“Watch and pray:” as if he had said, Be ye ever in readiness, lest you be taken unawares. But those sluggards who spend their time vainly in eating and drinking, and sleeping, please not God, for he commands us to watch, to be mindful, to take heed to ourselves, lest the devil, or the world, or our own flesh, get the victory over us. We are allowed to take our natural sleep, for it is as necessary for us as meat and drink, and we please God as well in that, as we please him when we take our food. But we must take heed, that we do it according as he has appointed us; for like as he has not ordained meat and drink that we should play the glutton with it, so likewise sleep is not ordained that we should give ourselves to sluggishness, or over-much sleeping; for no doubt when we do so, we shall displease God most highly. For Christ saith not in vain, “Watch and pray.” He would have us to be watchers, to have at all times in remembrance his coming, and to give ourselves to prayer, that we may [pg 016] be able to stand before him at this great and fearful day. Meaning, that we should not trust in ourselves but call unto God, saying, “Lord God Almighty, thou hast promised to come and judge the quick and the dead; we beseech thee give us thy grace and Holy Ghost, that we may live according unto thy holy commandments, that when thou comest, thou have not cause to bestow thy fearful anger, but rather thy lovingkindness and mercy upon us.”
So likewise when we go to bed, we should desire God that we sleep not the sleep of sin and wickedness, but rather that we may leave them, and follow his will and pleasure; that we be not led with the desires of this wicked world. Such an earnest mind we should have towards him, so watchful we should be. For I tell you it is not a trifling matter, it is not a money matter: for our eternal salvation and our damnation hang upon it. Our nature is to do all that is possible for us to get silver and gold; how much more then should we endeavour to make ourselves ready towards this day, when it shall not be a money matter, but a soul matter, for at that day it will appear most manifestly who they are that shall enjoy everlasting life, and who shall be thrust into hell. Now as long as we are in this world, we have all one baptism, we go all to the Lord's Supper, we all bear the name of Christians, but then it will appear who are the right Christians; and again, who are the hypocrites or dissemblers.
Well, I pray God grant us such hearts, that we may look diligently about us, and make ready against his fearful and joyful coming—fearful to them that delight in sin and wickedness, and will not leave them; and joyful unto those who repent, forsake their sins, and believe in him; who, no doubt, will come in great honour and glory, and will make all his faithful like unto him, and will say unto them that are chosen to everlasting life, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess that kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” But, to the wicked who will not live according unto his will and pleasure, but follow their own appetites, he will say, “Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” O what a horrible thing will this be, to depart from him who is the fountain of all goodness and mercy, without whom is no consolation, comfort, nor rest, but eternal sorrow and everlasting death! For God's sake I require you let us consider this, that we may be amongst those who shall hear, “Come to me;” that we may be amongst those who shall enjoy eternal life.
The Parable Of The Householder.
A Sermon, By Bishop Latimer.
Matthew xx.—The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that was an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
This parable is written by the evangelist Matthew in the twentieth chapter, and is very dark and hard to be understood; yea, there is no harder piece of scripture written by any evangelist. Therefore it may well be called hard meat; not meat for mowers nor ignorant people, who are not exercised in the word of God. And yet there is no other diversity between this scripture and any other. For though many scriptures have diverse expositions, (as is well to be allowed of, so long as they keep in the tenour of the catholic faith,[3]) yet they pertain all to one end and effect, and they are all alike. Therefore although this parable is harder to understand than the others at the first hearing or reading, yet when we well advise and consider the same, we shall find it agreeable unto all the others.
Now to the principal cause, and to which our Saviour had respect in this parable, and that is, he teaches us hereby that all Christian people are equal in all things appertaining to the kingdom of Christ. So that we have one Christ, one Redeemer, one baptism, and one gospel, one Supper of the Lord, and one kingdom of heaven. So that the poorest man and most miserable that is in the world, may call God his Father, and Christ his Redeemer, as well as the greatest king or emperor in the world. And this is the scope of this parable, wherein Christ teacheth us this equality. And if this is considered, the whole parable will be easily and soon understood.[4]
Here is declared unto us that some laboured the whole day, which are hired for a penny, that is of our money ten pence: for like as we have a piece of money which we call a shilling, and is in value twelve pence, so the Jews had a piece that they called denarium, and that was in value ten of our pence. The first company wrought twelve hours, and the others wrought, some nine hours, some six hours, some three hours, and some but one hour. Now when evening was come, and the time of payment drew on, the householder said to his stewart, Go, and give to every man alike, and begin at those that came last. And when the others that came early in the morning perceived that they should have no more than those that had wrought but one hour, they murmured against the householder, saying, “Shall they which have laboured but one hour, have as much as we that have wrought the whole day?” The householder, perceiving their discontented mind, said to one of them, “Friend, wherefore grudgest thou? Is it not lawful for me to do with mine own what pleaseth me? Have I not given thee what I promised thee? Content thyself therefore, and go thy way, for it hath pleased me to give unto this man which hath wrought but one hour as much as unto thee.” This is the sum of this parable, which Christ concludes with this sentence, “The first shall be the last, and the last first.”