forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Our Saviour means, that the Jews would be no longer God's people, that the Gentiles or heathens would be come so, and that every one who refused to receive him, would be a sufferer for it, and every one whom he saw it fit to punish would be ruined for ever and ever. He fell indeed on the Jews with great vengeance; and no tongue can tell the miseries they endured, when he thus ground them to powder.

It is no wonder that the great men among the Jews, who heard our Saviour telling them such disagreeable truths, should be angry. They knew that he spake of them, and they wished at that time to lay hands on him and kill him : but they feared the people, the multitude around them, because this multitude saw

that Jesus was a prophet, and loved and respected him as such.

And now, my friends, can you for a moment suppose that it is no sin to refuse receiving Christ when he is preached to you? Can you think that you may turn your backs upon him, follow your pleasures or your business, and not be guilty of a great sin before God? Jesus Christ was preached to the Jews. The Jews would have nothing to do with him: and they have suffered most severely. And shall any minister of God's word, shall I, for instance, an humble minister of that word, be ready every Sunday evening to preach Christ to you, and to teach you to know him, believe in him, and obey him; and shall you have it at your choice to refuse him, to reject him, to cast him away? If you do so, you do it at your peril. On whomsoever Christ will fall, he will grind him to powder. Think a little then, for your soul's sakes, before you resolve to

have nothing to do with Him and His religion. And think a little more and a little oftener how you ought to behave, if you determine to believe in and to follow Christ. If a king of England were to send an only son to you, and order you to take him for your king and to obey him, and he would give you a fine country to live in, and every thing your heart could wish, would you stand still before you accepted the offer? Would you turn your backs on him, and go to any thing else rather than where you could hear what he had to tell you? And will you treat the Son of God worse;-although he promises you a finer country than any on earth, even heaven? Will behave as if you wished to have nothing to do with Him? I hope better things of you, my friends, though I thus speak and I pray most earnestly, that God may give you ears to hear, a mind to understand, and a heart to feel all that

you

is preached to you, and grace to behave ever afterwards as becomes a people purchased for himself with his own precious blood by the Lord Jesus.

And now to God, &c.

LECTURE LXVI.

ST. MATTHEW xxii. 1, 2.

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his

son.

I AM to tell you this evening of a most beautiful parable, which our blessed Lord spake to the people. I shall repeat the parable, and make it plain to you, as I go along.

"The kingdom of heaven, says Jesus Christ, is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son." At a time