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.