Classic Poem

PARABLE I.

The Sower and the Seed.

'Twas thus the Light of Light, the Son
Of God , his moral tales begun
Behold, the parable I show:
A sower went his way to sow,
And, as the kindly grain he threw,
Some by the beaten path-way flew,
And there, neglected as it lay,
Fell to the birds an easy prey.
Some upon stony places fell,
Where, as it was not rooted well,
For lack of depth it soon appear'd:
But, when the sun the vapours clear'd,
It perish'd by the scorching air,
Because it wanted ground to bear:
And some amongst the thorns was cast,
Which choak'd them, growing up too fast.
But some upon a kindly soil
Fell, and repaid the workman's toil
And these an hundred fold increas'd,
Those sixty, thirty ev'n the least.
?He, to whom God has giv'n an ear,
Let him attend the word in fear.
He spake—and as he made a pause
His scholars came, and ask'd the cause—
‘Why dost thou parables recite,
‘Nor speak'st thy gracious will out-right?’
Because it is reserv'd for you,
He cries, God's glorious light to view;
But from the race, that have rebell'd,
Are heav'nly mysteries with-held;
For those that deathless treasures store
Are sure to reap the more and more,
While him, that makes his little less,
I finally shall dispossess.
I therefore parables devise—
Because, altho' I made them eyes,
Yet is not their discernment clear,
Nor have they for the truth an ear;
That in the hardned and self-will'd
Isaiah's words might be fulfill'd:
‘In hearing shall your ears be blest,
‘And not one word shall ye digest;
‘And seeing ye your God shall view,
‘Nor shall ye know him, when ye do
‘For callous hearts this race have got,
‘Their ears are clogg'd, their eyes are not:
‘Lest, when the season is at hand,
‘They see, and hear, and understand,
‘And all at once be converts found,
‘And I should heal their inward wound’—
But blessed are your eyes, that see,
And ears, that hear in verity.
For many kings and patriarchs too
(So great the grace indulg'd to you)
And prophets by the word inspir'd,
Have with all fervent pray'r desir'd
To see the things, which ye behold,
And hear the myst'ries, I unfold,
And all their vows, and earnest suit,
Were premature, and bore no fruit.
Hear, then, and note the mystic lore
Couch'd in the story of the sow'r.
?When a man hears, not to retain,
The word of Christ's eternal reign,
Then comes the fiend, and takes away
The grace his heart could not obey.
This is the seed that was imply'd
As wasted by the path-way side.
But that receiver of the grain
Sow'n on the stony-ground in vain,
Resembles one of chearful heart,
Who hears and acts a christian's part,
By bearing instantaneous fruit,
But having neither depth nor root,
By scourge of pow'r, or worldly loss,
Straight is offended at the cross
He likewise that receiv'd the seed
'Mongst many a thorn, and many a weed,
Is he, that hears the word, and trusts,
But treach'rous wealth and worldly lusts
Choke up his heart with carnal care,
Till all is naught and barren there.
?But men of upright hearts and sound
Receive the seed on kindly ground;
The word, which they are apt to hear,
Is to their understanding clear.
These at the harvest we behold
Some bearing fruit an hundred fold,
Some sixty, for the bridegroom's feast,
And thirty ev'n the last and least.