Chapter 134 of 325

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Massillon has a remarkable sermon on the temptation of Christ, which he transfers to the temptations of the Ministry. It is hoped that the instruction (unsuitable indeed to the gravity of the pulpit) will not be rejected on account of the eccentric form of deduction in which it is given. I. A scheme to live like gentlemen—“Command these stones to be made bread.” This danger belongs to the first entrance of the Ministry. II. Presumption to aspire after preferment—“He set him on a pinnacle of the temple.” This belongs to an aspiring Minister: the second degree. III. A boundless desire for riches and honour in elevated stations, by which a man is induced to submit to abject services for the sake of elevation—“All this I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

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