The Sower

I

Ye sons of earth, prepare the plough,
  Break up your fallow ground!
The sower is gone forth to sow,
  And scatter blessings round.

II

The seed that finds a stony soil
  Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower’s toil⁠—
  Soon wither’d, scorch’d, and dead.

III

The thorny ground is sure to baulk
  All hopes of harvest there;
We find a tall and sickly stalk,
  But not the fruitful ear.

IV

The beaten path and highway-side
  Receive the trust in vain;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
  And pick up all the grain.

V

But where the Lord of grace and power
  Has bless’d the happy field,
How plenteous is the golden store
  The deep-wrought furrows yield!

VI

Father of mercies, we have need
  Of thy preparing grace;
Let the same hand that gives the seed
  Provide a fruitful place.