Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 2.pdf/190

 ground—the earth without form. In this condition he is compared to, and even called a wilderness—a rude, barren, uncultivated soil, bringing forth nothing that is good or heavenly! Hence the prophet Jeremiah, speaking to men in this state, says, "Thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns." To break up fallow ground, has the same meaning as to plough. The ploughing of a field is done in order to prepare the ground for the reception of seed. So, in a spiritual sense, to break up fallow ground, or to plough, denotes the preparing of the mind for the reception of the heavenly seeds of truth. A reception of these precious seeds of the kingdom will hereafter produce an abundant harvest, and the man becomes spiritually fruitful, laden with the rich treasures of eternal life. To put the hand to the plough, implies a desire on the part of man to help or go onward with, the work of preparing the mind for the seeds of eternal truth, by the growth of which the man would come forth into the beauty and order of the angelic life. To be eternally happy, man must make choice of "the beauty of holiness." He must prepare his mind to receive truth; in fact, he must place his hand on the plough, and not look back! for to look back denotes to have the same respect to outward things, to the things of the world, as he has for those of heaven. In placing the hand on the plough, and looking back at the same time, there is a secret desire to serve "two masters," God and mammon! But, reader, if heaven is to be gained, we must look not backward to outward and natural things, but forward to eternal and spiritual realities—"!"