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[It has been already shewn that they only are saved who enter in at the door

Now our proud hearts are extremely averse to be saved in this way

We would rather come into the fold by some less humiliating means

But our self-righteous attempts will be of no avail

We must come unto God by Christ, or not at all—

Salvation never was or can be obtained through any other name than his

Seck then, and that with earnestness, to enter in at the strait gates

And then you shall have that promise fulfilled to you"-] 3. Those who are dwelling in the fold of God

[What debtors are ye to the grace which brought you to the knowledge of Christ!

And what inestimable blessings are you now made to enjoy! Yet these are only an earnest of the blessings that await you hereafter

Rich as your present pastures are, they are not to be compared with those above

Let nothing tempt you then to wander from the fold to which you are brought

Yield not to those who are but " goats," or sheep's clothing"

"wolves in

Let it be your delight to hear your shepherd's voice, and to follow his steps

Then shall you be separated from the goats in the day of judgmenti

And receive from the chief shepherd the portion reserved for you]

f Acts iv. 12.
i Matt. xxv. 33.

g Luke xiii. 24.
ki Pet. v. 4.

Isai. xlv. 17.

CCLXV. THE LABOURERS.

Matt. xx. 6, 7. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

THERE is a manifest sovereignty observable in the dispensations of God's grace to man

... His ways are often unsearchable to us, and even extremely contrary to our natural expectations—

Moral persons are often left to perish in their sins, while the most immoral have been made illustrious monuments of divine mercy

And the richest rewards have in many instances been bestowed on those, who, according to human apprehensions, appeared the least likely to receive them

A moral and exemplary youth had deliberately renounced all hopes of an interest in Christ, that he might retain his worldly possessions

Our Lord, in his improvement of this event, declared that many, who, like him, seemed to be first in respect to spiritual advantages, would prove last in respect to the benefit derived from them

But none have any right to murmur against God, seeing that he may dispense his blessings as he will

To illustrate this truth our Lord delivered the parable before usb

The part of it just read, suggests to us many important observations

I. The gospel provides for men a daily and laborious employment.

We need not speak of a Christian's work in general We shall confine ourselves to the figure of a labourer in a vineyard

[A labourer must first clear his ground from briers and noxious weeds

He must then dig up the earth, and endeavour to fertilize it with mature

After that he must carefully select his plants, and put them into the ground

He has then to water them, and to prune the luxuriant branches

And finally, he must keep up the fences that nothing enter to destroy theme_

If the Christian's duties accord not with his in respect of order, yet they are the same in substance

He must root out of his soul all earthly, sensual and devilish affections

a Matt xix 21, 22. Luke xiii. 8.

b Compare Matt. xix. 30. with xx. 16. d John xv. 2.

e Isai. v. 2-6. xxvi. 3.

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If his open gross sins be not mortified, no heavenly plant can grow within him

He must dig deep into the recesses of his heart, and not be satisfied with a slight and superficial work

Without much meditation, and diligent self-examination, he can never know the desperate wickedness and deceitfulness of his own heart

Nor must he expect fruit from the unimproved energy the natural soil

of

He must get his soul ameliorated and enriched with the grace of God

He must apply to his Lord for plants of heavenly growthAbove all, he must be careful to possess 66 THE PLANT OF RENOWN"

Without this, no other valuable plant will ever thrives— With this, humility, meekness, love, &c. will spring up, and flourish

Nor must he forget to water these plants with his prayers and tears

However fruitful he be, he will find reason enough to weep for his unfruitfulness

He will also find many luxuriant branches which require to be pruned

Lastly, he must remember that his adversary will be glad to spoil his labour

He must therefore fence every good desire with constant watchfulnessh

This, it must be confessed, is a difficult and laborious taskIt cannot be performed without much diligence and selfdenial

But he who prescribes the duty will assist us to perform it— And, as it is fit, he informs us of our work before he hires us into his service-]

Had the gospel its full effect upon us, it would lead us to fulfil these duties as cheerfully as Adam wrought in cultivating the garden of Eden

II. However long we may have been idle hitherto, it now calls us to begin our labour

The parable in its primary sense relates to the Jews and Gentiles

f Ezek. xxxiv. 29. This certainly refers to Christ. See ver. 23, 24. of that chapter. g" Christ must dwell in our hearts by faith." "Christ in us is the hope of glory." "Without him we can do nothing;" "through him, all things."

Eph. vi. 12, 16, 18.

i Rom. viii. 26.

[The patriarchs, together with Moses, the prophets, John Baptist, and Christ himself, had sought in their successive ages to engage the Jews in their proper work

Thus the Jews had been called, as it were, at the third, sixth, and ninth hours

The Gentiles, who had hitherto been overlooked, were now to be invited at the eleventh hour-]

But it may also be applied to individuals of every description

allk

-

[The occasion on which it was spoken relates equally to

And persons of different ages or circumstances may fitly represent the different hours

Some, like Samuel and Timothy, enter into the service of their God in very early life

Happy indeed are they; and thankful should they be for the grace that inclined their hearts

Others have attained a considerable age before they begin their appointed work

What reason have they to bless God for having subdued their reluctant spirits!

But many are now arrived at "the eleventh hour".

All who are far advanced in life are certainly of this description

They too, who are weak and sickly, are probably drawing to the close of their day

Yea, there may be some whose day of grace is nearly ter minated, while they are yet in full vigour both of body and mind

Surely all such persons may well conceive themselves to be addressed in the text

To us then is the invitation of the gospel now sent [The Saviour's voice to every one of us is, "Go into my vineyard"

He justly expostulates with us, "Why stand ye here all the day idle?"

Nor can any of us offer that excuse that might be justly urged by the Gentiles

We have received numberless calls to enter into the service of our Godm

If we delay therefore any longer we shall be utterly without

excuse

k Matt. xix. 29.

1 The hours are reckoned from six in the morning, that is, from sun-rise to sun-set; so that the third hour is early in the day.

m Rom. x. 21.

We know indeed that they, who dislike God's service, will find pleas enow for declining it"—

But have we provided an excuse that will be accepted in the day of judgment?

If so, we may go on securely in our career of sin

But if not, let us not, by hardening our hearts, provoke God finally to exclude us°—

It is in vain to urge, that we are incapable of performing the work assigned us

To the weakest person upon earth God will assuredly fulfil that promiseP

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If indeed we attempt to serve him in our own strength, we must expect to fail

Nor, if we only engage occasionally in his work, can we hope to succeed

Every intermission renders our task so much the more difficult

A vineyard long neglected will afford more trouble to the labourer

But if we regularly persevere in duty, our labour will be light and easy¶

Let us then be thankful that the invitation is sent us at this late hour

And let the account once given of the Jews now be realized amongst us"-]

That this invitation may not be slighted as others have been, we observe

III. To every one that will labour in earnest, the gospel promises a suitable reward

We must not suppose that the same reward will be given to all persons

[The Jews had borne the burthen of the ceremonial law

And the Gentiles, though delivered from that yoke, are made fully equal with them

This is the circumstance referred to in the parable, and which so offended the Jews

But to us there will be given a recompence according to our workst

Not that the reward will be bestowed for any merit that is in us"

n I must attend to my worldly business; I have a family to pro

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P Deut. xxxiii. 25.
s Ver. 11. 15.

"Rom. iii. 27. iv. 4, 5. xi. 6.

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