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ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

And when the

devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

That the Christian ought to watch and pray in time of trouble and affliction, more especially in the prospect of death, and in all his prayers and desires resign himself entirely to the all-wise disposal and will of God, may be seen from

Our Saviour's conduct during His Agony in Gethsemane. Matt. xxvi. 36-46.

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not

pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

We must show the sincerity of our love for Christ by keeping His commandments, and then He will, through His intercession with the Father, obtain for us the help and sanctification and consolations of the Holy Ghost, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, and who, unless we grieve Him, will abide with us for ever; for so hath our Blessed Saviour promised, (John xiv. 15-18,) saying

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, be

cause it seeth him not, neither knoweth him but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

That Christian mourners should not sorrow without hope for them that sleep in Jesus, but believe that Christ, who is God and Man, the author of the resurrection and the life, and first fruits of the dead, will in the last day by His almighty power raise up all that die in the Lord, may be gathered from His conversation with the sister of Lazarus. John xi. 21-27.

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, 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. Believest thou this? She

saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

How thankful ought we to be for our recovery, when it has pleased God in his mercy to raise us up from sickness! But, alas! how few are truly thankful! how few are thankful at all! We cry unto God in time of trouble, but when he has made our pains to cease, turned our weakness to strength, and our mourning into joy, then we forget God our Saviour, we attribute not our recovery to him, our hearts are not grateful, our lips give him not the praise and honour due unto his name for all the mercy he has showed us! Oh let us be ashamed of such ingratitude, and ever follow the example of the afflicted Samaritan in the day of his restoration, as given us in the account of

The Ten Lepers healed by Christ. Luke xvii. 11-19.

And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met

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