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I. THE CHARACTERS HERE DESCRIBED. Sowers. A sower implies seed. There is only one granary in which the living seed of the kingdom is treasured, namely, the Bible.

1. The true spiritual sower, having first of all received himself the seed, will manifest a real love for the work. He will go forth willingly, conscientiously, and lovingly, to scatter broadcast the precious treasure, not merely on well-cultivated patches of human soil, but "beside all waters," finding very often his chiefest joy in sowing the unlikeliest patches.

2. The true, spiritual sower will also have faith in his work.

3. He will not only have faith in the seed, but also in the soil. The farmer who does not believe the soil capable of producing fruit will certainly not waste time in its cultivation. If we did not believe that between every human heart and the Gospel seed there was such affinity that it could not help taking root therein, we should most certainly give up our toil.

4. The true, spiritual sower will often encounter difficulties in his work.

5. The spiritual sower is earth's truest philanthropist.

II. OUR SPHERE OF OPERATION. "Beside all waters." Wherever there is a solitary spot capable of receiving the good and living seed — whether at home or abroad, in dens of squalor or palaces of luxury and ease, in the crowded city or the rural village — we are commanded to go and plant it there.

III. THE BENEDICTION HERE PRONOUNCED. "Blessed are they that sow beside all waters."

1. The work itself is its own reward.

2. The spiritual sower enjoys the benediction of others.

3. He has the smile and benediction of Him in whose service he is engaged.

(J. W. Atkinson.)

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KJV: Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

WEB: Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the donkey.