. He should also know the right
_time_ for sowing his seed.

A mere knowledge of these principles, however, is not sufficient.
There must be a practical application of them, in the way of complying
with the necessary conditions, or the sowing will prove a failure. The
seed that fell by the wayside was picked up by the birds. That which
fell on the rock perished. That which fell among the thorns was soon
overcome by their superior rankness of growth, and it made nothing.
Only that which fell into good ground made a remunerative return.

MAN'S WILL IS THE FIELD.

I may say to you now that man's _will_ is the field which our Lord
meant in the parable here recorded; "and the seed is the Word of God."

Notwithstanding the practical explanation given of this parable by our
Lord, a degree of obscurity still broods over it in the minds of many
Bible interpreters. What made the bad ground bad; and what made the
good ground good, and how the bad ground is to be made good and
productive, are questions that puzzle the minds of many. Some may not
agree with me; but I do believe that the diversities in human nature,
set forth and described by our Lord in this parable, all relate to the
WILL. What makes the difference between a good man, and a bad man?
Brethren, it is the WILL. A good man does good from a good will, and a
bad man does bad from a bad will.

Let us take the wayside hearer. There is no defect about his
_understanding_. His head is as clear in matters of business as any
man's. He understands what the preacher says when he is sowing the
seeds of gospel truth as readily as any one in the congregation. Why
then does the devil take away the Word out of his heart? I answer,
because the devil is very fond of doing that sort of work; and the man
does not object. In other words, the wayside hearer has no WILL to
keep the Word in his heart. If he had a _will_ to keep the Word in his
heart, and live conformably to it, the gates of hell could not prevail
against it. He would then be _good ground_ according to the measure of
his capacity, and the life of love and obedience growing out of it.

Take the rock-hearer next. He has a very thin skin of soil over the
surface of the rock that lies underneath. From the way he goes to
meeting and talks about religion, you might readily conclude that
all he needs to become a bright light in the church is a little
encouragement. He says: "That was a splendid sermon we heard to-day.
It di