to the intentional adulterer: and it is true that the word used by him signifies adultery, strictly so called, throughout the New Testament and the Greek version of the Old: but still the reason of the assertion equally extends itself to the intentional fornicator. God, who sees the heart, will punish all such evil intentions as want nothing but opportunity to become actual crimes. : с It aptly follows: "And if thy right eye offend thee, [lead thee to renounce my gospel, or to violate any religious or moral duty,] pluck it out, and cast it from thee it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." In another place of this evangelist, our Lord says, "If thy hand or thy foot offend thee ;" and more at large in St. Mark: "If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two hands to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched," &c. This is a strong eastern manner of expressing that seductions to sin, and particularly stumbling blocks in the way of openly professing the gospel at that season, should be avoided at all events; and that the d · ἐμοίχευσεν. e Our Lord having mentioned looking on a woman, he immediately adds, and if thy right eye offend thee: whereas c. xviii. 8, 9. and Mark ix. 43—8. the eye is instanced after the hand and the foot. causes of guilt and apostacy should be removed, whatever favourite gratifications were foregone, whatever temporal evils were endured. As you would lose an eye or a limb to prevent a death by fire; so let every thing most dear be sacrificed to avoid eternal death. It is plain that if the prohibition, 'Swear not at all, were understood absolutely, the good of society would be much affected; as in important matters it would want the strongest human assurance, and the best human testimony, which derive their greatest force from a solemn appeal to God; and therefore our Lord restrains his command to ordinary & discourse; and opposes it to the unnecessary and ensnaring oaths and vows so frequent among the Jews. He himself used the form of an oath, when he said, h If a sign [from heaven] shall be [now] given to this generation: and he affirmed his Messiahship with like solemnity, when the High priest * adjured him by the living God. Difficulties have been also raised against the following precepts in this discourse: "I say unto you, that ye 1 resist not evil, [or, as some choose to render the word, the injurious person:] but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that f Matt. v. 34. Matt. v. 33. sib. v. 37. Comp. Matt. xxii. 15. Col. iv. 6. i Mark viii. 12. Comp. Heb. 4. 3: 2 Sam. iii. 35. So do God to me and more also, if, &c. Matt. xxvi. 63, 4: Matt. v. 39-42. Luke vi. 29, 30. m asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Lend, hoping for nothing again. Of him that taketh away thy goods," ask them not again. I say unto you, Love your enemies bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. PLay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. a Take no thought for your life, what eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Take no thought for the morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." ye shall Many have attempted to shew that, with proper limitations, every one of these precepts obliges all Christians at all times. To this purpose it may be said that, by a strong particular instance proverbially applied, our Lord teaches a general lesson of meekness and patience under moderate and private injuries, in opposition to a revengeful sense and rigorous retaliation of every wrong; that our Lord fulfilled his own precept when he calmly reproved the officer who smote him while he stood before the High priest; and that every Christian will fulfil it, who, when he is injured, makes reason the rule of his conduct, not "rendering evil for evil unto any man from a vindictive spirit, and mitigating the punishment, as far as he is able, when, from the circumstances of m Luke vi. 35. ? Matt. vi. 19. John xviii. 23. n Luke vi. 30. 9 ib. 25. rib. 34. 1 Pet. iii. 9. • Matt. v. 44. and p.p. • Matt. v. 39. Luke vi. 29. y the case, it is expedient to restrain the injurious, and to deter others by their example: That, in some matters not of great consequence, we should rather "suffer wrong than angrily repel it, rather depart from our legal right than persist in litigious contention: That there were cases of unreasonable treatment in which * patience and submission ought to be shewn, and violence ought not to be returned for violence; particularly in the case, which often occurred at that time, of being compelled to attend public messengers: That, in general, liberality should be exercised towards men; and that Christians should lend to the honest and industrious, as far as their duty to themselves and their families enables them; and in unusually compassionate cases, or such as usually occur, provided the loss be of small account, even hoping for nothing again: That the z love of our enemies is not such a love of affection as must rest on its proper object; nor such an indiscriminate regard to men as would confound all distinctions of character, and would be inconsistent with our natural sense of right and wrong and of moral beauty and deformity; but consists in such actions as affection commonly dictates, and all can perform, in blessing them, praying for them, and "doing good offices to them, especially of common humanity :" That we should not be careful to lay up unnecessary and abundant treasures on earth, so as to set our heart on them, and & enslave ourselves to them: с e and, That we should not be anxiously solicitous for our present and future worldly subsistence, so as to imbitter life, and to make this solicitude an addition to our daily and unavoidable 'evils. But most of the precepts now referred to seem to admit of a more easy explanation. Immediately before the divine lesson which contains them was delivered, our Lord had selected his twelve apostles from a great & number of other disciples; and when he had seated himself on the side of a mountain, " his disciples came near unto him. And he lifted up his eyes on 1his disciples, and began to teach them in the hearing of the multitude. We must next observe in what capacity the disciples were sometimes addressed. They were addressed as men to be 'reviled and persecuted and every way falsely accused, like the prophets before them; as professors and propagators of a new religion, who were the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and like a city set on an eminence as great in the kingdom of heaven, on condition of doing and " teaching Christ's commandments: as guides to others: as obliged to be prudent in dispensing instruction and reproof: as prophets, and workers of miracles, in the name of Christ. It must be allowed that a peculiar conduct might be required of such, on account of their singular circumstances at that period. It became such to display the power of religion by the most perfect • Matt. vi. 25-34. P m fib. v. 34. 8 Luke vi. 17. ? ib. 22. AMatt. I Matt. • Luke vi. 39. |