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good desires, which lead to good conduct; without which, we cannot expect to be fed from our Master's table, by which we may understand, that we cannot otherwise expect to be valued in this world, to be happy in ourselves, or be admitted into the kingdom of heaven hereafter.

The Third Sunday in Lent.

ST. LUKE, xi. 14.

"Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils."

Teacher.

Before our blessed Saviour's sufferings had offered an atonement to God for the sins of the world, that wicked spirit called the Devil, had great power over the bodies, as well as the minds of men ;—you learn from what you have been repeating, that he had it in his power to make a person dumb, in others he raged with the fury of madness; and to all in his power he caused pain and misery. How different was the power used by our divine Saviour! He cured the sick, fed the hungry, and gave sight to the blind. In the

cure of this dumb person, He shewed that His Godlike power was not only better used, but also greater than that of Satan. This so enraged His enemies, that they foolishly accused him of being assisted by Satan, under the name of Beelzebub ;

-to which he answered to this effect,-that if He had wished to promote the power of Satan, He would not have undone what Satan had been doing. "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand."

Questions.

Instead of producing pain and misery, how did our divine Saviour use his power? He cured the sick, fed the hungry, and gave sight to the blind. He not only used his Godlike power to better ends than Satan used his permitted power,—but was it greater or less? It was greater. If he had been assisted by Beelzebub in curing the dumb person, would He have undone what Satan had been doing? No. If a kingdom be divided against itself, what cannot it do? It cannot stand.

Teacher.

From the latter part of the gospel of this day, you may learn that this great enemy of your salvation, is always on the watch to take possession of your souls. Even when he has been driven out of them, and they are swept and garnished; you

must immediately ask of God to give you the assistance of His good Spirit, or the wicked one will come again with seven-fold strength, and the last state will be worse with you than the first. These words indeed, relate to the demoniacs who had been cured, to beware of relapsing into sin, lest they should be again possessed in a higher degree, so as to render their case desperate; but it also relates to all repentant Christians, and shews how very careful they should be in guarding against any return to sinful courses. Our Saviour's answer to the woman who was so charmed with His discourse, teaches that the most advantageous thing we can do for ourselves, is, to incline our hearts to hear the word of God, and then, to practice what it enjoins.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent.

ST. JOHN, vi. I.

"Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with His disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes and saw a great company come unto Him; He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"

Teacher.

The gospel goes on to say, that our Saviour asked this question to prove Philip; for He himself, (that is our Saviour,) knew His own power, to order even the stones of the wilderness to become bread. How astonishing must it have been to behold a small quantity of provisions, multiplied to such a degree as to feed five thousand.

Questions.

What does the gospel go on to say? That our Saviour said this to prove Philip. What did He (our Saviour) know? He knew that he had power to order even the stones of the wilderness to become bread. What must have been so astonishing to behold? A small quantity of provisions multiplied to such a degree as to feed five thousand people.

Teacher.

How gracious was our Saviour to work such a miracle for their benefit! Many of these poor people no doubt came from a great distance, and were not only tired by the length of the way, but were also in want of food. After Philip had answered our Saviour's question, by mentioning a sum of money which he knew could not be raised, another of the disciples, (Andrew, Simon Peter's

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