ON

Spiritual Husbandry

AND

OTHER SUBJECTS.

BY

THE REVEREND JOSIAH COOMBES,

VICAR OF WIGGENHALL ST. PETER, NORFOLK.

Published by request.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY JOHN HALL, 291, STRAND, W.C.

1885.

50.6.217

MACKIE & CO., LIMITED, PRINTERS-LONDON, LIVERPOOL, AND WARRINGTON.

CONTENTS.

SERMON I.

THE DUTY OF SEEKING GOD ILLUSTRATED BY THE WORK

OF HUSBANDRY,

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up

your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till

He come and rain righteousness upon you."-Hosea x. 12.

Page.

1

SERMON II.

REAPING DEPENDENT ON SOWING.

"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he

that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;

but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap

life everlasting."-Gal. vi. 7, 8.

21

SERMON III.

NATIONAL SINS BRING NATIONAL PUNISHMENT.

"He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness

of them that dwell therein."-Psalm cvii. 34

..............

39

SERMON IV.

THE SERVICE OF GOD REWARDED WITH BLESSINGS.

"Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy

bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from

the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young,

nor be barren in thy land; the number of thy days I will

fulfil."-Exodus xxiii. 25, 26 ...

......

SERMON V.

OUR LORD'S CAUTION TO PREPARE FOR HIS SECOND

COMING.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten

virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet

the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five

were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps,

and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their

vessels with their lamps."-St. Matthew xxv. 1, 2, 3, 4...

Page.

71

SERMON VI.

THE CONDEMNATION OF SINNERS APPORTIONED TO

PRIVILEGES RECEIVED.

"The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this

generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented

at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than

Jonas is here."-St. Matthew xii. 41

SERMON VII.

THE LOVING-KINDNESS OF GOD FORGIVES AND RECEIVES

REPENTING AND RETURNING SINNERS.

"I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and

am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one

of thy hired servants."- St. Luke xv. 18, 19

93

111

Spiritual Husbandry.

SERMON I.

THE DUTY OF SEEKING GOD ILLUSTRATED BY THE WORK OF HUSBANDRY.

HOSEA, x. 12.

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord till He come and rain righteousness upon you."

IN reading the Bible attentively, you cannot fail to notice how frequently the inspired writers of the Holy Scriptures illustrate the great duty of seeking the Lord by the work and business of husbandry. The verse we have chosen for our text is a beautiful example of this.

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord till He come and rain righteousness upon you."

B