Poem by William Cowper

Olney Hymn 16. The Sower

     (Matthew, xiii.3)

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

    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.

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

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

    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!

    Father of mercies, we have need
        Of thy preparing grace; 
    Let the same Hand that give me seed
        Provide a fruitful place! 

1. Olney Hymn 4. Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner
2. See Where the Thames, the Purest Stream
3. An Apology for Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote
4. Olney Hymn 55. The Heart Healed and Changed by Mercy
5. Olney Hymn 32. The Shining Light

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