XVII.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 38—42.

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

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.

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

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

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

OUR SAVIOUR, in this passage, proceeds to explain in what manner the righteousness of his followers was to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. "Ye have heard," says He, "that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." This law of exact retaliation had been given to the Jews by GoD, in His character of their lawgiver and king. It was the law, according to which the Jewish judge was to deliver sentence against offenders; it was not a rule intended to authorize revenge among private individuals; though it probably was so construed by the Scribes and Pharisees. They seem to have interpreted that part of their civil law,—which, by saying an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, prescribed a principle of exact justice to the magistrate-as sanctioning the sentiment, that justice is all which is required of men in their individual capacity; and as justifying every one in exacting in all cases the utmost extent of his due.

CHRIST forbids this construction of the Mosaic law; and He subjoins some precepts of a contrary nature, which are extremely characteristic of His religion. "But I say unto you," says He, "that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the

other also." Certainly, expressions of this kind are not to be taken literally but let us beware of an altogether loose interpretation. Let us not in this respect imitate the Pharisees. They interpreted the Old Testament in such a manner as to favour their own corrupt prejudices: let us not bend the New to our crooked and imperfect practice.

The meaning of all those strong expressions of our SAVIOUR, which we are now considering, may be thus explained. It is, as if He had said, "Think not because the law hath declared, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, that it will justify that spirit of private resentment and retaliation which it is made to do. Such indeed is the perverse turn given to it by your Scribes and Pharisees. But I am come to prescribe to you a far higher rule of duty. I teach that a man not only must not resent injuries, and demand reparation to the utmost, but must learn patiently to endure injuries, and to forbear from any revenge whatever. "I SAY UNTO YOU THAT YE RESIST NOT EVIL." There must be such a spirit in my followers, that however great may be the ill-treatment which they receive, they must be willing quietly to suffer it; as much so as if, when a man were to smite thee on the right cheek, thou wert to turn to him the other also. Revenge is utterly excluded out of my code. The law of My Kingdom is that of the free forgiveness of each other.

Neither must ye be tenacious in any respect of that which is your own. Ye must be of so free and liberal, of so gentle and peaceable, of so kind and disinterested a spirit as to be ready to yield your clearest right, if any good be to be done, as it often is, by renouncing it. "If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat," care not for it,-be not eager to defend thyself; "let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go with him a mile," (instead of becoming resentful and illhumoured, as men thus unreasonably treated commonly do,) thou, that art my disciple, be willing freely to "go with him twain." And again, "Give to him that asketh of

thee." Aim not merely at acts of justice, but do acts of mercy also. Be willing to give, and ready to communicate. Say not that either thy money or any other worldly possession is thine own; but let the spirit of a large and liberal benevolence, and the feelings of a warm and expansive love dictate whose it shall be. Give, therefore, or lend, as a prudent charity may suggest; and "not grudgingy, for GOD loveth a cheerful giver." "Give to him tha asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away."

Such is incontestibly the meaning of these sayings of CHRIST. Are we then of this spirit? Have we learned in the school of His gospel to bear affronts quietly and meekly; to forgive all men heartily and freely; to take cheerfully less than our due; to condescend to serve even the unthankful and the unreasonable; to give and lend, bountifully and largely and, moreover, do we deny ourselves, that we may have to give to him that needeth ?

These are the duties enjoined upon us as Christians. This is the nature of the morality of the gospel. There is a scantiness in the virtue of worldly persons; they may be tolerably honest and just; they may not demand more than their due; but they are also strict in claiming their own. They may wish to hurt no one; but they also insist, that no one shall hurt them. They may give to those from whom they hope to receive something again; as well as to those whom they particularly love: but they cannot endure to do good to the forward, or intruding; or to the unthankful, or unreasonable. They would not do mischief to any one; but they have not learnt to exercise that determined spirit of kindness and condescension, which is absolutely necessary in such a world as this, if ever we would hope to achieve any great good. The virtue which is here recommended to them by CHRIST is too high and heroical for their minds.

It is important to remark, that the doctrines of the gospel dispose exactly to the same spirit which is inculcated by

these sayings of our SAVIOUR. CHRIST may be considered as foretelling by means of the various precepts delivered in His sermon on the mount, what should be the character of His followers; when they should be more fully instructed in the truths of His Gospel, and more plentifully endued with the gift of His Holy Spirit. Selfishness is obviously the root of those evil tempers which He has here condemned and how is selfishness more effectually to be cured than by the contemplation of that great evangelical truth, "ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price ?"* "live therefore no longer to yourselves, but unto Him that hath died for you."

XVIII.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 43—48.

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

But I say unto you, love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you;

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.

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect.

HERE OUR SAVIOUR again insists on the necessity of a more than ordinary virtue in His followers; and again reproves the scanty as well as false morality of the Scribes and Pharisees. "Ye have heard," saith He, "how it hath

* 1 Cor. vi. 20.

been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." This saying was doubtless common at that time among the Jews. The people assumed, (for how easily do we adopt the errors of our teachers,) that the Old Testament had taught this doctrine. But the Old Testament had said only, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour;" the Pharisees had added, as their inference from these words, "and thou shalt hate thine enemy." Declarations of Scripture had become united in many minds with sayings of the Pharisees; in the same manner in which certain truths of GOD, and sayings of men, are now frequently confounded by credulous and unthinking persons. "But I say unto you," says CHRIST, "love your enemies." This precept was not altogether new. The Old Testament breathed the same spirit, though the New speaks more plainly on this and other points, both of faith and of practice. The word "neighbour,” in the Old Testament, when rightly interpreted, has a very large signification. Literally taken, it stands for any one who lives near to us. It is however very naturally applied to all with whom we have any intercourse. It here signifies any one who comes within the sphere of our notice, and within the reach of our benevolence. The command to love our neighbour implies therefore that we are to love all men, not excepting our very enemies; and it is worthy of observation that our SAVIOUR has supplied us with this explanation of the term, by means of the parable of the good Samaritan; a parable which He employed for the reproof of one who had asked the question, "Who is my neighbour?" and who was not aware that even a Samaritan, though of an abhorred sect, might be the neighbour to a Jew. We are then to love, not our friends only, but strangers; and not strangers only, but our very enemies. "Bless them," says He, "that curse you: do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you." How high does Christian morality rise in respect to the point before us! This precept is one which may be considered as peculiarly Christian. It is not like