Be ye therefore perfect, &c.— Father Hardouin observes, that this might be rendered, agreeably to the Greek, You shall therefore be perfect, so as to contain a promise, and not an exhortation. The perfection of the divine goodness is proposed to our imitation, as it is promiscuous, extending to the evil as well as the good, and not as it is absolutely universal and infinite; for in these respects the imitation of it is impossible. The precise meaning of the text, says Dr. Sherlock, is, "Let your love be universal, unconfined by partialities; and, with respect to its objects, as large as God's is. Not that our love either to enemies or friends can be supposed in other respects, and, as to the effects of it, to bear any proportion to the divine love." See Discourse 13 vol. 3: The love to friends enjoined by the Scribes and Pharisees was very imperfect: we are to labour after a more complete resemblance to God, by loving enemies. The same precept is therefore expressed in Luke, Luke 6:36 by Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Inferences.—How excellent is the genius and design of Christ's Gospel, which is calculated to raise our hopes of the truest happiness, to support us under all trials, and assure us to cheerful obedience! They are blessed indeed, whom he blesses, whatever they may suffer for his sake. See how our divine Saviour begins with opening his mouth in blessings of rich variety to his faithful disciples under their numerous sorrows, persecutions and reproaches, fears and dangers, to animate and encourage their holy desires, faith and hope, meekness and patience, humility, love and peace, self-denial, hope and joy: and, oh, how great shall their honour and felicity be at last, to their utmost satisfaction, in the full enjoyment of God, and of his glorious kingdom! What leading hints did our blessed Lord give of Gospel-grace, which, after his death and resurrection, were to be discovered with clearer evidence, and more at large! How perfect was his obedience; and with what wisdom and authority has he drawn out the beauties and obligations of that law, which is the sacred rule of duty, in all its spirituality, exactness and wide extent! What a becoming reverence of God, and of his great and aweful name; what chastity and purity, and mortification of all sin; what a happy dominion over our appetites and passions; what a sacred guard upon our speech and behaviour; what forbearance under injuries; and what a diffusive beneficence to mankind, and imitation of our heavenly Father, does it enjoin, that God in all things may be glorified! But how unworthy are they of the name of servants or disciples of Christ, who relax the obligation, or encourage a disregard to the least of God's commands! And what will become of them for ever, if death and judgment seize them in their sins! How steadfastly then should we adhere to the pure word of God, in opposition to all corruptions of men! How concerned should ministers and Christians be to spread the favour of the knowledge of Christ in all places, and to act up to their characters and engagements with all integrity, and without reserve! How honourable would this be to him and themselves; and what a blessing would it make them to the church and the world! And yet, alas! in how many things do we all offend, and come short of the glory of God! How should this humble us, and put us upon desiring truth in the inward parts, and on believing in Christ with the heart unto righteousness.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, Among the multitudes who followed Jesus, many professed themselves his disciples. For their sakes therefore especially, as well as for the improvement of all who attended him, he took the present opportunity to lay open to them at large the doctrines of truth. For the convenience of being heard, he went up to a mountain, where, surrounded by his disciples, and seated amid the attentive throng, he opened his mouth, and taught them; while they hung upon his lips, and in silence, with their eyes fixed on him, drank-in the sacred truths which he uttered. Note; It is enlivening and encouraging to the ministers of the gospel to behold a numerous and attentive auditory; and that is sacred fire, which not the desire of being popular, but the hope of being extensively useful, kindles in their heart; and it is that which gives energy and warmth to their discourse.
2nd, To be happy is the universal desire; but, whilst all pursue this as their aim, few comparatively attain the accomplishment of their wishes: and the reason is evident; they mistake both wherein man's true happiness consists, and the means which lead to it: consequently, are ever bewildered in a fruitless search, and tormented with continual disappointment. To divert us from our wrong pursuits, to inform us what is our true good, and to direct us to the attainment of real blessedness, is the gracious design of our adored Lord. Yet to many, the doctrines that he advances will appear paradoxical and strange; though, blessed be his name! every enlightened and converted soul will own, that, however strange they seem to others, they are found by happy experience to be indeed the true sayings of God.
In eight characters Christ shews wherein true blessedness consists, and pronounces on each, blessed are ye: at present they are the truly happy souls on earth; and their eternal reward awaiteth them in heaven. Oh, may this blessedness be mine!
The first beatitude.
Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Wherein then does this poverty of spirit consist? I answer, (1.) In a deep and humbling sense of our own spiritual wants and wretchedness, which brings off the sinner from every dependence upon his own goodness for acceptance with God, and on his own natural abilities to walk and please him, to a constant renunciation of himself, to a repose of his confidence on the infinite merit and intercession of Jesus alone as his title to God's regard, and on the grace of Jesus for all-sufficiency to think or act aright. (2.) In an intire resignation of ourselves to God, and contentment with our lot; sitting loose to the world and all the things of it; in poverty cheerful, our minds conformed to our condition; in prosperity humble, condescending, kind, and sympathizing with the necessitous. (3.) In low thoughts of ourselves, our abilities, attainments, and possessions of whatever kind; in honour preferring others to ourselves, the last and least in our own opinion; and seeing much, very much, to humble us in the view of our misimprovement of those blessings which God hath bestowed on us, and in which he has made us to differ from others. Now such as these are blessed in the present satisfaction arising from the exercise of such a spirit and temper, and in a happy freedom from the murmurs, repinings, and mortifications, which make the proud and discontented perpetually uneasy. They are blessed with the experience of God's love and favour, who looks with delight and approbation on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit; and, as the summit of all felicity, theirs is the kingdom of heaven: the riches of the kingdom of grace below, and all the unsearchable riches of Christ and glory above, are the eternal portion of all those who through the power of Almighty grace persevere in this divine temper.
The second beatitude.
Blessed are they that mourn. We are apt to count mourners miserable, and to judge of happiness by the smiles of the countenance; but Christ teaches us a different lesson. Not that all who mourn are blessed: there is the mourning of discontent, the sorrow of the world that worketh death, the inconsolable tears of those who lament like Micah after their idols, and the melancholy of despair; these bring a curse and torment instead of a blessing. The mourning here commended is, A penitential mourning over sin, in the views of our base ingratitude; a mourning after God, if under darkness and desertion; a mourning over the dishonour brought upon him by the impieties of the wicked and the unfaithfulness of believers; a mourning over the distresses of the miserable, and especially a mourning over lost souls, which makes our tears like those of Jesus flow, while we are pouring forth before God our fervent prayers on their behalf. These are blessed: the tears shed for sin have a sweetness unutterable; a sacred pleasure mingles with them, to which all the noisy mirth of fools, exclusive of the heaviness which succeeds, is not to be compared; and they are the seed of true joy; for they shall be comforted, here below, in a sense of God's love shed abroad in their hearts, in the consolations arising from a sense of pardoning love, in the sacred delight of beholding sinners turned from the evil of their ways; and, continuing thus, to follow their divine master, shall, be comforted hereafter in the eternal fruition of God, and the inconceivable blessedness thence arising, when every tear shall be wiped from our eyes, and we shall drink of pure, unsullied, and eternal pleasures, as out of a river.
The third beatitude.
Blessed are the meek—respecting God, submissive to his word and providences; never replying against the one, or murmuring against the other: respecting man, mild, inoffensive, easy to be intreated, unmoved with provocation, forbearing and forgiving, resenting no injuries, actuated by no private revenge, in patience and peace possessing their souls; yet not mean-spirited, cowardly, and tame, through fear of man; but, whilst in their own cause gentle as the lamb, in the cause of God and truth bold as lions; zealous to maintain the rights of others, while they recede from their own; and steady patrons of the injured and the absent. They are blessed; they are, like their Lord, happy in themselves, beloved of all who know the value of such a spirit, and dear in the sight of God. They shall inherit the earth, shall have as much of this present world as is for their good; but above all, and what seems here chiefly intended, thus perseveringly following the meek and lowly Jesus, they shall have a part in that better new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, and be counted inheritors among the saints in light.
The fourth beatitude.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness—that holiness and love which the spirit of Jesus communicates: and for this the poor and helpless sinner and the genuine believer in their different degrees hunger more than for their daily bread; inasmuch as the life and health of their souls are infinitely preferable to the life and health of their bodies. These are blessed souls; for every such desire is in a measure the proof of our possessing the righteousness after which we pant; and they shall be filled out of the fulness of Jesus, who has enough to supply all their wants, yea, to fill them with joy and peace in believing.
The fifth beatitude.
Blessed are the merciful. This is the most amiable character of God, and herein his people resemble him. (1.) Mercy is their temper, they have a heart which can be touched with human wretchedness; and though they may not always have it in their power to relieve, they are ever tenderly compassionate towards the distresses of the miserable. (2.) Mercy is their practice; so far as their power extends, they are ready to shew mercy: they take delight therein, and count this work its own reward. They are merciful to men's souls; pitying and instructing the ignorant, warning the unruly, comforting the feeble mind, helping the weak, and labouring to snatch the wicked as brands from the burning. They are merciful to men's bodies; relieving the necessities of the poor, the friendless, and the destitute; they are eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, physicians to the sick, supports to the aged and infirm; ready to assist with their advice, their money, or influence, according to the various distresses of those who apply to them: they are diligent to discover those objects of modest worth and neglected indigence that are ashamed or backward to apply for relief. They are merciful even to the brute beasts: not only their servants and labourers are never vexed with unreasonable burdens, but their very cattle share their clemency, and own the kind and tender master. This is blessedness. They who are thus like God in spirit, will taste something of divine felicity; and, of all the joys beneath the sun, none will be found comparable with the exalted pleasure of doing good. And they shall obtain mercy: such merciful ones plead no merit: the more they are enabled to do, the less opinion they entertain of their deserts, as every advance in grace brings proportionably greater light, and therewith greater humility. They cast themselves therefore wholly on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, and they shall find mercy of the Lord in the great day; and more they need not wish for, since his mercy includes eternal life and glory.
The sixth beatitude.
Blessed are the pure in heart; who by faith are cleansed from all hypocrisy, covetousness, pride, and sensuality; jealous to keep themselves unspotted from the world; maintaining undefiled religion; in simplicity and godly sincerity walking with God. They are blessed in the present paths of pleasantness and peace in which they go, and they shall see God as the consummation of all felicity; be with him where he is; be like him as he is, and from the light of his countenance, and the constant effusions of his love, drink in blessedness unutterable and eternal.
The seventh beatitude.
Blessed are the peace-makers; men of peace themselves, and desirous to cultivate the like disposition among others; following it with all men as far as is consistent with truth and purity; averse from all disputes and angry contentions; softening the spirits of the exasperated; and kindly interposing, though sometimes at the expence of much ill-will, to repair the breaches, and heal the divisions, which the fiery and self-willed spirits of others have occasioned: the first to forgive, the last to be offended; and where others prepare themselves for battle, still ready, though injured, to seek reconciliation. Such men shall be blessed in their deed; they shall be accounted faithful subjects of the Prince of Peace, and be called the children of God, who is the God of peace; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
The eighth beatitude.
Blessed are they which are perfected for righteousness' sake. All who follow Christ must expect his cross; and every godly man, as long as a child of wickedness is in the world, may suffer persecution of one kind or other: where power is with oppressors, there it will reach to fines, imprisonment, and even death itself; where milder governments give protection from grosser injuries, there the lower methods of reviling, calumny, falsehood, insult, ridicule, and vile misrepresentations, will be the lot of Christ's disciples. Various pretexts indeed are commonly used to give a specious colouring to this conduct in lands professing godliness, as if it was not righteousness that men persecuted, but what they are pleased to call enthusiasm, or to stamp with some other opprobrious name; but, whatever occasional offences may have been given, the ground and root of the malignity shew against the people of God is their open and bold profession of the doctrines of the gospel, and the practice of experimental godliness, which is equally reproving and offensive to the formal and profane: on which accounts, therefore, the saints of God must expect to follow Jesus, bearing his reproach. But, however they are regarded among men, they are pronounced blessed by the author of all blessing, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Nor need any now wonder at these things among us, when, among God's professing people of old, the prophets were so persecuted before us, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Elijah, &c. and therefore we are commanded to rejoice and be exceeding glad to be numbered among such worthies, and expect that great reward in glory which God hath promised to those who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek with them glory, honour, and immortality.
3rdly, Our Lord's observations in Matthew 5:13-16, are directed to the disciples in general, and to the apostles and ministers of Christ in particular; and their character is set forth under two similitudes:
1. As the salt of the earth. Their lives and conversations must be exemplary: they must not only be free from taint themselves, that is, from the allowed practice of sin, but endeavour to preserve others from the putrefaction of it; seasoning the earth with the doctrines of the gospel, diffusing the savour of the knowledge of Christ in every place, and thus becoming blessings to mankind. But, should they depart from the truth, disgrace their character, degenerate into lukewarmness and indifference, or apostatize to erroneous principles and licentious practice, their state, if not utterly desperate, is seldom or never retrieved: though their profession may continue, their savour is lost, they become insipid and tasteless, and are doomed to be cast out and trodden under foot of men, as worthless and contemptible, expelled from the communion of the saints below, and everlastingly excluded from the assembly of the blessed above.
2. As the light of the world, to spread the bright truths of salvation among benighted mortals, and point out to them the path which leads to eternal day; especially to lead sinners to Christ, the light of life: and in so doing they would be distinguished as a city set on a hill, and needed peculiar circumspection while so many eyes would be fixed upon them. Every minister, every Christian, stands on an eminence; more is expected from them than from others, and many watch for their halting: as candles are lighted not to be covered, but to be set on a candlestick, and give light to all in the house, so were they endued with gifts and graces to illuminate the church of Christ, and diffuse the gospel word around, neither through fear nor shame concealing ought of the whole counsel of God; and in their lives, as well as lips, must their light shine in every work of faith and labour of love which may be profitable to men's bodies or souls; that whilst others are stirred up to holy emulation thereby, abundant praise also may redound to God, who is then eminently glorified when his people bring forth much fruit.
4thly, After the above discourse addressed to the disciples in particular, our Lord more generally directs himself to the multitude.
1. He obviates the prejudices which he knew many would entertain, and confutes the objections that his enemies would make, as if he was about to abrogate the law, and introduce a new system; when in fact he only meant to rescue the oracles of God from the corrupt glosses which the false teachers had put upon them.
[1.] He is not come to destroy the law and the prophets, as some of them might think, but to fulfil them,—to fulfil the moral law by his own perfect obedience and most pure example; the ceremonial, by answering in his own person, and oblation of himself, all the types and figures; the prophets, by accomplishing all their predictions: and, so far from loosening the obligations to obedience, he came, in perfect correspondence with God's ministers before him, to enforce them, and to vindicate the everlasting rule of moral righteousness from the mistakes and adulterations of the Scribes and Pharisees, to explain its spirituality and extent, and from right principles to urge the practice of true holiness.
[2.] He asserts the perpetuity and eternal obligation of the moral law: while heaven and earth endure, not a tittle shall pass from it unaccomplished, nor the least of its commands ever be abolished. It is the transcript of God's holiness; he can require nothing less; the least failure is eternally mortal; and though the genuine believer is relieved by the infinite merit of his divine Substitute from the condemning power of the law, his duty still remains the same, and he is as much as ever bound to regard this as the one unerring law of obedience. Whoever, therefore, dares avowedly to transgress the least command, and teach others to do so, by his example or his preaching, as if it might be done with impunity, which was the case with many of the rabbis of that day, he shall be rejected of God as least esteemed and worthless, and have no part in the kingdom of heaven; while they who, by the purity of their doctrine and the exemplariness of their conduct, continue to enforce the necessity of obedience to every command, accounting none too trivial to be observed, shall be esteemed and honoured of God as faithful here, and exalted to eternal glory hereafter. Note; (1.) The least sin has eternal death for its wages. (2.) They who extenuate the evil of sin, and promise transgressors impunity, will be reckoned with as the most daring rebels against God's government.
2. He professes it his purpose to enforce a righteousness beyond that of their most admired characters the Scribes and Pharisees, who were thought even to go to works of supererogation; and yet, what perhaps they would hear with astonishment, he assures his hearers their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, or they must never hope to enter the kingdom of heaven. The most extensive pharisaical righteousness of doctrinal orthodoxy, scrupulous exactness in the forms of religion, abstinence from grosser vices, accompanied with whatever alms, or fastings, or prayers, comes infinitely short of the spirituality of God's law. That righteousness alone which is of God by faith, a faith exercising itself on the infinite merit and prevalent intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ, and working by love its genuine fruit,—that heavenly principle alone enables the Christian to act from motives which a Pharisee never knew; it purifies the heart, engages the soul to an universal delight in the law of God after the inward man, and begets the desire of unreserved obedience thereunto. And then, through the unmerited grace of God, and through this faith in the blood, the merit, and intercession of our adorable Saviour, are our persons and services acceptable to God in Jesus Christ; whilst all the duties of the formal and self-righteous, when strained to the highest pitch, are only a greater abomination in the sight of God.
5thly, Our Lord gives a spiritual exposition of part of the moral law, and very different from that of their pharisaical teachers.
1. He begins with the sixth commandment. Ye have heard, out of the law read in the synagogue every sabbath-day, that it was said by them of old time, by the ancients, the elders who expounded the law, or to the ancients their forefathers, thou shalt not kill; and, confining the command merely to the act of murder, they taught, that only such as had been thus capitally criminal were liable to the sword of justice either of God or man, excluding all inferior deeds of the like tendency from being accounted breaches of the law. But Christ teaches them far otherwise: I say unto you, and he speaks as having authority, that not only you are forbidden to murder yourselves, or any other person, directly or indirectly; but whosoever entertains rash and causeless anger, or harbours a malicious wish or design against any man, though it never be executed, is liable to God's judgment, and criminal at his bar, as a murderer in his heart. If the evil within break forth into opprobrious or contemptuous language, such as, Thou empty fellow! it deserves the cognisance of the Sanhedrim; but if it proceeds yet farther, to bitter reviling and rash censures, to say, Thou fool! Thou vile reprobate! such a breach of the law shall be punished with hell-fire. This should (1.) awaken in our minds a deep sense of our guilt and sin, and humble us before God in the review of our past transgressions: well may we cry, on the rehearsal of this law, Lord, have mercy upon us. (2.) It should make us more watchful over our hearts, to suppress the risings of anger on trivial provocations, the inadvertencies or mistakes of others, or our own groundless surmises; yea, though the provocation be great, and the cause of anger just, we must see that it be not excessive, vehement, hurtful, or abiding. Our lips should be under the like restraint, that nothing hasty, perverse, spiteful, contemptible, reproachful, insolent, abusive, or malignant, proceed out of our mouth. The right government of the tongue is the sure proof of grace in the heart.
2. He recommends the exercise of that Christian love and peace which is the fulfilling of the law; and if offences come, we should, be ever ready to confess our faults, ask pardon, make restitution, and seek reconciliation; and this,
[1.] Because till then we can offer to God no acceptable service; for all our worship and duties without love are nothing worth. If therefore we have done an injury to any man, such as the breaches of the commandment above remarked, before we presume to offer our gifts at God's altar, our praises, prayers, or whatever religious services we propose, we must reflect wherein and how much we have offended, and seek immediate reconciliation; since hatred and uncharitableness would make our best works an abomination, and love is better than all burnt-offering. Should our brother continue inexorable, and refuse all the submissions that we were ready to make, we must not then be restrained from drawing near to God, and may humbly expect that forgiveness from him which we cannot obtain from man.
[2.] Because, till this is done, the wrath of God abideth on us. For as it would be highly prudent for the debtor to seek to accommodate matters with his creditor before a suit commences, lest he should be summoned before the civil magistrate, and, the proof being clear, he should be consigned to the officer and cast into prison, without the possibility of deliverance; much more should the guilty sinner solicitously desire reconciliation with God and man, lest, dying in hatred and uncharitableness, his iniquities should witness against him at God's bar, and he should perish everlastingly. God is every sinner's adversary: our eternity depends on being at peace with him; therefore we need be anxious about it: the moment of time which is hurrying by is the space allotted us to agree with him; therefore every delay is highly dangerous: if we die in unpardoned sin, we have nothing to expect but a fearful judgment, where we are sure to be cast; the officers of vengeance are ready to execute the sentence, and the prison of hell is prepared to receive the condemned soul, where in everlasting burnings the guilty must be for ever paying, yet be never able to discharge, the debt they owe to inexorable justice.
6thly, The seventh commandment is expounded by the same infallible interpreter: and well may we say, in the view of the spirituality of the law, Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Thy commandment delivered to the ancients at Mount Sinai said, Thou shalt not commit adultery; and the pharisaical expositors had confined the breach of it literally to this grossest act of lewdness, excluding all the lower degrees of impurity, in thought, word, or deed: but Christ gives a very different extent to the command, to confound their proud claims who dared to boast that they were no adulterers, Luke 18:11.
1. Every unchaste desire in the heart is adultery in the sight of God. The eye, the hand, the feet, the tongue, which by amorous glances, wanton dalliance, or impure discourse, tend to kindle the unhallowed fire of lust, or blow it up into a flame, and every contrivance to gratify this impurity of heart, though it be never brought to effect, involve the conscience in the same horrid guilt.
2. We are commanded therefore to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye, which would lead us to offend; not literally indeed to maim or mutilate our bodies, though that, if commanded, should be readily complied with, rather than commit sin; but figuratively it signifies, however near and dear to us the sin may be, by long habit become incorporated as it were with our very frame, and hard to part with as these most useful members of our bodies; yet must it be torn away and cast from us with abhorrence. The heart must be kept with all diligence; no lewd vain thoughts harboured, especially when alone, solitude being often a great temptation to impurity. The eyes must be restrained from gazing on a tempting object, and kept as under a covenant from looking on a maid: yea, every object which would awaken evil desire must be shunned, lascivious representations on the stage, impure pictures, books of amours, lewd plays, &c. nor must we omit to mention curious, expensive and indecent dress, which exposes the person with a design to catch the wandering eye, and at once declares the spirit of the temptress, whilst it is a net to ensnare unstable souls. The hand, the foot, which can convey the silent innuendo, must be restrained from every motion of evil, since he that toucheth her shall not be innocent. The tongue must be rather plucked out than utter corrupt communication, or be suffered, by discourse grossly impure, or more dangerously and wittily lascivious, in sly insinuations and double meanings, to breathe poison into the ears of the unwary. As the grand means to restrain these evils, every approach to them must be guarded by daily abstinence and self-denial, making no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.
3. A powerful argument is used to enforce this. Raging appetite will not be conquered by any thing short of the terrors of the Lord. The damnation of hell is the wages of uncleanness, and they who burn with impure desires must lie down in everlasting burnings, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched; and dearly do men purchase carnal delights at this price of eternal misery. The sentence is repeated, because men are very unwilling to believe what sounds so terrible in their ears; but the decree is fixed and immutable: those who refuse to fear it now, must feel it for ever. Better therefore, far better, is it to suffer the present crucifixion of vile affections, than indulge them at the penalty of never-ending torments.
4. All divorce is unlawful, except in the case of adultery. The Jews indeed, for the hardness of their hearts, were permitted to put away their wives by a public instrument before witnesses; but this was contrary to the original institution of marriage, and therefore our Lord utterly condemns all separation, except in case of a breach of the matrimonial bond: and should the person divorced marry again, she would commit adultery, as well as he who should take her to wife, and the crimes of both would also lie at the door of him who put her away; for they who lead others into sin shall be chargeable with all the guilt they bring upon them.
7thly, The third commandment forbad perjury, and enjoined the performance of the vows which were made unto the Lord, or to men under the sanction of an oath in his name: and hereunto the Scribes restricted the commandment, accounting oaths in common allowable, if true; reckoning it no sin to swear by the creatures, and that such oaths laid them under no obligation to fulfil them: but Christ would give them a better exposition.
I say unto you, swear not at all. Not that every oath is unlawful, since in matters of controversy, before a judge, an oath for confirmation is an end of all strife; and on solemn occasions such appeals to God are high acts of religious worship, see 2 Corinthians 1:23 but all rash swearing on trivial occasions, in common discourse, is forbidden, with all unnecessary multiplication of oaths; under which this land groans. God's sacred name must never be taken in the lips thoughtlessly, irreverently, wantonly; nor may we use any creature to swear by, neither heaven nor earth, nor the temple, nor our heads, our lives, our souls, much less the idols of heathenism, such as Jupiter, or the like, this being equally criminal as to swear by the name of God himself. Therefore our communication must be, yea, yea, nay, nay, simply affirming or denying, without oath or imprecation: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, or from the evil one the devil, or from the fountain of evil in the corrupted heart. Where more than simple affirmation or denial is thought to be necessary, there is implied a suspicion of veracity, which every rash oath for confirmation will serve but to increase; for they who make no conscience of an oath, cannot be supposed to make conscience of a lie.
8thly, The law of retaliation, Exodus 21:24 which permitted the magistrate to execute a punishment of the same kind as the injury, or, as some suppose, to fix a mulct upon the offender equivalent to the harm done, had been grievously abused to extortion, and pleaded in vindication of private revenge. Christ therefore teaches his disciples of what spirit they should be. Magistracy is God's institution, and the punishment of men's crimes righteous and just; but all private revenge is forbidden. It is true, indeed, that self-preservation, the care of our families, the honour of God, and the good of society, may often make the redress of injuries not only lawful but necessary; but in innumerable instances our duty is meekly and silently to bear and forbear.
1. If a man strike us on the right cheek, or otherwise injure our person, or treat us with indignity, we may not render evil for evil, and by a return of the blow inflame the quarrel, but put up with it, or, if it be needful, put the case into the hand of the civil magistrate: and though our patience may be counted pusillanimity, and our forbearing may expose us to fresh insults, as if in fact we turned the other cheek, yet it is infinitely better, for conscience-sake towards God, thus to suffer, than to maintain our character or gratify our revenge by a challenge or a fray, which must provoke his wrath, and end in our perdition.
2. In cases of injury to our property, whether by litigious, malicious, and false persecutions, or in private disputes, though our coat were taken from us, it were better for peace-sake to give our inner garment too, than fly to the law for redress: for, if the matter of injury be small, which we may sustain without hurting our families, it is not only most pious, but most prudent also, to sit down with the first loss, since the expences of the suit often exceed the value of what we may recover.
3. If we are compelled by force to accompany a person a mile, rather than struggle or contend, it is better to go two. And thus in all other cases of affronts and injuries the like-rule holds. Hard talks indeed for flesh and blood! but let it he remembered, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
4. We must not only revenge no injuries, but do every kindness in our power to our neighbour; ready to relieve the wants of every real object of charity which presents itself to us, according to our abilities; and freely lending, without interest, to the industrious but necessitous: a small sum to help such a one in his trade, may be of vast service to him without any real loss to ourselves. And in the manner also of exercising our bounty, we never should appear reluctant, frowning, or giving as if it was extorted from us, but be happy to have it in our power to relieve the wants of our poor petitioners.
9thly, The whole law being fulfilled in one word, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, this is here insisted upon; and who that neighbour is, declared.
The Jewish expositors had vilely corrupted this divine precept by the addition they had made to it, Thou shalt hate thine enemy. And, as they confined the word neighbour to those merely of their own religion and nation, they interpreted this as a command to hate all mankind beside, in direct opposition to the letter of God's law, Exodus 23:4-5.Deuteronomy 23:7. But Christ teaches us very differently.
1. He recommends universal love: I say unto you, love your enemies. We cannot place confidence or take complacence in them or their evil ways; but we must bear all good-will towards them, remark with satisfaction whatever is commendable in them, and sincerely desire their present and eternal happiness, returning their curses with blessings, shewing every act of kindness to their bodies and souls who express the bitterest enmity against us, and, if they will suffer us to do no more, at least praying for those who despitefully use and persecute us;—such being the treatment which the true disciples of Jesus may expect, and such the gracious returns that they are bound to make. And this is the distinguishing spirit of Christianity, and what nothing but the grace of Jesus can produce.
2. He enforces his command with these strong arguments:
[1.] In so doing we shall resemble our Father who is in heaven, and prove our adoption of him, who, in the distribution of his providential mercies, causes his sun to rise and his rain to fall indiscriminately upon the evil and the good. Note; (1.) Our most common though most unnoticed blessings are those for which we are most deeply indebted to God. (2.) No man's state is to be known by any outward gifts of Providence; the just and unjust share them in some sense alike. (3.) If God thus sets us the example, we must diligently copy it.
[2.] We must shew the distinguishing spirit of our profession, and adorn it. If we only loved them who love us, or paid civility and respect to our brethren alone, what thanks would be due, where the obligation was reciprocal, and where even publicans would rival us? We must do more than others, if we profess more; not confining our regards to our nearest friends or relations, to those of our own party or nation, but opening our hearts wide as the world, and doing good to all, even to the evil and unthankful.
[3.] Our eye must be fixed, not on the attainments of others, but on that perfection which is in our Father; and to be perfect like him, and to take up with nothing short of it, should be our holy ambition. And as this must be our study, labour, and prayer in general; so particularly in this love towards our enemies should we desire to resemble him, which is a temper truly divine and godlike.