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costly, no devotions, however specious, will prevail with God to pass it by, while we live; and if we die with hearts full of this rancour and bitterness, we can never expect to be encircled in the arms of Him who is love. There is no reconciliation to God without our hearts' good-will to all men. Nay farther, the text here speaks of a prison, which is the dreadful dungeon of hell, into which the implacable and unreconciled person must be cast, and lie for ever without mixture of pity: and it is not men's scoffing at it that will secure them against the horror of it."

Hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.-Still our Saviour employs his discourse in pointing out the spirituality and extent of the moral law; declaring that it reaches even to the very intents and imaginations of the heart. Wanton thoughts, lascivious looks, and impure desires, are sinful in the sight of God. "The thought of foolishness is sin."-Remember the fall of David. And, if we have been mercifully preserved from so flagrant a transgression of the holy and perfect law of God, still let the prayer of the royal penitent be evermore our

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts.-Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. li. 5—

10.

If thy right eye offend thee, i. e. cause thee to stumble or fall, pluck it out and cast it from thee.-We must renounce whatever is most dear to us, or most agreeable to our own in

clinations or desires, if we cannot retain or pursue these things without transgressing the law of God. It is our duty to avoid whatever may lead to sin or become an occasion of it."The right eye and the right hand," says one, "are here used to point out those sins which appear most pleasing and profitable to us.-The right eye may be considered as denoting the darling idol; the right hand, the profitable employment, pursued on sinful principles; these become snares and traps to the soul, by which it falls into the pit of perdition. We must shut our senses against dangerous objects, to avoid the occasion of sin; and must deprive ourselves of all that is most dear and profitable to us, when we find that these dear and profitable things, however innocent in themselves, cause us to sin against God."

Let him give her a writing of divorcement.-Under the law of Moses, divorce was permitted in certain cases, besides that here mentioned, on account of the hardness of men's hearts. But, as our Saviour elsewhere teaches us, it was not so from the beginning. It was the original law of God, and it is his permanent institution, that the marriage union should be sacred and indissoluble. And what a merciful provision for the real welfare and happiness of mankind is here! How blessed are the love and faithful attachment of husband and wife, living together according to God's holy ordinance, amidst the duties and comforts of a Christian home, until God, in his wisdom, sees fit to part them by the

hand of death! What a source of happiness to individuals, what a means of preserving peace and good order in the community at large! And how highly honoured by having been treated as a figure of the union which subsists between Christ and his Church!

In the portion of Scripture which we have at this time read and considered, we find various precepts affecting the great Christian duty of brotherly kindness and love. We see that the divine command concerning our duty towards man is not satisfied with even the outward expression of civility or respect; but that we must cherish real, heartfelt good-will towards our brethren, if we would be regarded as the children of our heavenly Father. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Let us heartily concur in the prayer of our church, “O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth, send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues,

without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee: grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake."

HYMN.

Our God is love; and all his saints
His image bear below:
The heart with love to God inspir'd
With love to man will glow.

Teach us to love each other, Lord,
As we are loved by Thee:
None who are truly born of God
Can live in enmity.

Heirs of the same immortal bliss, Our hopes and fears the same, Let bonds of love our hearts unite, Let mutual love inflame.

So may the vain contentious world
Our peaceful lives approve,
And wond'ring say, as they of old,—
See how these Christians love.

§ XVII.

CHAP. V. 33-48.

Against swearing. Christ exhorteth to suffer wrong; to love even our enemies, and to labour after perfectness.

33 Again, ye have heard that "it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but "shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

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34 But I unto you, say Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is 'God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 'But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, "That | than others? do not even the ye resist not evil: "but whoso-publicans so?

ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

41 And whosoever shall com

pel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and "from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, ¿Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and

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48 Be ye therefore perfect,

even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

n ch. xxiii. 16. o Ex. xx. 7. Lev. xix. 12. Num. xxx. 2. Deut. v. 11. p Deut. xxiii. 23.-g ch. xxiii. 16, 18, 22. Jam. v. 12. r Is. lxvi. 1.-8. Ps. xlviii. 2, & lxxxvii. 3.-t Col. iv. 6. Jam. v. 12.-u Ex. xxi. 24. Lev. xxiv. 20. Deut. xix. 21.- Pro. xx. 22, & xxiv. 29. Luke vi. 29. Rom. xii. 17, 19. 1 Cor. vi. 7. 1 Thes. v. 15. 1 Pet. iii. 9. y Is. i. 6. Lam. iii. 30.-z ch. xxvii. 32. Mark xv. 21.-a Deut. xv. 8, 10. Luke vi. 30, 35.b Lev. xix. 18. c Deut. xxiii. 6. Ps. xli. 10.-d Luke vi. 27, 35. Rom. xii. 14, 20. e Luke xxiii. 34. Acts vii. 60. 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13. 1 Pet. ii. 23, & iii. 9.-ƒ Job xxv. 3.-g Luke vi. 32.-h Gen. xvii. 1. Lev. xi. 44, & xii. 2. Luke vi. 36. Col. i. 28, & iv. 12. Jam. i. 4. 1 Pet. x. 15 16. Eph. v. 1.

READER. Swear not at all.Our blessed Saviour here gives a solemn admonition against the practice of swearing, or lightly and irreverently appealing to the name, perfections, or works of God, in common conversation. He does not intend to prohibit the use of solemn oaths, or formal affirmations in the presence of God, and the calling upon him to witness our sincerity, in courts of law, or on great occasions; as appears abundantly from his own practice (Mat. xxvi. 63, 64), and that of St. Paul (Rom. i. 9; ix. 1; Gal. i.

20; Heb. vi. 16).

It may not be necessary for me to describe to you the various refinements and false glosses of the Pharisees to which our Saviour more particularly alludes. Suffice it to say that all profane language which we now understand by common swearing is here positively and for ever forbidden, as inconsistent with the majesty of God, and betraying a want of due fear and reverence on the part of man.-The following remarks of the son of Sirach are good,

and may be read with profit, if we bear in mind the fact that our Saviour forbids not only much swearing, but all swearing of the kind and character described.-" Accustom not thy mouth to swearing, neither use thyself to the naming of the Holy One. For as a servant that is continually beaten shall not be without a blue mark; so he that sweareth and nameth God continually shall not be faultless. A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with iniquity, and the plague shall never depart from his house: if he shall offend, his sin shall be upon him: and if he acknowledge not his sin, he maketh a double offence: and if he swear in vain he shall not be innocent, but his house shall be full of calamities. There is a word that is clothed about with death; God grant that it be not found in the heritage of Jacob; for all such things shall be far from the godly, and they shall not wallow in their sins. Use not thy mouth to intemperate swearing, for therein is the word of sin.' Ecclus. xxiii. 9-13.

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Let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, or, from the evil one.-Honesty, truth, and fairness in our words and dealings are indispensably requisite towards the Christian character; and a man who evidently lives under the influence of Christian principle is easily believed by every one around him. His word is sufficient. And it seems to indicate a consciousness of insincerity, a conviction that our word is good for nothing, if we think

it necessary to profane the name of God in order to give point to our assertions, or to impress other men with an assurance that we mean what we say. Such language is degrading to any man; and much more is it unworthy of a Christian. It has been well observed that profane swearing "has done no man any good. It is disgusting to the refined; abominable to the good; insulting to those with whom we associate; unprofitable, needless, and injurious in society; and sinful in the sight of God. God will not hold the profane swearer guiltless."

I say unto you that ye resist not evil.-How plain and positive is our Saviour's command against the spirit and the practice of revenge! He teaches us that "Christians ought rather to suffer a double wrong than to seek a private revenge. Christianity obliges us to bear many inju ries patiently, rather than to revenge one privately."

Under the Gospel, as well as under the law, the magistrate "bears not the sword in vain ;" "he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath;" Rom. xiii. 4. But while offenders are to be publicly punished for the good of society, private revenge is forbidden, and the spirit of malice, enmity, and hatred is to be banished from every Christian breast. Self-defence, indeed, when life is in danger, is not prohibited ;—but this is a very different thing from the desire or act of retaliation for petty wrongs, or for injuries merely as such. The spirit and meaning of our Saviour's precept may be easily under

stood. "The sum of all is, that Christians must not be litigious ; small injuries must be submitted to, and no notice taken of them; and if the injury be such as requires us to seek reparation, it must be for a good end, and without thought of revenge. Though we must not invite injuries, yet we must meet them cheerfully in the way of duty, and make the best of them. If any say Flesh and blood cannot pass by such or such an affront, let them remember that Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.-Let us be willing to comply with this command, "remembering," as St. Paul says, "the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."-It is a good rule concerning alms, that they should be given "cheerfully, sincerely, discreetly, proportionally, universally, in obedience to God's command, and with an eye to his glory."

I say unto you, Love your enemies. -Here is a plain and peculiar precept of the Gospel. The duty which it enjoins is, doubtless, difficult in itself;-but let us consider the motives which our Saviour urges,-let us consider the love of him who loved us, and gave himself for us while we were yet enemies, let us live in dependence on his heavenly grace, and keep ever in view the prize of our high calling,-and then we shall find the fulfilment of this heavenly injunction not only possible, but easy and delightful. To be

like God,—how great an honour and a happiness!

Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you." When we meet with ill usage we have an opportunity of showing our conformity both to the precept and to the example of Christ by praying for them who thus abuse us. If we cannot otherwise testify our love to them, yet in this way we may do so without ostentation, and it is such a way as we surely dare not dissemble in. We must pray that God will forgive them, that they may never fare the worse for anything they have done against us,-and that God would make them to be at peace with us."

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Let us never forget those words of our suffering Redeemer, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

He maketh his sun to rise on the evil

and on the good; and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." There is nothing greater than to imitate God in doing good to our enemies. All the creatures of God pronounce a sentence of condemnation on the revengeful: and this sentence is written by the rays of the sun, and with the drops of rain, and indeed by all the natural good things, the use of which God freely gives to his enemies."

If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?" He who loves only his friends, does nothing for God's sake. He who loves for the sake of interest or pleasure, pays himself. God has no enemy which he hates, but sin. We should have no other."

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