to say? He says: "I am the Lord that healeth thee." Acknowledge that you are sick, sick unto death and hear Him saying: "The son of man is come to save that which was lost." "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Turn to Jesus Christ; incline unto Him the ears of your heart and hear Him speaking to you in many words of great promise, and you will soon learn to say: I heard the voice of Jesus say: "I am this dark world's light; And in that Light of life I'll walk Till traveling days are done. AMA.. SEPTUAGESIMA. TEXT: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a house-holder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto them; Go ye, also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 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. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Matt. 20, 1-16. The kingdom of heaven, the visible church of Christ on earth, is like unto a field in which wheat and tares are mixed together. The wheat are the true Christians, the tares are those who are in the outward community of the church, but are not Christians at heart. To these tares belong the drones and idlers, who are in the church of Christ, but do nothing for it. In the parable before us, the kingdom of Christ is compared with a vineyard, and those called to it with laborers in the vineyard. Now a vineyard is a place where there is much and some hard work to do. Herein is a similarity between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the world. Man is not placed on this earth to idle away his lifetime, but to labor in some useful employment. Many count laboring a disgrace, and there are not a few who will rather beg than dig, rather steal than work; but in fact it is idleness and not work which is a disgrace to man; for 2 Thes. 3, 11, St. Paul writes: "We hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies." To idle away the days and not to work, that is a disgrace to an able bodied man, and it is walking disorderly for God's order is that every man should be occupied in some useful employment. God has not only commanded this, to industrious labor He has also given great promises. Thus the 128 Psalm says: "Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." The man who labors industriously in the fear of God has the promise that God will supply him what he needs for himself and family; but the idler has no promise, save that poverty shall overtake him as an armed man. Let the drone be rich or poor, he is a nuisance in the community; an evil example, harmful and of no good. Similar in the church. If a church has five hundred members, but drones, do-nothings, how shall that church thrive? Certainly, if three earnest workers join together they will accomplish more than a hundred drones. This householder goes out to hire laborers into his vineyard. Those called to the kingdom of Christ are also called to labor in it. Here the word is: All hands to work; drones are not wanted; they are only a hindrance and a drawback. Of that unfruitful tree in His vineyard the Lord said: "Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" Luke 13, 7. The drone in the church is nothing but an encumbrance. He himself will do nothing, and he is a hindrance to those who want to work and who do work. Drones are tares, an encumbrance to the wheat. Be not an idler in the vineyard, but lend your hand that the kingdom may thrive and grow and be spread abroad. Yet from this fact that drones are only an encumbrance, it does not follow that those who do work are all pleasing to the housefather. If a laborer works hard and does it all wrong, his industry will occasion so much more harm to his employer. It must be the right kind of work performed in the right spirit. Hence selecting only the main thought in this text let me set forth: THE PARABLE OF THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD A PROOF That we are SAVED ALONE BY GRACE; showing I. How the parable proves this; and II. What warning and comfort is contained in it. I. From this parable, which is so exceedingly rich in contents, I desire to-day, in the most simple manner possible, to exhibit only the chief and main point of doctrine which the Lord here intended to inculcate. Given in a few words it is this: In the kingdom of Christ an altogether different rule obtains than in worldly transactions. In this world the rule is: As the labor, so the wages. That is equity and justice. But in the kingdom of Christ there is neither earning nor paying of wages. Whatever a man receives of spiritual gifts, is all alone by the grace of God, and never because that man earned it or in any way deserved it. In Christ's kingdom all is grace, and nothing but grace. How does the parable prove this? The connection is this: Peter, speaking for all the apostles, asked the Lord: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Peter did indeed not follow Jesus for the sake of reward, he walked with Jesus because he believed Him the promised Savior. But aside from this faith Peter had the idea, because they had forsaken all and followed the Lord, they deserved and ought to have some reward. When Peter appealed to their forsaking all and inquired about the reward, this was as much as saying: Lord, we have done this much for Thee, now what wilt Thou do for us? Peter argued from the rule which obtains here on earth among men. It is this: One favor is deserving of another; honest work, honest pay; I do you a good turn, so in equity you ought to regard yourself under obligation to do me a good turn; I work for you, so you owe me wages. That is the principle underlying Peter's question. It is the principle on which dealings among men are, or, at least, ought to be, invariably carried on. The workman ought to do an honest day's work, and the employer ought to pay him an honest day's wages. That is right and equitable here on earth among men. According to this rule of mutual right and equity among men Peter wanted to learn of the Lord, what He would give them for what they had done for Him. The Lord answered Peter, they would verily not remain unrewarded, they would be rewarded a hundred fold, and they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, but He added: Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first." This was a word of warning to Peter, and it implied: By looking and asking for reward he was stepping on dangerous ground, and he must quit doing so, or out of a first one he would become a last one and would lose both inheritance and reward. To this warning the Lord annexed this parable, and hence it is very evidently the Lord's direct and chief object to teach that in His kingdom an entirely different rule obtains than in dealings among men. What is that rule? The parable runs thus: In the morning the householder hires laborers for his vineyard and contracts with them for a penny a day, the penny standing for the common day's wages. During the day, and even towards night, he engages other laborers and contracts with them on the same principle; for he says: "Whatsoever is right, I will give you." So all these laborers go to the vineyard to work in it, and at sunset they come for their wages. All this is very simple, according to right and contract. But now comes the remarkable part of the parable. "So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were |