Patrick (22)

True and illustrious husbandman of the field of the Gospel,

whose seeds are seen to be the Gospels of Christ

which, with his godly mouth, he sows in the ears of the wise,

ploughing their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit.


Christ has chosen him as his representative on earth,

who frees captives from a twofold servitude:

very many men has he redeemed from slavery,

countless are they whom he has loosed from the Devil’s dominion.

 - Sechnall, Audite Omnes Amantes

We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you. For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

 - 2 Corinthians 10.13-16

Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name…

 - Psalm 142.7

Sechnall brings two pointed metaphors to the task of singing the praise of God because of the work of Patrick.

First, he described Patrick as a “husbandman” of the Gospel whose work included sowing good Kingdom seed and “ploughing” the hard hearts and minds of those who heard him with the true steel of the Holy Spirit. Several disciplines are suggested in this metaphor.

Patrick understood that bearing fruit requires a variety of skills and a lot of patient hard work. He had to break up the hard ground of men’s hearts through the ministry of the Word and prayer, the primary resources of the Spirit for salvation and sanctification. People did not immediately come to faith in Christ as Patrick preached. Nor did they grow in leaps and bounds just because he urged them to. Patrick needed a clear vision, a patient soul, and a ready hand to help the people of Ireland bear fruit for the Lord.

Patrick knew the limits of his mission field—wherever in Ireland he could reach and be allowed to preach and teach. We also have a mission field, one personally prepared for us by the Lord, as He had prepared Patrick’s for him. The people in our mission field are those we see “as we are going” (Matt. 28.18-20) throughout the normal course of our day. We must be ready with good works and good seed so that the grace of God can spread from us to the people to whom He sends us each day (2 Cor. 4.15).

And this work starts in prayer, is sustained by prayer, and leads to prayers of praise and thanks for every indication of lively faith, be it ever so small.

Second, Sechnall identifies Patrick as Christ’s “representative on earth”, or as Paul might say, His ambassador. But I want to stay with the idea of “representative” for a minute. We think of that word as signifying one who stands in place of another, like our representatives in Congress or our state legislature. But an older idea of “represent” means just that, to present again, to be the very representation of another. Patrick “re-presented” Jesus over and over to the Irish people, just as we must do in our own Personal Mission Fields.

Patrick was remembered as Jesus; he came to set the captives free. Not only did Patrick make it a practice of freeing slaves—after all, he’d been, done that, and knew it was no way to live. But more importantly, Patrick freed the souls of multitudes of the Irish from captivity to Satan and the kingdom of darkness. This was a major part of Jesus’ mission, as He announced to the people in Capernaum (Lk. 4.17-21). Patrick had known both forms of the slavery he encountered throughout Ireland, and he was determined, as Christ’s representative, to make His freedom as fully and widely known as possible.

We also have this charge upon us. People who are captive to lies, sin, destructive habits, and the deceptions of the devil need the freedom only Jesus can give. Our calling, as workers in the Lord’s field, is to represent Him and His agenda faithfully, that many might discover or experience more of the true freedom we have in Jesus Christ.

Pray daily that God will use you as He did Patrick for a great revival of faith in Jesus in our day.

For Reflection
1. What does your work as a “husbandman” of the Lord require of you?

2. To whom will you “re-present” Jesus today?

Psalm 142.1, 2, 5-7 (Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
With my voice, O LORD, I cry—hear my plea for mercy, LORD!
My complaint mounts up on high, bringing You my troubled word:
Refrain vv. 5, 6
LORD, You are my Refuge strong! O receive my plaintive song!

Out of prison lead me, LORD; thanks and praise to You shall be.
Righteous men armed with Your Word will Your grace bestow on me.
Refrain

Set me free from all fear so that I may work Your field and represent You well, Lord, as I…

T. M. Moore

Patrick’s Legacy
You can read more about the impact of Patrick’s ministry in our book, The Legacy of Patrick. Here you’ll learn how Patrick’s work has affected generations of Christians down to our own day. Order your copy by clicking here.

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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.