be acceptable to God, so long as we our-bers should perish, and not that thy selves are implacable to men. A second whole body should be cast into hell. danger respects us, when we appear before God in judgment; then God will be our Adversary, Christ our Judge, Satan our accuser, hell our tormentor; If now from the heart we do not every one forgive our brother his trespasses. Lord! how heinous then is this sin of inveterate anger, hatred, and malice, in our hearts, against any person! No gifts, though never so costly, no devotions, though never so specious, will prevail with God to pass it by, whilst 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 all love, all mercy, all goodness and compassion: no reconciliation with God without an hearty 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 forever without mixture of pity; and it is not men's scoffing at it that will secure them against the horror of it. Our Saviour next proceeds to explain the seventh commandment, which forbids adultery; by which the Pharisees under stood only the gross act of uncleanness, and carnal lying with a woman. But, says our Saviour, Whosoever secretly in his heart desires such a thing, and casts his eyes upon a woman in order to such an act, entertaining only a thought of it with pleasure and delight, he is an adulterer in God's account. Learn, That such is the purity and spirituality of the law of God, that it condemns speculative wantonness, no less than practical uncleanness; and forbids not only the cutward action, but the secret purpose and intention, and first out-goings of the soul after unlawful objects. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy mem Our Saviour had condemned ocular adultery in the foregoing verse, or the adultery of the eye; He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her in his heart. Whence note, That the eye is an inlet to sin, especially the sin of uncleanness: lust enters the heart at the window of the eye. Now in these verses Christ prescribes a remedy for the cure of this eye-malady: If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: which is not to be understood literally, as if Christ commanded any man to maim his bodily mem bers; but spiritually, to mortify the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eye, which otherwise would prove a dangerous snare to the soul. Learn, 1. That sin may be avoided: it is our duty to avoid whatsoever leads to it, or may be an occasion of it; if we find the view of an ensnaring object will inflame us, we must, though not put out our eye, yet make a covenant with our eye that we will not look upon it. Note, 2. That the best course we can take to be kept from the outward acts of sin, is to mortify our inward affection and love to sin. This is to kill it in the root; and if once our inward affections be mortified, our bodily members may be spared and preserved; for they will no longer be wea pons of sin, but instruments of righteousness unto holiness. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery. Our blessed Saviour still proceeds in vindicating and clearing the seventh commandment from the corrupt glosses of the Pharisees. Almighty God had tolerated the Jews, in case of uncleanness, to put away their wives by a bill of divorce, Hereupon the Pharisees Deut. xxiv. 1. maintained it lawful to put away the wife Christ corrects; and shows that divorce, This abuse upon every slight occasion. except in case of adultery, is a certain breach of the seventh commandment. Learn, 1. That so indissoluble is the marriage-covenant betwixt two persons, that bands of marriage, can dissolve or disannothing but adultery, which violates the nul it. Learn, 2. When persons are un justly put away, it is unlawful for them to marry to any other, or for others knowingly to marry to them. 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: 34 But I say unto you, 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: The next commandment which our Sa viour expounds and vindicates, is the third, which requires a reverent use of God's name. Now the Pharisees taught that perjury was the only breach of this commandment; and that swearing was nothing, if they did not forswear themselves; and that persons were only obliged to swear by the name of God in public courts of justice, but in their ordinary and common discourse they might swear by any of the creatures. Now, in opposition to these wicked principles and practices, Christ says, Swear not at all: that is, 1. Swear not profanely in your ordinary discourse. 2. Swear not unduly by any of the creatures; for that is to ascribe a deity to them. 3. Swear not lightly upon any trifling or frivolous occasion; for oaths upon small occasions are great sins. So that an oath is not here forbidden by our Saviour, but restrained. For though light and needless, common and ordinary swearing, be a very great sin, yet to take an oath upon a solemn occasion, when lawfully called thereunto, is a Christian and necessary duty. Christ by this prohibition doth not forbid all swearing as a thing absolutely evil; nor doth he forbid all assertory or promissory oaths in matters testimonial, when imposed by the magistrate; for Christ himself, when adjured by the high-priest, did answer upon oath. But he forbids all voluntary oaths in common conversation, and in our ordinary discourse; because an oath is an act of religious worship: therefore to trifle with it is an horrid provocation. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil. Here our Lord prescribes a proper mean and remedy for shunning the occasion and danger of rash swearing; and that is, by using and accustoming ourselves in conversation to a true simplicity and constant plainness of speech; either affirming or denying, according to the nature of the thing; letting oaths alone till we are called to them upon great occasions, for ending strife between man and man. Learn, That the great end of speech being to communicate the sense of our minds to each other, we ought to use such plainness and simplicity in speaking, that we may believe one another without oaths, or more solemn and religious asseverations. 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 ye resist not evil: but whosoever 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 cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Our Saviour here vindicates the sixth commandment, which obliges us to do no wrong to the body of our neighbour. God had given a law to the public magistrate, to require an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, when a person was wronged: hereupon the Pharisees taught, That a private person, wronged by another, might exact satisfaction from him to the same degree in which he had been wronged by him; if he had lost an eye by another, he might revenge it, by taking away the eye of another. But, says Christ, I say unto you, resist not evil; that is, seek not private revenge, but leave the avenging of injuries to God and the magistrates; and in trivial matters not to appeal at all, and, when forced, not for revenge sake: teaching us, That Christians ought rather to suffer a double wrong, than to seek a private revenge. Christianity obliges us to bear many injuries patiently, rather than to revenge one privately. Religion indeed doth not bid us invite injuries, but it teaches us to bid them welcome: we are not to return evil for evil, but are rather to endure a greater evil than to revenge a less. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. Our Saviour here presses the law of charity upon his disciples: this is two-fold; He a charity in giving to them that beg, and a charity in lending to them that desire to borrow. Christianity obliges all those who have ability, to abound in works of charity of all sorts and kinds whatsoever. that is truly charitable, doth not only give, but lends; yea, sometimes lends, looking for nothing again. It is not enough to act charity of one sort, but we must be ready to act it in every kind, and to the highest degree that our circumstances and abilities will admit. Giving is a God-like thing, he is the giver of every good and perfect gift; he gives before we ask: and we must imitate God in giving; namely, by giving what we give cheerfully, sincerely, discreetly, proportionally, universally, in obedience to God's command, and with an eye at his glory. And there is sometimes as great charity in lending as there is in giving; many a poor family, by our lending them a small matter, may raise themselves into a condition to live comfortably and honestly in the world. 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 persecute you: Another corrupt gloss which the Pharisees had put upon the law of God, our Saviour here takes notice of: the law said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, Lev. xix. 18. This they interpreted to relate only to their own countrymen, the Jews; concluding, that they might hate all the uncircumcised nations, as enemies. But, saith our Saviour, I require you to love all men; for if enemies must not be shut out of your love, none must. Love your enemies; here the inward affection is required. Bless them that curse you; there outward civility and affability is required. Do good to them that hate you; here real acts of kindness and charity are commanded to be done by us to our bitterest and most malicious enemies. Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; these are the highest expressions of enmity that can be, calumny and cruelty; yet are we commanded to pray for those that touch us in these two tenderest points, our reputation and our life. Learn, That Christianity obliges us to bear a sincere affection towards our most malicious enemies; to be ready upon all occasions to do good unto them, and pray for them. 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. To encourage us to the foregoing duty of loving our enemies, our Saviour propounds the example of God himself to our imitation, That ye may be the children of your Father; that is, that you may be known to be the children of your Father which is in heaven, by your likeness to him, and imitation of him. Note, 1. That the best evidence we can have of our divine sonship, is our conformity to the divine nature, especially in those excellent properties of goodness and forgiveness. Note, 2. That God doth good to them that are continually doing evil unto him. Rain and sun, fat and sweet, gold and silver, are such good things as their hearts and houses are filled with, who are altogether empty of grace and goodness. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Yet farther to encourage us to the duty of loving our enemies, Christ assures his disciples that he expects more from them than from others; more than common humanity and civil courtesy towards friends: for even heathens by the light of nature were taught to love those that love them: but he expected that Christianity should teach them better, and lead them farther, even to love their enemies, and to bless them that curse them. Note, Love for love is justice; love for no love is favour and kindness: but love for hatred and enmity is divine goodness; a Christ-like temper, which will render us illustrious on earth, and glorious in heaven. But, Lord! how do men confine their love to little sects and parties! and from thence comes that bitterness of spirit of one party towards another; and oh, how hard it is to find a Christian of a true catholic love and temper! 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. That is, Aim at perfection in all Christian virtues and divine graces, but particularly in this of love; in imitation of your heavenly Father, who is the perfect Pattern of all desirable goodness, and adorable per fections. To be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, is indeed impossible, as to equality, but not as to imitation. The word rendered here perfect, by St. Matthew, is elsewhere, by St. Luke, rendered merciful, Luke vi. 36, implying, That charity is the perfection of a Christian's graces; he that is made perfect in love, is perfect in all divine graces, in the account of God. Learn, 1. That there is no standing still in religion, but he that will be saved must press on towards perfection. Learn, 2. That no less than perfect and complete perfection in grace, and particularly in the grace and love of charity, is and ought to be the aim of every Christian in this life, and shall be his attainment in the next. CHAP. VI. This chapter is a continuation of our Saviour's incomparable sermon upon the mount, in which he cautions his disciples against the hypocrisy and vain-glory of the Pharisees, both in their almsgiving and prayers; the former in the first four verses of this chapter, which speaks thus ; TAKE heed that ye do not your : alms before men, to be seen of them otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. Observe here, 1. The duty directed to, alms-giving after a right manner; Do not your alms before men: some copies read it, Do not your righteousness before men; because alms-giving is a considerable part of that righteousness and justice which we owe unto our neighbour; he that is uncharitable, is unjust: acts of charity are acts of justice and equity. It also intimates to us, That the matter of our alms should be goods righteously gotten to give alms of what is gotten unjustly, is robbery, and not righteousness. Observe, 2. Our Saviour's cautionary direction in giving alms, Take heed that you do them not to be seen of men. It is one thing to do our alms that men may see them, and another thing to do them that we may be seen of We ought to do alms before men, men. that God may be glorified: but not to be seen of men, that ourselves may be applauded. Observe, 3. The particular sin which our Saviour warns his disciples against in giving their alms, namely, ostentation and vain-glory, which the Pharisees were notoriously guilty of; sounding a trumpet to call people about them when they gave their alms. Thence learn, That the doing any good work, especially any work of charity and mercy, vain-gloriously, and not with an eye to God's glory, will certainly miss of the reward of well-doing in another world. Observe, 4. The advice given by our Saviour for the prevention of this sin and danger; and that is, to do our alms as secretly as we can; Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth; that is, conceal it from thy nearest relations, That the secrecy of our charity is one good and, if possible, from thyself. Note thence, evidence of its sincerity. Hence the Egyp tians made the emblem of charity to be a blind boy reaching out honey to a bee that had lost her wings. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They 6 But thou, have their reward. when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Here our Saviour warns his disciples against the same pharisaical hypocrisy in praying, which he had before reproved in alms-giving. It was lawful to pray in the synagogues, and to pray standing, and that before men; but to do this upon design to be applauded by men, is condemned by Christ. Our business in prayer lies with God, we are not to concern ourselves how men like our performances, it is sufficient if God doth approve and will accept them. To cure the foregoing vanity, Christ directs to secret prayer in our closets, where God is the Witness, and will be the Rewarder, of our sincerity. Note, That secret prayer is a commanded and encouraged duty, and when in sincerity performed shall be attended with a public and glorious reward: Pray to thy Father which is in secret, &c. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. in earth, as it is in heaven: 11 Give us this day our daily bread: 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. A vain-glorious ostentation in prayer was condemned by our Saviour in the former verse; here a vain-glorious multiplication of words, by idle tautologies and impertinent repetitions, is condemned also; The sense and signification of this best after the manner of the heathen, who ex- of prayers, is this: "O thou our Father pect to have their prayers granted by God in Jesus Christ! who remainest on thy for the multiplicity of words used by throne in heaven, and art there perthemselves. Hence note, That a Chris-petually praised, and perfectly obeyed by tian's business in prayer being not to inform God, (for he knoweth what things we need, before we ask him;) nor yet to move and persuade God, (for he is our Father :) it certainly argues an undue apprehension of God, when we lengthen out our prayers with vain repetitions and a multitude of words. Yet note, 1. That it is not all repetition of the same words in prayer which Christ here condemns, for he himself prayed thrice, using the same words, that the cup might pass from him. Nor, 2. Are we to apprehend that prayers continued to a considerable length are forbidden by Christ; for Solomon's prayer was such, 1 Kings, viii. Nehemiah's such, chap. ix. "Tis said the people confessed and worshipped for three hours: Christ continued in prayer all night; and the church, Acts xii. made prayers without ceasing for St. Peter's enlargement. And we read of St. Paul's praying night and day, 1 Thess. iii. 10, and of his commanding the churches to be instant in prayer, and to continue in prayer. But Christ here condemns prayers lengthened out upon an apprehension that we shall be heard for our much speaking, or can move God by arguments whilst we continue in our sins. Dr. Whitby. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye : As if Christ had said, For preventing these and all other faults in prayer, I will myself give you a complete form of prayer, and an exact pattern and platform for your imitation when you pray. Note, That the Lord's Prayer is both a perfect form of prayer which ought to be used by us, and also a pattern and platform, according to which all our prayers ought to be framed. St. Matthew says, After this manner pray ye: St. Luke says, When ye glorious angels and glorified saints; grant that thy name may be glorified, thy throne acknowledged, and thy holy will obeyed, here on earth below, by us thy sons and servants, most sincerely and readily, and in some proportion to what is done in heaven. And because, by reason of the frailty of our natures, we cannot subsist without the comforts and supports of life, we crave, that such a proportion of the good things of this life may be given unto us, as may be sufficient for us; and that we may be content with our allowance. And knowing that thy holiness and justice oblige thee to punish sin and sinners, we plead with thee, for the sake of thy Son's satisfaction, to pardon to us our daily trespasses, which we are guilty of in this state of imperfection; as we do freely and heartily forgive others that have offended and wronged us. And seeing that by reason of the frailty of our natures we are prone to rush upon and run into temptation; we crave that, by the power of thy omnipotent grace, we may be kept from Satan's temptations, from the world's allurements, from our own evil inclinations, and be preserved unblamable to thine everlasting kingdom; which is exalted over all persons, over all places, over all things, in all times, past, present, and to come: and accordingly, in testimony of our desires, and in assurance to be heard and answered, we say, Amen; so be it; so let it be, even so, O Lord, let it be for ever." More particularly, in this comprehensive and compendious prayer, the following severals are remarkable. Namely, 1. That the learned observe, that this prayer is taken out of the Jewish liturgies, in which it is entirely found, excepting these words, As we forgive them that trespass against us. From whence Grotius notes, how far Christ the Lord of his church was from affecting novelties, or despising any thing because it was a form; a piece of piteous weakness amongst some at this day. Observe, 2. The person to whom Christ directs us |