a very different way. It is, I think, quite parallel with the apostle's injunction, not to "render railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing." Be civil and kind to those who are rude to you, and be ready, when you can do so with truth, to speak to the advantage of those who have, by malignant and untrue statements, endeavoured to injure your reputation.

"Do good to them that hate you." Your benevolent regard to your enemies, is not to be confined to kind wishes and civil speeches: where you have an opportunity—and you ought readily to avail yourself of every opportunity that offers, you ought to seek such opportunities-you should be ready to do a good office to him who has proved his hatred of you by doing you an ill office.

"Pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you." Knowing that you can do but little to make them happy, call in the aid of Omnipotence. Instead of im

precating vengeance, pray for forgiveness, and for all heavenly and spiritual blessings, to them; and do this for your most inveterate foes-" for them who despitefully use you and persecute you."

1

A most powerful motive to the discharge of these difficult duties is suggested by our Lord in the words that follow:"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." These words may either mean, that you may clearly show that you are the children of God-that ye stand in a peculiar, close, and endearing relation to him, and that ye have been formed to a peculiar character in reference to him ;' or that you may resemble God, as children resemble their parents.' I apprehend the last is our Lord's meaning. Cherish these sentiments, adopt this conduct, in reference to enemies, for it is in this way that you are to imitate him

Matth. v. 45.

whom you, under the new dispensation, are enabled to call Father, with a peculiar emphasis. He is good to the unthankful and evil, he makes His1 sun to rise on the evil as well as on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. He is merciful even to those who resist his will, and rebel against his laws. They share the bounties of his providence. They are invited to participate in the blessings of his salvation. He has no pleasure in their death. He is not willing that any should perish. He is long-suffering towards them, that his goodness may lead them to repentance. Surely this must be felt by every Christian as a very powerful motive, especially when he considers what must have become of himself, what must have become of the whole race of man, had not God loved his enemies, and "commended his love to men, in that while they were enemies, he spared not his own Son, but gave him up, the just in the room of the unjust." The man who hates his enemies is not like God-cannot be a child of God. A child of God! he is of his father the devil, and the works of his father he does. The more we love our enemies the more we resemble God, and the more evidence do we exhibit that we are really his children.

The whole of our Lord's exhortation goes on the principle that, from "the children of the kingdom," it is reasonable to expect such a conformity to the character of their Father; and that if this is not manifested, they who profess to be children of the kingdom, disgrace at once their profession and themselves. "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?" If your kind regards are confined to those who regard and treat you with kindness, you do no more than the worst and most despicable class of

2

1 Beautifully does Bengel say,-" Magnifica appellatio. Ipse et fecit solem et gubernat, et habet in sua unius potestate."

Matth. v. 46, 47.

men are in the habit of doing. Wicked and unprincipled men readily express their gratitude to those who have befriended them. The most barbarous and savage nations generally return kindness for kindness. Even the brute creation show attachment to those who treat them well. Will you take credit to yourself for having acted like a Christian, when you have only acted not worse than a heathen, and not worse than a brute? If you would show that you are the children of God, you must love not only him whom the Scribes call your neighbour, but him also whom they call your enemy. You must "be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."

These words are to be limited by the context,-your love is not to be partial, but universal, like that of your heavenly Father. You are to love not some only, but all, even those who seem the least suitable objects of benevolent regard. That this is the meaning, is plain from the parallel passage in Luke, "Be ye merciful, as your Father which is in heaven is merciful." While I have no doubt this is the meaning of the words, it is an important truth, that the Divine moral excellence is the copy and rule of the Christian, and that nothing short of as complete a conformity to this, as the limited capacities of our nature admit of, should satisfy our ambition.2

To love enemies, is not natural to man; and the only effectual method of implanting such a disposition in the mind, is the shedding abroad in the heart the love of God and his Son. The man who really believes, that when he was an enemy of God, God so loved him as to give his Son to be the victim for his sins, cannot deliberately cherish resentment against any human being, but, constrained by God's love, he will become a follower of him as a dear child,

1" Perfecti in amore, erga omnes."-BENGEL.

2" Ipse secundum naturam suam, nos secundum nostram.”—AUGUSTIN. 3" A love such as this, man cannot appropriate to himself, through a resolution of will, or by means of endeavour, because this love is a divine love; he can only obtain it through a spiritual communication by faith."-OLSHAUSEN.

and reason in this way :-'If God for Christ's sake, has forgiven me, surely I should forgive my brethren.' There is something peculiarly touching in the manner in which the Apostle Paul enforces the duties here enjoined, in his Epistle to Titus. "Speak evil of no man, be no brawlers, be gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." 1

§ 8. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and Pharisees, compared in reference to the duties of beneficence and piety.

In the sixth chapter, our Lord prosecutes his illustration, by examples, of the principle stated at the twentieth verse of the preceding chapter, 'that the righteousness of the kingdom greatly exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and of the Pharisees;' that is, that the system of religious and moral duty, to be taught and exemplified under the new economy, was to be greatly superior to that taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the Pharisees. The examples already brought forward, refer to that system as taught by the Scribes; the examples which follow, refer to it as exemplified by the Pharisees.

I Tit. iii. 2-8.

1

"Take heed," says our Lord, "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." It is generally admitted, by the best critics, that the original reading of the passage before us is, "Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them," &c. This first verse is a statement of a general principle in reference to religious and moral duties, which, in the succeeding verses, is applied to the three particular duties of alms, prayer, and fasting.

2

To "do our righteousness" is just, in other words, to perform those duties which we owe to God and to man. Now, our Lord prohibits his disciples from imitating the conduct of the Pharisees in doing those duties before men to be seen of them. These words are not to be understood as a prohibition of the performance of religious and moral duty in the presence of other men, for many duties, both of religion and morality, are of a public nature, and, therefore, if performed at all, must be performed before men; but they are to be understood as a prohibition of giving an unnecessary publicity to our performances of duty, and especially, of our performing any duty in public in order to attract attention to ourselves, and secure applause for our conduct. There are cases in which we not only may perform, but ought to perform, certain duties publicly, and perform them with the wish and purpose that they may attract notice; we are to "provide things honest," that is, honourable, " in the sight of all men ;"" we are to "make our light shine before men, that they may see our good works." " But while we do so we must have an ulterior object. If we do our good works before men that they may see them, the object must be, not that they may applaud us, but "that they may glorify our Father which is in heaven;" not that we may show off ourselves to advantage, but that we may adorn the doctrine of

1 Matth. v. 16.

3 Rom. xii. 17.

VOL. I.

2 "dinator, instead of inorúvn."— Vide THOLUCK.

R