"Forsaking wire nnd children" me.y be auperir,r to all changes of fortune. And it 11nderstood Ill! absto.iuing from marriage in me.y ,rnll be the.I the re! 1ef from the cares order the better to serve God. For my and rlistre.ctions co.used Ly wee.Ith brings o. Ne.me's se.ke. In consequence of belief in hundredfold more rc-e.l happiness than its Christ, re.ther the.n do despite to his gre.ce, possession ever supplied. "Godliness is or in order to confess e.nd follow him more profl table for e.11 things, he.ving the promise completely. In times of pereecntion, under of the life which now is, e.nd of the.t which me.ny different ooses of pressure, or where is to come" (l Tim. iv. B). Everlasting life. his friends were heathens or infidels, e. Chris- The hope of future happiness is in itselr tie.n might feel himself constre.ined to re- sufficient to lighten and dissipate all earthly linquish the dearest ties, to co.at off e.11 old troubles, e.nd to stimulate severest sacrifices. associe.tions, to put himself wholly in God's Ver. 30.-Many that are first, This pro- he.nd!I, freed from all worldly things ; sucil verbial saying, which Christ uses more than e. one 1bould receive e.mple rewe.rd in the once (see eh. xx. 16: Luke xiii. 30), is illus- present life, An hlllldredlold. Some ree.d tratecl by the parable in the next chapter, and "me.nifold," e.s in Luke xviii. 30. The spiri- would be better placed at its commencement tue.l r1:ole.tionship into which religion would Here it conveys a w11,rning that me.n's esti- introduce him le.rgely compensates for the mation is lie.ble to error, e.nd it must not be lose of earthly connections. He shall have thought the.t those who are first in privilege brothers and sisters in the faith-hundreds e.re therefore highest in God's favour. The who will show him the affection offalher and Lord may have ha.cl in view the case of mother,hundredswhowilllove him as well as Jude.a, who was e.n ee.rly e.postle, and he.d wife and chllclren. And if he suffer temporal the care of the bag, and fell by reason of loss, this shall be made up by the ohe.rity of covetousness : e.nd that of one like St. Pe.nl, the Chrietie.n sooiety, all whose resources who was called late, and yet le.boured more are e.t his command; and he shall enjoy abundantly than all that were before him. the.I peace e.nd comfort of heart which no The application may be made with perfect worldly poeseasioWI can give, e.nd which e.re truth to many professors of religion.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-12.-fie 1anctity of marriage. I. CONVERSATION WITH THE PHARISEES. 1. Work in Perll!,a, The Lord had now finally left Galilee; the restless hostility of the Pharisees had driven him from the province in which at first he had met with such great success, and which was regarded as his own country. Judaia, too, was now uW1afe for him. His hour was e.lmost come; he would work while it was day; but he would not expose himself to unnecessary danger before the time appointed. Per1.ea was for a short see.son open to him; it was less overspread by Pharisaic influence the.n Galilee or J uda,e.. He would work there while he might. Multitudes followed him, and he bee.led them there. The Lord is an example of patience and perseverance; he would not throw up his work in weariness and disgust, as men too often do when they meet with failure and opposition. He neglected no opening for work, no opportnnity of preaching the blessed gospel. Oh that we might imitate him in this as in all things I 2. The question of the Pharisees. They found him, even in Perrea; they followed him everywhere during the latter part of his ministry with their eusnaring questions and malicious persecutions. And now they e.sked, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" It was common to consult great teachers on points of con- troversy; but this question was not asked honestly; they were tempting him, seeking to entangle him in hie talk, to bring him into collision with one or other of the two great schools, or with Herod Antipas himself, the ruler of the country in which they were. The famous Hille! he.d taught that divorce was allowable for any cause ; Shammai, th3t it was lawful only in the case of adultery. Herod was guilty of 11he.mefol violations of the le.w of marriage, and had murdered the holy Baptist, who rebuked him for hie sin. The Lord had taught the strict view of marriage in his sermon on the mount; would he dare to maintain the se.me doctrine in the dominions of Herod? The Pharisees seemed to ask for information; they had malice and envy in their hearts. Controversy is full of danger to the soul; those who e.re called to engage in it ought to look most carefully into their own consciences to see that their m-itives are pure and good. 3. The Lord's answer. He refers them to the Scriptures. "Have ye not read?" he says, as he had said bofore. He points to the study of th~ 254 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [on. XiL 1-3~