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I. THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH GOD DEALS WITH HIS PEOPLE.

1. He ploughs the ground, i.e., He breaks up the hard, natural heart. For this purpose He employs —

(1)  The terrors of the law,

(2)  Judgments in providence.

2. The second process is harrowing. "Doth He open and break the clods of His ground? When He hath made plain the face thereof," etc. The object is to bring the ploughed ground into such a condition as will best secure me proper reception of the seed. There are many clods in the human heart, too, which need to be broken.

(1)  The clod of prejudice.

(2)  Of pride.

3. The third process is that or sowing the seed.

4. The threshing. In order that the Christian may become useful as well as fit for Heaven, affliction is necessary.

II. THE SKILL DISPLAYED IN THESE VARIOUS OPERATIONS.

1. The skill is not expressly referred to in connection with the ploughing. But it may nevertheless be seen. Farmers know that there is such a thing as ploughing too deep, and also ploughing too shallow. In the one case the gravel may be reached and turned up to the surface, and so render the seed to be afterwards sown comparatively useless. Or, the too cold soil may be turned up, and thus the seed sown will perish. In the other case, the proper depth of the soil is not reached, and the crop will therefore be but a thin and sickly one. So it is with God in His dealings with His people. Some natures need to be thoroughly aroused, some hearts to be opened up to their very depths, in order that the Word may take root and bring forth fruit. No superficial work will do here And although God's messengers may and often do err, God Himself never will, for "He is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." Again, other natures need to be dealt with in a different way. They require to be dealt with gently and lovingly, and the wise Husbandman acts accordingly:

2. But the skill of the farmer is referred to in this passage in connection with the sowing of the seed. Different soils require different kinds of seed, if there is to be a good crop. So does God act too. Some souls need doctrine, others history. Some need words of Divine love and pity, others the Divine warnings and threatenings.

3. The skill of the farmer is seen, too, in employing different kinds of threshing instruments for the different kinds of. grain. So also does God deal with His people. Some need only a comparatively light affliction, their natures being of such a kind that treatment of a different kind would utterly overwhelm them and drive them to despair. Others need to be put into the furnace seven times heated. And it is to be observed that as the bread corn, or most precious material, gets as it were the roughest treatment, so it is God's choice ones that are subjected to the greatest trials.

(D. Macaulay, M. A.)

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KJV: Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

WEB: Give ear, and hear my voice! Listen, and hear my speech!