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God will judge';" they shall have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Art thou a servant? Read the Scriptures, they will teach thee. "Servants, be obedient unto them that are your masters according to the flesh, in all things, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it

heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men." Again: "Please your masters, not answering again: be no pickers, but shew all good faithfulness, that you may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things"." Art thou proud? Read the Scriptures, they will teach thee. "Be not high minded, but fear." "What hast thou, that thou hast not received? If thou hast received it, why rejoicest thou as though thou hadst not received it?" And, "Learn of Me, that I am meek, and humble in heart." And, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble f."

Art thou in adversity? Read the Scriptures.

z Heb. xiii. 4.

c Rom. xi. 20.
f S. James iv. 6.

a Col. iii. 22, 23.
d 1 Cor. iv. 7.

b Titus ii. 9, 10. e S. Matt. xi. 29.

"Great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him out of them all." And, "he shall call upon me, and I will hear him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and glorify him." And St. Peter telleth thee, "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers'." "God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will give the issue with the temptation, that ye may be able to bear it." “The Lord is near unto all them that call upon Him; yea, to all that call upon Him in truth'."

Art thou a sinner? hast thou offended God? Read the Scriptures, they will teach thee. "Hate the evil, and love the good"." And again: "Fly from evil, and do good, and dwell for ever"." "Rise up, and go to thy Father, and say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son"." Dost thou despair of the mercy of God?

g Ps. xxxiv. 19. k 1 Cor. x. 13. a Ps. xxxvii. 27.

h Ps. xci. 15.
1 Ps. cxlv. 18.
• S. Luke xv. 21.

i 1 S. Pet. iii. 12. m Amos v. 15.

Read the Scriptures, they will teach thee. Christ telleth thee, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"." Again: "Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and laden, and I will ease you." "At what hour soever a sinner doth repent him of his sin from the bottom of his heart, I will put all his wickedness out of My remembrance, saith the Lord'." Again: "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live." And, "The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works."

Art thou going out of this life? Read the Scriptures, they will teach thee. "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die "." Say with St. Paul, “Christ is to me, both in life and in death, advantage: I desire to be loosed, and to be with Christ *."

What should I say more of the Scriptures, how profitable and comfortable they be in all cases and parts of our life? in adversity, in

P S. Mat. ix. 13. 9 S. Mat. xi. 28. 21, 22. s Ezekiel xxxiii. 11. t Ps. cxlv. 9. xi. 25, 26. x Phil. i. 20, 23.

Ezekiel xviii.

u S. John

prosperity, in life, and in death, they are our especial comfort. If we must fight, they are a sword; if we hunger, they are meat; if we thirst, they are drink; if we have no dwellingplace, they are a house; if we be naked, they are a garment; if we be in darkness, they be light unto our going.

They are comfortable to kings, to subjects, to old men, to young men, to man and to wife, to father and to child, to master and servant, to captain and soldier, to preacher and people, to the learned, to the unlearned, to the wise, and to the simple.

They are comfortable in peace, in war, in heaviness, in joy, in health and sickness, in abundance, in poverty, in the day time, in the night season, in the town, in the wilderness, in company, and when thou art alone. For they teach faith, hope, patience, charity, sobriety, humility, righteousness, and all godliness. They teach us to live, and they teach us to die.

Therefore hath St. Paul said well, "The whole Scripture is profitable"."

great comfort.

It maketh the

y 2 Tim. iii. 16.

It is full of

man of God

absolute and perfect unto all good works. Perfect in faith, perfect in hope, perfect in the love of God, and of his neighbour: perfect in his life, and perfect in his death. So great, so large and ample, and heavenly, is the profit which we do reap by the word of God.

THE NECESSITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Now it followeth, that we consider how necessary and needful it is for us to be guided by the word of God, in the whole trade of our life. The word of God is that unto our souls, which our soul is unto our body. As the body dieth when the soul departeth, so the soul of man dieth when it hath not the knowledge of God. "Man liveth not by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." "Behold," saith God, "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord"." Their tongue shall wither, their heart shall starve, they shall die for hunger. "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north unto the east shall they run to and

Deut. viii. 3.

G

b Amos viii. 11.

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