man, to give them one more trial of their obedience, sent his own dear and only Son into the vineyard. When they saw Him, instead of giving up all the power into his hands, and owning Him for their master, they con-. sulted together to kill Him, thinking that when He was dead, they would be able to seize on the vineyard as their own. So they took Him before a wicked governor, who, by reason of their long course of sin, had gained great power over them, and falsely accused Him of many things; and then this wicked governor ordered Him to be crucified, as if He had been a thief, and He was afterwards buried secretly by a few of his Father's faithful: friends who loved Him, and had tried to save him. Now, these wicked men knew not what they were doing. This man, as they thought Him, was equal with God; for you have been told that the good husbandman in every thing is God, who is so called in Scripture, and this was his only Son. He was not, therefore, suffered to lie long in the grave. He rose from it on the third day after his death; He went up into heaven. All his enemies were terrified when they heard that He would come again to judge: them for their wickedness. The time, however, of his coming being distant, and not fixed, they went on still in their wickedness, and soon forgot all that had been told them of the vengeance which was in store for them. The vineyard, while these wicked men ruled over it, brought forth no good fruit; but after the death of the Son, his faithful friends gathered themselves together, and relying on a promise He had given them, that He would send One to comfort them in their sorrow, and to teach them what to do, they waited till He sent them the promised helper, who gave them power to do wonderful things, and to spread the knowledge of the truth, and to plant again the vines which had been trodden down, and to strive to make the vineyard fruitful and ready for the time when their Master had said He would come again. They formed themselves into a company of faithful men, which they tried daily to make larger and larger : they strove to live in love and peace with all men, and to enjoy together the blessings brought them by the Com-, forter. They tried to win over the poor ignorant labourers in the vineyard by telling them their Lord would freely forgive them all that they had done, if they would only leave off their wicked ways, and turn with a true heart to serve their lawful Master, and to believe all He had told them; and to encourage them to do this, they told them a great truth which some of the wicked husbandmen had tried to hide from them; and that was, that when their bodies were dead, their souls would live for ever, either in happiness or misery, and that when their Lord came again all that were in the graves should rise again, and they that had done good should go into heaven, while they that had done evil should be tormented in everlasting fire. And now let me ask you if you understand all this story, and can answer my questions upon it? Which part of the Catechism is explained by this. story? The Apostles' Creed. Who are meant by the wicked husbandmen? The Jews. See Matt. xxi. 33-43. Mark xii. 1-9, and Luke xx. 9-16., whence the story is entirely taken. Who is meant by the wicked governor ? Pontius Pilate. Who buried Jesus? Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Who is meant by the promised Comforter? What by the company of faithful men? What by their enjoying together the blessings of the Comforter? The communion of saints. What doctrine did they preach to induce the wicked to repent? The forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. What is meant by the truth which some of the wicked husbandmen had tried to hide from them? The resurrection, which the Sadducees, a sect of the Jews, denied. See Acts xxiii. 8; and also, Matt. xxii. 23; Mark xii. 18; Luke xx. 27. L. S. R. ARCHBISHOP PARKER. QUEEN Mary died on the 17th of November, in the year 1558. Cardinal Pole, the Archbishop of Canterbury, died almost on the same day. Parker, a man of distinguished learning, was selected by Queen Elizabeth for this high office. Parker had, in the reign of Queen Mary, been deprived of all his Church preferments, on account of his marriage,-the Roman Catholic clergy not being allowed to be married, and that religion prevailing during the reign of Queen Mary. He was, moreover, in no favour during Mary's reign, as his mind was quite against the Roman Catholic proceedings. In "those years he lurked secretly within the house of one of his friends, leading a poor life, without any man's aid or succour; and yet so well contented with his lot, that in that present rest and leisure for his studies, he would never, in respect of himself, have desired any other kind of life, the extreme of danger only excepted 1." He says of himself: "After my deprivation, I lived so joyful before God in my conscience, and so neither ashamed nor dejected, that the most sweet leisure for study, to which the good providence of God recalled me, created me much greater and more solid pleasures than that former busy and dangerous kind of living ever pleased me. What will hereafter happen to me I know not; but to God, who takes care of all, and who will one day reveal the hidden things of men's hearts, I commend myself wholly, and my goodly and most chaste wife, and my two most dear little sons. And I beseech the same most great and good God, that we may for the time to come, with unshaken minds, bear the reproach of Christ; that we may always remember that we have here no abiding city, but may seek one to come, by the grace and mercy of my Lord Jesus Christ." On one occasion, during his confinement, strict search was made for him, which he having some notice of, escaped in the night in great danger, and was so severely hurt by a fall from his horse, that he never recovered it. Upon the first inti 1 Strype's Life of Parker. 2 Ibid. mation of the queen's (Elizabeth) intention to place him in the high and responsible situation of Archbishop of Canterbury, he manifested deep and unfeigned reluctance to accept it. In answer to two successive summonses from the lord keeper, Bacon, who did not, as yet, mention precisely the dignity intended for him; and again, in reply to a third, more peremptory, from Cecil the secretary, in the queen's name, he excused him from coming to London on account of ill health. A fourth letter from the lord keeper, in January, brought him to court; but it was not till the 17th of May, that Bacon intimated to him that it was determined by the council that the archbishopric should be conferred on him. Upon this, Parker addressed an earnest letter to the queen herself, humbly imploring her "to discharge him of that so high and chargeable an office," on account of "his great unworthiness," his disability, his poverty, and also his infirmity of body. "But nothing would do; and Dr. Parker must be the man pitched upon, for his admirable qualities and rare accomplishments, to fill the see of Canterbury."-History of the Prayer-book, by Archdeacon Berens. Sent by a Constant Reader. "Be EXTRACTS FROM AN ORIGINAL SERMON, ON LUKE Xii. 40, ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." It is much to be remarked, that what is usually called death is seldom put before us in the New Testament as that for which we are to be ready and prepared: but the coming of the Lord is almost always spoken of for that purpose, as in the following places. When our Lord so powerfully enquires, "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" It follows, "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every one according to his works." Again, He says, "Watch therefore, for ye know not at what hour your Lord doth come." "Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh; lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping." And by St. Paul the same mode of exhortation is employed: "Let your moderation be known unto all men: the Lord is at hand.".... The separation of the soul from the body receives its chief character of importance from what will take place at the coming of the Lord. Therefore in the text, and the many passages like it, the important thing is mentioned, which is the coming of the Lord, and the unimportant thing, or that of less importance, is not mentioned, especially as it will not happen to all; as St. Paul says, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.' The great change of state will take place in all, but death will not intervene in the case of them who shall be alive at the Lord's coming. Their bodies and souls will never undergo separation; but nevertheless they will be changed, some into heavenly and celestial bodies, others into bodies of misery and torment. And since not one of us is told in Scripture whether or not we shall survive till He comes, whether or not we shall undergo death, because the Lord's coming will be sudden and unexpected, so we are not so much exhorted to prepare for death, as to prepare to meet the Lord when He pleases to come. The gate through which we pass to set out on a long journey is not of much importance to us, and we do not speak of it, but of the journey, and of the place where we are going. If we were about to set off to a distant place to meet a beloved relative, we should scarcely say in speaking of it, "I must go out at the door of my house," but should say, "I will go to meet him." And thus the Scripture seems to teach us to say little of the gates of the grave, if we believe that we are travelling to the kingdom of heaven and of God. There is, however, also another very important reason why Scripture so generally speaks of the coming of Christ instead of death. The souls of the righteous are not in their perfectly glorified state until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. When St. Paul was speaking of his own eternal reward, it is in these words: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my |