13 No servant can serye two mas- ters : for either he will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things : and they derided him.
Id And he said unto them, Ye are tiiey which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts-: for that which is higmy esteemed among men is abomination in the
sight of God.
16 The law and the i)rophets were until John : since that time the king- dom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
18 Whosoever piitteth away his wife, and marrieth another, commit- teth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
These verses teach us, firstly, the mekssness of attempting to serve God with a divided heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, " No servant can serve two masters : for either he will hate the one and love the other : or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
The truth here propounded by our Lord appears, at first sight, too obvious to admit of being disputed. And yet the very attempt which is here declared to be useless is constantly being made by many in the matter of their souls. Thousands on every side are continually trying to do the thing which Christ pronounces impossible. They are endeavouring to be Mends of the world and Mends of God at the same time. Their consciences are so far enlightened, that they feel they must have some religion. But their affections are so chained down to earthly things, that they never come up to the mark of being true Christians. And hence they live in a state of constant discomfort. They have too much religion to be happy in the world, and they have too much of the world in their hearts to be happy in their religion. In short, they waste their time in labouring to do that which can-
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