. God's work of grace in the soul.
A letter of John Newton. The soil produces grain, first
the blade, then the stalk, and then the ripe grain on the stalk. Mark 4.28. The Lord compares the usual method
of growth in grace to the growth of grain, which is perfected
by a slow and almost imperceptible progress. The seed is hidden
for a time in the soil, and when it appears, it passes through
a succession of changes, the blade, the stalk, and lastly,
the ripe grain. and it is brought forward amidst
a variety of weather. The dew, the frost, the wind,
the rain, the sun, all concur to advance its maturity, though
some of these agents are contrary to each other, and some of them
perhaps seem to threaten the life of the plant, yet, when
the season of harvest returns, the grain is found ready for
the sickle. Just so is God's work of grace
in the soul. Its beginnings are small, its
growth from the most part slow, and to our apprehensions imperceptible
and often precarious. But there is this difference
in the comparison. Frosts and blights, droughts
or floods may possibly disappoint the gardener's hopes. But the
great gardener of the soul will not and cannot be disappointed. What he sows shall flourish in
defiance of all opposition, and if at times it seems to wither,
he can and he will revive it. For the most part, God's people
are exercised with sharp trials and temptations, for it is necessary
they should learn not only what He can do for them, but how little
they can do without Him. Therefore He teaches them not
all at once, but by degrees, as they are able to bear it.
The soil produces grain, first the blade, then the stalk, and
then the ripe grain on the stalk. Mark 4 28.