his church, to that of Solomon's, which is mentioned in ver. 11, and though doubtless Solomon's vineyard was one of the rarest, choicest, and fruitfullest vineyards in all Judaea, yet it was wonderful inferior to Christ's vineyard ; and that partly because Christ's vineyard cost liim a dearer and a greater price, even the price of his blood, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19, than ever Solomon's cost him, and partly because his vineyard serves to more spiritual, high, honourable, and noble ends, than ever Solomon's did, 1 Tim. iii. 15, viz., the glory and exaltation of God, the propagating of truth, the bringing forth of the fruits of the Spirit, viz., love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- ness, temperance, the bringing in of sinners, and the building up of saints. Gal. v. 22, 23 ; and partly because his eye is still upon it, and his protection is still over it, and his presence is still with it, Ps. cxxi. 3-8. Isa. xxvii. 2, 3, ' In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment ; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.' But Solomon's eye was not always upon his vineyard, neither was his hand of protection always over it, neither was his kingly presence always with it ; and partly be- cause all his treasure is laid up in his vineyard, his church. His treasures of grace, his treasures of mercy, his treasures of comfort, his treasures of goodness, &c., Eph. iii. 10, 17-20, is all laid up in his church ; but Solomon, as rich and as glorious a king as he was, yet he had no such treasures laid up in his vineyard. Solomon never made his vineyard his treasury ; and partly because His vineyard was given to him for ever, as an everlasting inheritance ; but Solomon's was but temporary and mutable, Ps. ii. 7; John vi. 39, and xvii. 6, 8, 12. Now all those that are painful l and faithful labourers in Christ's vine- yard, shall receive a noble, a liberal compensation and recompense for their labours. No man shall shut a door nor open a door in Christ's vineyard for nought ; no man shall labour an hour there without a re- ward. All faithful ministers are fellow-labourers with Christ in the spiritual husbandry ; they dig with Christ, and they plant with Christ, and they prune with Christ, and they water with Christ, and they watch with Christ, 1 Cor. iii. 8, 9 ; and therefore Christ will allow them a fifth part of the glory and reward with himself As he has his thousand pieces of sUver, so he will look to it that they shall have their two hundred pieces of silver. A thousand is the number of per- fection, and here it may note that fulness of glory that Christ should have, and the two hundred may note that very great proportion of heavenly glory that all the faithful labourers in Christ's vineyard shall have, who have helped forward the flourishing estate of that vineyard. Mat. xix. 27-29. Look, as the thriving of the child adds to the com- fort and the credit of the nurse, and the fruitfulness of the field adds to the pleasure and delight of the husbandman, and the health and increase of the flock adds to the joy and reward of the shepherd ; so the increase of holiness, the thriving, the fruitfulness of souls in holiness, adds to the credit and comfort, to the pleasure and delight, to the joy and reward of faithful painful ministers, who are nurses, husbandmen, and shepherds, in the language of the Holy Scriptures. Though it be true that faithful ministers are a sweet savour to God, * ' Painstaking/ ' pcrsevering.'—G.
368 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
both in them that are saved, and in them that perish, 2 Cor. ii. 15, though their labour, whether it hit or miss, is accepted, and shall be rewarded of the Lord, as the physician has his fee, though the patient dies, and the nurse has her wages, though the child don't thrive, and the vine-dresser has his hire, though the vines don't bear fruit, yet the more they win men to heaven, and the more by their means the work of holiness is carried on in the hearts and lives of men, the weightier will be their crown of glory, and the greater will be their joy and rejoicing in the great day of our Lord, Isa. xlix. 15. 0 sirs, did you but see your faithful ministers' tears, did you but hear their heavy sighs and groans, were you but acquainted with their fervent and frequent prayers on your behalfs, did you but believe how they beat their brains, and how willing they are not only to spend them- selves, but even to spit out their very lungs in the service of your souls, how would you call upon your own souls to add holiness to holi- ness— yea, charge your own souls to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord ! Well, friends, as ever you would add to your faithful ministers' comfort here, and to then' joy and crown at the coming of our Lord, labour after higher degrees of holiness. But,
(17.) Lastly, To provoke you to labour after higher degrees of holi- ness, consider that the more holiness you have here, the more happiness you shall have hereafter. The more grace you have on earth, the more glory you shall have in heaven. Now before I come to make good this argument — viz., that some saints shall partake of more glory in heaven than others shall — ^give me leave to premise these few things to prevent mistakes.
First, That the object of their happiness, which is God blessed for ever, will be one and the same to all saints. All glorified saints shall have but one God among them all. God shall be no more one saint's God than he shall be every saint's God in heaven, &c.