Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-06-21
&eadina far the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED By
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
[ohginal.l
PARABLE OF THE LABORERs.

REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
[onginall
PARABLE OF THE LABORERs.
Matthew XXI LII.
The design of this parable, if we catch the
spirit of the passage, is to illustrate the SOW
ereignty of God. The parable stands in close
connection with the last words of the previous
chapter "Many that are first shall be last ;
and the last shall be first" We feel the more
confident in asserting that these words are
the key which unlocks the parable, because
the Saviour, after having concluded the para
BILE, says in the 18th verse: $50 the last shall
be first and the first last To say that the
6rst is, or shall be last, and the last is, or
shall be first, is one of those paradoxical ex-
pressions which frequently occur in the Scrip
lures. The Saviour framed this parable of
the laborers in the vineyard to illustrate this
thing. After he concluded the parable, he
said, in effect $50, or in this way, it is shown,
or illustrated, that the first shall be last and
the last first"
The sovereignty of God is at once the most
mysterious and most sublime subject that can
be contemplated by the human mind. In
this passage this subject is brought to view,
first in sending the laborers into the vineyard
at different hours of the day, and second in
the manner in which the householder settled
with the laborers. In fact, We might say that
the sovereignty of God is brought to our
view, in that the "idlers" were sent into the
vineyard at all.
The great difficulty, and perhaps the only
difficulty connected with the sovereignty of
God, is that it seems to be impossible for
God to be an absolute sovereign, and man at
the same time to be free agent. That God
is an independent sovereign, acting "accord-
ing to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth" is capa-
BILE of demonstration from the works of Crea-
ton and Providence, and is at the same time
the plain, explicit and oft-repeated declara-
tion of the Scriptures. On the other hand,
that man is free agent, is doctrine of the
Bible, and fact of which every human be-
ing is conscious. God exercises his sovereign
ty over everything in the Universe. 1t is not
limited. His Kingdom has no end. No
creature is too small to escape his notice. and
none is so large as to dispense with bis SOW
ereign care and control. God governs the
gases, the winds, the vapors, the clouds and
everything animate and inanimate. The sway
of his scepter is felt in heaven, on earth and
in hell. Notwithstanding this, every man
feels that he is free. He is conscious of the
fact, and God says he is free. We are not
able to comprehend how this can be; much
less are we able to explain it. But we dare
not doubt it, unless we are prepared to con-
tradict the teachings of Gods word and
works and call in question our own conscious
ness.
Awful as is the sovereignty of God, there is
something in it that is very consoling. 1t is
the rock upon which we can plant our feet
and cherish a hope. Were either the winds
or the clouds or any portion of creation, in the
slightest degree, under the control of crea'
lures, the world would be ruined in less than
moment. Icebergs and tropical suns, fam.
ing fires and overfowing floods, would be min.
gled in wild confusion. No man could lie
down at night and expect to see another NOR
ming.
In the parable of the laborers sent into the
vineyard, the sovereignty of God, as already
said. is brought clearly into view. At dawn
of the morning, the householder went out to
hire laborers. He agreed with the laborers
for penny day. Again, be found idlers at
nine o'clock in the morning, at noon, at three
o'clock in the afternoon and one hour before
sundown, standing in the streets idle. All
these he sent into his vineyard, promising to
give each one of the different laborers "what
is right" Those laborers who we're hired
early in the morning we're promised penny
denarius-ffteen and one-half cents; the
others, "what is right"
We must not put too much emphasis on the
words "hired" and penny" or we will find
ourselves in difficulty out of which we
cannot get and be consistent with the general
scope. If we give the word hired its usual
meaning, we may come to the conclusion that
whatever good God, the great householder,
bestows upon any of us, is due u.s. Hired
here means contracted with, or it may, as it
often does, mean to induce or solicit for our
own good. Gods essential glory is not ad.
vanced by anything that we do, or by any
good that he bestows upon US. His declara-
tive glory is, and all grace is, for the good of
the creature that receives it, The principle
designed is to be exempli6ed, would not have
been altered, had the householder promised
the hirelngs half penny or ten pennies
The particular sum of money is of no impor-
tance. 1t was in the householder an act Of
sovereignty to promise any sum. Every
grace that God bestows upon any of Adams
race-the idlers in the PARALLELS done in
the exercise of his marvellous sovereignty.
The sinner deserves to die the death that never
dies; but God, in the exercise of his sover'
eign love, gave his Son to die for Sinners
The sinner deserves to be driven away into
the lake that burns with fire and birthstone /;
but God, in an act of his sovereign mercy,
invites him to come into the vineyard and
labor, and he will give unto him eternal life
not as a reward of his labor, but because
of obedience to the heavenly command, and
receiving eternal life in the sovereign purpose
of God, are inseparably connected.
When the time for settlement came, the
steward was instructed to call the laborers
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