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down to us; and it is difficult to determine whether evil, or he who is eminently called the evil one, ought to be understood; as when he says that, in common discourse, whatever is more than plain affirmation or denial cometh of evil; when he teaches us to pray that God would deliver us ' from evil; and when he intercedes with his Father that he would keep the apostles from evil.

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On a review of these passages it is clear that some of them prove the "personality of Satan. But I think that evil is sometimes attributed to him, not because it proceeds from his strict and proper agency on mankind, but because he originally introduced it, because he delights in it, and because the immediate authors of it imitate his disposition.

Tillotson, "does not see how by any means it can be granted, without prejudice to the prerogative of God, which the scripture plainly gives him, of being the only knower of the heart, that the Devil can have so immediate an access to our minds as to put wicked thoughts into them ;" and he affirms "that all the inward motions of our souls are totally exempted from the immediate cognizance of any other spirit but God alone." He allows indeed "that a heart wickedly bent, and inclined, gives the Devil a great advantage to tempt men more powerfully, by presenting the occasions of wicked thoughts and actions

* Matt. v. 37. ix to wovngs.

' áxò té πovngs, Matt vi. 13. Luke xi. 4. ix To Tovngs. Compare Matt. v. 39. Mark vii. 23. Rom. xii 9. see the former sense and Matt. xiii. 19, 38. 1 John ii. 13, 14. iii. 12. v. 18. for the latter sense. xxy. 41. John viii. 44.

John xvii. 15.

Luke vi. 45,
Eph. vi. 16.

» Matt.

to them for it is usual in scripture phrase, as to ascribe all good motions to God's spirit, so all evil thoughts and actions to the Devil, not that he is the immediate cause of them, but because he is always ready to tempt men to them, and one way or other to promote them.

Dr. Clarke observes that, "though in scripture phrase, the moral incapacity of men is frequently ascribed to the delusions of Satan; as when Satan is said to take away the word out of the hearts of men, and to fill their hearts, and the like; yet this is never spoken by way of excuse, but always, on the contrary, of high aggravation. They, out of whose heart Satan taketh away the word, are by our Saviour compared to, and blamed for being like unto, the very worst and most unfruitful ground. And Ananias, whose heart Satan had filled, was asked by St. Peter, in the way of severe reproof; Why hath Satan filled (that is, why hast thou been so wicked, so covetous, so corrupt, as to suffer Satan to fill) thine heart?"

The common scripture phraseology must be understood in a sense consistent with St. James's maxim: "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own desires, and enticed."

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• Serm. on the knowledge of God. v. i. Serm. lxxx. fol. p. 604. ? Serm. Ixvii. p. 415, 416. fol.

4 Acts v. 3.

c. i. 14.

SECTION VIL

WHAT HE TEACHES OF PARTICULAR DUTIES.

WHEN Jesus had astonished the people by an answer and reproof which put the Sadducees to silence, a Scribe, or teacher of the Law, among the Pharisees tried his wisdom by further asking him which was the first and great commandment of all in the law of Moses. Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel ; Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is d like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other greater commandment than these."

It is observable that both these eminent precepts were before referred to by a Jewish teacher, who ask

Matt. xxii. 33--39. and p. p. Some think that the Hebrew should be rendered, "Jehovah our God, even Jehovah, is one. Deut. vi. 5. the Vat. ms. of the Greek version has diaria for heart, and the Alex. and Ald. mss. have nagdiz. Kircher in his Concordance shews that or aah, heart, is translated diava twenty eight times by the Greek interpreters: see particularly Lev. xix. 17. Deut. vii. 17 ; whereas, soul, is never thus rendered. I think that diavola, Matt. xxii. 37. Mark xii. 30. Luke x. 27. and over Mark xii. 33. are only different renderings of ab, probably made part of the text by being first noted in the margin : and that, Matt. xxii. 37. we should add, with two mss. and vers. Syr. Eth. xaliv öan on l'oxúi on. & We should read quela 2ury Mark xii. 31: as Matt. xxii. 39.

ed our Lord what he should do to inherit everlasting life, and was himself asked how he read in the law. The Scribe might have known the tenour of Jesus's doctrine in an advanced period of his ministry, with respect to that very point about which he inquired: but St. Luke, not intent on extolling our Lord's character by excluding others from the praise of religious wisdom, attributes this most admirable reply to the Jewish instructor himself. However, we may infer from the gospel history that the Jews formed different opinions about the comparative excellence of real or supposed duties. The Pharisees distinguished themselves by magnifying the tradition of the elders, by frequent ablutions, by avoiding legal 1 defilement, by stated fastings, and by a minute tithing of all their substance. We learn also that, in our Lord's time, the Jews were scrupulous' observers of the sabbath and of other solemn festivals: and, when the Scribe applauds our Lord for prefering the love of God, and remarks that it was more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifice, he teaches us that religious acts of that particular class were held in very high estimation.

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In this state of things our Lord teaches his disciples that their worship of God should be " humble, simple, and spiritual. He speaks thus with a decisive and commanding authority. "There is none other १ greater commandment than to love God and our

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Mark xii. 33.

9 Mark xii. 31.

Mark ii. 24. iii. 2.

i Luke xviii. 12. John v. 10. xviii. 28.

Luke xvii. 13, • Matt. vi. 7-13. P John iv. 24.

neighbour. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. This do, and thou * shalt live."

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With a like superiority to Jewish prejudices, our Ford extends the signification of the term neighbour beyond local and religious considerations, to every fellow creature capable of receiving from us offices of humanity commanding us to imitate the Samaritan, whose character represents that of a truly merciful man; and who acted the part of a neighbour to a wounded Jew, though the Jews had no " dealings with the Samaritans, and though the Samaritans, fired by the same political and religious enmity, withheld from the Jews every act of hospitality, even to a cup of cold water.

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The sublime morality of our heavenly Teacher regulates not only our actions, but our words and 'thoughts. To give a general and imperfect view of it. He enjoins a moderation of desire, purity of heart, meekness, humility, self denial, f temperance, liberality, h gratitude, prudence, a fearless discharge of our duty, 1 secrecy in almsgiving, in prayer and in fasting, a studious cultivation of "peace, Pexemplariness of conduct, the recommending of our pious acts by being reconciled to our brother, the sincere, harmless, lowly and placable disposition of

Matt. xxii. 40. w Luke ix. 53.

a Matt. v. 3.

• Matt. xvi. 24.

xvii. 17, 18.

ib. v. 9.

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• Luke x. 28. * John iv. 9.

b Matt. v. 8.

f Matt. xxiv. 49.

Matt. vii. 6. x. 16.

Luke x. 37.

y Matt. xii. 37.
cib. 5.

" ib. 16. • Matt. v. 24.

" John iv. 9, Matt xv. 19.

d Matt. xxiii. 12.

8 Luke vi. 38. ib. vi. 35. * ib. 28. ! Matt. vi. 3, 6, 18.

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