rejoicing in the privilege of being permitted to have a place in that service

for which neither man nor woman is worthy apart from grace.

The next symbol of service that we are to consider is that of the

husbandman.  There are at least three features that we may profitably

consider under this head, although obviously there is scope in the subject

for a much more extensive study.  An occupation such as this, with all its

associations of seed -time and harvest, ploughing, sowing, reaping, wheat and

tares and fowls of the air, and all the interesting and typical operations of

farming, would not only fill a long article, but could itself be taken as the

subject of a lengthy series.  We have restricted ourselves to these three

aspects of the subject by reason of the three separate references to service

as husbandry that occur in the New Testament.

Husbandry calls for the exercise of much patience.

'Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.  Behold,

the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath

long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.  Be

ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord

draweth nigh' (Jas. 5:7,8).

Husbandry calls for patient labour, if the fruits are to be

'The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits'.

Or, according to the margin: 'The husbandman labouring first, must be

partaker of the fruits' (2 Tim. 2:6).

Husbandry implies a responsibility.  The parable of the wicked

husbandmen makes this point clear.  Instead of rendering to their Lord the

fruits that were His, they conspire against His servants and His Son that

they may keep them for themselves (see Matt. 21:33 -41; Mark 12:1 -9 and Luke

20:9 -16).  There is a reward for faithful service, both James and 2 Timothy

quoted above make this clear, but service for the sake of reward is another

matter, and is fatal.  This is a thing that should exercise us all, for the

flesh is the same all the world over.  Helpers and husbandmen; these two

symbols of service include us all, from the lowest to the highest, and both

are titles of the Father and the Son (John 15:1; Heb. 13:6; 1 Cor. 3:9).

The two symbols that are before us in this study are not only linked

together by similarity of sound, but also, and this is far more important, by

a common basic idea.  The office of the interpreter and that of the

intercessor merge into the idea of mediation, the mediation of the

interpreter being man-ward, and the mediation of the intercessor being God-

Even the church with all its gifts of tongues, miracles and prophecy

was not complete without the gift of interpretation.  The gift of tongues, so

much coveted by the Corinthian church, was emptied of most of its value

without the gift of interpretation also: