arrival of this period, the gentiles had stood idle, ignorant of the duties of religion and the concerns of heaven, because no one had hired them; that is, no patriarch or prophet had hitherto announced to them the doctrines of salvation; no one had pointed out to them the ways of life and truth. By the several hours of the day allotted for labour, may also be understood the different periods of human existence; youth, manhood, the period of declining life, and the decrepitude of old age: for all are not called by the light of heaven to the knowledge of truth and the light of grace in the early morn of life, but some at the sixth, some at the ninth, and others at the eleventh hour. In either application of the parable, we have been called by the goodness of God to labour in his vineyard; and if he has not delayed to call us till the close of the day, yet let us not on that account be slothful or murmur; but let us employ our time in working out our salvation with fear and trembling, convinced with the great apostle St. Paul, that we can have no assurance of salvation so as to be void of fear. We have been called by the mercy of a loving God to the light of faith, to the knowledge of his doctrine; and if we either undervalue this his unmerited mercy, or abuse it by negligence; if we run not so as to obtain the prize; if we strive not for the mastery; we

shall lose the reward promised to industry, while others will be honorably received by the Lord of the vineyard, admitted to an incorruptible crown. I mean this day to stimulate you to active endeavours in the business of salvation, by offering to your consideration some of the motives which press upon us to labour in the sanctification of our souls, and some of the means by which we may be successful.

If we consider who we are, what we are, and from whence we come; as also the intention of our Creator in giving us existence; we shall not hesitate in seeing sufficient reason for strenuous exertions in the cause of God and the salvation of our souls. Why did the mighty Lord of heaven and earth honor us with existence? Why did he select us, poor helpless beings as we are, and if not ennobled by being destined to immortal life and glory, of no consideration whatever? In vain do poor mortals in despicable ostentation exalt themselves to fancied consequence, forgetful that having fluttered for the transient hour, having swelled, and strutted, and made a noise, they disappear as to this world without being thought on, or even missed from amongst the number of human beings. When we see persons making attempts far beyond their powers; when we observe the boy affecting the manners of the man, we pity or we smile; and

when we consider all the exertions of mankind, abstracted from their relation to eternity, we must be convinced that all their lofty notions of self-importance, all their pomp and laboured magnificence, are more ridiculous and absurd than the self-sufficiency of the child, and best represented by those little insects which, with varied hues and rapid wing skim the surface of the pool, in constant motion while the sun continues to emit his genial rays, but expire the shortlived flutterers of a summer's day, as soon as he withdraws his beams. It was the Almighty who produced us, nor was it without design that he made us what we are. From nothing he raised us to a state of existence; and besides the external form with which he clothed us, gifted each of us with a soul on which he stamped his own image, making it capable of loving, serving, and honoring him; he made it immortal, that with himself and in himself, it might enjoy neverending happiness and glory. By the transgression of our first parent, we fell from the exalted state of pure nature in which man was originally formed; and the consequence was, amongst other calamities, that we became subject to various evil inclinations, that our passions aimed at ascendancy over reason, and a strong bias impelled us towards our ruin it is therefore incumbent upon us, if we wish to be saved, that

we resist the evil propensities of our nature; that we labour and exert ourselves with earnest application, in eradicating from the soil of our hearts the thorns and briars that struggle there for growth; that we cultivate the spiritual vineyards of our souls in which we are called to labour. This obligation is universal; the rich and the poor, the soldier and the mechanic, the prince and the beggar, are all equally called to this important obligation. God himself cannot dispense from the urgency of this duty; for in so doing he would be deficient in what he owes to himself: for being the common father of all, the supreme Lord of the universe, it is for him to determine the employment of his subject creatures; and this employment he has fixed to be the sanctification of our souls, by which we give honor to him as the parent and absolute master of all created beings. Defer not then this important concern, but sensible of your duty and the momentous consequences which depend upon the performance or neglect of your duty, begin without hesitation or demur. Nor let the example and the success of those mentioned in the gospel, who began to labour only at the eleventh hour, and yet received the same remuneration which was given to them who had toiled from early morn, and had borne the burden of the day and the heat, be an

encouragement to slothful delay. For let it be remembered, that they were not called until the eleventh hour; that they stood idle because no one had hired them; that they immediately obeyed the call, and hastened to the vineyard. You have received the invitation of heaven, the command of God has been notified to you: whatever then be your hour, to you he says: Go ye into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. (verse 4.) Obey his voice, and labour henceforth in good earnest, lest you lose the recompence which God promises to those who labour in the cultivation of his vineyard, that is, in the sanctification of souls.

But what is to be performed in order to accomplish the will of God, and to sanctify your souls? Is any material instrument or corporal strength required? No, my brethren. All that is requisite is a promptitude of disposition to execute the work which is put into your hands; a fervent and unremitted application to heaven for interior grace; fortitude to resist the opposition of your enemies, and a faithful correspondence with the aids which God is ever ready to bestow. Pluck up and destroy every thorn and briar, every noxious plant; whatever can prevent the vine from bringing forth fruit in rich abundance. Let the soil be repeatedly laboured and manured; let the whole be strongly enclosed