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I pray God incline all our Hearts thus to fear God, and work Righteousness, that fo we may find his Favour in the great Day of the Lord Jefus. This, God of his Mercy grant, for the Sake of the fame his dear Son our Lord: To whom, &c.

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SERMON XIX.

St. MATT. xx. 16.

So the last fhall be firft, and the first laft; for many be called, but few chofen.

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HIS Text feems to be made of two fhort Sentences; and I look upon them as proverbial Expreffions, becaufe we find our Saviour doth more than once make use of them, tho' indeed always to the fame Purpose that he ufeth them. here. As he applies them, they have a very eafy and natural Senfe: But as we oftentimes make ufe of them, the Meaning is very hard; at least abundance of People put fuch a Meaning upon them as is uncomfortable enough, not to fay worse.

It is my Design at this Time to clear the Senfe of this Text, that no body hereafter may be frighted with it; and the beft Key we can have to let us into the

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Meaning of it, is that Parable which our Saviour juft before had been delivering, upon Occafion of which these Words come in. Here are, as I faid, two diftinct Sentences; the firft of which feems to be a kind of Inference from the Parable, which our Saviour had been delivering, So the last shall be first, and the first laft. The other feems to be added as a Reafon for the Truth of that, For many be called, and few chofen.

The Parable, upon Occafion of which thefe Words were spoken, and which is to guide to the Meaning of them, is that famous one of the Houfholder, that went out early in the Morning to hire Labourers into his Vineyard; and fome he hired in the Beginning of the Day, others three Hours after, others at Noon, others but just an Hour before Night. And in the Evening, when they came to receive their Wages, he ordered that that Hire (which was a Penny) which he had agreed with the Labourers for, that came the earliest, the fame Hire fhould be given to thofe that came in the lateft, even thofe that had but wrought one Hour. At which fome of them murmured: But the Houfholder's Answer was, that he might difpofe of his own as he pleased; and fo long as he performed his Contract with them, they had no reason to repine at his Bounty to others. Hh 4 This

This is the Sum of the Parable, and then come in the Words of my Text, by way of Inference from the whole Parable, So the laft fhall be first, and the first laft; for many are called, and few chofen.

The Bufinefs now that is here to be done, is to give fuch an Account of this Parable, that there may appear a sufficient Ground for this Inference; that is to fay, we are to connect, if we can, the Premises with the Conclufion; and if that be done, the Senfe of the Text will be eafy.

Now certainly, by the Houfholder in the Parable, is meant God Almighty; by the Vineyard that he had, is meant the Church in all Ages; by the Labourers that he called to work in this Vineyard, are meant all thofe People to whom at any time he afforded the Knowledge of his Will, and the Means of approving themselves to him. By the Penny which thefe Labourers were to have for their Work, is meant the Reward that he made over to all thofe that obeyed his Call: and whereas all thefe Labourers were hired but to work one Day in the Vineyard, that Day, according to what I have now faid, must be a very long Day, as long as from the Beginning of the World to the End thereof; for all that Time God was to have a Vineyard, and all that Time Men were to be called to work in it; and therefore

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by thofe Labourers that were hired more early, must be meant those that were called to be of God's Church in the earlier Times of the World; and by those Labourers that were hired more late, must be intended thofe that were called in the latter Times of the World. And both these Sorts of Men were to receive their Wages at the Evening of the Day, that is to fay, at the End of the World. And when that Time came, God would make no DiftinЄtion between thofe that were called more early, and those that were called more late, but would beftow as bountiful a Reward upon those that came to work in the Vineyard at the eleventh Hour, as upon those that bore the Burden and Heat of the Day.

This is the general Interpretation of the Parable; and for the Truth of it we may appeal both to the Parable itself, (which cannot, without Violence, be made to speak any otherwife) and likewife to the Judgment of the beft Expofitors of Holy Scripture, both antient and modern.

But now, left any one fhould say that this is not explicit enough, I will endeayour to give you a more particular Account of this Parable.

I do fuppofe, that the great Thing which our Saviour here defign'd to declare in this Parable was this, That tho' the Jews were far fooner called to work in God's Vineyard (that is, to be God's own Servants)

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