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 hejirst in respect to spiritual advantages, would prove last in respect to the benefit derived from them. But none have any right to nunmur against God, seeing that he may dispense his blessings as he will. To illustrate this truth our Lord delivered the parable before us''.
The part of it just read, suggests to us many im- portant observations :
L 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 manure"^. After that he must carefully select his plants, and put them into the ground ; he has then to water
» Matt. xix. 21, 22. ^ Compare Matt. xix. 30. with xx. 16.
^ Luke xiii. 8.