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sent world, and be pardoned and accepted by him in the last, the great, the terrible day of judgment.

And now to God, &c.

LECTURE XLII.

ST. MATTHEW, xix. 3.

The Pharisees also came unto Jesus, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

"GREAT multitudes" we are told, “followed Jesus, and he healed them." Your Saviour, while he was on earth, shewed by many things which he did, that he was God. Could man, think you, heal the sick with a word? Could man look on a dead person, and say, Arise, and that person come to life again? This, Jesus Christ did. You see, that we have all great reason to believe in him and to obey him. And it is by believing in him and obeying him, that

you are made and become Christians. You have all, therefore, great reason to be Christians. Besides, Jesus Christ is to appear again on earth, and to judge us all. This is another reason, why you should try to please him, that is, why you should be true Christians. All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. He is to gather out of all nations, them who believe in him. These people, these truly happy people, will be with him for ever in heaven. And in heaven, we are told, there are many mansions. In them all true Christians will be for ever with the Lord. This is another reason, why you should be Christians, and sincere Christians also. You would not wish, when you die, never to live again. This must, I think, be dreadful. Nor would you wish to go to a place of punishment, to be kept in the dungeon of hell for ever. This would be more dreadful still. The only way of escaping both from the one and the other, is by believing in Christ and in obeying him. Now,

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I am trying to persuade you thus to believe and thus to obey. But unless you try also, all that I do will be of no use. And you must not only try, but you must, every day of your lives, fall on your knees, and beg God to make you Christians. He gives repentance unto life. He gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him, that is, pray to him. And when the Holy Spirit is with you, he leads you to all good works. You see not the wind; but you all see what the wind can do. You do not see the Holy Spirit of God. But you can see what he does. When you see a person living like a Christian, the Holy Spirit is in that person. He could not live so of himself. When you see a person, who was wicked, turned good; when you see a person, who was once remarkable for a bad temper, possessing a good one, when you see a person, who once cared neither about God nor Saviour, trying to please his Creator and Redeemer in all things, the Holy Spirit is in that person. As many as are

led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God. God will deal with them as with children, love them and make them happy for ever.

The Pharisees now came to our Saviour, and tempted him, that is, tried him by a particular question, in order to know what kind of answer he would give them. They asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause, that is, when he got tired of her, when he saw one he liked better, or for any reason he thought sufficient. Jesus answered, and said unto them, Have ye not read, that God, which made them in the beginning, (in the beginning of the world,) made them male and female: and said; for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they twain (or two) shall be one flesh. Wherefore, they are no more twain, (no more two persons,) but one flesh. What therefore God

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