128. PSA 126:6. THE MINISTERIAL SOWER
Psa_126:6. The Ministerial Sower
"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."’97Psa_126:6.
We intend to apply the text to the office and labors of the Christian minister; and in so doing, we shall consider him, I. In his Labors. And, II. In his Success.
Let us consider the Christian minister,
I. In his Labors.
He is a sower; he bears precious seed; he goes forth bearing precious seed, and weepeth.
1. He is a sower.
Ministers are sometimes called shepherds’97watchmen’97overseers’97laborers together with God’97builders’97fishers. The Saviour represents them as sowers; Mat_13:3, &c. And this office is,
(1) One of appointment. God calls, and qualifies and sends out those whom he desires should preach his gospel and build up his church. Men do not put themselves into the Christian vineyard. It is an office,
(2) Of skill. Wisdom is necessary. Hence, the apostle speaks of himself as a wise master-builder. Christian ministers have to do with all the ignorance and depravity of the heart; and are opposed in their labors by all the wiles and stratagems of the devil. It is an office,
(3) Of toil. None ever associates indolence with the labors of the husbandman who traverses the furrows of his land from morning to night. Hirelings of the gospel may be careless; but the faithful servant of God will be wholly given up to his great work. All he has, and all he is, will be cheerfully laid as a reasonable service upon the altar of God. Let us notice,
2. The seed he bears.
"Bearing precious seed." The seed is the gospel, the word of the kingdom, the truth as it is in Jesus. Like seed, it is small in appearance, and to the eye of sense quite inadequate to produce the effects designed. It has nothing of the glare and pomp of philosophy about it; a stumbling-block to the Jew, and foolishness to the Greek, &c.; yet this seed is precious. It is so,
(1) In its origin. It is the production of heaven; it is the word of God; and it bears the express likeness of its great Author.
(2) It is so in its rarity. There is nothing in heaven or earth like it, or partaking of its properties. As there is only one God, one Mediator, one Spirit, and one Church; so there is only one gospel, one precious species of seed, for the cultivation of our dreary wilderness-world.
(3) It is precious in itself. Compared to the finest silver, to the purest gold; pearl of great price; so valuable is it, that the man is wise who sells all to possess it. It is precious as light; it is the golden grain of a dying world; it is the word of salvation’97and of eternal life.
(4) It is precious in its effects. Power of God to salvation. It is the instrument of our deliverance from the thraldom of sin: "Ye shall know the truth," &c.; Joh_7:32. It is the instrument of our regeneration: "Born again of the incorruptible seed," &c.; 1Pe_1:23. It is the means of our sanctification: "Sanctify them through thy truth," &c.; Joh_17:17. And oh, how fertilizing and gladdening are its effects upon our world! The desert becomes a fruitful field; and the wilderness, the garden of the Lord! Observe, it is said of the sower,
3. That he goes forth bearing precious seed.
That is, that he seeks lor spheres of usefulness; that he does not wait for men to seek it, but goes forth to exhibit, to publish, and to offer it; that he goes out, at! Jesus did, to seek the lost, and to offer them Christ’s salvation. And in going forth, he does so,
(1) In the name and strength of the Lord Jesus. All in religion must be done in his blessed name. We meet in his name’97pray in his name’97offer salvation in his name; Luk_24:47; Act_3:16 The disciples cast out devils, healed the sick, &c., in Christ’s name.
(2) They go forth cheerfully. No reluctantly, but of a willing mind.
(3) They go forth zealously. Burn with zeal and love to God, and the souls of perishing men.
(4) They go forth with diligent constancy. They labor as under the eye of God, and as those who must give an account.
(5) They go forth perseveringly. In the morning they sow their seed, and in the evening withhold not their hand: instant in season, and out of season; until their day ends, and they enter into their rest Let us notice,
4. The sorrow attendant upon ministerial exertion.
"He that goeth forth and weepeth." This sorrow arises,
(1) From the solemn nature of their calling. They have to do with precious immortal souls: enough to fill an angel’s hand, or to absorb a seraph’s heart.
(2) From their numerous and painful disappointments. Hope often excited, and then blasted; pleasant appearances of success, and then, like Ephraim and Judah of old, goodness as the early cloud and morning dew, &c. See the parable of the sower. Some fell on stony ground’97wayside’97some among thorns, &c. Paul and the Galatians; Christ and the rich young man.
(3) Their own weakness and insufficiency. Who is sufficient for these things? They have the same infirmities and weaknesses as other men; men of like passions, &c.; earthen vessels, &c.; often overwhelmed with their responsibilities, and they dare not give up: "Wo unto me, if I preach not the gospel," &c. Well, what do they do? They go forth weeping, &c.
Let us, then, consider the Christian minister,
II. In his Success.
"He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
1. He shall come again.
To his closet, to his study, for fresh supplies of the golden grain. He shall come again, finally, to his Lord and master at the end of the day, and deliver up his accounts, surrender his charge, await the reckoning, &c.
2. He shall return with rejoicing.
He has fought the fight’97endured the toil’97run the course’97reached the goal’97and gained the prize. O yes, he sowed in tears, but now reaps in joy. Then, there is the cause of his rejoicing.
3. He shall return rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Yes: this will be the grand cause of his exultation, that he has not labored in vain; that some seed has fallen upon good ground, and yielded fruit, thirty, sixty, and an hundred fold; while laboring in the field, much fruit might be gathered home before him; and when he was called to his rest, he might leave much to ripen after his decease; but in the great day he shall return, bringing his sheaves with him. All whom he has begotten in the gospel shall be presented before God, and be his crown of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Application
We learn then,
1. The Christian minister’s duty. It is to sow precious seed; to go forth, and, with diligence and assiduous earnestness, to make men acquainted with the gospel of Christ.
2. The Christian minister’s prospect. O, how joyous, how delightful, when his warfare is over, when his toil is ended, to return with great rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him; while the world’s harvest-hymn is sung by myriads of redeemed souls; and when Christ shall confer upon him the crown of glory which fadeth not away! Let such a prospect reconcile to toil, to sorrow, to suffering. "For we reckon, that the sufferings of the present time," &c.; Rom_8:18.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS