blessings and by his chastisements, by the instructions, the promises, and the threatenings of his word, by the monitions of conscience and the strivings of his Spirit, by the ministrations, the services, and the ordinances of his church—by all these powerful methods he solicits us.

But with us it rests to hear his voice, to open our hearts to him. This, through his grace, we are able to do. Jesus Christ does not force admittance, he does not by his almighty grace overpower our inclinations. He stands at the door and knocks; and his very declaration, that if we will hear his voice and open unto him, he will come in, implies, that hearing his voice and opening unto him must depend, through his grace exciting and aiding, on ourselves.

What then shall. prevent us from hearing the voice of this gracious Saviour-from opening our hearts to this our compassionate and almighty Friend? Shall the world, its sinful pursuits and passions, exclude him from our souls! Ah! the world is soon to pass away-the world is to be consumed by the breath of God's displeasure-and the world we must soon leave, its enjoyments we must soon relinquish; and if Jesus Christ has not taken possession of our souls, they will become the seats of remorse, of anguish, of never-ending misery. Yes, blessed Jesus, in excluding thee from our souls, we exclude from them the light of heaven, the light of joy-we draw over them the darkness of the place of wo, the darkness of endless despair.

Brethren, if you have any regard for the welfare of your immortal souls, any desire for a felicity that knows no end, any terror for an anguish that never terminates, any sensibility to the tender and press

ing invitations of the Saviour who died for you, who intercedes for you, who implores you to be saved, open your hearts to him, hear his voice; resist not the monitions and strivings of his Spirit; listen to his instructions, live a life of faith in him, obey his laws, attend on his ordinances, submit to his grace; he will come in and sup with you, he will enrich your souls with every virtue, he will refresh them with the present joys, he will save you from that prison of despair to which those are consigned who reject his invitation, and where no sounds are heard but weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he will receive you into those celestial courts, where you shall join in the never-ceasing chorus of praise and joy, and shall celebrate with him the everlasting festival of love, enjoying the ineffable and ceaseless communications of his favour and his bliss through endless ages.

SERMON IX.

PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE FEAST.

MATT. xxii. 3.

And he sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

THUS contemptuously was the invitation of the king rejected, who made a marriage festival for his son; in which parabolic history is conveyed much important instruction.

The mode of conveying religious and moral truths by parables, which are similitudes drawn from the objects of nature, or from civil and social institutions, was frequently practised by our blessed Lord. It is a mode of instruction founded in the reason and nature of things; for from the peculiar character of spiritual truths, we cannot receive the full and clear knowledge of them, except by analogy with those things which are the objects of our sense and consciousness. The parabolic mode of instruction was also prompted by a regard to the genius of the people among whom our Lord dwelt, which led to the use of highly figurative language; and at all periods, and among all people, it is gratifying to the imagination, and peculiarly calculated forcibly and permanently to impress the heart. Especially where the object is to convey reproof, or to enforce unwelcome or irritating truths, parables afford an opportunity of indirectly, yet effectually,

answering these purposes, without alarming the prejudices or immediately exciting the resentment of the persons accused or opposed.

For all these reasons, but especially for the last, our Saviour so frequently spake by parables. His mission was to a disobedient and gainsaying people -a people blinded by their prejudices and enslaved by their vices. These prejudices and vices were deeply opposed to the pure and self-denying spirit of that kingdom which he came to establish; and to have combated them by direct attack would have so strongly awakened the pride of the Jews and enkindled their resentment, as not only to have precluded all hope of his instructions and reproofs making any impression on their hearts, but to have exposed him to persecution, and prematurely, "before his hour was come,"* endangered his life. Hence it became a dictate of prudence to veil his reproofs and unwelcome instructions under the pleasing garb of allegory; thus exciting the imagination and awakening the attention, and before prejudice or resentment could be roused, impressing the understanding and gaining the heart.

On one of these delicate and unpleasant occasions was the parable delivered which I mean now to set before you.

The immediate object of our Saviour was to reprove the Jews for their incredulity, to impress on them their guilt and ingratitude in rejecting the exalted blessings of that dispensation of mercy which he came to proclaim, to denounce the awful judgments which would overtake them for their sin in rejecting him who came to save them, and for

*St. John vii. 30.

persecuting unto death the messengers of his salva. tion. It was his object to proclaim to them the determination of their almighty Sovereign to exclude them from the privileges of his chosen people on account of their unbelief, and to receive the believing Gentiles as his covenant people, and thus finally to teach them that their being "called" to be the peculiar people of the Most High would be of no avail to them; on the contrary, would only enhance their guilt and their condemnation, unless they exercised those holy and obedient dispositions and virtues which would qualify them for being finally "chosen" to everlasting life.

These were most important and solemn, but, to the Jews, most unwelcome truths, calculated to mortify their pride and to excite their deadly resentment. Our Lord, therefore, chose to convey them through the medium of an appropriate allegory, which softened without weakening their force. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son."*

By the kingdom of heaven in this passage, and many other parts of Scripture, is meant, not the final kingdom of bliss eternal in the heavens, but the preparatory kingdom of God on earth, the Gospel dispensation. Thus, John the Baptist announced the introduction of this dispensation in the solemn call-" Repent, for the kingdom of heaven," the kingdom of the Messiah on earth, the Gospel dispensation," is at hand." This dispensation, on account of its rich and exalted blessings, and of the joy which these blessings are calculated to inspire, is very properly compared to a feast made