rs and unbelievers are possessed of the same
nature and faculties. As the ground which has been trodden into a
footpath is in all its essential qualities the same as that which has
been broken small by the plough and harrow, so the human constitution
and faculties of one who lives without God in the world are
substantially the same as those which belong to the redeemed of the
Lord. It was the breaking of the ground which caused the difference
between the fruitful field and the barren way side. So those minds and
hearts that now bear the fruits of faith were barren till they were
broken; and those on which the good seed has often been thrown, only to
be thrown away, may yet yield an increase of a hundredfold to their
owner, when conviction and repentance shall have rent them open to
admit the word of life.

Felix the Roman governor was a specimen of the trodden way side. His
heart, worn by the cares of business and the pleasures of sin passing in
great volume alternately over it, presented no opening for the entrance
of the Gospel. Paul accordingly, when called to preach before him, did
not, in the first instance, pour out the simple positive message of
mercy: he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come;
thus plying the seared conscience with the terrors of the Lord, in the
hope of breaking thereby the covering crust and preparing a seed bed for
the word of life. But the earth, in that case, was as iron, and refused
to yield even to an apostle's blow. From the heart of Felix the message
of mercy was effectually shut out. The jailer of Philippi was doubtless
equally hard in a more vulgar sphere, but his defences were shattered:
in that night of visitation his heart was rent as well as his prison,
and over the openings, while they were fresh, the skilful sower promptly
dropped the vital seed, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved." The word entered, and its entrance gave life.

At this point the parable addresses its lesson specifically to those who
have lived without God in the world, and who have lived in the main
comparatively at ease. They have not a real heart-possessing,
life-controlling religion, and they have never been very sorry for the
want of it. They have no part in Christ, and no cheering hope for
eternity. They are not ready to die; and yet they cannot keep death at
bay. They know that they ought to care for their souls, but in point of
fact they do not care; they kno