2. Be diligent in his service —
[We see how diligent worldlings are in the service of the world. Let not us be surpassed by them. We have a far better Master, and an infinitely richer reward.]
3. Stand ready to give up your account to him —
[We know not how soon he will say, Give an account of thy stewardship : but it will be a joyful word to those who shall be found ready. Let us then be daily inspecting and balancing our accounts. He will then give us the true riches0: and will bestow upon us what shall to all eternity be our ownv.~\
0 ver. 11. p ver. 12. Matt. xxiv. 45 — 47.
Luke xvi. 16. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
WHEREVER the Gospel is preached with fidelity and earnestness, the places of worship are, for the most part, well attended. And this is often made a ground of joyful congratulation. But if, instead of comparing the attendance of persons at such places of worship with that which is seen at other Churches, we were to compare it with what took place at the first introduction of Christianity, we should see in it nothing but an occasion of shame and sorrow. Under the law and the prophets, that is, during the Mosaic dispensation, there was but little of preaching : but when John, the forerunner of our Lord, came, he preached much and often ; and so powerful were his ministrations, that persons of all ranks and orders pressed into that kingdom, which he sought and laboured to establish. Let us then, for our humilia- tion, consider,
I. The effects of John's preaching —
" He preached the kingdom of God" —
[By " the kingdom of God" I understand, the kingdom of the Messiah, or the reign of Christ in the world and in the heart. He declared that Christ was come : and he pointed him