Page images
PDF
EPUB

ciety, or pulpit.-He's a Calvinist by turnsan Arminian in heart-a Baxtarian by fits; and a Churchman if occafion requires. His gift is a precious jewel in his own eyes, and whichever way it turns, it profpers, or he profpers by it. He becomes all things to all men indeed, that he may gain the more, not for God, but for himself. This man is called a fervant in fcripture, but not the fervant that is mentioned in my text, for he is faid to be a fervant of the Lord. But they that preach to please men cannot be the fervants of Chrift:

Which leads me to confider the fecond branch of this general head, which is to defcribe this fervant of the Lord, in contradiftinction from all others.

Ift. He is one that is reprefented as standing idle in the market place; perhaps it may mean, that law and confcience were at work within him, and therefore he could not engage in the devil's service as usual; for 'tis a rare thing to find a finner idle in this fenfe. His ftanding idle, may ferve to fhew, that the Lord's elect do not fet themselves to work or attempt to go into the vineyard, until the mafter hires them; and they are in general fuch as no carnal man cares to hire. Why ftand ye bere all the day idle? they reply, because no man bath hired us: Go ye into the vineyard, and that which is right, that shall ye receive. Here is their command, and the promife both;

B 2

both; go ye, and that which is right fhall ye receive. Thefe do not, run before they are fent; they take not this office upon themfelves until they are called of God as was Aaron; nor are they fent of men; it is the Lord that hires and fends his own fervants.

It is true, Satan fends a great many preachers into the world and church both, but it is done to oppofe the truth, and the advocates for it, and that in, behalf of Satan's intereft, on which account they bear their mafter's name, and are called, minifters of Satan, whofe end is to be according to their works. There are men that make preachers and fend them, whom God never fent, nor will ever own; but this is no wonder, for they used to make kings and princes in the fame way: They have made kings, faith God, but I knew it not, and princes but not by me; and if they can make kings, why not doctors? But the Lord's fervants are called, furnifhed, and fent by himself. I am, fays Paul, an apostle, not of man, nor by man, but by Jefus Chrift.

The apoftle, in the chapter out of which our text is taken, reprefents the fervants of the Lord in a two-fold character; first, a labourer in the vineyard, and fecondly, a good foldier of Jefus Chrift. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits, 2 Tim. ii. 5. The labourer must know the divine husbandman and the principal vine, before he can know any thing of the vineyard, or the branches of it, or be able to work in

[ocr errors]

it. God the father is the chief husbandman, Chrift the principal vine, every believer a branch, and the whole church a vineyard. And these things must be known by every labourer, or inferior husbandman, who is called the Lord's fervant in my text. This is life eternal to know thee, the only true God, and Jefus Christ whom thou haft fent. If an experimental knowledge of these things is life eternal, then these things must be known by the Lord's fervant before he can'labour: Who can work that is dead? He that laboureth, fays Paul, must first be partaker of the fruits. No preaching Christ crucified, till we know that our old man is crucified with him; a knowledge of this, crucifies us to the world, and the world to us. We must be planted together in the likeness of his death, before we fhall know the value of it, and in the likeness of his refurrection alfo, and be begotten again to a lively hope by it, before we can preach Chrift as the the first fruits of them that flept.

He must be partaker of the fruits, before he can labour. He cannot be a fpiritual labourer, or a minifter of the Spirit, till he is a partaker of the fruits of the Spirit. He must be a partaker of the Spirit of love, be brought to love God, Jefus Chrift, his word, and all that love our Lord Jefus Chrift in fincerity and truth, before he can be a minifter of the Spirit. One glorious fruit of the Spirit is faith, and the Lord's labourers are called faithful fervants; but graceless men cannot

be called faithful. To hear unbelievers preach faith, feems as great a contradiction as for Python the Devil, to call Paul and Silas fervants of the moft high God, which was true, but when he added, that fhew unto us the way of falvation, it was a lye, for there is no falvation for devils. Satan by this fhew of candour, expected fome lenity to be fhewn by the apoftle; but Paul was not ignorant of his devices, he paid no refpe&t to his candour, but charged him to come out of the damfel, and then Satan let Paul feel the effects of his fpleen and bitterness: He fet off into the heart of the damfel's mafter, ftirred up a mob, and brought the fervants of the most high God before the judgment fear, with this heavy charge, thefe men being Jews do exceedingly trouble our city, Acts xvi. 19, 20.

The hufbandman that labours must be a partaker of the fruits; he cannot bring forth good fruits, till his own heart be made good; no man can gather grapes of thorns nor figs of thiftler; he cannot bring forth the fruits of the Spirit till the Spirit be in him, nor can the miniftry of a barren foul be fruitful. What knows a carnal man of God's husbandry? Spiritual labourers have the fallow ground of the heart to plow up—thorns of carnal cares and covetousness to grub-clods to breakprecious feed to bear-and incorruptible feed to fowplanting and watering to do. He is to enforce fruitfulness-defcribe four grapes and wild figsobferve what clusters have a bleffing in them and

what

what clusters are bitter—which branch to encourage and which branch to cut at; for which bufinefs, none can furnish or qualify us but God himfelf, nor can there be either fuccefs or increase, without his direction and bleffing.

Nor is it enough for a man to talte these fruits at his being first fent into the vineyard, he ftands in need of them daily. The keepers of the vineyard have one hundred; an hundred fold in this life. 'Tis poor work, keeping a flock and not tafting the milk of the flock. Sad work, to tread the wine prefs and fuffer thirst, which our Master did; it is dreadful work to keep a vineyard and not taste the fruit of the vineyard, both in a fpiritual and temporal fenfe. In short, the labourer needs fruits and fortitude too, especially as there are fo many little foxes that spoil the vines, and are fo fubtile and bufy about them that have tender grapes.

The Lord's fervant muft ferve his mafter with nothing but what is his mafter's own. He must plow with his master's heifer-bear his master's yoke-fow his master's feed-go by his master's direction, and aim at his mafter's honour. He must give no heed to old wives fables, nor turn afide from the way of the vineyard, though Jezebel the prophetess should attempt to teach the fervants of the Lord.

2dly. Paul calls this fervant in my text, a good foldier of Jefus Chrift. If he is a good foldier, he is enlisted, and, under a divine power on the will,

B 4

« PreviousContinue »