And as he sow'd some precious seeds, Were by the way-side thrown; The fowls of heaven descried them there, And soon the seed were gone. And other seeds fell from his hand On stony places round, And forthwith they sprung up, because They had no depth of ground. But when the sun came up, and warm Sent forth his beaming ray, Because they had no root in earth, They wither'd all away. Among the thorns some others fell, Of these there was no hope; The seeds were choked, they droop'd and died, Soon as the thorns came up. But others fell into good ground, And yielded, as we're told, Some of them thirty, sixty some, And some an hundred fold. The seed that by the wayside fell, Is wisdom in the heart Of him who heareth words of truth, But understandeth not. And he who is the stony place, Is one who hears the word, Anon with joy receiveth it, And follows after good. But tribulation soon assails, And persecutions rise, He then forgets the word of truth, And all his goodness dies. The thorny place is one who hears, And does the truth receive; But finds that cares of life and wealth, His mind and heart deceive. The good and fertile ground is he Who hears and understands; And shows his, life obedient to All that the truth commands. II. THE TARES AND THE WHEAT. My kingdom I will liken to, A man who in his field Sow'd good seed, and expected soon A harvest it would yield. But while his servants slept, there came A wicked enemy, And sow'd his _tares_ among the wheat, And then went on his way. And when the good seed did appear The tares began to show; The servants wonder'd much, and said, "Why, master, thou didst sow "The best of seed all o'er the field, From whence then come these tares?" "An enemy," he said, "hath come Upon us unawares, "And scattered forth his evil seed;" The servants said to him, "Wilt thou then, that into the field We go and gather them?" The master answer'd them and said, "Let both together grow, Until the time of harvest, lest Ye pluck the wheat also. "And when the time of harvest comes, The wheat shall in my barn Be gather'd; but the tares I'll bind And in the fire burn." The children of the kingdom are The good seed that is sown, The tares that came up with the wheat Are of the evil one. The enemy who sow'd the tares, Is he who fell afar; The harvest, when the world shall end; The angels reapers are. The righteous shall be gather'd home Forever with the Lord; And as the tares are burn'd, so shall The wicked be destroy'd. III. THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT. Once Peter said, "How oft shall I My brother's sin forgive? How oft shall I, if he confess, His penitence receive?"