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own case freely remitted by his Lord. "O thou wicked servant," well might his Lord exclaim, "shouldst not thou have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye, from your hearts, forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

O that we participated largely in the feelings of her whom Jesus himself commended, when he said, "Her sins which are many are forgiven; for she loved much."-" Love I much ?I have much forgiven;"-may every Christian say, while he examines the

frame and temper of his spirit, and reflects on the vastness of his obligations. Surely if there dwelt in our hearts more of grateful love to Him by whose redeeming blood we obtain the forgiveness of our sins, it would become an easy, and even a delightful task, to extend forgiveness to others. In connection with these remarks, I would add,

Finally, Let us reflect much, with a view to constant imitation, on the perfect and glorious example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Dost thou well to be angry?"-is a question which you are sometimes, perhaps, disposed, like the petulant prophet, to answer in the affirmative, alleging the greatness of the provoca

tion. At such a moment, call to mind the provocations offered to our Divine Redeemer. Think of the base ingratitude and the perpetual insults he endured. Think of the contradiction of sinners, and the revilings of blasphemers, he had to encounter, throughout the entire course of his suffering life, and especially when it was hastening to a close. Think of the irritating language with which he was assailed in the palace of Caiaphas, and in the hall of Pilate, and in the presence of Herod; and then yield your minds to the force of the touching representations of the Apostle Peter: "If when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto

were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." Let, then, that mind and that temper be in us which was also in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and honor and ever-during praise !

IV.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE.

If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. James 3. 2.

"THE tongue," affirms this Apostle,

can no man tame."

Animals the

most fierce and the most formidable, have been subjected to the rule of man, and, by his sagacity, rendered tractable and docile. But it transcends all human power to impose an effectual curb on the tongue of unregenerate man, or entirely to counteract the venom emitted from his

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