giant growth--but they also grow up freely in the wildest state of our common nature; whereas no principle of vital godliness will take root but in a soil that has been subjected to a special process of spiritual culture. This is one of the special lessons taught us by our Lord's beautiful parable. Of the four species of soil there alluded to, three were entirely unproductive. And why? Because they were unbroken and uncleared. In one only, the cultivated soil-the soil of an honest and good heart-did the divine seed "take root downward, and bear fruit upward." "Break up," then, is the emphatic language of the great Husbandman "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns." As soon may you expect a crop from the highway, the flinty rock, or the uncleared heath, as the fruits of righteousness from the unbroken heart of man, or the soul that is engrossed with the cares of this world. But "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." In the heart that has been torn up by the ploughshare of conviction, moistened by the tears of godly sorrow, and saturated by the grace of God, the gospel seed finds a genial soil, and brings forth fruits meet for repentance. "When they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." The seed after it is scattered must be buried in the earth.-" Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone." Some seeds indeed spring on the surface, but they immediately strike their roots downward, and unless they penetrate to a considerable depth their hol THE SEED. will be temporary and their vegetation transient. To cover the seed sufficiently is, therefore, one of the first cares of the husbandman, and, within certain limits, the strength of the stem and the abundance of the produce are usually in proportion to the depth of its covering. So is it with spiritual seed. A superficial acquaintance with divine truth, as emphatically symbolized by the stony ground, is productive of no permanent benefit. A fair show of good may follow it for a time, but the root soon withers, and the blossom goes up as dust. "They hear the Word, and with joy receive it, but having no root they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away." How different the experience of him who can say, "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I sin not against thee;" or of her of whom it is declared, "The Lord opened her heart, that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul." Let these sayings, then, sink down into your hearts. Rooted in the inmost sentiments and warmest affections of the spiritual man, the Word of God becomes a living and vigorous principle, and its products are always fresh and always abundant. "For this cause I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ-that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith-that ye, being grounded and rooted in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God." The seed lies for a time under the earth. The time varies, indeed, according to circumstances. In some cases, where it is fostered by special genial influences, the blade appears a few days, or even hours, after it is sown. If buried too deep, however, or obstructed by other causes, it may remain months and years in a dormant state; and, when all hope of its vegetation is lost, some favourable conjuncture may bring it to the surface. The vitality of seeds in such circumstances is truly wonderful. Wheat has been found to vegetate which has lain for three thousand years in the case of an Egyptian mummy; and seeds have sprung dug up from alluvial soils which had been deposited there probably during the flood. So various is the germination of the spiritual seed. Sometimes it seems to spring almost instantaneously. "If there come into your assembly one that believeth not, or one unlearned, and all prophesy, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all, the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so, 3 falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth." "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." More frequently, however, its operation is slow. It is when pondered in the heart that the quickening power of the Word appears; nor are there wanting many instances where, after being buried for years under confirmed habits of cold indifference, or aggravated iniquity, by the blessing of God, it revives, and yields a glorious return. It was after a long time, and many scenes of disappointment, that the prodigal" came to himself," and resolved to "arise and go to his father." Many long years of hardened profligacy seemed to have eradicated from the mind of Manasseh all impression of the instructions of his pious father, and the remonstrances of God's faithful servants; but when, in his affliction, he sought the Lord, and humbled himself before the God of his fathers, he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. O what an encouragement to parents, and teachers, and ministers of the Word! Often do they sow in tears, and long wait in vain for a return; but if, even in the natural world, it is often verified, "One soweth and another reapeth"-if he who cast in the seed is sometimes laid in the dust himself even before it spring-shall we not expect the same in the spiritual field. Still, however, the assurance may be depended upon, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days"-" In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not which shall prosper, this or that, or whether both shall be alike good." How often has that been verified: "I hid me and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him, and will restore comfort to him and to his mourners." The seed once sprung makes steady progress towards maturity. That progress is, indeed, mysterious and gradual. Not only is it generally a consi derable time in making its appearance, but how many and how striking are the gradations through which it passes before the fruit is matured! In some favoured positions vegetation is rapid, in others less favoured it is slow; but in all it is imperceptible, except by the comparison of different stages. "A man casts seed into the ground, and sleeps, and rises night and day, and it springeth and groweth up, he knoweth not how, first the blade, then the ear, afterward the full corn in the ear." "So is the kingdom of God." Of all species of increase. spiritual growth is the most mysterious, and, perhaps, the most varied; but, though presenting the most striking contrasts in different individuals, and in the same persons at different times, its reality may always be ascertained by its progressive development. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like the cedar of Lebanon. They shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine." We are not always to expect a rapid increase-one that may be visible, as it were, from day to day; but, assuredly, if the comparison of different periods gives no evidence of progress-much more, if it seems to intimate decay--we may be satisfied that there is some worm at the root of our spiritual vitality. Holy jealousy here is of the most salutary effect. These are searching, but most useful questions and memorials-" What do ye more than others?"-" Ye did run well, what hindered you?"-"Grow in grace, if you would make your calling and election sure." "For those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat, and flourishing: to show that the Lord is upright, and there is no unrighteous.ess in him." showers, on which we feel we are so dependent, and by God's fidelity in keeping his covenant, with heaven and with earth! Nothing will come up in the garden of God itself but briers and thorns, till the Spirit of God be poured out from on high; butlet only his dews and rains descend, and the bright shining of the Sun of Righteousness break forth, and "the wilderness and solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Blessed be God, these also are matters of promise: they are pledged in a covenant surer than that which, since Noah's days, has so faithfully secured the succession of seed-time and harvest; and nothing is required but an earnest memorial presented to the great Promiser, to see them verified in all their extent. "I will be as the dew unto Israel, and he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon"-" I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, and as willows by the watercourses." The seed, when matured, yields a rich return.— We observed in our first remark the smallness of the origin: it is proper we should now note the greatness of the increase. All seed, indeed, yields not the same return. It varies greatly according to diversities of climate, season, and soil; but it is a bad season and a wretched soil that, with ordinary culture, does not yield many returns. In those fertile regions from which the The progress of the seed depends entirely on the nfluence of Heaven.-Nothing is more striking, and nothing should be more gratifying, than to bserve the entire and visible dependence of he husbandman on the bounty of Heaven. How astonishing, when you think of it, that an ingodly farmer should ever be found! Heimagery of Scripture was originally borrowed, it prepares his soil; he commits his seed to the arth; he carefully covers it; but without the nfluence of the sun and rain, he cannot evoke one blade from under the sod, nor bring one grain to maturity. While even the mechanic is moulding and fashioning his work in all its parts, he must sit down in patience and wait for the former and the latter rain. No doubt, he calculates upon these in their season; but upon what ground does he do so? Solely, if he reflect aright, on the faithful promise of Him who says, "I will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine, and they shall hear Jezreel." How strikingly with this corresponds the experience of the spiritual husbandman: "Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase!" What a lesson of humility! What a call to earnest prayer! What a ground of sure hope is suggested to us by the constant alternation of sunshine and was no extraordinary thing to have a double crop, and the literal verification of "in some thirty, in some sixty, in some an hundred fold." There is no husbandry, however, to be compared in this respect with the spiritual husbandry. No doubt here we find as great diversity and nowhere more melancholy miscarriages; but when the blessing of God rests upon it there is always an ample, and, when we think of its nature, an incalculable, return. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that proceedeth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." O what a golden harvest, believer, to be reaped from so small a seed—“ Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul!" "Weary MEMORIAL OF THE REV. A. N. SILVA. not, then, in well-doing, for in due time ye shall reap, if ye faint not." You may, indeed, have to sow in tears, and to many privations may you be subjected before the harvest come; but be patient, stablish your heart. "That will come, and it will not tarry;" and amidst the eternal joys of that bounteous return, how soon will all hese privations be forgotten! "How great is hy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men!" They shall receive an hundred-fold in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." 5 and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which man, and every man's hand against him: 66 But, reader, have you chosen the wiser alternative? Are you sowing to the Spirit of God, having embraced Christ by faith, and hid his word in your heart? Are you seeking, through the aid of his Spirit, to bring forth fruits unto holiness? Fear not, you shall reap as you have sown. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assu rance for ever." Remember, however, that it is not only necessary that the seed be good, but that it be also abundant. A niggard seedtime makes often a scanty harvest. "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." "Therefore, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to In fine, the produce always agrees with the seed sown.-Nothing is more striking than the vast variety of seeds, and yet the exact correspondence between each and its return. Cultivation improves different species of grain and plants, but the generic distinctions it can never obliterate. "Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles." You know what sort of grain you have sown; you do not need to wait till autumn to know what sort you shall certainly gather. You will not reap wheat for tares, neither will "cockle grow instead of barley." The same moral certainty attends the results of the spiritual seed-time. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; what a man soweth, that shall he reap. He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; and he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." This exhibits a new aspect of our figure, and opens up a tempting field of practical reflection; upon which, how-temperance patience, and to patience brotherlyever, we cannot enter. Like our Lord's beautiful parable of the tares and the wheat, it presents every man as a sower. Awfully solemn contrast of a double sowing and a double harvest! How many, alas! are there among the busy hands we see on every side that are engaged in the first and most fatal seed-time! They sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind. One sows to ambition, and reaps mortification: "All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Another sows to sensuality, and reaps a diseased body, an impoverished family, ruined credit, and a distracted mind: "Who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine." A third sows to avarice, and reaps real or self-inflicted poverty: "They that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare, kindness, and to brotherly-kindness charity; for if these things be in you, and abound, they shall make you that ye be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; for so an entrance shall be administered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king. dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." MEMORIAL OF THE REV. A. N. SILVA, THERE was a time when Jesus was the object of time that he took occasion to announce the terms of |