2. When both thy offering and thy prayer

Are to the altar brought,
Thou thinkest that thy brother there

In right has 'gainst thee aught; 3. Then go thy way, and wait not long,

Be with him reconciled;
And thou who hast been in the wrong,

Be towards him just and mild. 4. Unless thou art forbearing quite

Unto thy neighbor nigh,
Thou mayest here in thy respite,

Enrage the Lord on high,
5. So that he will not thee forgive,

And wash away thy stains,
Then thou in future worlds shalt live,

In everlasting pains.
6. Eternity! terrific word,

Beyond our mortal ken!
Thou art a sharp two edged sword,

That wounds the souls of men. 7. Men who lived in sin below

Eternity shall pierce,
They would away from Jesus go,

They lived like heathens fierce. 8. A circle vast, Eternity,

Without an end or bound,
Thy compass is infinity,

Which mortals cannot sound. 9. Reflect upon 'eternity,

Turn, sinner, to the Lord;
And in thy prayer incessant be,

Till he shall thee reward. 10. Christ's counsel take, keep in his train,

Though crosses thee engage,
That thou be free from tort'ring pain

In an eternal age.
11. Eternity will not seem long

To those who this attain,
For there they'll neither suffer wrong,
Nor cross, nor death, nor pain.

12. Since now their souls are glorified,

Received the heavenly boon,
They shall, since they in God abide,

Outshine the sun at noon.
13. Praise, glory, power, they'll ever sing,

In an eternal round,
To God, the Lamb, the heavenly King,

Who gave to them the crown. Grant us, o God, peaceloving hearts, believing hearts, hearts in which we may glory in nothing but in Christ and his righteousness, which thou hast freely offered unto us, and which alone is acceptable unto God, that thou mayest be just, and the justifier of us who have faith in the Lord Jesus. O God, pour out of thy rich treasure into our earthly vessels, that the abundant power may be of thee, O God, and not of ourselves, and that we may confess thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Ever grant us, heavenly Father, an access by faith unto this grace, that we may establish ourselves therein, and rejoice in the bopes of future glory, which hope thou, O God, hast given unto us. Thou bast no pleasure in the death of the wicked, neither is it thy will that any should perish. Therefore, O God, as thou feddest Israel with bread from heaven in the wilderness, and gavest him water out of the rock to drink,

so nourish thou our souls with the true bread that descended from heaven, and supply them with the water of the Holy Spirit, which issues in abundance from the rock Christ Jesus, that we may not perish, but have everlasting life. Grant us, O God, courage and strength to stand firm with Christ in the combat against the world, the devil, and our own flesh and blood, that we may overcome in him who has conquered; and at his second coming may obtain a joyful resurrection, and sing forth the song of praise and triumph, Death is swallowed up in victory, o death! where is thy sting? O grave! 'where is thy victory ? and may thank thee that thou hast given us the victory through Jesus Christ, Amon.

CHAPTER THIRD Embraces a portion from the 27th verse to the end of the chap.

ter. 1. Of adultery and offending members. 2. Of the married state. 3. Of oaths. 4. A person should not resist evil. 5. A man should be thus minded, not only towards his brethren, but also towards all men. 6. Who are qualified for this.

We will now proceed in the consideration of this sermon on the mount, in order that we may derive therefrom the correct use and understanding of the same for the salvation of our souls. Christ concluded his sermon in these words : Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock; and every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand : and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matt. 7. Luke 6.

Therefore it is of the most vital importance for us to hear the words of Christ and do them, inasmuch as he has the words of eternal life. John 6, 68. Chap. 12, 16. Acts 5, 20. And he that rejecteth him, and receiveth not his words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John 12, 48.

I. Well then, ye adulterers and adulteresses, come, see, and bear what Christ declares in this place. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Ex. 20, 14. Lev. 20, 10. But I (who am the perfect teacher of righteousness) say unto you, That who

,

soever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Verses 27, 28. o, if a person takes a view of the world

a around him, how many will he find in adultery, not only in looking upon to last, but taken in the very deed. O how many shameful actions of this kind are manifest in the world; how many run, in shameful concupiscence, after strange women, in order to satisfy their unhallowed desires : indeed I do not know whether there were more incontinence and abomination even in Sodom and Gomorrah, than there are at the present day in the cities and countries of the so named christendom. For how frequently do we hear the report of an illegitimate birth, and that this or that young woman is pregnant, to say nothing of the common prostitutes and public houses of shame, after whom men go, in the words of Solomon, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a dart strike through the liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life; for she hath cast down many wounded; yea many strong men have been wounded by her; her house is the way to hell, going down

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