Lord, saying, (xi. 1—4,) Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say thon, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed is the man that obeveth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt." But he also, instead of receiving of the fruit of the rinegord, proved the obstinacy of the husbandmen: at how they east stores, and wounded him in the head, end sent him aray shamefully handled. He announced, as he had been enjoined to announce, the approaching destruction of this rebellious city, vxxviii. 3—6.) "Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it." "Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." Thus persecuted they the prophets. "Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger!" 2 Still God will "reason" with them, before he proceeds to judgment. 6. Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent kim also last uw them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. 8. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 2 Is. i. 4. 9. What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. 10. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner: 11. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 12. And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them and they left him, and went their way. They might well know that he had spoken the parable against them: it described them too truly to be mistaken: it convinced their understandings, and struck home to their consciences; but it did not affect their hearts. They sought to lay hands on him. They took no pains to avert the just and sure conclusion, The Lord of the vineyard will come and destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. And accordingly, not forty years after this was spoken, the husbandmen were miserably destroyed: not one stone of the city was left upon another. another. And the vineyard was given unto others which should "render the fruits in their seasons." The apostle proclaimed to his disobedient countrymen, "Be it known, therefore, unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." 3 Many, indeed, of these rejoiced to hear it, and received the word gladly. And we acknowledge with gratitude, that the vineyard, no longer confined within the narrow limits of Judea, has enlarged its borders to "the uttermost parts of the 3 Acts xxviii. 28. earth," and husbandmen from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, have been sent into it, and have rendered the fruits of righteousness to the Lord of the vineyard. And some of these, we trust, are returned to him from our own land. Still, when we think of the words, They will reverence my Son, when we consider the just grounds of that expectation; and when we compare these with the event: there is great room for humiliation in this and in every Christian country. Men indeed do outwardly and nominally revere the name of Jesus, and profess to call him Lord and Saviour. But how few really love, or serve, or honour, or obey him? We may judge of this from one point, which can hardly be disputed. Christ himself, before he left the world, appointed an ordinance by which it might be seen, in after times, in what value he was held. He commanded his disciples to break bread as his body was broken, and to pour out wine as his blood was poured out, and to eat and drink the bread and wine in a solemn ceremony, to remind us that our souls must be nourished by the spiritual food of his body and blood, as our bodies are supported by natural food. "This do," he And might he said, "in remembrance of me." not suppose, They will reverence my command? Were we then to judge of the number who indeed reverence him, by the number who observe this memorial of what he has done for men, what conclusion must we reasonably form? For if they were indeed reverencing Christ as he de serves to be reverenced; if they were trusting to the atonement which he made, and looking to be cleansed from sin by his blood; if they were depending upon his grace to purify their hearts, and enable them to "work out their salvation :" it appears impossible that they should refuse to kneel at his altar, in remembrance of his sufferings, and entreat his Spirit to complete in them the good work which He has begun. When, therefore, we find almost all that are young, and a vast proportion of those who have reached riper years, habitually neglecting this ordinance, are we not obliged to own, that whatever others do, these do not reverence the Son of God? And when we consider how large a number of the husbandmen are thus deficient, can we think that the just expectations of God are answered, They will reverence my Son. Alas! the hearts of men were but two well understood by Him who said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Whether, however, they be many or few, who so reverence the Son of God as to show that they are looking to him for salvation, let it be our diligent concern, that we be among the number. Whether there be "many that shall be saved," or few, the death of Christ is an all-sufficient sacrifice, and "God willeth not that any should perish.” Hereafter, "many shall seek to enter in" to the heavenly kingdom, "and shall not be able." But now is the promise given, "whosoever will, let him take of the waters of life freely." Matt. xxii. 15-33. LECTURE CIII. ALLEGIANCE DUE TO CÆSAR AND TO GOD. MARK Xii. 13-27. 13. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and Luke xx. of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 20-38. 14. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not ? 1 15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? but he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar's. 17. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him. It was not our Lord's business to decide, whether Cæsar had a right to exercise authority in Judea. But it was a strong presumption in his favour, that his coin circulated in the land. 1 This, however, was a fit occasion for issuing a Some of the Pharisees argued that this was not lawful, on the principle, "We be Abraham's children, and were never in bondage to any man.” We have no king but God. The Herodians, probably, as followers of Herod, took the opposite side. |