you knew its condition you could not
reach it, to stimulate the process. It is out of your hands, and out of
your sight. It is not, however, out of mind, when it is out of sight;
and your own helplessness may draw forth a more eager prayer to the
Almighty Helper. In this way it is when we are weak that we become
strong; it is when we are made most keenly sensible of our own weakness
that we cast our care most fully on the Lord. The law that shuts the
sown seed out from us, shuts it in with God. One door closes; but the
closing that hides the seed in its seed-bed from our eyes and separates
it from our hands, leaves it open to His sight, and pliant to his power.
The moment that the seed is sown, he takes it out of our sight, but then
and thereby he brings it into his own. It is away from us, and with
God.[58]

[58] Like the seed, is the Word himself. He became flesh and dwelt
among us; but he has ascended out of our sight. At the beginning he
came into the world; and at the close he will return;--a spring and
a harvest, but all the space between, he is out of sight.

The parable shows, with great perspicuity and certainty, both the extent
and the limits of this withdrawal from human cognizance and help. In the
main concern the exclusion is complete; but in some subordinate and
incidental matters, it is only partial. As to the power of germination,
and the knowledge of it, the sower is entirely shut out from the seed,
both in the natural and spiritual departments. But as he may continue
his care in nature, with much profit to the seed; so he may, in a
subordinate capacity and in an indirect manner, do much to promote the
growth of grace in the heart, after the Word has been addressed to the
understanding. The exclusion of a minister, a teacher, a parent, from
knowing and helping the growth of grace after the Gospel has been
published, is like the exclusion of the farmer from his seed after it
has been committed to the ground. He can help it, and does help it much
by his care. He keeps the fences up, that the field may not be trampled
by stray cattle: he keeps the drains open and the furrows clear, that
water may not stand on the field, but run off as soon as it falls: he
gathers off the stones, that they may not crush the seed, and pulls out
the weeds that they may not choke it.

In a similar way and with similar profit, ministers and teachers of the
word may remove obstructions which would prevent its growth.