Chapter XLVIII (continued, part 18)
(4.). But how. In that case, are we to take the word " leaving Nazareth " here? We answer, just as the same word
Is used in Acts 21. 3, " Now when we had sighted Cyrus, and left it on the left, we sailed into Syria," &c.—4. e., without entering Cyrus at all, but merely 'sighting' it, as the nautical phrase is, they steered south-east of it, leaving It on the north-west. So here, what we understand the Evangelist to say is, that Jesus, on his return
to Galilee, did not, as might have been expected, make Nazareth the place of his stated residence, but "leaving
(or passing by) Nazareth," he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which Ig upon the sea-coast^—
' maritime Capernaum,' on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee ; but the precise spot is unknown. (See on ch. 11. 23.) Our Lord seems to have chosen it for several reasons. Four or five
of the Twelve lived there; it had a considerable and mixed population, securing some freedom from that intense bigotry which even to this day characterizes all places where Jews in large numbers dwell nearly alone;
It was centrical, so that not only on the approacli of the annual festivals did large numbers pass through it or near It, but on any occasion multitudes could easily be collected about it; and for crossing and recrossing the lake, which our Lord had so often occasion to do, no place could be more convenient. But one other high reason for the choice of Capernaum remains to be mentioned, the only one specified by our Evangelist, in the borders of Zahnlon and Nephthallm—the one lying to the west of the Sea of Galilee, the other to the north of it ; but the precise boundaries cannot now be traced out. 14. That
if it was not thus fulfilled, we may confidently affirm it was not fulfilled in any age of the Jewish ceremony, and has received no fulfilment at all. Even the most rationalistic critics have difficulty in explaining it in any other way. 17. From that time Jesns began to preach, and to say, Repent ; for the kingdom of heaven ig at hand —Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth the identical summons of His honoured forerunner.
it might l»e fulAlled wlilcli wuh spoken by Eitalas the prophet^(ch. 9. 1, 2, or, as In Hebrew, eh. 8. 23, and 9. 1),
Calling ij Peter, Andrew, etc. MATTHEW V. Clirist's Senann on the Mount
cipient malady causing 'softness'—among the people, 24. And his fame went throughout all Syria—reaching
Our Lord somi' t imes speaks of tne new kingdom as already come—in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of H was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was sued, and the Spirit on the day of Pentecost opened
first to tlie part of it adjacent to Galilee, called Syrophoenicia (Mark 7. 'iii), and thence exleuding far and wide, and they I>rought unto him all sick people— 'ail that were ailing' or 'unwell.' [those] that were take»—lor this is a distinct class, not an explanation ol the " unwell"
tlie fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the world at large.
Calling of Peter and Andrciv, James and John (v. 18-22). 18. And Jesus, walking—(The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a CDunecting word at the commencement of a lesson.) by tUe Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter—for the reason mentioned in ch. 16. 18— and Andrew Ills brother, casting a net Into tlie sea ; for tiicy were fishers. 19. And he salth unto them, Follow me—ratlier, as the same expression is rendered in Mark, "Come ye after me"—and I will make you tishers of men—raising them from a lower to a higher
class, as our translators understood it. w Ith divers diseases and torments i. e., acute disorders; and those which were possesse«l with devils—
' that were 'demonized' or
' possessed witli demons.' and those which were lunatic—
' moon-struelt'—and tiiose that had the palsy
'-paralytics,' a word not naturalized when our version was made—and he healed them. These healings were at once His credentials and illustrationsof " the glad tidings" which He proclaimed. Afler reading this account of our Lord's first preaching tour, can we wonder at wliat follows? 25. And there followed him great multitudes uf people from Galilee, and from Decapolis—a region lying to the east of the Jordan, so called as containing ten cities, founded and chiefly inliabited by Greek settlers, and from .Terusalem, and from beyond .Jordan—meaning from Perea. Thus not only was all Palestine upheaved, but
fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Psalm 78. 70-72). 20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21. And going on from tlience, he saw otlier two l)retliren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. In a ship— rather, 'in the sliip,' their fishing boat—with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. 22. And they immediately left the ship and their father—Mark adds an important clause: "They left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants;" showing. that the family were in easy circumstances, and followed him —Two harmonistic questions here arise: i^irs^. Was this the same calling with that recorded in John 1. 3o-t2? Clearlj' not. For, 1. That call was given while Jesus was yetin Judea: this, after His return to Galilee. 2. Here, Christ calls Andrew: there, Andrew solicits an interview with Christ. 3. Here, Andrew and Peter are called together: there, Andrew having been called, with an unnamed disciple, who was clearly the beloved disciple (see on John 1. 40), goes and fetches Peter his brother to Christ, who then calls him. 4. Here, John is called along with James his brother: there, John is called along with Andrew, al ter having at their own request had an interview with Jesus; no mention being made of James, whose call,
all the adjacent regions. But the more immediate object lor which this is here mentioned is, to give the reader some idea both of the vast concourse and of the varied complexion of eager attendants upon the great Preacher, to whom the astonishing Discouise of the next three chapters was addressed. On the importance which our Lord Himself attached to this first preaching circuit, and the preparation which He made for i t, see on Mark 1. 35-39.
CHAPTERS V—VII.
Sermon on the Mount. That this is the satne Discourse with that in Luke 6. 1749—only reported more fully by Matthew, and less fully, as well as with considerable variation, by Luke—is tlie opinion of many very able critics (of the Greek commentators; of Calvin, Gkotius, Maldonatus—who stands almost alone among Uoniish commentators; and of most moderns, as Tholuck, Mevek, De WETTE.TiscHENroiiS', Stibk, Wieseler, Robinson). The prevailing opinion of these critics is, that Luke's is the original form of the Discourse, to which Matthew has added a number of say-
if it then took place, would not likely have been passed over by his own brother. Tlius far nearly all are agreed, ]3uton the next question opinion is divided : Was this the .same calling as that recorded in Luke 5. 1-11? Many able
ings, uttered on other occasions, in order to give atone view the great outlines of our Lord's ethical te^ichiiig. But that they are tu o distinct Discourses—the one delivered about the close of His tirsl missionary tour, and the other afler a second such tour and the solemn choice of the Twelve—is the judgment of others who have given much attention to such matters (of most Romish commentators, Including Erasmus; and among the niodern« of Lance, Greswell, Bikks, Webster and Wilkinson. The question is left undecided by Alkokd). Augustin'3 opinion—that they were both delivered on one occasion, Matthew's on the mountain, and to the disciples; Luke's in the plain, and to the promiscuous multitude— is so clumsy anQ arllHcial as hardl.v to deserve notice. To'us the weight of argument appears to lie with those who think them two separate Discourses. It seems hard to conceive that Malt hew should have put this Discrourse before his own calling, if it was not uttered till long after, and was spoken in his own hearing as one of the newlychosen Twelve. Add to this, that Matthew Introduces his Discourse amidst verydctinite markings of time, which
critics think so. But the following considerations are to us decisive against it. First, Here, tl^e four are called separately, in pairs : in Luke, all together. Next, In Luke, after a glorious miracle: here, the one pair are casting their net, llie other are mending theirs. Further, Here, our Lord had made no public appearance in Galilee, and so had gatliered none around Him; He is walking solitary by the shores of the lake when He accosts the two pairs of tlshermen : in Luke, "the multitude are lying upon Him, and hearing the word of God, as He stands hy the Lake of Oennesaret"—a state of things implying a somewhat advanced stage of His early ministry, and some popular entliusiasm. Regarding these successive callings, see on Luke 5. 1.
J^irst Onlilenn Circ^iit (v. 23-35). 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues—These were houses of local worship. It cannot be proved that they existed before the Hsibylonish captivity ; but as they began to be erected soon after it, probably the idea was suggested by the religious inconveniences to whicrh the captives had been subjected. In our Lord's time, the rule was to have one wherever ten learned men or professed students of the law resided ; and they extended to Syria, Asia Minor, (Jreece, and most places of the dispersion. The larger towns had several, and in Jerusalem the number approached 500. In point of ofHcers and mode of worship, tlie Christian (congregations are modelled after the synagogue, and preaching the gospel— ' proclaiming the glad tidings'—of the kingdom, and healing all innnuer of sickness—'every tllsease'—and all manner of disease— ' every complaint.' The word means any InIG
fix It to our Lord's first preaching tour; while that of Luke, which is expressly said to have been delivered immedlatel.v after the choice of the Twelve, could not have been spoken till long after the time noted by Matthew.
It is hard, too, to see how either Discourse can well be regarded as the expansion or contraction of the other. And as it is beyond dispute that our Lord repeated some of Hi« weightier sayings in dlirerent forms, and with va/led ai>- plications, it ought not to surprise us that, after the Ifipse of perhaps a year—when, having spent a whole night on the hill in prayer to God, and set the Twelve apart: He found Himself surrounded by crowds of people, few uf
(prist's Sermon on the Mount. MATTHEW V. 27*6 Beatitudes : The Meek, etc.
plainly a, frame of mind which tho.se terms are meant to express. Accordingly, our translators sometimes render such words "the liumble" (Psalm 10. 12, 17), "the metk' (Psalm 22. 28), " the lowly" (Proverbs ii. 34), as having no reference to outward circumstances. But here tlie explanatory words, "in spirit," fix tlie sense to 'those who in their deepest consciousness realize their entire need'
vebom probably had hear.l theSormon on t)ie Mount, and fewer s.tiU remembered much of it—He should go over again its principal points, with just as much sameness as
to show tlieir eudurins gravity, but at the same time with tliatdifi'erence which sliows Hisexliaustless fertility
ais the great Prophet of the C'liurch.
(cf. the Greek of Luke 10. 21 ; Jolin U. Xi; 13. 21; Acts 20. 22; Romans 12. 11; 1 Corinthians 5. 3; Pliilippians 3). This self-emptying conviction, that 'before God we tvre void of everything,' lies at the foundation of all spiritual excellence, according to the teaching of Scripture. Without it we are inaccessible to the riches of Clirist; with it we are in the flttingstate for reeeivingall siiiritual supplies (Revelation 3. 17, IS ; Matthew 9. 12, l;J}. for theirs
V'er. 1-16. The Beatitudes, and their Bearing upon rHK World. 1. And seeing tlie multitudes—those mentioned in ch. 4. 2.5—lie %vent up into a mouiktain—one
of Ihe dozen mounlains wliich Robinson says there are
in the vicinity of the St-a of Galilee, any one of them answering about equally well to the occasion. 8o eharmiug
Is tlie kingdom of lieaven. See on cli. 3. 2. Tlie poor in spirit not only shall have—they already have—the kingdom. The very sense of their poverty is begun riches. While others "walk in a vain sliow"—' in a shadow,' 'an image'—in an unreal world, taking a false view of themselves and all around them—the poor in spirit are ricli in
is the whole landsciipe that the descriptions of it, from losEFHUS downwards {J. W.,i. 10, 8;,are apt to be thought a little coloured. at»d wliein l»c was set—'had sat' or seated Himself"—tils disciples came unto lilin—already a large circle, more or less attracted an<l subdued by His pre'iching and miracles, in addition to the smaller band
of devoted adherents. Though the latter only answered
tlie knowledge of their real case. Having courage to look this in the face, and own it guilelesslj', tlie3' feel strong in the assurance that " unto the upright there arisetli light in tile darkness" (Psalm 112. 4); and soon it bi'eaks fortli as the morning. God wants nothing from us as tlie price of His saving gifts ; we have but to feel our universal destitution, and cast ourselves upon His compassion (Joli 33.
to tiie subjects of His kingdom, described in this Dis-
course, there were drawn from time to time into this Inner circle souls from the outer one, who, by the power
of His matcliless word, were constrained to forsalve tlieir
all for the Lord Jesus. H. And lie opened Uls moutli—
solemn way of arousing the reader'.'! attention, and preparing him for something weighty (Job f). 1; Acts 8. ;K; 10.
27, 28; 1 John 1. 0). So the poor in spirit are enriched with the fuluf.ss of Christ, whicii is the kingdom in substance; and wlien He shall say to them from His great white throne, " Come, ye ble.ssed of my Father, inherit tlie kingdom jirepared fur you," He will invite them merelj' to the full enjoyment of an already possessed inheritance. 4. Blessed are tliey titnt inouru : for tUcy slmll be comforted—This "mourning" must not be taken loosely for that feeling whicii is wrung from men under pressure of
54J—and tauglit tlieiu, saying, 3. Klessed, &c.—Of tlie two words whidi our translators render " blessed," the one bore used points more to what is inward, and so ml^ht be rendered "happy," in a lofty sense; while the other denotes rather what coi:ies to us from witltout (as Matthew 2.5. 34). But the distinction is not always nicely
aarried out. One Hebrew word expres.ses both. Onthe.se precious Beatitudes, observe that though eight in num-
tlie Ills of life, nor yet strictly for sorrow on account 'of committed sins. Evidently it is tliat entire feeling which the sense of our spiritual poverty begets; and so the second beatitude is but the complement of the first. The one
ber, there are here but seven distinct features of character. The eighth one—the "persecuted for righteousness' sake" —denotes merely the po.ssessors of the seven preceding
features, on account of which it is that they are pereecuted (2 Timothy 3. 12). Accordingly, instead of any
is the intellectual, the other the emotional aspect of tlie same tiling. It is poverty of spirit that .says, "I am undone;" and it is the mourning which this causes tliat makes it break forth in the form of a lamentation—" Woe
distinct promise to this cla-ss, we have merely a repetition
of the tii st proniise. This has been noticed by several
critics, who by the seoen/old character thus set forth have rightly observed that a complete cliaiacter is meant to be depicted, and by the sevenfold blessedness attached to it, a
is me! for I am undone." Hence this class are termed "mourners in Zion," or, as we might express It, religious mourners, in sharp contrast with all other sorts (Isaiah 61.1-3; 66.2). Religion, according to the Bible, is neither a set of intellectual convictions nor a bundle of emotional feelings, but a compound of both, the former giving birth to the latter. Thus closely do the first two beatitudes cohere. The mourners shall be "comforted." Even now they get be:iuty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for tlie spirit of heaviness. Sowing in tears, they reap even here in joy. Still, all present com-
perfect blessedness is intended. Observe, again, that the language in which these Beatitudes are couched is purposely fetched from the Old Testament, to show that the new kingdom is but tlie old in a new form; while the characters described are but the varied forms of that
tpiritualUi/ which was the essence of real religion all along, but had wellnigli disappeared under corrupt teaching. Further, the tilings here promised, far from being mere arbitrary rewards, will be found in each case
fort, even the b(!St, is partial, interrupted, short-lived. But the days of our mourning shall soon be ended, and then God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. Then, in the fullest sense, shall the mourners be " comforted."
to grow out of the characters to whicli they are attached, and in their cxjmpleled form are but the appropriate coronation of them. Once more, as "the» kingdom of heaven," wlii(Ji Is the first and the last tiling here prom-
5. Blessed are tli« meek: for tliey sliall inlierit the earth—This promise to the meek is but a repetition of
ised, has two stages—a present and a future, an initial and a consummate stage—so tfte fultilment of each of these promi.ses has two stages—a present and a future, a partial and a perlcet stage. 3. Blessed are tlie poor In spirit-All familiar with Old Testament phra.seology know how frequently God's true people are styled "the poor"— the 'oppressed,' 'aUlict.ed,' 'miserable' — "the needy"—or both U)getlier (as in I'salra 40. 17; Isaiah 11. 17). The explanation of this lies in the fact that it Is generally "tbopoorof this world" who are " rich in faith" (James
P.salni 37. 11; only the word which our Evangelist renders "the meek," after the LXX., is the same which we have found sooften translated " the poor," showing how closely allied these two features of character are. It is impossible, indeed, that " the poor in spirit" and " the mourners" iu Zion should not at the same time be "meek;" that is to say, persons of a lowly and gentle carriage. How fitting, at least, it is that they should be so, may be seen by the following touching appeal : " Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to spealc evil of no man, to
'i. 5; cf. 2 Corinthians 6. 10, and Revelaticm 2. !)); while it is often " the ungodly" who "prosper in the world" (Psalm
73. 12). Accordingly, in Luke (6. 20, 21), it seems to be this
clatis—the lit<--rally "poor" and "iiungry"—tliat are BpecUiUy addressed. But since God's people are in so many places styled " the poor" and " the needy," with no evident reference to their temporal circumstances (as in
tie no brawlers, but gentle, slioiving all meekness unto all men: fok we oorsklves were once foomsh, disobedh'nt, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures. . . . But alter that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared; . . . according to His mercy He
I'balm fti 10; Cfl, 2»-33; 132. Ij; Isaiah 61. 1; CO. 2), it is
Christ's Sermon on the Mount. MATTHEW V. The Beatitudes : The MercifuX, etc.
payed us," &c. (Titus 3. 1-7.) But He who hud no such aflectiug reasons lor manilesting this bfuutilul carriage,
mind, representing it as the surest pledge of the coveted supplies, as it is the best preparative, and inde«>d Itself the beginning of tliem. "They shall be saturated," He says ; tiiey shall not only liave wliat they so higlily value and long to possess, but tliey shall have their fill of it. Not here, however. Kven in the Old Testament this was well understood. "Deliver me," says the Psalmist, in language wliich, beyond all doubt, stretclies beyond the present scene, " from men of the world, whi<-h have theii portion in tliis life: as for me, I sliall behold tliy face in rigliteousness: I shall be satisfied, wlien I awake, with thy likeness" (Psalm 17. i:j-15). Tlie foregoing beatitudes— the first four—represent the saints ratlier as conscious of their need of salvation, and acting suitably to that character, than as possessed of it. Tlie next three are of a different kind—representing the saints as having now found salvation, and conducting tliemselves accordingly. 7. Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtalit inei-ey. Beautiful is the connection between this and the preceding beatitude. Tlie one has a natural tendency to beget the other. As for the words, they seem directly fetched from Psalm 18. 25, " Witli the merciful tliou wilt show thyself merciful." Not that our mercifulness comes absolutely first. On the contrary, our Lord Himself expressly teaches us tliat God's metho<l is to awaken in us compassion towards our fellow-men by His own exercise of it, in so stupendous a way and measure, towards ourselves. In the parable of the unmerciful debtor, the servant to whom his lord forgave ten thousand talents was naturally expected to exercise tlie small measure of the same compassion required for forgiving liis fellowservant's debt of a hundred pence; and it is only when, instead of this, he relentlessly imprisoned liim till he should pay it up, that his lord's indignation was roused, and he who was designed for a vessel of mercy is treated as a vessel of wrath (ch. IS. 2:3-35; and see ch. 5. 2>, 21 ; 6. 15
said, nevertlieless, of Himself, "Take My yoke upon you,
ftnd learn of Me; for I ain meek and lowly in lieart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew U. 29); and the apostle besought one of the churches by " the meekness and gentleness of Clirist" (2 Corinthians 10. 1). In what esteem this is lield b.y Him who seeth not as man seeth, we may learn from 1 Peter 3. 4, wliere the true adorning is said toA)e that of "a meek and quiet spirit, which in the
siglit of God is of great price." Towards men tliis disposition is tlie opposite of liigh-mindeduess, and a quarrelsome and revengeful spirit; it " rather takes wrong, and sutlers itself to be defrauded" (1 Corintlilans 6. 7>; it "avenges not itself, but rather gives place unto wrath" (Romans 12. 19); lilie the meek One, " wlien reviled, it re-
viles not again; when it suffers, it tlireatens not: but commits itself to Him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter
2.19-22). "Tiie eartli" which tlie meek are to inherit
rniglit be rendered "the land"—bringing out tlie more immediate reference to Canaan as the promised laud, the secure possession of whicli was to tlie Old Testament saints the evidence and manifestation of God's favour resting on them, and the ideal of all true and abiding blessedness, liven in the Psalm from which these words
ai e taken the promise to the meek is not held forth as an arbitrary reward, but as having a kind of natural fulfil-
ment. When they delight themselves in the Lord, He gives them tlie desires of their heart: when they commit their way to Him, He brings it to pass; bringing forth their righteousness as tlie light, and their judgment as the noon-day: llie little that they liave, even when despoiled of their rights, is better than the riches of many wicked, &c. (Psalm 37), All tilings, in short,are theirs—in the possession of tltat favour wliicli is life, and of those rights whicii beiong to tliem as the children of God whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or
James 2. 13). 'According to the view given in Scripture,' says Trench most justly, 'the Cliristiau stands in a middle point, between a mercy received and a mercy yet needed. Sometimes the first is urged upon him as an argument for sliowing mercy—" forgiving one another, as Christ forgave you" (Colossians 3. 13; Ephesians 1. 32); sometimes tlie last—"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy ;" " Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke G. X7 ; James 5. 9). And thus, while he is ever to look back on the mercy received as the source and motive of the mercy which he shows, he also looks, forward to the mercy which lie yet needs, a:id which he is assured that the merciful—according to what Benoel beautifully calls the beniffna talio (the gracious requital) of the kingdom of God—shall receive, as a new provocation to its abundant exercise.' The foretastes and beginnings of this judicial recompense are richly i xperienced ht^re below: its perfection is reserved for that day when, from His great white throne, the King shall say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and thirsty, and a stranger, and naked, and sick, and in prison, and yfe ininisti'red unto mo." Yels, thus he acted towards us wliile on earth, even laying down His life for us; and He will not. He cannot disown, in the merciful, the image of Himself. 8. Blesseil are the ]>urr in heart > for they shall sec God. Here, too, we are on Old Testament ground. There the dill'erence between outward and inward purity, and the acceptableness of tin? latter only In the sight of God, are everywlicre taught! Nor is the 'vision of God' strange to the Old Testament ; and though
tilings to come; all are theirs (1 Corintliians 3. 21,22); and at Ungtli, overcoming, they "inherit all things
' (Revelation 21.7). Thus are the meek the only riglitful occupants of a fool of ground or a crust of bread here, and heirs of all coming things. G. Blessed are llicy wlklcli do Hunger «ud tlktrst nfter right cojisness ! for tliey shall be lUled — ' .-iliall be satm ated.' ' From tliis verse,' says Tholuck, 'the reference to tlie Old Testament background ceases.' Surprising! On the contrary, none of these beatitudes is more manifestly dug out of the rich mine of the Old Testament. Indeed, how could any ime who found in the Old Testament " liie poor in spirit," and " the mourners in Zion," doubt that he would also find those same cha-
racti;rsalsoc)-at;(/)f/ tliat righteousness which they feel and mourn their want of? But what is tlie precise meaning of "righteousness" here ? IjUtheran expositors, and some of our own, seem to have a hankering alter tliat more restricted sense of the term in which it is used with reference to tile sinner's justification before God. (See Jeremiali2;?.G; Isaiah 15.21; Romans 4.6; 2 Corinthians 5. 21.) But, in so comprehensive a saying as this, it is clearly to be taken—as in v. 10 also—in a much wider sense, as denoting that spiritual and entire conformity to the law of God, under the want of which the saints groan, and the possession of which constitutes tlie only true saintship. Tlie Old Testament dwells much on -this righteousness, as that wliicli alone God regards with approbation (Psalm 11.7; 2:5.3; lUli. 3; Proverbs 12.28; 10.31; Isaiah fit.
5, &c.). As hungei' and thirst are the keenest of our appe-
tites, our Lord, by employing this figure here, plainly means
It was an understood thing that this was not possible In the present life (Exodus 33. 20 ; and cf. Job IS). 2(i, '27 ; Isaiah
' tliose whose deepest cravings are after spiritual blessings.' And In the Old Testament we find this craving variously expressed: "Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye tliat seek the Lord" (Isaiah 51. 1); "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord," e-xclaiined dying Jacob (Genesis 4i). IS); "My soul," says the sweet I'salmlst, " breaketh for Hie longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times" (Psalm 119. 20): and in similar breathings does ho give vent to his deepest longings in that and other Psalms. Well, our Lord just takes up liere this blessed frame of
6. 5), yet spiritually it was Icnown and felt to he the privi-
lege of the saints even here (Genesis 5. 24; (i. 9; 17. 1; 48.
15; I'salm 27. 4 ; 8(!. 9; ft'!. 2 ; Isaiah 38. 3, 11, Ac). But oh, with what grand simplicity, brevity, and power Is this great fundnmentat truth here expressed ! And in what striklnjf contrast would such teachi ig 91'pear to that which wivs then current, in which exclusive attention was paid to ceremonial ivurltlcation and external morality! This heart-purity begins in a "heart sprinkled from au evU
18 .
Christ's Sermon on the Mount. MATTHEW V. The Beatitudes: The Persecuted.
persecution? To this the following answers should suffice: "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither Cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." " Tlie world cannot hate you ; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." "If ye were of tiie world, the world would love his own : but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." "There is yet one man (said wicked Aliab to good Jehoshaphat) by whom we niiiy inquire of the Lord: but I liate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil" (John 3.20; 7.7; lo. 19; 2 Clironicles 18.7). But more particularly, tiie seven characters here described are all iu the teeth of the spirit of tlie world, insomuch that such hearers of this discourse as breathed Itiat spirit must have been startled, and had their wliole system of thought and action rudely dashed. Poverty of spirit runs counter
conscience," or a "conscience purged from dead works" (Hebrews 10. 22; 9. 14; anil see Acts 15. 9); and this also is taught in the Old Testament (Psalm 32. 1, 2 ; cf. Romans 4.
5-8; and Isaiali 6. 5-8). The conscience thus purged—the
heart tlius sprinkled—there is light within wherewith to
see God. "If we .say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth : but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with the other"—He with u.s and we with Him— "and the lilood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us"—us who have this fellowship, and who, without such con-
tiaaal cleansing, would s,oon lose it again—" from all sin"
(1 John 1. G, 7). "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him" (IJohn 3. 6); "He that doeth evil hath not seen God" (3 John H). The inward vision thus
clarified, and the whole inner man in sympathy witli God, each looks upon the other with complacency and
joy, and we are " cii.aBged into the same image from glory
to tlie pride of men's heart; a pensive disposition, in the view of one's universal deficiencies before God, is ill relished by the callous, indiaerent, laughing, self-satisfied world ; a meek and quiet spirit, taking wrong, is regarded as pusillanimous, and rasps against the proud, resentful spirit of the world; tliat craving after spiritual blessings rebukes but too unpleasantly the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life; so does a merciful spirit the hardheartedness of tlie world; purity of heart contrasts painfully with painted hypocrisy; and the peacemaker cannot ea.sily be endured by the contentious, quarrelsome world. Thus does " rigliteousness" come to be "persecuted." But blessed are they who, in spite of
to glory." But the full and beatific vision of God is reserved for that time to which the Psalmist stretclies his views—"As for mo, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness: I sliall be satislied, when I awake, with Thy likeness" (Psalm 17. 15). Then shall His servants serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads (Revelation 22. 3, 4). They shall .see Him as He is ^1 John 3. 2). But, says the apostle, expressing the converse of this beatitude—" Follow holiness, without whicli no man shall see the Lord"' (Hebrews 12. 14). 9. Blcsaec! arc tlie peaccmaHers—who not only study peace, but lUlfuse it—for tliey shall be called tl»e cliildren
'shall be called sons' — of God. Of all these beatitudes
tills, dare to be righteous, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. As this was the reward promised to the poor in spirit—the leading one of these seven beatitudes—of course it is the proper portion of such as are persecuted for exemplitying them. 11, Blessed ai-e ye when men sliall revile you—or abuse you to your face, in opposition to backbiting. (See Mark 15. 32.) and persecwts yow, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake. Observe tliis. He had before said, " for righteousness' sake." Here He Identifies Himself and His cause witli that of righteousness, iiinding up the cause of rigliteousness iu the world witli tlie reception of Himself. Would Moses, or David, or Isaiah, or Paul have so expressed themselves'? Never. Doubtless they sutTered for righteousness' sake. But to have called this "their sake," would, as every one feels, have been very unbecoming. Whereas Pie that speaks, being Righteousness incarnate (see Mark 1. '2A.\ Acts 3. 14; Revelatioa 3. 7), when He so speaks, speaks only like Himself. 13; Rejoice, and be exceeding glad—'exult.' In the corresponding passage of Luke (0. 22, 23), where every indignity trying to fiesh and blood is held forth as the probable lot of such as were faithful to Him, the word is even stronger than here, "leap," as if He would have their inward transport to overpower and absorb the sense of all these aflronts and.suHerings ; nor will anything else do it. for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they
this is the only one which could hardly be expected to
find its definite ground in the Old Testament; for that most glorious character of God, the likeness of which appears in the peacemakers, had yet to be revealed. His glorious name, indeed-as "The Lord, the Lord God, mer-
ciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin''—had been proclaimed in a very imposing manner (Exodus 34. 0), and manifested in action with atteeting frequency and variety in the long course of the ancient economy. And we have undeniable evidence that tiie
saints ol that economy felt its transforming and ennobling Influence on tlieir own character. But it was not till
Christ "made peace by tlie blood of the cross" that God could manifest Himself as " the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13. 20) — could reveal Himself
as "in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not Imputing their trespasses unto them," and hold Him-
self forth in the astonishing attitude of beseeching men to be "reconciled to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5.
19, 20). When this reconciliation actually takes place, and one has "peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ'' —even " tlie peace of God which passe'.i all understanding " — the peace-receivers become transformed into peace-d ill users. God is tlius seen reflected in them; and by the family likeness -these peacemakers are recognized as the children of God. In now coming to the eighth, or supplementary beatitude^ it will be seen tliat all that the saints are t« ^/lenweZneit has been already described, in seven features of character; that number Indicating completeness of delineation. The last
' You do but serve yourselves heirs to their character and sutt'erings, and the reward will be common.' 13-16. We have here the practical application of the foregoing principles to those disciples who sat listening to them, and to their successors in all time. Our Lord, though He began by pronouncing certain characters to be blessed—without express reference to any of His hearers—lioes not close the beatitudes without intimating that such characters were in existence, and tliat already they were before Him, Accordingly, from characters He comes to persons possessing them, saying, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you," &c. And now, continuing this mode of direct personal address, He startles those humble, unknown men by pronouncing them the exalted beiKjfiictors ol
tile prophets wliicli were before you : q, d.,
feature, accordingly, is a passive one, representing the treatment that the characters already described may expect from the world. He who shal' one day fix the destiny of all men here pronounces certain characters "blessed;' but He ends by forewarning them that the world's estimation and treatment of them will be tlie reverse of His. 10. Blessed art they which are persecuted for rlji;htcousnes8' sake, &c. How entirely this
tlieir whole species. 13. Ve are tixe salt of tlie earth—to preserve it from corruption, lo season its insipidity, to freshen and sweeten it. The value of salt for these purposes is abundantly referred to by classical writers as well as in Scripture; and hence Its .symbolical significance in the religious otTorings as well of those wUhonl
final l)eatitude has its ground in tlie Old Testament, is evident from the concluding words, wliere the encouragement lield out to endure such persecutions consists in its being but a continuation of wiiat v/as experienced bjthe Old Testament servants of God. But iiow. It may be asked, could such beartlful features of character provoke
Ohiisl's Seiiiwn on the 3fount. MATTHEW V. He Comes '.u Fulfil Lht Law.
light of the JtfwM"-with reference to the vast and variegated surface which feels its fructifying and gladdening radiance. The same distinction is observable in the second pair of those seven parables wliicli our Lord spoke from the Galilean Lake—that of tlie "mustard seed," which grew to be a great overshadowing tree, anssvering to the sunlight which invests the world, ami that of the "leaven," which a woman took and, like the salt, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (ch,
as of those within the pale of revealed religion. luScriptnre, mankind, under the unrestrained workings of their own evil nature, are represented as entirely corrupt. Tluis, before the tlood (Genesis 6.11, 12); after the flood ((Jeuesis 8. 21); in the days of David (Psalm 14.2, 3); in the
cln>s of Isaiali (Isaiah 1.5, 6); and in the days of Paul (Epnesians 2. 1-3; see also Job 14. 4; 15.15,16; John 3.6; compared with Romans 8. 8; Titus 3.2, 3). The remedy for this, says our Lord here, is the active presence of His disciples among their fellows. The character and principles of Christians, brought into close contact with it, are designed to arrest the festering corruption of humanity and .season Us insipidity. But how, it may be a.sked, are Christians to do this office for their fellow-men, if their righteousness only exasperate them, and recoil, in every form of persecution, upon themselves? The answer is, Tliat is but the tirst and partial effect of their Christianity upon the world: though the great proportion would dis-
13. 31-33). A city that is set on an lilll cannot be lild nor can it be supposed to have been so built e.xcept to be seen by many eyes. 15. Bfeltlicr do men light a candle —or ' lamp'—and put it under a bnsliel—a dry measure —but on a candlesticic—rather, ' under the bushel, but on the lamp-stand.' The article is inserted in both cases to express the familiarity of every one with tliose household utensils, audit givetli llglit—'shineth'—unto all that are in tite Ikouse. 16. Let your Il^ht so shine before men, tliat tliey may see your good Vvorlcs, and glorify your Father which is heaven — As nobody lights a lamp only to cover it up, but places it so conspicuous!}- as to give light to all who need light, so Christians, being the light of the world, instead of liidi ng their light, are so to hold it forth before men that they may see what a
like and reject the truth, a small but noble band would receive and hold it fast; and in the struggle that would ensue, one and another even of the opposing party would come over to His ranks, and at length the Gospel would carry all before it. tout If the salt have lost liis savour "become unsavoury" or "insipid;" losing its saline or Balling pVoperty. The meaning is. If that Christianity on which the health of the world depends, does in any age, region, or individual, exist only.in name, or if it contain not those saving elements for want of which the world languishes, wherewith shall it be salted 1—how shall the salting qualities be restoi'ed to it? (Cf. Mark 9.50.) Whether salt ever does lose its saline property — about which there is a difference of opinion—is a question of no moment here. The point of the case lies in the supposition—that if it should lose it, the. consequence would be as here described. So with Christians. The question is not. Can, or do, the saints ever totally lose that grace which makes them a blessing to their fellow-men? But, What is to be the issue of that Christianity which Is found wanting in those elements which can alone stay the corruption and season the lastelessness of an all-pervading carnality? The restoration or non-restoration of grace, or true living Christianity, to those who have lost it, has, in our judgment, nothing at all to do here. The question is not, If a man lose his grace, how shall thai grace be restored to him? but, Since living Christianity is the only " salt of the earth," if men lose that, what else can supply
life the disciples of Christ lead, and seeing this, may glor-
ify their Father for so redeeming, transforming, and ennobling earth's sinful children, and opening to themselves the way to like redemption and transformation.
17-tS. Identity of these Pkincipi^e.s with tucsb OK the Ancient Economy, in Contkast with the Keigning Traditional Teaching. Exposition of Prin-
ciples (V. 17-20). 17. Think not that I am come— ' that I came'—to destroy tlie Law, or tlie Prophets—i.e., 'the authority and principles of the Old Testament.' (On the phrase, .see ch. 7. 12; 22. 40; Luke 16. 16; Acts 18. 15.) This general way of taking the phrase is much better than understanding "the Law" and "the Prophets" separately, and inquiring, as many good critics do, in what sense our Lord could be supposed to meditate the subversion of each. To the various classes of His h(}arers, who might view such supposed abrogation of the Law and the Prophets with very diflerent feelings, our Lord's announcement would, in effect, be such as this-'Ye who " tremble at the word of the Lord," fear not tliat I am going to sweep the foundation from under your feet: Ye restless and revolutionary spirits, hope not that I am going to head any revolutionary movement : And ye who hypocritically atfect great reverence for the Law and the Vro-phnXs, pretend not to find anything in my teaching derogatory to God's living oracles.' I am not come to destroy, but to fultil—
Its place? What follows is the appalling answer to this question, it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cost out—a figurative expression of indignant exclusion from the kingdom of God (cf. ch. 8. 12; 22. 13; John 6. ;
9. 34). and to be trodden under foot of men—expressive of contempt and scorn. It is not the mere want of a certain character, but the want of it in those whose profession and appearay^ce were fitted to beget expectation of finding it. 14. \"e are tike ligl>t of tl»e world—Tliis being tlie distinctive title which our Lord appropriates to Himself fJohn 8. 12; 9. 5; and see John 1. 4, 9; 3. 19; 12. .^>,
' Not to subvert, abrogate, or annul, but to establish the Law and the Prophets—to unfold them, to embody them in living form, and to enshrine them in tlie reverence, affection, and character of men, am I come.' 18. For verily 1 say unto you—Here, for the first time, does that august expression o<'cur in our Lord's recorded teaching, with wliich we have grown so familiar as hardly to reflect on its full import. It is the expression manifestly, of supreme legislative authority : and as the subject in connection with wliioli it is uttered is the Moral Law, no higher claim to an authority strictly Divine could be advanced. For when we observe how jealously Jehovah asserts it as His exclusive prerogative to give law to men (Leviticus 18. 1-5; 19.37; 26. 1-4; i.i-16, Ac), such language as this of our Lord will appear totally unsuit-
36)—a title expressly said to be unsuitable even to the highest of all tlie prophets (John 1. 8)— it must be applied nerc by our Lord to His disciples only as they shine with His light upon tlie world, in virtue of His Spirit dwelling In tliem, and the same mind being in them which was also in Clirist .lesus. Nor are Christians anywliere else BO called. Nay, as if to avoid the august title whicli the Master has appropriated to Himself, Christians are said to " shine"—not as " lights," as our translators render it, but—"as luminaries in the world" (Phillppians 2. 15); and the Biiplist is said to have been "tlie burning and Bhinitig"-not " light," as in our translation, but "lamp" of his day (John 5. .35). Let It be observed, too, that while the two figures of salt and sunlight both express the same function of Cliristians—their blessed influence on their fellow-men—they each set this forth under a different aspect. Salt operates vitrrnallii, in the mass with which it coniefl In contact; the sunlight operates externally, irradiating
able, and indeed abhorrent, from any creature-lips. When the Baptist's words—" I say unto you" (ch. 3. U)— are compared with those of his Master here, the dilference of the two cases will be at once apparent. Till heaven and eartli pass—Though even the Old Testament announces the ultimate " perdition of the heavens and the earth," in contrast with the Immutability of Jeliovati (Psalm 102. 24-27), the prevalent represetitation o( I he heavens and the earth in Scripture, wlien employed as a popular figure, is that of theirstohiVidj/ (Psalm 119.S9-91; Eoclesiastes 1.4; Jeremiah 25, 26). It is the enduri n^', stabil-
all that it reaches. Hence Christians are warily styled "the salt of the raJ-Wt"—with refer(?nce to the masses of poauklnd with whom they are expected to mix ; but " the 20
ity, then, of the great truths and principles, ' .•,>val and
spiritual, of the Old Testament revelation whie t-i»d
Christ's Sermon on the Mount, MATTHEW V. The Sixth Commaiidiiienl Jllicslyated.
ttus expresses. on« Jot—the smallest of the Hebrew let-
here to be to contrast His own teaching, more or less, with that of Moses; either as opposed to it—as some go the lengtli of affirming—or at least as nlodil'ying, enlarging, elevating it. But wlio can reasonably imagine such a thing, just after the most solemn and eliipliatic proclamation of the perpetuity of tlie law, and the honour and glory in which it was to be held under tlie new economy? To us it seems as plain as possible tliat our Lord's one object is to contrast the traditional perversions of tlie law with the true sense of it as expounded by Himself. A few of those who assent to this still thinn tliat "to the ancients" is the only legitimate translation of the words; understanding tliat our Lord is reporting wliat liad been said to the ancients, not by Moses, but by tlie pci verters of his law. We do not object to this; but we incline to think (with Beza, and after him with Fritzsohb, OlSHAUSEN,STiEK,and Bloomfield) that" by tlie ancients" must have been what our Lord meant liei e, referring to the corrupt teacliers ratlier tlian tlie perverted people.. Tliou Shalt not kill :—g. d., 'This being all that the law requires, wliosoever has imbrued his hands in liis brother's blood, but he only, is guilty of a biea<:h of lliis commandment;' and wliosoever sltall kill sh.iH be in danger of—'liable to'—tiie judgment i. e., of the sentence of those inferior courts of judicature wliicli were establislied in all the principal towns, in compliance witli Deuteronomy 16. 10. Thus was this commandment reduced, from a holy law of tlie heart-searching God, to a mere criminal statute, taking cognizance'only of outward actions, sucli as that which we read in Exodus 21. 12; Leviticus 24. 17. ii'Z. But 1 say unto you—Marie tlie authoritative tone in which—as Himself the Lawgiver and Judge—Christ now gives the true sense, and explains the deep reach, of the commandment. Tliat whosoever is angry with his brother witliout a cause sliall be in danger of the judgment ; and whosoever sliall say to his brother, Ilaca I shall be in danger of the council
ters—or one tittle—one of those little strokes by which alone some of the Hebrew letters are distiuguislied from
othei's like thera—shall in uo vrise pass from tike law,
till all be fiilfilled—The meaning is, that ' not so much as the smallest loss of authority or vitality shall ever come over the law.' The expression, "till all be ful-
filled," i.s much the same in meaning as 'it shnll be had In undiminished and enduring honour, from its greatest to its least requirements.' Again, this general way of viewing our Lord's words here seems far preferable to that doctrinal understanding of them whicii would require us to determine the different kinds of "fultillaent" which the moral and the ceremonial purls of it were to hnve. 19. Whosoever therefore sltall break rather, 'dissolve,' 'annul,' or 'make invalid' — one of these least commandments—an expre.ssion equivalent to ' one of the least of tliese commandments'—and shall teach men so—referring to the Pharisees and their teaclihig, as is plain from the next verse, but of course embracIng all similar schools and teaching in the Christian C'hui'ch— shall be called the least in the kinjjdom of heaven—As the thing spoken of is not tlie practical breaking, or disobeying, of the law, but annulling or enervating >ts obligation by a vicious system of iuterpretation, and teaching otliers to do the same; so the Ihing threat-jned is not exclusion from heaven, and
still less tin lowest place in it, but a degraded and eonlemptuous position Ln the present stage of the kingdom of God. lu other words, ' they shall be reduced by the retributiv'. providence that overtakes them, to the same condition of dishonour to which, by their system and tlieir teaclilng, tiiey have brought down those eternal principles of God's law.' but whosoever shall do and teach them—whose principles and teaching go to exalt the authority and honour of God's law, in its lowest as well as liigliest requirements—the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven—' shall, by tliat providence wliich watches over the honour of God's moral adm'nisiration, be raised to the same position of autlior-
but whosoever shall say, Thou fool ! sliall be in danger of hell fire—It is unreasonable to deny, as Alexander does, that three degrees of punislinieut are here meant to be expressed, and to say tliat it is but a threefold expression of one and tlie same thing. Cut Roinish expositors greatly err in taking the first two—"the judgment" and " the council"—to refer to degrees of temporal punishment with which lesser sins were to be visited under tlie Gospel, and only the last—" hell fire"—to refer to the future life. All three clearly refer to Divine retribution, and that alone, for breaches of this commandment; though this is expressed by an allusion to Jewish tribunals. The "judgment," as already explained, was the lowest of these; the "council," or 'Sanhedrim,'—which sat at Jerusalem—was the highest; while the word used for "hell flre" contains an allusion to the " valley of the son of Hinnom" (Joshua 18. 16). In this valley the Jews, when steeped in idolatry, went the lengtli of burning their children to Molecli "on the high places of Tophef —in consequence of which good Josiali defiled it, to prevent the repetition of such abominations (2 Kings 23. 10); and from that time forward, if we may believe the Jewish writers, a fire was kept burning in it to consume the carrion and all kinds of impurities that collected about the capital. Certain it is, that while tlie final punishment of tlie wicked is described in the Old Testament by allusions to this valley of Tophet or Hinnom (Isaiah 30.33;
Ity and honour to wliich they exalt the law.' !40. For I Bay unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of tlie scribes and Pliarisees —The superiority to the Pharisaic righteousness here required is plainly in kind, not degree; for all Scripture teaches that entrance into God's kingdom, whether in its present or future stage, depends, not on the degree of our excellence in anything, but solely on our having the character itself which God demands. Our righteousness, then—if it is to contrast with the outward and formal righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees—must be inward, vital, spiritual. Some, indeed, of the scribes and Pharisees themselves might liave the very righteousness here demanded; but our Lord is speaking, not of persons, but of the gj/stem they represented and taught, .ye shall in no case enter into tlie kingdom of heaven—If this
refer, as in tlie preceding verse, rather to theeartlily stage of this kingdom, the meaning is, that wlthouta righteousness exceeding that of tlie Pharisees, we cannot be members of it at all, save In name. This was no new doctrine (Romans 2. 28, 29 ; 9. 6; Philippians 3. 3). But our Lord's teaching here stretches beyond the present scene, to that everlasting stage of the kingdom, where without "^purity of heart" none "shall see God."
66. 24), our Lord Himself describes the same by merely quoting these terrific descriptions of the evangelical prophet (Mark 9. 43-48). What precise degrees of unholy feeling towards our brother are indicated by the words " Raca" and "fool" it would be as useless as it is vain to Inquire. Every age and every country has its modes of expressing such things; and no doubt our Lord seized on the then current phraseology of unholy disrespect and contempt, merely to express and condemn the difiorent degrees of such feeling when brought out in words, as He had immediately before condemned the feeling itself. In
27ie spirituality of the true righteousness, in contrast with
thai of the Scribes and Pharisees, illustrated from the fiixth Commandment (u. 21-26). 21. Ye have heard that it was aid by them of old time—or, as in the margin, ' to them of old time.' Which of these translations is the right one has been much controverted. Either of them is grammatically defensible, though the latter — "to the ancients"—is more consistent with New Testament usage (see the Oreekot Romans 9. 12, 26; Revelation 6. 11; 9. 4); and most critics decide In favour of it. But It is not a question of Greek only. Nearly all who would translate " to the ancients" take the speaker of the words quoted to be Moses in the law ; " the ancients" to be the people to
fact, so little are we to make ofmere words, apart from the feeling which they express, that ns anger is expressly said to have been borne by our Lord towards His euemiea
whom Moses gave the law; and the intention of our Lord
Christ's Semon on the Mount. MATTHEW V. The Seventh Coimnandmcnt Iliuslraled.
though mixed with " grief for the hardness of their hearts" (Mark 3. 0), atul as the apostle teaches us tluit tliere is an anger wliich is not sinful (Ephesians -1. 26) ; so in the Epis-
ciently well. That our Lord meant here merely to give a piece of prudential advice to liis hearers, to keep out of the hands of the law and its officials by settling all disputes with one another privately, is not for a moment to be supposed, though there are critics of a school low enough to suggest tliis. The concluding woids—" Verily
tle of James (2. 20) we find the words, " O vain" or 'empty' man; and our Lord Himself applies the very word "fools' twice in one breath to the blind guides of the people (ch.
23. 17, 19)—althougli, in both cases, it Is to false reasoners rather than persons that such words are applied. The spirit, then, of tlie whole statement may be thus given: 'For ages ye have been taught lliat tlie sixth commandment, for example, is broken only by tlie murderer, to pass sentence upon whom is tlie proper business of the recognized tribunals; but I say unto you that it is broken even by causeless anger, which is but hatred in the bud, as hatred is incipient murc^er (1 John 3.
I say unto thee. Thou shall by no means come out," &c. maiiifestly show that though the language is drawn from human disputes and legal procedure. He' is dealing with a higlier than any human quarrel, a higher than any human tribunal, a higher than any human and temporal sentence. In this view of the words—in which nc;irly all critics worthy of the name agr(;e — the spirit of thorn may be thus expressed : 'In expounding the sixth commandment, I have spoken of offences between man and man ; reminding you that the offender lias another party to deal with besides him whom he has wronged on earth, and assuring you that all worship oH'ered to the Searcher of hearts by one who knows that a brother has just cause of complaint against him, and yet takes uo steps to remove it, is vain: But I cannot pass from this subject without reminding you of One whose cause of complaint against you is far more deadly than any that man can have against man: and since with tliat Adversarj' you are already on the way to judgment, it will be your wisdom to make up the quarrel without delay, lest sentence of condemnation be pronounced upon you, and then will execution straightway follow, from the effects of which you shall never escape as long as any remnant of the olfence remains unexpiated.' It will be observed tliat aa the principle on which we are to "agree" with this "Adversary" is not here specided, and the precise nature of the retribution that is to light upon the despisers of this warning is not to be gathered from the mere use of the word "prison;" so, the remt'dilcssness of the punishment
/5); and if by the feelings, much more by those ivords in which all ill feeling, from the slightest to the most envenomed, are wont to be cast upon a brother: and just as there are gradations in human courts of judicature, and in the sentences which they pronounce according to the degrees of criminality, so will the judicial treatment of
all the breakers of this commandment at tlie Divine tri-
bunal be according to their real criminality before the heart-searching Judge.' Oh what holy teaching is this! 83. Therefore—to apply the foregoing, and show its paramount importance—if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and tliere remeraberest that thy brotlier liatli auglit —of just complaint against thee; at. Leave tliere tl»y gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brotlier—The meaning evidently is—not, 'dismiss from thine own breast all ill feeling,' but 'get thy brother to dismiss from his mind all grudge against thee.' and then come and oiFer tliy gift— ' The picture,' says Tholuck, 'is drawn from life. It transports us to the moment when the Israelite, having brought his sacritice to the court of the Israelites, awaited the instant when the priest would approach to receive it at his hands. He waits with his gift at the rails which separate the place where he stands from the court of the priests, into which his offering will presently be taken, there to be slain by the priest, and by liim presented upon the altar of sacrifice.' It is at this solemn moment, when about to cast himself upon Divine mercy, and seek in his offering a seal of Divine forgiveness, tliat the offerer is supposed, all at once, to remember that some brother has a just cause of complaint against him through breach of this commandment in one or other of the ways just indicated. What then? Is he to say. As soon as I have offered this gift I will go straiglit to my brother, and make it up with him? Nay; but before another step is taken—even before the offering is presented—this reconciliation is to be sought, though the gift have to be left unotl'ered before the altar. The converse of the truth here taught is very strikinglj' expressed in Mark 11. 25, 26: "And when ye stand praying (in the very act), forgive, if ye have aught (of Just complaint) against any ; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive you." Hence the beauti-
is not in so many words expressed, and still less is its actual cessation taught. The language on all these points
is designedly general; but it may safely be said that the unending duration of future punishment—elsewhere so clearly and awfully expressed by our Lord Himself, as iu
V. 29 and 30, and Mark 9. -13, 48—is tlie only doctrine with which His language here quite naturally and fully accords.
(Cf. ch. IS. 30, 31.)
Thesame subject illustrated from the Seventh Commandment (y. 27-32). 37. Ye have heard that it was said—The words " by," or "to them of old time," in this verse are insufficiently supported, and probably were not in the original text. Tliou siialt not commit adultery—Interpreting this seventli, as they did the sixth commandment, tlie traditional pcrverters of the law restricted the breach of it to acts of criminal intercourse between, or with, married persons exclusively. Our Lord now dissipates such delusions. 5J8. But 1 say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust aftci' licr with the, intent to do so, as tlie same expression is used in ch. 6.1; or, with tlie full consent of his will, to feed thereby his unholy desires — hath coniiitltted adultery wltli lier already iii liis heart—W'e are not to suppose, from the word here used—" adultery"— tliat our Lord means to restrict the breach of this commandment to married persons, or to criminal intercourse with such. The expressions, "whosoever looketh," and "looketh upon a woman," seen^ clearly to extend the range of this coinmaiidment to all forms of impurity, and the counsels which follow—as tlicy most certainly were intended for all, whether married or unmarried—seem to confirm this. As in dealing with the sixth commandment our Lord llrsl expounds it, and then iu the four following verses applies His exposition, so hero He first expounds the seventh comiiiandmont, and then iu the four following verses apiilios His exposition, aa. And if t!iy rlj{l»t eye—the readier and the dearer of the two; oifend ttiee—be a 'trap-spring,' or as in the New Trslainent, be 'an occasion of stumbling* to thee—pluck it out and cast it from flu-e — implying a certain indignant promptitude, heedless Of whatever cost to feeling the act may involve. Of course, il i.s
ful practice of the early Church, to see that all differences amongst brethren and sisters in Christ were made up, in
tlie spirit of love, before going to tlie Holy Communion ; and tlie Cluirch of England has a rubrical direction to this effect in lier Communion service. Certainly, if this be the highest act of worship on earth, such reconciliation—though obligatory on all other occasions of worsliip —must be peculiarly so then. 25. Agree wltli tliine «\dversary—thine opponent in a matter cognizal)le by law. quickly, whiles thou art In the way witik him—" to the magistrate," as in Luke 12. 58 ; lest at any time—here, rather, ' lust at all,' or simply ' lest'—tlie adversary deliver thee to the Judge, and tlic judge—having pronounced thee in tlio wrong—deliver tlicc to tlie officer-the ollicial whose 'jusincss it is to see the sentence carried into ell'ect, and tl ou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Tliou slialt by no means come out thence, till thou liast paid tlie uttermost fartliing—a fractional Koniun coin, to which our "farthing" answers sulli22
not, the' eve simply of which our Lord speaks—as If execu-
Chrixt's Sennon on lite Muunt. MATTHEW V. The Third Commandmenl Illustrated,
tioii v\-pre to be done upon the bodily organ—though there have been fanatical ascetics who have botli advocated and
ing ourselves, but performing to the Lord our oaths, only to give a precept of His own directly in the teeth of it. Evidently, it is 'swearing in common intercourse and on frivolous occasions ' that is here meant. Frivolous oaths were indeed severely condemned in the teaching of the times. But so narrow was the circle of them that a man might swear, says Lightfoot, a hundred thousand times and yet not he guilty of vain swearing. Hardly anything was regarded as an oath if only the name of God were net in it; just as among ourselves, as Trench well remarks, a certain lingering reverence for the name of God leads to cutting off portions of His name, or uttering sounds nearly resembling it, or substituting the name of some heathen deity, in profane exclamations or asseverations. Against all Uiis our Lord now speaks decisively; teaching His audience that every oath carries an appeal to God, whether named or not. neither by heaven ; for it
practised this, showing a very low apprehension of spir-
itual thines—but offending eye, or the eye considered as
the occasion of sin ; and consequently, only the sinful ex-
ercise of the organ which is meant. P^or as one might put out his eyes without in the least quenching tlie lust to which they ministered, so, "if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light," and, when directed by a holy mind, becomes an "instrament of righteousness unto God." At the same time, just as by cutting off a hand, or plucking out an eye, the power of acting and of seeing would be destro.ved, our Lord certainly means that we are to strike at the root of such unholy dispositions, as well us cut off the occasions which tend to stimulate them, for it is profitable for'tUee that one of thy members Bhouhl perish, nnd not that thy whole body should
is God's throne : 35. Nor by the eartli ; for it is his footstool (quoting Isaiah 66. 1); neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great King (quoting Psalm iH. 2). 36. Neither shalt tliou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one liair white or black. In the other oaths specified, God's name was profaned quite as really as if His name had been uttered, because it was instantly suggested by the mention of His "throne," His " footstool," His "city." But in swearing by our own head and the like, the objection lies in their being 'beyond our control,' and therefore profanely assumed to have a stability which they have not. 37. But let your communication—'your word,' in ordinary intercour'e, be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: ' Let a simple I^e? and iVo sufHce in affirming the truth or the untruth of anything.' (See Janieg
be cast into hell—lie who despises the warning to "cast from him," with indignant promptitude, an offending member, will find his whole body " cast," with a retributive promptitude of indignation, "into hell." Sharp language, this, from the lips of Love incarnate! 30. And ifthy
i'li;ht i>and—tlie organ of action, towhich the eye excites offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee ; for it is protllable, Ac—See on v. 29. The repetition, in identical
tern]s, of such stern truths and awful lessons seems characteristic of our Lord's manner of teaching. Of. Mark 9.
43-48. 31. It hath been said—This shortened form was perhaps intentional, to mark a transition from the commandments of the Decalogue to a civil enactment on the subject of Divorce, quoted from Deuteronomy 2-1. 1. The law of Divorce—according to its strictness or laxity—has so intimate a bearing upon purity in the married life, that nothing could be more natural than to pass from ther seventh commandment to the loose views on that subject then current. Wliosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement—a legal check upon reckless and tyrannical separation. The one legitimate ground of divorce allowed by the enactment just quoted was "some uneleanness "—in other words, conjugal infidelity. But while one school of interpreters (that
5. 12, and 2 Corinthians 1. 17, 18.) for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil—not ' of the evil one ;' though an equally correct rendering of the words, and one which some expositors prefer. It is true that all evil in our world is originally of" the devil, that it forms a kingdom at the head of which he sits, and that, in every manifestation of it he has an active part. But any reference to this here seems unnatural, and the allusion to this passage in the Epistle of James (5. 12) seems to show th.at this
of Shammai) explained this quite correctly, as prohibiting divorce in every case save that of adultery, another school (that of Hillel) stretched the expression so far as to Include everything in the wife offensive or disagreeable
is not the sense of it: "Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye faUinto condemnation." The untruthfulness of our corrupt nature shows itself not only in the tendency to deviate from the strict truth, but in the disposition to suspect others of doing the same; and as this
to the husband—a view of the law too well fitted to min-
ister to caprice and depraved inclination not to find extensive favour. And, indeed, to this day the Jews allow divorces on the most frivolous pretexts. It was to meet