What is required of those who are baptized?

Repentance and faith.

How did these people show their repentance and faith,

By believing what John preached, and by confessing their sins.

We are taught in this portion of scripture, the great duty of repentance: without repentance we cannot hope to have our sins pardoned, and unless our sins are pardoned we cannot go to heaven. Now repentance is, first, sorrow for sin, but this is not enough, sin must also be renounced, that is, forsaken or given up. If you have committed a fault, you must first be sorry for it, grieved with all your heart at having offended your heavenly Father, and displeased your merciful Saviour. You must then resolve never to do so any more; but you are so weak and sinful, that you cannot of yourself act thus. Pray, therefore, sin

cerely, for God's forgiveness, and for his grace to enable you to keep his holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of your life. Such prayers, if offered from the heart, God will accept and bless for the sake of Jesus, through whom alone they are heard and answered.

Because the world might not pretend
It knew not of thy coming day,
Thou didst, O Christ, before thee send
A crier to prepare thy way;

Thy kingdom was the bliss he brought,
Repentance was the way he taught.

And that his voice might not alone
Inform us what we should believe,
His life declared what must be done
If thee we purpose to receive;
His life our pattern therefore make,
That we the course he took may take.

H

From John the Baptist let us learn
For thee, sweet Jesus, to prepare,
And others of their sins to warn,
However for the same we fare.
So thou to us and we to thee
Shall, when thou comest, welcome be.

LESSON FOURTEENTH.

MATTHEW III. 7—12. LUKE III. 10-14.

BUT when John saw ma-ny of the Phar-i-sees and Sad-du-cees come to his bap-tism, he said un-to them, "O gen-er-a-tion of vi-pers, who hath warn-ed you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meat for re-pent-ance; and think not to say with-in yourselves, We have A-bra-ham to our

fa-ther, for I say un-to you, that God is a-ble of these stones to raise up chil-dren un-to A-bra-ham. And now, al-so, the axe is laid un-to the root of the trees; therefore ev-er-y tree which bring-eth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast in-to the fire. I, in-deed, bap-tize you with wa-ter un-to repent-ance; but he that com-eth after me is migh-ti-er than I, whose shoes I am not wor-thy to bear; he shall bap-tize you with the Ho-ly Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thor-ough-ly purge his floor, and gath-er his wheat in-to the garn-er; but he will burn up the chaff with an un-quench-able fire." And the peo-ple ask-ed him, saying, "What shall we do, then?"

He an-swer-eth and saith un-to them, "He that hath two coats, let him im-part to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do like-wise." Then came al-so pub-li-cans to be bap-tiz-ed, and said un-to him, "Mas-ter, what shall we do?" And he said un-to them, "Ex-act no more than that which is ap-point-ed you." And the sol-diers like-wise de-mand-ed of him, say-ing, "And what shall we do?" And he said un-to them, "Do vi-o-lence to no man, nei-ther ac-cuse a-ny false-ly, and be content with your wa-ges."