I.
OF THE SOWER.
Behold a sower going forth
To scatter o'er his field,
A rich return will yield.
And as he sow'd some precious seeds,
Were by the way-side thrown;
And soon the seed were gone.
And other seeds fell from his hand
On stony places round,
They had no depth of ground.
But when the sun came up, and warm
Sent forth his beaming ray,
They wither'd all away.
Among the thorns some others fell,
Of these there was no hope;
Soon as the thorns came up.
But others fell into good ground,
And yielded, as we're told,
And some an hundred fold.
The seed that by the wayside fell,
Is wisdom in the heart
But understandeth not.
And he who is the stony place,
Is one who hears the word,
And follows after good.
But tribulation soon assails,
And persecutions rise,
And all his goodness dies.
The thorny place is one who hears,
And does the truth receive;
His mind and heart deceive.
The good and fertile ground is he
Who hears and understands;
All that the truth commands.