form or profession, the time will come when he will be stripped even of that showy covering, and left as a bare and withered trunk, a monument of the power of Divine displeasure, and a warning to all intelligent creatures who profess allegiance to their maker. May we be continually partakers of that heavenly grace and succour whereby we may be enabled not only to make a good profession of our faith before men, but also to bring forth those fruits of righteousness, which are to the praise of God by Jesus Christ! "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the

:

courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing. To show that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." Ps. xcii. 12-15. “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm

i. 3.

PSALM XCII.

Lord, 'tis a pleasant thing to stand In gardens planted by thine hand; Let me within thy courts be seen Like a young cedar fresh and green.

There grow thy saints in faith and love,
Blest with thine influence from above:
Not Lebanon with all its trees,
Yields such a comely sight as these.

The plants of grace shall ever live ; (Nature decays, but grace must thrive);

Christ putteth to silence the priests and elders, and rebuketh them by the similitude of the two sons.

23 ¶And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he what authority doest thou these was teaching, and said, by

things? And who gave thee this authority?

24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard.

29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir:

32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him and ye, when he had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

READER. By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority? This question, considered in itself, was good and proper. But it was proposed of ascertaining the truth, but in the in a captious spirit; not with a view hope of entangling Jesus in his discourse, and finding matter of accusation or objection. It is right that we should seek for information respecting the authority, character, and mission of our blessed Lord; and that we should, as it were,

bring our inquiries on this important subject to the written word. But let us remember that it is our duty to enter upon this investigation with all humility and simplicity of mind, and with a sincere desire

of knowing and yielding to the enter upon such questions in a very truth. It is possible and easy to unbecoming frame of mind,-irreverently, with a design to establish our own preconceived opinions in spite of evidence to the contrary, in the unhallowed spirit of bitter and uncharitable controversy, or with a

7; & vii. 27.-c ch. xiv. 5. Mark vi. 20. Luke xx. 6. -d Ecclus. xix. 21.-e Luke vii. 29, 50.-fch. iii. 1, &c. ➡g Luke iii. 12, 13.

the light of truth and find a blessing from our God.

They answered Jesus and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. In reply to the question of these captious and dishonest men, our blessed Lord proposed another inquiry to themselves which it was not convenient to them to answer. And why not convenient? Because they were time-serving men, anxious not so much to uphold and declare the truth, as to retain their interest with the people. How wretched and how contemptible (so to speak) is the situation of men who are indifferent to the cause of truth and holiness, and are eager in the pursuit of their own fancied interest, and in the execution of their own selfish schemes! How far more honourable, as well as more happy, is the love of truth than the love of self! Let the shame and defeat of the crafty Jews in the history before us tend to determine, or to establish, our choice in favour of "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are lovely, and of good report." We have a good practical comment upon this transaction in those words of our blessed Lord which have already engaged our attention in the sixth chapter of this Gospel ;-"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

A certain man had two sons.-By this parable our Saviour intended to contrast, in the first instance, the character and conduct of those chief priests and elders who made loud professions of zeal for God's honour and of sincerity in his service, but yet after all refused to hear and obey the Messiah whom God had sent, with the opposite behaviour of those persons who had been apparently, and even really and culpably, indifferent with regard to matters of religion, but yet humbly received the message which was sent to them, and, having repented of their evil ways, conformed themselves to the commands of Christ. But the parable applies, with no less certainty and force, to men of every country and every age. It holds up to our view the practice of religion, even though tardy and late, as better and more precious in the sight of God than a long and loud profession without a corresponding practice. "The one son," says an old writer, "is an image of the penitent, the other of the hypocrite; the one a deed without a show, the other a show without a deed."

He came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterwards he repented, and went.— It is indeed a great provocation to Almighty God, and a most awful affront put upon his Divine majesty, when any of his intelligent creatures resists, for a moment, the indication of his will. Who can declare the amount of guilt incurred by a rebellious worm of earth, who

practically replies to his Maker's commands, "I will not?" Great indeed is the offence, and dreadful the consequences that must ensue, if simple justice were to take its course. But great are the mercy and forbearance of God. He does not immediately deal with men after their sins, nor reward them according to their transgressions. He gives space for repentance. He is slow to anger; and he pleads, as it were, again and again with rebellious and offending men, saying, Why will ye die? He receives the ungrateful and impious reply, "I will not ;"and yet he mercifully renews his commands, mingled even with entreaties and messages of love! "Knowest thou not," says an Apostle, "that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Such is its tendency, and such is its design. -In the parable before us, that merciful design was most happily fulfilled. The son said, "I will not;❞—and then a space of time was given him, in which he might return to a better mind. That precious opportunity was wisely and properly employed. "Afterward he repented and went." He reflected upon his past conduct, and thought seriously of his present position with regard to his offended father. Perhaps the very boldness and insolence of his reply contributed to establish his better purpose; and he sought by zealous and thorough compliance with his father's will to show his detestation of his original offence. At all events, although his first reply was wrong, his subsequent

practice was dutiful and right.And it is often thus with respect to sinners and their God. They say, We will not obey his commands. They act in a spirit of contemptuous opposition to his holy will, and with a bold and daring defiance of his authority and power. They sin with a high hand and boast themselves in their iniquity; saying in effect, Who is the Lord, that we should serve him? But God gives them time, and grace; and they repent. They turn to the service of Him whom they had hitherto despised. And not only so, but it often happens that these very men are the most active and zealous in performing the will of God. They are aroused, by the recollection of their past ingratitude and rebellion, and by a lively sense of the Divine forbearance and mercy, to an unusual degree of vigour and activity in religious obedience. They feel themselves bound to do more than others in God's service, as they were once more bold than others in opposition to his will. Alas! it is not always that the bold offender becomes the willing and zealous servant of his God. Too often the profane and sensual go on in their evil course, growing worse and worse, and treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. But yet, when any, through grace given, and making a wise use of time granted, do indeed repent and turn to God,-He will remember their iniquity no more, and, for Christ's sake, he will regard them only as those who do his will.

And he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Here is the example of a ready profession of obedience, followed by actual disobedience ;-allegiance in word, but rebellion in deed. This son gave a dutiful and promising reply to his father; which, as far as it went, was satisfactory to both parties. But perhaps it was too satisfactory to the son himself. Either he designed to give fair words and no more, and was satisfied when he had silenced the voice of parental authority by specious promises which he never intended to fulfil: or perhaps, he really had some thought of executing the task imposed when he made the promise, but afterwards he was so well pleased with himself for having made that satisfactory assurance, and for having excited the approbation of his father, that he delayed from moment to moment, and at length entirely neglected, the most important and substantial part of his duty;-hoping, it may be, that his good intention would be accepted instead of his good service. Such is a picture of what often takes place in the visible church of Christ. There are many persons who make loud professions of religious zeal, and repeat, in public and in private, many promises of religious obedience. They say, I go, sir. But then here they stop. They sink into a state of apathy and indifference when they ought to be at work in the fulfilment of religious duties. Either they are mere hypocrites or unbelievers, who hope to

deceive God or to impose upon men by their religious professions, and neither wish for nor aim at any thing more; or else they are men who deceive their own selves, and are enticed from their duty and happiness, by means of a self complacent reliance on their good professions, and a proud comparison of their own case with that of others who refuse to promise so largely as themselves. Some men rest in religious vows and religious ordinances as ends, instead of regarding them merely as promises and means. They make a false estimate of their position and their duty; and seem to think that they have done something, instead of remembring that they have only been promising and preparing to do it. Alas, if men will attach any value to any thing which appertains to themselves, it is as easy for them to set a high price upon their words as upon their deeds! And here is a delusion in which Satan and the world will readily assist them. They will soon begin to think much of having said, I go, sir, while one and another, on their right hand and on their left, were boldly declaring, "I will not.” How fatal the delusion if they are finally satisfied with congratulating themselves and condemning their brethren, instead of actually rendering obedience to God! Let us guard against this folly. In a sense of the Divine mercies through Christ Jesus our Lord, let us promise to obey; and, relying on the indispensable succours of heavenly grace, let us faithfully endeavour to act in