a deluge of rain upon any particular country, or portion of country, so as to smite the hopes of that people; and instead of a plentiful harvest; instead of their garners being full of all manner of store; instead of their oxen being strong to labour, &c., they might be visited with blasting and mildew, and murrain. Their hay and their corn might be destroyed; their sheep might be distempered with the rot; their cattle might be smitten and die. All this, doubtless, we are ready to admit, and God still be faithful to his promise, that "seed time and harvest should not cease." All this I have witnessed. I have witnessed the destruction of the hopes of a whole village, and, I think, traceable to the breaking of the Sabbath by the whole village, in holding the annual wakes on the Lord's day; a custom which is still in practice in different parts of Wales. "He who The time of harvest is a season of labour. gathereth in summer is a wise son; but he who sleepeth in harvest is a son who causeth shame." This season of labour and activity is not to be spent in sloth and idleness. The summer is a part of harvest time, and he is wise who improves seasons and opportunities of getting good, and doing good to others. The season of youth is the summer season of activity, and diligence, in acquiring useful knowledge; and the harvest that accrues therefrom will be reaped in after life; when it will be proved that he who gathereth in the season of youth is a wise son; but he who neglects improving himself when opportunities occur, causeth shame, both to himself for his folly, in bringing poverty and misery, which usually follow slothfulness, and also to his parents and teachers, to whose negligence, or wrong education and instruction, these results are often, and sometimes justly, imputed. Summer, considered in connexion with the church of God, is part of harvest time, and as such it is a season of labour. It is that season when the means of grace are in full force; when the sunshine of prosperity is at its meridian, maturing and ripening the graces of the Christian, and fitting him for the time of harvest, when the sickle will be put in. This is a season of which it behoves every hearer of the Gospel to avail himself with diligence; not knowing how long the sun may shine. A summer's sun is often obscured by clouds. Although the word may be preached in this season with power, it does not follow that it will be always the case; death may interfere, and the minister be removed; or we ourselves may be prevented from attending the ministratrations of God's house, by sickness or some other unforeseen cause; and this is a reason why the summer season for hearing the word should be duly improved, that we may be commended as wise sons. The time of harvest should be a season of reflection. The waving of a field of corn before the passing wind, when we see all the ears bend in succession, may lead us to reflect upon the wind of temptation which frequently blows over the church and people of God: and how rare a thing is it to see one ear of God's chosen seed withstand or oppose every blast of temptation! how rare and wondrous a circumstance to see one erect, heaven-aspiring ear of God's wheat, unmoved amidst all these powerful prevailing storms! Again, when we see the corn cut down, there is an end of growth the sun may still shine, the showers still descend, the dew-drop still bespangle the earth, but the medium through which the seed was nourished by these various means is destroyed; the sharp sickle has severed the ear from the root; the stalk is cut, and growth is at an end. And thus, when death puts in his sickle, we, being separated from all the means of grace, growth of Christian character on earth, advancement of Christian graces, will be at an end: we shall no more go up to the house of God in company; no more bow the knee in prayer; no more hear the persuasive arguments of the word; no more unite on earth in elevating our hearts and voices in praise; no more listen to precepts, promises, and threatenings, for the time of our harvest is come: there will be nothing more left on earth of our profession but the bare stubble; and this will be valuable just in proportion to our growth and consequent usefulness. Again, however pleasing the prospect of the fields when ripe to harvest, however beautiful the tints that vary the landscape, however rich the hues that please the eye of the observer, there will speedily be an end of that delectable sight, for it is the time of harvest! "Before the ripened field the reapers stand in fair array ; Hence we may reflect, however inviting present scenes, however pleasing present prospects, however flattering present circumstances, all must soon disappear; all will have an end. The day ends in night, summer ends in harvest, and life in death. In the Scriptures, the time of harvest intends the end of the world. In reply to the desire of his disciples, "Jesus answered and said unto them, The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." And in another place, the end of the world is called, by way of eminency, "the day of the Lord, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up." This will, indeed, be a harvest of woe, and of horror, and of anguish to the ungodly. And why? Because all the things in which they took delight, all pleasant possessions, and all the joys of sense, all the desires of their eyes, will be consumed in one fierce and general conflagration, and they will be left exposed and bare to the tempest of God's wrath; for they have neglected his offers of mercy, rejected the only hope that was set before them, preferred lying vanities, and the short-lived pleasures of a day, to joys substantial, though in their eyes contemptible, because they were not objects of sense. Therefore will the judge say, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh.” The business of the harvest. "I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." The reapers are the angels. Angel is a general term applied to all those orders of invisible beings formed by God, and employed by him to execute and fulfil all the appointments of his providence. The Psalmist calls them "Angels who excel in strength, who do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." The apostle Paul speaks of them as fitted for different offices, to which they are delegated by Jehovah. "By him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers." And these are appointed to celebrate the praises of God in heaven, and to minister to the saints on earth; and are spoken of in the passage already alluded to, as being actively employed at the end of the world. In the parable, they are (familiar with our notions of things) called reapers; and the occupations that are assigned to them are, cutting down the wheat, binding and separating the tares, and carrying the harvest. They are instrumental in cutting down the wheat; that is, they are actively employed in smiting with death every saint and sinner, when the time arrives that their respective periods of probation are come to an end. This period was appointed of God in the counsels of eternity; and is signified to the angels when the period arrives. This act of cutting down the harvest is called death, which is neither more nor less than separating the soul from the body. The commission is, doubtless, executed by angels. Poets and fabulists have personified death; they have represented it as a monster that feeds on human flesh; they have pictured it as a ghastly skeleton, armed with a dart and sting; and so far has this delusion been carried, that many have expected at the hour of their decease to see this terrific monster in all his grisly majesty. But it is a deception practised upon the understanding: death is nothing more than the soul being separated from the body, in order to enter upon a new mode of existence, and appear in the presence of its judge; and this commission of Jehovah is carried into effect by his ministers, the angels. "In the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers." Death, therefore, is a state, not a thing. Another part of the business of the harvest is, separating the tares, and binding them up into bundles to burn. The decrees of God are executed by the hosts |
