St. Matt. xx. 16.

So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen.

The parable which these words conclude, was spoken by our Lord in correction of a little natural vanity in which St. Peter had indulged, when contemplating the sacrifices which he and his brother apostles had made in the cause of the Messiah. A certain young man of ample property, and of dispositions favourable to religion, had been honoured by Christ, either as a test of his faith, or as a mark of approbation of his virtues, with a call to His ministry, and to the number of His chosen disciples. Dismayed, however, at the danger and self-denial by which such a life was menaced, encumbered by his affection for the world, and by the comforts and luxuries of his present condition, he shrunk back, though sadly and unwillingly, from the offered boon, and “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” On this our Lord took occasion to remark, as may be seen in the preceding chapter, on the fascinating nature of worldly wealth, and the absolute necessity of a more than common dispensation of celestial grace, to enable the rich man to break the chain of pleasure and of pride, to resist the many and peculiar temptations with which his path in life is strewn, and to resign, if it should become his duty, his rank, his fortune, and his ease, in the service of that God from whom he has received them.