35Z4IS 
 
THEiSERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
Cyv^-<^^''\y^ i^^'-y.^^^-^ ^ 
 
-'•■N 2 1936 
 
 THE SERMON OT%oo...u.>^ 
 THE MOUNT 
 
 A PRACTICAL STUDY OF 
 CHAPTERS V-VII OF ST. 
 MATTHEW'S GOSPEL 
 
 By prof. M. LOY, D. D. 
 
 Columbus, Ohio 
 
 LUTHERAN Book Concern 
 
 1909 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Section 1. Introduction 9 
 
 MATTHEW, CHAPTER V. 
 
 Section 2. The Beatitudes, v. 1-12 24 
 
 3. The High Calling, v. 13-16 73 
 
 4. The Better Righteousness, v. 17-20 102 
 
 5. The Law Illustrated, v. 21-37 127 
 
 6. The Bond of Perfectness, V. 38-48 148 
 
 MATTHEW, CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Section 7. The Sincere Service, v. 1-8 174 
 
 8. The Model Prayer, v. 9-15 185 
 
 9. The Pharisaic Fasting, v. 16-18 204 
 
 10. The Abiding Treasures, v. 19-22 215 
 
 11. The Life of Truth, v. 23-34 225 
 
 MATTHEW, CHAPTER VIL 
 
 Section 12. The Walk in Wisdom, v. 1-11 249 
 
 13. The Golden Rule, v. 12 265 
 
 14. The Narrow Way, v. 13. 14 280 
 
 15. The Voice of Warning, 15-23 293 
 
 16. The Wise Builder, v. 24-27 311 
 
 (6) 
 
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
SECTION L 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 fN the first year of His public ministry Jesus returned 
 to Galilee from a sorrowful journey to Jerusalem. 
 Leaving Nazareth, which had been His home, "He 
 came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea 
 coast." After a day of toil, "He went out into a mountain 
 to pray, and continued all night in prayer." In the morn- 
 ing He called His disciples about Him, and selected 
 twelve to be His constant companions and ministers, 
 who formed "the glorious company of Apostles." The 
 place was probably the elevation known as the Horns; 
 of Hattin, not far distant from Capernaum, on the Gali- 
 lean lake. 
 
 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their 
 synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, 
 and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of dis- 
 eases among the people. And His fame went throughout 
 all Syria; and they brought to Him all manner of sick 
 people that Avere taken with divers diseases and torments, 
 and those which were possessed with devils, and those 
 which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He' 
 healed them. And there followed Him great multitudes 
 of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from 
 Judea, and from beyond Jordan. And seeing the multi-1 
 tudes, He went up into a mountain; and when He was set, j 
 His disciples came unto Him ; and He opened His mouth 
 and taught them." With these words St. Matthew intro-j 
 duces the greatest sermon which was ever preached on 
 earth, and which, from the place where it was delivered, 
 is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. 
 
 9 
 
10 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 The scope of this magnificent oration, notwithstand- 
 ing the multiplicity of the topics discussed, is not diflficult 
 to apprehend. The people were not yet prepared for a 
 complete presentation of the Gospel with its glorious 
 plan of salvation through faith in the Lamb of God that 
 taketh away the sin of the world, and for this we must 
 not look in the sermon, although it is the longest of our 
 Lord's recorded discourses. No direct mention is made 
 of the redemption through His obedience unto death, and of 
 its application by the Holy Spirit, and of its appropriation 
 by faith. It expounds and applies the law, under whose 
 tuition and discipline God had since the time of Moses 
 been preparing the children of Israel for the advent of 
 the Savior, who was promised with ever increasing clear- 
 ness since the entrance of sin into the world through 
 Adam's fall. The scope of the sermon is therefore misap- 
 prehended when it is presumed to be the setting forth of 
 the essentials of Christianity, that should serve as a com- 
 pend of the religion which Christ introduced and estab- 
 lished on earth for the salvation of fallen man. Accord- 
 ing to the Scriptures salvation is not by the Law, however 
 fully and forcibly it may be presented, but by the grace 
 of God in Christ, as it is revealed in the Gospel. "The 
 Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by 
 Jesus Christ." John 1, 17. How great the error is of 
 assuming that souls condemned because of sin are saved 
 by obeying the divine commandments is shown by St. 
 Paul's words : "Christ is become of no effect unto you, 
 whosoever of you are justified by the law." Gal. 5, 4. 
 That which condemns us as sinners cannot be that which 
 justifies us as sinless. The Law makes known to us our 
 sin, which is the transgression of the Law ; and it is power- 
 less to save not only when it is misunderstood by the 
 carnal mind, but also when it is made plain to us in its 
 spiritual import by our Lord's exposition of its deeper 
 significance. Indeed, the curse which it pronounces upon 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 man's transgression becomes all the more effective and em- 
 phatic when we learn that it requires not only holy words 
 and works, but holy hearts. The sermon on the mount 
 gives us the much needed light on the spiritual meaning of 
 the Law and the depth of our sinful depravity in our 
 inward rebellion against its holiness, but contains not the 
 slightest intimation that it would, under any view of its 
 import or any attitude assumed towards it, deliver us 
 from the condemnation which it pronounces upon our 
 sinful race. 
 
 On the other hand it is an unwarranted restriction 
 when the attempt is made to exclude the Gospel entirely 
 from our minds in studying the sermon. The admission 
 that it treats mainly of the Law by no means implies such 
 a restriction of its meaning. Nothing is more needful 
 for a correct understanding of the Scriptures than a proper 
 distinction between Law and Gospel. We can understand 
 neither in its pure import and purpose when we confound 
 the one with the other. To tell people what God requires 
 of us in the ten commandments, and then teach them that 
 their only hope of eternal life must rest on their fulfill- 
 ment of these requirements, leads to despair. It may be 
 a correct statement of the demands which the Creator 
 justly makes upon His intelligent creatures, but it is a 
 false presentation of the way of salvation revealed in 
 Holy Scripture. Even when the Law of the Lord is 
 studied, we need the Gospel in order to understand the 
 Lord's will and to walk in the way by which He would 
 lead us to the blessedness of eternal life. 
 
 That the sermon on the mount is an exposition of the \ 
 Law which was given by Moses is plain to every attentive 
 reader's view; but it should be just as plain to every 
 Christian reader that the exposition was not designed to 
 ignore and set aside the grace and truth which came by 
 Jesus Christ, but must stand in intimate relation to it in 
 the divine economy. The purpose of the sermon mani- 
 
12 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 festly is to show the righteousness which God's Law re-\ 
 quires and which must prevail in His kingdom. It does ! 
 not abrogate or mitigate the divine commands or furnish ! 
 a new code to supplant the old; but it removes the rubbish ] 
 under Avhich the Jews had buried its meaning, and sets ! 
 in a clear light the holiness which it requires. The right- 
 eous Law is thus restored to its original purity and 
 majesty, and rescued from the. depravation into which 
 false teachers had brought it by their human ordinances 
 and traditions, and thus reduced it to a level with the 
 carnal impulses and dictates of man in his fallen estate. 
 Our Savior, by doing this needful work, does not become 
 a neAV Lawgiver, as if Moses' work had become obsolete, 
 but He does render the old Law, which is holy and good, 
 effectual to accomplish its end in the divine plan of salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Our study of the sermon must, therefore, embrace 
 all the implications of its words as these are known to us 
 from other portions of Scripture, all of which He camei 
 to fulfill. His advent into the world had not the design , 
 to enforce the Law and its penalties upon its sinful peo- 1 
 pie. "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn 
 the world, but that the world through Him might be 
 saved." John 3, 17. To this the Law is meant to be tribu- 
 tary. It does not save us, but it can show us God's right- 
 eousness and our sin, and thus be serviceable in leading 
 us to the Savior. "For Christ is the end of the Law for 
 righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom. 10, 4. 
 In the light of the Gospel, therefore, we propose to study 
 the Sermon on the Mount, not overlooking the fact that it 
 is our Lord's exposition of the Law, but always keeping 
 in mind that the Law was always and is now, not an inde- 
 pendent way of salvation, but "our schoolmaster to bring 
 us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But 
 after that faith is come we are no longer under a school- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 I 
 
 master. For ye are all the children of God by faith in 
 Christ Jesus." Gal. 3, 24-26. 
 
 It must not be inferred from the words of St. Paul, 
 "we are no longer under a schoolmaster," that the law 
 has lost its divine authority and is now without a voca- 
 tion and a purpose in the divine economy. That would 
 indicate a reckless reading of the apostle's statement. 
 If the inference were true, the sermon on the mount 
 would be of little moment to us Christians, who are 
 saved by grace and rejoice in the hope of glory through 
 faith in a crucified and risen Savior. But it is not true, 
 and the sermon does concern us and all men as a reve- 
 lation of God's holy will, that binds us all and holds us 
 all to a strict account, as the law by which the whole 
 earth shall be finally judged. 
 
 Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are in- 
 deed no longer under the schoolmaster who was ap- 
 pointed to lead them to the Savior. When that is ac- 
 complished in them they have become the children of 
 God by faith in Christ Jesus, and are justified by that 
 faith, because Christ is "made unto them wisdom and 
 righteousness and sanctification and redemption." 1 
 Cor. 1, 30. They have no cause to tremble at the fulmi- 
 nations of God's Avrath upon every soul of man that doeth 
 evil, because they have found refuge in One who is 
 mighty to save and whose robe of righteousness covers 
 all their sins, so that for the sake of His merits, ac- 
 quired by His vicarious obedience unto death for all 
 men, they stand acquitted now and shall stand acquitted 
 on the judgment day." Therefore we conclude that a man 
 is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Rom. 
 3, 28. They are not under the curse of the law which 
 is revealed against all unrighteousness and ungodliness 
 of men, neither are tliey under the constraints which are 
 laid upon men by its threatenings of indignation and 
 
14 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 wrath upon those who transgress its holy command- 
 ments. In that respect they are free from the law. They 
 are not required to fulfill it in order to be saved from its 
 condemnation; for Christ has fulfilled it for them, that 
 they might be saved through Him. They are not driven 
 to obey its righteous requirements by fearful menaces 
 of eternal perdition; for Christ has given them hearts 
 that love righteousness and delight to do His holy will. 
 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 
 unto good works, which God hath before ordained that 
 we should walk in them." Eph. 2, 10. 
 
 The schoolmaster has done his work when he has 
 brought us to see our sinfulness and helplessness and to 
 realize our wretchedness under the fearful penalties 
 which the law denounces upon the sinner, and when he 
 has thus prepared the way for the Gospel with its gra- 
 cious announcement of pardon and peace to all who re-^ 
 pent and believe. And for this the law, and the sermon \ 
 on the mount which expounds its spiritual meaning, is 
 still necessary. For all men have sinned and come short 
 of the glory of God, and none can escape the condemna- 
 tion declared against sinners except by coming to the 
 Savior, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins 
 of the world. But to this end a knowledge of our sin 
 is indispensable; for no one will come to the Savior 
 who denies his need of salvation and no one will accept 
 His help who proudly denies that he has any need of 
 help. The way into the kingdom of God is the way of 
 repentance. There never was and never can be any other 
 way to the salvation prepared for us in Christ than that 
 of recognizing our lost estate in sin, that we may flee 
 for refuge to the hope set before us in Christ. Therefore 
 men everywhere need the law now as they djd when our 
 Lord preached the sermon on the mount. 
 
 And we Christians need it still, though its office of 
 schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ is accomplished in 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 all them that believe and are thus no longer under the 
 schoolmaster. But our relation to it is changed. It is 
 to us a revelation of God's will in His holiness, as it is 
 to all men. This will is unchangeable, as God Himself 
 is unchangeable. Its authority is universal and eternal, 
 because it is divine. But believers are not under it as 
 man is in his natural condition of slaverj^ to sin. He is 
 free from its condemnation, because Christ, who is 
 mighty to save, assumed our nature and our sin, and 
 accepted its condemnation in our stead. For God "hath 
 made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we 
 might be made the rigliteousness of God in Him." 1 
 Cor. 5, 21. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
 the law, being made a curse for us." Gal. 3, 15. The 
 way of salvation is plain. "God so loved the world that 
 He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 John 3, 16. He came into this world of sin and death 
 not to condemn fallen mankind, and not to teach us how 
 to save ourselves from the curse which the violated law 
 pronounces upon us, but to save us. No teaching could 
 enable us to do what sin has made impossible. We 
 cannot fulfill the holy law of God, and we cannot by any 
 power in our disabled nature escape the penalty of trans- 
 gression. The wages of sin is death. Only God can save 
 us, and He sent His Son to effect our salvation. " For 
 God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the 
 world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 
 He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that 
 believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not 
 believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 
 eTohn 3, 17-18. Salvation is by faith in the Savior. "Be 
 it known unto you all, and to all the j)eople of Israel, 
 that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye 
 crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him 
 doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the 
 
16 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is 
 become the head of the corner. Neither is there salva- 
 tion in any other; for there is none other name under 
 heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." 
 Acts 4, 10-12. 
 
 It is plain therefore that salvation cannot be by the 
 law. That would mean that we need no Savior, implying 
 either that we have no sin on account of which the law 
 could condemn and pronounce its sentence of eternal 
 death upon us, or that, if we have transgressed or in any 
 way come short of the law's requirements, we are able 
 to make good our failure and satisfy all just demands 
 that righteousness may make upon us. Lamentable as 
 it is, not only are there millions who sit in the darkness 
 which Satan has brought into the world and persist in 
 denying their sinfulness and asserting their own righte- 
 ousness, but there are also other millions who profess to 
 be Christians and still nurse the flattering delusion, that 
 they are good enough to have a just claim upon the man- 
 sions in our Father's house, and a cheering hope that the 
 God of love will not banish them from His presence for 
 any little faults, which are common to men, that may 
 still appear as defects in their righteousness. Thus the 
 Savior stands at the door of multitudes and knocks in 
 vain for entrance into their hearts, because they feel no 
 need of any closer communion with Him or of any saving 
 grace that He might impart. People who have the Bible 
 and access to the preaching of the Gospel have no ex- 
 cuse for such a treatment of the Savior, who died for 
 their offenses and rose again for their justification. They 
 have the opportunity to know better. The natural man, 
 in his ignorance of spiritual things and in his blindness 
 under the disabling power of sin, may deem his course 
 reasonable when he prates of his own goodness and glo- 
 rious deeds which even transcend the requirements of 
 the law, but the regenerated soul, confessing faith in 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 Christ, must blush and tremble at such a treatment of 
 the Savior; for He comes to deliver us from the satanic 
 dream of self-righteousness, which has no room for sal- 
 vation by grace and tramples under foot the purchase 
 of His blood, and to extend His pitying and powerful 
 arms to snatch us as brands from the burning and bring 
 us, notwithstanding all our sin and unworthiness, to His 
 glorious abode of bliss in heaven. The hope of righteous- 
 ness and salvation by our own fulfillment of the law is 
 suggested and encouraged by the enemy of our souls to 
 keep us away from Christ, who alone can save us. Of 
 this faithful Christians who believe the Word of God are 
 sure. For the Holy Spirit explicitly declares, not only 
 that there is no other name than that of Jesus given 
 whereby we can be saved, but also that the law, in which 
 so many trust, is not available for the sinner's justifica- 
 tion, and that trusting in it can only lead to destruction. 
 "For if there had been a law given that could have given 
 life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 
 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the 
 promise by faith might be given to all them that believe." 
 Gal. 3, 21. 22. The law could only demand that we 
 should be holy, and thus pleasing to God, but it could 
 not and cannot make us holy and remove God's displeas- 
 ure when we have transgressed its holy requirements. 
 Only God, against whom we have sinned, can deliver 
 us from the curse which sin has brought upon us, "For 
 what the law could not do, in that it was weak through 
 the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of 
 sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that 
 the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 
 who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 
 8, 3, 4. Therefore it is emphatically declared that those 
 who rely upon the works of the law to establish a righte- 
 ousness which will entitle them to admission into the 
 kingdom of glory, are deceiving themselves and com- 
 
 2 
 
18 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 passing their own ruin, because while they thus trust in 
 that which cannot save they are rejecting the only Sa- 
 vior of men. "Christ is become of no effect unto you, 
 whosoever of you are justified by the law: ye are fallen 
 from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the 
 hope of righteousness by faith." Gal. 5, 4. 5. The law 
 serves a good purpose still, and Christ expounded it that 
 it might accomplish its end; but that purpose is not the 
 sinner's justification by the works of the law, which is 
 impossible. On the contrary, it is, aside from restrain- 
 ing bad men from nefarious deeds by the terrors of 
 threatened damnation, the exposure of sin in the sinner's 
 consciousness, that he may give heed to the remedy that 
 is offered him in the Gospel. "For Christ is the end of 
 the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." 
 Rom. 10, 4. The sermon on the mount was preached in 
 the interest of the great salvation which came by the 
 grace and truth which were revealed through Christ, and 
 its preaching of the law as a schoolmaster to bring us 
 unto Him for salvation is always needed in our world 
 of sin. 
 
 But more than this concerns us in our Lord's exposi- 
 tion of the Law. It is meant for all Christians of all 
 time, and when men err in its application, the error does 
 not lie in assuming the sermon to be authoritative as a 
 divine guide to right life in Christ's kingdom. That is not a 
 mistake. The will of God always was man's righteousness 
 and never could be otherwise. Be ye holy, for the Lord 
 your God is holy. That has ever been the law of God's gov- 
 ernment. And that is the law which our Savior explains 
 and enforces in this sermon. The error of the legalists 
 Mes in their attempt to substitute that law for the Gospel, 
 and thus to make Christ a minister of Moses instead of 
 accepting Him as the Savior of the world. The effect of 
 such error is to keep people under the bondage of the law, 
 and to deprive them of the grace and truth which came by 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 Jesus Christ, and of the peace and joj which come by faith 
 in Him as their Kedeemer from sin and death, "Now we 
 know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to 
 them who are under the law, that every mouth may be 
 stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 
 Tlierefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be 
 justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of 
 sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law 
 is manifested, being witnessed by the law and tlie proph- 
 ets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of 
 Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for 
 there is no ditterence; for all have sinned and come short 
 of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace 
 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom 
 God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
 His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remis- 
 sion of sins that are past." Rom. 3, 19-2.5. It is a grave 
 offense against the majesty and mercy of our Savior, and 
 a fatal subversion of the grace and truth which He brought 
 to men, to represent the sermon on the mount as expound- 
 ing the law with a view to securing the salvation of sin- 
 ners by their obedience to its holy commandments. The 
 law declares all men guilty and pronounces condemna- 
 tion on them; by the law is the knowledge of sin. Not 
 a word is spoken in the sermon that would be fairly sub- 
 ject even to the suspicion that it teaches justification by 
 the deeds of the law. By these no flesh can be justified. 
 Christ came to save us from the sin and death which the 
 laAv makes known to us, and whicli thus Ix'comes our 
 schoolmaster to bring us to Christ that we may find salva- 
 tion in Him. He "is the end of the law for righteousness 
 to every one tliat believeth," and for this purpose He ex- 
 pounds the law. 
 
 But when this purpose has been accomplished and 
 souls Itave been brought to repentance and faith in Him 
 unto tlie forgiveness of their sins niul ov(M'lnsfiii"; s;ilva- 
 
20 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 tion through His grace, and when the law has done its 
 work as the schoolmaster and these believing souls are 
 free from its bondage and its condemnation, it still has an 
 office to perform Avith regard to them, and the sermon 
 on the mount effectually performs it. The law does not 
 regenerate the sinner and fit him for the kingdom of 
 righteousness and glory, but it does show believers how 
 they ought to live and please God when they have been 
 thus fitted by His grace. "Do we then make void the law 
 through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." 
 Eom. 3, 31. For our Savior fulfills it in our stead by His 
 obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, and 
 gives us grace that we may delight to do His will and 
 freely walk in the path of His precepts. 
 
 The disciples of Christ are therefore exhorted to walk 
 worthy of their vocation in that holiness which grace has 
 made possible to them when their hearts have been purified 
 by faith, "Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no 
 more : death hath no more dominion over Him. For in 
 that He died. He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, 
 He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves 
 to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your 
 moital body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unright- 
 eousness unto sin ; but yield yourselves unto God, as those 
 that are alive from the dead, and your members as instru- 
 ments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have 
 dominion over you ; for ye are not under the law, but 
 under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are 
 not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Rom. 
 6, 9-15, 
 
 The believer, who by the faith which the Holy Spirit 
 has wrought in Him through the Gospel hits escaped the 
 curse of the law, is now empowered. by the grace of God 
 to love the way of holiness and bear fruit to His glory. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 The law is to him still a guide on that way, because it is 
 tlie revelation of his ^laker's holy will, for whose service 
 he v.as cieated and rede(Mned and renewed. It is not made 
 more rigorous by our I^ord's teaching, for it was perfect 
 from the beginning; but neither was it softened and 
 lowered in its reiiuirements by Tlis mercy, because the 
 judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 
 Those who look upon the new covenant as a modified legal 
 system of righteousness, by which the demands made ujwn 
 man are diminished and the way of salvation is made 
 broader, have j^et to learn the first elements of Christian- 
 ity, which knows no salvation by the deeds of the law. 
 But still Christians need it, though they are not under its 
 constraints and its curse, but under grace. The Holy 
 Spirit who is given them sanctifies and leads them in the 
 way of the divine commandments, Avliich is the way of 
 holiness. Freedom from the law therefore does not mean 
 license to live after the lust of the flesh, but liberty from 
 the bondage of sin, that we might freely serve the living 
 God. "For the love of Christ constraineth us ; because we 
 thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; 
 and that He died for all, that they which live should not 
 henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died 
 for them and rose again.'' 2 Cor. 5, 14-15. When under 
 the law the}' have learned their sinfulness and their con- 
 demnation and their helplessness, and despairing of sal- 
 vation by any righteousness which their efforts could se- 
 cure under its terms, they have conu' to Jesus and ac- 
 cepted His pardon and peace through faith in His name, 
 they are bless(Ml with the good will to serve the Lord that 
 bought them, and bear fruits of holiness to His praise 
 forever. 
 
 That Christians, who are thus inwardly disposed to 
 live righteously and who are led by the Holy Spirit in 
 the paths of righteousness, should still be exhorted to do 
 what they are disposed to do with their might, seems an 
 
22 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 inconsistency. But it can seem so only to those who have 
 little knowledge of the Christian life. St. Paul explains 
 the difficulty when he writes : "We know that the law is 
 spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." "For I know 
 that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing; 
 for to will is present with me, but how to perform that 
 which is good I find not."' "1 delight in the law of God 
 after the inward man; but I see another law in my mem- 
 bers warring against the law of my mind and bringing 
 me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my mem- 
 bers." Rom. 7, 15-23. This warfare between the spirit 
 and the flesh is a matter of common Christian experience, 
 and it imposes upon us a struggle against tlie sin that is 
 in us which continues during our earthly life. Satan, by 
 craft and cunning, by menaces and enticements, makes 
 use of the trying situation to compass the believers' fall 
 from gTace, and they ai^e in daily danger, because of the 
 infirmity of the flesh, of growing weary in well-doing and 
 yielding to the allurements of sin. Tliey must watch and 
 pray that they enter not into temptation, and earnest 
 warnings are given of the peril that besets them if they 
 become careless in using the means of grace and turn 
 to the beggarly elements of the world. "For if ye live 
 after the flesh, ye shall die ; but if ye through the Spirit do 
 mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many 
 as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 
 Rom. 8, 13-14. 
 
 In the light of these truths, which will serve for our 
 guidance at many a point, we propose to enter upon a 
 practical study of the great sermon on the mount, hoping 
 that the occupation with its heavenly lessons will, by the 
 blessing of our ever present Lord and Savior, be profit- 
 able for the reader's instruction in righteou-sness and his 
 establishment in grace. We shall divide the sermon into 
 sections for greater convenience in considering its com- 
 forts and setting forth its various topics. These divisions 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 are mostly indicated by the different subjects presented, 
 although in a few instances, especially in the seventh 
 chapter, the verses have no obvious connection as parts 
 of a larger theme. In all cases it shall be our endeavor to 
 ascertain and set forth the truth which our Lord's words 
 were designed to convey. 
 
SECTION IL 
 The Beatitudes. 
 (Matthew 5, J-J2.) 
 
 mOTHING could be more appropriate than that the 
 great sermon preached by Him who came into 
 the world, that the world through Him might 
 be saved, should begin with beatitudes, or blessings, 
 which are all dependent upon His life and death of obe- 
 dience for our salvation. He announces the Gospel of 
 grace by setting forth results which are attained in His 
 kingdom, although He does not now enter upon any ex- 
 plicit statement of His gracious work of redemption 
 and its appropriation by faith, through which these re- 
 sults are accomplished. That they may be attained He 
 directs attention to necessary qualifications for citizen- 
 ship in His kingdom, that the law may do its preparatory 
 work in the hearts of His hearers, and get the ground 
 1 ready for the seed of the Gospel, which brings salvation 
 to the lost and life to the dead in sin. The blessings are 
 'not pronounced upon all men who hear the gracious an- 
 jnouncement, but only on those whose condition is desig- 
 jnated and who are thus qualified for the benediction. 
 
 I. "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the 
 kingdom of God." The kingdom of God with all its grace 
 and glory is promised to all who labor and are heavy 
 laden and come to Him, whose words are spirit and life, 
 that they may find rest for their souls. 
 
 1. The whole situation makes it evident that it is not 
 poverty in regard to the goods of this world that the Sa- 
 vior has in view. Lack of material wealth is not a quali- 
 fication for the kingdom which is not of this world. The 
 
 24 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 25 
 
 Scriptures do indeed frequently speak of the poor and 
 the rich in terms suggestive, in the economy of divine 
 providence, of an advantage possessed by the former over 
 the latter. It would seem as if those who must bear the 
 burden and inconvenience of poverty were to have some 
 compensation in receiving a larger measure of oppor- 
 tunity for spiritual gifts, while those who have received, 
 their good things in this life receive their evil things ini 
 the life to come. God cares for the poor and commands 
 His children to consider them and supply their needs. \ 
 On the other hand riches are represented as a danger 
 against whose seductive wiles we must be ever on our 
 guard. But neither earthly poverty nor wealth, which 
 are external and temporal in their nature, can fit or 
 unfit a person for the kingdom of God, which is spiritual 
 and is not of this world. A poor man is not a child of 
 God and an heir of heaven because he is poor, neither 
 can he become such by renouncing all worldly posses- 
 sions and choosing poverty; a rich man is not debarred 
 from the hope of glory because he is rich, neither can he 
 purchase a place in the mansions of our Father's house 
 by the employment of all his wealth. Adoption into the 
 household of God depends on other conditions than those 
 of temporal possessions. 
 
 There is another kind of poverty than that of lack 
 of money and earthly goods. It is internal and spiritual. 
 A man may feel poor, though he have all the wealth that 
 earth can afford, and this in two respects. His feeling 
 may be of the delusive sort in which it fails to corre- 
 spond with the fact, as when one possessed of wealth 
 thinks himself too poor to spend any part of it in deeds 
 of charity and is tormented with visions of coming want. 
 It is not such internal poverty, which recognizes no gifts 
 of God and is unthankful, which has no trust in God and 
 views the future with dread, which is based on the false 
 imaginings of an evil heart, that our Savior contemplates 
 
26 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 when He pronounces a blessing upon the poor in spirit 
 But there is another kind of feeling in which a poverty 
 is experienced which arises from no illusion and which 
 accords with existing reality as the Scriptures reveal it 
 and the human heart may be brought to realize it. It is 
 spiritual poverty. A person may be very rich and yet 
 have the consciousness, not only of having nothing that 
 he could properly call his own and being entirely de- 
 pendent on God for his daily bread, but of being in total 
 want of those moral and spiritual qualities without 
 which, notwithstanding all his wealth, one is poor in- 
 deed. That is the poverty which our Lord has in view, 
 and into which He would lead His hearers, that they 
 might inherit His blessing. The soul by nature is very 
 poor in spiritual things. It has nothing that could give 
 it standing in the realm of the spiritual, that could sat- 
 isfy its spiritual needs, that could render it acceptable 
 to its Maker. And it can do nothing to acquire such 
 spiritual treasure. It is poor and helpless, and when 
 one has come to realize this poverty he is poor in spirit. 
 That is a condition of truthfulness in regard to one's 
 own soul into which no power of nature can lead us, and 
 which remains the same whether we be rich or poor in 
 this world's goods. To enter the kingdom of God and 
 become heirs of its blessings something more is needed 
 than that which this world can give or the natural mind, 
 which is of this world, can acquire with all its efforts. 
 To secure these heavenly treasures and make us heirs of 
 our Heavenly Father's wealth, was the purpose of 
 Christ's coming into this world of sin. "As many as re- 
 ceived Him, to them gave He the power to become the 
 sons of God, even to them that believe in His name." 
 John 1, 12. 
 
 The poor in spirit are those w|io, whether rich or 
 poor in temporal things, are conscious of their poverty 
 in regard to that righteousness and true holiness with 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 27 
 
 which man was endowed when God created him in His 
 own image and which is required of him to fulfill his 
 mission. This image was lost by the fall, when, "by one 
 man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so 
 death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 
 Rom. 5, 12. In consequence of this "the whole world 
 lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5, 19. But God has not 
 changed, and still requires of man the righteousness in 
 which he was created. "This is the Avill of God, even 
 your sanctification." 1 Thess. 4, 3. Nothing could alter 
 the purpose of the Creator with regard to His creature, 
 and notwithstanding the coming of sin into the world 
 and the resulting universal depravity, the divine demand 
 remains the same that it was from the beginning. "Ye 
 shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." Lev. 
 19, 2. The whole human race is thus in disharmony with 
 its God and His government of the universe, and its con- 
 dition is therefore one of utter wretchedness, because of 
 its failure to fulfill its destin^^ and to attain the end of 
 its creation. Not all realize this their forlorn condi- 
 tion, and few understand the cause and nature of their 
 misery when they become conscious that their souls are 
 not at rest. In spite of all the evil within them and 
 around them, some even flatter themselves that all is 
 well. But the fact remains the same, that man lacks 
 what he most needs, and there is no health and no| 
 strength in him to supply the want. "Because thou say-' 
 est, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of 
 nothing, and knowest not that thou are wretched and 
 miserable and poor and blind and naked, I counsel thee to 
 buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, 
 and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed and that 
 the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint 
 thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see." Kev. 3, 
 16-18. The same "deceivableness of unrighteousness" 
 leads others to despair of any deliverance from the dark- 
 
28 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ness and death of sin, as there certainly is none in view to 
 the natural man, and many a poor mortal is thus driven 
 to madness or seeks relief in suicide. All are in this mis- 
 erable state of poverty and helplessness, whatever may 
 be the delusions by which they seek to cloak it or escape 
 its misery: "as it is written, there is none righteous, no, 
 not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none 
 that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the 
 way, they are together become unprofitable: there is 
 none that doeth good, no, not one." Rom. 3, 10-12. "The 
 Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise 
 by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that be- 
 lieve." Gal. 3, 22. 
 
 To save from the sin and death which have wrought 
 such ruin in the world was the purpose of Christ's mis- 
 sion. "For God so loved the world that He gave His 
 only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God 
 sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, 
 but that the world through Him might be saved." John 
 3, 16. 17. To this end all His teaching and preaching as 
 well as all His suffering and death were directed. There- 
 fore He called upon all who were willing to hear: "Come 
 unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I 
 will give you rest." Matt. 11, 28. In Him alone is help. 
 There is no other name given under heaven by which a 
 soul could be saved. "I am the vine," He tells His dis- 
 ciples, "ye are the branches: he that abideth in me and I 
 in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without 
 me ye can do nothing." John 15, 5. The Eternal Son 
 of God was made flesh and dwelt among us that He 
 might be the mighty Savior of our lost world. "The 
 Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the 
 nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the sal- 
 vation of God." Isa. 52, 10. He who preached this ser- 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 29 
 
 mou on the mount lived aud labored aud suffered and 
 died to save His people from their sins. . 
 
 And the poor in spirit are those who have been/ 
 brought to a realization of the situation, and who feel I 
 their need of a Savior, and the great salvation which n« 
 offers in His kingdom. They are conscious of their spir- 
 itual poverty. They are poor in all that would render 
 them eternally hajipy. They can do nothing to retrieve 
 the loss of their spiritual wealth and are powerless to 
 acquire the moral riches which the Lord seeks in a creat- 
 ure so highly endowed, but so deeply fallen. Directed by 
 the light which has shone into their souls they recog- 
 nize the facts as they are. The grace of God has hum-, 
 l)led tlK^'r haughty spirit and rendered it lowly. Theyl 
 are penitent souls who have hearkened to the word of 
 the Lord, the entrance of which giveth light. Man thus 
 comes to know himself as the miserable sinner that he 
 reall}' is. "If we say, that we have no sin, we deceive 
 ourselves and the truth is not in us; if we confess our 
 sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1, 8. 9. 
 The first thing necessary for deliverance from the wretch- 
 edness in which the world lies is to recognize the sin 
 which has brought it upon us and the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ who came to rescue us from it. "The Lord 
 is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth 
 such as be of a contrite spirit." Ps. 34, 18. Accord- 
 ingly the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, "came 
 preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Re- 
 pent ve; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 
 3, 1, 2. 
 
 2. The blessing promised to those who are thus 
 poor in spirit is participation in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 This term is apparently used in a variety of significa- 
 tions, which has given rise to the fancy that it has no 
 
30 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 fixed and definite meaning. But the same thing is 
 viewed in different circumstances and relations, and the 
 fundamental meaning of the term designating it, remains 
 the same, notwithstanding the modification which it un- 
 dergoes in its application to various conditions. The 
 kingdom of heaven is always the domain of grace in 
 which our Savior reigns and dispenses the blessings 
 which He has secured for men by His life and death on 
 earth. We speak of it as coming when Christ comes with 
 His Word, by which He exercises His dominion; we 
 speak of it as present now, when Christ has gathered 
 disciples around Him who believe in Him as their Sa- 
 vior; we speak of it as future when we look to the con- 
 summation of His gracious purpose in the glories of 
 heaven. His kingdom is the Church on earth, the con- 
 gregation of believers in which He reigns with absolute 
 supremacy over such a people whom by His grace He has 
 made His willing and loving subjects; and it is the same 
 Church when it is rendered triumphant over sin and 
 death and has entered into the everlasting inheritance 
 of the saints in light, and when the redeemed shall be- 
 hold Him in His glory and adore Him forevermore. 
 
 The Son of God, who became man that He might be 
 our Savior by His vicarious obedience unto death, is 
 Lord of all — the King of kings and Lord of lords, "God 
 over all, blessed forever." He rules over all creatures, 
 and unbelievers as well as those who receive Him by 
 faith and are made children of God and heirs of heaven, 
 are subject to His authority and His power. Those who 
 will not own Him as their merciful Eedeemer must in 
 the end own Him as their righteous Judge. To Him all 
 powder is given in heaven and on earth. In the most com- 
 prehensive sense Christ is King over all, and therefore 
 the Church speaks of His kingdom of power as well 
 as of grace and of glory, and thus of a threefold 
 kingdom of our Lord. There is a propriety in this be- 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 31 
 
 cause He is Lord over all, and Christians are glad to 
 honor Him as the Lord of all. But usually, when we 
 speak of His kingdom we think of the great salvation 
 which He has effected for all people and of the miracles 
 of His grace by which a company has been gathered who 
 accept the salvation offered by His Gospel, and who 
 thus form a congregation of saints that recognize Him 
 as their glorious King and willingly submit themselves 
 to His gracious guidance. It is in this sense also that the 
 words are to be understood in the text under considera- 
 tion. 
 
 The poor in spirit are not only under the dominion', 
 of God, as all other creatures are, but theirs is the king- 
 dom of heaven. In this are dispensed all the blessings 
 of salvation which the King of Saints has acquired and 
 imparts to them that believe and live under Him. They 
 are the elect in Christ Jcsiis;, "who of God is made unto 
 us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctlfication, and re- 
 demption," 1 Cor. 1, 30. Of such it is written, "Ye are a 
 chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a 
 peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises 
 of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His 
 marvelous light; which in time past were not a people, 
 but are now the people of God, which had not obtained 
 mercy, but now have obtained mercy," 1 Pet. 2, 9, 10. This 
 holy nation is the purchase of Christ's blood, made His 
 own peculiar people by the faith which His Spirit has 
 wrought in their hearts, and who are cheerfully subject 
 to Him in the kingdom of His grace. Of Him God said 
 in the olden time: "I have set my King upon my holy 
 hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord hath 
 said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
 Thee. Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for' 
 Thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth 
 for thy possession." Ps. 2, 6-8. This is He who was in- 
 dicated when the prophet said : "Tell ye the daughter of 
 
32 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Zion, Behold thy King cometh," Matt. 21, 5. This is 
 He of whom the angel spake in the annunciation to Mary : 
 "Behold, thou shalt conceive and bring forth a son, and 
 thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great and 
 shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God 
 shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and 
 He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of 
 His kingdom there shall be no end," Luke 1, 31-33. There- 
 fore our Lord testified, when Pilate asked Him whether 
 He is the King of the Jews: "My kingdom is not of this 
 world ; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my 
 servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews ; 
 but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate there- 
 fore said unto Him, Art Thou a King then? Jesus an- 
 swered. Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was 
 I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I 
 should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is 
 of the truth heareth my voice," John 18, 36, 37. This 
 kingdom of truth and grace our Savior established by 
 His Word and work, and all who hear His voice declar- 
 ing pardon and peace, and who in their spiritual poverty 
 flee for refuge to Him, are members of His kingdom and 
 rejoice in His gracious presence and heavenly gifts. It 
 is the kingdom of heaven in which He reigns over His 
 redeemed and regenerated people here on earth and in 
 heaven forever. Therefore Christians daily pray, "Thy 
 kingdom come," and the petition is granted "when our 
 Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by 
 His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life 
 here in time and hereafter in eternity." 
 
 The poor in spirit are blessed in their possession of 
 that kingdom. For the realization of the promise the 
 distinction between that kingdom in time and in eternity 
 is of no essential moment. It exists now, and it shall 
 exist forever ; it is ours now, and it shall be ours forever. 
 The King shall visibly come again and shall then, when 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 33 
 
 all the earth shall be summoned to the final judgment, 
 manifest His royalty and the glory of His kingdom as 
 it would not appear under the depressing conditions of 
 the world lying in its wickedness. But the kingdom of 
 heaven is present on earth and its promised blessings are 
 enjoyed now by all who believe. "The law and the proph- ^ 
 ets were until John; since that time the kingdom of 
 God is preached, and every man presseth into it," Luke 
 16, 16. But as it is an everlasting kingdom and the ful- 
 ness of its blessedness is experienced only in eternity, it 
 is often spoken of as future. On the judgment day "the 
 King shall say unto them on His right hand. Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world," Matt. 25, 34. The 
 distinction in regard to time marks an obvious difference 
 in the Christian's fruition of the blessedness of Christ's 
 kingdom, without involving any difference in its nature. 
 The same kingdom that shall be ours forever is ours now. 
 So eternal life is ours by faith here on earth. "He that 
 believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," John 3, 36. 
 But that everlasting life embraces much that is not com- 
 pletely realized during our pilgrimage as strangers in a 
 strange land, and is therefore a promise for the future 
 and an object of Christian hope. In the final decision 
 the ungodly "shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
 but the righteous into life eternal," Matt. 25, 46. The 
 believer is in the kingdom of God now, is guided and 
 comforted by the enduring presence of the groat King 
 during his sojourn on earth, and rejoices in the hope of 
 glory. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things 
 which are above, where Clirist sitteth on the right hand 
 of God. Set your affections on things above, not on 
 things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is 
 hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, 
 shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in 
 glory," Col. 3, 1-4. The kingdom is yours forever. 
 
 3 
 
34 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 II. "Blessed are tliey that moiiru, for they sliall be 
 comforted." There is mourning on earth still, notwith- 
 standing the establishment of Christ's kingdom, but en- 
 trance into this implies all the conditions of comfort. The 
 key to this second beatitude is contained in the Saviour's 
 words : "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest," Matt. 11, 28. 
 
 1. There are many causes of mourning in this 
 earthly life. "Although affliction cometh not forth of the 
 dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground, yet 
 man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward," Job 
 5, 6-7. If the believer entered at once into the full en- 
 joyment of the kingdom of heaven in all its blessedness 
 when he comes to Christ, His disciples would be exempt 
 from the sorrows and sufferings which are the common 
 lot in this valley of the shadow of death. But the separa- 
 tion into a company of the blest in the realms of light 
 and the host of the wretched in the outer darkness of 
 hell, takes place only when the purpose of God in regard 
 to this world is accomplished and the final destiny has 
 been reached in the last judgment. Until then the pen- 
 itent sinners who have become saints in Christ and the 
 impenitent sinners who reject the Saviour and continue 
 in their sin, live together in this world that lieth in wick- 
 edness, and suffer together the disorder and distress 
 which sin inflicts upon the individual and the commu- 
 nity. The wages of sin is death, and all the pains and 
 penalties which lead to death are its natural consequence, 
 from which nature knows no way of escape. 
 
 In all the ages man's mind has wrestled with the 
 dark problem of evil and has found no abiding comfort, 
 frequently as dreamers have flattered themselves that they 
 have found the remedy for all human ills. But sickness 
 and suffering, misfortunes and failures, calamities and 
 disasters continued to come as before, and many a re- 
 puted wise man has concluded that there is no consolation 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 35 
 
 except that death ends all. But that, too, fails to satisfy ; 
 for w hile death does eud the misery of the present state, 
 it furnishes no assurance that the present state is the end 
 of all, and that the soul will not continue to think and 
 feel and suffer after death has effected the rupture be- 
 tween it and the body in which it dwells. On the con- 
 trary, deiith is the outcome of all the disorder and dis- 
 inte<);ration which sin has brought. "The sting of death 
 is sin," 1 Cor. 16, 56. And while men talk glibly of es- 
 caping the miseries of life by rushing into the arms of 
 death, in the secret recesses of men's souls the tormenting 
 question arises, What then? Sin brings trouble, and the 
 troubled soul has no resources within itself from which 
 it could derive rest by reflecting on the vicissitudes of 
 life and the prosjject of death. 
 
 It is not the plan of God to effect a restoration of 
 Paradise with its beauty and its bliss in the present 
 w^orld, and Christians are not taught to look for a life 
 of exemption from pain and sorrow while they sojourn 
 here. They too are subject to sickness and death, and 
 to the calamities with which nature, under the disturbing 
 influence of sin and death, threaten us, and to the moral 
 disorders and miseries which sin has introduced into our 
 social life. Their happy goal is reached only w'hen their 
 trials are ended with their earthly life and they, having 
 been faithful unto death, enter into the joys of their 
 Lord. "Let not your heart be troubled," the Savior tells 
 His disciples; "ye believe in God, believe also in me. In 
 my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so 
 I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again 
 and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye 
 may be also," John 14, 1-3. 
 
 While all are subject to the evils w^hich sin has 
 brought into the world, it is thus manifest that, in their 
 relation to those evils and their consequences, there is a 
 
36 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 great differences between those who are in the kingdom 
 of God and those who are yet under Satan's power in the 
 kingdom of darkness. The ways of sin lead to suffering, 
 the ways of holiness lead to happiness. But this is far 
 from setting the whole subject of man's relation to the 
 evils, physical and moral, which darken his faith and 
 burden his heart, in a clear light, and is by no means an 
 adequate elucidation of the difference in this respect 
 between the Christian and the unbeliever. Many suffer 
 pain and distress as the natural consequence of their sin; 
 but it would be a violation of the truth declared in Scrip- 
 ture, and a denial of the facts of experience, to maintain 
 that each man's pain and distress is the result of his own 
 individual transgressions. When one indulges in the lusts 
 of the flesh until he has wrecked his mind and body, he 
 evidently suffers the consequence of his own sins; but 
 when another is bruised by a ruflfian or defrauded of his 
 property, it is another's sin, not his own, that has caused 
 the suffering. They were miserable comforters who im- 
 puted to Job the authorship of all his troubles, and urged 
 him to adore the justice of God in rewarding him accord- 
 ing to his wicked works. The argument is always false 
 that a person's moral quality may be measured by the 
 suffering which he endures. We do injustice to ourselves 
 and violate charity to others when we apply such a test. 
 All evil, physical as well as moral, is a result of sin, 
 which works out its wages of death through manifold 
 aches and pains and disasters. But it is not true that 
 each individual in this life bears the share proportioned 
 to his sins. This God has reserved for the day of final 
 reckoning, when all accounts are settled forever by His 
 righteous judgment. Meantime He employs all things, 
 including men and their deeds, by His providence to work 
 out His eternal plan, and accordingly makes all things, 
 including the evils which sin has brought into the world, 
 work together for good to them that love Him. 
 
TITK BEATITUDES. 87 
 
 It thus comes to pass that the wicked, whom the good- 
 ness of God would lead to repentance, seem to prosper in 
 this world, while the children of God, whom He chastens 
 as a loving Father for their everlasting good, are weighed 
 down with adversity. To man's limited vision the Lord's 
 ways thus often appear unequal, although they are always 
 wise and good. "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, 
 neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity; 
 for they shall soon be cut down like grass and wither as 
 the green herb." Ps. 57, 1-2, "Truly God is good to 
 Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for 
 me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh 
 slipped. For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the 
 prosperity of the wicked." "Behold these are the ungodly, 
 who prosper in the world; they increase in riches." Ps. 
 73, 1-3. The psalmist then refers to his own troubles as 
 compared with the ungodly, whose eyes stand out with 
 fatness, and proceeds: "When I thought to know this it 
 was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of 
 God : then understood I their end. Surely Thou didst set 
 them in slippery places; Thou castest them down into 
 destruction." Ps. 73, 16-18. God has not revealed to us 
 the secrets of His government and furnished us with the 
 details by which His providence is working out His wise 
 and beneficent plans, and we gravely err when we think 
 that we know it all and form our judgments from appear- 
 ances, without being able to see the bearing of all upon 
 the final outcome in eternity. Here, as in all the dealings 
 of God in which it is not His pleasure to make His coun- 
 sels known, we can only reverently exclaim: "Oh the 
 depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge 
 of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His 
 ways past finding out!" Rom. 11, 33. 
 
 2. They that mourn are blessed, for they shall be 
 comforted. The comfort is that which the Savior prom- 
 ises and bestows, and must therefore apply to a mourning 
 
38 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 that stands in connection with His will and the purpose of 
 His coming. We get at the root of the promised blessing 
 only when we see it in its connection with sin and salva- 
 tion. 
 
 We have no warrant in the Word of God for apply- 
 ing the promise of comfort to those who are grieving over 
 the natural consequences of their own transgressions, de- 
 siring to be relieved of the suffering without abandoning 
 its cause. Many are not only tortured with bodily pains 
 as a result of their sinful indulgences, but even fail to 
 perceive that their suffering has any connection with sin 
 and are not conscious of their guilt ; and many, when they 
 eannot close their eyes to the obvious fact that their mis- 
 ery is the effect of deeds which the law of God has for- 
 bidden, mourn because of the suffering, not because of the 
 sin. The consolations of the Gospel are not available in 
 such conditions; for in these the mourning soul is more 
 likely to curse God and die than to accept a divine bless- 
 ing conveyed through tribulation. Nor can suffering as 
 such, though it come without any direct fault of the suffer- 
 er, nor the mourning which it causes, be inherently a 
 power to work blessing. The loss of temporal goods, the 
 ravages of disease, and notably the death of relatives and 
 dear friends are fruitful sources of mourning, and to the 
 humble disciple of Christ may be potent ministers of 
 blessing ; but experience shows how frequently they merely 
 furnish occasions for murmuring and complaining against 
 divine Providence, if thoughts of God are admitted at all ; 
 and how often mourning, in souls that decline to recognize 
 its ministry in God's government of the world, is an occa- 
 sion for multiplying evils instead of deriving blessings 
 through the comfort of the Holy Ghost. The primary con- 
 dition of inheriting the blessing which Christ pronounces 
 upon those who mourn is to mourn for sin and flee to Him 
 for refuge from its misery. Then there is consolation for 
 every ill that mav befall us in our pilgrimage to the 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 39 
 
 Heavenly" Cit}^ where ills are known no more. "Godliness 
 is profitable unto all things, liavin*'- promise of the life 
 that now is and of that wliich is to come." 1 Tim. 4, 8. 
 
 The monrners whom our Lord has in view are mani- 
 festly those who mourn after a j^odly sort. They are the 
 hearers of God's Word who feel the burden of their sin 
 and seek deliverance from its condemnation in the Savior, 
 who invites them to come to Him that they may find rest 
 unto their souls. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon 
 me," says the prophet, "because the Lord hath appointed 
 me to preach liood tidings unto the meek; He hath sent 
 me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to 
 the captives and the opening- of the prison to them that 
 are bound; to proclaim the acceptable ,year of the Lord 
 and the day of vengeance of- our God; to comfort all that 
 mourn ; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give 
 unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they 
 miglit be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the 
 Lord, that He might be glorified." Isa. 61, 1-3. That is 
 the kind of mourning contemplated in this beatitude, to 
 which the promise of comfort was given in the olden times. 
 That promise was fulfilled in the King of Zion who has 
 come to redeem His people. St. Paul explains the nature 
 of this mourning when he tells us that "godly sorrow 
 worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but 
 the sorrow of the world worketh death." 2 Cor. 7, 10. 
 
 Those who thus mourn shall be comforted. There is ' 
 a balm for every wound, but it is found only in the king- 
 dom of heaven, where the great Physician reigns and ex- 
 erts His healing po\\er, and which only they can enter 
 who repent and believe the Gospel. All the ills of life, ' 
 which fill the earth with incessant mourning, are the 
 result of sin, which has brought disorder and death into 
 the world; and from this sin and its fatal consequence 
 the Son of God came to save us. But the salvation is 
 
40 THE SERMON ON THK MOUNT. 
 
 oni3' in Him, and the comfort wJiieli He promises is the 
 comfort wliicli He provides and He alone can give. The 
 woe and wailing did not cease on earth when the Savior 
 came, and has not ceased since the proclamation of salva- 
 tion is made in all the earth ; for the greatest portion of 
 our raci still sit in darkness and in sin, and the kingdom 
 of heaven, into which the saved have been gathered, has 
 not yet passed into that glory which shall be revealed 
 when its earthly mission shall be completed. The 
 full realization of its blessedness still lies in the future 
 and is the object of the Christian's hope. But the peni- 
 tent believer lays hold of the promise, and has the patience 
 of liope while he pursues his journey in the company of 
 his gracious and miglity Lord through tribulations into 
 the happy land that lies beyond tlie wilderness of this 
 world. He has the great comfort of salvation in Christ, 
 and in this he is comforted in all the suffering that he 
 must endure by the way which leads to its complete frui- 
 tion. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 
 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto hev that 
 her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is par- 
 doned." Isa. 40, 1-2. With this comfort in our hearts 
 we cajQ rejoice in the Lord notwithstanding the pain tlmt 
 may still be our portion before our goal is reached. ''For 
 which cause we faint not; but though our outward man 
 perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 
 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, vrork- 
 eth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but 
 at the things which are not seen; for the things which are 
 seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are 
 eternal." 2 Cor. 4, 16-18. "Blessed be God, even the 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies 
 and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our 
 tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 41 
 
 are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves 
 are comforted of God." 2 Cor. 1, 3-4. 
 
 III. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit 
 the earth." The promise is to the penitent souls that they 
 shall overcome the world and all shall be theirs. 
 
 1. The word meek signifies lowly and humble, the 
 opposite of self-conceited and haughty. When one thinks 
 modestly of himself, suffers wrongs without resentment, 
 and claims no merit and no honors for himself, we call 
 him meek. He is gentle and forbearing, and thus forms 
 a striking contrast to the proud and self-asserting person 
 who is insulted at any suggestion of faults and feels hurt 
 when others are honored above him. The character is 
 illustrated in the publican who, when he went up into 
 the temple to pray, "standing afar off, w'ould not so 
 much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his 
 breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner;" while 
 the proud Pharisee, who illustrates the opposite qual- 
 ity, "stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank 
 Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, 
 adulterers, or even as this publican." Luke 18, 9-14. To 
 obtain the blessings of Christ's kingdom the Pharisaic 
 self-conceit and pride of fancied virtues and achieve- 
 ments must be abandoned, and the sinner must be led to 
 recognize his poverty and nakedness and helplessness. 
 The poor in spirit and they that mourn their sin are 
 blessed, not the self-conceited and the self-complacent. 
 Our Lord in another place says: "Take my yoke upon 
 you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; 
 and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matt. 11, 29. 
 And St. Paul teaches the same lesson when He says: 
 "Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory, but in 
 lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than them- 
 selves. Look not every man on his own things, but 
 every man also on the things of others. Let this mind 
 
42 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in 
 the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with 
 God, but made Himself of no reputation and took upon 
 Him the form of a servant, and w^as made in the likeness 
 of men, and being found in fashion as a man He humbled 
 Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross." Phil. 2, 3-8. The hope of humanity is in 
 that cross through M^liich Christ redeemed us, that as 
 His redeemed people we might humbly follow in His 
 footsteps and by faith live under Him forever in His 
 kingdom. 
 
 The natural heart is not meek and lowly, and there- 
 fore is not in accord with the heavenly call to repentance 
 and faith in him who died for us. Only the grace of 
 Him who calls us and with the call furnishes the power 
 to heed and obey it, can qualify us to receive His bles- 
 sing. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity 
 of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted 
 Word, which is able to save your souls." James 1, 21. 
 The proud heart, which always thinks of itself more 
 highly than it ought to think, must be humbled before it 
 can realize the blessedness of the Savior's promise. 
 Hence the apostle writes: "I beseech you therefore, 
 brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
 bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, 
 which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed 
 to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of 
 your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and ac- 
 ceptable and perfect will of God." Rom. 12, 1. 2. To 
 inherit the blessings of Christ man must renounce his 
 natural pride and fond conceit of himself. The grace of 
 God, which confers all blessings upon men, first renders 
 the soul meek, then multiplies blessings upon those who 
 receive with meekness the engrafted Word. Under the 
 power of that Word we become nothing in our own eyes, 
 that we may become something to the praise of Him who 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 43 
 
 hath given us a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead. "To this man will I look," saith 
 the Lord, "even to him that is poor and of a contrite 
 spirit and trenibleth at my Word." Isa. 66, 2. Not those 
 who flatter themselves that all is well with them and 
 that they have no need of a Savior, are the blessed, but 
 those who hearken to the heavenly call which offers 
 help in Christ to the distressed. "For yet a little while 
 and the wicked shall not be; but the meek shall inherit 
 the earth and delinht themselves in the abundance of 
 peace." Ps. 37, 10.11. 
 
 2. The promise made to the meek is tliat they shall 
 inherit the earth and be blessed in such inheritance. 
 The promise to the poor in spirit is the kingdom of 
 heaven; the promise to those that mourn is the conso- 
 lation of Israel founded on the coming of that kingdom: 
 is the blessing of this third beatitude something dif- I 
 ferent? \ 
 
 At a mere cursory glance the words would seem to \ 
 indicate that it is some temporal good, some treasure 
 that belongs to this world, that is in store for the meek. 
 That would not be wholly false, inasmuch as we know 
 that godliness has the promise of this life and the life to 
 come. But the interpretation would unquestionably be 
 false which made earthly goods the only thing promised, 
 or even the main thing. "This is a faithful saying, and 
 worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into 
 the world to save sinners." 1 Tim. 1, 15. "For God sent 
 not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but 
 that the world through Him might be saved." John 3, 
 17. The provision made in Christ was for man's salva- 
 tion from sin and death, and does not contemplate as an 
 end the bestowal of temporal blessings on some and of 
 eternal blessings on others. Its purpose is the eternal 
 salvation of all. "The gift of God is eternal life through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6, 23. Earthly gifts are 
 
44 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 bestowed by the same infinite love which moved God to 
 send His Son into the world to save that which was lost; 
 but their value lies in their relation to the kingdom of 
 God, and is rightly estimated only when they are viewed 
 as tributary to its eternal purpose. Otherwise all earthly 
 possessions are fleeting shadows, and all hopes of finding 
 in them the happiness which the soul craves are vanity. 
 "Labor not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom. 
 Wilt thou set thine eyes on that which is not? for 
 riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away, 
 as an eagle toward heaven." Prov. 23, 4. 5. Earthly 
 goods have their place in the economy of divine good- 
 ness and mercy as minor manifestations of the same love 
 which is magnified iu the mission of the Savior and the 
 application by the Holy Spirit of His merits to men for 
 their salvation through faith. In Christ we have all; 
 without Him we have nothing, though for a little while 
 we have all the reputed riches and glory of the world. 
 "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or 
 Cephas, or the world, or life or death, or things present 
 or things to come, all are yours; and ye are Christ's 
 and Christ is God's." 1 Cor. 3, 21-23. Christians are 
 the people who are truly rich, though they may be among 
 those whom the world calls poor. Our Father in heaven 
 is absolute owner of all that exists, and believers in 
 Christ are the heirs of all His immense wealth. "The 
 Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we 
 are the children of God; and if children, then heirs — 
 heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." Rom. 8, 16. 17. 
 These children can well be content that their Heavenly 
 Father administers these treasures for their benefit ac- 
 cording to His infinite wisdom and love, though they 
 pursue their pilgrimage to their heavenly hx)me "as hav- 
 ing nothing, and yet possessing all things." Of these 
 temporal goods God gives us for our present use what 
 we need on our journey. Our daily bread is secured to 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 45 
 
 US by His promise; how much of our inheritance it is 
 well to commit to our hands in this life for administra- 
 tion in our stewardship, He knows best, and His chil- 
 dren are happy that He wisely disposes all according to 
 His good and gracious will. "Godliness with content- 
 ment is great gain." 1 Tim. 6, tJ. 
 
 It often looks, as man views it with his limited / 
 vision, as if the ungodly fared better in this world than / 
 those who, according to the divine promise, inherit the 
 earth while they are heirs of heaven. Riches and honors 
 and pleasures are the portion of many who live without 
 God and without hope in the world, and many a Chris- 
 tian stumbles at what seems glaringly inconsistent with 
 our Lord's promise to the meek. But the word of prom- i 
 ise is sure, and Christians who are thus offended give way 
 to the weakness of the flesh instead of being strong in 
 the Lord. "For evil doers shall be cut off; but those 
 that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." 
 Ps. 37, 9. The Lord does not say that the wicked shall 
 have no earthly goods. He deals bountifully even with 
 those who reject Him, and gives rain and sunshine and 
 harvest to them also. Knowing no other, they seek 
 temporal treasures, and they do not always fail to find 
 them. Sometimes their success, as the world counts suc- 
 cess, is wonderful. God knows best how to bestow His 
 gifts for the accomplishment of His purpose, which is 
 always wise and good. But taking the entire life, with 
 its little term of time and its endless reacli of eternity, 
 into account, the projects of the ungodly are always 
 failures. Greed of gain is sometimes gratified, but the 
 pearl is lost in the dirt that is gathered, while in the 
 gracious providence of God the whole earth is made 
 tributary to the salvation of the elect. Therefore Chsris- 
 tians, who have learned to put their trust in God, not in 
 their own wisdom and skill and strength, are admon- 
 ished : "Having food and raiment let us be therewith con- 
 
46 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 tent. But they that will be rich fall into temptation 
 and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, 
 which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the 
 love of money is the root of all evil, which while some 
 coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced 
 themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O 
 man of God, flee these things, and follow after right- 
 eousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 1 
 Tim. 6, 8-10. They that inherit the earth are in their 
 meekness heartily willing that their Father in heaven 
 should manage the vast estate and apportion to each of 
 His numerous children such a measure of the property 
 as seems good in His sight and is most conducive to their 
 eternal welfare. Those who want more, distrust God's 
 wisdom and love, and hence covetousness is declared to 
 be idolatry. Col. 3, 5. The meek who inherit the earth 
 cannot forget that "the earth is the Lord's and the ful- 
 ness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein." 
 Ps. 24, 1. 
 
 There are some people who, looking merely on the 
 surface of things, allege that this minimizes the bless- 
 ing promised to the meek. They conclude that in this 
 view the righteous have no advantage over the ungodly 
 as regards the heritage in question, since all alike have 
 the use of earthly things under the dispensations of 
 God's providence. But this erring thought comes only 
 from a lack of insight into the ways of God and the pur- 
 pose and blessedness of His kingdom. In the mercy of 
 the Maker of all, the ungodly, while He permits them to 
 live in a land that is not theirs, but belongs to God and 
 His children, are preserved and supplied with the neces- 
 saries of life, and thus apparently enjoy the same bene- 
 fits as the meek and lowly who are said to inherit the 
 earth. The rich man had his good things on earth, while 
 Lazarus lay hungry at his door. But the rich man was 
 not an heir of our Father's wealth and had no treasures 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 47 
 
 laid up in heaven; he died, and lost everything, and was 
 tormented. The world as it lieth in wickedness, with all 
 its seeming- prosperity and pleasure, lacks everything 
 that could satisfy the soul and make it happy. It does 
 not even see and enjoy the glory of God as the creation 
 displays it, much less can it realize the blessedness which 
 grace imparts in our Savior's kingdom. "The god of this 
 world has blinded the eyes of them which believe not." 
 2 Cor. 4, 4. However rich the wicked may be in external 
 possessions, they have no capacity for the enjoyment of 
 God's gifts and for the benefits which He would confer 
 by His bounty. Whatever earthly treasures they may 
 accumulate, "there is no peace, saith the Lord, to the 
 wicked." Isa. 48, 22. Satan, the lying god of this 
 world, promises much to those who do him homage, but 
 the earth does not belong to him and to those who own 
 him as their lord, and they have only their slavery and 
 their misery in compensation for their service to the 
 usurping tyrant. The earth belongs to the Maker and 
 Monarch of all, who executes His eternal purpose in the 
 government of this world, and whose will is ultimately 
 done, notwithstanding the mystery that He lets the 
 devil go about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may 
 devour. The earth is still the Lord's and He still reigns, 
 fulfilling all His promises and making "all things work 
 together for good to them that love Him, to them who 
 are the called according to His purpose." Kom. 8, 28. 
 Satan shall in due time be cast out and committed to his 
 own place of eternal doom, and the Lord will give His 
 disciples the undisputed and undisturbed enjoyment of 
 their everlasting inheritance. The earth, too, shall have 
 its place in the blessedness of the children of God. The 
 wickedness that is in it shall cease to cramp and harass 
 the heirs. "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for 
 the first heaven and the first earth w^ere passed away, 
 and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy 
 
48 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of 
 heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
 And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying. Behold 
 the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell 
 with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away 
 all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more 
 death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be 
 any more pain, for the former things are passed away." 
 Rev. 21, 1-4. The children of God pass through tribula- 
 tions into the full fruition of their inheritance; but their 
 gracious Lord is always with them on their journey to 
 supply every want and minister every needed comfort, 
 and they never cease to rejoice in the hope of glory. 
 "We, according to His promise, look for a new heaven 
 and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 
 Pet. 3, 13. 
 
 IV. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness, for they shall be filled." The sub- 
 jects of Christ's kingdom desire to live righteously before 
 God, and they are blessed in the realization of their de- 
 sire. 
 
 1. Hunger and thirst express a craving that is com- 
 mon to man, and whose nature all can readily under- 
 stand. But it is not the natural craving for bodily meat 
 and drink to which the words here refer. There is 
 something else that man needs besides bread for his 
 body. He thinks of this most, because his ever recurring 
 appetite reminds him daily of the needs of his nature. 
 But he has a soul that also has wants and requires at- 
 tention, if he would not lead a mere animal life. These 
 spiritual wants are of more importance than the corpo- 
 real, because they pertain to a higher life, and a more 
 lasting good, but they do not present themselves in the 
 definite form which belongs to the craving for bodily 
 nourishment. This clamors for immediate gratification. 
 Therefore the hunger and thirst after righteousness ia 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 49 
 
 uot found ill all men alike, and not all, tlion<»b the lack 
 of such righteousness is common to all and is the cause 
 of the universal unr(^st in the world, receive the promise 
 that they shall be tilled. Men must become weary and 
 heavy laden in the consciousness of their sin before they 
 will come to the Savior and find rest unto their souls. 
 
 According to the Scriptures death, w^hich is the 
 wages of sin, has come upon all men, for that all have 
 sinned. In that condition of spiritual death they all 
 lack the righteousness with which the}' were originally 
 endowed and in which they were happy. Now all feel 
 that something is lacking and their souls are not at rest, 
 although in their spiritual blindness they seek to satisfy 
 the craving with things that are not adapted to the 
 want. That which really does meet the want is not ac- 
 cording to their taste, and therefore the bread that 
 cometli down from heaven and which would supply what 
 is needed, is rejected. When the psalmist says, Ps. 42, 
 1 : "As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so pant- 
 eth my soul after Thee, O God," he expresses the happy 
 condition of a soul that has felt the loss of the divine 
 image with its righteousness and true holiness, and has 
 been led to know and love Him in whom the loss is re- 
 trieved and every want is supplied; and Christ would 
 by His Holy Spirit lead all men to a realization of their 
 lost condition and draw them to Him as their mighty 
 Savior. The entrance of His Word giveth light respect- 
 ing our deepest want and the supi)ly furnislied by infinite 
 love and mercy in tlie Lamb of God tliat taketh away the 
 sin of the world. The reader must not overlook the 
 precious fact tliat it is Christ Avho is s])eaking the mes- 
 sage of heaven to the pe()])le in His sermon on tlie mount, 
 and tliat the words which He speaks are spirit and life, 
 making possible by their converting power the appre- 
 hension of the blessing promised. Xot every one shall in- 
 herit it, but only those who by His grace hunger and 
 4 
 
50 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 thirst after the righteousness which He alone has to 
 give. 
 
 That righteousness is essential for admission into 
 the kingdom of heaven. It ia tlie condition of mind and 
 the quality of conduct which conforms to the will of God 
 and accordingly to the law in which that will is revealed. 
 This God requires of all men, "Abhor that which is evil, 
 cleave to that which is good." Eom. 12, 4. Of course 
 the rule for such righteousness cannot be the desires and 
 thoughts of our own hearts or of the world ai'ound us. 
 Since sin and death have entered the Avorld by man's 
 transgression and fall, "the heart is deceitful above all 
 things and desperately wicked," Jer. 17, 9, and "the 
 whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5, 19. Hence 
 we need the rule of right which God has given us in His 
 Word. Rigliteousness is obedience, inward and outward, 
 to I,Iis holy law. "Sin is the transgression of the law;" 
 "all unrighteousness is sin." 1 John 3, 4; 5, 17. "It 
 ;',]iall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these 
 commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath 
 commanded us." Deut. 6, 25. After this our Lord would 
 have us hunger and thirst, that we may be filled. 
 
 Seemingly all is thus said that is necessary for a 
 correct apprehension of the righteousness to be sought. 
 But because man naturally makes a distinction between 
 right and wrong, notwithstanding that he is sold under 
 sin, and thus conceives a natural righteousness which 
 falls far short of the spiritual righteousness which God's 
 will requires and which His law contemplates; because 
 the principal Jewish teachers were noted for a strict ob- 
 servance and enforcement of the letter of the law, while 
 they were repeatedly rebuked for their disregard and 
 their transgression of its spirit and meaning; and be- 
 cause our Lord Himself, later on -in His sermon, warns 
 His hearers, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the 
 righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ve shall in no 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 51 
 
 cas€^ enter iuto the kingdom of heaven," — it is manifest 
 that the word means more than the doing right as man 
 conceives the right, whatever may be his inner attitude 
 towards God and the godliness which His law demands. 
 Let it be kept in mind that Christ proclaims the kingdom 
 of heaven and preaches the great salvation which it 
 embodies and which it brings to our fallen and forlorn 
 race. That to this end He preaches the law is a matter 
 of course; for "the law was our schoolmaster to bring 
 us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." 
 Gal. 3, 24. But this purpose could be attained only by 
 teaching the spiritual import of the law, because only 
 thus could sinners be brought to a consciousness of their 
 unrighteousness and of their helplessness, and be induced 
 to hear His voice calling them to the righteousness which 
 He offers them as the Savior of the world. The hearers 
 of the sermon were not yet prepared for a complete un- 
 folding of the Gospel and its gracious way of salvation 
 through faith in the righteousness which He acquired 
 for them and for all men by His own obedience unto 
 death, even the death of the cross; but under the tuition 
 of the schoolmaster thej^ were not led to another Gospel 
 than that of the righteousness of God by faith which 
 alone could avail for their eternal salvation. The right- 
 eousness meant by our Savior is that which is the fulfil- i 
 ment of the divine law in all its holy import, and that : 
 fulfilment was realized in His life and death, who was j 
 delivered for our offences and raised again for our justifi- ' 
 cation. j 
 
 2. The promise to those who hunger and thirst after 
 such righteousness is that they shall be filled. They shall 
 have what they long for: their craving shall be satisfied. 
 A superficial view observes nothing great in such a 
 promise as this; it may even seem trivial to many who 
 can see nothing great in righteousness and are aware of 
 no connection between it and the soul's eternal happi- 
 
52 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ness. But it is a marvelous promise, and it offers an un- 
 speakable blessing. The greatest need of the soul is dis- 
 closed, and the greatest gift of God to supply it is guar- 
 anteed. By the light Avhich the Lord gives them men 
 see their true condition. They feel so utterly empty of 
 all the good that should be in them, and in the very feel- 
 ing of emptiness they have, the prophecy of being filled 
 with all the fulness of God. Under the tuition of the 
 Lord's words they realize their want, and hunger and 
 thirst after the righteousness which they lack, and by 
 the grace of Him who came to save us they that seek 
 shall find. It is wondrous goodness and mercy that gives 
 poor souls, who have deserved nothing but banishment 
 from God's presence forever, the promise of being filled 
 with that heavenly blessing of righteousness after which 
 they have been led to hunger and thirst. To this end 
 Christ came into the world, that He might bear witness 
 of the truth — the truth first concerning our sinful state 
 and our utter inability to escape the wages of sin, and 
 the truth concerning Himself and the great salvation 
 which He has wrought for the whole lost world. Only 
 hearken to His words when He speaks, and power shall 
 come from on high to supply what these words require 
 as well as what they promise. He makes clearer the dis- 
 tinction between right and wrong and makes known to 
 us a better righteousness than that of the law; He lays 
 bare to our eyes the wickedness and deceitfulness of our 
 own hearts; He reveals the will of God to rescue sin- 
 ners, by the redemption which He came to effect through 
 His blood, from the curse that is upon them ; He gives us 
 His Spirit that we might believe and appropriate the 
 blessing which He requires and imparts. Hence the 
 apostle's prayer is "that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
 by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 
 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
 breadth and length and depth and height, and to know 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 53 
 
 the love of Christ whicli passeth knowledge, that ye 
 might be filled with all the fullness of God." Eph. 3, 
 17-19. 
 
 Our gracious Savior would lead us to a knowledge of 
 our lost estate, that we might seek refuge in Him who 
 alone can save us from the gulf of destruction that is 
 yawning before us. He preaches the perpetuity and 
 severity of the law, for by this is the knowledge of sin; 
 but He preaches this, not to the end that we may despair 
 of all righteousness, or accept the lying conceit suggested 
 by Satan that the filthy rags of our own righteousness 
 will satisfy all the demands made upon us. He does not 
 delude us with prospects of blessedness when His own 
 law threatens damnation. His purpose is to help us and 
 save us from the wrath to come, and therefore calls upon 
 all to come to Him in whom there is help — in whom alone 
 there is help. He desires to awaken a sense of our sin, 
 tlmt we may hunger after a righteousness which we do not 
 possess, which we have not the power to acquire, but which 
 is indispensable if we would escape the damnation which 
 the righteous law proclaims against transgressors. And 
 those wlio are thus brought to hunger after the right- 
 eousness which He has acquired and His Gospel graciously 
 offers, shall be filled. Despairing of any righteousness of 
 tbeir own they look to the hills whence their help com- 
 eth. They are the penitent sinners whom the Holy Spirit 
 leads to Christ as their Savior, and who find in Him all 
 til at they are hungering for. "The Lord is nigh unto them 
 til at are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be 
 of a contrite spirit." Ps. 34, 18. And when they have 
 thus been brought to embrace the great salvation in the 
 Divine Redeemer and by faith are clothed in His righteous- 
 ness, the Holy S])irit, wlio lias purified their hearts by the 
 faith which He has wrought, shows the way of holiness 
 and moves them freely to walk in it. "This is the covenant 
 that T will make with them after those days, saith the 
 
54 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Lord: I will put My laws in their hearts and in their 
 minds will I write them." Heb. 10, 16. Thus the pur- 
 pose of the law is accomplished at the same time as the de- 
 liverance from its curse and its bondage through the 
 Gospel. And thus believers in Jesus have a better right- 
 eousness than that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, be- 
 cause in Christ they have justification through His aton- 
 ing blood and are endowed "with power from on high to 
 live righteously and godly in this present world. For He 
 "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all 
 iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zeal- 
 ous of good works." Tit. 2, 14. 
 
 V. "Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain 
 mercy." 
 
 The four beatitudes thus far considered all imply, 
 that the hearers who appropriate the promise are intro- 
 duced into the kingdom of Christ. His grace transfers 
 them from the realm of sin and death to that of life and 
 salvation. Never for a moment does the Sermon on the 
 Mount lose sight of the fundamental truth which our 
 Lord expressed in the words: "Verily, verily I say unto 
 thee, except a man be born again he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God." John 3, 3. To be poor in spirit, to mourn 
 over our sin and helplessness, to meekly recognize that 
 without Christ we are nothing and can do nothing, and to 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness, is not in the power 
 of our fallen nature. It implies that power has come to 
 us from above and made all things new, so that we be- 
 come children of God, "giving thanks unto the Father, 
 which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from 
 the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the 
 'kingdom of His dear Son : in whom we iVave redemption 
 through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Col. 1, 
 12-14. This the Scriptures variously call regeneration, 
 conversion, repentance. Without this, which means that 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 55 
 
 the soul has turned away from the slavery of sin under 
 the dominion of Satan to the service of righteousness 
 under the grace of our Kedeemer, there is no admission 
 into His kingdom, which is a congregation of believers. 
 Those who tliink of the sermon on the mount as a mere 
 preaching of the law, excluding all the gracious influences 
 of the Gospel and appealing only to the natural powers of 
 men and their reverence for righteousness under the con- 
 trol of conscience, have missed the whole design of Christ's 
 mission and work. He came to establish a kingdom of 
 grace and salvation through the shedding of His blood 
 for the sins of the people, and to this His teaching as well 
 as all His other work was tributary, so that when He ex- 
 pounded the law it was not with the thought, that the 
 souls in their sin still possessed powers of love and holiness 
 which had hitherto lain dormant, and need only be aroused 
 in order to fulfill all righteousness and render them pleas- 
 ing to God. That might make Pharisees, but could not 
 make Christians. He preached the law that men might 
 come to a knowledge of their sin and come to Him for 
 deliverance from its curse. But the purpose of the Lord 
 is not fully accomplished when sinners have believed in 
 Him and entered His kingdom. Now that they have re- 
 ceived power from on high they still need instruction how 
 to walk and please God. The work of grace still goes on, 
 and the fruit-bearing in holiness attests its presence and 
 its progress. The promises of blessing are continued and 
 are applied to the good fruits borne as well as to the good 
 tree planted. 
 
 1. The merciful are pronounced blessed. Mercy is 
 love in its relation to the suffering and the helpless. He 
 is merciful who does not oppress others because he has 
 the power; who does not insist on the strict enforcement 
 of legal right wlien compassion would prevent cruelty; 
 who seeks to save the erring from the evil consequences of 
 their error, instead of inflicting penalty to the utmost limit 
 
56 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 of the law; who feels kindly to the suffering, even though 
 the suffering is manifestly due to their own fault; and 
 who otters relief to the full extent of his ability, even 
 though this involve a personal sacrifice. God is merciful. 
 Instead of consigning a sinful world to the righteous doom 
 of everlasting destruction, He sent His Son to save it; 
 instead of condemning us to the perpetual gnawing of an 
 evil conscience when He has convicted us of sin, He offers 
 pardon and peace through His Holy Spirit by the Gos- 
 pel of Christ ; instead of visiting on us all the evils in this 
 life Viiiich would result from our wrongdoing, He over- 
 rules all for the eternal good of them that hearken to His 
 Word. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His 
 benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth 
 all thy diseases ; who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; 
 who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender 
 mercies." Ps. 103, 2-4. And this grateful recognition of 
 God's mercy works mercy in the believing heart. "Be ye 
 therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Luke 
 6, 36. This is possible when the heart that has hungered 
 and thirsted after righteousness has been filled, "We love 
 Him because He first loved us," and "have known and 
 believed the love which God hath to us." "If a man say, 
 I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he 
 that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he 
 love God whom he hath not seen?" 1 John 4, 19. 20. The 
 grace of God can render even the naturally cruel heart 
 merciful, and under its heavenly influence all who become 
 children of God by faith in Christ Jesus have their 
 Father's image renewed in them, and thus become merci- 
 ful as their Father is merciful. Not as though all attained 
 it in the same degree or any were already perfect ; but all 
 have the gift of the Spirit, who is sanctifying them. Un- 
 der His tuition and blessing the children of God grow in 
 grace and in the knowledge of Jesus, having their con- 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 57 
 
 versatioii in heaven and keeping daily company with their 
 merciful Father. . 
 
 2. To these the promise is given that they shall ob- j 
 tain nlerc3^ In view of the fact that the mercy of God I 
 extends over all His creatures and that even the wicked in/ 
 this life do not receive their daily judgment according to| 
 their deserts, many think the promise of little value. BuH 
 it is great and precious, although unbelieving hearts ar4 
 unable to appreciate it. That we live under the constant 
 mercy of our beneficent Father in heaven, who lovingH 
 cares for us and never ceases to bestow His bounties upon' 
 us as His own dear children, until His grace has brought i 
 us into the mansions of bliss prepared for us as our ever- \ 
 lasting home, and that He does this while we not only , 
 merit no good thing, but deserve punishment for daily \ 
 shortcomings and transgressions, — this is a greater bless- \ 
 ing than man's darkened understanding can realize. "He 1 
 that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for 
 us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all 
 things?" Kom. 8, 32. 
 
 The promise is given to them that are merciful. Our 
 mercy is indeed not the ground on which the mercy of God ! 
 is secured to us. That thought reverses the divine order, 1 
 and makes absurd the expectation which it excites in the 
 proud heart. God's mercy always precedes ours, and j \ 
 must precede it to make ours possible. He is merciful to 
 us, and blesses us, giving us the ability, which is not ours 
 by nature, to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merci- 
 ful. Those who trust in His mercy, by which their lives are 
 crowned witli blessing, never think of claiiiiiug merit for 
 the mercy w^hich they are enabled to exercise towards their 
 fellowmen. "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? 
 Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou 
 didst not receive it?" 1 Cor. 4, 7. But the fact remains that 
 the merciful have the promise that they shall o])tain mercy, 
 
58 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 and this fact must not be disregarded. God shows us 
 mercy, else we would not have been redeemed by the 
 Savior's vicarious obedience unto death, even the death of 
 the cross, and would never have believed in Him and come 
 to Him that we might have life. And it is only because 
 of His mercy that we, after we have been brought into His 
 kingdom and made heirs of heaven, are gTaciously pre- 
 served in faith and receive daily pardon of our sins, in- 
 cluding the manifold imperfections in our works of mercy. 
 If that mercy did not endure forever, there would be no 
 promise given that we shall obtain mercy during our 
 whole pilgrimage on earth and shall enter into the joys 
 of our Lord when the trial and struggle is over. The be- 
 liever shall obtain mercy in the end, as he received it in 
 the beginning to become a merciful child of our merciful 
 Father. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all 
 the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the 
 Lord forever." Ps. 23, 6. We can merit nothing for all 
 the good that God hath wrought in us, and the more we 
 realize His blessings the less can we dream of merit before 
 Him. But if men reject the mercies of God, and refuse all 
 divine grace that would enable them to appreciate these 
 mercies and render their hearts merciful after His like- 
 ness, their damnation is just. Rejecting all offers of mercy 
 while they lived, they could not be recipients of that mercy 
 after death, when the world shall be judged in righteous- 
 ness. The promise of mercy is to the merciful, whose 
 Father in heaven is merciful. Even in the administration 
 of His government here on earth, though we see but dimly 
 the ways along which He leads His children to the eternal 
 glory, the merciful obtain mercy. "Blessed is He that 
 considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of 
 trouble." Ps. 41, 2. But in the final settlement of all 
 accounts it will become fully manifest that the merciful 
 are blessed, for they shall obtain mercy. 
 
 VI. "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 59 
 
 see God." Those who come to Jesus and hearken to His \ 
 gracious Word become new creatures, and theirs shall be 
 the beatific vision of God in His glory. 
 
 1. When the Savior speaks of some as pure in heart, 
 the whole situation sliows that the words do not mean to , 
 represent a portion of mankind as naturally pure, nor that 
 the effect of His preaching is to give willing hearers abso- 
 lute freedom from all stains of sin and render their hearts 
 at once perfectly holy. That would contradict what the 
 Holy Spirit says througli St. John : "If we say that we have 
 no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 
 1 John 1, 8. The true disciple of Christ is one who hears 
 and believes His W^ord, and the truth makes him free from 
 the condemnation he deserves. The Savior is made to 
 him sanctification as well as redemption. "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 
 another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth 
 us from all sin." 1 John 1, 6. 7. Thus a pure people is i 
 gathered in Christ as a holy congregation through faith in , 
 His name. Wherever the Gospel is preached, among Jews 
 and Gentiles alike, the power of God unto salvation is ex- . 
 erted to work faith and cleanse the heart. Hence hea- \ 
 thens were converted and healed by divine grace as well 
 as those who were in the covenant by circumcision. "God, 
 which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them 
 the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us, and put no dif- 
 ference between us and them, purifying their hearts by 
 faith." Acts 15, 8-9. Only in the kingdom of God is the 
 power of divine grace exerted by which sinners are made 
 pure in heart, and only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 
 can that kingdom be entered. Our Savior preached the ' 
 Gospel unto salvation as well as expounded the law unto 
 the knowledge of sin, and those who hear Him and keep 
 His Word are His disciples indeed. None but believers in 
 
60 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 the Savior of the world can be pure in heart and inherit 
 the promise that thej shall see God. 
 
 But as the sanctification of believing hearts is a pro- 
 cess that continues until the journey of life through this 
 wilderness of sin is completed, and the redeemed soul 
 awakes in God's likeness and is satisfied, the purity of 
 heart, which all believers have in its incipiency and po- 
 tency, has its degrees and its gradual growth. Perfect 
 purity is the aim and goal of all who are sincere in their 
 devotion to the Savior, and they continue steadily to 
 strive after it as they follow in His steps, without flatter- 
 ing themselves that they have attained His spotless holi- 
 ness or cloaking the sin which manifests their shortcom- 
 ing. All are blessed in the possession of salvation by 
 faith through His grace, but their goal of perfection in 
 holiness is not reached as long as their work on earth is 
 not yet finished and their good fight of faith is not yet 
 completed. The will of God is their sanctification, and 
 as they desire to do His will, that is the object of their 
 daily effort and the import of their daily prayer. Led by 
 the Holy Spirit they do not permit the carnal thought to 
 dampen their zeal, that they have done enough and suf- 
 fered enough to be exempt from further evil and conflict, 
 and that they may now cease from their labors, although 
 the evening has not yet come and the Lord has not yet 
 called them to rest. "He that endureth to the end shall 
 be saved," Matt. 10, 22. "Be thou faithful unto death, 
 and I will give thee a crown of life," Rev. 2, 10. If we 
 would attain to higher blessing in this life and stead- 
 fastly pursue the glory of that which is to come, we must 
 not grow weary of the struggle against the world and the 
 flesh and the devil. "Ye have not so learned Christ, if 
 so be that ye have heard Him and have been taught by 
 Him as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning 
 the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt 
 according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 61 
 
 spirit of your iiiiud; and that ye put on the new man, 
 which after God is created in righteousness and true holi- 
 ness," Eph. 4, 22-24. "If ye then be risen with Clirist, 
 seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth 
 on the right hand of (Jod. Set your affections not on 
 things of the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid 
 with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall 
 appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory," Col. 
 3, 1-4. "He that lacketh these tilings is blind, and can- 
 not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged 
 from his old sins. ^Mierefore the rather, brethren, give 
 diligence to make your calling and election sure," 2 Pet. 
 1, 9-10. 
 
 These admonitions show us what "pure in heart" 
 means. It is the heart that by faith has put on Christ, 
 and in His power renounces the lusts of the flesh and the 
 hidden things of dishonesty and is fixed upon God and 
 His Word, withcmt duplicity and dissimulation. Such a 
 heart is by grace rendered simple in its trust in God and 
 sincere in its dealings with man. "Mortify, therefore, 
 your members which are upon the earth, fornication, un- 
 cleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and 
 covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things' sake 
 the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience," 
 Col. 3, 5. 6. The pure in heart can have no pleasure in 
 the filth of sin. Nor can the^^ find delight in misleading 
 or injuring or offending their neighbors. "The end of the 
 commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a 
 good conscience and of faith unfeigned, from which some 
 having swerved have turned aside to vain jangling." 
 1 Tim. 5, 6. "If ye have bitter envying and strife in your 
 hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wis- 
 dom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, 
 devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is con- 
 fusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from 
 above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be 
 
62 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without par- 
 tiality, and without hj^pocrisy," Jas. 3, 14-17. The purity 
 that Christ desires in His disciples and that His Spirit 
 works in the hearts of them that believe, is not that which 
 earthly wisdom may conceive and practice as an external 
 accomplishment which wins admiration and keeps cere- 
 monially clean, but that which comes from above and 
 renders everything that is .contaminated with sin an 
 abomination in Christian eyes, as it is in the sight of 
 God, who is of purer eyes than to behold evil and can not 
 look upon iniquity. Having daily communion with God, 
 the Holy One, and striving to be more like Him as the 
 beauty of holiness becomes daily more precious, the grate- 
 ful child of God gives earnest heed to the admonition, 
 "Keep thyself pure," 1 Tim. 5, 22. 
 
 2. The promise to the pure in heart is that they 
 shall see God. At first glance this might seem inconsis- 
 tent with some passages of Scripture indicating the im- 
 possibility of such a vision. He is a Spirit and therefore 
 in His nature invisible. Thus it is said: "No man hath 
 seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is 
 in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him," John 
 1, 18. And again St. Paul says of Him : "Who only hath 
 immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can 
 approach unto, whom no man hath seen or can see; to 
 whom be honor and power everlasting," 1 Tim. 6, 16. As 
 God is a Spiritual Being it is perfectly natural that He 
 should be represented as invisible to the natural eye. But 
 the words quoted themselves show that the blessing which 
 our Lord pronounces upon the pure in heart is not in 
 conflict, but in perfect harmony with them. Man cannot 
 with His bodily eye see the Maker and Monarch of all; 
 but the Son hath declared Him, so that what is impos- 
 sible by nature becomes actual through supernatural rev- 
 elation. Christ says: "He that hath seen me hath seen 
 the Father," John 14, 9. For He is God over all, blessed 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 63 
 
 for ever, and He and tlie Father are one. Therefore He 
 says: "This is the will of Him that sent me, that every 
 one which s;^eth the Son and believeth on Him may have 
 everlasting life," John G, 40. The revelation given en- 
 ables us to see God in His incarnate Son, "And this is 
 life eternal that they might know Tliee, tlie only true 
 God, and pJesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." The bless- 
 ing pronounced upon the i)ure in heart, whose eyes are 
 purged that they may behold in Christ their God and 
 their Redeemer, is the everlasting life which believers 
 cJijoy here and in its fulness hereafter. 
 
 Seeing God is knowing Him as the Gospel has re- 
 vealed and faith has received Him. In proportion as our 
 hearts are progressively purified by faith in that Gospel 
 of grace our capacity for seeing God and realizing the 
 promised blessedness increases. Our Lord say : "If any 
 num will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself," John 
 7, 17. Only those whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit 
 of God can know Him and the precious truth which He 
 declares. "The natural man receiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; 
 neither can he know them, because they are spiritually 
 discerned," 1 Cor. 2, 14. "Except a man be born again 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God," in wliich He is re- 
 vealed and His heavenly treasures are dispensed. Hav- 
 ing entered that kingdom, the path of the loyal subjects 
 of the King becomes ever plainer. "Unto the upright 
 there ariseth light in the darkness," Ps. 112, 4. And 
 this increases in brightness as we apply tlie grjice given 
 us, according to the exhortation : "Grow in grace and in 
 the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," 2 
 Pet. 3, 18. Believers thus experience what is written, 
 "The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth 
 more and more unto the perfect day," Prov. 4, 18. 
 
 In that perfect day, when the mists of this world 
 
64 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 shall liave cleared away, the pure in heart shall realize 
 more fully the promised vision of God. "For now we see 
 through a glass darkly, but then shall I know even as 
 also I am known," 1 Cor. 13, 12. We know God now as 
 our reconciled Father, who is ever present with us to 
 direct our way, to supply our wants, to defend us against 
 foes, and to comfort us in our tribulation, but it is in 
 faith and hope, "as seeing- Him who is invisible," Heb. 
 11, 27. Whatever raptures of bliss may be exceptionally 
 granted to consecrated hearts, in visions of Jesus and 
 the glory of angels around His throne, even while pur- 
 suing their pilgrimage on earth, there is no indication 
 that these are the blessing which our Savior had in view 
 when He promised that the pure in heart should see God, 
 or that such ecstasies are designed for all believers in this 
 earthly life, where we must fight the good fight of faith 
 and be content to pass through much tribulation into the 
 kingdom of glory. But when our pilgrimage is ended and 
 we by our Savior's ^race have kept the faith, we shall 
 see Him face to face and enjoy the beautiful vision for- 
 ever. The seeing shall be intuitive and direct as when a 
 man looks upon the face of his brother, and we shall 
 know Him with that unerring completeness with wiiich 
 He knows us. We know Him now, and are blessed in the 
 knowledge; but we shall know Him more perfectly and 
 more blissfully w^hen we shall aw^ake in His likeness at 
 the resurrection of our bodies, glorified to see His glor- 
 ious face. The complete realization of the blessedness 
 promised to the pure in heart is therefore yet in store for 
 us in our Father's house, and is an object of hope to 
 cheer us on our journey. "Beloved, now are we the sons 
 of God, and it doth not yet appear wdiat w-e shall be; but 
 we know that w^hen He shall appear we shall be like Him ; 
 for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath 
 this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure," 
 1 John 3, 2 . 3. 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 65 
 
 VII. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall 
 be called the children of God." Making peace on earth 
 becomes the children of God, and they who fulfill this 
 mission receive their Father's blessing. \ 
 
 1. Amid the jarring and jangling, tlie strife and 
 confusion wliich sin has brought into the world, Christ 
 speaks words of peace and by His grace renders His dis- 
 ciples peacemakers in the community. Righteousness 
 originally united all things in a harmonious whole, in 
 which the good will of God was done by all His creatures. 
 But this was of sliort duration. The creature that was 
 formed in God's own image sinned, and dissolution and 
 ruin was the result. Disregarding the will of his Maker, 
 by which alone harmony and happiness coukl exist, every 
 man consulted his own will and chose his own course. 
 Thus every one was for himself and all in contention with 
 each other, because each one had a will of his own and 
 lived unto himself. It was this that made necessary the 
 coming of the Prince of Peace to rescue the ruined world 
 from the curse that was upon it, that in the possession 
 of salvation by faith in Him peace might be restored. This 
 is what the apostle means when he says: "The love of 
 Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one 
 died for all, then all were dead; and tliat He died for all, 
 that they should not henceforth live unto themselves, but 
 unto Him which died for them and rose again," 2 Cor. 
 5, 14 . 15. In man's natural condition there is no peace 
 and there are no peacemakers. In this as in all the other 
 beatitudes the Lord does not find certain persons who are 
 qualified by nature to receive the blessings of His king- 
 dom, but He gives His quickening Word to men in their 
 lost estate and thereby turns to Him the hearts of such 
 as hear it and are willing to heed it. 
 
 By peacemakers is therefore not meant a class of men 
 who naturally are of a more conciliatory disposition than 
 others and who accordingly are by inborn endowments 
 
66 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 better fitted for the kingdom of God. There are no such 
 people. All are born in sin, and the works of the flesh 
 are the same in all. There are indeed some whom love 
 of ease makes averse to strife and who would rather make 
 concessions to the selfishness of their neighbors than have 
 their quiet disturbed by contending against wrongs; and 
 there are some who, seeing the advantage of living peace- 
 ably among their fellow men,_ by efforts of their will curb 
 the outbreaks of their petulant and contentious passions 
 and thus impress others as men of peace. But that is a 
 prudent discipline exercised b}^ reason over selfishness 
 in order to gratify it in another form that seems more 
 profitable. It is well for the community that not all have 
 the pugnacious temperament which is ready for a fight 
 on any trivial provocation, though reason would dictate 
 forbearance in the interest of self. They are not men of 
 peace, and even when they exert their influence to have 
 a quiet neighborhood, they are not the self-denying peace- 
 makers contemplated in the Savior's blessing. He means 
 people to whom the kingdom of heaven has come and to 
 whom He has brought the peace of heaven, according to 
 the words of inspiration : "Being justified by faith we 
 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," 
 and our Lord's own words : "Peace I leave with you, 
 my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give 
 I unto you," Rom. 5, 1 ; John 14, 27. He stills the storms^ 
 which sin has aroused in the world, stills tliem first in 
 our own hearts, that we may become peacemakers to 
 others. "Now the Lord of peace give you peace always 
 by all means," 2 Thess. 3, 16. The first song that was 
 sung at our Savior's birth was that of the angelic host, 
 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace," Luke 
 2, 14. This implies that His disciples shall find rest for 
 their souls in Him. Then those who realize the peace 
 which He gives are led by the Spirit to bring His peace to 
 all within their reach, and of course to live in peace with 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 67 
 
 all about them. "If it be possible, as much as lieth in 
 jou, live peaceably with all men," Rom. 12, 18. It lies 
 ill the renewed nature of believers that they strive to 
 impart to others the heavenly blessings which the grace 
 of God has bestowed upon them, that all the world may 
 enjoy what the Savior secured for all. They are thus 
 the peacemakers, their faith working by love, that there 
 may be peace on earth through the good tidings which 
 shall be to all people. 
 
 2. The blessing pronounced upon these is that they 
 shall be called the children of God. It is a glorious gift, 
 but it can be realized only through faith in the Only Be- 
 gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. "As many 
 as received Him, to them gave He power to become the 
 sons of God, even to them that believe in His name," John 
 1, 12. Not our endeavors to find peace by abounding in 
 good works to appease our conscience, nor our labors to 
 preserve or bring about peace among our quarrelsome 
 neighbors can make us children of God. That would be 
 reversing the order of divine grace, which renders us 
 children of God through the washing of regeneration and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. Having received the Spirit 
 of adoption and by its power possessing peace and seek- 
 ing peace with all men, we shall manifest that we are 
 children of God and be recognized and honored as such. 
 
 Were it not that so many nominal Christians have 
 but a low appreciation of the great blessing and high 
 prerogative expressed by the term children of God, we 
 would not deem it necessary, when addressing professed 
 disciples of Christ, to emphasize the remark, that He does 
 not use the appellation in the wide sense in which it is 
 often taken and in which it embraces all the children of 
 men, unbelievers as well as believers. Because all men 
 are creatures of God, as their Maker He is in a figurative 
 sense called their Father. But our Lord distinguishes 
 those who are His from those who reject Him. Not all 
 
68 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 are children of God, but only those who receive Him and 
 believe on His name. Not all are promised the blessing 
 of being called children of God, but only those who are 
 peacemakers. Sonship with God is a glorious gift which 
 can be ours only through the Savior. "Ye are all the 
 children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," Gal. 3, 26. The 
 idea of a fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, em- 
 bracing the whole human race as having a common origin 
 in the one Creator of heaven and earth, so that all have 
 equal access to God and are equally acceptable to Him 
 on the basis of such natural relation, is foreign to the 
 Scriptures and pernicious in its influence. The Gospel 
 knows nothing of a coming to the Father without the 
 mediation of Christ and the atonement made through His 
 blood, and of an adoption into the family of God, with 
 all the grace and glory which this involves, without faith 
 in the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the 
 world. Jesus says: "I am the way and the truth and 
 the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me," 
 John 14, 6. It is a fatal delusion when on the basis of 
 nature and natural relations and efforts the hope is en- 
 tertained and the promises are claimed which God gives 
 His children. By nature all are children of wrath, and 
 without Christ we can do nothing, and have therefore 
 nothing to expect but the indignation and wrath which is 
 revealed against every soul of man that doeth evil. That 
 the x>eacemakers shall be called the children of God is 
 owing to their relationship by faith to the Savior. None 
 but those who receive Him are endowed with the precious 
 gift. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
 are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit 
 of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit 
 of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.. The Spirit 
 itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the 
 children of God ; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God 
 and joint heirs with Christ," Rom. 8, 14-17. He is the 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 69 
 
 Only Begotten of the Father, the Eternal Son by nature, 
 and only in Him, who is Heir of all things, do we by 
 adoption become partakers of His blessing. By faith in 
 Him, and only by faith which joins us to Him, is God 
 truly our Father and are we His children indeed. The 
 promised blessing is great and glorious, and becomes in- 
 creasingly so as we more and more realize its heavenly 
 import. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath 
 bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of 
 God ; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew 
 Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it 
 doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, 
 when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall 
 see Him as He is," 1 John 3, 1 . 2. 
 
 Christians, being blessed with such privileges and ! 
 enjoying such hopes, should be diligent to exercise their 
 gifts and adorn the doctrine which they profess by mani- 
 festing themselves as peacemakers in the community. 
 With the peace of God in their hearts and the commission 
 to bring it to the hearts of others by the Gospel, it is meet 
 that they should lead a quiet and peaceable life in all god- 
 liness. "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, 
 but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than 
 themselves." Phil. 2, 3. In their intercourse with breth- 
 ren in the church this will lead them to avoid all ques- 
 tions and conduct that engender strife; and in their social 
 relations it will protect them against the sins of the tongue 
 that are so frequent and that do so much toward foment- 
 ing ill-feeling and distressing contentions among neigh- 
 bors. Children of God must not engage in gossip that 
 tends to tarnish the good name of honorable members of 
 the community, and the least that they can do in charity, 
 when others assail their reputation, is to speak well of 
 the absent and defend them against injurious reports. In 
 all things their calling is to be peacemakers, that as such 
 they may inherit the promised blessing. 
 
70 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 VIII. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake, for theirs is the l^;ingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute 
 you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, 
 for My sake. Kejoice and be exceeding glad ; for great is 
 your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the proph- 
 ets, which were before you." 
 
 1. That to the good qualities required of the mem- 
 bers of Christ's kingdom and the rich blessings promised 
 them should finally be added a prospect of persecutions 
 and a benediction upon their patient endurance, must not 
 surprise us. Our journey to the promised land is not com- 
 pleted, and our warfare against the foes that beset our 
 path is not ended, when the grace of our Savior has 
 brought us into His kingdom and made us partakers of 
 its righteousness and its great salvation. "He that en- 
 dureth to the end shall be saved." Matt. 10, 22. But 
 before the end comes there is work to be done and a war- 
 fare to be waged. We are called to be laborers in His 
 vineyard, we are enlisted as soldiers in His army. The 
 world hates the sincere followers of the Savior as it hated 
 Him ; the devil is a strong and wily foe, who is ever going 
 about seeking whom he may devour. Our own flesh is in 
 secret league with the devil and the world, and naturally 
 shuns hard work and hot battles. Therefore constant vigi- 
 lance and prayer are necessary, if in the end we would 
 say with St. Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have 
 finished my course, I have kept the faith ; henceforth there 
 is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." 2 Tim. 4, 7. 8. 
 In passing through the enemy's country, which this world 
 that lieth in wickedness undoubtedly is, we must expect 
 hardships and tribulations; for the spirit of Christians 
 and the spirit of the world are never in agreement. "Be^ 
 loved, think it not strange concerning .the fiery trial which 
 is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto 
 you ; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's 
 
THE BEATITUDES. 71 
 
 sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may 
 be glad also with exceeding joy." 1 Pet. 4, 12. 13. That 
 is one of the hardest lessons that our Lord's disciples have 
 to learn. Nothing is more natural than that the devil and 
 the world and the flesh should hate the children of God 
 and ham])er and harass them in their work and their pro- 
 gress heavenward, and that they should assault and per- 
 secute them, but nothing is more natural either than that 
 the flesh should shrink from the fiery trial. The conflict 
 is inevitable; but we are Avarned that only they who are 
 faithful unto death can obtain the crown of life. "If the 
 world hate you," saith our Lord, "ye know that it hated 
 Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world 
 would love its own ; but because ye are not of the world, 
 but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
 world hatetli you. Eemember the word that I said unto 
 you. The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they 
 have persecuted ]\[e, they will also persecute you; if they 
 have kept INIy saying, they will keep yours also. But all 
 these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, 
 because they know not Him that sent Me." John 15, 18-21. 
 In its very essence Christianity is not congenial to the 
 world that lieth in wickedness; therefore it lies in the 
 nature of things that the followers of Christ must pass 
 through tribulations into the kingdom of glory in heaven. 
 Christians who will not learn this simple lesson, but seek 
 to live a life of self-indulgent ease and luxury while pro- 
 fessing to follow Christ, can hardly be said to have passed 
 from death unto life and made their calling and election 
 sure. "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man 
 will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
 cross and follow Me." i\Iatt. 16, 24. 
 
 2. But those who suffer persecution for the Lord's 
 sake are blessed. What seems a loss is really a gain to 
 them. "Kejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your 
 reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets 
 
72 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 that were before you." The great salvation which Christ 
 secured for all, and which He imparts to believers through 
 His life-giving Word, enriches them beyond all that the 
 world can give or take away, and the sufferings through 
 which they must pass are amply compensated by the pleas- 
 ures which shall be theirs forevermore at His right hand. 
 Nay, these sufferings themselves become blessings under 
 God's gracious guidance by directing our thoughts away 
 from the miseries and vanities of earth to the joys and 
 realities of heaven. For we are "heirs of God and joint- 
 heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that 
 we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the 
 sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com- 
 pared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Kom. 
 8, 17. 18. Therefore Christians, when they are called to 
 bear the cross after their beloved Lord, painful as this 
 may be for the moment, are blessed ; for they are in their 
 blessed Savior's company, who makes all things work 
 together for good to them that love Him. "In the world 
 ye shall have tribulations," He tells us, "but be of good 
 cheer : I have overcome the world." John 16, 33. A little 
 while and all the discomforts of the wilderness will be 
 past, and the complete realization of the blessings await- 
 ing His people in the promised land shall be ours. "Being 
 justified by faith we have peace with God through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith 
 into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of 
 the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribu- 
 lations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 
 and patience, experience, and experience, hope; and hope 
 maketh not ashamed." Rom. 5, 1-4. 
 
SECTION ni. 
 
 The High Calling:. 
 
 (Matthew 5, 13-16). 
 
 J^ HE hearers who did not stubbornly resist and event- 
 %A^ nallv reject the j^racious words of life which Christ 
 presented, but in faith accepted the promises f^ven 
 in the Beatitudes, entered His kingdom. In this they re- 
 ceived a calling and a mission which raised them high 
 above all that the earth could give. They are inducted 
 into a kingdom which is not of this world and whose pur- 
 poses and powers lie in a liigher sphere than any which 
 this world knows. But it is a kingdom which, though it 
 is of eternal duration and deals with things that are of 
 everlasting import, is established upon this earth, and 
 whose heavenly influence is designed to permeate and re- 
 generate this world which lieth in wickedness and rescue 
 it from the death to which its sin has doomed it. Every 
 one who enters this kingdom receives the vocation and is 
 endowed with power from on high to be a co-worker with 
 God to promote its gracious purpose as he enjoys its hea- 
 venly blessings in the hope of glory. Not only the preach- 
 ers of the Gospel, who receive a special calling to the pub- 
 lic duties of the ministerial office, but every child of God 
 is enlisted for the work. "Ye are a chosen generation, a 
 royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye 
 should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you 
 out of darkness into His marvelous light, which in time 
 past were not a people, but are now the people of God, 
 which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained 
 mercy." 1 Pet. 2, 9. 10. In the kingdom of God there are 
 manifold duties to be performed and manifold gifts im- 
 
 73 
 
74 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 parted for their performance, and the Lord assigns to each 
 member his place and station, that the best possible use 
 may be made of all the gifts for the common benefit. 
 "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And 
 there are differences of administration, but the same Lord, 
 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
 God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of 
 the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." 1 Cor. 
 12, 4-7. There are, therefore, special callings to which 
 special corresponding duties are committed. But all have 
 the general calling to serve the Lord and His kingdom, 
 each in the place assigned him. "For as we have many 
 members in one body, and all members have not the same 
 office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every 
 one members one of another." Kom. 12, 4.5. This general 
 vocation of the members our Lord expresses under the 
 figure of salt and light. 
 
 1. "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt 
 have lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted? it is 
 thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to 
 be trodden under foot of men." 
 
 Salt is an article so widely known and used that its 
 employment as a figure is easily understood, although 
 figurative modes of speech always cause more or less dif- 
 ficulty which words used in their strict sense do not 
 present. The purpose of salt is to prevent decay and to 
 impart savor and taste. It is a preservative and a relish. 
 Applied to food it prevents putrefaction, and renders 
 agreeable to the palate what would otherwise be insipid. 
 "Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt?" 
 Hence it was ordered to be used in sacrifices. "Every ob- 
 lation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt, 
 neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy 
 God to be lacking from thy meat oi^ering: with all thine 
 offerings thou shalt offer salt." Lev. 2, 13. It was a 
 symbol of purity. The offering should not be putrid or 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 75 
 
 unseasoned. Therefore our Lord commands His dis- 
 ciples: "Have salt in yourselves and have peace one with 
 another." Mark 9, 50. And St. Paul says: "Let your 
 speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye 
 may know how to answer every man." Col. 4, 6. 
 
 The members of Christ's kingdom are called not only 
 to have salt and faithfully to use it, but to be the salt 
 of the earth. They themselves are designed to be a puri- 
 fying element in the mass of corruption which mankind 
 has become through the malignant work of Satan. Sin 
 has brought death into the world, with all the decay and 
 dissolution which this implies. The Son of God was 
 made Hesh and dwelt among us that He might deliver 
 the fallen world from the rottenness which has come 
 upon it and the utter ruin which must result if the work 
 of sin and death is not arrested. He came to save that 
 which was lost, offering Himself as a sacrifice for the 
 sins of the world, and introducing a new life as the sec- 
 ond Adam in whom all men may again obtain what was 
 lost when the first Adam sinned and death ensued. Thus 
 death was swallowed up in victory and a peculiar people 
 was gathered, whose hearts were purified by faith and 
 who should be a salt for the purification of others. When 
 the sermon on the mount was preached He had indeed 
 not yet effected the atonement upon the cross; but in 
 the counsels of God the work of redemption was finished, 
 and therefore the Scriptures speak of the "book of life 
 of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." 
 Rev. 13, 8. He established His kingdom on earth by His 
 Word, and those who believed the heavenly truth which 
 He preached entered in and were blessed. So it is still. 
 As many as receive Him as He is presented in the Gos- 
 pel of His grace unto salvation, pass from death unto 
 life and share His victory over sin and death. They are 
 the salt of the earth, preserving from putrefaction and 
 seasoning; all that hear His voice and come unto Him. 
 
76 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 They are the salt through whom, by the appointment and 
 blessing of God, salvation should come to all the ends 
 of the earth. 
 
 Such a salt Christian believers are by their teach- 
 ing and their lives. Primarily they are this by the Word 
 which they have received, and which is the power of God 
 unto salvation to all them that believe. By it we have 
 been brought into the kingdom of God ourselves, and by 
 it others, to whom we are commissioned to bring the 
 Gospel, are empowered to enter it and enjoy its heavenly 
 blessings. The fact that, according to our Lord's ordi- 
 nance, preachers of the Gospel are to receive a special 
 call by the Church before they are authorized to per- 
 form the public functions of the ministry and assume the 
 pastoral oflfice, has led some to entertain the opinion that 
 only such as hold this special office are the salt of the 
 earth. There is no reason in the text and the circum- 
 stances, as there is none in the nature of the subject set 
 forth, that would justify such a limitation of the powers 
 and privileges and duties of believers in Christ, who 
 are a peculiar people and a royal priesthood and as such 
 have the calling in common to show forth the praises 
 of Him who has called them to His marvelous light The 
 Gospel is given to every believer, else he could not be a 
 member of Christ's kingdom, and the command is given 
 to every one to make known the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ, that others too may enjoy them. "Whosoever 
 therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess 
 also before my Father which is in heaven; but whoso- 
 ever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny be- 
 fore my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 10, 32. 33. 
 The confession of Christ, to which the Spirit in our hearts 
 as well as the command of the Lord moves His people, 
 means making Him and His saving truth known to all 
 around us; and this is so necessary to the fulfillment of 
 the Christian vocation and to the accomplishment of the 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 77 
 
 design of His kingdom on earth that fidelity to Him is 
 inconceivable without it. "The Word is nigh thee, even in 
 thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith 
 which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy 
 mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart 
 that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be 
 saved. For with the heart man believeth unto right- 
 eousness and with the mouth confession is made unto 
 salvation." Rom. 10, 8-10. It is in pursuance of this 
 high calling as the salt of the earth that not only each 
 individual believer tells others, as opportunity offers, of 
 the great salvation in Christ and the glorious hope of 
 His disciples, but also that members who have the same 
 faith join together in congregations, call ministers for 
 the stated preaching of the Gospel and administration 
 of the Sacraments in public office, worship Him together 
 with the Father and the Holy Spirit in regular public 
 worship, and make all the necessary arrangements for 
 missionary work and the preservation and extension of 
 His kingdom on earth. They are the salt by whose puri- 
 fying and preserving power, exerted through the divinely 
 appointed means of grace, a holy Church is gathered 
 out of the mass of corruption and sanctified as a temple 
 of the Holy Spirit, in which the praises of God are 
 shown forth to all people, and from which the Savior's 
 call goes out unceasingly; "Come unto me, all ye that 
 labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
 
 But also by their life they have the high calling to 
 be the salt of the earth. This is secondary, but not on 
 that account of little importance. It is secondary, be- 
 cause we live by the grace of our Lord, not by the holi- 
 ness of our lives, which is an effect of that grace, and 
 because others are brought to Jesus by the Word and 
 Sacrament which are given us, not by our devices and 
 our efforts. But our lives of devoted service are de- 
 signed to confirm the testimony of our lips, to commend 
 
78 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 it as a precious gift of lieaven for man's everlasting wel- 
 fare, and thus to be an auxiliary in the fulfillment of our 
 mission as the salt of the earth. The Christian life is 
 not strictly a means of grace. But it is that which re- 
 sults when the grace offered in them is appropriated by 
 faith, and which makes the believer active in plying these 
 means, privately and publicly, that the grace may be 
 offered through the means to ever increasing multitudes. 
 The Lord does not say that the grace and truth which 
 saves the soul and which has made the believer the salt 
 of the earth, can be dispensed with when once a body 
 of believers has been gathered. The saved sinner can 
 never be a substitute for the Gospel, however holy his 
 life may become. That alone by which God saved him 
 can be effectual to save others. His zeal may and should 
 bring the Gospel to many who are yet in darkness, but 
 it is God alone that saves, and does this by the Word and 
 Sacraments as the means which He has chosen for the 
 purpose. The life is in Christ, and only from His fulness 
 can any soul receive it. "I am the way and the truth 
 and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me." John 14, 6. And as He alone has this life, so He 
 imparts it only by His Gospel, which is the power of God 
 unto salvation. "The words that I speak unto you, they 
 are spirit and they are life." John C, 63. And St. Peter 
 says: "See that ye love one another with a pure heart 
 fervently, being born again not of corruptible seed, but 
 of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and 
 abideth forever." 1 Pet. 1, 23. Without this living and 
 life-giving Word no man is turned from Satan to God. 
 It is the means chosen by infinite wisdom to do His 
 saving work. Nor does this Word derive its power from 
 the holiness of converted men: it is the- power of God, 
 otherwise there would be no converted men. Neither 
 does it receive any addition of power or increase of effi- 
 nacj because l^e who proclaims it is a believer and thus 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 79 
 
 belongs to the salt of the earth. The power of God is 
 capable of no increase, and it is only the pride of man, 
 which lacks salt, that suggests the vain thought that any 
 human being, lost in sin and saved only by grace, can 
 contribute anything to his own salvation or to the power 
 of the Divine Word by which that salvation is effected. 
 Therefore we should hear the Word of God and trust its 
 saving power even if the ministers declaring it are them- 
 selves not obedient to its heavenlj^ voice. "The scribes 
 and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore what- 
 ever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do 
 ye not after their works; for they say, and do not." 
 Matt. 23, 2. 3. In no case is it the preacher who is the 
 source of the grace and the life. He is simply the bearer 
 of the Word in which is life. 
 
 And yet we would not apprehend the complete mean- 
 ing of our Lord's words if we concluded that Christians 
 are declared to be the salt of the earth only because they 
 are agents of God to make known His purifying and life- 
 giving Gospel. That is indeed the heavenly salt that pre- 
 serves the world from utter putrefaction and otherwise 
 inevitable destruction; and they undoubtedlj' are such 
 beneficent agents of our gracious Savior. Without con- 
 troversy, this is a high and glorious calling. But the 
 grace that has made them this has made them more. They 
 themselves are endowed with the unspeakable treasures 
 in Christ whicli liy the Gospel they are to bear to others 
 for their equal enrichment. By faith they are joined in 
 a vital union with Him who is in the primary and proper 
 sense the salt of the eartli and from wliom all its restor- 
 ing and preserving power ])roceeds. Believers are in Him 
 who is the Savior of the world, and they rejoice in hope 
 of the glory which is His and which ITe sliares with His 
 faithful followers. "I am crucified with Christ; never- 
 theless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the 
 life which T now live in tlio flesh, I live bv the faith of 
 
80 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me," 
 Gal. 2. 20. The company of believers is one body with 
 Him ; "for we are members of His body, of His flesh and of 
 His bones," Eph. 5, 30. Therefore grace and peace is 
 multiplied to the members of His Church, "according as 
 His divine power hath given unto us all things that per- 
 tain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of 
 Him who hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are 
 given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, 
 that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, 
 having escaped the corruption that is in the world 
 through lust," 2 Pet. 1, 3. 4. They are made the salt of 
 the earth by receiving from the fulness of His grace the 
 heavenly and everlasting life which makes them kings 
 and priests unto God and in virtue of which their names 
 are written in heaven. Hence to them, not to the unbe- 
 lieving world, are the means of grace committed for ad- 
 ministration, that through their ministry the world might 
 receive the blessing of spiritual life and eternal salvation. 
 Not that the efficacy of the Gospel and its accompanying 
 sacraments, which are the Lord^s appointed means for 
 the conveyance of this blessing, is in any sense or in any 
 measure conditioned by the godliness of those who are 
 honored with the call to administer them. The Savior 
 gives us assurance of salvation through the promises of 
 the Gospel, and it is an impeachment of both His wisdom 
 and His love to presume that He has put it in the power 
 of ministers to make these promises of none effect by 
 their unbelief. It must never be overlooked that Christ 
 is Himself the source of all spiritual life and salvation, 
 and that the means which He has instituted for the com- 
 munication of His gracious merit and power owe their 
 saving efficacy to Him alone, not to the ministers whom 
 He sends to dispense them. If any of these should prove 
 unfaithful, that would not deprive the divine institution 
 of its validity or render the truth of God false and power- 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 81 
 
 less. The Lord would be faitlifiil still, and of course His 
 Word and Sacrament would still retain their heavenly 
 liotency and accomplish that whereunto He sent them. But 
 these means are by divine ordinance entrusted to Chris- 
 tian believers, and they by the possession of the grace 
 and of the means to communicate it are the salt of the 
 earth. Tlieir life of loving sendee under the direction of 
 the Holy Spirit is a constant rebuke of the corruption 
 that is in the world and a standing appeal to men to 
 coiue to Jesus and embrace the salvation to which they 
 bear testimony by their words and by their lives. No 
 doubt many a community, whose offense is rank and 
 smells to heaven, would perish from the earth if this 
 salt were not present to make its rescue and recovery 
 possible, and if God in His good providence did not pre- 
 serve it for the purjx)se of giving that salt the oppor- 
 tunity to do its work of arresting the rottenness and sav- 
 ing such as may be led to repentance. Indeed, it is ques- 
 tionable whether this world, after Satan had made it hig 
 realm of wickedness, would have continued to exist at 
 all, had not God in His infinite love provided a Savior 
 and a saved people to be the salt of the earth, in order 
 to rescue it from destructicm and eventually to make a 
 new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 
 The disciples of Christ would not be faithful to their 
 Lord if they did not diligently exert the grace given them 
 for His service, and seek to fulfill their high calling as 
 the salt of the eartli by strenuous work in His kingdom. 
 Not only should they embrace all opportunities given 
 them to impart the Gospel truth to their neighbors and 
 associates and to maintain it against gainsayers, but by 
 uniting with the Cbristian congregation and co-operat- 
 ing with brethren of the same faith support the public 
 ministry of the Church and its missions and works of 
 education and mercy. In this all should engage to the 
 extent of their ability, that the knowledge of Christ and 
 
82 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 His unsearchable riches might he spread in all lands and 
 the God of our salvation niiglit be glorilied throughout 
 the eai'th. The redeemed of the Lord must not stand all the 
 day idle, while millions around them are perishing and 
 the Master calls them to work. It is true, the great sal- 
 vation in the Sou of God, who died for our sins and rose 
 again for our justification, is a gift of grace and can not 
 be merited by our labor of love or purchased with our 
 money. But the indolent and self-indulgent, who deport 
 themselves as if the will of God that all tlie world should 
 be saved, did not concern them, sliould see to it that on 
 the judgment day they are not taken at their idle word 
 and pronounced outside of the gracious sphere of that 
 salvation wiiich they foolislijiy declared to be none of 
 their concern. "Take heed what ye hear; with what 
 measure ye mete it shall be measured to you, and unto 
 you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to 
 him shall be given, and he that hath not, from him shall 
 be taken even that which he hath," Mark 4, 24 . 25. The 
 Christian who employs his gifts and does not grow weary 
 in well-doing grows stronger day by day; but he who re- 
 fuses to exercise his gifts, which are bestowed for the 
 common good, will lose them and in the end be lost, not 
 because he did not do enough work to merit salvation, 
 which lies in no man's power, but because he received 
 the grace of God in vain. For if the salt have lost its 
 savor, wherewith shall it be salted? 
 
 And in another respect the Christian should be mind- 
 ful of his high calling as the salt of the earth and make 
 it effective in his life. An ungodly walk reflects shame 
 upon the cause which we profess as followers of Christ; 
 holiness of life, corresponding to the holy calling which 
 we have received as children of God through faith in His 
 name, commends the Savior to our fellow men as worthy 
 of all acceptation. Our good works have no merit by 
 which our own sinful souls could ' be saved, much less 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 83 
 
 <'ould they avail for the salvation of others; but they do 
 call attention to the Gospel with its proclamation of par- 
 don and peace, and to the Church with its cloud of wit- 
 nesses and its means of grace, and many are thus induced 
 to hear the Word of God and then by its power to believe 
 the truth in Jesus and inherit the promises. And when 
 believers engage assiduously in the proper work of the 
 Church, which is the publication of the Gospel and the 
 administration of the Holy Sacraments in all the world, 
 their activity as the salt of the earth in such ministry, 
 publicly through the support of the pastoral ofiice in all 
 its varied functions and privately in their intercourse 
 with their fellow men and especially with their associates 
 in the Church, they will manifest themselves as a salt 
 in the community whose labor will result in arresting 
 corruption and purifjdng the souls with which it is 
 brought into contact. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, 
 be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor 
 is not in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. 15, 58. Thus will the 
 disciples of Christ show "all good fidelity, that they may 
 adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things," 
 Tit. 2, 10. 
 
 The salt, so far as it is the possession of believers, 
 may lose its saltness, that is, while the preserving and 
 seasoning power of divine grace remains the same, the 
 Christian may lose the saltness which the Savior had 
 bestowed. But in Him the saltness remains. Neither 
 He nor the salvation which He effected can ever lose their 
 power. Of His kingdom there shall be no end, and His 
 is an everlasting salvation. But there is a respect in 
 which the salt may lose its savor and become unprofit- 
 able. Though all the saltness comes from Him, without 
 whom we are nothing and can do nothing. He does not 
 directly refer to Himself when He says to His disciples, 
 "Ye are the salt of the earth." He points out the blessed- 
 
84 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ness and the high calling of those who by His grace hav« 
 been rescued from the corruption that is in the world. 
 And to this He adds the warning : "But if the salt have 
 lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thence- 
 forth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden 
 under foot of men." Christians may become heedless ol 
 their gracious endowments and negligent of their high 
 calling, losing their salt by failing to use it for their own 
 seasoning and to impart it to others for their spiritual 
 benefit. They may become careless in the use of the 
 means of grace, and cease to meditate on those glorious 
 things which are spoken of Christ and His kingdom and 
 in the possession of which they once found their chief joy. 
 They may grow indifferent to the heavenly truth of which 
 the Savior bears witness and to the holiness by which 
 believers are called and qualified to adorn the doctrine. 
 They may gradually abandon the application of the salt 
 to their own hearts and lives and, neglecting the beauty 
 and the blessedness of the kingdom of heaven, return to 
 the beggarly elements of the world that lieth in wicked- 
 ness. In short, believers may turn away from their 
 blessed Savior and abandon their holy calling; they may 
 fall from grace and lose their saltness, ceasing thus to be- 
 long to the blessed company who are the salt of the earth. 
 "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," 
 1 Cor. 10, 12. "Watch and pray that ye enter not into 
 temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
 weak," Matt. 26, 41. The salt may become good for noth- 
 ing, and the person who once was purified may return 
 to his wallowing in the mire of sin. It is a perilous doc- 
 trine, which some even have the hardihood to preach in 
 their churches, but which Satan instills into the minds 
 of many who do not hear it publicly proclaimed, that 
 when a person has once become a believer in Christ he 
 can never return to the service of Satan and be eternally 
 lost. Such opinions beget a carnal security that has 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 85 
 
 ruined many who once witnessed a good confession. "If 
 after they have escaped the pollutions of the world 
 through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus 
 Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, 
 the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
 For it had been better for them not to have known the 
 way of righteousness than, after they have known it, to 
 turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
 But it is happened unto them according to the true prov- 
 erb. The dog is turned to his own vomit again and the 
 sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire,'' 2 
 Pet. 2, 20-22. When it becomes manifest that a believer 
 has turned his back upon the Savior and impenitently 
 persists in his sins, the Church, loyally and earnestly in- 
 tent upon preserving its own purity and its testimony to 
 the truth in Jesus, has no alternative but to cast out the 
 apostate as salt that has lost its savor, and could hence- 
 forth be only an element of deception and danger in the 
 congregation. 
 
 II. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is 
 set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a can- 
 dle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and 
 it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let your 
 light so shine before men that they may see your good 
 works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
 
 Upon the gloom which hangs over the earth a glor- 
 ious sun has arisen. "The people that walk in darkness 
 have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of 
 the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." 
 Isa, 9, 2. Sin brought mental and moral night upon the 
 world, in which men grope without a star to guide them 
 in matters pertaining to the eternal welfare of their 
 souls. But the promise of grace and salvation, which 
 God gave immediately on the deadly advent of sin, is 
 fulfilled, and the King bids Zion to be glad. "Arise, 
 shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
 
86 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 arisen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover 
 the earth and gross darkness the people, but the Lord 
 shall rise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon 
 thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and 
 kings to the brightness of thy rising." Isa. 60, 1-3. God 
 has gloriously fullilled His gracious promise, and the 
 darkness is dispelled by the Day spring from on high. 
 When Jesus preached to the people the great light was 
 shining on earth; and when by its brightness disciples 
 were conducted into His kingdom, they too were made 
 shining lights to illumine the world. In the Savior was 
 life, and the life was the light of men. 
 
 Christ is Himself the light of the world, without 
 whom there would be and could be nothing but spiritual 
 darkness. If God had not "so loved the world that He 
 gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," dark- 
 ness would still cover the earth and gross darkness the 
 people. Death would still reign in a world of gloom if 
 the Savior had not come. He is the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness that hath risen with healing in His wings. He is 
 the Dayspring from on high that hath visited us to give 
 light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of 
 death. "I am the light of the world," He tells us; "he 
 that followetli me shall not walk in darkness, but shall 
 have the light of life." John 8, 12. The darkness flees 
 where He appears; the soul is full of light when He en- 
 ters. "As long as I am in the world I am the light of 
 the world," He assures us; and those who believe His as- 
 surance and receive Him by faith as their Savior, see 
 the great light and no longer walk in darkness and 
 travel through the gloom to death. How pitiful that so 
 many turn away from Him when He comes to them, and 
 close their eyes against the light which brightly shines 
 around them and would show them the way of salvation. 
 "Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 87 
 
 you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come 
 upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not 
 whithei- he jj;oeth. While ye have the light, believe in 
 the light, that ye may be children of light." John 12, 
 35. 36. Alas, it was then as it is now. The light was 
 disresiai-ded by the multitude, who would rather sit in 
 the darknesH of their sin than to humble themselves by 
 confessing their iniquitj^ and their helplessness and ac- 
 cepting deliverance by grace alone. "And this is the 
 condemnation that light is come into the world, and men 
 loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
 were evil." John 3, 19. 
 
 Christ is the light of the world, as He is the life. 
 Whatever knowledge of God and spiritual things was in 
 man by his creation after the image of God, was driven 
 out of the soul by the entrance of sin, and there could be 
 no restoration of the happj^ relation which existed be- 
 tween it and its Maker by the exertion of the faculties 
 that sin rendered impotent and helpless. The effect of 
 man's apostas}' from God was darkness and death. He 
 no longer knew the way of happiness in communion with 
 the Father of lights, and he had no s^Diritual life in him 
 to walk in that holy way if any glimmerings of it should 
 come to him. The wages of sin is death. The promised 
 Savior must therefore, if help was to be afforded in 
 man's forlorn condition, bring life to the lost in order to 
 bring light into their darkness. This was accomplished 
 by the Only I^egotten of the Father, full of grace and 
 truth. "In Him Avas life, and the life was the light of 
 men." He is the revelation of the Father's love, who 
 sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, 
 but that the world through Him might be saved. He 
 brings into the world a new spiritual life, which is de- 
 signed to enter the soul by the Holy Spirit's power 
 through faith and take the place of the death which 
 reigns through sin. And that dispels the darkness and 
 
88 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 enables us to see the goodness of our God and the great 
 salvation which His grace has prepared for our ruined 
 race. "For with thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light 
 shall we see light." Ps. 3G, 9. The life came in the in- 
 carnate Son of God, and that brought light into the sin- 
 benighted world. "I am come a light into the world, 
 that whosoever believeth in Me should not abide in dark- 
 ness." John 12, 46. 
 
 That light shines in the world through the Word 
 which is preached, and which is written for our learning 
 by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture. 
 Christ is no longer visibly present on the earth, but His 
 power is still exerted in the words which He spake and 
 still speaks. Through that His life is imparted and His 
 light shines now, as it did when He addressed the multi- 
 tudes nearly two thousand years ago. With His Word 
 He is always present, though we see Him not, according 
 to His promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world." His enlightening work has been go- 
 ing on in the world during all those centuries since He 
 died for our sins and rose again for our justification. 
 "The words which I speak unto you," He says, "they 
 are spirit and they are life." They are so always, and 
 the life has always remained the light of man. In our 
 night of sin we know nothing of God and His thoughts 
 and intents touching our present life and our future 
 destiny. What little our observation and science of na- 
 ture and of the powers and operations of our minds re- 
 veal to us of Him and the plan and purpose of His gov- 
 ernment, leaves us ignorant of our mission here and our 
 condition hereafter. Whence we come and whither we 
 are going or, assuming that some knowledge of a Creator 
 and His eternal power and Godhead has been gathered 
 from the things that are made, what our Maker has 
 placed us here for and what He intends to do with us 
 when death puts an end to our career on earth, we do 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 89 
 
 not know and have no natural means of ascertaining. 
 With all our science and philosophy the earth is dark, 
 and in regard to the most important matters of our life 
 all our learning leaves us in the dark. God alone knows 
 and He alone can tell us what we are and what shall be- 
 come of us. The light must come from heaven, if the 
 darkness of earth is to be dispelled. Even the sin and 
 death that are matters of such constant and sorrowful 
 experience to us all, are but superficially understood, 
 and in the main are raj'steries that we strive in vain to 
 solve and about which our philosophy speculates to lit- 
 tle purpose. And when we are conscious that some- 
 thing is radically wrong with us and we are unhappy, 
 and observe that this unhappiness is the common lot, 
 reason knows no remedy, and all its devices to give us 
 rest from the troubles that are upon us have proved 
 utter failures. All the light that nature gives leaves us 
 in the dark about our sinful souls and their relation to 
 the Judge of all the earth, though we do feel, notwith- 
 standing all the pride of sin, that we are dependent and 
 accountable creatures. We need light in this darkness, 
 and God is good. The light of the world has come. He 
 is the mighty Savior from sin and death, who gives us 
 the light of salvation. "No man hath seen God at any 
 time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of 
 the Father, He hath declared Him." John 1, 18. He 
 makes known to us the will of God and the way of es- 
 cape from sin and death, and at the same time and by 
 the same means introduces spiritual life and light into 
 dead souls and darkened understandings. Therefore the 
 Scriptures speak with so much frequeucj^ and so much 
 emphasis of the grace and truth in Jesus. By His grace 
 we are to know the truth unto salvation, and of that 
 heavenly truth He is the embodiment and witness. To 
 a question of Pilate He answered: "Thou sayest that I 
 am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause 
 
90 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 came I into the world, that I shouUl bear witness unto 
 the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My 
 voice." John 18, 37. His light shines into our hearts 
 when we receive that witness by the Gospel. This is His 
 gracious means of communicating the light of life. 
 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, 
 If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples in- 
 deed, and ye Fhall know the truth, and the truth shall 
 make you free." John 8, 31. 32. The Word of God, 
 which embodies and sets forth the truth unto salvation, 
 brings to men the life and the light which is in Christ 
 alone, and preserves them unto salvation by keeping 
 them in union with the Savior by faith. Hence He prays 
 to the Father: "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy 
 Word is truth." John 17, 17. 
 
 But our Lord speaks not only of Himself, who is the 
 way and the truth and the life, as the light of the world 
 that illumines its darkness. He is the source of that 
 light, but He speaks also of His disciples as witnesses of 
 the saving truth and bearers of the heavenly light. Those 
 who by His grace are brought to believe in Him as their 
 Lord and Savior, are themselves called the light of the 
 world, though they are entirely dependent upon the orig- 
 inal light as it emanates from the Son of God. This is 
 primarily because the same quickening and illuminating 
 Word which He employed is also given them; and this 
 always has in it and exerts the same enlightening power, 
 whoever may be its bearer. "Men and brethren, children 
 of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fear- 
 eth God, to you is the Word of this salvation sent." Acts 
 13, 26. And those who receive it, receive at the same time 
 the commission to spread it abroad for the benefit of 
 others, who shall also be partakers of the life and the 
 light which it conveys. The Word is the Lord's chosen 
 means of accomplishing His will and doing His work, 
 and it always exerts this saving power, whether He 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 91 
 
 speaks it in His own person or through the agency of His 
 disciples. It is the same Word of God, which is quick 
 and powerful, and of course has the same authority 
 and efficacy. Therefore the liglit of the world shines 
 and vivifies wherever the Gospel of our Savior's grace 
 and truth is proclaimed, though the minister who 
 proclaims it be in himself weak and powerless. "As 
 Thou hast sent Me into the world," says the Son of 
 God, "even so have I sent them into the world. And for 
 their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanc- 
 tified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, 
 but for them also who shall believe on Me through their 
 Word." John 17, 18-20. Their Word is the same which the 
 Savior speaks and therefore communicates the same life 
 and light, and works the same saving faith. The Light 
 of the world enlightens believers by His Word, and these 
 again become the light of the world to enlighten others by 
 the same quick and powerful Word. "For this cause also 
 thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received 
 the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as 
 the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of 
 God, which effectually worketh in you that believe." 1 
 Thess. 2, 13. 
 
 Christians thus have the heavenly grace and the high 
 calling to shine as lights in the world. "A city that is set 
 on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and 
 put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth 
 light to all that are in the house." Although the faith 
 which makes us Christians is in its nature as a spiritual 
 treasure of the heart, into which no human eye can see, 
 invisible to men, and although the kingdom of God, which 
 is the company of believers throughout the world, is consti- 
 tuted by the faith Avliich is invisible and therefore in its 
 essence not an object of siglit, yet in the calling which all 
 believers have to show forth the praises of Him who hath 
 called us from darkness to His nuirvelous light, thev be- 
 
92 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 come manifest by letting their light shine. Faith works 
 by love, and therefore, faith without works is dead. Every 
 true Christian believer is a servant of the Lord to do His 
 will, and as this will is principally that men should be 
 saved and God be glorified, which is done by publishing 
 the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, the com- 
 pany of believers is like a city set on a hill which cannot 
 be hidden from the surrouning country. Those who do 
 nothing to make the unsearchable riches of Christ known 
 will soon be themselves impoverished. A living church 
 will show its faith by its works; a church that shows no 
 signs of life in the effort, however feeble and faulty this 
 may be, to fulfill the high calling of Christ's followers, is 
 dead. The light which fails to shine has gone out. Even 
 infidels, though they know nothing of the spiritual treas- 
 ures which true believers possess in their hearts, must 
 recognize the Church in its external manifestation as a 
 presence and a power on earth. By the work which the 
 Lord has given it to do and His blessing upon it, who is 
 Himself present always with His power, it occupies a con- 
 spicuous position in the world, and no one can live in a 
 Christian land or acquaint himself with the world's his- 
 tory without seeing it as a city set on a hill. 
 
 It is not reasonable that a candle should be lighted and 
 then placed under a bushel to conceal it, instead of being 
 put on a candlestick to give light to the house. Christians 
 can oifer no rational excuse for the indolence which dis- 
 graces many an individual and many a congregation that 
 professes adherence to the Redeemer's cause and to be 
 entitled to a place among those whom He honors by say- 
 ing, "Ye are the light of the world." Surely He has not 
 endowed us with heavenly light, and capacitated us to 
 give light to others, for the purpose of bearing the name 
 of disciples, without the deeds which give that name a 
 meaning in the community ; surely He has not called us to 
 make pretences which we do nothing to substantiate and 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 93 
 
 make good. He wants no drones and no hypocrites; and 
 when He calls us as lights, and endues us with power from 
 on high to be what He designates us, His blessing cannot 
 remain upon us if we wantonly bury our gifts and neglect 
 our vocation. When He makes us lights, it is that our 
 light may shine. Refusing to do this is the sure way to 
 sink back into the darkness from which the Light of the 
 world desired to deliver us. 
 
 Therefore the admonition is given us: "Let your 
 light so shine before men that they may see your good 
 Avorks and glorify your Father which is in heaven." In 
 view of human infirmity, even in those who are sincere in 
 their desire to fulfill their heavenly calling, it is a neces- 
 sary admonition. At best ours is a feeble service of the 
 Lord that bought us that we might be His and live under 
 Him in His kingdom, henceforth not living unto our- 
 selves; the Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
 But if we neglect the Holy Spirit's exhortations and mo- 
 tions in our hearts, how shamefully ungrateful and dan- 
 gerously thoughtless our conduct is, must be apparent. 
 If we will not heed the admonition which the loving 
 care of our Lord for the souls which He purchased with 
 His blood has given, the consequences will be our own 
 eternal loss. 
 
 It is perhaps not necessary, in view^ of the oft-repeated 
 inculcation of humility, to mention that the command to, 
 let our light shine before men does not mean that Christ 
 tians should make a public display of their efforts andl 
 achievements for the advancement of Christ's kingdomj 
 and make a boast of their success in accomplishing our' 
 Heavenly Father's will. The lowliness of mind which 
 characterizes the sincerely penitent believer forbids the 
 thought of doing our good Avorks as much as possible in 
 the sight of men and impressing them as good and great 
 on the minds of the people; and the instruction expressly 
 given to shun the ways of the hypocrites, who do their 
 
94 THE SEIIMOX ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 aims before men to be seen of them, who love to pray 
 standing in the synagogues and corners of the streets 
 that they may be seen of men, and who disfigure their 
 faces that they may appear unto men to fast, mal^e it 
 evident that all alleged good works done to attract public 
 attention and solicit people's praise, are not in accordance 
 with our Heavenly Father's will, and all glowing ac- 
 counts of them in public for the purpose of acquiring 
 glory for those who perform" them, is vainglorious vaunt- 
 ^ ing that defeats the divine purpose of our high calling. 
 : There is glory in doing the work which God has assigned 
 ; to us as a manifestation of the Light of the world; but 
 : Christians have ample means of knowing that this glory 
 i belongs to Him "who hath made us meet to be partakers 
 of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath deliv- 
 ered us from the power of darkness and hath translated 
 us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Col. 1, 12. 13. The 
 glory of the good which we do is not ours, and all human 
 activity whose aim is to secure honor before men is by that 
 very purpose vitiated and by its selfishness rendered un- 
 worthy of honor. "Take heed that ye do not your alms 
 before men, to be seen of them, otherv\dse ye have no re- 
 ward of your Father which is in heaven." But this con- 
 flicts not in the least with the command : Let your light 
 shine before men. That is necessary to fulfill the high 
 calling which Christ has given believers on earth. They 
 would not be faithful, if they were not zealous of good 
 works to execute the Master's will; they would not be 
 lights if they did not shine. But it is not their o^ti glory 
 that the Lord teaches them to seek and that the Spirit 
 in their hearts moves them to seek. Our light is to shine 
 before men, so to shine that they may see our good works, 
 our testimony before the world thus being made clear and 
 effective ; but it is that men "may see your g^od works and 
 glorify your Father which is in heaven." Not our glory, 
 who of ourselves are nothing and without Christ can do 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 95 
 
 nothing, but the glory of the Lord, who is all in all, must 
 be our aim, and to this all our efforts must be directed. 
 We have a high calling to fulfill, and must not be idlers. 
 Our light must shine, but not to win human applause. 
 All i)raise belongs to God alone. "Whatsoever ye do, in 
 word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giv- 
 ing thanks to God and the Father by Him." Col. 3, 17. 
 "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 
 
 No doubt our Lord, when He admonishes us to 
 let our light shine before men, has chiefly in mind the 
 Gospel of His grace, by which He lets His light of salva- 
 tion shine in our hearts and by the promulgation of 
 which His disciples shine as the light of the world. The 
 principal good work that we are to do on earth is to 
 bear the good tidings of salvation to all people, and thus 
 rescue from the ruin which sin has wrought as many as 
 may be led to receive the world's Savior. Of the things 
 that men are called to do on earth this is the chief, that 
 they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and confess Him 
 before the world. If this is not done, though riches and 
 honors and pleasures have been multiplied, efforts are 
 put forth in vain, labor has been lost and life is a fail- 
 ure. "Then said they unto Him, What shall we do that 
 Ave might work the works of God? Jesus answered and 
 said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe 
 in Him wiiom He hath sent" John 6, 28. 29. It is un- 
 questionably true that faith is the gift of God and that 
 it is accordingly the work of God in the believer. "Faith 
 Cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." 
 ]^)m. 10, 17. But that is not what our Lord, in answer 
 to the question as to what we shall do to work the works 
 of God, designed to inculcate and impress on our minds. 
 What we shall do is to believe in the Savior sent us, that 
 we may be delivered from the wrath to come. That is 
 our chief work, without which all others would be of 
 no eternal account. "For what is a man profited, if he 
 
96 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul." 
 Matt. 16, 26. Everything is lost if the soul is lost; and 
 believing in Jesus is the only way in which the soul can 
 be saved. That must therefore ever remain the chief 
 thing to be done, without which all emphasizing of other 
 works as supremely important is only a manifestation 
 of human blindness and folly. "Jesus came into Galilee 
 preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God and say- 
 ing, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at 
 hand; repent je and believe the Gospel." Mark 1, 14. 
 15. This was the great commission given to His dis- 
 ciples: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel 
 to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be 
 damned." Mark 16, 15. 16. This is not only the import 
 and purpose of all Christ's preaching, but of all Scrip- 
 ture as well. "These are written that ye might believe 
 that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believ- 
 ing ye might have life through His name." John 20, 31. 
 
 Manifestly the great work which by the power of 
 the Holy Spirit we are to do in the world is to believe in 
 Christ unto the saving of our sinful souls, then let the 
 light which we have received shine for the enlighten- 
 ment of others who sit in the darkness out of which we 
 have been called. The work of God that we are to do is 
 to believe in the Savior and confess Him before men. 
 This is our high calling, and our great work is its fulfil- 
 ment. It is vain to speak of doing the will of the Lord 
 when we neither believe in Christ ourselves nor exert 
 our powers to lead our fellowmen to such faith, through 
 which alone sinners can be saved. Let your light shine 
 before men to their salvation and the Savior's glory. 
 Then you will live to some pui'pose in the world and His 
 blessing will be upon you in time and in- eternity. 
 
 Of course during our sojourn in this world of sin and 
 consequent woe the love by which faith works will find 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 97 
 
 much to do for the alleviation of suffering and ministra- 
 tion of comfort, besides attending to the immediate 
 duties of our temporal vocation, to which, in the order 
 of God's providence, is so intimately related the re- 
 ception of our daily bread. In all these things we should 
 let our light shine before men, that they may see our 
 good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. 
 Sin has brought disorder and suffering that appeal for 
 relief and wrongs that cry to be righted. We meet them 
 everywhere along our path, even if our circumstances be 
 so favorable that we never see the worst. The poor we 
 have always with us and the afflicted and forsaken and 
 helpless are found in every community. Opportunities 
 for the exercise of that mercy which the grace of our Sa- 
 vior creates in believing hearts are never wanting. And 
 Christians are always ready to embrace them. The Lord 
 has made them lights in the world; and if some shine 
 but dimly and some are so negligent in supplying them- 
 selves with oil that their lamps go out and they finally 
 lose their way in the darkness, there is always a goodly 
 number that is zealous in good works and faithfully 
 serve the Maker in ministering to the needy and observ- 
 ing all things whatsoever He has commanded them. 
 The entire history of the Church is a bright record of 
 their deeds of love and their institutions of mercy. They 
 who are themselves believers and thus lights of the 
 world, have the command and the motive to let their 
 light shine also in their works of charity; for "this com- 
 mandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God' 
 love his brother also." 1 John 4, 21. When the gi'ace and 
 truth of the Lord have brought souls into fellowship- 
 with Him and led them to appreciate the great salvation 
 with which He has blessed them, so that they engage 
 cordially in the proper work of His kingdom, which is 
 the saving of the soul, they will not be negligent of the 
 subsidiary work of counteracting and so far as possible 
 
 7 
 
98 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 overcoming the temporal results of sin in suffering h^u- 
 manity by labors of love. In all dii'tections and every 
 sphere of life they will be ready to let their light shine 
 before men, that the good will of God may be done and 
 His name may be praised. 
 
 Headers who are desirous of knowing the mind of 
 Christ and doing His will are not likely to overlook the 
 design of letting our light shine before men. This is of 
 course not to win their applause and to secure the honor 
 for ourselves which belongs to God. "Unto Him who is 
 able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
 think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto 
 Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout 
 all ages, world without end." Eph. 3, 20. 21. The glory 
 of every good work belongs to God only, for He is the 
 fountain of all good, the source of every blessing. "Do 
 not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every 
 perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the 
 Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness nor shad- 
 ow of turning." Jas. 1, 17. Therefore our Lord com- 
 mands us to let our light shine before men with the dis- 
 tinct purpose "that they, seeing our good works, may 
 glorify our Father which is in heaven." There are many 
 works done which the world calls good, but which are 
 far from accomplishing this good purpose. Men become 
 the light of the world only when the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ has brought us into harmony with Himself, 
 so that our will freely conforms to His good will, so that 
 we live in Him and are directed by His will as revealed 
 in His Word. "For I through the law am dead to the 
 law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with 
 Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
 me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the 
 faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself 
 for me." Gal. 2, 20. No work can be good if the doer is 
 not in accord with Him. It is the very essence of sin to 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 99 
 
 put one's self in the place of God and live unto self. To 
 the natural man it will seem unreasonable to say that a 
 work is not good, though it confers a benefit, because it 
 is not done in the Savior's name and does not give the 
 glory to God. It cannot be otherwise, because the nat- 
 ural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. 
 But the Christian believer walks in the light and sees 
 why his good works must be recognized as fruits of his 
 faith, that our Father which is in heaven may have the 
 glory of them. Mere imitations of their fruits, in external 
 acts without the spiritual life which honors God, count 
 for nothing. Such imitations are not only possible, but 
 they are plentiful; and where the chief work of those who 
 are the light of the world is not recognized as that of be- 
 lieving in Christ and laboring by the employment of the 
 means of grace to have others believe in Him, they are 
 likely to abound even among Christians. The reason is 
 not far to seek. We are fallen creatures and sin has 
 blinded us. But we were created in the image of God, 
 and the design of our Creator, that we should live in 
 righteousness and true holiness, remains the same not- 
 withstanding the fall. God still holds us to that creative 
 design; for He has not changed, though we have turned 
 away from Him and lost the most precious endowment 
 of our nature. And in our nature there is still a rem- 
 iniscence of the lost image in the power called conscience, 
 to which the divine law makes its appeal and in virtue of 
 which the divine will is felt to be eternally binding. 
 Thus we are moral beings who feel their moral respon- 
 sibility, but who are not at rest, because the righteous- 
 ness and true holiness, in which and for which we were 
 created, are lacking. We are held to the right, but we 
 have gone wrong. There is no help for us in this moral 
 wreck but in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, the 
 Savior of the world, who bids us come to Him that we 
 may find rest for our souls. Conscience rebukes our sin 
 
100 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 but it cannot change our sinful hearts. That in this for- 
 lorn condition reason should strive to relieve the soul's 
 unrest by endeavors to do the right and the good as it is 
 able to see it in the darkness that is upon us, is natural. 
 Hence come the humanitarian schemes and forces which 
 so abound in the world and hence the multitudinous imi- 
 tations, in external deeds, of the good works which are 
 the fruits of the Spirit. They are efforts of nature to 
 seem good and thus at once to quiet conscience and secure 
 the applause of men. With those who are the light of the 
 world all things have become new. They are God's 
 workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
 which God hath before ordained that we should walk in 
 them." Eph. 2, 10. Only thus can we be the light of the 
 world and obey the mandate: "Let your light so shine 
 before men, that they may see your good works and 
 glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
 
 Our glorying is not good if we boast of our high pre- 
 rogatives as the children of God, but forget our high call- 
 ing and remain at ease in Zion. The kingdom of Christ is 
 waging an unceasing warfare against sin and Satan, with 
 all their soul-destroying deceitfulness and malice, and is 
 engaged in persistent work to overcome the darkness and 
 death which they have brought into the world and are 
 exerting all their energies to perpetuate. The children 
 of the kingdom have the mission to let their light shine 
 into this darkness and to rescue from this death the suf- 
 fering souls for whom Christ died. And He is present 
 with them every day, cheering them on to fight the good 
 fight of faith and to labor while it is day under His 
 mighty leadership, to whom all power is given in heaven 
 and on earth. He has promised them the victory, and 
 they have nothing to fear while He abides with them, 
 which shall be until the end of the world. "For this pur- 
 pose the Son of God was manifested, that He should de- 
 stroy the works of the devil," John 3, 8. They are safe 
 
THE HIGH CALLING. 101 
 
 against His wiles and His power, if they will only trust 
 the Master and go forth in His name to the war and the 
 work. "These things have I spoken unto you," He tells 
 us, "that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye 
 shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have over- 
 come the world," John 10, 33. Shall we be content with 
 a mere nominal membership in His kingdom and hide 
 our light under a bushel, while gross darkness still covers 
 millions and the little flock of our Savior is grieved at 
 our faint-heartedness and lazy self-indulgence? Kemem- 
 ber your high calling and the blessings which its fulfil- 
 ment brings to men, and let the Master's gracious prom- 
 ise encourage you : "Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
 will give thee a crown of life," Rev. 2, 11. 
 
SECTION IV. 
 
 The Better Righteousness* 
 
 (Matthew 5, 17-20). 
 
 ^^^HE sermon on the mount presented to the people, 
 ^L whose only education centered in the Mosaic law, 
 a strange doctrine. Was all that education, con- 
 tinued through centuries, to go for nothing? The long 
 period of preparation for the advent of the promised Mes- 
 siah and the establishment of His kingdom of righteous- 
 ness and salvation, was now reaching its end. The sub- 
 stance had come and the shadows were passing away. The 
 people had heard the voice crying in the wilderness : "Ke- 
 pent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and Jesus 
 went about all Galilee, "teaching in their synagogues and 
 preaching the Gospel of the kingdom." What was spoken 
 by the prophet was fulfilled: "The people which sat in 
 darkness saw a great light, and to them which sat in the 
 region and shadow of death light is sprung up," Matt. 
 4, 16. Some believed, but many were bewildered, and 
 many were enraged against Him who so openly and so 
 sharply rebuked the sins not only of the rabble, but of 
 the very men who were honored as the religious leaders 
 and teachers of the Jewish people. Would this man, so 
 lowly in His bearing but so unsparing in His utterance, 
 who claimed to be the Son of God and the long-expected 
 King who should sit upon David's throne, overthrow all 
 the venerated institutions of Moses and introduce a new 
 religion of which Abraham and Isaac and Jacob knew 
 nothing? Would He establish a kingdom, totally differ- 
 ent from that which was promised to their fathers and 
 which should make Israel great among the nations? They 
 
 102 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 103 
 
 needed instruction concerning these things, and the great 
 Teacher was among them to give them light. 
 
 1. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law 
 and the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to ful- 
 fill, l^or verily I say unto you. Till heaven and earth 
 pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the 
 law till all be fulfilled." 
 
 They should be assured that the Son of God did not 
 come to set aside the promises given through the prophets 
 of old and recorded in the Old Testament, and to abro- 
 gate the thoughts of peace made known to the fathers from 
 the beginning. The Gospel announced in Paradise imme- 
 diately after the fall, and continued with ever increasing 
 clearness by the types and ceremonies and prophecies of 
 the old dispensation, were all designed to prepare the way 
 for the coming of the Savior and the inauguration of His 
 kingdom of grace and peace on earth, and could not be 
 ignored or slighted. The positive declaration is then made 
 that the very purpose of His coming is to fulfill the design 
 of all God's institutions and ordinances and promises, not 
 to destroy them. Finally the assurance is given that the 
 law shall stand while heaven and earth endure. 
 
 It may be helpful to the reader, for the better under- 
 standing of our Lord's statements regarding the law, to 
 remind him of some instruction given on the subject in 
 other places of Holy Scripture. The law is a revelation 
 of God's holiness to man, requiring him to be holy in 
 heart and life as his INIaker and sovereign Lord is holy. 
 The violation of that holy law is sin. This is rebellion 
 against God, and a jjroud and presumptuous assertion 
 of human independence, which is of necessity an abom- 
 ination to God, whom it attempts to dethrone, and brings 
 a curse upon the guilty, whose wicked self-will cannot be 
 permitted to triumph over the Maker and Ruler of the 
 universe. It was not unkind, and least of all was it un- 
 just, to make such righteous demands upon a creature 
 
104 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 that was made in righteousness and designed for hap- 
 piness under the universal reign of righteousness. Man 
 rebelled and became the enemy of God by wicked works, 
 and the Creator's holy government could be maintained 
 only by visiting upon rebellion its inevitable conse- 
 quences. The wages of sin is death. Losing his original 
 holiness and blessedness and lying under condemna- 
 tion in his lost estate, the being so highly endowed 
 and designed for so noble a career, became inca- 
 pable of fulfilling his mission or regaining his high po- 
 sition, and in his helplessness no prospect of relief from 
 his misery appeared. "O wretched man that I am! Who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7, 
 24. The holy will of God of course remained the same 
 when man became unholy and wretched and spiritually 
 impotent. The law, in obedience to which he might have 
 remained holy and happy as God had created him, can- 
 not help him now. It condemns him as a transgressor, 
 the wages of whose sin it declares to be death. In the 
 nature of things it cannot save him, though the foolish 
 thought enters the heart of millions, that if they would 
 only make up their minds to abandon their evil ways 
 and obey the law of holiness by a holy life, all would yet 
 be well and they would be happy again. "Can the Ethio- 
 pian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may 
 ye also do good who are accustomed to do evil," Jer. 13, 
 23. They are dead in sin, and cannot restore themselves 
 to life again and put away their iniquity and the curse 
 which it has brought upon them. The law is good and 
 holy, but it cannot make them good and holy. It con- 
 demns them for their sin, it cannot save from its own 
 condemnation. 
 
 Think not that Christ has come to destroy the law 
 or the prophets. He brings us salvation, but not in the 
 way which self-righteous souls suppose. He assures us, 
 "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Scripture 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 105 
 
 usage leaves no room for doubt that by the words "law 
 or propliets/' the entire economy revealed in the Old 
 Testament is meant. "The law and the prophets were 
 until John; since that time the kingdom of God is 
 preached, and every man presseth into it," Luke 16, 16. 
 All that God had done and made known for man's de- 
 liverance from the bondage of corruption is embraced in 
 the law and the prophets down to the time of the Bap- 
 tist's preaching in the wilderness. In Acts 13, 15, the 
 reading of the law and the prophets as the Scriptures 
 used in the synagogues is mentioned, and in Rom. 3, 21, 
 St. Paul says: "The righteousness of God without the law 
 is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the proph- 
 ets," which evidently means that the entire Scriptures 
 bear such witness. So when our Savior lays down a 
 general rule of moral conduct, He declares this to be 
 the law and the prophets, Matt. 7, 12; and again when 
 He sets forth the fundamental law of love to God and 
 our neighbors and declares that "on these two command- 
 ments hang all the law and the prophets," Matt. 22, 4, 
 it is beyond question that the two words are intended to 
 embrace all that is written for our learning in the books 
 of Holy Scripture. 
 
 This revelation of God's thoughts of peace for the 
 government and salvation of our fallen race Christ came 
 to fulfill, not to destroy. His mission was to execute 
 the plan of God and fulfill all righteousness. This in- 
 cluded all law and prophecy of every description, types 
 and shadows, civil and ceremonial regulations, precepts 
 and promises, as God had given them for the education 
 of His chosen people and their preparation for the Mes- 
 siah's advent. All the express declarations concerning 
 the coming of the Savior and all the prefigurations de- 
 signed to represent and keep alive the promises respect- 
 ing Him and His redeeming work were fulfilled in Him 
 as the chosen One in whom they all centered. As the 
 
106 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 very Christ He could not otherwise than say to His 
 Father : "I have glorified Thee on the earth : I have fin- 
 ished the work which Thou gavest me to do," John 17, 14. 
 But it is the law given by Moses which is here 
 especially had in view. This is apparent from the ex- 
 planations subsequently given. The moral law sum- 
 marized in the decalogue is paramount, but the so-called 
 ceremonial is neither expressly excepted nor is there any 
 ground for regarding it as an exception, unless the diffi- 
 culty which its inclusion presents to some minds should 
 be esteemed a sufficient ground. Fault was found most 
 frequently with our Lord's teaching and conduct in re- 
 gard to the ceremonial ordinances which the Jews so 
 highly prized. Was not the charge against Him true, 
 as far as these were concerned, that He destroyed the 
 law, and could He rightly say that in this respect, as in 
 every other. He came not to destroy, but to fulfill? He 
 undeniably did teach otherwise than the scribes and 
 Pharisees concerning the import and purpose of the 
 Mosaic ritual, and His treatment of their observances 
 was certainly not such as they desired or expected. His 
 doctrine of the divine law as a revelation from God di- 
 rected to the hearts of men and requiring an inward con- 
 formity with His will in righteousness and true holiness, 
 necessarily involved the assignment of the external deed 
 to a subordinate place in the fulfilment; and when this 
 external observance was held to be the fulfilment itself, 
 as it was by the Jewish teachers, Christ could not other- 
 wise, in accordance wdth the divine intent of the law, 
 than condemn the consequent work-righteousness and re- 
 buke the shallow morality that looked only at outward 
 appearances. This He did both in regard to the moral 
 and the ceremonial law, because in both the scribes and 
 Pharisees had emptied the law of its divine ineaning, and 
 by their fundamentally false teaching and practice 
 erected a barrier to the establishment of His kingdom 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 107 
 
 of grace and truth. "The kingdom of God cometh not 
 with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo 
 there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." 
 Luke 17, 20. 21. That which is seen is not the essential 
 thing, though it might have the highest semblance of 
 holiness and elicit the applause of the best of men. It 
 may after all be merely a glittering imitation of works 
 that are done in righteousness, without an inner reality 
 to give it moral substance and truth. "The righteous 
 God trieth the heart and reins." Ps. 7, 9. Men may de- 
 ceive their fellow-men, but they cannot deceive God, 
 who seeth the heart and judgeth righteous judgment. 
 When the Pharisees set up the external act as the meas- 
 ure of righteousness, they deceived themselves as well 
 as those whom they should have taught better. Their 
 error vitiated the moral as well as the ceremonial law. 
 "This people drawetli nigh unto me with their mouth," 
 says our Lord, "and honoreth me with their lips, but their 
 heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, 
 teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." 
 Matt. 15, 8. 9. Never is it anything but the command- 
 ments of men when external works, whether moral pre- 
 cepts or ceremonial ordinances are the subject, are in- 
 culcated as the fulfilment of God's will, which is that we 
 should be good trees of the Lord's planting, which will 
 then bear good fruit for the Lord's glory. In regard to 
 ritual observances this is plainly indicated when the 
 apostle says: "The kingdom of God is not meat and 
 drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost." Rcmi. 14, 17. They are all astray who imagine 
 that keeping the Mosaic ordinances in regard to different 
 kinds of food consists simply in abstaining from the 
 bodily eating of meats pronounced unclean or refraining 
 from forbidden work on sabbath days. But it must not 
 be overlooked that the principle thus laid down applies 
 equally to the requirements of the moral law. They are 
 
108 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 guilty of the same error who imagine that when they 
 have refrained from the outward act of murder or 
 adultery they have fulfilled the commandments which 
 forbid these sins. Our Lord shows that both in regard 
 to the moral and the ceremonial law His adversaries are 
 the destroyers of the law which He came to fulfil. 
 
 We are not endeavoring to push out of sight the 
 manifest difference between the law of righteousness and 
 the ceremonial ordinances, and the bearing which that 
 difference has on the subject under consideration. The 
 difference is recognized and the difficulty which it seems 
 to involve is not ignored. The ceremonial law was a 
 means to an end which was temporal. When that end 
 was attained it had fulfilled its purpose and was- of no 
 further service. In its nature it was temporary; when 
 its work was done it ceased to be obligatory. And while 
 it continued in force, the obligatoriness was based en- 
 tirely on the end to be accomplished, not on the inherent 
 righteousness of the ceremonial observance. The moral 
 law is in its nature of perpetual obligation and value, be- 
 cause it is the revelation of the holiness of God as the rule 
 of life for man made in His image and for His glory. It is 
 therefore eternal, and can never cease to be binding on 
 the creature made to be holy and happy only in the ful- 
 filment of the mission which God gave and His law 
 regulates. The law of meats and sabbaths and purifica- 
 tions and sacrifices could pass away without affecting 
 the soul's relation to God and the life of holiness; the 
 law of love to God and man could not be abrogated 
 without undermining the divine government and destroy- 
 ing all foundations of human righteousness and well- 
 being. Did not our Lord in fact destroy the ceremonial 
 law instead of fulfilling it, and thus give the Pharisees 
 occasion for their bitter accusations against Him, though 
 they utterly failed to find in Him even any appearance of 
 sin against the moral law? So at a superficial glance it 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 109 
 
 might seem. The ceremonial law is no longer in force 
 since the kingdom of God has come. It is a dangerous 
 error to maintain that this kingdom is meat and drink. 
 The delusion that certain acts or omissions constitute a 
 good title to citizenship in that kingdom with all its 
 privileges and blessings, has blighted the eternal pros- 
 pects of many a soul. "Let no man therefore judge you 
 in meat or in drink, or in respect of a holiday, or of the 
 new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow 
 of the things to come, but the body is of Christ." Col. 
 2, 16. The laws in regard to these things have passed 
 away, while the moral law has not. No ambassador of 
 God could be authorized to say. Let no man judge you in 
 respect of lying or stealing, of murder or adultery, be- 
 cause the law still stands that condemns them. In itself 
 it is no sin to eat pork; in itself it is a sin to take the 
 name of the Lord our God in vain. The law of the ten 
 commandments cannot cease to be binding, for it is the 
 legal expression of God's holiness which is eternal; the 
 ceremonial law is no longer in force, because its whole 
 purpose and meaning were fulfilled when Christ came. 
 He came to fulfil the ceremonial as well as the moral 
 law. That the fulfilment did not in both cases take the 
 same form, but in each case corresponded to the nature 
 of the law and the design of the Lawgiver, should be 
 thought a matter of course, not a perplexing disparity, 
 
 That which our Savior rebuked in the Pharisees was 
 not their strictness in the observance of divinely pre- 
 scribed ritual laws, as if that must necessarily be mere 
 formalism. All the laws of God are given to be obeyed, 
 and no man has a right to set any of them aside as use- 
 less. They must be fulfilled, that the will of God may be 
 done. The Pharisaic fault lay in failing to fulfil them, 
 and this with regard to all the divine laws alike. They 
 made mere ceremonial observances of the moral law by 
 regarding the prescribed outward act as the obedience 
 
110 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 required; and the ceremonial laws with their design of 
 foreshadowing the coming and the kingdom of Christ, in 
 whom all the law and the prophets were fulfilled, they 
 did not understand, but supposed their purpose was at- 
 tained when the ceremony was performed, as they did in 
 regard to the deeds of the moral law. That with such 
 a system of work-righteousness in external performances 
 they should delight in multiplying their human or- 
 dinances for outward show of sanctity was natural, and 
 no wonder that they brought the railing accusation 
 against our Lord that He was destroying the law and 
 the prophets when He rebuked their legality and 
 formalism. 
 
 Christ came to fulfil, not to destroy what God had 
 revealed in the olden time and had written in the Old 
 Testament. This was the necessary condition of setting 
 up and maintaining His kingdom on earth. All the will 
 of God, as it had been made known from the beginning 
 must be accomplished, for it all pertained to the great 
 salvation proclaimed in that kingdom. Promises and 
 precepts alike looked to the realization of this divine 
 will, and now, when the promised Savior came, the king- 
 dom of God was at hand and all things were ready for 
 the crowning work of divine mercy to fallen man. "Be- 
 ginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded 
 unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning 
 Himself." Luke 24, 27. All the prophecies that gave 
 hope to the people of the old covenant, foretelling the 
 wonderful birth of the Son of God in this world of sin, 
 His life of obedience for the fulfilment of all righteous- 
 ness, His labors and sufferings and death for the de- 
 liverance of condemned sinners, were fulfilled in every 
 particular. All the religious institutions with their 
 numerous ordinances and extended ritual foreshadowing 
 the coming redemption through the Savior's sacrifice up- 
 on the cross, attained their end in Him. Nothing was 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. Ill 
 
 destroyed, everything was fulfilled. Not even the cere- 
 monial law, which was a shadow that faded away when 
 Christ tlio foreshadowed body appeared, was abrogated 
 as a useless imposition of lifeless forms: it, too, was ful- 
 filled in all the fulness of its divine purpose, and ceased 
 to be of any further seiwice only because that purpose 
 was fully accomplished. The prescribed observances 
 "are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of 
 Christ." Col. 2, 17. 
 
 But it is the moral law whose requirements and ful- 
 filment Christ makes especially prominent in His sermon. 
 ^*Lo I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) 
 to do Thy will, O God." Heb. 10, 7. Christ's obedience 
 to the law was perfect. No sin could be laid to His 
 charge. He "was in all points tempted like as we are, 
 yet without sin." Heb. 4, 15. But the fulfilment required 
 something more than activity in doing the good deeds 
 commanded. Not only is perfect holiness of heart re- 
 quired, which the Pharisees notwithstanding all their 
 boast of the law failed to comprehend, but there are 
 dreadful penalties attached to its transgression, and 
 these, too, must be borne before any fulfilment can be 
 claimed. Looking to these there were sacrifices ordained 
 in the old dispensation. Without the shedding of blood 
 there is no remission of sins, because the wages of sin is 
 death. These sacrifices prefigured the great sacrifice which 
 in the fulness of time was to be offered upon the cross, in 
 which all was fulfilled. "Above when He said, Sacrifice 
 and offering and burnt offerings Thou wouldest not, 
 neither hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the 
 law, then said He, Lo I come to do Thy will, O God. He 
 taketh away the first that he may establish the second. 
 By the which will we are all sanctified through the offer- 
 ing of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Heb. 10, 
 8-10. Christ died for us, taking our sins upon Himself 
 and paying their penalty, which the blood of bulls and 
 
112 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 goats foreshadowing this could not do, so that we 
 might escape the death which is our due as the wages of 
 sin. "When the fulness of the time was come God sent 
 forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 
 to redeem them that were under the law, that we might 
 receive the adoption of sons." Gal. 4, 4 . 5. All is now 
 fulfilled; therefore our Lord could send forth the gra- 
 cious call: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
 heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matt. 11, 28. 
 
 2. "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these 
 least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall 
 be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoso- 
 ever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called 
 great in the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 The scribes and Pharisees are warned that the law 
 of righteousness shall stand forever. So far is Christ 
 from destroying it, that He impresses it in all its divine 
 force and fulfills it in all its divine fulness. But He 
 therefore continues to rebuke their perversions, that they 
 may learn to understand it and honor it as they should 
 and profit by it through the entrance of its light into 
 their benighted hearts. In their perversity, which led to 
 numerous ordinances of their own invention, they were 
 accustomed to make distinctions as to the dignity and 
 value of the commandments, holding some to be greater 
 and others of inferior importance; and naturally they 
 gave the preference to their own conceptions of what is 
 meant or implied, as that was laid down in their ordi- 
 nances and traditions. Thus they asked Jesus: "Why 
 do Thy disciples trangress the tradition of the elders? 
 for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But 
 He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also trans- 
 gress the commandment of God by your traditions?" 
 Matt. 15, 2 . 3. By their arbitrary regulations, born of 
 their work- righteous spirit, they set, the law of God aside 
 to make room for the shallow morality of their own car- 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 113 
 
 nal minds. An example is given in connection with the 
 answer to their captious question just cited, Christ 
 there continues: "God commanded, saying, Honor thy 
 father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother, 
 let him die the death. But ye say. Whosoever shall say 
 to his father or his mother. It is a gift by whatsoever 
 thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father 
 or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the 
 commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." 
 In other words, they taught that what we are commanded 
 to apply in gratitude to the support and comfort of our 
 parents may, under the pretence of devoting it to God, 
 be withheld from them without sin, thus rendering the 
 divine law nugatory hj a human contrivance. Such' 
 ordinances of their own fabrication thej were wont to 
 regard as the great commandments. Hence Christ says: 
 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye 
 pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin," which there 
 was no divine command to tithe, "and have omitted the 
 weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith," 
 Matt. 23, 23. To this our Lord refers when He speaks 
 of breaking one of the least of these commandments and 
 teaching men so. As the Pharisees declared the law of 
 God to be of less worth than their traditions, Christ pro- 
 nounces sentence upon them as the least in the kingdom 
 of heaven, Avhich indicates that they are as little entitled 
 to a place there as their traditions. On the other hand, 
 he who observes God's commandments and teaches the 
 people to stand in awe of His Word and obey His will, 
 shall be great in His kingdom, being found a faithful ser- 
 vant of the great King who saves them by His grace and 
 richly rewards their fidelity. 
 
 It is not only because those who were the teachers 
 of the law were chiefly had in view, that the teaching as 
 well as the doing of God's will is mentioned. Doing the 
 commandments is obeying the will of Him who gave 
 
 8 
 
114 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 them, and breaking them is disregarding that holy will 
 and disowning its authority. Teaching otherwise than 
 the law declares enhances the sin of disobedience and is 
 doubly damnable, because it not only leads away from 
 God, but blocks the way of returning to Him. False 
 teaching is but too frequently represented as a light 
 offense compared with living and doing otherwise than 
 tlie Word of God requires. The vicious thinking of our 
 materialistic times, which assumes all to be well if we 
 only do what seems to us right, no matter what we be- 
 lieve, undermines all moral as well as religious founda- 
 tions; for it not only eschews all regulatives divinely re- 
 vealed to secure right conduct, but it prevents the intro- 
 duction of the power of the Gospel for the creation of a 
 right faith and a renewal of the lieart for the guidance 
 of the will in ways of holiness. When the teachers lead 
 the people to regard that to be right and good wliich, 
 though it may seem right in their own eyes, is plainly a 
 violation of the law of the Lord, not only is iniquity con- 
 doned and encouraged, but the only remedy for it is re- 
 jected and men are left helpless in their sin. As long as 
 the Word of God is taught, transgressions are condemned 
 and their consequences are warned against. Evil-doers 
 may thus be brought to see their sin and be led to repent 
 and amend their ways. But when sinners are misled by 
 ungodly teaching and suppose that their violation of 
 God's commandments is not sinful, they have nothing 
 left to show them their error, and wrong triumphs per- 
 manently, the very light which should lead them to the 
 better way being put out and every avenue to betterment 
 being closed. Teaching otherwise than the Scriptures 
 teach is the sin that sanctions sin and by deceiving the 
 people silences even the voice of conscience. Thus it at 
 once leads to error and renders its correction impossible. 
 3. "For I say unto you. That except your righteous- 
 ness shall exceed the righteousness of tlie scribes and 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 115 
 
 Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven." 
 
 The law which our Savior came to I'ultill requires 
 righteousness. This the scribes and Pharisees did not 
 deny or ignore. They knew it. But the righteousness 
 which they taught and practiced was not that which was 
 required. They erred, and erred fundamentally. They 
 erred in regard to the nature of the righteousness which 
 the law demands, and they erred fatally in regard to 
 Christ's fulfilment. A better righteousness than theirs 
 is indispensable in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 That better righteousness, in the first place, is the 
 spiritual fulfilment of the law as a si^iritual command- 
 ment. In this the Pharisees were utterly found wanting. 
 The spiritual import of the law they did not perceive nor 
 teach nor practice. They lacked the spirituality which 
 is necessary to make this possible. Of them and their 
 kind it is written : "This people draweth nigh unto me 
 with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but 
 their heart is far from me," Matt. 15, 8. That is the way 
 of all formalists, who find obedience to the will of God 
 to consist in outward conformity to rules which He pre- 
 scribes. It is the natural disposition of mau, so far as 
 his thoughts are occupied at all with the high subject of 
 our relation and our duty to God. He has become carnal, 
 which is the opposite of spiritual. "The law is ho\j, and 
 the commandment holy and just and good," Rom. 7, 12. 
 With this the human soul originally corresponded, and 
 would correspond now if it were holy and just and good. 
 But sin has come and corrupted it. Because of this the 
 natural man is unholy and unjust and wicked, and knows 
 no way of complying with the holy law, whose require- 
 ments his own conscience sanctions, but that of perform- 
 ing the acts prescribed. The result is the works of the law, 
 which he of course pronounces good, although he is not 
 good and therefore inwardly not in accord with the laws. 
 
116 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 He thinks them good because the act squares with the de- 
 mand, and beyond this he does not look and has not the 
 ability to see. He deceives himself when he takes the 
 good appearance for the good substance and imagines 
 himself a good man because he does some works that are 
 supposed to be good. "For we know that the law is spir- 
 itual; but I am carnal, sold under sin," Kom. 7, 14. This 
 the scribes and Pharisees could not understand in their 
 spiritual blindness. Hence while they inculcated and did 
 what they presumed to be the law of God, their hearts 
 were far from God and their obedience accordingly only 
 a vain show. This they regarded as the righteousness 
 which the law requires and of which they made their 
 sanctimonious boast. It was such a righteousness as any 
 heathen may claim when he gives a hungry tramp a piece 
 of bread or refrains from kicking him when he repays the 
 kindness with insult. Their righteousness was that of 
 works, a large portion of which was not even such as 
 the divine law demanded, but was rather additions and 
 perversions of their own devising; and that which cor- 
 responded to the holy law was only a sham obedience in 
 external performances with which, so far as they were 
 deeds that seemed to be the proper expression of the holi- 
 ness required, their hearts were not in harmony. It is 
 the work-righteousness in which so many heathens, 
 and so many who do not want to be heathens, still in 
 our own times put their trust, and by which multitudes 
 who even call themselves Christians and have access to 
 the light which Christ brought into the world's darkness, 
 deceive themselves. Unless our righteousness be better 
 than that, we shall in no case enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven. Our Lord's fulfilment of the law recognized its 
 spiritual nature and significance, and His disciples are 
 taught to recognize it, that they may be the salt of the 
 earth and the light of the world. 
 
 It is not a new law which Christ adves. The better 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 117 
 
 righteousness needed for entrance into the kingdom of 
 God, is something more than the law or any human obedi- 
 ence can furnish. This must be noted in the second place, 
 as the essential element in His fulfillment of the laAv. As 
 against the Pharisaic perversions He gives a lucid expo- 
 sition of the old law, which He made known as the revela- 
 tion of His holy will for the guidance of His people from 
 the beginning, which He implanted in man's nature when 
 he was created in the image of God, which was sanc- 
 tioned by the human conscience, notwithstanding the fall, 
 through all the ages of his earthly history, and which was 
 written on tables of stone and delivered to Israel on 
 Mt. Sinai that it might still be read when sin had rendered 
 the writing in the heart almost illegible. This law was 
 sufficient for its purpose. Indeed it is perfect, and there- 
 fore incapable of any improvement. No new Lawgiver 
 was needed, and Christ did not come to make additions to 
 that which was already perfect and required perfect holi- 
 ness in obedience. But it was necessary that the law 
 should be understood, that it might do the preparatory 
 work for entrance into the kingdom of grace and glory 
 which the Savior established. But the object of His com- 
 ing was to save the people from their sins and set up 
 that kingdom. "In Him was life, and the life was the 
 light of men." Something more than instruction was 
 necessary to revive the mass that Satan had slain. Life 
 must be breathed into the dry bones. This our Savior 
 provided. And this was in accord with the eternal 
 purpose and plan of God for the rescue of our ruined 
 race. Mnn was no longer spiritual, and no enlighten- 
 ment concerning the original spiritual import of the law 
 would bring about its fulfillment by a spiritually dead 
 people. But God had thoughts of peace towards His 
 forlorn creature and made gracious provisions for his 
 deliverance from death. "Behold the days come, saith the 
 Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of 
 
118 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Israel and with tlie house of Jiidah, not according to the cov- 
 enant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took 
 (.hem by the hand to bring tliem out of the land of Egypt, 
 which My covenant they brake, although I was a husband 
 unto them, saith the Lord ; but this shall be the covenant 
 that I will make with the house of Israel: After these 
 days, saith the Lord, I will put My law into their inward 
 parts and write it on their hearts, and will be their God 
 and they shall be My people." Jer. 31, 31-33. Those 
 days had come when the Savior appeared. Instead of the 
 outward form of obedience to the righteous demands of 
 the law, which was all that man in his spiritual death 
 could render and which the scribes and Pharisees sup- 
 posed to be all that is needed for righteousness. He gave 
 them the life and the light which brings into the soul 
 deliverance from the bondage of sin and delight in God's 
 holy will, so that the liberated people would serve the 
 Lord with gladness according to His Word. He gave 
 them His Holy Spirit, so that the law was put in their in- 
 ward parts and written in their hearts, and they delighted 
 to do the Lord's will. That is the better righteousness, 
 of God's regenerated people who are endowed with new 
 hearts that beat in unison with our Heavenly Father's 
 holy will, and who live under Christ in His kingdom of 
 grace on earth as children of God who daily rejoice in the 
 hope of glory. That is the better righteousness of the re- 
 newed and sanctified heart, of which the work-righteous- 
 ness of the Pharisees, ancient and modern, is but a spur- 
 ious imitation. 
 
 But that is not all that need be said to set this better 
 righteousness in the clear light of Holy Scripture. Even 
 the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, who is given us by 
 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not insure a 
 complete fulfillment of the law and thus supply the per- 
 fect righteousness which is requisite in the kingdom of 
 heaven. Our Lord's fulfillment of the law, not our own, 
 
THE BETTEll RIGHTEOUSNESS. 119 
 
 is after all the only sure foundation of our Christian 
 hope. 
 
 Reflecting Christian readers will no doubt raise the 
 question, whetlier the great salvation which our Lord 
 effected and proclaimed, and whicli is the great treasure 
 jwssessed and dispensed in His kingdom, is attained by 
 this better righteousness of the law. An affirmative an- 
 swer would mean that righteousness is indeed by the law, 
 but it is not the righteousness of the mere external con- 
 formity of our works with the demand which the law 
 makes, but that of the inward harmon}' of our hearts with 
 the Lord's holy will. That seems i)lausible. What more 
 could be required of us than that we should be holy as our 
 Maker is holy. And more is not required of us in the 
 Scriptures. The question then resolves itself into this, 
 whether the salvation which Christ proclaims is anything 
 more than our obedience to the divine law, and whether 
 Christ is our Savior in any other sense than that He 
 enables us to render such obedience. The natural man 
 will reply in the negative. With him it stands to reason, 
 so far as sin and salvation are topics challenging consid- 
 eration at all, that the sinner must abandon his sin and do 
 right if he would escape its punishment, and that so far 
 as Christ has anything to do with the case, it can only be 
 as a great teacher showing us the way of amendment and 
 as a great example of right living. The error is fatal, and 
 is none the less so because millions fall into it. Among 
 these there are many who not only profess to be Chris- 
 tians, but whose sincerity and general integrity and hon- 
 esty is unimpeachable. This makes the error still more 
 reputable and cai)tivating and to this extent more destruc- 
 tive. It seems ungracious to speak Avith earnestness and 
 emphasis against a false doctrine that is so popular and 
 the condemnation of which is olfensive to so many who 
 have the reputation of being good people, and the duty is 
 made still more onerous by the persistent plea of the error- 
 
120 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ists, that we are making subtle distinctions in which the 
 (common jjeople have no interest and which can have no 
 purpose but to gratify a love of strife and a hatred of 
 those who will not submit their thoughts to ours. But 
 the subject is not one of hair-splitting theology or of 
 personal preference in a domain of liberty. It pertains 
 to the very essence of Christianity, on which the great 
 battles of the ages have been fought against the work- 
 righteousness which is everywhere in vogue and has been 
 striving to undermine the Christian Church from the 
 beginning. The gates of hell have not prevailed against 
 her; that cannot be; but many souls have been destroyed 
 by the error which virtually rejects Christ as the Savior 
 of the world and wickedly represents man as his own 
 savior. It therefore behooves us to show that by His ful- 
 fillment of the law and the prophets, not by ours, the right- 
 eousness of God is satisfied and sinners are saved from the 
 condemnation which the righteous law of God pronounces 
 upon them. 
 
 The sermon on the mount deals mainly with the ex- 
 position of the law, without entering in detail upon its 
 purpose in the plan of salvation, or upon the relation of 
 Christ's fulfillment to the demands made upon us and 
 the penalties to be inflicted in case of our failure to satisfy 
 these demands. But the larger purpose of Christ's mis- 
 sion, as shown throughout the Scriptures, looms up when 
 the particulars entering into its accomplishment are duly 
 considered, and we cannot expect to have a clear under- 
 standing of the text before us without discovering its 
 bearings upon the way of our salvation. It is assuredly 
 not a needless or irrelevant inquiry, whether the better 
 spiritual righteousness which our Lord taught as the re- 
 quirement of the law and set in opposition to the carnal 
 righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees* was fulfilled 
 by those among them who were willing to hear and learn, 
 or lias been fulfilled by His disciples since, so that com- 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 121 
 
 plete satisfaction has been rendered and all requirements 
 liiive boon met, and no charges lay against them that could 
 interfere with their admission into the kingdom of glory. 
 Let the reader who would flee from the wrath to come 
 look into his own soul. If he is a sincere believer in 
 Christ as the Savior of the world, he has the Spirit of God 
 in his heart and finds delight in doing God's will. But 
 has he the perfect holiness which the holy law requires, 
 and has he done all things which are commanded in that 
 bond of j)erfectness which, in love without dissimulation, 
 accords with the mind of Christ? And if he has not in all 
 his life been without sin, but has been a child of wrath 
 by nature and experienced the motions of sin stirring in 
 liis soul, has he satisfied the law by suffering the wages 
 of sin, which is death? For the fulfillment of the law 
 obviously implies these two things, first, that perfect obe- 
 dience be rendered, in tlie heart and in the life, to all its 
 holy demands, and secondly tliat, in case of failure in any 
 respect to do all that is required, to suffer the death de- 
 nounced upon transgression. All righteousness must be 
 fulfilled ; failure in any one point subjects to the penalty. 
 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend 
 in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2, 10. 
 
 Men deceive themselves when they accept the lying 
 flattery of Satan that they are perfectly holy as the law 
 requires and that there is no taint of sin in their hearts, 
 or in their thoughts or words or deeds. And this a])plies 
 to Christians as well as to unbelievers. Indeed, it ap- 
 ])lies especially to them. The natural man may more 
 readily imagine himself sinless, because in liis superficial 
 notions of sin and holiness he may imagine himself guilt- 
 less of all evil doing when even in the estimation of his 
 neighbors he is a bad man. He thinks that because he 
 has never been arrested as a criminal no one can accuse 
 him of wrong, and therefore, like the Pharisee in the 
 parable, he thanks God that he is not like the poor pub- 
 
122 THE SEEMOX OX THE MOUNT. 
 
 liean who confesses himself to be a sinner and implores 
 merer. The Christian believer hag a better knowledge 
 of sin and righteousness: for he has 'oecome a Christian 
 only bv repenting of his sin and believing the Gospel of 
 forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. But he is not 
 now without the taint of sin in his nature. The soul 
 regenerated by the Spirit and planted into Christ, hates 
 sin and loves righteousness. St. John even says: "We 
 know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not: but he 
 that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked 
 one toucheth him not." 1 John 5. IS. It is a faithful 
 saying, and true disciples of Jesus will not pass over 
 it lightly. But neither will they disregard the other pas- 
 sages of Scripture which are necessary for the correct 
 understanding of the complex life of God's children. "If 
 we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the 
 truth is not in us; if we confess our sins, He is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from 
 all u nrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned 
 we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us," 1 John 
 1. 8-10. The true believer wants no fellowship with sin, 
 but daily walks with God and strives to be f^erfect as 
 our Father in heaven is i)erfect; but he does not deceive 
 himself with the flattering thought that his goal has been 
 reached, and thus permit the enemy of his soul to lead 
 him, in carnal pride and security, to boast of his own 
 righteousness, "yot as though I had already attained,'' 
 says St. Paul, "either were already perfect; but I follow 
 after, if I may apprehend that for which also I am ap- 
 prehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself 
 to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting 
 those things which are behind and reaching forth unto 
 those things which are before, I press toward the mark 
 for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," 
 Phil. 3. 12-14. If the Spirit of God dwell in us, we are 
 moved by that Spirit not to live after the flesh, but to 
 
THE BETTEK RIGHTEOUSNESS. 123 
 
 crncify it and refuse conseiit tx> any of its motions, and 
 to walk in holiness by the light of His Word and the 
 power of His grace. "Now. if any man have not the 
 i?pirit of Christ, he is none of Hi<." Rom. 8. 9. 
 
 The condition of the Christian then is this, thai the 
 Spirit of Christ tliat is given him through faith, renews 
 him after the image of God that created him. so that he 
 no longer has the will to sin, but follows after holiness, 
 whereunto he is called. But the flesh, or the old Adamic 
 nature which he has inherited, still clings to him while 
 he lives in the body and prompts to all manner of eviL 
 "'This I say then. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not 
 fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against 
 the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these 
 are contrai-y. the one to the other, so that ye cannot do 
 the things that ye would." Gal. 5. 16. 17. And so it comes 
 that the believer in Christ, though the Spirit given him 
 renounces the will of the flesh and brings forth fruits of 
 holiness, still finds the old nature asserting itself and 
 striving to gain the mastery, thtis admonishing to c-on- 
 stant vigilance and prayer. He thus leads a life of daily 
 repentance for the sin that so easily besets him and daily 
 rejoices in the forgiveness of sin which the Gospel brings 
 and his faith embraces. He neither grows proud of his 
 ideal sinlessness in Christ nor despairs on account of his 
 real sinftilness in himself. "The good that I would I do 
 not. but the evil that I would not, that I do. Xow, if I 
 do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin 
 that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that, when I 
 would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight 
 in the law of God after the inward man: but I see an- 
 other law in my members warring against the law of 
 my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of 
 sin which is in my members." Rom. 7, 19-23. To the car- 
 nal mind it might seem illogical to impute the sinfulness 
 of the flesh to the regenerated person who is spiritual and 
 
124 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 contends against the sin; but to the child of God all dif- 
 ficulties in this regard vanish when it is considered that 
 the personality is one and that the flesh against which 
 the Spirit strives is his flesh. The Christian's sanctifica- 
 tion is real, but always imperfect during his pilgrimage 
 on earth, until the change come and the victory of grace 
 is won over the sin in our nature. 
 
 The better spiritual righteousness which Christ in- 
 culcates as the original purpose and meaning of the law 
 can therefore not secure our salvation as our fulfilment 
 of the law and our righteousness. We now know that 
 it is spiritual and requires something more than our 
 works to fulfill it; but we also know that we are carnal 
 and therefore are not in perfect harmony with it in our 
 hearts as it requires us to be. We cannot fulfill all true 
 righteousness, and we cannot make satisfaction for our 
 transgressions. The law therefore condemns us to eternal 
 death, and we have no power to deliver ourselves from 
 the body of this death. We cannot save ourselves, and 
 therefore in His boundless love the Son of God came to 
 save us. He is our Savior. "Now the righteousness of 
 God without the law is manifested; being witnessed by 
 the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God 
 which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all 
 them that believe: for there is no difference; for all have 
 sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified 
 freely by His grace through the redemption which is in 
 Christ Jesus," Eom. 3, 21-24. That sums up the whole 
 gracious plan of man's deliverance from the curse of sin. 
 Christ came to fulfill all for us; our fulfilment will not 
 avail. He is our Savior, for He secured a perfect right- 
 eousness by doing all and suffering all that the law de- 
 mands, and this He did for us. This is the perfect right- 
 eousness which the Gospel offers and which faith em- 
 braces. It is the better righteousness, which consists in 
 the perfect fulfilment of the will of God, so that every 
 
THE BETTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 125 
 
 demand which God makes upon man is fully satisfied. 
 But it is our Savior's fulfilment and His satisfaction, 
 not our own, and the glory is His, not ours. "For by 
 grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your- 
 selves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man 
 should boast." Eph. 2, 9 . 10. 
 
 It is therefore a perversion of our Lord's teaching 
 when His exposition of the law and His demand of a 
 better righteousness than that of the scribes and Phar- 
 isees is represented as a doctrine of justification by the 
 deeds of the law. He does teach that the law is good and 
 should be obeyed, and He came not to destroy, but to 
 fulfill it. What He rebuked in the Pharisees was never 
 their inculcation of good works according to the law, but 
 their corruption of the law and their shallow notions of 
 good works, which defeated its holy purpose. Nor did 
 He ever intimate that good works are not necessary. On 
 the contrary, He taught the importance of them as re- 
 quired by the will of God, only antagonizing the Phar- 
 isaic perversions which eliminated the will of God and 
 rendered their pretended good works a cheat. In His 
 kingdom the true holiness which the law requires has its 
 appropriate place. In this He provides by His grace, 
 through the gift of the Spirit, for a devout life of obedi- 
 ence to the will of God, such as nature cannot render. 
 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 
 unto good works, which God hath before ordained that 
 we should walk in them," Eph. 2, 10. But never did He 
 speak a word that could justify the belief that salvation 
 is secured by these good works. He came to fulfill all 
 the law and the prophets in our stead and in our behalf 
 as our Savior. He thus acquired a perfect righteous- 
 ness for us, which we might appropriate by faith unto 
 our salvation. This is the righteousness of God by faith, 
 which is our only hope. His fulfilment, not ours, satisfies 
 the righteousness of God, and that fulfilment is set down 
 
I 
 
 126 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 to our account when we believe the Gospel which offers 
 it for our acceptance. "Where is boasting then? It is 
 excluded. By what law? of works? Nay, but by the law 
 of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified 
 by faith without the deeds of the law." Rom. 3, 27. 28. 
 
a 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 The Law Illostrated, 
 
 (Matthew 5, 21-37). 
 
 FTEK showing that the Pharisaic interpretation 
 of the law was so superficial as to undermine it, 
 and that the commandments of men were foisted 
 in as a substitute, and, in opposition to this perversion, 
 setting forth its true meaning as the revelation of God's 
 holy will requiring holiness of men, Christ illustrates His 
 teaching by various examples. It may be necessary to 
 remind some readers that our Lord's explication of the 
 law is directed against the false literalism and manifest 
 perversion of the Pharisees, not against the law" itself 
 as given by Moses. Those certainly err who assume that 
 the law was imperfect and that Christ perfected it by 
 making additions and amplifications, as if that which 
 was lacking in the Jewish apprehension of its meaning 
 had been lacking in its original import. It never was de- 
 signed to be a mere rule of outward action, w'ithout re- 
 gard to the hearts of the persons acting. I'o the Jewish 
 people who sinned, it w\as said in tlie days of Moses: 
 "The Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as He 
 rejoiced over thy fathers, if thou shalt hearken to the 
 voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments 
 and His statutes w^hich are written in this book of the 
 law, and if thou turn unto the Lord with all thine heart 
 and all thy soul." Deut. 30, 9. 10. It was addressed to 
 the heart from the beginning, as Christ referred it to the 
 heart. It always meant that men should be holy, for the 
 Lord our God is holy. Nothing can be lacking in its re- 
 quirement in that respect. "The law of the Lord is 
 
 127 
 
128 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord 
 is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the 
 Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment 
 of God is pure, enlightening the eyes." Ps. 19, 7. 8. 
 When our Lord showed the Pharisees their delinquencies, 
 it was not by making demands upon them which the 
 venerable law of Moses did not make. He simply in- 
 culcated what that holy law required, and made manifest 
 their shortcomings and transgressions in doctrine and 
 practice as measured by that divine rule. He was not 
 the giver of a new law which should supplant the old. 
 The old was perfect, and what He desired ^vcls that they 
 should hear and learn and understand it, and, seeing 
 their sin, should be brought by His grace to a better 
 righteousness than that which they had conceived and 
 of which they were making their puerile boast. He had 
 indeed a work to do in regard to the law, to which He 
 was obedient unto death; and He was engaged in that 
 work when He made clear the meaning of the law and 
 applied it for the accomplishment of its divine purpose. 
 He it was to whom the words of Moses referred when he 
 said to the Israelites: "The Lord thy God will raise up 
 unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy 
 brethren, like unto me: unto Him ye shall hearken." 
 Deut. 18, 15. He came not to destroy, but to fulfil the 
 law, that by His grace we might receive as a free gift the 
 salvation which under the law we could not attain. 
 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
 through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the like- 
 ness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the 
 flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled 
 in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
 Rom. 8, 3. 4. Christ's fulfilment of the law was in our 
 stead, that His righteousness might be imparted to us 
 through faith, and that in consequence of this vicarious 
 fulfilment we might receive His Spirit to lead us in the 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 129 
 
 way of holiness which He walked and which the law 
 sets forth. 
 
 This law of holiness is summed up in the great com- 
 maiuiment that we should love God with all our heart 
 and soul and mind and strength, and the second, which is 
 like unto it, that we should love our neighbor as our- 
 selves. Christ recognized this as the true meaning of the 
 law, and thus declared it to be perfect, wheu He said to 
 the lawyer tempting Him. "This do, and thou shalt 
 live." Luke 10, 25-28. If any one did this, and thus 
 wei'e perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, nothing 
 else would be needed to obtain eternal life. T(^ under- 
 staud our Lord's exposition of the law, His summary of 
 its fundamental meaning, and its primary piirjjose to 
 work in us a knowledge of our sin and our need of a 
 Savior, must be kept in mind. 
 
 1. The exposition begins with the fifth command- 
 ment: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old 
 time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall 
 be in danger of the judgment." No fault is found with 
 this. But when the Pharisees understood it to mean 
 simply the external act of destroying the life of a fellow 
 man, they missed the mind of God entirely. He deals 
 with persons, not merely with their outward actions, and 
 X'equires these persons, not only their actions, to be right 
 and good. Hence our Lord continues: "But I say unto 
 you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without 
 a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoso- 
 ever shall say to his brother, Baca, shall be in danger of 
 the council; but whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be 
 in danger of hell fire." He does not set His saying in 
 opposition to the commandment in the decalogue nor to 
 the i)enalty attached by J(^wish laws to its transgression. 
 But He does declare that the Pharisaic system of ex- 
 ternalism and work-righteousness overlooked the most 
 important matter of the divine law, which requires per- 
 
 9 
 
130 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 sonal obedience in harmony with its lioly intent, and that 
 the transgression is first in the heart of man before it 
 becomes an outward act. This inward transgression, 
 whether it becomes manifest in external action or not, is 
 sin, and merits the punishment due to the transgressor. 
 Not only the sinful act is condemned by the law. That 
 condemnation is terrible, but it would be comparatively 
 lenient if it did not extend to the persons who perform it. 
 It is upon these that the penalty falls. "Unto them that 
 are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey un- 
 righteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
 anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil," Rom. 
 2, 8. 9. The superficiality which contemplates the law as 
 nothing more than a prescribed form of good works in 
 the outward conduct, and can therefore see guilt only in 
 external actions as the eye discerns them, makes void 
 tlie law in its spiritual import, and thus practically de- 
 stroys it. Our Savior came to fulfill it, and to this end 
 first rescues it from carnal perversions and sets fortli 
 its true import and meaning. 
 
 It was in pursuance of their shallow conception of 
 righteousness and their system of meritorious deeds in 
 conformity with prescribed rules of conduct that Jewish 
 teachers distinguished certain degrees of guilt attaching 
 to violations of the law, and various corresponding pen- 
 alties. To such degrees our Lord refers when He says 
 that not only the literal murderer shall be in danger of 
 the judgment, as the rabbis maintain, but that one who 
 is angry with his brother shall be exposed to such dan- 
 ger, while giving utterance to the inward malice, in words 
 of reproach and condemnation, such as "Eaca," or worth- 
 less fellow, "Thou fool," or ungodly person, shall be 
 in danger of the higher court or of hell fire. Of course 
 the design is not to teach that the wages of sin can in 
 any case be other than death, and distinctions of guilt 
 and penalty are not made or accepted with such an im- 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 131 
 
 plication; but our Lord would have His hearers under- 
 stand, that the sin against the commandment is com- 
 mitted when murderous thoughts and feelings are har- 
 bored against a brother, and that before corresponding- 
 deeds are done with tongue or hand the person is guilty 
 of death. This being accepted, account may properly be 
 made of differences according to our Lord's words : "That 
 servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not 
 himself, neither did according to His will shall be beaten 
 with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did things 
 worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For 
 unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much re- 
 quired." Luke 12, 47 . -18. The error of the self-righteous 
 Pharisees lay not in the recognition of this rule, but in 
 making a distinction between the laws of God, as if some 
 were more holy than others, and the violation of some 
 were therefore less worthy of punishment than that of 
 others. They did not recognize the eternal banishment 
 from the presence of God as due to all sin, and the de- 
 grees of punishment as pertaining to that state of per- 
 dition, and in this proportioned to the degree of personal 
 wickedness attaching to the sin, but thought that the 
 eternal death which is the wages of sin might be es- 
 caped because of the lesser guilt that would subject to 
 fewer stripes. It is the same error into which many 
 Christians suffer themselves to be enticed when they im- 
 agine that, though they may not have the faith which 
 alone can save, their good works will be rewarded in 
 heaven, and that, though they remain in unbelief and 
 thus cannot enter into the kingdom of God, they shall 
 escape the damnation of hell because their sins are not 
 of that glaring and crying sort that would subject them 
 to many stripes. Whatever difference may be made, sin 
 is the transgression of God's law, and the wages of sin 
 is death, from which only the Laml) of God that taketh 
 away the sins of the world can release us. 
 
132 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 As regards the commandment, ''Thou shalt not kill," 
 our Lord mentions three degrees; beginning with anger, 
 as the murderous affection of the heart that may at any 
 moment break out in the murderous external act of kill- 
 ing, proceeding next to the expression of this in vs'ords 
 of disdain, and ending in the vilification which is mur- 
 der with the tongue, not mentioning the actual destruc- 
 tion of life which even a Pharisee could perceive to be 
 a violation of the commandment. "Whosoever is angry 
 with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of 
 the judgment." What the Jews regarded as the just pen- 
 alty of murder, our Lord pronounces due to anger. It is 
 the stirring of the evil lust within, which, when it has 
 conceived, brings forth sin in the external act. Not all 
 anger, not anger of every description is meant, but anger 
 without a just cause. Even if the words "without a 
 cause," which is not found in some manuscripts, were not 
 in the text, the connection and the analogy of faith would 
 show that this is meant. For anger is not always sinful. 
 "God is angry with the wicked every day," Ps. 7, 11. Our 
 Savior, in dealing with His unreasonable and persistent 
 enemies, "looked round about on them with anger, being 
 grieved for the hardness of their hearts," Mark 3, 5. St. 
 Paul implies that Christians may be stirred to anger by 
 the unrighteousness of men without sinning, when he 
 says : "Be ye angry, and sin not : let not the sun go down 
 upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil," Eph. 
 4, 26 . 27. We cannot love the right and the good without 
 hating the wrong and the bad. But we must see to it that 
 our anger at wickedness does not, by nursing it in a heart 
 that is not perfectly purified, become a motive of our 
 flesh ; and hence the admonition not to harbor it against 
 offenders and by the instigation of Satan permit it to 
 become embittered and enraged, to the exclusion of the 
 love which we owe to our enemies. That is the carnal 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 133 
 
 anger that is murderous, tliat is forbidden in the fifth 
 commandnient, and that puts us in danger of the judg- 
 ment. It is the loveless and unreasonable anger of the 
 flesh, that impels to wrong-doing in word and work, as 
 it is itself a condition of the heart that is sin because in 
 conflict with love. "Now je also put off all these: anger, 
 wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of 
 your mouth,'' Col. 3, 8. The love of Ood is shed abroad 
 in our hearts when grace has renewed us, so that the ill- 
 will which is begotten of the flesh cannot be allowed to 
 make its abode there. "Whosoever hateth his brother is 
 a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal 
 life abiding in him," 1 John 3, 15. When we become 
 angry, and permit the sun to go down upon our wrath, 
 the affection runs to evil, and sinful acts result. "For 
 the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." 
 Hence our Lord points out two other forms of murder, 
 which are both utterances by means of words, though in 
 two degrees of unkindness and uncharitableness, and 
 both effects of that anger and wrath that are murder in 
 the evil heart. Saying to a brother Kaca, means to de- 
 nounce him as a good-for-nothing, with whom it is best 
 to have nothing to do. The man who does this augments 
 the sin of his heart by giving vent to its anger, and thus 
 enhancing his guilt puts himself in danger of the council 
 or a higher court with a prospect of heavier punishment. 
 "But whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger 
 of hell-fire." The name indicates more than a trifling 
 idler, of whom it would be useless to expect any good. It 
 means a wicked person, from whom only harm can be 
 expected, and the angry application of the term to a 
 brother is therefore a vilification that destroys his good 
 name. "If any man among you seem to be religious and 
 bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this 
 man's religion is vain," James 1, 26. The fifth com- 
 
134 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 mandment is violated every day by the lovelessness of 
 our hearts and our words, though we may never have 
 laid hands on any one to inflict a bodily injury. 
 
 After explaining the commandment our Lord adds 
 some important instructions in cases where it has been 
 violated, giving directions both to those who have done 
 and those who have suffered wrong. "Therefore if thou 
 bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that 
 thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift 
 before the altar and go thy way: first be reconciled to 
 thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. Agree 
 with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way 
 with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to 
 the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and 
 thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee. Thou 
 Shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid 
 the uttermost farthing." 
 
 The Christian will not let the sun go down upon his 
 wrath and by hating his brother become a murderer. If 
 he is aware that between him and a brother there is a 
 barrier that stands in the way of that cordiality which 
 should exist between brethren, he will be moved by the 
 Spirit of Christ that is in him, not only to cast out the 
 uncharitableness as the obstacle in his own soul, but also 
 to remove whatever obstacle to a complete reconciliation 
 there may be in his brother. The Church has paid good 
 heed to the Lord's instruction and applied it especially 
 in her communion practice, requiring communicants to 
 have peace among themselves, and such as have aught 
 against a brother to be reconciled before approaching the 
 sacrament of the altar. An unconciliatory disposition 
 is a bar to loving fellowship with brethren, as it is a bar 
 to loving communion with God, and is rightly regarded 
 as constituting un worthiness to commune with the Savior 
 in the Holy Supper. The attempts' of the guilty to ex- 
 cuse or justify their fault by setting aside the law of love, 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. liio 
 
 and appoa]in<4 to what seems to them a sense of justice, 
 cannot avail before the Church, as it cannot avail before 
 God. To say tliat if your brother hath auji^ht against you, 
 it is his duty to come to you and tell you your fault, is 
 quite correct. So the Lord wills and so He has command- 
 ed : "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and 
 tell him his fault between thee and him alone." Matt. 
 18, 15. This must be done, and he sins who refuses to do 
 it. But a reconciliation must take place, or brotlierly 
 fellowship must cease. If therefore thou rememberest that 
 thy brother hath aught against thee the necessary recon- 
 ciliation, which is of course obligatory on both, has not 
 taken place. If he has not come to you and told you 
 your fault, he has not done his duty; but this does not 
 excuse you from doing yours. There is still hope of a 
 reconciliation if you will go to him. And if he has come 
 to you and failed to remove the barrier between you, all 
 the more reason is there that you should now go to him 
 and try to remove it. The duty to be reconciled lies ui>on 
 both, and each must do what he can to effect the reconcili- 
 ation. 
 
 The possibility is recognized that when all that is re- 
 quired towards effecting it is done, the object is not at- 
 tained. Some souls are not conciliatory and all the efforts 
 of love to bring about harmony may fail. "If it be pos- 
 sible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all 
 men." Rom. 12, 18. Sometimes it does not lie in us 
 and is not possible. "I am for peace, but when I speak they 
 are for war." Ps. 120, 7. Either the offender or the offended 
 may prove stubborn and refractory. Among brethren 
 in the Church this must lead to separation. The unrecon- 
 ciled parties cannot commune together in spite of their 
 dissension. The fellowship must cease when the heart 
 persists in its grudge and will not be reconciled. Hence 
 our Lord has given further instructions for church dis- 
 cipline, commanding that, if the trespassing brother is 
 
136 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 not gained by private interviews, he shall be admonished 
 in the presence of witnesses, and if this prove ineffectual, 
 to "Tell it unto the churcli; but if he will not hear the 
 church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a pub- 
 lican." Matt. 18, 15-18. In the sermon before us Christ 
 sets forth the process under the image of a court, in which 
 the person unreconciled with his adversary is represented 
 as subject to imprisonment until the difficulty is settled. 
 Tlie obvious meaning of this is that if men continue to 
 harbor murder in their hearts, they will die in their sin 
 and forever perish under the condemnation of the law ; for 
 only those who repent and believe the Gospel can escape 
 the curse. 
 
 II. The second illustration which the sermon gives 
 is that of the sixth commandment. "Ye have heard that 
 it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not commit 
 adultery. But I say unto you, that whosover looketh on 
 a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with 
 her already in his heart." God's ordinance from the begin- 
 ning was that, as He created mankind male and female, the 
 latter being a helpmeet for the former, the man and wife 
 should live together as one flesh; and "God blessed them, 
 and God said unto them. Be fruitful and multif)ly, and 
 replenish the earth." Gen. 1, 28. This is the divine plan 
 for the propagation of the species ; and all the acts of man, 
 outside of this ordinance of marriage, tending to this 
 propagation by the use of the organs created for this pur- 
 pose, are violations of the divine purpose and abuses of 
 the divine gift. One man and one woman shall be joined 
 as husband and wife and "they twain shall be one flesh." 
 The blessing of God upon this union is the birth of chil- 
 dren. Only in this relation is this birth legitimate. Co- 
 habitation of the sexes aside from this marriage relation, 
 in which one man and one women pledge fidelity to each 
 other, is forbidden, and specially the. cohabitation of man 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 137 
 
 or wife with others than their spouse, is the sin of adul- 
 tery. 
 
 The sexual organs and their use must be restricted 
 to the divine purpose as made known to us by our Maker, 
 and the intelligent creature, if he would stand in com- 
 munion with God and enjoy its blessedness in time and 
 eternity, must observe the divine order prescribed for the 
 attainment of the divine purpose. Adultery counteracts 
 and defeats that purpose by violating that order. It is 
 the prostitution of powers given for the service of God, 
 to the gratification of carnal lust. The sinfulness of it 
 was acknowledged by the Jewish people, and Christ had 
 no need to inform them that it was justly prohibited and 
 punished. But there was need, as in the case of the fifth 
 commandment, to impress upon their minds the fact, that 
 the law contemplated more than the prohibition of such 
 acts of prostitution, and there is need to impress tliis upon 
 our minds and those of all people. The will of God has 
 always been : "My son, give me thy heart, and let thine 
 eyes observe my ways." Prov. 23, 20. This the Jewish 
 teachers generally disregarded, and this even Christian 
 people too often disregard now. Therefore our Lord sets 
 forth the deeper spiritual import of the commandment: 
 ''But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman 
 to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already 
 in his lieart." That is the truth that we must learn, both 
 that the law may do its work of showing us our sin and 
 thus preparing us to repent and believe the Gospel, and 
 of showing us the way of holiness, and thus pointing out 
 how believers ought to walk and please God. There is no 
 ascetic suggestion in the Savior's words. He does not 
 say that looking on a woman, the admiration of wliose 
 beauty may be as innocent as the admiration of beauty 
 in other forms of nature, or in art, is a sin; but looking 
 on a woman to lust after, is adultery, and is therefore con- 
 
138 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 demnecl as sin by the diAnne law, which requires holiness. 
 It is adultery in the heart, which God sees and judges, 
 and which therefore does not need to become manifest in 
 the outward act before it can be subject to the condemna- 
 tion of God's law. We are not truly penitent as long as 
 we refuse to acknowledge the sinfulness of the heart with 
 its evil lust ; and we do not walk after the mind of Christ 
 in true faith as long as we are indifferent to the motions 
 of sin within us, as if the law denounced penalties only 
 on sinful acts, not sinful persons. Therefore "fornication 
 and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once 
 named among you, as becometh saints; neither fiithiness 
 nor foolish talking and jesting, which are not convenient." 
 Eph. 3, 3. 4. "They that are Christ's have crucified the 
 flesh with the affections and lusts." Gal. 5, 24. "Mor- 
 tify therefore your members which are upon the earth : 
 fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil con- 
 cupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which 
 things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of 
 disobedience." Col. 3, 5. 6. 
 
 The sermon refers to the necessity of self-denial and 
 self-crucifixion, which is inculcated in the cited apostolic 
 words, when it goes on to say: "If thy right eye offend 
 thee, pluck it out 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. And if thy 
 right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee; 
 for it is profitable that one of thy members should perish, 
 and not thy whole body should be cast into hell." Our 
 Lord makes His meaning plain by using a comparison. 
 If an eye be diseased and threatens to destroy life, or a 
 hand be crippled and menaces the poisoning of the whole 
 body, the way of wisdom is to pluck out or cut off the 
 menacing member, rather than to sacrifice the whole body 
 and lose the life, with which all would be lost. So if the 
 lust arises \\'ithin us and presses for gratification, it must 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 139 
 
 be resisted with all the power of the grace given us, 
 though the conflict be painful and the victory over sin be 
 attainable only by a sacrifice comparable to that of losing 
 an eye or a hand to save the bodily life. That is what the 
 apostle Paul means when he applies the terms mortify 
 and crucify to the treatment of the carnal propensities in 
 our nature. The evil lust, the sinful concupiscence must 
 not be condoned. Excusing them as unavoidable, justify- 
 ing them as natural, pleading for their toleration as in- 
 firmities which are birth-marks, for which we have no 
 remedy, are only wiles of the devil to keep us in the 
 chains of sin. The remedy is the Gospel of the grace of 
 God in Christ. Tiying to better our corrupt nature by 
 syrups of reason and sense is a vain expedient. The caji- 
 cer must be eradicated. And that hurts. Eepent and 
 believe the Gospel, and having thus entered into the king- 
 dom of God by faith in Christ's fulfillment of the whole 
 law in our stead, and received the Spirit of adoption as 
 children of God who are free from the bondage and the 
 curse of the law ; you will tolerate no sin, but will fight it 
 unto the death, not taking the conflict with it easy, but 
 crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts, and yet 
 all the while retaining the peace of God which comes by 
 believing that the blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all 
 sin. Our Lord would have us to know the exceeding sin- 
 fulness of sin, that we might come to Him and find rest 
 for our souls in the great salvation which He has wrought 
 for us by His vicarious fulfillment of the law, and there 
 in companionship with Him fight the good fight of faith 
 against the world and the flesh and the devil. We may 
 thus receive many a wound and bear many a scar in the 
 battle, but can always rejoice in the hope of glory through 
 the victory which He has won. Pluck out the eye and cut 
 off the hand that would keep you in the bondage of sin 
 and Satan and separate you from our blessed Lord in 
 whom alone is salvation. 
 
140 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 In connection with the sixth commandment the sub- 
 ject of divorce is introduced, because one of the forms of 
 its violation is unfaithfulness to the marriage vow. "It 
 hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let 
 him give her a writing of divorcement; but I say unto 
 you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for 
 the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery, 
 and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commit- 
 eth adultery." The Jewish teachers made divorces easy; 
 in opposition to their laxity and levity our Lord declares 
 that there is but one cause for divorce, and that is fornica- 
 tion, which is becoming one flesh with another than the 
 wife or husband whom God has joined together for life. 
 It is the one sin which breaks the tie that binds the twain 
 together. 
 
 While the sin against this commandment, like every 
 other, has its seat in the corrupt heart and the command- 
 ment is frequently violated by married persons as well as 
 by others, divorce can refer only to acts that become 
 known. Like marriage it is so far of a public character 
 that those who lawfully live together as man and wife 
 must be recognized as such in the community, and when 
 the marital relations and the restrictions which it imposes 
 are to cease, the same public recognition of the divorce 
 is necessary. As a matter essentially of a civil character, 
 the civil government must necessarily deal with marriage 
 and divorce, and is of course confined in such dealing to 
 the external acts. The two lawfully married to each other 
 remain man and wife until death, unless the bond is 
 broken by adultery ; and when they are ostensibly divorced 
 on other grounds, either commits adultery by marrying 
 another, because in God's sight the two are still joined 
 together, and neither is free to marry another. Chris- 
 tians can of course be bound in conscience only by the 
 Word of God, and can therefore not recognize every mar- 
 riage and divorce which has the sanction of the state under 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 141 
 
 whose laws they live, although they will obey these laws 
 so far as it does not require them to do what the Scrip- 
 tures forbid. They must obey God rather than men, and 
 patiently bear the consequences of such religious fidelity. 
 But the diflficulty in this regard is not as great as it seems 
 to some persons, for the state has no authority and no abil- 
 ity to regulate our hearts, and has no purpose to interfere 
 with our convictions or sentiments, as long as our actions 
 do not conflict with its laws. In lands of enlightenment 
 full liberty is accorded even to express convictions in op- 
 position to established laws and strive by argument and 
 persuasion to effect their amendment. A minister of the 
 Church is not required to solemnize a marriage or to rec- 
 ognize a divorce which the Word of God forbids, though 
 the laws of the land sanction it. The civil government 
 authorizes him to act in the premises, but does not com- 
 mand him to act, and can charge no disloyalty if he de- 
 clines to act when his conscience bids him decline. Ques- 
 tions of casuistry may arise from this source in the ad- 
 ministration of the Church's discipline, but tliey are not 
 as numerous as is frequently supposed, and the difficul- 
 ties attending them are not insurmountable. At any rate 
 the princii)le must be upheld at whatever cost, "We ought 
 to obey God ratlier than men." Acts 5, 29. Of more 
 importance for the daily life of Christians is the divine 
 instruction to keep our hearts pure by the grace of our 
 Savior, and "fear and love God that we may lead a chaste 
 and decent life in word and deed, and each love and honor 
 his spouse.'" 
 
 III. In further illustration of the spiritual meaning 
 of the law the Savior turns to the second commandment: 
 "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in 
 vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh 
 His name in vain." The subject selected for particular ex- 
 position under this head is that of the oath. It appears 
 that the Pharisees, in pursuance of their work-righteous 
 
142 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 principle, which was fundamentally false because it 
 lacked all spiritual insight into the holy will of God and 
 the holy purpose of the law, thought the law fulfilled if 
 only they did not break an oath in which God was called 
 to witness, supposing that oaths by other objects were of 
 no consequence and their violation would not be imputed 
 as sins. The Mosaic law says: "Ye shall not swear by 
 my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of 
 thy God." Lev. 19, 12. It seems that this suggested to 
 their sophistical minds two evasions of the divine mean- 
 ing: first, that false swearing must not be by the name 
 of God, which would be punishable; second, that false 
 swearing hj any other name would not be reprehensible, 
 because what is forbidden is to "profane the name of thy 
 God." "Woe unto you," Christ says, "ye blind guides, 
 which say. Whosoever shall swear by the temple it is 
 nothing, but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the tem- 
 ple, he is a debtor. Ye fools and blind, for whether is 
 greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 
 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar it is nothing, 
 but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is 
 guilty. Ye fools and blind, for whether is greater, the 
 gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" Matt. 23, 16- 
 19. Over against such puerilities the Lord says: "Again 
 ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old 
 time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform 
 unto the Lord thine oaths; but I say unto you, Swear not 
 at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by 
 the earth, for it is His footstool, neither by Jerusalem for 
 it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou 
 swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one 
 hair white or black. But let your conversation be. Yea, 
 yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh 
 of evil." 
 
 This suggests the inquiry in the first place, whether 
 our Lord designs His prohibition of swearing merely in 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 143 
 
 Opposition to tiie Pharisaic perversion and thus to restrict 
 its meaniu*;-, though there is no restriction in the expres- 
 sion, merely to the errors of which mention is made. 
 The meaning would then be that not swearing in general 
 is forbidden, but only that kind of swearing which the 
 Jewish teachers regarded allowable, because the object 
 by which the oath was made was not the sacred name of 
 God, and the keeping of which was therefore not pre- 
 sumed to be obligatory. The prohibition would thus 
 embrace all trivial, frivolous and superfluous oaths, 
 while all oaths by the name of God that seemed to be 
 necessary to maintain the truth and to promote the 
 glory of God, and that w^ere taken for our neighbor's 
 welfare or by order of the civil government, are exempt. 
 We are not able to accept this as the intended sense of 
 our Lord's words; for, first, the prohibition is general, and 
 no intimation is given that it is meant only in a limited 
 sense; secondly, it would not make clear wherein the 
 Pharisees erred in regard to swearing and performing 
 their oaths by the name of God; and, thirdly, it would 
 not agree with the warning, that what in our communi- 
 cation goes beyond a simple yea and nay cometh of evil. 
 The interpretation is therefore arbitrary. Acceptable 
 as the sense thus attached to the words is in itself, it 
 cannot justly be regarded as the meaning intended. 
 
 In the second place we are led to iii(]uire whether the 
 words are designed to declare all oaths in their nature 
 sinful, and therefore to be absolutely rejected by the 
 disciples of Christ. Some Christian sects have so under- 
 stood our Lord. But this, too, we must regard as errone- 
 ous. The oath cannot be in itself irreligious or immoral, 
 else it would not have the divine sanction which the 
 Scriptures give it. Not only is it commanded, "Thou 
 Shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve Him and swear 
 by His name," Deut. 6, 13, but even Ood Himself is rep- 
 resented as employing it, "for when God made promise to 
 
144 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Abraham, because He could swear by no greater He 
 swore by Himself." Heb. G, 13. The oath involves no 
 profanity in its appeal to God, but serves a good purpose 
 when it is rightly used. "For men verily swear by the 
 greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of 
 all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to 
 show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His 
 counsel, confirmed it by an oath." Heb. 6, 16.17. There- 
 fore those cannot be right who regard the oath as in its 
 nature involving a superstition and an impiety, and on 
 this ground condemned by our Lord and forbidden under 
 every form and under all circumstances. 
 
 But the prohibition is given in plain words, and 
 Christians must reverently let it stand as it reads, all the 
 more assured that when they do this they have not mis- 
 taken its meaning, because it is repeated by St. James 5, 
 12 : "Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither 
 by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath, 
 but let your yea be yea and your nay, nay, lest ye fall 
 into condemnation." The injunction is the same as that 
 given by our Lord in the sermon, and the ground on 
 which it is based is the same: for our communication 
 with each other our aflSrmation by saying yes, and our 
 negation by saying no, is enough; whatever goes be- 
 yond this comes of evil and subjects us to condemnation. 
 
 But what is the evil and whence the danger? The 
 royal law of love points the way for understanding the 
 subject. In the kingdom of God, where the Holy Spirit 
 has purified the heart by faith, brethren must trust each 
 other. One must not suspect the other of untruthful- 
 ness. The brother does wrong to his brother when he 
 requires more than a yea for a yea or a nay for a nay. 
 It Cometh of uncharitableness. In charity a brother 
 must accept a brother's declaration as truthful and must 
 require no oath. Neither must he think the evil in his 
 heart that his brother suspects him of lying, and there- 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 145 
 
 fore confirm his assertion by calling God to witness. The 
 brotlierly relation has been impeached when such sus- 
 picions are permitted to influence our actions and the 
 one sinning against love has fallen into condemnation. 
 In the Church, among Christian brethren, there must 
 therefore be no swearing. The relation of brethren in 
 faith and love is disturbed as soon as untruthfulness is 
 even insinuated. In the kingdom of God which Christ 
 established and in the interest of which His sermon on 
 the mount was preached as well as all His other work 
 was done, the rule must be invariably applied: ''Swear 
 not at all." For the children of God in their relation to 
 each other and their communication with one another, 
 the oath is entirely prohibited, because the conditions in 
 the kingdom of God are such that any resort to it would 
 imply the absence of that love which there must rule 
 supreme, and the admittance of that temper of evil which 
 has no confidence in the work of grace. Among the 
 children of God oaths could only come of evil because 
 implying a want of confidence in each other. 
 
 But that is manifestly not all that is necessary 
 for the elucidation of the subject, w^hich is complicated 
 by the continued dwelling of the children of God in the 
 world that lieth in wickedness, and their continued duties 
 and consequent communications in this world. They 
 live and labor among people who are not children of God 
 by faith in Christ Jesus. The law of love which regu- 
 lates their lives does not dominate the world. They are 
 not of the world and the kingdom of God, in which they 
 live with their conversation in heaven, is not of this 
 world. But they are in it and have their work to do in 
 it. When therefore they deal with people of the world 
 they do not forget their principle of faith working by 
 love, but they do not expect that the world which know- 
 eth not the Savior will, in the selfishness of its wicked- 
 ness, recognize their principle and act accordingly. That 
 
 10 
 
146 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 would be a foolish expectation, because the natural mind 
 cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. The 
 more the people of the world look into the human heart, 
 the more they distrust it. "The heart is deceitful above 
 all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" 
 Jer. 17, 0. Hence when the men of the world require an 
 oath to make their neighbor's assertions credible, this is 
 quite natural; and as they know nothing of the grace of 
 regeneration, which recognizes all lying and deception as 
 an abomination, no complaint can be made if they re- 
 quire an oath to make men's asseverations trustworthy. 
 That is natural and reasonable. Nor can Christians com- 
 plain if they are treated like other people. If a Christian 
 brother asks me to take an oath in confirmation of my 
 word, he insults me by his distrust and sins against the 
 law of love; if a worlding asks the same thing, his con- 
 duct gives me no offense, because he judges all men on 
 the basis of corrupt human nature and knows nothing of 
 the power of grace that makes men truthful and elimin- 
 ates falsehood: I can therefore expect nothing better of 
 him. 
 
 There is therefore no just ground for condemning 
 the taking of an oath absolutely and for refusing to take 
 it under any circumstances. It is an erring conscience 
 that renders some Christians painfully scrupulous in this 
 regard. Only if there were that in the nature of an oath 
 that makes it inherently sinful, as we have seen that there 
 is not, could there be any sound reason for such scruples 
 when the civil government imposes the oath, or when the 
 circumstances indicate that the cause of truth and right- 
 eousness could be promoted by taking it. Certainly we 
 would misunderstand our Lord's words if we regarded 
 them as condemning what God Himself did and under 
 some circumstances commanded to be done and com- 
 mended. But that furnishes no apology for the vicious 
 and God-defying profanity which is so much practiced 
 
THE LAW ILLUSTRATED. 147 
 
 among the people and which is so shocking not only to 
 Christians, but to all men and women of any refinement. 
 Profane swearing is so vulgar and so vile that it affects 
 the ears as foul stenches affect the nostrils, and so vicious 
 and so demoralizing that even civil governments have 
 found it necessary to issue laws against it. Christians 
 look upon it with abhorrence for the higher reason that 
 it is a bold and seemingly defiant violation of the second 
 commandment, which has not even the poor excuse of 
 securing some temporal profit by the disgusting sin. The 
 rule with Christian people in their daily conversation 
 must be "Swear not at all," avoiding the trivial oaths 
 which are so common as the supposed rhetorical orna- 
 ments of speech among the vulgar, as well as the shocking 
 blasphemies of the ungodly degenerates. In the kingdom 
 of God, among Christian people, where the law of love 
 is the acknowledged rule of life, there will be no occasion 
 for oaths. There yea is yea and nay is nay, and what is 
 said is meant, and whatsoever is more than this cometh 
 of evil; but in the state, whose regulations are based on 
 natural right as reason teaches it, and which can make 
 no distinction between Christian citizens and others, there 
 should be no fear that wrong is done when Christians 
 comply with its requirements, and thus by an oath for 
 confirmation make an end of all strife. Heb. 6, 16. 
 
SECTION VL 
 
 The Bond of Perfectness, 
 
 (Matthew 5, 38-48). 
 
 ^^^HE law of love which our Savior inculcates, is uni- 
 vL versal. It is designed to control the lives of all 
 men, and to exert its benign influence upon all 
 people. None are exempt from the obligation which it 
 imposes, and none are to be excluded from the benefits 
 which its fulfillment confers. Enemies are no exception. 
 They exist because sin, with all its nefarious selfishness, 
 has entered into the world and despoiled the fairest crea- 
 ture in it of the image of God in which he was made, and 
 in which he was loving and happy. Man fell, and his love 
 and happiness were lost; but the obligation to righteous- 
 ness and true holiness in love remained. 
 
 This love is by no means a mere disposition to render 
 kindness for kindness, and thus in a commercial and mer- 
 cenary spirit repay favors with favors, and confer bene- 
 fits with a view of receiving like benefits in return, but a 
 cordial good will towards all and a sincere desire to make 
 all happy. That affection which excludes an enemy from 
 its benevolent operation could not be love. What love is, 
 God the Father shows us in the mission of His Son to 
 save us, and the Son of God shows us in dying for our 
 sins, and the Holy Spirit shows us in the grace offered 
 sinners, that they may enjoy the blessings which Christ's 
 great atoning work has secured for all men. "God com- 
 raendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet 
 sinners Christ died for us." Rom. 5, 8. When we were 
 enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His 
 Son. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He 
 
 14fl 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 149 
 
 loved US and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our 
 sins. Beloved, if God so loved us we ought also to love 
 one another." 1 John 4, 10. 11. This is the import of 
 the law as its Author declares it, and this is the love that 
 is to reign in the hearts of men renewed after the image 
 of God by faith in the Redeemer. "The love of God is 
 slied abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is 
 given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, 
 in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Rom. 5, 6. 
 As God loves us, so ought we, who by creation were formed 
 and by regeneration are renewed after His image, to love 
 Him and one another. This is the purport of all the com- 
 mandments. Therefore St. Paul, after giving various ex- 
 hortations, adds: "Above all these things put on charity, 
 which is the bond of perfectness." Col. 3, 14. 
 
 The portion of the sermon which we have now reached 
 inculcates this heavenly love, which is restricted by no 
 earthly considerations, and is therefore due to enemies as 
 well as to friends. The section treats first of our duty to 
 those who show their selfishness in special acts of ill-will, 
 V. 38-42 ; secondly, of the application of the law to enemies 
 in general, v. 43-47; and thirdly, of the fundamental re- 
 quirement of perfection, in which all divine laws are of 
 necessity embraced. 
 
 I. "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye 
 for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you 
 that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on 
 thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any 
 man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let 
 him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel 
 thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that 
 asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn 
 not thou away." 
 
 These are difficult lessons which the Maker gives us. 
 The wisdom of this world stumbles at them, and pro- 
 nounces them wild and impracticable. Carnal reason, 
 
150 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 when it lacks the courage to reject them outright as the 
 effusions of a flighty dreamer, insists that they must be 
 taken with great allowance and sanely interpreted before 
 any thought can be entertained of accepting them as a rule 
 of conduct in the world as we find it. Christians, who 
 stand in awe of God's Word, cannot consent to any such 
 summary process, by which the revelation given us from 
 heaven is rendered of none effect. They will be ready 
 rationally to look into the subject and welcome all efforts 
 to find a legitimate interpretation of the words, but con- 
 sent to no departure from their obvious meaning, what- 
 ever difficulties they may present in practice. 
 
 1. It must be observed, in the first place, that our 
 Lord expounds the law in its true spiritual import, as a 
 revelation of God's holiness and righteousness that should 
 be a pattern for the intelligent cr.eature made in His 
 image and designed for His companionship in holiness 
 and righteousness. It sets forth the divine ideal, which is 
 to be realized in human life. That thus a life of activity 
 in good works is required is obvious. But more than this 
 is demanded. The principal thing is the right condition 
 of the heart, as the personal source whence that activity 
 is to proceed. Not only the deeds are to be conformed to 
 the rule prescribed, but the person who performs them 
 is to be holy as God is holy. Only thus can the deeds, 
 which as mere actions are morally indifferent, be made 
 holy. Good fruits are the product of a good tree. Men 
 should be like God, who is love, and therefore like God in 
 deeds of love, ever eschewing evil and doing good, because 
 that is in accord with the nature and calling which God 
 has given him. Love is the fulfilling of the holy law, 
 because it is the soul's conformity to God's holy nature, 
 of which the law is a revelation. This love must per- 
 meate the life and regulate and pervade all activity, so 
 that every motive and every motion is -holy as is the source 
 whence they proceed. It is love that is required, not the 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 151 
 
 mere verbal profession of it, and not the mere semblance 
 of it in deeds that are called charity, but the disposition 
 of the heart which is devoted to God and kindly affec- 
 tioned towards man, and whose works therefore are in 
 reality works of love, emanations of the love which glows 
 in the heart. Where such love without dissimulation 
 reigns, doing good to all will be a delight, and the thought 
 of retaliating when wrong is suffered will not be tolerated. 
 Should not the child of God, in tlie spirit of love, be will- 
 ing not only patiently to bear the wrongs suffered, but 
 suffer them doubly rather than violate the law of love? 
 If it be said in reply that nobody has such love and tl:at 
 the whole matter is only a fancy, let us keep in mind tliat 
 Christ is not showing how all the people of His kingdom 
 live, but how they ought to live. And if it be further 
 urged that there can be no use in setting forth an ideal 
 which is rarely, if e^er attained on earth, our answer is 
 that it is of the utmost importance for the souls of raen, 
 both as regards doctrine and iiractice, that they should 
 know what the will of God is, even our sanctification, 
 and that they should see how far they come short of it, 
 in order that they may live a life of daily sorrow and re- 
 pentance on account of their sin and of daily self-cruci- 
 fixion and watchfulness and prayer in striving after 
 holiness; and this not with the thought that such 
 living will make good their shortcoming and open the 
 doors of heaven to them notwithstanding their sin, but 
 that they may by faitli cling more closely to their Savior, 
 who is their only refuge and hope, and whose Gospel 
 alone can give them peace. Many a soul is lost by embrac- 
 ing the Satanic delusion that God will not hold us strictly 
 to His law, seeing that in our depraved and disabled 
 condition it is impossible to fulfill it. The effect of such 
 lying solace on unnumbered souls is that they grow in- 
 different about the life of holiness which the law requires 
 and see no need for the consolation of the Gospel, which 
 
152 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 can be embraced only by those who experience the terrors 
 of a sin-stricken conscience and recognize the needed de- 
 liverance in the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
 the world. He came to fulfill the law for us in all its full- 
 ness and severity, not to destroy it or relax it, and the 
 children of God, after they have experienced its salutary 
 use in bringing them to a knowledge of their sin and thus 
 of serving as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ, will 
 let it stand as their ideal of holiness in their glad endeav- 
 ors to show forth the praises of their Savior. Abide in 
 Him by faith unto eternal life, and moved and guided by 
 His Spirit you will thankfully walk in the way of holi- 
 ness; and while this holiness can contribute nothing to 
 your salvation, which is by grace alone, and you will all 
 the while seek it because you desire it and it pleases the 
 Master, you will live after the Spirit and mortify the 
 deeds of the body, that you may abide in Jesus and sin 
 may not cause your death. 
 
 2. When the sermon on the mount was delivered 
 the audience was composed of people who respected the 
 Mosaic law and recognized its authority. But their 
 teachers had failed to understand its profound spiritual 
 import and sadly misinterpreted it. Christ explains its 
 true meaning, as the Jews needed such explanation that 
 the light of heaven might shine into the earthly dark- 
 ness that obscured it. He did not come to set it aside 
 or to disparage it, but to fulfill it in all its requirements, 
 both as to the duties imposed and the penalties of trans- 
 gression. Only when the law was misunderstood or 
 perverted could the Pharisees offer any plausible excuse 
 for suspecting that He was not a friend of the legal 
 economy under which they were living. That He re- 
 buked their unspiritual ceremonialism and their self- 
 righteous trust in the virtue and merit of external per- 
 formances is evident; but He did this because it was 
 based on ignorance or perversion of the law which they 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 153 
 
 claimed to houor and which He found it necessary to ex- 
 plain. And so it was in regard to tlie application of 
 confessedly divine precepts. The law of retaliation, to 
 which the verses before us refer, was i^art of the Mosaic 
 legislation. "Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, 
 tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for 
 burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe," Ex. 21, 
 23-25. Christ does not charge upon the Jewish leaders 
 that they had forged or falsified this law of ]Moses. What ] 
 He condemns is their lack of love, which is the fulfilling ' 
 of the law, and their consequent misapplication to the ) 
 private intercourse of individuals what was issued as an'! 
 ordinance of civil government for the punishment of crim- 1 
 inals. It is as if a man should claim the right to punish | 
 his neighbor for an alleged wrong because the law of the 
 land ordains such i)unishment b}^ the court when a per- i 
 son is tried and proved guilty of the crime. The as- \ 
 sumption of the Pharisees was that the law of retaliation 
 in kind, an eye for an eye, was meant to gratify the nat- 
 ural craving of the sinful heart to get even with an 
 enemy and to avenge the wrong. Our Lord's exposition 
 was not directed against the law. The Mosaic code itself 
 forbade what it was falsely understood to teach, "Thou 
 shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the chil- 
 dren of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself," Lev. 19, 18. 
 
 That the civil government is authorized to do and 
 must do for the public welfare what the private indi- 
 vidual has no right to do, and can not do without public 
 injury, lies in the nature of all civil organizations and 
 their legislation. The enacting of laws for the govern- 
 ment of a community would have no rational purpose 
 without authority to enforce them. Justice cannot be 
 upheld and order preserv^ed without inHicting punish- 
 ment on those who violate the law. And such persons 
 are found in every community. There are always some 
 
154 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 who, while they are glad to enjoy the benefits of just and 
 salutary laws, are not willing to obey them. Hence God 
 has instituted governments with legislative and penal 
 powers, that those who pursue their own will, in disre- 
 gard of the equal rights of their fellow citizens, may be 
 compelled to respect justice and observe order, and may 
 suffer the merited punishment if they persist in wrong- 
 doing. St. Paul writes: "Let every soul be subject unto 
 the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: 
 the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, 
 therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of 
 God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves dam- 
 nation." Rom. 13, 1 . 2. The authorities divinely com- 
 missioned to curb individual self-will and maintain public 
 justice may rightfully do what private citizens could do 
 only by usurping authority which they do not possess. 
 The ruler acts in the name of Him who is Lord of all. 
 "He is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou 
 do tliat which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the 
 sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger 
 to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil," Rom. 13, 4. 
 If this civil government then ordains that the penalty 
 of violating the laws of the land shall be "an eye for an 
 eye and a tooth for a tooth," it exercises a legitimate au- 
 thority, and our Lord is far from setting Himself in op- 
 position to powers which He, as the Son of God, has 
 Himself instituted. His condemnation is pronounced 
 upon the selfishness which takes the power of governing 
 and punishing into its own hands, and thus rejects God 
 and serves the devil. "Dearly beloved, avenge not your- 
 selves, but rather give place unto wrath ; for it is written, 
 "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord," Rom. 
 12, 19. God will attend to the punishment of evil-doers, 
 and judge righteous judgment, which the" wrath of man 
 is not capable of doing; and for the temporary adminis- 
 tration of justice in this temporal life, until the final 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 155 
 
 judgment comes, He has provided "the powers that be" 
 in the State. 
 
 3. The bitterness of malice wliich Satan has intro- 
 duced into the hearts of men has no kinship with the 
 wrath of God against sin and the vengeance which He 
 takes upon the stubbornness that persists in sin. His 
 indignation and wrath is revealed against the ungodli- 
 ness of men; vengeance is His, and He will repay; His 
 minister in the civil government is a "revenger to execute 
 wrath upon him that doeth evil." So Christ Himself 
 used severe language against adversaries; and the 
 apostles, after their Master's example, condemned false 
 doctrine and life with severity and without mincing 
 words. This has been urged as proof that our Lord's 
 meaning in this portion of His sermon cannot be what 
 His words import, or that He was Himself all astray 
 in His conception of the righteousness which the law re- 
 quires. We cannot but think that such cavilers are all 
 astray in their criticisms. They do err, not knowing the 
 Scriptures nor the power of God. Even the natural rea- 
 son of man leads him to make a distinction between the 
 action of a civil court and the presumption of a private 
 citizen, and to see the difference between executing the 
 sentence of such a court and inflicting punishment by a 
 person on his own individual account, according to his 
 own private judgment. If a neighbor knocks out your 
 eye, are you justified in knocking out his eye to get even 
 with him? It is getting even with him in sin. Giving 
 way to your wrath and taking vengeance on your own 
 account, is the way to anarchy and social ruin and the 
 subversion of all justice and order. "The wrath of man 
 worketh not the righteousness of God," James 1, 20. The, 
 Scriptures teach us to commit all things to Him, and ) 
 cheerfully submit ourselves to His government; for Hev 
 is just and wise and good, and doeth all things well. In ' 
 Him is no malice and ill-will and injustice, and Chris- 
 
156 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 tians can well trust in Him to make all right, although 
 appearances are often such as to put their patience on 
 trial. He is absolute Monarch, and vengeance is His, 
 as well as blessing. On His dealings the regenerate heart 
 has no criticisms to pass, and when He condemns and 
 punishes His subjects for their disobedience and sins, it 
 is unreasonable to appeal to His example in justification 
 of our condemnation and punishment of our fellow men, 
 who are not our subjects, but with whom we are equally 
 subject to the One just judge of all men. Shall not the 
 judge of all the earth do right, and shall we not, if we 
 desire the right, commit all to Him? "Dearly beloved, 
 avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath : 
 for it is written. Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith 
 the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; 
 if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt 
 heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, 
 but overcome evil with good." Eom. 12, 19-21. 
 
 4. Our Lord teaches us to exercise love to all men, 
 not excepting our enemies. But the special instructions 
 given in the verses under consideration seem still to sug- 
 gest some diificulty and to require some further remark. 
 In opposition to the error that any person has a right to 
 retaliate when wrong is suffered, and thus to apply the 
 rule of "an eye for an eye," He teaches "That ye resist 
 not evil." This is not hard to understand. Instead of 
 giving way to the selfishness and ill-will that tries to get 
 even with an offender by giving him an equivalent, the 
 disciples of Christ are to exercise love towards their 
 neighbor even when he does wrong. The malice that 
 foolishly seeks to right one wrong by balancing it with 
 another, must have no place in hearts that have been puri- 
 fied by faith in the Kedeemer, who in His infinite love 
 has merited remission of sins for all men 'and graciously 
 offers it to all by the Gospel. They should have pity on 
 others as Christ had pity on them, and not be overcome 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 157 
 
 of evil, but overcome evil with good. To this the Spirit 
 of God, who is given them when they become believers, 
 steadily moves them. "Now if any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ, he is none of His," Rom. 8, 9. Nor can 
 a sincere Christian experience any difficulty in compre- 
 hending the principle which underlies the conduct re- 
 quired by our Lord's sermon. -So far must the disciple 
 of Christ be from letting his carnal propensities gain tlie 
 mastery over him and enslave him to sin, that he would 
 rather bear double the wrong inflicted by his enemy than 
 violate the law of love that reigns in Christ's kingdom. 
 Therefore if one "smite thee on the right cheek, turn to 
 him the other also; and if any one sue thee at the law, 
 and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 
 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him 
 twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that 
 would borrow of thee turn not thou away." The prin- 
 ciple of love inculcated is plain, and no true disciple of 
 the Savior can intelligently assume that more is re- 
 quired than the law of holiness, which God has bound 
 upon man from the beginning, has always required. 
 
 The difficulties arise only when the specifications 
 applying the law to man's practice are considered in their 
 relation to other requirements made by the law of right- 
 eousness as set forth in the Scriptures. If a ruffian 
 strikes me in wilful wickedness, or in conscious violation 
 of all law takes away my property to gratify his greed or 
 spite, or in bare malice to inflict an injury upon me, asks 
 me to give or lend him my money or goods without any 
 claim of suffering or need on his part, shall I understand 
 Christ's words to mean that the love which the Holy 
 Spirit has given me will find its appropriate expression 
 in yielding to his satanic assaults and demands, and even 
 doubling my loving compliance with his ungodly desires? 
 I think not. The law of love was never designed to ignore 
 and overthrow all righteousness, but rather to fulfill it; 
 
158 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 and our Lord's teaching was always directed to the in- 
 culcation of love and justice without bringing them into 
 conflict. They are harmonized in the dreadful penalty 
 laid upon our sin in the crucifixion of our Savior, and 
 in the sacrifice which He offered that we might escape 
 that penalty and receive life everlasting. And they need 
 not conflict in the life of God's redeemed people. Several 
 necessary distinctions may serve to make the subject 
 clearer. 
 
 The first is that between the believers and the unbe- 
 lievers, and the different treatment which love suggests 
 to each. Our brethren in the fold of Christ have claims 
 on us which the heathen man and the publican have not. 
 We have mentioned the case of wilfully wicked attempts 
 of bad men to deprive us of the rights secured to us by 
 divine and human law. When a person smites us, or 
 takes away our coat, or would borrow of us, it is not clear 
 from such act that he is a malicious murderer, or con- 
 firmed thief, or a wretched swindler, and it is not right 
 to assume that he is. If he is a brother such an assump- 
 tion could only be the result of uncharitableness in our 
 hearts. The principle of love which our Lord inculcates 
 would prompt us to gain our brother, and rather bear 
 this wrong doubly than let uncharitableness gain the as- 
 cendency in our hearts. The Christian will not readily 
 abandon the hope of gaining his offending brother and 
 preventing the separation which sin persisted in would 
 necessitate. Our Lord prescribes the course which love 
 is required to take when He institutes the process of 
 church discipline as recorded in Matt. 18, 15-18. It is 
 the application of love under the Lord's own directions 
 in the Christian Church. If the wrong-doer is not a be- 
 liever, the treatment which our Lord teaches His dis- 
 ciples to accord him will be different as the relation ex- 
 isting between them is different. It will not then follow, 
 indeed, that the offender has necessarily done the wrong 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 159 
 
 with malicious intent and consciously satanic spirit, so 
 that turning to him the other cheek when he smites us 
 on the one, and letting him take our cloak also when he 
 deprives us of our coat, would not only imply a cowardly 
 yielding to arrogant injustice, but would seem a sanc- 
 tioning of the wrong and confirm the evil-doer in his 
 wickedness. There are such brutish people in the world, 
 but a man may be an offender without having sunk to 
 the lowest depths of conscious sinning with malice afore- 
 thought; and deciding him to be such, with no other evi- 
 dence than the fact that he has done us a wrong, is un- 
 charitableness which the Christian shuns. When this be- 
 comes apparent, the conduct of the offender must have 
 resisted all the Christian's efforts to win him by love, 
 and will have turned these efforts of love toward protect- 
 ing himself and his neighbors in their life and property 
 by letting the civil government exercise its power to ren- 
 der him harmless by taking away the liberty which he 
 abuses and visiting upon him the punishment which he 
 deserves. But if the offender is not hardened in his wick- 
 edness, the disciple of Christ who suffers the offense, in 
 the practice of the love which he owes to all men, and in 
 the application of that wisdom which cometh down from 
 above, which is first pure, then peaceable, is manifestly re- 
 quired to abstain from retaliation; yet, on the other hand, 
 by the use of gentle words and kindly deeds, to endeavor 
 to arouse his conscience and lead him to see the light 
 which shines in the kingdom of God and to enjoy its 
 blessings. No Christian should forget his high calling 
 in this regard. To Avin men for the kingdom of God 
 and His righteousness must ever be our purpose. In do- 
 ing good to our enemy we shall heap coals of fire on his 
 head and make him ashamed of the evil that he meant 
 to do us, as the mercy of God leads us to repentance. 
 "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good," 
 Rom. 12, 21. 
 
160 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 5. Our Lord does not teach that the attainment 
 of this divine purpose in the life of the individual is the 
 condition of citizenship in His kingdom, or of the ac- 
 complishment of the ultimate design of its establish- 
 ment. No doubt errors in this regard have largely con- 
 tributed to the frequent efforts made to moderate 
 Christ's interpretation of the law and to put upon this 
 a more lax construction. Eegarding it impossible to 
 keep commandments that are so manifestly in opposition 
 to all the propensities and powers of our human nature, 
 and inferring that the acceptance of the words in their 
 plain meaning would imply the impossibility of any 
 soul's salvation, and the consequent subversion of the 
 entire divine plan, it seemed necessary to take them in 
 a milder and more practicable sense. But this is only 
 one of the many instances of the meddling of worldly 
 wisdom with matters beyond its comprehension, and 
 of the deplorable work that results. Salvation is not by 
 the deeds of the law at all, and the Savior came be- 
 cause the curse of the law was upon us and there was 
 no way of escape by human powers or human works. 
 "What the law could not do in that it was weak through 
 the flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness of sinful 
 flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the 
 righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who 
 walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 
 8, 3. 4. Our Savior came with a precious Gospel of sal- 
 vation by faith in Him and His atoning work, that "be- 
 ing justified by faith we might have peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5, 1. Therefore 
 all believers can joyfully say with St. Paul: "I am not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the 
 Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the 
 righteousness of God revealed, froip faith to faith; as it 
 is written, the just shall live by faith." Rom. 1, 16. 17. 
 
THE BOND OF PEHFECTNESS. 161 
 
 The sermon on the mount is indeed an exposition of the 
 law, which our Lord came to fulfill, not to destroy. He 
 illustrated it in His life of perfect holiness and suffered 
 its curse upon our sin by the vicarious death, which is 
 the wages of our sin. This is the kernel of the Gospel 
 which He preached, that by His active fulfilment of the 
 holy law we sinners can be esteemed righteous in tlie 
 court of heaven, and by His paying the penalty, in His 
 vicarious death, of our failure to fulfil it, we can escape 
 the death which we have merited; and that the way of 
 realizing for ourselves all that He did and suffered for 
 us is simply to appropriate it by the faith which the 
 Holy Spirit works. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 
 and thou shalt be saved." Nothing else is needed. 
 "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith 
 without the deeds of the law." Rom. 3, 28. The reason 
 is obvious. "He was delivered for our offences, and was 
 raised again for our justification." Rom. 4, 25. 
 
 But all this does not render the law with our Lord's 
 exposition of its import needless for us. It still makes 
 its demands upon men, denouncing "unto them that are 
 contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey un- 
 righteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
 anguish, upon ever^^ soul of man that doeth evil." Rom. 
 2, 8. 9. Christ has come to redeem them that were un- 
 der the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, 
 and rejoice in the hope of glory in the mansions of our 
 Father's house. But the message that comes to us now 
 is, "Repent and believe the Gospel." "He that believeth 
 not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God 
 abideth on him." John 3, 36. Only when men see their 
 sin and the curse that is on it, and on them because of 
 it, can they be induced to flee for refuge to the hope set 
 before them in the Gospel. "Wherefore the law was our 
 schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be 
 justified by faith." Gal. 3, 24. And when we have come 
 
 11 
 
162 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 to Christ and found peace in believing, we still need the 
 law to guide us in holiness, that we may know how to 
 walk and please God. Not that now we should harbor 
 the ungrateful thought that we can secure a righteous- 
 ness of our own by our fulfilment of the law, and thus 
 render the righteousness of Christ superfluous. That is 
 the way to fall from grace and lose everything. But 
 now, loving righteousness and ever striving to express 
 our gratitude in loving service, we see that we are at 
 best unprofitable servants, and cling all the more closely 
 to Christ our Savior, that we may have daily pardon of 
 our shortcomings and transgressions and daily peace in 
 believing. 
 
 II. "Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I 
 say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
 which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye 
 may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: 
 for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 
 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have 
 you? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye 
 salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? 
 do not even the publicans so?" The principle of love as 
 necessarily including enemies, is now stated more di- 
 rectly and more fully. We have seen that it underlies 
 the directions given in the preceding verses, and now it 
 is expressly set forth and enforced as love to enemies, 
 that there may be no room for misunderstanding. The 
 fact that a person is not merely suspected of being an 
 enemy, but is known as such, does not exclude him from 
 the operation and the benefits of the love which God re- 
 quires us to have in our hearts and exercise in our lives. 
 
 The Pharisees exercised their ingenuity in trying to 
 make it appear that enemies are not included when love 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 163 
 
 to our fellow men is required. Their perversion, not the 
 Mosaic law, was antagonized by our Lord. The law 
 says: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge 
 against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love 
 thy neighbor as thyself." Lev. 19, 18. Making all due 
 allowance for the special calling of the Israelites, and 
 their consequent relations to the people occupying and 
 surrounding the promised land, there was no ground in 
 the duties imposed on them, nor in reason or right, for 
 inferring that they might hate all others but their own 
 people. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor," can under no 
 circumstances mean that thou shalt hate thine enemy. 
 The contrary was required by the Mosaic law: "If thou 
 meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt 
 surely bring it back to him again." Ex. 23, 4. Love was 
 the requirement of the law in the Old Testament as well 
 as in the New, and it always extended over all people, in- 
 cluding enemies. "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, 
 and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth." "Say 
 not, I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render 
 to the man according to his work." "If thine enemy be 
 hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give 
 him water to drink; for thou shalt heap coals of fire 
 upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." Prov. 
 24, 17-29; 25, 21. 22. In this, as in the other cases men- 
 tioned, Christ sets forth the true meaning of the divine 
 law in opposition to the misapprehensions and per- 
 versions of Jewish teachers. 
 
 Instead of recompensing evil for evil, we are taught 
 to overcome evil with good. Love must rule in the king- 
 dom of God even when we are dealing with enemies. 
 When they curse us, we must bless them, giving them 
 good words for the evil which they have given us. When 
 they hate us, instead of hating them in return, we must 
 manifest love to them by doing them good. When they 
 despitefully use us and persecute us, we must pray for 
 
164 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 them. There is a beautiful gradation in our Lord's words 
 of instruction. We should have love in our hearts as 
 the foundation of a right conduct towards our enemies. 
 This will fortify us against the sinful impulses of the 
 flesh, which would prompt to render evil for evil, and 
 will be an incentive to use gentle words and kindly deeds 
 to overcome the evil; and finally, whatever may be the 
 event, it will move us to commend them and our cause 
 to the mercy of God in humble prayer. 
 
 Our Lord enforces the law of love by impressing 
 upon us the example of our Father in heaven, whose 
 children His disciples have become by His grace through 
 faith in His name. "He maketh His sun to rise on the 
 evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
 on the unjust." Should not His goodness lead us to 
 repentance for every evil thought and word and deed to 
 our neighbor, seeing how unlike these make us to our 
 Father? Should not His example inspire us to live in 
 love towards all men, not excepting even our enemies? 
 And not only in giving sunshine and rain, meat and drink, 
 raiment and shelter to the evil as well as the good, does 
 our heavenly Father show us how His children ought 
 to live and please Him, but also and especially in the 
 revelation of His grace to us sinners, and in the bestowal 
 of spiritual gifts unto our salvation when we were yet 
 enemies. He gives us His Holy Spirit that by His grace 
 we may become His children and glorify Him by loving 
 and living according to His holy will. "He that loveth 
 not, knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was 
 manifested the love of God toward us, because that God 
 sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we 
 might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we 
 loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be 
 the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved 
 us we ought also to love one another." 1 John 4, 8-11. 
 Christ illustrates the principle in the parable recorded in 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 165 
 
 Matthew 18, 23-35. A king, taking account of his ser- 
 vants, found one indebted to him to the enormous 
 amount of ten thousand talents. The sum was so large 
 that payment was impossible, and the servant cried for 
 mercy. "Then the Lord of that servant was moved with 
 compassion, and loosed him and forgave him the debt." 
 But tliis pardoned servant found a fellow servant who 
 owed him the small sum of a hundred pence and de- 
 manded immediate payment, refusing to hear his appeals 
 for patience until payment could be made, and rejecting 
 all cries for mercy. This ungrateful and cruel conduct 
 was reported to his lord, who summoned him into his 
 presence and said to him: "O thou wicked servant, I 
 forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 
 shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fel- 
 low servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord 
 was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors." Chris- 
 tians have grace imparted to them by the Holy Spirit to 
 overcome the evil in their nature and enable (hem, as 
 children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, to appreciate 
 the love of their heavenly Father. Should not the love 
 which He showed to us when we were yet enemies, move 
 us to learn of Him how to exercise love to our fellow 
 men? "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye 
 are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitter- 
 ness and M'rath and clamor and evil speaking be put 
 away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind to one 
 another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as 
 God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Eph. 4, 30-32. 
 It is not expected that the natural man will lead 
 such a life of love. The law as our Savior expounds it 
 is obligatory upon all men, and all are accountable under 
 it. But only in the kingdom of Christ is the love of God 
 shed abroad in men's hearts and the power given to obey 
 it. By nature we are not in the kingdom of God, and 
 cannot enjoy its blessings and perform its duties. Let 
 
166 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 US not overlook the fundamental condition which our 
 Lord lays down: "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except 
 a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of God." John 3, 5. Therefore when 
 He appeals to the intelligence of His hearers in the 
 words, "For if ye love them which love you, what reward 
 have 3^e? do not even the publicans the same? And if 
 ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than 
 others? do not even the publicans so?" it is not with the 
 presumption that they have nothing to move them, but 
 their innate sense of right. He gives no countenance 
 to the error which was in vogue then as it is now, that 
 notwithstanding our corrupt nature we can have the 
 will and the ability to fulfill the holy law and practice 
 the perfect love which it requires. Something more is 
 demanded than that which the publicans exhibit. As 
 these were generally regarded to be bad men, even the 
 Pharisees could understand that a better life than theirs 
 is requisite for the fulfillment of the law. The reasoning 
 would be valid even from their point of view, that show- 
 ing love only to those who show love to us, and saluting 
 only those whom we recognize as brethren, does not raise 
 us above the level of the publicans who are so much 
 despised. But our Lord had been teaching His disciples 
 the things of the kingdom of God, and the words which 
 He spake were spirit and life. In these disciples He 
 could therefore appeal to higher motives than those of 
 which the natural man is capable, and with them He 
 could accordingly reason on higher grounds. They 
 should realize our Heavenly Father's love and love their 
 fellowmen as He loves us and them. And now, if we 
 love only them that love us and salute only those en- 
 deared to us as our brethren, is it not manifest that we 
 belong rather to the class of despised publicans than 
 to that of blessed children of God? • Such love and such 
 salutation is merely the result of our sinful selfishness, 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 1G7 
 
 giving nothing but that for which we get an equivalent.^ 
 It is the same unloving spirit which would render evil 
 for evil on the same principle, which can have no place 
 in the kingdom of God where love reigns, 
 
 III. Finally, the whole matter set forth in this sec- 
 tion is summed up in the words : "Be ye therefore perfect, 
 even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 
 
 The word perfect implies so much, that strenuous ef- 
 forts have been made to show that it cannot here be em- 
 ployed in its proper sense. But while we should be care- 
 ful not to wrest it for the purpose of making it say less 
 than the word plainly expresses, we should be equally 
 careful not to put more into it than general usage and the 
 context indicate. The former is done when it is argued 
 that in our sinful condition nothing more can justly be 
 required of us than we have the ability to render, and 
 tliat the demand made upon us to be perfect can therefore 
 mean no more than that we should do the best that we 
 can in our disabled condition. The other is done when 
 it is argued that, as we are required to be perfect as our 
 Father in heaven is perfect, a state of entire sinlessness 
 is attainable on earth and must, according to our Lord's 
 words, be attained before any one can be recognized as a 
 true disciple of Christ and an heir of heaven. A further 
 consideration of the term, and of the subject it presents, 
 is therefore necessary for the right understanding of the 
 text. 
 
 That is perfect which serves its purpose without a 
 defect or a blemish. In the connection in which the 
 word is here used it refers to the love which is required 
 of Christ's disciples and which the Spirit of Christ sheds 
 abroad in their liearts. This love is defective if it does 
 not embrace enemies in its compass; it has a blemish if it 
 is extended only to tliose wliose love is requited or is ex- 
 pected in return. It is tainted with selfishness when it is 
 not like our Heavenly Father's love, who maketh His 
 
J 68 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 suu to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain 
 on the just and on the unjust. Perfect love is required 
 as our Father which is in heaven manifests it to us. Thus 
 our Lord said to the rich young man v^ho inquired what 
 he must do to inherit eternal life, "If thou wilt be per- 
 fect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and 
 thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow 
 me." Matt. 19, 21. The man thought that he had loved 
 his neighbor as himself from his youth up: and now what 
 was lacking yet? The Lord's answer showed him what 
 was lacking. It was the very love which in his conceit 
 he fully possessed, but which in reality consisted with him 
 only in word; and when the young man heard what was 
 lacking, "he went away sorrowful, for he had great pos- 
 sessions." What he needed to be perfect was the pos- 
 session of pure love in his heart; for "love is the fulfilling 
 of the law." Kom. 13, 10. What he needed above all 
 was to "put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." 
 Col. 3, 14. 
 
 Love is thus seen to be only another name for that 
 holiness of heart which was man's original endowment as 
 created in the image of God, who is love. That consti- 
 tuted his perfectness as the most highly gifted of earthly 
 creatures, and its restoration by the grace of God, 
 through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, is what 
 is needed still to constitute it. "I am the Lord your God; 
 ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves and ye shall be 
 holy, for I am holy." Lev. 11, 44. Man was made to be 
 like God in righteousness and true holiness. "So God 
 created man in His own image, in the image of God cre- 
 ated He him." Gen. 1, 27. He was perfect as he pro- 
 ceeded from the hands of his Maker. All was "very 
 good" until by the instigation of Satan the terrible 
 tragedy occurred in Eden which made our earth a wilder- 
 ness of sin and woe and death. "By pne man sin entered 
 into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed up- 
 
THE BOND OP PERFECTNESS. 169 
 
 on all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5, 12. There 
 was then an end of all perfectness in this world which 
 lieth in wickedness. But God did not in the anger of 
 His righteousness cast away His forlorn creature, but in 
 wrath remembered mercy. He "so loved the world that 
 He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
 in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 John 3, 16. The Eternal Son of God condescended to be 
 born of a woman and made under the law, that He might 
 fulfill all righteousness in our stead, and be obedient unto 
 death for our salvation. At His birth it was announced 
 by the angel: "Fear not; for behold I bring you good 
 tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For 
 unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, 
 which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2, 10. 11. He lived and 
 died for us that a kingdom of righteousness might be 
 established, in which all who believe in Him should be 
 gathered and be saved with an everlasting salvation. 
 To this end He gives His Holy Spirit through His Word 
 and Sacrament, that we might regain in Him what was 
 lost in Adam. "There is therefore now no condemnation 
 to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the 
 flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8, 1. The Spirit of 
 God has made all things new by their regeneration. They 
 have put on Christ, who is perfect in holiness, and thus, 
 their hearts being purified by faith, the image of God is 
 restored in them. They are perfect in Christ, who is 
 made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctifi- 
 cation and redemption, "that, according as it is written, 
 He that glorieth, let liim glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1, 31. 
 "Ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put 
 on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the 
 image of Him that created him." Col. 3, 10. But this 
 renewal of the divine image is the grafting into Christ, 
 by which, through faith in Him, we share all the blessings 
 of the redemption effected through His blood, without 
 
170 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 having in our own nature been divested of all the evil 
 with which sin has infected it, or being entirely as- 
 similated to the spirit of holiness imparted by the grace 
 of our Lord. The flesh still exists in us and lusts against 
 the Spirit. The new life is therefore a power in us that 
 has not yet expelled all sinfulness from our nature, but 
 that is to be constantly exercised for the destruction of 
 the old Adam and the growth in holiness. "I am cruci- 
 fied with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ 
 liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I 
 live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and 
 gave Himself for me." Gal. 2, 20. The power which 
 worketh in us unfailingly impels to a realization in our 
 own lives of the image restored by the Holy Spirit 
 through faith in the Savior, and therefore we who are in 
 Christ are continually exhorted to walk in holiness 
 worthy of our high calling. "If we live in the Spirit, 
 let us also walk in the Spirit." Gal. 5, 25. Thus the 
 apostle warns Christians against the sins of the Gentiles 
 and says: "Ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that 
 ye have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the 
 truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning the former 
 conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to 
 the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the Spirit of your 
 mind; and that ye put on the new man which after God 
 is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4, 
 20-29. "Be ye perfect" therefore means: Embrace by 
 faith the righteousness acquired for you by the Son of 
 God, which is perfect and which is graciously imputed 
 to those who believe in Him as their Savior; and in the 
 power of the Holy Spirit, who is given to all believers, 
 follow after holiness in the footsteps of Jesus to the 
 praise of His name. 
 
 The perfection required thus presents itself in two 
 aspects, and in such two-fold view .the word is applied 
 in Holy Scripture. The sincere follower of Christ has by 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 171 
 
 faith a righteousness which avails before God, because 
 he has the perfect obedience and merits of Christ imputed 
 to liim. Notwithstanding all his own shortcomings he is 
 perfect in Christ. As against all ungodliness and all 
 hypocritical forms of godliness, the sincere Israelite was 
 even in tlie Old Testament called perfect. "Mark the per- 
 fect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man 
 is peace." Ps. 37, 37. St. Paul, speaking of Christ in us 
 the hope of glory, says : "Whom we preach, warning 
 every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that 
 we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Col. 
 1, 28. In Him the image of God is restored and all His 
 perfection of holiness is imputed to them who embrace 
 Him by faith. 
 
 But more than this is taught us and secured to us. 
 By His grace the sin that remains in our nature even after 
 conversion shall in the end be totally eradicated, and the 
 personal perfection for which we are striving shall be 
 attained. But we must not flatter ourselves that the prom- 
 ised attainment renders the struggle needless, and that 
 the victory over the world and the flesh and the devil will 
 be won without the good flght of faith. St. Paul's words 
 illustrate the whole subject: "Not as though I had 
 already attained or were already perfect, but I follow 
 after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am 
 apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not my- 
 self to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forget- 
 ting those things which are behind and reaching forth 
 unto those things which are before, I press toward the 
 mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus." Phil. 2, 12-14. 
 
 Tlie perfect love that includes enemies as well as 
 friends is a gift of the Holy Spirit which all believers 
 possess. But that does not imply that every believer is 
 faultless in the use of the gifts which the Spirit has im- 
 parted, or that all have attained the same degree of holi- 
 
172 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ness in the exercise of these gifts. The sin that dwells in 
 our nature is not wholly exterminated until the Holy 
 Spirit's work is completed with the end of this earthly 
 life in the death of the body. Sanctification is a growth 
 unto completion until the end, and therefore never ceases, 
 while this life lasts, to be an object towards the attain- 
 ment of which the energies of Christians are directed. 
 One cannot be a true disciple of Christ without the faith 
 which worketh by love. "This is the will of God, even 
 your sanctification." Every child of God by faith in Christ 
 Jesus recognizes this. But the accomplishment of this 
 holy will of God is a different matter. "For I know that 
 in me, (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing; for 
 to will is present with me, but how to perform that which 
 is good I find not." Rom. 7, 18. The Christian's comfort 
 in the Holy Ghost and his joyful assurance of salvation 
 is therefore not made to rest on his perfect attainment of 
 personal holiness in obedience to the will of God, at 
 which he never ceases to aim and for which he never 
 ceases to long, but of which he always comes short until 
 his transfer to the better land "where the wicked cease 
 from troubling and the weary are at rest." By faith he 
 embraces the righteousness acquired for him by the 
 Savior. That is perfect, and clothed in that righteousness 
 he can stand without spot or blemish on the judgment 
 day. "Being justified by faith we have peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." These are things of 
 which Christians should never lose sight. "For by grace 
 are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves : 
 it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should 
 boast." Eph. 2, 8. 9. The Holy Spirit works in believing 
 hearts holy desires according to the will of God, but never 
 prompts us to put our trust in the holiness attained, but 
 always and only in the Savior's merits. He alone is the 
 Savior from sin and death, and it , is those who know 
 
THE BOND OF PERFECTNESS. 173 
 
 themselves saved through His blood that truly walk in 
 the ways of holiness, endeavoring faithfully to discharge 
 their duties in their calling and patiently bearing the ills 
 attending them in their labors of love, but giving all glory 
 to Him alone who saves them. 
 
SECTION vn. 
 
 The Sincere Service* 
 (Matthew 6, J -8). 
 
 ^^^HE sermon thus far has dealt mainly with the 
 LI, Pharisaic failure to understand the import of 
 the law and with the false teaching which re- 
 sulted. Human ordinances and traditions were laid 
 upon the consciences of the people under the guise of 
 expositions and applications of the divine command- 
 ments, and the law was made of no effect by those per- 
 versions, which were foisted in as substitutes. But 
 naturally the practice would be as the teaching, and the 
 corruption of the latter would necessarily attach to the 
 former. To these depravations of the holy service which 
 the law requires the sermon addresses itself in the first 
 part of the sixtii chapter. Chief among the observances 
 required, in the estimation of the Jews, w^ere almsgiving, 
 prayer, and fasting. These were regarded by them, as 
 they unfortunately are now by the Roman Church, as the 
 highest and most meritorious virtues, and in the practice 
 of these their carnal cant and hypocritical sanctity be- 
 came especially manifest. Christ rebukes the hollowness 
 and heartlessness of the Pharisaic formalism and self- 
 righteousness, and urges upon His disciples the better 
 righteousness of sincerity in their service of God. 
 
 I. With regard to almsgiving He says: "Take heed 
 that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; 
 otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is 
 in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms do 
 not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in 
 the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have 
 
 174 
 
THE SINCERE SERVICE. 175 
 
 glory of men. Verily I say unto you they have their re- 
 ward. But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand 
 know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may 
 be in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret Him- 
 self shall reward thee openly." 
 
 Giving alms is affording help where it is needed, 
 especially by giving money. All contributions for the 
 support of the poor and the helpless come under this 
 head. The Jewish leaders were right in giving it a 
 high jjlace among the doctrines inculcated by the law. 
 "The poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore 
 
 1 command thee, saying. Thou shalt open th}' hand wide 
 to thy brother, to thy poor and to thy needy in thy 
 land." Deut. 15, 11. To oppress the poor and disregard 
 his wants is a sign of impiety. "He that oppresseth the 
 poor reproacheth his Maker; but he that honoreth Him 
 hath mercy on the poor." Pro v. 14, 39. Almsgiving is 
 accordingly^ repeatedly urged upon Christian people in 
 the New Testament. To the rich youth Christ gave the 
 command, as a test of his disposition to do the Lord's 
 will, to give his possessions to the poor, and the poor 
 widow who cast the two mites, which were all her liv- 
 ing, into the treasury, receives the highest commenda- 
 tion for her self-sacrificing love. St. Paul writes: 
 "Brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed 
 on the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial 
 of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep 
 j)overty abounded unto the riches of their liberality." 
 
 2 Cor. 8, 1. 2. And as the contributions for the help of 
 the needy receive due praise, the miserly stinginess of 
 others who refuse such help, is severely rebuked. "If a 
 brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, 
 and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye 
 warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not 
 those things which are needful to the body, what doth it 
 profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, be- 
 
176 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ing alone." James 2, 15-17. Hence the exhortation: 
 "To do good and to communicate forget not; for with 
 such sacrifices G-od is well pleased." Heb. 13, 16. The 
 man who takes all that he can get of earthly goods and 
 refuses to communicate where there is want, not only 
 transgresses the law, but resists the grace of God and 
 should give earnest heed to the admonition: "Examine 
 yourselves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own 
 selves." 2 Cor. 13, 5. For the covetous man is an idolater. 
 The words of the Savior, "when thou doest thine alms," 
 implies that His disciples will certainly do them. His 
 sermon is, of course, not directed against almsgiving, 
 but against the false motive which prompted the Phari- 
 sees in the performance of the good deed. "When thou 
 doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before, thee, 
 as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, 
 that they may have glory of men." That is the sin which 
 taints and vitiates their work of charity. They are seek- 
 ing a human reward for the work which thus becomes 
 a mercenary barter, in which an equivalent in some form 
 is expected. The form here is the praise of men. Not 
 the glory of God, to whom all glory belongs, but their 
 own glory is sought. They do it that they "may have 
 glory of men." To this end they see that the attention 
 of men must be directed to their performance, and there- 
 fore they introduce it with a flourish of trumpets, or 
 that which is equally effectual in turning the eyes of the 
 people upon them. They want to be seen of men, that 
 men may give them the honor, which they think that 
 their righteousness merits. And they have their reward. 
 Men praise them for their deeds. That is what they 
 want, and that is all they get. Alas, how many there 
 are in our times also who do shining deeds of seeming 
 beneficence and call public attention to them that they 
 may have glory of men! They are hypocrites, because 
 they do in the quest of human praise what the Lord has 
 
THE SINCERE SERVICE. 177 
 
 commanded to be done in His name and for His glory. 
 Whilst they make a boast of serving God with their 
 alleged deeds of charity, they are merely gratifying a 
 selfish greed. The evidence of this is their public proc- 
 lamation of their almsgiving, that they may receive the 
 applause of their fellow men, and their surly conduct 
 when their expectations are not realized. Good deeds 
 need no trumpeting; they speak for themselves, and 
 they accomplish their salutary purpose and receive their 
 reward whether men see them or not. God sees them, 
 and that is enough for His children, whose heart's desire 
 is to please Him, not to seek the applause of the world. 
 Christ does not forbid almsgiving and other good works 
 in public. When the will of the Lord can be done and 
 His name can be glorified by doing it in the presence of 
 witnesses, the fact that our good works are seen can 
 certainly be no hindrance to our doing them. W^hether 
 they are seen or not is of no essential moment. The good 
 that can be done only before others, as when the Lord's 
 praises are sung in the congregation, must be done as 
 cheerfully and as humbly as that which is done in secret. 
 As we must not blow a trumpet to attract men's atten- 
 tion to our deeds of charity in order to receive their ap- 
 plause, so we must not hide our candle under a bushel and 
 refuse to let it shine from fear of being called Pharisees. 
 We are to seek no praise for our almsgiving and there- 
 fore do our duty, whether men see us or not, knowing 
 that God sees us. But we are to give God the glory; 
 and this will always guard us against the selfishness 
 which seeks publicity for every good work done. Seek- 
 ing the praise of men destroys the virtuous character 
 of the deed, however good it would otherwise be. And 
 when men complain of the ingratitude of the world if 
 their efforts are not rewarded with the expected honors, 
 and especially when they on that account cease to do 
 well because, as they allege, it does not pay, they show 
 
 12 
 
178 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 that they are not sincere in their service of the Lord, 
 but engage in the works of the law for their own rather 
 than their Heavenly Father's glory. Sincere followers 
 of Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, will abound in good 
 works, but never make earthly honors and rewards their 
 motive, since their calling is to do all to the glory of 
 Ood. 
 
 Christ's disciples are taught the better righteous- 
 ness. "When thou doest thine alms, let not thy left 
 hand know what thy right hand doeth." They are not 
 only not to blow a trumpet before them to draw all 
 men's eyes upon them, but seek to do their alms only 
 In the presence of God, taking care not to flaunt their 
 deeds in the eyes of other men, but to conceal their work 
 even from their own observation, that the left hand may 
 not know what the right is doing; that is, that not only 
 others may know nothing of it, but that even we our- 
 selves do not fix our attention upon it, as if we had done 
 some great thing for which we may at least give our- 
 selves the praise, if we are not permitted to solicit the 
 praise of others. Our hearts are not right before God if 
 we desire the glory of any good work; for it is only by 
 the grace of God and through the redemption that is in 
 Christ Jesus that anything really good can be done by 
 us sinful creatures, and the glory of it belongs ex- 
 clusively to Him who gave us the will and the ability 
 to do it. "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? 
 now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if 
 thou hadst not received it?" 1 Cor. 4, 7. Such glorying 
 in self and self-achievement is inconsistent with the 
 knowledge of Christ which the Holy Spirit has given us, 
 and with that purpose to live unto Him which is the 
 effect of His working in us. "How can ye believe, which 
 receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that 
 cometh from God only?" John 5, 44. Hence the sincere 
 disciple desires what his Lord requires, that his alms 
 
THE SINCERE SERVICE. 179 
 
 may be in secret. And he has no fears that this shall 
 cast all his labor of love into oblivion and make it use- 
 less; for our Lord gives us His promise that "Thy Father 
 whicli seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Noth- 
 ing- done in the Savior's name shall be forgotten or be 
 passed by without the gracious reward His loving kind- 
 ness has in store for His faithful disciples. "Therefore 
 judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who 
 both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness 
 and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and 
 then shall every man have praise of God." 1 Cor. 4, 5. 
 ^^ Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little 
 ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, 
 verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his re- 
 ward." The disciple knows that he merits nothing, but 
 he knows also the abounding love of his Lord and is glad, 
 and glories in Him. 
 
 11. The second great duty mentioned is prayer, of 
 which verses 5-8 treat. No intelligent reader would even 
 for a moment entertain the thought that our Lord's de- 
 sign is to discourage prayer. It is a necessity of the soul 
 that knows God and puts any trust in Him. All religions 
 cultivate it and practice it, and the more the heart feels 
 its dependence on God and learns to trust His goodness 
 and power, the more it is moved to pray for His help. 
 In the kingdom of Christ this is especially the case, where 
 grace and truth are revealed and applied. There the 
 consciousness of man's sin and doom and helplessness, 
 and of God's compassion and gracious provision for their 
 deliverance through the redemption which is in Christ, 
 is wrought in the soul ; and sorrow for sin and faith in 
 the pardon pronounced, and the conflicts with tlie flosh 
 and the consolations of the Holy Spirit, all lead to in- 
 <!essant prayer and praise and thanksgiving. Therefore 
 our Lord teaches us to watch and pray, that we enter not 
 into temptation, and "He spake a parable unto them to 
 
180 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 this end, that men ought always to pray and not to 
 faint." Luke 18, 1. And the apostles in various places re- 
 peat the teaching: "I exhort therefore that, first of all, 
 supplications, prayer, intercessions and giving of thanks 
 be made for all men," 1 Tim. 2, 1. In the verses before 
 us the command is given again and again that we should 
 pray, and the Holy Spirit never ceases to move us to the 
 exercise of the privilege. It therefore does not need men- 
 tioning that our Lord does not direct His rebuke against 
 prayer. It is the Pharisaic spirit manifesting itself in 
 the formalism and self-glorification even in this holy ser- 
 vice that is rebuked and warned against. Hence in the 
 next section of the sermon instruction is given how we 
 ought to pray, and a model prayer, usually called the 
 Lord's Prayer, is presented for our guidance and use. 
 
 "When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypo- 
 crites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues 
 and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen 
 of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. 
 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
 when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which 
 is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall 
 reward thee openly. But when ye pray use not vain repe- 
 titions, as the heathens do; for they think that they shall 
 be heard for their much speaking. Be ye not therefore 
 like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye 
 have need of before ye ask Him." 
 
 In the first place, two manifestations of self-right- 
 eousness and thirst for the praise of men are condemned 
 in the practice of the hypocrite, whose prayers were 
 rather bids for human applause than cries for divine 
 mercy and help. When they prayed they loved to take 
 conspicuous positions in the synagogues and at street 
 crossings, so as to make sure of being see^ by men and 
 getting the coveted praise for their pious performances. 
 An illustration of this undevout engagement in the form 
 
THE SINCERE SERVICE. 181 
 
 of prayer is presented in the parable of the Pharisee and 
 the publican, Luke 18, 9-14. The proud and haughty 
 Pharisee, both by his deportment and his words, gave all 
 glory to himself, and showed a spirit that was incapable 
 of appreciating the mercy of God. Inflated with a proud 
 conceit of himself, he could think only of his own sup- 
 posed achievements and of his superiority to the poor 
 publican, who, "standing afar off, would not so much as 
 lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, 
 saying: God be merciful to me a sinner." Hearts that 
 are humbled by a sense of their sin and know no refuge 
 from its curse but the grace of God in Christ our Savior, 
 have no thought of flaunting their supposititious right- 
 eousness in the face of heaven and of despising the poor 
 sinner who can only cry for mercy. When a sincere man 
 prays he appears before God to find grace in time of need, 
 not before men to win their admiration and gain their 
 applause. 
 
 This will prevent the other sin which the hypocrites 
 commit and which has the same bitter root of selfishness. 
 "When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen 
 do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much 
 speaking." This includes all inappropriate and super- 
 fluous words, as well as the useless and monotonous 
 repetitions whose purpose is to make an impression of 
 superior sanctity by drawing out the prayer to an extraor- 
 dinary length. The Pharisee's prayer in the parable 
 referred to, was not exorbitantly long, but it was batto- 
 logy or vain repetition still. He imagined that he was 
 better than other people and told God so. This was vain 
 and profane babbling. And he boasted of fastings and 
 tithe-payings which were beyond what the Lord requires, 
 and pompously exploited himself before his God as if his 
 Maker must make obeisance to him and give him glory. 
 His prayer was not very long, but it was far too long for 
 all that, becauvSe every word in it was in vain repetition 
 
182 THE SEEMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 of his selfish and profane imaginings. He talked entirely 
 too much, and his whole impenitent and self-exalting 
 prayer illustrates the meaning of our Savior's warning, 
 "Beware of the leaven of hypocrisy." It is much to be 
 deplored that the Roman Church has so persistently re- 
 fused to learn of Christ, and continues its dream of crea- 
 ture merit even in the sacred offices of prayer, with sin- 
 gular perversity using the very model prayer, which wa» 
 given to correct the Pharisaic abuses, as a means of per- 
 petuating them; for the vain repetitions of its rosary not 
 only include numberless "Ave Marias," but also large 
 numbers of "pater nosters," or Lord's Prayers, the fre- 
 quent saying of which, over and over again, is supposed 
 to constitute a good work that acquires merit and se- 
 cures divine rewards. Notwithstanding the restoration 
 of the Gospel by the great Reformation of the 16th cen- 
 tury, Rome has hardened itself against the precious 
 truth, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
 In the second place, our Lord tells us how we ought 
 to pray in spirit and in truth, avoiding the errors of 
 Pharisees and hypocrites, whose prayers w^ere vitiated 
 by their self-righteous conceits and thus sank to the level 
 of empty forms and vain observances. The heathens use 
 vain repetitions and think they shall be heard for their 
 much speaking. The false prophets "called on the name 
 of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, 
 hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered." 
 1 Kings 18, 26. The Ephesian idolaters "all with one 
 voice about the space of two hours cried out. Great is 
 Diana of the Ephesians." Acts 19, 34. What good did 
 the repetition do them? Neither to move a Deity nor to 
 persuade a crowd can the continuous calling and crying 
 for hours be of any avail. Christians know in whom they 
 believe, and are aware that their being heai*d does not de- 
 pend upon the multitude of their words or the frequency 
 with which they repeat them; and they are certain that 
 
THE SINCERE SERVICE. 188 
 
 their Father knoweth the things they have need of he- 
 fore they ask Ilim. Therefore they go in confidence to 
 Him and believe the promise, "Ask and ye shall receive." 
 That Christ tells them to enter into their closets for this 
 purpose and shut the door, is evidently meant to shut 
 out all thought of making their prayer merely a lip ser- 
 vice to impress the people with their piety for the purpose 
 of getting praise of men. Wliat they want is that God 
 who seeth in secret should hear their humble cry to Him, 
 in whom alone is their help; and their Father who seeth 
 in secret will reward them openly. 
 
 Perplexities which some have experienced with re- 
 gard to our Lord's admonitions are needless. The whole 
 scope of the lesson given and the entire context show 
 that there is no reason for entertaining scruples with re- 
 gard to public prayer, and to earnest importunity in 
 pleading with God. The prayers of the Church must 
 necessarily be in public. Those who gladly received the 
 Gospel "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine 
 and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in 
 prayers." Acts 2, 42. Wherever the Christian people gath- 
 ered for worship, the Word was preached and prayer 
 was wont to be made. Nor is there anything that should 
 permit a doubt to enter our mind whether under any cir- 
 cumstances our prayers may be long or oft repeated. Our 
 Lord Himself continued all night in prayer, when the 
 weight of human sin was rendering His soul exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death. The apostolic exhortation is 
 "Continue instant in prayer;" "continue in prayer, and 
 watch in the same with thanksgiving;" "pray without 
 ceasing." Rom. 12, 12; Col. 7, 2; 1 Thess. 5, 17. Even the 
 repeated offering of the same petition is sometimes the 
 proper course to be pursued in the patient waiting for 
 an answer in God's good time. Our Lord Himself taught 
 us to be humbly importunate when He spake a parable 
 to this end, "that men ought always to pray and not to 
 
184 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 faint." Prayer is a high privilege of Christ's disciples, 
 and He would have them prize it and utilize it to the 
 fullest extent, in public and private, for the blessing that 
 is in it. But He would not have it prostituted to selfish 
 ends and brought into the service of the work-righteous- 
 ness and spurious service which dishonors the Savior and 
 hinders the coming of His kingdom. How intent He 
 was upon maintaining it and having it rightly used is 
 seen in the subsequent verses. 
 
SECTION vm. 
 
 The Model Prayer. 
 
 (Matthew 6, 9-15). 
 
 CHKISTIANS by the grace of the Holy Spirit desire 
 to exercise tlie great privilege of prayer, which 
 has God's command as well as promise. Our Lord 
 warns them against the selfishness with which the Phar- 
 isees vitiated their performance of what they recognized 
 as a duty, but whose blessing they did not appreciate. 
 Believers appreciate it. It is not as a work of righteous- 
 ness which thej do that it is precious to them. As a 
 mere work of the law, for which a reward is expected 
 as a meritorious performance, they cannot practice it. 
 Against that Christ warns and the spirit in their hearts 
 would protest. Saying prayers in order to fulfill a legal 
 obligation is an idle pretence of service; and doing this 
 with the carnal thought that the performance has a 
 merit in it, and that accordingly God owes us something 
 for it, is a heathenish delusion, of which Christians 
 should never be guilty. If they have known Christ so 
 that they can truly rejoice in the hope of glory, they must 
 know that they are saved by grace through His merit, 
 not their own, and that all praise belongs to Him. But 
 whilst they avoid such grievous errors in regard to 
 prayer, they highly prize the privilege which they have 
 of going to their Heavenly Father in Jesus' name and 
 asking for the daily supply of their needs according to 
 His gi'acious promises. Every good gift comes from 
 above, and they experience the need of liel]) from heaven 
 every day. Therefore Christ teaches them : 
 
 "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father 
 which ait in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name. Thy king- 
 
 185 
 
186 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 dom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 
 Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our 
 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into 
 temptation, But deliver us from evil; for Thine is the 
 kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 
 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
 Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men 
 their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your 
 trespasses." 
 
 In this He directs His disciples to pray, shows them 
 how to pray, and gives them a model which will serve as 
 a guide. 
 
 Instead of the hollow, boastful prayer of the Phari- 
 sees and hypocrites, the principal purpose of which is to 
 be seen of men and thus promote their own glory, the 
 sincere disciple of Christ is taught and moved to go to 
 the Father and tell Him the desires of his soul, in the 
 confidence of being heard and having his wants supplied. 
 It is enough for him that his Father sees him and he can 
 have no object in being seen of others, except so far as 
 his presence in the house of God, which is a house of 
 prayer, and his participation in the public worship, is 
 part of that confession which all Christians are required 
 to make for the extension and edification of Christ's king- 
 dom. Therefore not many words are necessary ; for Chris- 
 tians do not think that they shall be heard for their much 
 speaking, and their Father knoweth what they have need 
 of before they ask Him, so that lengthy communications 
 and explications of these needs are quite superfluous. 
 They can trust their Father's wisdom and goodness, and 
 need no argument to sustain their petitions or persua- 
 sions to induce Him to grant them. They avoid vain repe- 
 titions and much speaking in the presence of their God 
 and Father, but know and believe that "the effectual fer- 
 vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Jas. 5, 
 16. 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 187 
 
 In all respects the Lord's Prayer is a model for 
 Christian prayer, beginning with the expression of a 
 child's confidence in a loving Father and ending with giv- 
 ing glory to Him alone; and in its brief compass it in- 
 cludes all for which the child of God can pray, and all 
 that conduces to his welfare and his Father's praise. No 
 other prayer ever uttered, beautiful and inspiring as 
 many recorded in Scripture and many published by be- 
 lievers of ancient and modern times confessedly are, is as 
 compact and as complete in all that properly belongs to 
 sincere Christian prayer. 
 
 The question whether our Lord designed to make the 
 use of this form obligatory upon His disciples throughout 
 the whole history of His kingdom on earth, is one that 
 should not trouble the Church, and much of the disputing 
 about it that has occurred displays more zeal without 
 knowledge than intelligent piety: In the new dispensa- 
 tion there are no ceremonial laws. Whoever prays in 
 Jesus' name, believing, will be heard, whatever the form 
 may be in which his prayer is cast. Our Lord and His 
 apostles used other forms besides the Lord's Prayer, and 
 the Christians of all ages have done the same. In the 
 experience of all believers there are occasions when a, 
 special need is upon them, and from the fulness of the 
 heart other words will be spoken, in the petitions that 
 flow from it, than those of the model prayer, or of any 
 form at hand. There is nothing in the Scriptures to 
 hamper the believing heart in the expression of its indi- 
 vidual wants on special occasions. Sometimes these 
 wants can find no utterance in any form of words, our 
 own or that of others. "The Spirit also helpeth our 
 infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for 
 as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession 
 for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And 
 He that searcheth the hearts knoweth the mind of the 
 Spirit, because He maketh intercession f(u* the saints 
 
188 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 according to the will of God." Eom. 8, 26. 27. Chris- 
 tians have free access by faith to the throne of grace, 
 through the atonement made for all men by the sacrifice 
 of Christ, and their acceptance is conditioned by no forms 
 of any sort. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
 liberty." 2 Cor. 3, 17. 
 
 But considering that our Savior gave us this prayer 
 as an example to teach us how we ought to pray, both as 
 to form and contents, and considering that what we ought 
 to pray for is so succinctly and so clearly and so fully ex- 
 pressed in this prayer, Christians gladly heed the instruc- 
 tion given them, "after this manner therefore pray ye," 
 and as gladly use their liberty to employ these very words 
 and, as a rule, to prefer them to all others, as a beautifully 
 brief and compactly complete form of utterance for the 
 desires of their believing hearts. Those who profess ab- 
 horrence to all forms of prayer, on the plea that all tend 
 to the formalism which is condemned in the Pharisees, 
 should reflect that putting our petitions into words al- 
 ways results in a form, whether we employ our own 
 words or those of another; that extemporized forms in 
 the public worship are much more likely to result in the 
 vain repetitions and much speaking against which our 
 Savior warns us than the prayers carefully prepared be- 
 forehand; and that the use of the Lord's Prayer secures 
 us against the introduction of much th,at is not appropri- 
 ate and the omission of much that ought to be included 
 in the prayers and praises of God's people. 
 
 1. The Prayer begins with the address to God as 
 "Our Father who art in heaven." Much unscriptural talk 
 has been in vogue, and perhaps never more than in our 
 time, about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of 
 man. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the chief de- 
 sign of Christ's kingdom came to be regarded as offering 
 a much needed remedy for the social ills of the present life 
 and supplying the necessary helps and stimulants for the 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 189 
 
 betterment of society. Men must learn to live at peace 
 with each other, be just in their dealings and kindly in 
 their intercourse, and help each other in time of need. 
 To this end they are all represented as brethren of one 
 great household with one great Father over all, who is 
 good to all and teaches all His children to be good to one 
 another. When religion enters into this scheme of 
 thought the predominant sentiment naturally is, that the 
 one Father is to be adored, and all the worshippers are 
 one, whether they call that Father Jehovah, Jove, or 
 Lord, or the grand Architect of the universe, or the great 
 Spirit who reigns in the hearts of all men. Where such a 
 conception prevails the statement of our Lord's meaning, 
 when He taught Tlis disciples to say "Our Father," is an 
 offence. But that meaning is obvious. He came to estab- 
 lish a kingdom which is not of this world; He gathers a 
 congregation of believers out of the world, who acknowl- 
 edge Him to be the way and the truth and the life. "As 
 many as received Him, to them gave He power to become 
 the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; 
 which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the 
 flesh, but of God." John 1, 12. 13. By nature all are chil- 
 dren of wrath, because all have sinned and come short of 
 the glory of God. Therefore we must not marvel that 
 Jesus said : "Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a 
 man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
 John 5, 3. This kingdom is the company of tliose whom 
 the Holy Spirit has "begotten again to a lively hope by 
 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Pet. 1, 
 3. Not by nature, but by the grace of our Lord are we 
 children of God. "For as many as are led by the Spirit 
 of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not re- 
 ceived the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have 
 received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, 
 Father. Tlie Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, 
 that we are the children of God." Bom. 8, 14-16. This 
 
190 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 was the great purpose of Christ's coming into the world, 
 that we might be saved from our sins and made children 
 of God and heirs of heaven. "God sent forth His Son, 
 made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them 
 that were under the law, that we might receive the adop- 
 tion of sons." Gal. 4, 4. 5. And this is effected only by 
 believing in Him and thus entering His kingdom. "Ye 
 are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 
 Gal. 3, 2-6. No one, whether- he be Jew or Gentile, that 
 by unbelief rejects Christ, is a child of God; "for through 
 Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." 
 Eph. 4, 18. 
 
 When Christ teaches us to address God as "Our 
 Father" in heaven, He therefore desires that we should 
 be children of God through faith in His name, and thus 
 as a brotherhood in Him pray with and for each other 
 to His Father and, through His atoning work and the 
 Holy Spirit's application of its power and benefits, our 
 Father also. "God would by these words invite us to 
 believe that He is our true Father and we are His true 
 children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence 
 ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father." The rela- 
 tion in which we stand to God by nature, as sinners under 
 condemnation, leads to the distrust of His goodness and 
 the desire to hide away from Him in the fear of punish- 
 ment; the relation in which we stand to Him by the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ prompts us to seek His rec- 
 onciled face and confidently, on the ground of His in- 
 vitations and promises, to ask Him for His blessing. "We 
 love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4, 19. And in 
 that same love we embrace our brethren, so that with one 
 heart and one mind we approach God in company with 
 each other and together call Him our Father. "For 
 whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of 
 God; and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth 
 Him also that is begotten of Him." 1 John 5, 1. 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 191 
 
 The words "who art in heaven" remind us that it is 
 not an earthly father that we are addressing, but the 
 King of kings, whom it behooves us to approach with 
 reverence, not bringing our impure earthly thoughts into 
 the presence of His heavenly Majesty. "Be not rash with 
 thy mouth, and let not thy heart be huntj to utter any- 
 thing before God ; for God is in heaven and thou upon 
 earth, therefore let thy words be few." Eccl. 5, 2. It is 
 a reminder that our praj^ers must not be mere forms con- 
 sisting in vain repetitions, but sincere expressions of the 
 believing heart's desire for our loving Father's help and 
 blessing. 
 
 2. The highest aim of the child of God is that He 
 may be recognized in His glory and the honor be given 
 Him which is His due. This is expressed in the first 
 petition, "Hallowed be Thy name." The old word "hal- 
 low" means the same as sanctify, to make holy, to keep 
 holy. Here it is used in the latter sense; for "God's 
 name is indeed holy in itself, but we pray in this petition 
 that it may be lioly among us also." Moses and Aaron 
 w^ere punished because "Ye sanctified me not in the 
 midst of the children of Israel." They did not do what 
 should have been done to have God known and treated 
 as the Holy One. St. Peter exhorts: "Sanctify the Lord 
 God in your hearts." That means that in our hearts we 
 should regard Him holy, treat Him as holy in our 
 thoughts and affections as He is holy in Himself. 
 
 We pray that His name may be hallow^ed or sancti- 
 fied. The word name signifies that by which an object is 
 known, and therefore ordinarily stands for the thing it- 
 self. The name of God is that wMiich presents Him to 
 our minds, and with which is associated all that we 
 know of Him. To hallow His name is therefore to regard 
 Him as holy and so treat Him in all our thoughts and 
 actions. Tliis is done "wlien the Word of God is taught 
 in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God 
 
192 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 also lead a holy life according to it. He that teaches 
 and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches, profanes 
 the name of God among us." False teaching hinders the 
 true knowledge of God and His will, and thus prevents 
 the hallowing of His name, because notions are inculcated 
 of God which are unworthy of Him and He is made re- 
 sponsible for doctrines and conduct that betray human 
 infirmity and oftentimes human sin. "Thou that makest 
 thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonor- 
 est thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed 
 among the Gentiles through you, as it is written." Rom. 
 2, 23. 24. Therefore Avhen we pray this petition we ask 
 God to give us and preserve among us the pure Gospel, 
 and give us grace to adorn the doctrine with a holy life, 
 that His name may be honored by us and we may be in- 
 strumental in leading others to know Him and sanctify 
 His name. 
 
 3. The second petition follows in natural order. 
 "Thy kingdom come." His name is glorified by the estab- 
 lishment of His reign of grace on earth through Christ's 
 atoning work. "The kingdom of God comes indeed with- 
 out our prayer of itself; but we pray in this petition that 
 it may come unto us also." This is accomplished "when 
 our Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by 
 His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly 
 life, here in time and hereafter in eternity." The king- 
 dom of God was set up w^hen the Messiah came and 
 brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. 
 But it is coming still, and its destined extension over all 
 the earth is not yet completed. There is much to be done 
 yet before all the elect shall be gathered into the fold of 
 the Lord and all who are to enjoy the blessings of the 
 great salvation shall hear the glad tidings. "His name 
 shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as 
 long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in Him: all 
 nations shall call Him blessed." Ps. 72, 17. For His is 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 193 
 
 an everlasting kingdom, and it must continue to spread 
 until "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
 Lord as the waters cover tlie sea." Isa. 11, 9. And 
 where the name of the Lord has been made known and 
 is hallowed, there is still the exhortation given that 
 we should "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our 
 Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 3, 18. In this 
 kingdom all who become partakers of its blessings are 
 required to work and are moved to do this by the Holy 
 Spirit who dwells in them. For man does not enter that 
 kingdom and is not preserved in it by the efforts of his 
 own will or the exertion of his own natural powers. It 
 comes to us only w^hen God gives us His Holy Spirit, so 
 that by His grace we believe His holy Word. The Word 
 of the Gospel is the means \)^hich the Holy Spirit em- 
 ploys to work this faitli in our hearts. Hence the king- 
 dom of God is organized on earth with a ministry of the 
 Gospel and its accompanying sacraments, in the admin- 
 istration of which all the members have a share and 
 in regard to w^hich they all have a duty. 
 
 The Holy Spirit does His work of building tlie king- 
 dom by the use of the Word and the Sacraments, without 
 which He ordinarily does not come to man; and the 
 members perform their work when they make provision 
 for the regular administration of these holy means of 
 grace, by which the Holy Spirit is given and men are 
 led to believe and be saved. And thus tliey are led to 
 live holy lives, as becomes God's people in a kingdom 
 which is not of this w^orld, that their holy life may give 
 God the glory and may commend the Church to the re- 
 spectful attention of all people, as well as that they 
 themselves may have the joy attending the service of the 
 Lord in doing good w^orks to His praise. Therefore when 
 we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we lay before God our 
 humble request that He would preserve the Church 
 among us and extend it in all lands and among all people, 
 
 13 
 
194 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 and would bless the use of the means of grace among us, 
 that we, by His grace believing His holy Word, may- 
 be saved, and in our lives by word and work show forth 
 His praise. 
 
 4. If we would honor the name of God and have 
 His kingdom come to us. His will must be done. It is 
 done by the angels in heaven, it will be done by the chil- 
 dren of God when they get home to their Father's house, 
 ^' hereafter in eternity." The third petition, ''Thy will 
 be done in earth as it is in heaven," therefore appropri- 
 ately comes next. "The good and gracious will of God 
 Is done indeed without our prayer, but we pray in this 
 petition that it may be done among us also." The will 
 of God's infinite love to send His only begotten Son into 
 the world as a sacrifice for human sin; the coming of 
 Christ, in pursuance of this will, to live and die for the 
 fulfillment of all righteousness on our behalf; the mission 
 of the Holy Spirit to apply the redemption to sinners, 
 working faith in them by the Word and Sacraments unto 
 their salvation, and sanctifying them for His service, is 
 done without our prayers, though we might fail to share 
 the benefits designed for the children of men. And the 
 will of God is done in heaven, by angels and the spirits 
 of just men made perfect, without our prayers. But we 
 are yet on earth, and as Christian believers we desire 
 that it should be done here, in us and all around us; and 
 to that end our Savior teaches us to pray. 
 
 This good will of God is done "when God breaks and 
 hinders every evil counsel and will, w^hich would not let 
 us hallow God's name nor let His kingdom come, such as 
 the will of the devil, the world, and our own flesh, but 
 strengthens and preserves us steadfast in His Word and 
 faith unto our end. This is God's good and gracious 
 will," Satan is the bitter enemy of God and His king- 
 dom and righteousness, and resists every effort to ac- 
 complish His will; and the world which lieth in wicked- 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 195 
 
 ness, and our own sinful flesh are in lea}i;ue with Satan 
 to obstruct these efforts and prevent their success. The 
 more need is there for earnest prayer, tliat the will of the 
 devil and of the world and the flesh may be defeated by 
 the power of God, and His holy will may be done in spite 
 of all the raoin«- and raving- of the enemy against it. 
 That good and gracious will is done by the believer but 
 imperfectly; and as the flesh is weak, though the spirit 
 is willing, he is daily admonished by his own experience 
 not to grow weary in his entreaties to God, that he may 
 have more patience in bearing the tribulations through 
 which he must pass and more zeal in doing the work to 
 which he is called, so that the will of God may be done 
 and His glory promoted. 
 
 5. The fourth petition, "Give us this day our daily 
 bread," pertains to our bodily needs. In our prayer we 
 are taught to think first of God, and to ask for those 
 things which pertain to the glory of His great name, the 
 coming of His kingdom of truth and righteousness, and 
 the accomplishment of His good and gracious will. Only 
 then are we to think of ourselves and our manifold wants. 
 Nor must w^e be surprised that among these the wants 
 of our bodies should be mentioned first, though these are 
 by no means the most important. In a certain sense 
 they lie at the foundation of all others. The introduc- 
 tion of sin into the world and the curse which lies upon 
 it has made subsistence seem precarious and the pro- 
 curing of bread a constant and harrowing care, of which 
 our crippled nature cannot divest itself and which can 
 be thrown off only by that faith that comes confidently 
 to our Father in the assurance that He will provide for 
 His children. The other things of this life cannot rivet 
 our attention while starvation is staring us in the face 
 and the dread of it is tormenting us. Our nature's first 
 care is for meat and drink and raiment, and this must 
 occupy our minds and engage the activity of our bodies 
 
196 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 chiefly, as long as we have not been brought to trust in 
 God's promises and east our cares on Him; and when this 
 happy state is attained by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
 it will find its appropriate exercise in calling upon our 
 Fatlier in heaven who careth for us, to supply all our 
 wants according to His gracious promise. It is the 
 Lord's way of relieving us from the cares which are re- 
 buked in a subsequent part of the sermon, and setting 
 our minds free to give attention to the paramount inter- 
 ests of the soul and the life beyond the grave. 
 
 The wording of the petition in the original is so un- 
 usual as to have caused some perplexity and some con- 
 troversy; but the result of study and investigation has 
 always been substantially the same as that expressed in 
 our English translation. The word "bread," as is the 
 case in common usage, embraces all the necessaries of 
 life, as when we speak of earning our bread. It means 
 "everything that belongs to the support and wants of the 
 body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, 
 field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, 
 pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good govern- 
 ment, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good 
 friends, faithful neighbors, and the like." It is a peti- 
 tion for God's blessing upon us in our earthly pilgrimage, 
 "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godli- 
 ness and honesty." We ask for what is necessary to- 
 day: we do not know whether we shall be living to- 
 morrow, but we do know that to-morrow God will be living 
 still, and if we live we can then ask for to-morrow's bread, 
 as Christians ought to pray daily for each day's needs. 
 "God gives daily bread indeed without our prayer, also 
 to all the wicked; but we pray in this petition that He 
 would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread 
 with thanksgiving." The petition recognizes our depend- 
 ence upon God for all that we possess, with childlike 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 197 
 
 confidence asks Him to give us what we need, and brings 
 to Him our thank-offering for His daily gifts. 
 
 6. Sin is man's trouble on earth, and his barrier in 
 the way to heaven. Unless that is removed, all is lost. 
 This is not overlooked in our Lord's Prayer. The fifth 
 petition brings it before our Father with the same confi- 
 dence with which the other petitions are presented. "For- 
 give US our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 
 against us." If any doubt remained in a reader's mind 
 whetlier the prayer was designed for believing Christians, 
 who alone are true children of God and alone can truly 
 call Him Father, this petition must convince him, assum- 
 ing that he is willing to be instructed by the Savior's 
 words; for only believers can say to God with sincerity, 
 forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned 
 against us. The petition implies a consciousness of sin, 
 but makes no attempt to justify it. Forgiveness is all 
 that it asks, and all that with truth and sincerity we can 
 ask. He who acknowledges liis sins, but does not repent, 
 can have no disposition to appear before God with the 
 burden resting upon him which unfits him for such an ap- 
 pearance. "We pray in this petition that our Father in 
 heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their ac- 
 count deny our prayer: for we are worthy of none of the 
 things for which we pray, neither have we deserved 
 them: but that He would grant them all to us by grace; 
 for we daily sin much, and indeed desers^e nothing but 
 punishment: so will we also heartily forgive and readily 
 do good to those who sin against us." 
 
 What gives the Christian confidence to offer such a 
 petition, notwithstanding all his unworthiness to receive 
 blessings and his conscious desert of punishment, is that 
 God in His infinite love and mercy gave His own dear 
 Son to save us, "who was delivered for our offences and 
 was raised again for our justification," Rom. 4, 25, "that 
 
198 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 repentance and remission of sins should be preached in 
 His name among all nations." Luke 24, 47. This preach- 
 ing Christians believe, and therefore they go to the Father, 
 to whom they have access in Jesus' name, and are sure 
 that their sins are forgiven daily and richly, and that no 
 good thing vi^ill be denied them on account of their sins; 
 for "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him 
 up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give 
 us all things? Kom. 8, 32. They who come to the Father 
 in the name of Him who died for their sins have no fear 
 that their prayer will not be heard. 
 
 The second part of the petition "As we forgive those 
 who trespass against us," is misunderstood when it is 
 represented as a condition of their forgiveness, as if our 
 forgiveness of others constituted some sort of merit by 
 which our Father is moved to forgive us. But it does 
 imply that those who offer the petition are children of 
 God by faith in Christ Jesus, and therefore by the grace 
 of the Holy Spirit have the will to forgive others as God 
 forgives them. Our Lord lays stress upon this in the 14 
 and 15 verses of this chapter, which form a note to the 
 fifth petition. There He says : "For if ye forgive men 
 their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive 
 you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither 
 will your Father forgive your trespasses." Let not the 
 ground of our forgiveness be lost out of sight. Christ 
 died for our sins, fulfilling all righteousness in our stead; 
 that is the reason why God forgives us. If a condition 
 were to be mentioned, it must be found in faith ; for only 
 he who believes is in actual possession of the forgiveness 
 of sins. But this again is not because something has been 
 done by us on account of which God is willing to forgive 
 us. Faith is indispensable, because in the merciful plan 
 of God it is the only means on our part to appropriate the 
 forgiveness of sin which God bestows freely, graciously, 
 for Christ's sake, not for the sake of anything that we 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 191) 
 
 have done or can do. But for onr own assurance it is 
 liiohly important to r(Miiend)er, that if our faith is sincere 
 and we have tvnly appropriated God's gracious forgive- 
 ness, we have the grace also to forgive others. 
 
 7. But wliilst the work of onr Lord is perfect and 
 the remission of our sins rests on a ground which no power 
 of earth or hell can overthrow, our work is full of im- 
 perfections. On this account we not only meet daily for- 
 giveness and daily pray for it, but must be on our guard 
 lest we fall away from the only sure foundation of our 
 hopes. Tlierefore our Lord teaches us, in the sixth peti- 
 tion, further to pray: "And lead us not into temptation." 
 The form of the petition suggests to some minds, taking 
 the word temptation in the sinister sense of probation 
 with the purpose of effecting a fall, the anxious query, 
 whether we are to assume that God does sometimes lead 
 us into snares. That is an evident misapprehension, the 
 meaning being clearly this, that our heavenly Father 
 would protect us against the snares which the enemy 
 places in our way to compass our destruction. Luther's 
 explanation is in exact accord with the mind of our Savior: 
 "God indeed tempts no man ; but we pray in this petition 
 that He would guard and keep us, so that the devil and the 
 world and the Hesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us 
 into misbelief, despair or other great shame and vice; 
 and thougli we be assailed by them, that still we may 
 finally overcome and obtain tlie victor}-." This is what 
 the Scriptures teach us on the subject: "Let no man say 
 when he is tempted, I am tempted of God ; for God cannot 
 be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man; but 
 every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own 
 lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it 
 bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth 
 forth death." James 1, 13-15. The evil is not in the ob- 
 jects which we meet in the journey of life and with which 
 Ave must deal in the duties of our calling, but in Satan 
 
200 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 and men, whose will opposes the good will of God and 
 abuses the things which He has given for our use. Money, 
 for example, is not a wicked thing, nor is it sinful to have 
 it and use it, but it becomes a temptation when we lust 
 after it, the result of which, if the longing is not resisted 
 and overcome, will be the sinful act of fraud or theft, 
 the fall from grace, and finally death. The fault is in us, 
 and against the rise and progress of such greed our prayer 
 is directed. 
 
 That which our lust makes a temptation to evil 
 would otherwise be merely a trial of our faith which is 
 unavoidable, and which God makes a blessing to His 
 faithful children. Therefore St. James writes again : "My 
 brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers tempta- 
 tions, knowing this, that the trial of your faith worketh 
 patience. But let patience have her perfect work." Jas. 
 1, 2-4. And again in v. 12 : "Blessed is the man that en- 
 dureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive 
 the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them 
 that love Him." The evil uses to which all earthly things 
 may be put make the Christian life a daily trial of our 
 faith and love, because the devil and the world and the 
 flesh are continually suggesting these evil uses for self- 
 gratification. The Christian life is therefore a continual 
 conflict between the Spirit and the flesh. "Beloved, think 
 it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try 
 you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; 
 l>ut rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suf- 
 ferings, that when His glory shall be revealed ye may be 
 glad also with exceeding joy," 1 Pet. 4, 12. 13. All the ills, 
 physical and moral, individual and social that have come 
 into the Avorld as a consequence of sin, put our Chris- 
 tian sincerity on probation, and every pain and even 
 pleasure may be a temptation, which trials always become 
 when our hearts turn from the purpose to glorify God 
 to the sinful gratification of self. When Ave are not on 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 201 
 
 our guard onr flesh deceives us and we are seduced into 
 misbelief and despair, or other great shame and vice. 
 Our prayer is that God would so lead us that such calam- 
 ity may not come upon us. The trials will come and we 
 do not ask to be exempt from them. They are necessary 
 incidents in our earthly condition, and God turns them 
 all to blessings, when we meet them in His service and 
 humbly trust in Him in the denial of self and devotion 
 to His will. But we do ask that we may endure the trial 
 and be found approved. And for this we have the divine 
 promise. "There hath no temptation taken you but such 
 as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not 
 suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will 
 with the temptation also make a way to escape, that je 
 may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. 10, 13. Even when our 
 deceitful hearts incline to the wicked seductions of the 
 world and the devil, and the struggle with the flesh is 
 upon us, we know that God can and will help, and there- 
 fore confidently ask Him to give us the victory. 
 
 8. Finally we pray in the seventh petition, "But 
 deliver us from evil." That means ultimately deliverance 
 from every tribulation that sin has brought into this world 
 and from this earthly life itself. "We pray in this petition, 
 as the sum of all, that our Father in heaven would deliver 
 us from every evil of body and soul, property and honor, 
 and finally, when our last hour has come, grant us a 
 blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears 
 to Himself in heaven." We would not live alway in the 
 present world, which sin has made a wilderness that is 
 full of trouble and sorrow. The Christian is content to 
 live here as a stranger and pilgrim journeying to a bet- 
 tor land, and do In's work here as a servant of God, who 
 guides him, ])rotects him, blesses him, and makes all things 
 work together for good to him. He does not murmur 
 nor complain that he must suffer; at least he knows 
 that if niurmurings arise they come from the flesh and 
 
202 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 must be resisted as temptations to sin against the 
 Lord who rules over him and who doeth all things 
 well. But he would fain be released from the burdens 
 which he must bear, and is therefore glad to seek help 
 and comfort in prayer to Him who has promised deliver- 
 ance in due time and in due measure. As the evils of this 
 world include not only sin in ourselves, with the internal 
 disturbances which it causes, but also all its consequences 
 in nature and society, we do not ask to be exempt from 
 the common lot of men to suffer pain and sickness, losses 
 in property and aspersions of our good name, nor to be 
 at once transferred from earth to heaven and thus rid of 
 earthly woe. This we must leave in our Father's hands, 
 and rejoice that He cares for us and will in His wisdom 
 and goodness do for us what is best. We leave that to 
 Him, but still we pray, "deliver us from evil." And our 
 Savior has taught us thus to pray, so that we are sure that 
 we are doing right when we come to our Father with such 
 a petition. Our Lord Himself so prayed for us : "I pray 
 not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but 
 that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil." He will 
 guard us against the deadly power of sin, and will in His 
 own time, when we have served His purpose in our sta.y 
 on earth, take us to Himself in heaven. Thus all is well. 
 9. The prayer concludes with an epilog, generally 
 called the doxology, which perhaps was not originally a 
 part of it and which is not given in the gospel of St. Luke, 
 but which forms an appropriate ending of the beautiful 
 prayer. The words are : "For Thine is the kingdom, and 
 the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." We are taught 
 to pray as members of the kingdom which is not of this 
 world, and in which, through the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, we have by faith the peace of God on earth and 
 the gracious hope of living in blessedness forever in 
 heaven. This gives zest to our prayer and makes us sure 
 that we shall be heard. The kingdom is His and He will 
 
THE MODEL PRAYER. 203 
 
 protect and prosper it, and see that it attains the end of 
 its establishment. And His is the power, so that nothing 
 can liinder the attainment of His purpose; for omnipo- 
 tence is enlisted in its favor. How could the Christian 
 doubt that every request which our Lord teaches us to 
 make will be granted, when He who teaches us thus to 
 pray has infinite power to answer our petitions? And 
 all the more confidence can the believer have that he shall 
 receive what he asks, because the glory all belongs to God 
 and he delights to ascribe it to Him. The conclusion is 
 adapted to inspire the same confidence of being heard 
 which is given in the introduction. And the amen has the 
 same design. It means that "I should be certain that 
 these petitions are acceptable to my Father in heaven and 
 heard, for He Himself has commanded us to pray and 
 has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen; that is yea, yea, 
 it shall be so." Christians must not doubt when God tells 
 them to say Amen to their prayer. He says that it shall 
 be so, and shall we not believe him? "All things whatso- 
 ever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.'^ 
 Matt. 21, 22. It is those who ask not, or who ask in un- 
 belief, that receive not. "This is the confidence that we 
 have in Him, that if w^e ask anything according to His 
 will, He heareth us." 1 John 5, 14. 
 
SECTION IX. 
 
 The Pharisaic Fasting* 
 (Matthew 6, 1648). 
 
 ** ^H^OREOVEK, when ye fast, be not as the hyp- 
 Jril3 ocrites, of a sad countenance, for they dis- 
 figure their faces, that they may appear unto 
 men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their re- 
 ward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head 
 and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to 
 fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret, and thy 
 Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." 
 
 Considering the abuse to which fasting was sub- 
 jected by the Pharisees and the scandals which have 
 been associated with it in the Church, we might ex- 
 pect that Christ, when He comes to speak of this, would 
 renounce and condemn the practice altogether. The 
 regulations in vogue among the Jews pertaining to it 
 were human ordinances, which served no good purpose, 
 and the abuses readily attached themselves to it. Our 
 Lord foreknew also that such abuses would be con- 
 nected with its continuance among His disciples, so that 
 Christian readers would experience little surprise if He 
 had entirely forbidden fasting as a needless external 
 discipline. But the abuse does not abolish the use, and 
 it is the abuse, not the use, which He condemns. 
 
 Fasting was commanded in the old dispensation only 
 on the day of atonement, but was freely practiced and 
 frequently commended as a generally recognized aux- 
 iliary in the prosecution of a holy life. The Pharisaic 
 multiplication of fasts and days of fasting was by their 
 own device, and their human ordinances in this regard 
 
 204 
 
THE PHARISAIC FASTING. 205 
 
 imposed burdens which were not laid upon the Jewish 
 people by the Mosaic law. Vain conceits of the efficacy 
 soon attached themselves to the self-chosen fasting, and 
 as early as the times of Isaiah evils were connected with 
 it which called forth the prophet's rebuke. "Wherefore 
 have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore 
 have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowl- 
 edge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure 
 and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and 
 debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall 
 not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard 
 on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for 
 a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a 
 bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? 
 Wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day to the 
 Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to loose 
 the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, 
 and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every 
 yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry and that 
 thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when 
 thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that 
 thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" Isa. 58, 3-7. 
 The Mosaic law rather tolerated than ordained the fast- 
 ing so much in vogue, so highly prized, and so greatly 
 abused by the Israelites. In the times of our Savior 
 fasting was classed by their teachers with almsgiving 
 and prayer as one of the great virtues of the people of 
 God, and the Pharisees prided themselves in the zeal 
 with which they cultivated and practiced it. Among 
 the boasts of the proud Pharisee of the parable was this, 
 that he fasted twice in the week, thinking himself better 
 than the poor publican, not only because he was not, 
 like him, a great sinner, but that he had even many 
 works of supererogation to his credit. 
 
 Notwithstanding this our Lord did not forbid fasting. 
 The law did not require it, but it had its uses as a dis- 
 
206 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 cipline. It was the abuse that He desired to abolish, 
 not the use. This is apparent from His answer to the 
 disciples of John the Baptist, who asked Him, "Why do 
 we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 
 And Jesus said unto them. Can the children of the bride- 
 chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? 
 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be 
 taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man 
 putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for 
 that which is put in to till it up taketh from the garment, 
 and the rent is made worse." Matt. 9, 14-16. Fasting- 
 is afflicting the soul in self-mortiflcation. That is ap- 
 propriate in times of sorrow, but not in times of Joy. 
 When Jesus, your heavenly Bridegroom, is with you, it 
 is a time of rejoicing, and fasting would not be proper. 
 Sorrows will come in the natural order of God's govern- 
 ment, and then is the time to bear them; we must not 
 distress ourselves when He gives us occasion for glad- 
 ness. And more than this our Savior impresses in His 
 answer. The Gospel has come to take the place of the 
 law. It is no more suitable now to patch up the legal 
 ordinances with its new cloth than it would be to patch 
 up an old garment with new material that would not hold 
 in the old that is Avorn out, but would tear it and make the 
 rent worse. The new dispensation has no use for human 
 ordinances such as those bound upon the Jews in the old, 
 but introduces a new life from the fulness of Christ. "If 
 any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are 
 passed away ; behold all things are become new." 2 Cor. 
 5, 17. All the efforts of erring religionists, whether they 
 be called Romanists or Socinians, to mend Judaism and 
 give it a Christian coloring, only deludes souls and hind- 
 ers the triumph of the Gospel. Fasting has no merit and 
 no power to save, and no obligation is laid "upon Christ's 
 disciples to observe it. 
 
 But it does not follow that it is forbidden them. Our 
 
THE PFIAUISAIC FASTING. 207 
 
 Lord says that the days will come when they shall fast, 
 and the in.striK'tion uiveu in the text assumes its practice, 
 aud sliows the siuful abuse that is to be shunned. His dis- 
 ciples liad occasion for sorrow when He was removed 
 from them by His death upon the cross, and they were 
 left for a little while as sheep without a Shepherd when 
 His body lay in the grave. And later, when the persecu- 
 tions came aud they were cruelly treated, as their Master 
 liad been treated before them, they were often bowed down 
 with grief and even with pain. Then mourning and fast- 
 ing was in accord with their condition. 
 
 Fasting consists primarily in abstaining for a season 
 from the customary meat and drink, the proper use of 
 which has nothing sinful in it. Naturally, when men for 
 good reason see fit to engage in it, the abstinence will be 
 extended to other appetites and desires in our nature that 
 seek gratification. The underlying principle is that of 
 making everything subservient to the eternal interests of 
 the soul. This is expressed by St. Paul when lie says : 
 "I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest 
 that by any means wlien I liave preached to others I my- 
 self should be a castaway." 1 Cor. 9, 27. In this wider 
 sense fasting would include all that is involved in the self- 
 denial and self-discipline, so important in the Christian 
 struggle for the maintenance of spiritual life, in opposi- 
 tion to the lusts of the flesli. "There is now no condemna- 
 tion to them who are in Christ Jesus; Avho walk not after 
 tlie fiesh, but after the Spirit." Kom. 8, 1. "Therefore, 
 brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the 
 flesh. For if ye live after the flesli, ye shall die, but if ye 
 tliroiigh the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the bod.y, ye 
 shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, 
 they are the sons of God." Rom. 8, 12-14. Tt is there- 
 fore easy to understand why fasting was retained in the 
 Christian Church, Even in the limited sense of absti- 
 nence from moat and drink, that the flosh mav not be 
 
208 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 pampered by indulgence and gain ascendency over the 
 Spirit's work in our hearts, it has important uses. All 
 that is needed is to safeguard it against abuse. 
 
 Fasting must not be regarded as necessary, whether 
 as a duty under the law or a means of grace under the 
 Gospel, and must not be practiced as a meritorious work. 
 
 It is not made obligatory by any divine law, so that 
 its performance in any given form is a Christian duty. 
 It is wholly a matter of Christian liberty. The flesh must 
 be crucified, if we would be faithful disciples of Christ 
 and live as children of God. Of that there can be no doubt 
 in Christian minds. And if fasting be understood to mean 
 simply that, it is plainly a requirement of the Christian 
 life and thus a Christian duty. But let us not misunder- 
 stand the matter and needlessly trouble ourselves. Con- 
 fusion makes trouble. To crucify the flesh with the affec- 
 tions and lusts is a. manifest duty for spiritual self-preser- 
 vation, and fasting is denying ourselves some indulgences 
 as a means to that end. But when fasts are prescribed to 
 us, such as abstaining from certain kinds of food and 
 certain kinds of drink, the Christian reasonably asks: 
 Where is that written in the Word of God? He is a free 
 man in Christ, and in his conscience knows himself bound 
 by no law but that of God. "Stand fast therefore in the 
 liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not 
 entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Gal. 5, 1. 
 No man is our Master but Christ. If, for example, the 
 demand be made upon us to abstain from eating pork at 
 any time, or eating any kind of meat on certain days; 
 or it be forbidden us to take a cup of coffee or a glass of 
 wine, the believer in Christ, jealous of his liberty, properly 
 asks by what authority such a demand or such a prohi- 
 bition is imposed upon him. He is free in these things, 
 because the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, and 
 can recognize no obligation to obey human ordinances, 
 whether as substitutes for those which are divine or as 
 
THE PHARISAIC FASTING. 209 
 
 additions to them. Only God has authority over him. Such 
 fastin<? he is free to practice, but no human law can make 
 it obligatory upon him. If, on the other hand, the com- 
 mandments of the decalogue are urged upon us, we at 
 once recognize their authority, because we know them to 
 be given of God, and we would not be Christians if we did 
 not at once acknowledge our duty to obey. But that is 
 not fasting. The exercise of fasting is always wrong, 
 when engaged in with the thought that we are thus fulfill- 
 ing the divine law and doing a holy work, because it al- 
 ways lies in the sphere of liberty. 
 
 Nor is fasting to be regarded as a means of grace un- 
 der the Gospel, so that it would be obligatory upon Chris- 
 tians because of a power exerted through it by the Holy 
 Spirit. The Scriptures teach nothing about such an 
 operation of God upon the soul in virtue of man's ab- 
 stinence. Fasting is man-s act, not God's. It is an ex- 
 ercise for the subduing of the flesh and the curbing of 
 sin, not for the stimulation of spiritual power. It is a 
 means of disciplining our sinful nature, not of strength- 
 ening the new man which the Holy Spirit has created in 
 the believing heart, and which He alone sustains and in- 
 vigorates by the Word and Sacraments as His ordained 
 means of grace. It should not be doubted that fasting 
 is a valuable auxiliary in promoting Christian holiness. 
 But this is not because it furnishes new power or even 
 motives to this end. As a human act it cannot supply 
 divine gifts and minister divine influences. The help 
 which it afi'ords is of a negative sort. It curbs the mo- 
 tions of sin, that the work of grace may be less obstruct- 
 ed, as the removal of weeds gives the grain better oppor- 
 tunity to grow, though it furnishes no new life and vigor. 
 Fasting is a personal act, performed and designed for 
 self discipline to weed out the morbid growths of our 
 sinful nature: tlie growth in holiness is the work of the 
 Holy Spirit through tlie means of grace, without which 
 
 14 
 
210 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 fasting avails nothing, and trusting in it as a good work 
 is a dangerous delusion. 
 
 Hence all thoughts of merit attaching to it, as they 
 are inculcated and practiced under the papacy, must be 
 banished from our minds, with other superstitions in 
 vogue among the adherents of Rome in regard to which 
 the Gospel restored to us by the Reformation has given 
 us light. There is no merit in sinful man. Not even his 
 best works, though done by -the power of grace, can be 
 meritorious before God. For this conviction there are 
 two reasons drawn from the Scriptures. One is the de- 
 merit of the sinner, the other is the merit of the Savior. 
 
 All that man deserves now, since by sin he has turned 
 away from God and become a rebel against Him and His 
 righteous rule, is the punishment which his Maker has 
 pronounced upon him. Before Him all claim of merit is 
 absurd. He merits the death to which he is doomed. 
 The favor of his offended God, the life that he has for- 
 feited, the blessedness of heaven which he has lost, he 
 cannot merit. What he may do to avert the wrath to 
 come can only increase his guilt, because it is all soiled 
 by the sin of his soul. He can do nothing to please 
 God in his state of rebellion. "As it is written. There is 
 none righteous, no, not one; there is none that under- 
 standeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They 
 are all gone out of the w^ay, they are together become 
 unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one." 
 Rom. 3, 10-12. What sense can there be then in harbor- 
 ing the proud thought that human merit is possible and 
 that by strenuous effort on our part a claim may be es- 
 tablished against God? Even if we did a thousandfold 
 more of good, seeming and real, than it is possible for 
 man in his best estate on earth to do, no rational ground 
 for a claim of merit could be devised. "When ye shall 
 have done all those things which are commanded you, 
 say. We are unprofitable servants: we have done that 
 
THE PHARISAIC FASTING. 211 
 
 which was our duty to do." Luke 17, 10. To many 
 people the saying has a harsh sound, but the words are 
 spoken in tender compassion. We cannot fulfill the law; 
 **for if there had been a law given which could have given 
 life, verily righteousness should have been by the law: 
 but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the 
 promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them 
 that believe." Gal. 3, 21. 22. But even if by the Holy 
 Spirit's power one were made perfect in holiness, so that 
 he did all that is commanded, he would merit no re- 
 ward. He would then have done that which it was his 
 duty to do; that is, he would have paid the debt that he 
 owes. But does any reasonable person think that when 
 he pays his debts he establishes a claim against the per- 
 son paid? In view of man's sinfulness and disability, the 
 whole theory of merit before God is preposterous. 
 
 But there is another reason why Christians should 
 refuse to entertain any thoughts of claiming rewards of 
 God for meritorious works. The Son of God was made 
 flesh and dwelt among us, that He might fulfill all right- 
 eousness in our stead. He satisfied all the demands of 
 the law as our Substitute, that His merit might be im- 
 puted to us and we sinners thus stand justified before 
 God. He not only lived a holy life, entirely without sin, 
 as the commandments of God require of man, but suf- 
 fered the penalty of all men's transgression by His death 
 upon the cross for our salvation. His hoh' life and bitter 
 sufferings and death fulfilled all righteousness for us. 
 This constitutes the merits of Christ, through which, by 
 His grace through faith, we escape the damnation of 
 hell and inherit the glory of heaven. The damnation we 
 have deserved by our sin, but Christ bore it for us; the 
 glory we have not deserved, but Christ acquired it for us. 
 These merits of our Savior are now offered us in the 
 Gospel, offered us freely, without money and without 
 price, and nothing is asked of us but that we believe the 
 
212 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 good tidings, and thus by faith accept the salvation. 
 And now come the Komanists and otlier ungrateful er- 
 rorists and tell the people that they must have a merit of 
 their own in order to be saved, thus refusing to accept 
 the sufficiency of Christ's merit, denying Him the honor 
 which belongs to Him alone, and arrogating it to them- 
 selves and depriving themselves of the comfort which 
 only faith in His merits can secure. The foolish fancy 
 of creature merit undermines the assurance of the sin- 
 ner's justification by faith, whether designed or not, and 
 tends to destroy the foundation of Christianity by ob- 
 scuring the Savior's merit. 
 
 Fasting has no merit, and can have none. Better 
 reject it entirely than accept it in disparagement of 
 Christ's merit, and thus make a free practice an instru- 
 ment of evil. But our Lord did not forbid it, and if we 
 are willing to learn of Him, the Pharisaic evil may be 
 eliminated and the exercise be profitable. The hypo- 
 crites found merit in it and desired the glory of it. 
 "Hence they desired to be seen of men to fast." It is this 
 that our Lord rebukes, and it is against this he warns 
 them and us and all people. They sought their own 
 glory, while their duty and that of all men is to glorify 
 God. Self-seeking is the fundamental principle of our 
 fallen nature that vitiates everything, because it re- 
 moves God and all holiness, of which He alone is the 
 fountain. Men may fast if they choose, and may profit 
 by it if their fasting be in penitential meekness. "But 
 when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad counte- 
 nance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may ap- 
 pear unto men to fast." They thus may get some human 
 applause, but that is all the reward they have. With 
 those who seek the glory of God it is enough that He sees 
 their efforts to live righteously and godly alid soberly in 
 this present world; and He who seeth in secret shall, in 
 
THE PHARISAIC FASTING. 213 
 
 the abundance of His grace, without any merit or any- 
 thing of theirs, reward them openly. 
 
 Too much stress can not be laid upon the fact that 
 fasting always pertains to objects and conduct that are 
 not determined by divine law. They are matters of lib- 
 erty, which are accordingly subject to human choice. 
 Even whim the word is used in the widest sense as in- 
 cluding the mortification of the flesh, it is not the re- 
 nunciation of sin and refraining from actual sins that 
 is contemplated, but such acts as, though not forbidden, 
 are judged to be injurious in their tendency, whether by 
 suggestion, association, habit or otherwise. When sins 
 are had in view, fasting is not the correct word to desig- 
 nate our abstinence. To refrain from cursing and swear- 
 ing, from lying and stealing, is not properly fasting. 
 This is abstaining from something that could not be 
 done without sin. Eating and drinking are not regu- 
 lated by divine commandments. Our own judgment 
 must decide what and when and how much we shall 
 eat or drink, and when we have settled habits in this 
 regard we may depart from the rule on certain occa- 
 sions for our own benefit; as when we deny ourselves 
 some regular meals, or the eating of meat or the drinking 
 of coffee. If we think this desirable, there is nothing to 
 prevent the execution of our thought. We fast. No one 
 has a right to forbid it. But neither has any one a right 
 to lay it as a law upon our consciences. We can do as 
 we please about it. When Eome imposes such fasts up- 
 on the people and teaches them that this is a good work 
 of Christian obedience which God will reward, she 
 tyrannizes our consciences and deceives them, commit- 
 ting the grave sin of making additions to God's Word 
 and teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, 
 and at the same time misleading her members by instill- 
 ing hopes which can never be realized. The law of fast- 
 
214 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 ing, which is a good external discipline to be used by 
 Christians in the exercise of their liberty when they see 
 reason for it, becomes an abomination when thus im- 
 posed as a duty; and such law, imposed without right 
 and obeyed without reason, cannot fail to result in the 
 vainglorious fasting which Christ rebukes as Pharisaic 
 delusion. 
 
SECTION X, 
 
 The Abiding Treasures, 
 
 ( Matthew 6, 19 23.) 
 
 ♦JF N all their service the disciples of Christ are taught 
 n to be sincere, avoiding all hypocrisy and theat- 
 rical displays of righteousness. But it must be a 
 sincere service of God, according to His Word and with 
 undivided hearts. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy 
 God, and Him only shalt thou serve." This our Lord 
 teaches in the next section of the sermon, which may be 
 taken as an exposition of the first commandment, that we 
 shall have no other God above Him who has revealed 
 Himself to us as the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth 
 and the gracious Savior of the sinful world : that we 
 should fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. With 
 Him we are to lay up our treasures. By the light of His 
 Word we are to discriminate between the heavenly and 
 the earthly. The service of two masters of different aims 
 is impossible : serve the Lord alone. Our activity in such 
 service with undivided hearts will always be directed to 
 His glory and result in spiritual riches. 
 
 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
 where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves 
 break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treas- 
 ures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth cor- 
 rupt and where thieves do not break through nor steiil ; 
 for where your treasure is there will your heart be also." 
 Christ desires us to give Him our heart; that is essential 
 to life in His kingdom. But when this is done, our alTec- 
 tions cannot be fixed upon the things of earth, which do 
 not abide and cannot satisfy the wants of our immortal 
 souls. Even if they contained all that our souls at 
 
 215 
 
216 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 present need, which they do not, they do not last, and 
 therefore fail to still the longings of immortal souls. 
 ^'Love not the world, neither the things that are in the 
 world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father 
 is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of 
 the tiesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the i)ride of life, 
 is not of the Father, hut is of the world. And the world 
 passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the 
 will of God abideth for ever." 1 John 2, 15-17. The soul 
 was made for God and can find happiness only in Him, 
 to whom it is the purpose of our Savior to lead us, that 
 v.o may have eternal blessedness, undisturbed by the 
 passing away of this earthly sphere, where we have our 
 temporary abode. 
 
 It is therefore manifest folly to lay up for ourselves 
 treasures on earth, where lasting possessions are impos- 
 sible. The soul abides when this world has passed away, 
 and the riches and honors and pleasures which it offered 
 have passed awa}^ with it. Hence the repeated admoni- 
 tions of the Scriptures not to seek these transient things 
 and to be misled by the allurements which they present 
 to our sinful flesh. And v>e have great need of such 
 warning, because sin has blinded us to the eternal re- 
 alities and made us subject to the fascinations of tem- 
 poral vanities. Even Christians, who are no longer in 
 the bonds of iniquity, but rejoice in the hope of the glory 
 of God, have need of them, because in them, too, the 
 flesh still struggles for the mastery over the gifts of the 
 spirit. When the good seed is sown among men, some 
 fall by the wayside, some on the rock, some among 
 thorns, and some on good ground. "Tliat which fell 
 among thorns are they which, when they have heard, go 
 forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures 
 of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.'' Luke 8, 14. 
 The gold and silver of the world present a powerful temp- 
 tation, and many a soul is lost by overestimating and 
 
THE ABIDING TREASURES. 217 
 
 craving such earthly possessions. The foolish thought 
 is entertained that wealth provides against cares, secures 
 honors and pleasures, and insures happiness and content- 
 ment which are not otherwise obtainable. But riches 
 are themselves not secure where moth and rust corrupt 
 and where thieves break through and steal. And that is 
 not the worst of the fatuous greed for great earthly pos- 
 sessions. "They that will be rich fall into temptation 
 and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, 
 which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the 
 love of money is the root of all evil, which while some cov- 
 eted after they have erred from the faith and pierced 
 themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O 
 man of God, flee tliese things, and follow after righteous- 
 ness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 1 Tim. 
 6, 9-11. Following the wisdom of this world, which dis- 
 dains the wisdom that cometh down from above, is mani- 
 fest in nothing more than in this stupid laying up of 
 treasures on earth to the neglect of the abiding treasures 
 in heaven. In one of Christ's parables a certain rich 
 man who was greatly prospered, in the pride of his heart 
 says : "I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods 
 laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and 
 be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night 
 thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those 
 things be which thou hast provided?" Luke 12, 19. 20. 
 Truly a very fool is he who makes the things that perish 
 his confidence and hope: for he must at last perish with 
 them. 
 
 Christ teaches us heavenly wisdom when He urges 
 us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where 
 things do not decay and men do not steal. These 
 treasures are the imperishable things which God has 
 promised to His people in His kingdom of glory, if they 
 remain faithful until death in His kingdom of grace. 
 That means that they embrace these promises through 
 
218 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 faith in tlie Lord Jesus Christ, and serving God on earth 
 they are sure of enjoying the blessedness secured for us 
 in heaven. That is unspeakably glorious and great; for 
 "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man the things which He hath prepared 
 for them that love Him." Glorious things are revealed 
 to us of the great salvation offered us in Christ, and 
 glorious things are given us in the promises of our Lord, 
 who has gone to prepare a- place for us, that where He 
 is there we may be also. But the realization of it all, 
 now and here, is beyond our earthly capacity even in 
 hope. "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee 
 a crown of life." Rev. 2, 10. And as our names are writ- 
 ten in heaven, where our eternal inheritance is as chil- 
 dren of God, and our Father has promised by grace to 
 reward every good deed done in our Savior's name, we 
 can lay up treasures day by day in our heavenly home, 
 where our heart is because our treasure is there. Thus 
 "our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look 
 for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil. 3, 20. 
 
 We are not induced to regard the earthly gifts which 
 God's bounty bestows as undesirable and worthless. The 
 lesson taught is not that they should be avoided and we 
 should learn to despise them. There is no indication that 
 the text is designed to convey such a thought, which is 
 the offspring of minds prone to fly to the opposite ex- 
 treme when errors are warned against. To say that a 
 coin is not gold is not saying that it has no value. Only 
 if the attempt were made to pass it off for gold would 
 it be pronounced worthless, because spurious. All tem- 
 poral things have their temporal use and value. "For 
 every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, 
 if it be received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified 
 by the Word of God and prayer." 1 Tim. 4,- 4 . 5. During 
 our earthly life we need earthly things, and the good 
 providence of God supplies them according to our needs. 
 
THE ABIDING TREASURES. 219 
 
 "The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them 
 their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and 
 satistiest the desire of every living thing." Ps. 145, 15 . 16. 
 Despising the gifts pertaining to our bodies and external 
 relations is no evidence of true spirituality. On the con- 
 trary, it comes of a lack of appreciation of our Heavenly 
 Father's goodness as manifested in the blessings daily 
 showered upon us for our earthly support and comfort. 
 We are taught to pray for our daily bread and not to for- 
 get the thanksgiving which we owe to God for its be- 
 stowal. What Christ would have us recognize and prop- 
 erly appreciate is the difference between the temporal 
 and the eternal, and the corresponding worth of each. 
 To care for money and goods, honors and pleasures, to 
 the neglect of the treasures that are everlasting, is the 
 folly from which our Lord would deliver His disciples. 
 Temporal things have temporal worth, but they are not 
 rightly appreciated when they are placed on a level with 
 the things that are eternal or made a substitute for them. 
 Let us give earnest heed to the important lesson, that 
 where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. What 
 in our eyes has the greatest value absorbs our thought. 
 And our souls acquire the character of the things which 
 are most precious to us. We become more worldly minded 
 the more the things of the world are prized. If a man 
 occupies himself with money-making as the chief object 
 of his endeavors, he will become groveling and mercenary 
 in his motives, and his heart will become cold and hard 
 as the gold to which he clings. If he pursues the pleas- 
 ures derived from the gratification of his sensual appe- 
 tites, he becomes increasingly brutish by his choice of a 
 merely animal life, which gives no scope to the exercise 
 of those higher powers which distinguish the creature 
 made in the image of God. All experience shows that 
 the heart loses all loftiness of purpose and nobility of 
 aspiration when it habitually delves in the dirt of earth 
 
220 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 and wallows in the mire of lust. The idolatry which 
 makes a god of the temporal things given us to be used 
 in the service of our heavenly calling and thus to be 
 under our control instead of making us their slaves, un- 
 fits us for the gathering of any treasures in heaven where 
 God reigns and where they may be our joy for ever. There- 
 fore "if riches increase, set not your heart upon them." 
 Ps. 62, 10. God may give them to us, and as His gift 
 they are designed to serve a good purpose. But they are 
 temporal and pass away, and if we have put our trust 
 in them we are forsaken when they depart. Lay up for 
 yourselves treasures in heaven. Then your hearts will 
 be there; occupying your thoughts with them will make 
 you heavenly minded; and when your earthly journey 
 is ended you, too, will be there and enjoy your ever- 
 lasting treasure. 
 
 To discern this blessed treasure we need a spiritual 
 eye which sees what the natural eye cannot see. "The 
 light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be 
 single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine 
 eye be evil thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If 
 therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great 
 is that darkness!" The different organs of the body have 
 each its special office. The one cannot perform the func- 
 tions of the other, and each serves the whole body in do- 
 ing its appropriate work. All the light we have is fur- 
 nished by the eye. If that fails, no other organ can sup- 
 ply the defect; and however powerful and active the 
 other organs may be, we remain in complete darkness. 
 The blind man has no light; but if the eye is sound and 
 properly used, the whole body is full of light 
 
 In spiritual things there is a light needed which na- 
 ture does not supply. The eye of the soul in that respect 
 is evil. By nature men "walk in the vanity of their 
 minds, having the understanding darkened, being alien- 
 ated from the life of God by the ignorance that is in 
 
THE ABIDING TREASURES. 221 
 
 them, because of the blindness of their heart." Eph. 4, 
 17. 18. In consequence even the religious light which 
 may be derived from the works of God is perverted, and 
 the Gentiles "changed the truth of God into a lie, and 
 worshipped and served the creature more than the Cre- 
 ator." l\om. 1, 25. The help for this natural evil is 
 found only in the Gospel which the Savior brought us 
 aud which is the power of God unto salvation to all them 
 that believe. Therefore the apostle prays "that the God 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give 
 unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
 knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being 
 enlightened; that ye may know Avhat is the hope of His 
 calling and what the riches of the glory of Ilis inherit- 
 ance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness 
 of His power to usward who believe." Eph. 1, 17-19. 
 This natural blindness is not healed at once, though the 
 Holy Spirit restores our sight and gives us the light by 
 His Word which shines in the dark places. Even Chris- 
 tians have eyes that are not single and need purging, 
 some of them so far neglectful of the Word given them by 
 revelation and the Holy Spirit's counsel and warning that 
 they are in daily peril of stumbling and falling into the 
 pit whence they had been delivered. Thus the Spirit 
 writes to the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans: "I 
 know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot: I 
 would tlmu wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art 
 lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out 
 of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and in- 
 creased with goods, and have need of nothing, and know- 
 est not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
 and blind and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold 
 tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white 
 raiment, that thou mayest be clothed and the shame of 
 thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with 
 eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. 3, 15-18. But too 
 
222 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 many of those who profess to be Christ's disciples have 
 not an eye single to His glory, and still flatter themselves 
 that all is well with them as long as they remain mem- 
 bers of good standing in the Christian congregation. 
 Their danger is the greater because they see not the 
 peril of neglecting the Word, which alone gives us the 
 light of salvation, and of trusting in the light which 
 nature is supposed to 'give, but which does not prevent 
 them from seeing double and thus perverting the heaven- 
 ly truth, and does not guard them against the double- 
 dealing to which the lusts of the flesh incline. 
 
 The eye is single wiien God alone is seen as the high- 
 est good and His Word alone is accepted as our guide in 
 things pertaining to the soul's life. "Thou shalt guide 
 me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 
 Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none 
 upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my 
 heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my 
 portion for ever." Ps. 73, 24-26. And if we would abide 
 with Him and enjoy Him as our everlasting treasure, 
 we must continue in His Word, by which He manifests 
 His gracious presence and blesses us. "Deal bountifully 
 with Thy servant, that I may live and keep Thy Word. 
 Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things 
 out of Thy law." Ps. 119, 17. 18. Against this the flesh 
 relucts, which would have us look towards carnal grati- 
 fications and see the fleshpots of Egypt as well as the 
 beauty of holiness, and squint at both. The lust of the 
 eyes will not cease to trouble Christians while they live 
 in this world that lieth in wickedness. But the flesh 
 must be crucified, not gratified. "I keep under my body 
 and bring it into subjection, lest by any means, when I 
 have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 
 1 Cor. 9, 27. If by the grace of our blessed Savior we are 
 resolved to walk with God, He is faithful who has prom- 
 ised to sustain us and give us the victory. "If we say 
 
THE ABIDING TREASURES. 223 
 
 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 with one an- 
 other, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth 
 us from all sin." 1 John 1, 6.7. 
 
 Those who lay up for themselves treasures on earth 
 instead of seeking the treasures which endure when the 
 earth shall have passed away, thus make manifest that 
 their sight is impaired. Their eye is not single, else they 
 would see the eternal treasure and be able to discern it as 
 of the highest worth, whilst their choice of the temporal 
 instead, betrays their incapacity to see what is best. 
 Either they do not see the everlasting good at all, thus 
 showing their spiritual blindness; or, if they by grace have 
 received some enlightenment which by nature thej^ cannot 
 possess, they fail to make the proper use of it and con- 
 sequently see double, the transitory things of this life be- 
 ing made to seem eternal treasures. It thus comes to 
 pass that things of no permanent value are eagerly gath- 
 ered, as children gather shards and pebbles, in the de- 
 lusive belief that they are treasures of abiding value. The 
 delusion would be apparent if men could see clearly. 
 But when they have no spiritual eye, or its vision is im- 
 paired by the unresisted influence of the sin which ever 
 tends to blind us, it is not strange that the evidence 
 presented to convince rational creatures of their folly, 
 fails to direct their steps into the paths of wisdom. The 
 garments which they prize so highly become moth-eaten; 
 the medals which are their pride are spoiled by the rust 
 that corrodes them ; the money which they have laid up 
 as their hearts' delight becomes the prey of thieves who 
 break through and steal; and still the foolish soul es- 
 teems them as precious treasures that furnish present 
 pleasure and secure future happiness. 
 
 "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, 
 how great is that darkness!" The light of God's grace 
 
224 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 is still shining upon us through the Gospel: blessed are 
 they that hear the Word of God and keep it. "Jesus 
 said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness: 
 for a man's life eonsisteth not in the abundance of the 
 things which he possesseth. And He spake a parable 
 unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man 
 brought forth j)lentifully; and he thought within himself, 
 saying. What shall I do, because I have no room where 
 to bestow my fruits? And he said. This will I do: I 
 will pull down my barns and build greater, and there 
 will I bestow my fruits and my goods. And I will say 
 to my soul. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many 
 years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God 
 said unto him. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be re- 
 quired of thee: then whose shall those things be which 
 thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure 
 for himself and is not rich toward God." Luke 12, 15-21. 
 
SECTION XL 
 
 The Life of Trust. 
 ( Matthew 6, 24-34.) 
 
 ©UR Lord further illustrates and impresses the neces- 
 sity of laying up treasures in heaven by showing 
 that, if we are sincere in our devotion to God, He 
 alone must reign in our hearts and Him only must we 
 serve, everything must be subordinated to His will and 
 all be for His glory. "No man can serve two masters; 
 for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else 
 he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye can not 
 serve God and mammon." We may be subject to a mas- 
 ter who gives his orders through a subordinate, and one 
 who is faithful will render his service as cheerfully when 
 a requirement is made by the agent as wlien made di- 
 rectly by the master, provided he is sure that the Master 
 orders it. This is sometimes erroneously regarded as 
 serving two masters. But only one is the master, and 
 only one possesses authority to command. If the agent 
 cannot show that the requirement made of us is that of 
 the master, he cannot claim obedience. God never dele- 
 gates His supremacy to a creature, requiring subjection 
 to such a substitute as absolutely as to Himself. Neither 
 in Church nor State has He placed rulers over us whom 
 we are bound to obey without appeal to Him who alone 
 is Lord of all. Not even in the case of ministers of the 
 Gospel, who are said to rule over us and whom we are 
 required to obey, can we serve two masters, one being 
 the Lord, the other being His minister. God alone rules 
 over us, and He does this by His Word, to which all, min- 
 isters and hearers, are alike bound. Our obedience in 
 the Church is due to that Word, not to the minister who 
 
 15 225 
 
226 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 preaches, whether he preaches the Word or not. We are 
 not bound absolutely to obey any man, though he jjroudly 
 call himself God's vicegerent on earth, unless he can show 
 that what He demands of us is written in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures and is therefore demanded b}^ the authority of Him 
 who alone is Monarch in the universe. As regards the 
 civil government to which, as the "powers that be," we 
 must needs be subject because they are ordained of God, 
 the matter is equally plain. The State has no authority 
 whatever in the spiritual tilings which are committed to 
 the Church, but deals only with temporal atfairs, that 
 the people may be protected in their common rights and 
 in their legitimate pursuits, and lead quiet and peaceable 
 lives. If any "powers that be" should become arrogant 
 and attempt to usurp authority over our consciences, and 
 thus set themselves up as masters other than God, by 
 whose ordinance and for whose purposes they have been 
 made rulers, the Scriptures make our duty clear by telling 
 us that "we ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 
 5, 29. We can not serve two masters claiming equal au- 
 thority. Least of all can we serve two masters in every 
 way so diverse and morally so contrary as God and mam- 
 mon. 
 
 But absurd as the thought is, there are many who 
 live as if they deemed it practicable. Very likely they 
 would, if they considered it with due care as an abstract 
 question, pronounce it impossible. But God's complaint 
 has been of old, "My people doth not consider." And 
 when some effort is made in this direction, there are dif- 
 ficulties in the way of reaching a correct conclusion. The 
 flesh is against it, and unrighteousness is deceivable; the 
 world is against it, and millions are deluded by the wick- 
 edness in v.diich it lies and which governs its customs and 
 fashions; and the devil is of course againfet it, and mar- 
 shals all his hosts of lies for the maintenance of his 
 kingdom of darkness and the enslavement of men under 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 227 
 
 the bondage of sin. The Holy Spirit exhorts us: "Mor- 
 tify therefore your members which are upon the earth, 
 fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concu- 
 piscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which 
 things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of 
 disobedience." Col. 3, 5.6. Natural reason suggests that 
 if God is good He will surely not be so severe in judging 
 what is manifestly the craving of our nature, and prob- 
 ably means only to warn us against those outbreaks of 
 ungoverned passion which all the world pronounces 
 shameful, which injure the subject's health as well as his 
 standing in the community, and which may eventually 
 lead to the renunciation of all moral restraints and ren- 
 der him a castaway. In confirmation of this suggestion 
 it is presumed that the condemnation of covetousness as 
 idolatry is an exaggeration. The eye of such critics is 
 not single, and squints in different directions, and the 
 €yesalve of the Gospel is not promptly applied to remedy 
 the evil. Thus the heart is divided, and but too many 
 imagine that they can serve their own natural inclina- 
 tions, which the Scriptures call the flesh, and at the same 
 time serve God. This unfortunately applies even to many 
 Christians, who are far from a conscious denial of Christ, 
 but who in their lack of watchfulness and prayer put 
 themselves into constant danger. When they go to wor- 
 ship they of course do not address their prayers and 
 praises to mammon or make profession to engage in his 
 service: they desire to worship God. When they go out 
 into the world and take part in its employments and en- 
 joyments, they do not go in mammon's name and ask his 
 blessing upon their conduct. One who thus openly sins, 
 with a full consciousness of what he is doing, would prob- 
 ably not have the hardihood to call himself a believer in 
 Christ. They go through the forms of Christian worship, 
 and attend to their business and pleasure without any 
 pronounced manifestation of heathenism. It is therefore 
 
228 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 not surprising tliat they ask the question, How can their 
 conduct be idolatry? Alas, they will not see, not having 
 clarified eyes they cannot see, that if they do not serve 
 God only, renouncing utterly the service of the world and 
 the flesh and the devil, they are trying to serve two mas- 
 ters. And the effort is vain; for while they profess to 
 be serving God and are themselves deceived in thinking 
 that their devotion to mammon does not render an ac- 
 ceptable service of God impossible, they are really serv- 
 ing another master. We are bought with a price, and our 
 Eedeemer claims us wholly. "For the love of Christ con- 
 straineth us; because we thus judge, that if Christ died 
 for all, then were all dead; and that He died for all that 
 they which live should not henceforth live unto them- 
 selves, but unto Him which died for them and rose 
 again." 2 Cor. 5, 14 . 15. 
 
 The impossibility of serving two masters, and the 
 necessity of renouncing every other master and conse- 
 crating ourselves wholly to God, who will not give His 
 glory to another, and who commands us to serve Him 
 with all our heart and Him only, is further set forth in 
 the subsequent verses of Christ's sermon. We are re- 
 quired to have such implicit trust in God that we shall 
 take no thought for the supply of our temporal wants, 
 necessary as that supply is for our life and welfare on 
 earth and great as are the incentives in our nature to 
 rivet our attention upon the things needed for our earthly 
 subsistence, and, giving way to the delusive imagination 
 of our carnal hearts, to strain every nerve by our sup- 
 posed wisdom and power to obtain the necessaries of life 
 in ample measure. 
 
 1. Verse 25 lays down the broad proposition which 
 forbids our anxious concern about these earthly needs, 
 because God has promised to provide and wants us to trust 
 His fatherly care. "Therefore I say unto you, Take no 
 thought for your life, what ye shall eat and what ye 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 229 
 
 shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." 
 We can not serve two masters : serve God alone, and con- 
 fidently look to Him for the supply of every want that 
 may arise while engaged in His service. Our Savior 
 knew how directly this runs counter to our natural in- 
 clinations and all our worldly wisdom. He knew also 
 how i)r()ne we are to wrest His words in favor of our self- 
 conceited human providence, and to tone them down to 
 a sense more acceptable to our reason, and He therefore 
 repeats the words, that we may be sure that He meant 
 what He said. It is a hard lesson to learn, and only the 
 grace of our Lord can make us docile pupils; and when 
 we are rendered willing to learn it, reducing it to prac- 
 tice causes us so much difficulty that we incur the danger 
 of moderating and modifying the meaning by our inter- 
 pretation in order to silence the voice of conscience which 
 daily rebukes our little faith. 
 
 The words "take no thought" are the translation of 
 a word signifying that anxiety of mind which we usually 
 call care. When we imagine that our life and all that is 
 necessary to preserve it and make it comfortable depends 
 on our discretion and careful management as well as 
 upon our diligence in the work which our hands find to 
 do, we cannot escape troublous thoughts about our efforts 
 and their success in accomplishing our plans. As long 
 as we prosper according to our wishes: as long as our 
 health is good and our business flourishes ; as long as our 
 barns are well filled and our purses are well supplied, 
 there may be little anxiety about what we shall eat and 
 drink and wherewithal we shall be clothed, although even 
 then we are not secure against the adversities which ren- 
 der the continuance of these treasures unreliable and ex- 
 cite fears as to what tomorrow may bring forth. But 
 prosperity is not always ours. There is much to cause 
 discouragement because plans have failed and discontent 
 because success has not reached the measure of desire. 
 
230 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 And when actual want seems threatening us, what then? 
 Then troubles thicken if we have no better refuge than 
 our own providence, and cares are ready to crush us. 
 There is no remedy for such unrest but that which our 
 Lord sets before, us in His lesson of trust in God. "Be 
 careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and 
 supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
 known unto God." Phil. 4, 6. As He has promised to 
 provide we need to have no" anxieties about the supply 
 of our wants. That is His concern, and He will not fail 
 to execute His gracious will. Trust His Word, "casting 
 all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." 1 Pet. 
 5, 7. It certainly is reasonable that we Christians should 
 rid ourselves of our cares, which are as useless as they 
 are vexatious, when the God whom we serve and who has 
 promised to provide for His servants bids us only to ask 
 and we shall receive, and teaches us confidently and joy- 
 fully to say : "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." 
 Ps. 22, 1. 
 
 2. To overcome the shallow reasonings of our flesh, 
 which lusts against the Spirit, Christ appeals to the 
 sober reflection of His disciples, that under His tuition 
 they may judge intelligently. "Is not the life more than 
 meat and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of 
 the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gath- 
 er into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. 
 Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by 
 taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?" With 
 all man's ingenuity he can neither increase his stature 
 nor prolong his life. His waste of energy in this regard 
 would be apparent, even if he did his utmost. He knows 
 that he can increase his stature only according to God's 
 will and laws, and that he must die when his life has 
 reached its divinely prescribed limit. And is it not sheer 
 puerility to worry about the food needed to sustain life 
 and the raiment needed to clothe the body, when God 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 231 
 
 cares for the life which is more than food, and for the 
 body which is more than raiment? God preserves our 
 lives, assuredly lie will provide for the things which are 
 necessary for that preservation. If He cares for the 
 greater, He certainly will not neglect the less which is 
 needed for the accomplishment of His will. Nor is there 
 any rational ground for the thought that His providence 
 is in some way dependent for its exercise or its efficiency 
 upon our planning and devising and operating. The fowls 
 of the air are fed, though they do not sow or reap or 
 gather into barns. Can God not feed us just as well? He 
 luis assured us that He will ; can He not fulfill His promise 
 Avithout the help of our wisdom or work? He has taug'it 
 us to ask Him for our daily bread; why should we allow 
 ourselves to be worried with anxious cares about it, as if 
 the result of our asking must be dubious unless our pe- 
 titions are buttressed by our own efforts to help ourselves? 
 Why should we worrj^ about to-morroAv's bread instead of 
 asking it of God and cheerfully going on our way in the 
 assurance of faith that He will provide? 
 
 "And Avhy take ye thought for raiment? Consider 
 the lilies of the field, how they grow : they toil not, neither 
 do they spin, and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all 
 his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore 
 if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is and 
 to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more 
 clothe you, O ye of little faith?" This last question shows 
 where the whole trouble lies, when we are tormented 
 with cares and anxieties about the necessaries of this 
 earthly life. The logic is unanswerable on Christian 
 grounds. If God cares for animals and plants and un- 
 failingly supplies them with everything requisite for their 
 preservation and the attainment of the end for which 
 they were created, it would be unreasonable to suppose 
 tlint He do(*s not care for man, whose endowments are so 
 much greater and whose place in the world is so much more 
 
232 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 important. Reason would presume that if God does not 
 care for us and has not provided for the supply of our 
 daily recurring wants, His purpose must be to let us die 
 and thus effectually quash all thoughts about our future 
 food and raiment. But His providence has never failed, 
 and His Word makes us sure that it will never fail to 
 furnish what His creatures need. It is man's faith that 
 fails. O ye of little faith ! That is the explanation of his 
 carking care and cankerous, worry concerning what he 
 shall eat and wherewithal he shall be clothed. People 
 do not take God at His word and therefore they are need- 
 lessly troubled about many things. They do not believe, 
 although many of them profess to believe the Scriptures, 
 that "the eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and Thou 
 givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thy 
 hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." Ps. 
 145, 15. 16. Whatever words may be employed in the 
 Bible to assure us that God provides for us all the neces- 
 saries of life and that all our cares in this regard are 
 superfluous, the secret thought still arises and exerts its 
 evil influence, that something essential in the matter is 
 left to our wisdom and strength, and that upon this all 
 must ultimately depend. No true Christian will deny 
 outright that God's good providence is over all His crea- 
 tures and supplies their needs, but many evidently assume 
 that this is meant with limitations which man's reason 
 must suggest. This gives rise to doubts on the subject and 
 leaves room for all cares and worries which arise from 
 doubt and disbelief, and which so greatly afflict you, O 
 ye of little faith! 
 
 "Therefore take no thought, saying. What shall we 
 eat? or, What shall we drink? or. Wherewithal shall we 
 be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles 
 seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth .that ye have 
 need of all these things." Tliese words impress upon 
 our minds tlie admonitions civen before, and offer two 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 233 
 
 additional reasons why we sliould heed and practice 
 them. In the first place, it is heathenish to turn away 
 from the promises of Ood and tlie command to lay our 
 wants before Him in believing prayer, and to vex our 
 souls with needless cares as to how our daily bread shall 
 be procured: as if God never truly meant what He says 
 and we could be on the safe side only by looking out 
 for ourselves and putting our trust in our own provident 
 plans and in our own strong arms. The heathens, who 
 know not God and His precious promises, may in their 
 blindness do such impious things. They have not the 
 means of knowing better. But Christians have the light 
 from heaven, and are themselves to be the light of the 
 world. The3' know better, or at least are much to blame 
 if, with all the means of heavenly knowledge at hand, 
 they do not know better. For them it is a burning shame 
 to walk in darkness as the benighted Gentiles walk. 
 Those who distrust God in regard to His providence for 
 the supply of their temporal needs should see to it that 
 they are not also distrusting Him in regard to His grace 
 for the salvation of their souls, for when His Word fails 
 to make us sure as to the one, there is nothing to make 
 us sure as to the other. In the second place, "Your 
 lieavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these 
 things." If you believe in Him, then trust His promises 
 and cast your cares upon Him, for he careth for you. 
 Clirist has tauglit us to call Him our Father, and invites 
 us to believe that by faith we are His true children. Our 
 earthly fathers love us and under God look after their 
 cliildren's welfare. If these have childlike hearts do 
 they ])ermit the thought to arise in them that it would 
 be unsafe to trust their fathers' care and as soon as 
 reason dawns begin to nurse anxieties concerning their 
 food and clothing? That is not their business. Their 
 phice and duty is to love and obey their ])arents and 
 not interfere with the father's management of his own 
 
234 THE SEKMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 affairs. They are iinfilial cbildren if they do not trust 
 him. Much more reason have we to trust our heavenly 
 Father, who is not subject to the infirmities of earthly 
 fathers, which sometimes seem an excuse for the impiety 
 of the children. He always has the power to fulfill the 
 promises of His love, and will resort to miracles now, as 
 He has done in the past, if the ordinary provisions in 
 nature should in any case be inadequate for such fulfill- 
 ment. He is our Father and is Almighty: shall we not 
 tiust Him and be content? He may not give us wealth; 
 He may not give us as much of this world's goods as 
 our greedy hearts ma^^ desire. He has made no such 
 promises. But He will give us v/hat we need and as 
 much as He knows to be for our good. Is not that 
 enough? What thankless, unfilial hearts we have, if we 
 say it is not, and in consequence pierce ourselves through 
 with many sorrows by our covetousness and our vain 
 worries and cares. That is one of the reasons why the 
 Gospel does not have the desired effect on so many hearts. 
 They hear the Word indeed, but it falls among thorns; 
 and they "go forth and are choked with cares and riches 
 and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfec- 
 tion." Luke 8, 16. 
 
 3. An explanation follows, without which many 
 might find it difficult to harmonize the lesson of this en- 
 tire section with other teachings of the Holy Scripture. 
 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteous- 
 ness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take 
 therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow 
 shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient 
 unto the day is the evil thereof." 
 
 It is not presupposed that all requisites for the cor- 
 dial acceptance and cheerful performance of such de- 
 mands lie dormant in our nature and only n-eed arousing. 
 The sermon on the mount is not based on such prin- 
 ciples, and the kingdom of God which it proclaims not 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 235 
 
 only does not recognize them, but requires their renun- 
 ciation. They belong to the flesh which must be cruci- 
 fied if we would be followers of Christ. When we start 
 from the right premises reason will indeed be capable of 
 discerning the folly of man's natural thoughts about pro- 
 curing and laying up in store the transitory things of 
 the world, which God alone can give and which He bounti- 
 fully bestows on all His creatures according to their 
 needs. But finding the right premises and acting upon 
 the rational conclusions is a different matter. That is 
 the province of faith, which is the gift of God, not a 
 product of our own nature. Hence seeking first the king- 
 dom of God and His righteousness is indispensable to the 
 banishment of anxious thought concerning what we shall 
 eat or what we shall drink or wherewithal we shall be 
 clothed. Naturally we imagine that providing for these 
 necessary things belongs to us, and that any failure to 
 possess them in ample measure is our fault, and rightly 
 brings dishonor upon us as well as the discomforts of 
 want. Hence the common despising of the poor and the 
 honoring of the rich. The Gentiles naturally struggle 
 for earthly goods, and the natural light of the people 
 living in civilized countries does not lift them above the 
 inborn infirmities of their fallen nature, so that without 
 the heavenly power of the Gospel they do not in this 
 respect differ from the Gentiles. The common thought 
 is that they must provide for themselves, and that of 
 course the more they accumulate the better they are se- 
 cured against want. So taking anxious thought about 
 the morrow, they worry and work, and work and worry; 
 and as the result of their efforts to safeguard themselves 
 against any possible adversities is of course insufficient 
 to satisfy tlieir greed and their fears, they are always 
 burdened with cares. The remedy for these foolish 
 anxieties is found only in the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness. This must be sought first, not only be- 
 
236 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 cause in a riglit estimate of values this is the most im- 
 portant and must have precedence, but also because the 
 right attitude towards temporal things, as subordinate 
 to the spiritual and eternal treasures, is dependent upon 
 our faith in the great King, under whose dominion of 
 grace all things are ours. When we have citizenship in 
 that kingdom with its great spiritual immunities and 
 privileges all other things shall be added unto us. 
 
 We enter the kingdom of God when we become dis- 
 ciples of Christ and believe in Him. This faith is first 
 of all the apprehension of Him as our Savior and of His 
 righteousness, so that we are justified by faith and have 
 peace with God. There is no just ground for restricting 
 the sense of the word righteousness to the personal holi- 
 ness and godly living of Christ's disciples. It is undoubt- 
 edly true that the hearers of His sermon were not yet 
 able to understand the full import of His obedience unto 
 death to work out a perfect righteousness for us, which 
 the Gospel should bring and faith should receive ; but that 
 is no reason for assuming that His words could mean no 
 more for them and for us than they were then able to un- 
 derstand, although in the divine purpose the sincere be- 
 lievers should later be led into all truth. What they 
 were to seek first is the kingdom of God and His right- 
 eousness, which in the divine mind was the same then as 
 now. Even to the children of God in later times, and 
 down to our own day, there are many things pertaining 
 to that kingdom which yet lie in the future and are not 
 yet fully unfolded to our view. But we are to seek it 
 still in all its fulness and in all its glory, laying up for 
 ourselves treasures in heaven. "Seek those things which 
 are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God," 
 though the glory of them all surpasses our understand- 
 ing. The righteousness through which by faith we have 
 an assured hope of eternal blessedness, and in the appro- 
 priation of which we have peace on earth and glory in 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 237 
 
 lieaven, is the righteousness which our Savior acquired 
 by fulfilling all the requirements which God makes upon 
 us. It is His obedience unto death, even the death of the 
 cross. This was rendered for us and is now imputed to 
 us by faith, without the deeds of the law. We thus be- 
 come children of God, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit 
 receive childlike hearts which trust their Father's Word 
 and rely upon His promises, which they know to be yea 
 and amen forever. It is thus that they are taught and 
 brought to cast their cares upon God, who careth for us. 
 "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise 
 of the life that now is and of that which is to come." 
 1. Tim. 4, 8. 
 
 Lest any reader should think that we are overlook- 
 ing difficulties which seem grave to many minds, we re- 
 peat that the subject presents a lesson which is hard to 
 learn. It does this not only because the command to take 
 no thought for the goods of earth and for to-morrow's 
 necessary bread conflicts with our natural sentiment and 
 reason, but also because it seems to be inconsistent with 
 divine teaching in other places of Holy Scripture. The 
 reflection is not easily suppressed, that the banishment 
 from our minds of all anxious cares for the supply of the 
 necessaries of life for the present and the future would 
 not only make all successful business impossible, but 
 surely bring us to want. And this conclusion of our rea- 
 son appears to be sustained by various passages of holy 
 writ. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard," the wise man ad- 
 monishes; "consider her ways and be wise, which, having 
 no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the 
 summer and gathereth her food in the harvest." Prov. 6, 
 6-8. That commends itself to man's common sense. The 
 slothful man is warned that giving way to his indolence 
 will bring him trouble. "Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
 ber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy 
 poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an 
 
238 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 armed man," Prov. 24, 33 . 34. The rebuke of the lazy 
 and self-indulgent idler is just, and human judgments 
 are usually of one accord in declaring that it serves such 
 a fellow right when poverty and want overtake him. When 
 our Lord miraculously fed the thousands who followed 
 Him, "He said unto His disciples. Gather up the frag- 
 ments that remain, that nothing be lost." John 6, 12. 
 Thoughtful minds approve the good advice to save what 
 is not needed to-day : it may be needed to-morrow. And 
 St. Paul exhorts: "That ye study to be quiet, and to do 
 your own business, and to work with your own hands, 
 as we commanded you, that ye may walk honestly toward 
 them that are without, and that ye may have lack of noth- 
 ing." 1 Thess. 4, 11 . 12. All this coincides with the dic- 
 tates of reason and our human sense of right: must not 
 the Christian conscience make account of it in reading 
 the Lord's lesson on a life of trust in God and freedom 
 from vexing cares? Of course it must; and it does so 
 most cheerfully, because it is intent upon knowing the 
 mind of the Lord and doing the Master's will. But it is 
 all a mistake to presume that these texts conflict with 
 Christ's teaching and require us to take His words in 
 another than their proper sense. If only all Christians, 
 instead of endeavoring to make His doctrine harmonize 
 with their natural reason and carnal sentiments and 
 habits, which is indeed a difficult undertaking, would 
 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
 there would not even seem to be an inconsistency in the 
 statements and requirements. The texts cited only help 
 us to understand better the teaching of our Lord. For 
 they all teach us one and the same thing, that we cannot 
 serve two masters, that God is absolutely Lord whom 
 alone we must serve if we would be Christians, that he 
 cannot be a faithful servant who will not • in all things 
 trust this merciful and mighty Master, and that under 
 Him in His kingdom our calling is to do His will, fulfill- 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 239 
 
 ing our duties as His grace gives us abilit}-, but not 
 worrying about the results of our work, as if He had 
 given the government and care of His kingdom into our 
 hands. Even so far as our own immediate interests are 
 concerned, our subsistence whilst we sojourn here and 
 our blessedness hereafter, our concern is to do what He 
 tells us and let Hiiu provide and see that in the outcome 
 His counsels are fulfilled and the purpose of His love is 
 accomplished. "Humble yourselves therefore under the 
 mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 
 casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." 
 1 Pet. 5, 6 . 7, God keeps the reins of government in His 
 own hands. He saves us, we do not save ourselves. But 
 He saves us in His gracious way, not according to our wis- 
 dom or whims. He tells us what to do to be saved. That 
 we are to do, and trust that thus His end will be attained. 
 To permit doubts to arise about the feasibility of His 
 plan and the wisdom of His means to execute it, to give 
 way to anxious cares about the soul's deliverance from 
 sin and death and run hither and thither in wild and vain 
 efforts to effect it according to the devices of nature and 
 clamors of reason, and to declare it folly to accept as suf- 
 ficient the simple words of our Lord in their plain and 
 proper sense, "He that believeth and is baptized shall 
 be saved," is to frustrate the very purpose about whose 
 accomplishment we entertain such vain anxiety and 
 worry. Do what the Lord tells you, and leave the result 
 to Him, rejoicing that He cares for you and will fulfill 
 His promise. And so we have our place assigned and our 
 duties laid upon us liy the Lord whom we serve. To fill 
 this place and do this work concerns us much ; for it is 
 required of a steward that a man be found faithful. To 
 provide for what we shall eat and what we shall drink 
 and wherewithal we shall he clothed, that is the Master's 
 concern; for He has promised us our daily bread. To 
 worrv about that, instead of devoting our whole heart 
 
240 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 to the duties assigned us, is to meddle with matters for 
 which we have no calling and for which we are not com- 
 petent, and it can only result in rendering us unfaithful 
 servants in our unfllial presumption. 
 
 When the sluggard who neglects the duties of his 
 calling and comes to want because of his lazy violation 
 of God's providential order, is referred to the ant for a 
 lesson in providing in time of plenty for future dearth, 
 that lesson is rendered ineffective by the assumption that 
 it is in conflict with the teaching of the sermon on the 
 mount. The ant is just as dependent upon God's care 
 for its needs as the fowls of the air and the lilies of the 
 field, and it teaches the same lesson. It lets God care 
 for its life and its food, and lays up according to the 
 order of His providence what His bounty bestows, with- 
 out a thought of meddling with His way of providing or 
 a worry about its sufliciency or a tremor about the pos- 
 sibilities of its failure. Let the sluggard learn of the 
 ant to do his work faithfully as God ordains, and let 
 Him do the providing. "Trust in the Lord and do good; 
 so Shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be 
 fed." Ps. 37, 3. 
 
 When we become citizens in the kingdom of God 
 through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we renounce the 
 devil and the world and the flesh. He permits us still 
 to live a little while in this world, because He has some- 
 thing for us to do here. While He directs all the affairs 
 of the universe and rules over all. He employs men and 
 angels as His servants to execute His will. In His king- 
 dom of nature and of grace He honors us with a place 
 and a calling to render service. In this His people de- 
 light to engage, because it is their good Lord's pleasure 
 and because they are useful on earth while they do His 
 will. What shall we have for this service? If we ask 
 such a question in a menial and merpenary spirit, relying 
 upon our supposed merit and claiming a corresponding 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 241 
 
 reward, we shall have nothing for it but the Master's re- 
 buke. God owes us nothing, w^e owe Him everything. 
 He will make no contract with us on commercial prin- 
 ciples. But He is a bountiful Father who graciously dis- 
 penses wealth and blessing above all that we are able to 
 ask or think. He delivers us from the slavish service of 
 sin under the dominion of Satan, gives us life and salva- 
 tion, and makes us heirs of glory in His kingdom, and 
 this without any merit or worthiness of ours. But we 
 must wait for the full enjoyment of our inheritance until 
 we have fulfilled the purpose of our Father on earth. 
 Meantime we are to be faithful in His service here, and 
 occupy the place and do the work which He assigns us, 
 trusting in Him for the supply of our wants on earth as 
 we trust in Him to lead us safely to our eternal home. 
 He has provided for all this, and His provision is wise 
 and good and effectual, working out securely and con- 
 tinually the purpose of His providence and grace. So 
 we have the supply of our spiritual wants through the 
 means of grace entrusted to the Church; and so ample 
 arrangements are made in the powers of nature and the 
 distribution of gifts and assignment of vocations for the 
 supply of our temporal wants. 
 
 God's plan is not that all the members of His king- 
 dom on earth should devote their entire time and talent 
 to the immediate work of preserving and extending His 
 Church with its riches of grace unto salvation. He has 
 appointed a special ministry for this, without however 
 dispensing a single member from rendering service ac- 
 cording to his gift and station and opportunity ; for what- 
 ever may be each one's secular calling, all have the vo- 
 cation alike, as a chosen generation and a royal priest- 
 hood, "that ye should show forth the praises of Him who 
 hath called you out of darkness to His marvelous light." 
 1 Pet. 2, 9. With this heavenly calling the earthly vo- 
 cation given in the providence of God does not interfere 
 
 16 
 
242 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, 
 
 when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous- 
 ness. We serve Him when we perform the duties which 
 He has assigned us in our homes and business, in our 
 community and country, as well as when we perform our 
 duties in the closet and in the Church. All these ordi- 
 nances of God's providence and of His grace work har- 
 moniously together as divine arrangements for the ac- 
 complishment of His good will on earth. This provides 
 for all — for all needed service and for all needed sup- 
 plies. One is a farmer, another is a mechanic, a third 
 is a merchant. All are to serve God and thus under Him 
 to serve one another. The farmer raises bread and meat, 
 the mechanic makes clothing and l)uilds houses, the mer- 
 chant brings the produce to market for our convenience. 
 All labor for the welfare of all, and all receive their 
 wages. But none of them is the originator of the things 
 in which service is rendered, none is lord of the lands 
 and the goods, none has power over the results of his 
 labor, and none has a right to do as he pleases in re- 
 gard to working and using the proceeds. All are merely 
 stewards, who work for God in their stations and calling, 
 all are required to be faithful in doing the Lord's will, 
 and all must render to Him an account of their steward- 
 ship. He cares for all and provides for ail; no one need 
 worry about the results. Only when men set up for them- 
 selves, refusing to seek first the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness, does any conflict arise. But then it is not 
 a conflict of one portion of Scripture with another and one 
 duty with another, but a conflict of the natural mind 
 and the carnal heart with the government of God in His 
 providence and grace; and then come discontent with the 
 Master's apportionment of His goods to His servants, a 
 greed for more than He deems it wise to give, a human 
 provision that promises better profits, and a ceaseless 
 anxiety and worry and care about the results. 
 
 But is it not true then that the Christian must work 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 243 
 
 to secure daily bread; that he must save to have something 
 over for possible adversities; and that he must accord- 
 ingly take thought of these things and have many cares 
 respecting them? The question manifests the confusion 
 of a mind that would serve two masters. Yes, the Chris- 
 tian must work, if he would be faithful to the Master 
 whom he professes to serve; he must save the fragments 
 that remain, if he would escape the reproach of wasting 
 his Lord's goods; but he must not presume that he is the 
 Master whose wise providence supplies his wants and to 
 whom the honor of it all is due. If he is a faithful servant, 
 his labor and discretion will further the purpose of the 
 Lord, and his service will of course be tributary to the 
 end which God has in view. But it is God that supplies 
 and distributes the necessaries of life. It is He that has 
 given and preserves our powers of mind and body, shows 
 us what He would have us to do, gives us strength to do 
 it, and bestows His blessing to make it effective. Our 
 part is that of the servant who obeys the Master's orders, 
 without presuming to lay the plan of His government, 
 or prescribe to Him the means and measures to make it 
 effectual. Therefore it is not for us to harbor cares and 
 anxieties about its success, nor to murmur and complain 
 if the result is not what we expected and in our self-conceit 
 thought we had a right to expect. Let God rule ; cast your 
 cares upon Him, for He careth for you; be content with 
 what His wisdom gives you; then you shall not want. 
 The Lord of course calls to labor, not to idleness. The 
 work of each is made to fit in with the order by which God 
 governs the world; and when each performs his part His 
 good will is done and daily bread is supplied to all. Hence 
 it is that when we seek first the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness all other things are added unto us. He pro- 
 vides for that. Of us it is requii'ed that we be found faith- 
 ful, which we cannot be if we stand all the day idle or 
 waste our Lord's substance with luxurious living. 
 
244 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Probably if sin, had not come into the world the order 
 of divine providence would be different; but as it is the 
 decree is issued that "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
 eat bread till thou return unto the ground." Gen. 3, 19. 
 We cannot be dispensed from this, and we rebel against 
 the Lord of all when we try to set His decree aside."When 
 we were with you this we commanded you, that if any 
 would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that 
 there are some which walk among you disorderly, working 
 not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such 
 we command and exhort, by our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." 2 
 Thess. 3, 10-12. We are not to infer from the law requir- 
 ing us to work, that our violation of the law by our indo- 
 lence would make God's care for our earthly subsistence of 
 none effect, as if, after all, the success of God's providence 
 is dependent on the part which is assigned to us in the 
 execution of His plans. We must not flatter ourselves 
 with the proud conceit that if we refuse to be obedient 
 servants the whole counsel of the Master must fail. The 
 sluggard will suffer for his unfaithfulness, and God may 
 punish him even in this life by withholding His good gifts 
 as well as by visiting other pains and penalties upon him ; 
 but the purpose of the Lord's government will not be 
 foiled by such sins, as it is not foiled by Satan's work 
 in other forms. God still provides the needed bread and 
 gives it even to the wicked. That depends on His will, 
 not on ours. Futhermore, when St. Paul exhorts that 
 the idlers should work and eat his own bread, the impli- 
 cation is that by pursuing disorderly ways and being a 
 busybody in other people's affairs, instead of quietly mind- 
 ing his OAvn business in the work assigned him, he eats 
 the bread of others and becomes a worthless parasite in 
 the community ; for it is embraced in the divine order, by 
 which the necessaries of life are secured to all creatures, 
 that men in their relation to one another should respect 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST. 245 
 
 the gifts and goods and opportunities bestowed on each, 
 and that every one that is willing^ to work should eat his 
 own bread as the fruit of his hibor, and not, as a beggar or 
 a thief, take that which the Lord apportions to another. 
 But there could scarcely be a misunderstanding more 
 thoroughly subversive of the sense of the words than that 
 of taking them to teach reliance upon the merit of our 
 ^^ork as establishing the claim, that the bread which we 
 receive is our own over against God as well as over 
 against men. In our commerce with our fellow stewards 
 we earn our bread; in our relation to God we are all un- 
 profitable servants, who have earned nothing and live 
 only on the gifts of His bounty. The Lord calls us as 
 laborers not because He needs our work and is willing 
 to pay for it, but because He has blessings to bestow 
 and wants us to share them. Frequently as the duty of 
 labor is mentioned in the Scriptures, it is never urged 
 on the ground that it is the essential factor in the 
 plan of Providence to secure our daily bread. Always 
 is this taught to be the free gift of God's goodness, 
 of whom we are to ask it in prayer, without ever en- 
 tertaining the thought that it is the product of our 
 work and wisdom and care, and to whom we are to give 
 thanks for it, without permitting the carnal feeling to 
 arise that we have earned it and He owes it to us. As 
 against our fellow men we can speak of earning our 
 wages and claiming our dues and eating our own bread, 
 but in our relation to God our duty is and our pleasure 
 should be to do what He tells us, and our only legitimate 
 care is to be found faithful in the service of a good Lord 
 who does all the providing and assumes all the cares of 
 His vast estate. 
 
 The same principle applies to our saving of surplus 
 goods. Ordinarily God does not deal out the necessaries 
 of life according to the measure of each day's needs, 
 though He teaches us to ask no more. When Christ 
 
246 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 miraculously fed thousands, there were fragments remain- 
 ing", which He commanded His disciples to take up, not 
 to cast away. In numerous cases we receive enough not 
 only for to-day, but for many days, even for many years. 
 That is according to His good pleasure, who provides for 
 all and who makes even His temporal gifts tributary to 
 the eternal purposes of His love. If He gives us more than 
 we need today, of course He requires, as good stewards 
 who must give account, not to waste the Lord's goods. 
 But never is the motive urged that this will secure us 
 against want in the future, or that the hoarding of wealth 
 will make us happy in our independence of all resources 
 but our own. The warnings against the love of money 
 and the eagerness to get rich are so frequent and so insist- 
 ent that Christians should banish all thought of laying up 
 treasures on earth, and consider the duty of saving only 
 a necessary element of the faithfulness which the Lord 
 requires of His servants, that they may use the gift as 
 He directs. "Let him that stole steal no more ; but rather 
 let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is 
 good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." 
 Eph. 4, 28. 
 
 Hence to the believing mind all anxious cares and wor- 
 ries about the results of our plans and labors to supply 
 the necessities of life, and the amount of our savings to 
 have a good stock on hand for future emergencies, present 
 themselves as infirmities of the flesh which are inconsist- 
 ent with the life of trust required by our Lord, and which 
 must be renounced. The true believer does not depend 
 on himself for his daily bread, as he does not depend on 
 himself for the salvation of his soul, although he knows 
 right well the order of God requiring him to be faithful in 
 his calling as regards the one and in the use of the means 
 of grace as regards the other. And therefore he does not 
 become the unhappy victim of vexing cares as to what 
 he shall eat or Avhat he shall drink or wherewithal he shall 
 
THE LIFE OF TRUST 247 
 
 be clothed; for his plans and schemes to supply his wants 
 may indeed fail, but his worry on that score comes only 
 of his want of faith in God and is therefore a burden 
 which sin imposes; and the ways of God, who does the 
 providinp;, can never fail and his worry on that score 
 would be utterly at fault and richly merit the rebuke, "O 
 ye of little faith!" In either case the remedy lies in 
 Christ's exhortation and promise: "Seek ye first the king- 
 dom of God and His righteousness, and all these things 
 shall be added unto you." 
 
 If the steward strives to be faithful he will have no 
 difficulty with the words of St. Paul, which are so often 
 quoted in opposition to the doctrine here set forth. He 
 says : "If any provide not for his own, and especially for 
 those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is 
 worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. 5, 8. It is an amazing 
 exegesis of these words when any one professing to be a 
 disciple of Christ brings out as their sense, that a man 
 does wrong when he minds his business and trusts in 
 God for his and his family's daily bread, making known 
 to Him his wants in humble prayer, confident that He 
 will provide, and "casting all care upon Him, for He 
 careth for us." The man who idles his time away instead 
 of doing the work of his calling, and wastes the substance 
 which God gives him in riotous living, instead of apply- 
 ing it to the support of his family as God designs, is worse 
 than an infidel, because even the natural impulses of hu- 
 manity move the soul to relieve want when it is seen, es- 
 pecially in one's own household. Such a one is guilty of 
 the double sin of failing to do the work assigned and 
 squandering on his lust what was given him to provide, 
 under God, for those of his own house. He is not a faith- 
 ful servant. That is the root of his trouble. 
 
 In the lesson of trust which Christ gives, our faith is 
 often put on severe trial. We do not say that an easy 
 task is laid upon it, nor do we say that every sincere 
 
248 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Christian has attained the life of trust. It is the ideal at 
 which we are all aiming, and we must not cease to press 
 toward the mark of our high calling, lamenting our short- 
 comings and praying fervently for more faith, that we 
 may fully trust God's providence and grace for time and 
 for eternity. 
 
SECTION xn. 
 
 The Walk in Wisdom. 
 (Matthew 7, I-n.) 
 
 fN the portion of Christ's sermon contained in the 
 7th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, there is no 
 apparent connection between the various topics that 
 would indicate tlieir being designed as parts of a larger 
 whole. They all throw light on the life in Christ's king- 
 dom, and the verses 1-11 may be fitly considered as an 
 exhortation to walk wisely in Christian love. 
 
 1. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with 
 what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged; and with 
 what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 
 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's 
 eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own 
 eye? or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out 
 the mote out of thine eye, and, behold, a beam is in thine 
 own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of 
 thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out 
 the mote out of thy brother's eye." 
 
 To understand these words correctly, some distinc- 
 tions must evidently be made. There is a judging which 
 is not only forbidden, but which is expressly commanded 
 as necessary for the spiritual life and the prosperity 
 of Christ's kingdom on earth. "He that is spiritual 
 judgeth all things," says St. Paul, 1 Cor. 2, 1^ The nat- 
 ural man can be no judge of the things revealed by the 
 Holy Spirit, but "the secret of the Lord is with them that 
 fear Him, and He will show them His covenant." Ps. 
 25, 14. We could not beware of false prophets, as we 
 are commanded to do, if we had not the right and the 
 duty to judge whether they prophesy according to the 
 
 249 
 
250 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Word of God. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but 
 try the spirits whether they are of God; because many 
 false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4, 1. 
 I'he Scriptures, which are given by inspiration of God, 
 furnish us an unerring rule, and we must judge whether 
 teachers conform to it. This is necessary for our protec- 
 tion against deceivers. "I speak as to wise men, judge 
 ye what I say." 1 Cor. 10, 15. 
 
 But not onl}^ in regard to the doctrine which is 
 preached are Christians to use their power of judging, 
 testing by the Scriptures all that is taught as the Gospel, 
 and thus abiding in the truth whicli makes them free. Ne- 
 cessity is often laid upon them to judge also the actions 
 of their fellow men. When one makes statements which 
 are in manifest conflict with known truth, we cannot but 
 judge them to be false; and when one openly defrauds or 
 defames his neighbor, we cannot but judge his deeds to 
 be evil. 
 
 Both Church and state are required to examine and 
 judge when accusations are made against members and 
 citizens, and the duty is laid upon them to "judge right- 
 eous judgment." If a brother trespasses and will not 
 hear the admonitions and entreaties made in private to 
 lead him to repentance, the command is given us to 
 "tell it unto the Church; but if he neglect to hear the 
 Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a 
 publican," Matt. 18, 17. The Church not only has the 
 right to judge in the case, but has evidently the duty 
 laid upon it in the interest of justice to the accused and 
 of the welfare of the souls of all concerned. Therefore 
 St. Paul rebukes tliose who would carry their differences 
 before the civil magistrate instead of settling them among 
 themselves. "If then ye have judgments of things per- 
 taining to this life, set them to judge Who are least 
 esteemed in the Church. I speak to your shame. Is it 
 so that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 251 
 
 that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But 
 brother goeth to law with brother, and that before unbe- 
 lievers." 1 Cor. 6, 4-6. But as not all men are believers 
 there must be civil rulers also, and they can discharge 
 their office rightfully only when they are able and willing 
 to judge between man and man. They must decide what 
 can justly be demanded of citizens, and when charges 
 of wrong-doing are brought against any of these, they 
 must judge whether the accused are guilty, rightfully 
 holding them innocent until guilt is proved. To these 
 higher powers we must needs be subject, for they are or- 
 dained of God. 
 
 It is therefore manifest that we would entirely mis- 
 understand our Lord's words if we regarded them as for- 
 bidding all judgment with regard to the truth or falsity 
 of doctrines proclaimed to the world, to the right or 
 wrong of actions that become publicly known, or to the 
 guilt or innocence of persons against whom charges are 
 brought; for this would contradict plain words of Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 What then is the import of our Lord's words, "judge 
 not?" There are two things plainly taught us in the 
 Scriptures which will serve to lead us to the right an- 
 swer. One is that the final judge of all is God alone, and 
 that consequently man has no power and no right to 
 judge of matters that pertain to the final judgment and 
 the eternal testing of the judged, except so far as God 
 has declared His judgment in His revealed Word. The 
 other is that, as we cannot see into men's hearts and are 
 therefore incapable of reliable judgments as to the true 
 spiritual condition of man, we never could, without usurp- 
 ing the prerogative of God, judge men's hearts. 
 
 We may condemn what God condemns in the Scrip- 
 tures. These are written for our learning, and the Spirit 
 of God brings our souls into harmony with the will of 
 God, so that we adopt the judgment which He pro- 
 
252 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 nounces. What conflicts with the truth which He has 
 revealed we cannot but declare to be false, and what 
 violates His commandments we cannot but pronounce 
 sin, because the judgment of God has been made known 
 to us in the premises, and as believing and obedient 
 children we cordially adopt the judgment. We therefore 
 unhesitatingly judge that he who "abideth not in the doc- 
 trine of Christ hath not God," and that "if a man say, 
 I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." But 
 we cannot judge a doctrine to be false when it is not 
 contrary to the Gospel, and we cannot judge an act to be 
 sin when it is not in violation of the Divine Law. The 
 reason is that God alone is Supreme Ruler and judge, and 
 that no creature can have the power to determine what 
 shall be the rule according to which souls are to be gov- 
 erned, and what is to be the decision in the final judg- 
 ment. We must not presume to dictate to God what His 
 judgment shall be on the last day, when the eternal des- 
 tiny of all men is decided. "He that rejecteth me, and 
 receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the 
 word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him on the 
 last day." John 12, 48. It is always the arrogance of sin 
 when men teach otherwise than God's Word teaches, 
 then proceed to pronounce judgment upon others, because 
 they will not agree. Only God's judgment is decisive. 
 Judge not, but leave the judgment to Him who alone has 
 authority and who judges righteous judgment. 
 
 But in applying the Word of God as the standard 
 of all right judgment in spiritual and eternal things, our 
 inability to read the hearts of others must not be over- 
 looked. We can know that men err when their teaching 
 is in conflict with what God teaches us in the Scriptures, 
 and we can know that they sin when they transgress the 
 holy law. But we cannot know whether the words 
 spoken and the deeds done are the utterances of conscious 
 rebellion against God and His Word, or are mistakes 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 253 
 
 that are made without malice or even with good inten- 
 tion. There is many a slip of the tongue, or of the hand 
 or foot, which is in conflict with the divine law, but which 
 does not proceed from a wicked will. We cannot know 
 this, unless the sin be of such a nature that it could not 
 be committed without a repudiation of God's Word. We 
 cannot see the condition of the heart, and we sin when 
 we pronounce judgment of condemnation on a person 
 who is overtaken in a fault, without knowing whether 
 he is inwardly guiltj- of deatli. In many cases the of- 
 fender needs only to be shown his faults and repents 
 when he sees it, having no design or desire to depart 
 from the truth of the Gospel or to violate the righteous- 
 ness of the law. Be charitable to your brethren, and do 
 not by a rasli judgment condemn them before you know 
 them to be impenitent sinners whom the Lord condemns. 
 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. "Bretliren, if a 
 man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual re- 
 store such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering 
 thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's 
 burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Gal. 6, 1. 2. 
 The wisdom that is from above, guided by the love which 
 always accompanies it, will not cease to own a brother 
 as long as the hope may justly be entertained that in his 
 heart he is a brother still, notwithstanding his faulty 
 word or deed. All Christians need the exhortation to 
 watch and pray that they may not in uncharitableness 
 sin against tlieir erring brethren, remembering that they 
 live only by the mercy of God, and that they endanger 
 their own souls by departing from that mercy. "For 
 with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you 
 again," 
 
 Such uncharitableness leads to false judgments and 
 sinful actions in other respects. It is a beam in the eye, 
 which disqualifies a person for rendering the assistance 
 to his neighbor which love requires and only love can 
 
254 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 properly execute. It dims and distorts the moral vision. 
 The mote in a brother's eye may have only an imaginary 
 existence, located there by the evil suspicions of the un- 
 charitable observer who judges unrighteous judgment. Or 
 if there is really a mote there, such an observer, having 
 a beam in his own eye, is least capable of removing it. 
 Lacking clear vision he wrongs his brother by magnifying 
 the mote discovered in his eye. He gives offense by his 
 false imputations, and thus excludes any influence for 
 good that he might otherwise exert. His hypocrisy is 
 manifest, and it makes him incompetent to help another 
 to a better life. "Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out 
 of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to 
 cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." The lesson 
 is of wide application in the life of individuals as well 
 as in the discipline of the church. Uncharitableness in 
 judging others cripples all pretended efforts to promote 
 holy living and zealous work for the Master. The power 
 to benefit them is lost when they perceive that faults are 
 imputed to them of which they are conscious of being 
 innocent, and that those which they are ready to acknowl- 
 edge are exaggerated. A spirit is thus manifested which 
 destroys confidence. And the evil is especially deplorable 
 when brother falsely accuses brother and starts a process 
 of church discipline with a violation of the fundamental 
 law of love. Christians are not to be silent when a 
 brother sins, as if it did not concern them, or as if it 
 would be better to let him go on and perish in his sin 
 than to incur the risk of disturbing the existing pleasant 
 relation by endeavoring to correct his fault. Our Lord's 
 command is: "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, 
 go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if 
 he shall liear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." Matt. 
 18, 15. He may refuse to hear, and the" case may finally 
 have to be brought before the congregation and may ter- 
 minate in his expulsion from it, as an offender who re- 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 255 
 
 fuses submission to the Word of God and thus forfeits 
 all rights of Christian fellowship. But it must not be 
 the fault of the person against whom the trespass was 
 committed and who was obligated if possible to gain his 
 brother. Every precaution that love can suggest must 
 be taken to prevent the excitement of carnal feelings that 
 would be a hindrance to success in affecting such gain. 
 The effort must be strictly private, unless the offender 
 himself insists on a course that compels publicity. "Tell 
 him his fault between thee and hiiii alone/' is a rule de- 
 signed to preserve his good name and standing. The 
 public is to know nothing about it unless all the advances 
 of love are repulsed. "Ye which are spiritual restore 
 such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself 
 lest thou also be tempted." Gal. 6, 1. The man who has 
 the beam of uncharitableness in his own eye has not the 
 spirit of meekness necessary to gain his brother. Only 
 those who are spiritual can effectually appeal to an erring 
 brother's conscience without awakening in him the re- 
 pellant feeling that an attempt is made to triumph over 
 him. The sincere Christian is mindful of his own weak- 
 ness and liability to be tempted, and has no desire to be 
 regarded as the offender's superior, knowing that only 
 the grace of God sust^iins him and that he has nothing of 
 which to boast. He wishes neither to liumiliate his 
 brother nor to exalt himself. Love is always tender in 
 its treatment of those who are overtaken in a fault, hop- 
 ing that they will repent of their wrong-doing as long 
 as they do not themselves remove all reasonable ground 
 of such hope by their refusal to hear the word of the 
 Lord and their persistence in the sin w^hich thus 
 tlireatens their destruction. 
 
 2. This does not imply that spiritual wisdom will 
 never use severity, or cease to use soft words and con- 
 ciliatory measures in dealing with those that sin. In the 
 instructions which Christ gives for the exercise of church 
 
256 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 discipline He tells us that those who will not hear when 
 they are privately admonished in the spirit of meekness 
 with a view to their restoration, and still refuse to hear 
 when this is repeated before witnesses and again before 
 the church, must finally be regarded as heathen men and 
 publicans whom we must cease to fellowship. If they 
 will not renounce their sin, the faithful disciples of Christ 
 must renounce them. It is this principle that Christ 
 expresses in the words: "Give not that which is holy 
 unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, 
 lest they trample them under their feet and turn again 
 and rend you." There are people who are as savage as 
 dogs and as filthy as swine, and who, when the pearls of 
 the Gospel are spread before them, trample them under 
 their feet and persecute those who brought them. Hence 
 the command was given to the apostle : "Whosoever shall 
 not receive you nor hear your words, when ye depart out 
 of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet. 
 Verily I say unto you. It shall be more tolerable for the 
 land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment 
 than for that city." Matt. 10, 14. 15. That injunction was 
 strictly observed by the ambassadors of Christ, as we 
 read in Acts 13, 45. 46 : "When the Jews saw the multi- 
 tudes they were filled with envy, and spake against those 
 things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and 
 blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and 
 said, It was necessary that the Word of God should first 
 have been spoken unto you, but seeing that ye put it from 
 you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, 
 lo, we turn to the Gentiles." The apostle expresses the 
 same principle in his instructions to Titus : "A man that 
 is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject, 
 knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth, 
 being condemned of himself." Tit. 3, 10.' 11. 
 
 The rule thus laid down is one not only of wisdom, 
 but also of righteousness. It might not seem prudent to 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 257 
 
 rebuke sharply, or to condemn and turn away from those 
 who treat the Word of God with scorn when it is offered 
 them, because seemingly that would block all further 
 efforts to convert them. But when that stage of resist- 
 ance to the Word of God is reached, in which the sinner 
 is resolved not to hear or heed it, a wrong is done when 
 any further attempts are made to enforce it. He must not 
 be coerced, supposing this possible, and he must not by 
 trickery be apparently won for that which he scorns. He 
 can have access to God in no other way than by faith in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore only false prophets 
 could ostc'iisibly lead him into tlie kingdom of God in 
 spite of his declaration that he does not believe in Christ, 
 and has no use for that which is preached in His name 
 as the eternal truth of God. If such a person were lured 
 or inveigled into the church, an element of trouble would 
 be introduced and the salvation of many souls im- 
 periled, without bringing the supposititious convert any 
 nearer to the Savior. When a man not only persistently 
 declines to accept the truth in Jesus, but declares himself 
 unwilling to be further molested by its preachers, all 
 devices and schemes to gain his influence for a cause 
 whic]i lie despises are a delusion that exert a deadly 
 power. And a personal wrong is done to the recalcitrant 
 scorner by persisting in attempts to bring him unto the 
 Lord's fold, when he has declared his unwillingness to en- 
 ter it, or to heed any more appeals looking to the accom- 
 plishment of this end. It is virtually a persecution of 
 the determined enemy of the cross of Christ. For in the 
 economy of salvation respect is had for the original en- 
 dowment of man with a personal will of his own. If he 
 were wise he would submit this will to the will of his 
 Maker, because only thus can he attain the end of his cre- 
 ation and be happy here and hereafter. But he must 
 not be forced into the kingdom, and having resisted the 
 call of God and refused to hear it any further, he has 
 
 17 
 
258 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 a right to be let alone. The grace of our Lord compels no 
 one: the truth makes us free from the bondage in which 
 sin holds the soul, but its work would be suicidal if it de- 
 signed to secure liberty by denying its rights and ulti- 
 mately crushing the will. The unbeliever's human right 
 to choose must be respected, much as the Christian 
 teacher deplores the unhappy choice which is made in 
 the rejection of the Gospel. On the other hand, believers 
 have the right and the duty to take cognizance of the 
 facts as they exist, and accordingly to turn away from 
 the stubborn unbelievers who act like dogs and swine, 
 preferring their beastliness and filth to the heavenly life 
 and happiness of the children of God. That which is 
 holy must not be given to the dogs and pearls must not 
 be cast before swine. 
 
 Much injury is done to the Church by the failure of 
 Christian people, and especially of pastors, to obey these 
 instructions of our Lord. Some think themselves wiser 
 and more charitable than their divine Master, and accord- 
 ingly deem sharp rebuke and refusal to fellowship incon- 
 sistent with the love which is due to our fellowmen. Their 
 thought is that differences in regard to faith should be 
 treated in the same way as differences on secular subjects, 
 that have no bearing on the spiritual life and that are to 
 be decided by human reason. The religious convictions 
 which inwardly separate men do not necessarily require 
 separation in matters that are not religious. We can be 
 citizens of the same country, and do business and join in 
 social functions with each other, notwithstanding our re- 
 ligious differences. We can plant and reap, buy and sell, 
 work and play together, though our beliefs in regard to 
 revealed truth be not the same. For the purposes of social 
 intercourse there is no necessity for making inquiries 
 into the religion of the person concerned, except so far 
 as this may be implied in the warning that "evil communi- 
 cations corrupt good manners." But in matters of Chris- 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 259 
 
 tian fellowship in the Church the confession of the pure 
 faith of the Gospel is paramount, and the rejection of 
 Christ and His Gospel is necessarily a bar to fellowship. 
 We may live in the same civil community with them and 
 be good neighbors, but we cannot commune with each 
 other in the same church when we are not of the same 
 mind in regard to the faith whose confession forms the 
 very gi'ound of our association as a church. "Be ye not 
 unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fel- 
 lowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And 
 ^\hat communion hath light with darkness? And what 
 concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that 
 believeth with an infidel. And what agreement hath the 
 temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the liv- 
 ing God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk 
 in them, and I will be their God and they shall be my 
 people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye 
 separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; 
 and I will receive you. 2 Cor. 6, 14-17. 
 
 3. In his endeavors to gain erring brethren and in 
 his refusal to have religious association with those who 
 reject the truth in Jesus and become manifest as dogs 
 and swine, the Christian daily needs the sustaining grace 
 of his Lord, as he does in ever}'^ duty and every trial, and 
 his recourse will be to prayer for help. He does not walk 
 wisely if he neglects this; and Christ instructs us and en- 
 courages us in its use. "Ask, and it shall be given you; 
 seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that 
 seeketh findeth, and to liim that knocketh it shall opened. 
 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, 
 will he give him a stone? Or, if he ask a fish, will he give 
 liim a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
 good gifts unto your cliildren, how much more will your 
 Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them that 
 xisk Him?" 
 
260 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 The subject of prayer had already been presented in 
 an earlier portion of Christ's sermon. The Pharisaic 
 abuses connected with it had been rebuked and warned 
 against, and the beautiful Lord's Prayer had been given 
 as a model for our guidance. The need and habitual 
 practice of prayer was there presupposed. Now the duty 
 and privilege is urged as an inner necessity for the supply 
 of our ever recurring v\^ants, which are felt the more deeply 
 the longer our conflict with the devil and the world and 
 the flesh continues. Without Christ we can do nothing. 
 The Holy Spirit has made us conscious of our disability 
 and helplessness, and has enabled us by faith to flee for 
 refuge to the hope set before us in the Gospel. He has 
 made us recipients of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 and the great salvation which it conveys. But this very- 
 grace has made it more and more plain to us that of our- 
 selves we can do nothing, and that our help is in the name 
 of the Lord. Therefore he constantly uses the means of 
 grace, through which his spiritual life is daily renewed 
 and his faith replenished, and he keeps in close com- 
 munion with His gracious Lord in earnest prayer, in 
 which he continues without ceasing. The true Christian 
 cannot live without it, because God is his refuge and 
 strength ; and he would not know whither to flee or where 
 to find help if he were not sure that God will hear him 
 when he cries and help him w hen he calls. "As the hart 
 panteth after water brooks, so panteth my soul after 
 Thee, O God." Ps. 42, 1. 
 
 The blessedness of prayer has not been realized and 
 duly appreciated as long as it is regarded only as a com- 
 mand to be obeyed and a duty to be performed. It cer- 
 tainly is this; but contemplating it only as such leads to 
 the Pharisaic formalism and hollowness which make our 
 prayers mere works of the law and deprive us of its bless- 
 ing. Prayers that are offered from fear of punishment 
 for disobeying the command, or from the mercenary hope 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 261 
 
 of reward for the obedience imagined to be meritorious, 
 are not such as Christ commands and obtain tlie promise. 
 They with their erring notions have no place in truly be- 
 lieving hearts. These long for communion with God, 
 who is their comfort and joy and a very present help in 
 trouble. Their great motive to prayer is their access to 
 God by faith in Christ Jesus, who has called them into 
 His kingdom and promised to hear their prayers, who is 
 able and always willing to bestow grace and every bless- 
 ing to all that ask in faith, and who will in no wise cast 
 out the helpless and forsaken. "Because He hath in- 
 clined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as 
 long as I live." Ps. 116, 2. 
 
 We do not mean to say that all true believers are at 
 all times fervent in spirit and instant in prayer, and that 
 they never become languid and cold in their devotion and 
 zeal. All Christian experience refutes such a claim. The 
 admonitions given in the words under consideration sliow 
 that such are needed, and they are designed to encourage 
 us in the use of our privilege. All believers have the flesh 
 to contend against in this as in every other activity of 
 the spiritual life; and all have seasons of depression when 
 they are disinclined to converse with God and when, if they 
 do overcome the resistence of the flesh, their prayers lack 
 fervency. It is well in such cases to remember our duty 
 and to insist that it shall be done, in spite of the repug- 
 nancy of the sin that is still in us and that lusts against the 
 Spirit. The prayer will then be wanting in an element 
 which properly belongs to it ; but it will be a great benefit 
 to the Christian that he has maintained his ground as a 
 child of God, though imperfectly. His resistance of sin 
 and Satan will induce the enemy to flee from him, and 
 his prayer will again become fervent. "Submit your- 
 selves therefore to God. Kesist the devil, and he will flee 
 from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh 
 to you." Jas. 4, 7. 8. What we desire to point out and to 
 
262 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 impress upon the readers' minds is the important lesson,, 
 that the Christian life is one of communion with God and 
 that it involves the need and desire of prayer, so that 
 faith in Christ unto salvation cannot exist in conscious 
 souls without feeling the need of seeking God's help and 
 believing that it will be granted when our requests are 
 made known to Him. A believer does not at once cease to 
 be such when times of coldness and languor set in and 
 prayer becomes a burden instead of a glorious privilege. 
 No doubt it must be said of some true Christians, not only 
 of hypocrites : "Ye have not, because ye ask not ; ye ask, 
 and receive not, because ye ask amiss." Jas. 4, 2. 3. 
 But that is in seasons of trial and temptation; and such 
 a condition could not become permanent without involv- 
 ing the fall from grace, and must therefore emphasize to 
 our minds the admonition to stand fast that no man take 
 our crown. The grace of God will be sufficient for us, if 
 we only trust in Jesus, through whom the victory is as- 
 sured to faith. But "let him that thinketh he standeth 
 take heed lest he fall." 
 
 The privilege and the promise of prayer are depend- 
 ent on the atonement and mediation of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. This must not be overlooked. Without Him we 
 could not be permitted to approach God's holy throne, 
 nor could our hearts be fitted to offer acceptable prayers. 
 "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by 
 faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the 
 hope of the glory of God." Rom. 5, 1. 2. The promise 
 that we shall be heard is given to them that believe. No 
 assurance is given us that when we ask for gifts which 
 we design to spend upon our lusts, we shall receive them. 
 Granting such a prayer would be no blessing. But so 
 ample are the promises that some limitation is expected, 
 and surprise is sometimes felt that none is expressed in 
 immediate connection with them. "Ask and ye shall re- 
 
THE WALK IN WISDOM. 263 
 
 ceive." No condition is appended, no reservation is made. 
 But it is the children of God who are exhorted to pray, 
 and to whom the promise is given that thev shall receive. 
 These are the believers in Christ. "As many as received 
 Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, 
 even to them that believe on His name." John 1, 12. 
 "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ 
 Jesus." Gal. 3, 26. That the promise is given to believers 
 is frequently expressed, and is always implied when not 
 explicitly stated, because there is no other name by which 
 we could have access to God and obtain spiritual blessings 
 but that of the one Mediator between God and man, the 
 man Christ Jesus. "All things whatsoever ye ask, believ- 
 ing, ye shall receive." Matt. 21, 22. "Verily, verily I 
 sa}^ unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My 
 name He will give it you." John 16, 23. "The effectual 
 fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 
 5, 16, This makes it clear also why the Christian can pray 
 with full confidence of being heard, without being disturbed 
 by the doubts and dififlculties which reason interposes. 
 The Holy Spirit has bronglit the believing heart into har- 
 mony with the mind of Christ and directs it by His Word, 
 so that he has consciously no will that contravenes the 
 will of God, and always purposes that the will of God 
 should be done, though his words should occasionally 
 include particulars which the wisdom and mercy of God 
 interprets and apparently eliminates. Thus it may seem 
 that a prayer is not heard when in fact it is granted in 
 fuller measure than we conceived it, although in a differ- 
 ent form. We should therefore banish from our minds all 
 thoughts of modifying the words of Jesus and accepting 
 them only with allowance for their supposed exaggeration. 
 This would be heeding the suggestions of the flesh in oppo- 
 sition to the Spirit, and depriving ourselves of much of 
 the encouragement given to perseverance in prayer and of 
 the comfort which the constant exercise of the privilege 
 
264 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 gives. Earthly fathers give their children the bread for 
 which they ask, not in mockery substituting a stone for 
 it, or giving a serpent for the fish desired. "If ye then, 
 being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 
 how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give 
 good things to them that ask Him?" Christians would 
 not walk wisely if they neglected the admonition to ask, 
 that they might receive the good things promised and so 
 much needed; and they just as certainly would not do 
 wisely if, trusting in themselves and having no spiritual 
 blessings because they ask not, they withheld from the 
 Giver of all good the honor which is due. "Now unto Him 
 that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we 
 ask or think, according to the power that v\'orketh in us, 
 unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, through- 
 out all ages, world without end. Amen." Eph. 3, 20. 21. 
 Having entered the kingdom of God and embraced His 
 righteousness which is by faith, the child of God seeks 
 not earthly things, which pass awa^^, but those things 
 which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand 
 of God. That will lead him to be a true servant of the 
 Lord and a blessing to his fellowmen. While he walks 
 humbly before Gocl and strives to perform faithfully the 
 duties of his calling, his labor of love will praise the 
 Master and profit his neighbor. The faith which clings 
 to the Savior is confessed before men for the glory of His 
 name, and the love by which it works for the welfare of 
 others render him useful here on earth, and while he 
 thus looks to the saving of his soul he is a light for the 
 world that leads to the salvation of others for whom 
 Christ died. Thus he administers wisely the gifts com- 
 mitted to him, according to the apostle's admonition : 
 "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but 
 as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 
 Therefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the 
 will of the Lord is." Eph. 5, 15-17. 
 
SECTION xni. 
 
 The Golden Rwle. 
 
 (Matthew 7, 12.) 
 
 **^y^HEREVOllE all things whatsoever ye would that 
 ^L, men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for 
 this is the law and the prophets." 
 This is generally called the golden rule, which all 
 the world admires. Even those who do not appreciate 
 Christianity in its spiritual power unto salvation, find it 
 worthy of all acceptation and commend it as a clear and 
 compact guide for all who desire to lead an upright life. 
 Some have indeed endeavored to show that the golden 
 rule is not peculiar to the Christian religion and did not 
 originate in the teaching of Christ. Whether this was 
 done to disparage Christianity and deprive it of the 
 glory which is presumed to be reflected by the rule upon 
 the Church, it is not important to inquire. The sermon 
 on the mount unquestionably sets it in a light which 
 neither Judaism nor Paganism could shed upon it, and 
 which gives it a distinctively Christian character, though 
 it is not this which has elicited all the world's admira- 
 tion. In a negative form, that we should not do to others 
 what we would not have them do us, the rule was enun- 
 ciated before the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
 us; but that form, which implies the existence of sin in 
 the human soul and the possibility of resisting its im- 
 pulse to action and of preventing the evil deed, is far 
 different from the positive form which our Lord gives it, 
 and which presupposes righteous motives issuing in right- 
 eous acts. It is this positive character given it in Christ's 
 teaching that makes it really the golden rule which Chris- 
 tianity sets forth and which no other religion has incul- 
 
 265 
 
266 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 cated. It presents a practical test for the exercise of 
 the love which is the fulflllmeiit of the law, and to which 
 the teachings of the prophets lead, both as to what is to 
 be done and as to the spirit in which it is to be done in 
 order to please God. But it is important to remark that, 
 while it is a compact rule for the application of the inner 
 Christian life to the external conduct, it does not furnish 
 that life and does not make us Christians and qualify us 
 for its right application. Our Lord's words added to the 
 rule, "for this is the law and the prophets," should be to 
 us a safeguard against the superficial interpretations 
 which are so much in vogue, but which tend to render 
 it nugatory as a moral guide according to the mind of 
 Christ. 
 
 The frequent appeals made to the golden rule in the 
 interest of naturalistic humanitarianism, as if it present- 
 ed to human reason a norm of right conduct under all 
 conditions and circumstances, and as if compliance with 
 it constituted the essence of all Christian life, show 
 the necessity of a closer and more mature consideration 
 of its import. Prevailing errors on the subject are mis- 
 leading and mischievous. Or is it really so that Christ 
 meant everybody, saint and sinner, devout people and 
 lewd fellows of the baser sort, to be a supreme law unto 
 himself, so that whatever he wants done to himself must 
 therefore be right, and accordingly a safe guide to right 
 in his conduct toward others? Let us endeavor to un- 
 derstand the rule with its implications in the light of 
 Christ's teaching. 
 
 We should love our neighbors as ourselves. Put 
 yourself in his place, then decide what you would do 
 towards your neighbor in any given case. The rule seems 
 simple and of easy application. You love yourself, and 
 therefore wish yourself no ill, but every good. Love your 
 neighbor in the same way and therefore entertain the 
 same good wishes toward him. Love worketh no ill to 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 267 
 
 his neighbor, but always seeks his welfare. That is what 
 you should do, and if you follow the golden rule, that is 
 what you will do. Your acts will correspond to your 
 sentiment, and if you love your neighbor as yourself, the 
 regulative will be love. It all seems simple and easy as 
 a rule determining right conduct towards our fellow 
 men. That which in our love for ourselves we wish 
 others to do to us, that is the thing which in our equal 
 love for others we are to do to them. It is the Christian's 
 ideal: perfect love to God and man, which is the fulfill- 
 ing of the law in the bond of perfectness. It works all 
 right when the right conditions exist. The man who has 
 the same mind which was also in Christ Jesus finds no 
 difficulty in deciding what he ought to do under any cir- 
 cumstances: show them the same love which you would 
 have them show in their conduct towards you. It is a 
 good rule of Christian life in our intercourse with our fel- 
 low men, sendng as a directory for the exercise of Chris- 
 tian wisdom in cases of diificulty that may arise. 
 
 We have not said, and do not mean, that the Chris- 
 tian ideal presented in the golden rule is always realized in 
 the conduct of Christian believers. They do possess a love 
 which they have not by nature, and their faith worketh 
 by that love. But this does not imply that the sin which 
 has corrupted all human nature has been entirely erad- 
 icated, and that the selfishness of sin no longer effects 
 them when they by faith have put on Christ. They are 
 sinners whose sin is forgiven, and who, being justified 
 by faith, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ They are therefore not, as some misconceive or 
 imagine to their own injury, people whose nature has be- 
 come sinless and who in consequence of this inherent 
 holiness lead perfectly sinless lives instinctively, with no 
 impulse and no allurement to wrong-doing. They are 
 perfect through God's gracious imputation to them of the 
 righteousness which Christ acquired for all men and 
 
268 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 which they have appropriated by faith, not through any 
 righteousness of their own. When they think of the ac- 
 count to be rendered to God of themselves and their 
 deeds, they trust for their peace and comfort in the merits 
 of the Savior alone, without a thought that their own 
 fulfillment of the law could constitute a merit which 
 would render Christ's merit superfluous for their justifi- 
 cation. In that aspect of the Christian's life and destiny 
 he is nothing and Christ is all. "I count all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ 
 my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 
 and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and 
 be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, 
 which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of 
 Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil. 
 3, 8. 9. For our salvation nothing avails but the blood of 
 Christ, which cleanseth us from all sin and to which no 
 love or righteousness of ours can add any virtue. 
 
 But the grace which works faith in Christ unto 
 justification, so that there is no condemnation to them 
 that believe, also purifies the heart, so that believers 
 hate sin and love righteousness. "Know ye not that so 
 many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were bap- 
 tized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him 
 by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up 
 from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so also 
 we should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6, 2. 3. The 
 Holy Spirit, who is given us through the means of grace, 
 by which we are made believers, provides for our deliver- 
 ance from the bondage of sin and selfishness and for our 
 uplifting into a life of holiness and love. "For the love 
 of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if 
 one died for all, then were all dead; and that He died for 
 all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto 
 themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose 
 again." 2 Cor. 5, 14. 15. It is the design of God that 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 269 
 
 those who receive the Savior should be restored to the 
 purity and liberty of w^hich sin had deprived them, and 
 that being saved from death through the obedience of 
 Christ they should glorify His name by living a life of 
 holiness and blessedness under Him in His kingdom. To 
 this end the Holy Spirit dwells in them and unceasingly 
 does His purifying work in their hearts. "If the Spirit 
 of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, 
 He that raised up Jesus from the dead shall also quicken 
 your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. 
 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to 
 live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall 
 die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of 
 the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the 
 Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Eom. 8, 11-14. 
 The Christian has then that within him which makes 
 the application of the golden rule practicable. Love, 
 which is the bond of perfectness, rules in his heart. Not 
 that it has done its perfect work as soon as the faith is 
 wrought which embraces the Savior with His perfect 
 righteousness. The believing soul is justified by this 
 faith, and ready to stand at any moment before the judg- 
 ment bar of Christ, in whose perfect merits he is clad, 
 though he has no righteousness or merit of his own. 
 But his flesh still clings to him and hinders the Spirit's 
 sanctifying work, so that perfection of love is reached 
 only when the conflict with sin is ended in death. Mean- 
 time the believer never loses sight of the love which is the 
 fulfilling of the law, as the ideal which he strives to 
 realize. By reason of the sin in his nature which, insti- 
 gated by Satan and allured by the world, ever lusts 
 against the Spirit and struggles for the mastery, he is 
 conscious tliat he comes short of its realization. The 
 consequence is that he daily takes refuge anew in the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his 
 sins and his peace with God, and daily by the power of 
 
270 THE SERMON OX THE MOUNT. 
 
 the Holy Spirit renews the struggle against the sin that 
 is in him and around him, and the endeavor to walk 
 worthy of his high calling. Hence the Scriptures admon- 
 ish us: ''Having therefore these promises, dearly be- 
 loved, let us cleanse ourselves from all fllthiness of the 
 flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 
 Heb. 7, 1. 
 
 The rule is thus well adapted to the character of 
 Christian believers, and accords with the vocation which 
 they have received as free subjects of Christ in His king- 
 dom of grace here and glory hereafter. They have a 
 good standard by which to judge what ought to be done. 
 Not only have they the law and the prophets to direct 
 them, but they have the love to incite them to do what 
 God has shown by the law and the prophets to be His 
 holy will. The Holy Spirit who gave the revelation of 
 righteousness, and the Holy Spirit who dwells in their 
 hearts by faith, is one and the same. That Spirit always 
 moves them in the way of love and holiness which the 
 Word given by revelation prescribes. Therefore when 
 our Lord tells us, "Whatsoever things ye would that men 
 should do to you, do ye even so to them," the implication 
 is that His disciples expect love from all the brethren 
 and should be ever ready to extend the same love to 
 them. What Christians desire is that all should love 
 each other and make this manifest in their conduct to- 
 wards each other. "We know that we have passed from 
 death unto life because we love the brethren. He that 
 loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John 3, 14. 
 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of 
 God; and every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth 
 Him also tliat is begotten of Him. By this we know 
 that we love the children of God, when we love God and 
 keep His commandments." 1 John 4, 1, 2." The children 
 of God love one another, and therefore would have all do 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 271 
 
 to them what love requires, and are willing to do the 
 same to them. 
 
 The golden rule is thus plainly practicable among 
 true Christians. But it will not therefore serve as an 
 unfailing regulative for righteousness to all men, whether 
 Christians or not. It is designed for those who believe, 
 and wiil not be a reliable guide for right living to man- 
 kind in general. The reason is obvious. It assumes the 
 existence of a right standard in the minds of those who 
 would regulate their lives by it. But this does not exist 
 in all men; for not all desire that the will of God should 
 be done, which alone unfailingly points out the path of 
 righteousness and leads in the way of love. We should 
 do unto others what we would have them do to us, pro- 
 vided that what we would have them do to us accords 
 with the instructions which our Lord has given us and 
 the love which He would have to reign in our hearts. If 
 we have no such right will and loving motive, the applica- 
 tion of the rule may lead to the very iniquities of selfish- 
 ness which Christ designed to avert. If a man desires 
 that others should lie and cheat for his benefit, manifestly 
 the rule under his manipulation would require him to lie 
 and cheat for the benefit of others. When one wants 
 others to aid him in the execution of his selfish purpose 
 and to abet the sinful schemes by which it is to be accom- 
 plished, he must, if he would comply with the rule, engage 
 in the same iniquitous business to serve them. The 
 rule works well when good men apply it; if a man is 
 governed by selfishness, its application will result in sel- 
 fish deeds. 
 
 Human nature does not furnish a standard of morals 
 which could secure right conduct. The assumption that 
 it does, and that all that is necessary for the maintenance 
 of justice and charity in the lives of men is to live up to 
 this standard, is radically false, because it makes no ac- 
 
272 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 count of the corruption and disablement of that nature 
 by the fall of man and the introduction of sin. It is the 
 obstinate refusal to recognize the universal fact of sin 
 in the world that renders so much of our educational 
 work a failure. 
 
 The original constitution of man contained such a 
 standard. We are assured of this by the testimony of Holy 
 Scripture, which is our only source of knowledge concern- 
 ing man before his fall. This tells us that he was created 
 in the image of God and that his Maker pronounced him 
 good. But it was not long until, according to the same 
 testimony, the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart 
 were only evil continually. How this came about is told 
 us in the third chapter of Genesis. Satan entered Para- 
 dise and wrought the ruin of our race. "By one man sin 
 entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death 
 passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Kom. 5, 12. 
 
 In his original integrity the impulses of man's heart 
 were in conformity with the righteousness and holiness 
 which constituted the image of God, in which he was made. 
 If this had continued to be the motive power of his moral 
 nature, his desires and volitions would have been accord- 
 ing to the will of his holy Maker, and whatsoever he 
 would that men should do to him he would have done to 
 them. And this would have been right and good, because 
 the love of God reigned in his heart and was the moving 
 principle of all his actions in thought and word and deed. 
 He had the standard of right in his own spiritual life and 
 endowment. There was nothing sinful in his nature, and 
 whatever limitations may be predicated of his rational 
 powers as a creature made for the service of the Creator, 
 in whose holy will he found all his blessedness, their 
 activity was all in the realm of righteousness and love. 
 Until his apostasy his desires and volitions, his thoughts 
 and imaginings were all good, because in harmony with 
 God's, in whose image he was made. If the fall had not 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 273 
 
 intervened, the golden rule would have been a trustworthy 
 regulative of holy living, as what was desired of others 
 was always that which accorded with the will of God. 
 But it is not so now. Satan, the foe of God and man, 
 insinuated his nefarious work, sin was introduced, and 
 man fell from God into the bondage of corruption. As a 
 consequence the etlective application of the golden rule is 
 conditioned upon the restoration of the divine image, 
 through the introduction of the new life which came to us 
 in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The change which was effected in the nature of man 
 by the intrusion of sin did not change his original essence 
 or destiny. God made him good, and he became bad; but 
 he was man still, and God held him still to be good. This 
 implies that His good law remained obligatory upon His 
 fallen creature, and was not changed to adapt it to his 
 sinful condition, in which obedience to righteousness no 
 longer lay in his power. Having become a corrupt tree, 
 he brought forth corrupt fruit, while God still required 
 righteousness, in which and for which he was created. 
 But it means more than this. His nature was not so 
 changed that the holiness and righteousness, which he 
 possessed as the image of his Creator, could no longer be 
 felt as an obligation resting upon him. He was man still, 
 and notwithstanding Ins disabilities, which he suffered 
 by his own fault, his mission and duty was to quit him- 
 self as man. God provided that he should know this, and 
 therefore gave him the law of righteousness in written com- 
 mandments, that he might read them and have something 
 better than the impulses of his fallen nature to guide him. 
 And in his soul an element remained that rendered it 
 impossible for him to renounce this holy law as a foreign 
 imposition which had no relevancy to his moral consti- 
 tution and his mission in the world. He could not cast 
 it off and have peace in its renunciation as an alien man- 
 date which presented an ideal plainly beyond his reach. 
 18 
 
274 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 He felt its obligation as presenting a goal for the attain- 
 ment of which he was created, and without which his life 
 would be a complete failure. His soul was not at rest, 
 and nothing within him or about him could give him rest. 
 This has been his condition ever since, and his con- 
 dition in all the world now. Not all, probably but few, 
 understand what is the matter, but the fact is one of 
 universal experience, whatever may be the varied interpre- 
 tations put upon it, and whatever may be the devices which 
 the human mind has put forth in the hope of remedying 
 the evil. 
 
 The element remaining in our nature that brings the 
 obligatoriness of righteousness to our view is usually called 
 conscience. This is not the place to enter upon an extended 
 discussion of the confessedly difficult subject which the word 
 presents ; but there are several points which must be kept 
 in view for our present purpose. The human mind is not 
 in its natural depravity capable of knowing, from its own 
 resources, what righteousness and love to man requires 
 and can therefore not devise a perfect law of holiness. 
 Hence when man had fallen the divine law, which had 
 been a light shining in his heart to guide him aright, was 
 written on tables of stone, that he might read it and thus 
 know the will of God, though now, since his heart was no 
 longer in harmony with that will, its principal function, 
 because of existing conditions, would naturally be to 
 work a knowledge of sin. But notwithstanding the de- 
 pravity which the law condemns, and notwithstanding 
 the terror which the law inspires and the resentment 
 which it arouses in the guilty soul, man cannot rid him- 
 self of the feeling that it is right and that it ought to be 
 obeyed. Conscience thus testifies against men in their 
 sinfulness, and in the consciousness the unique phenom- 
 enon is presented of a subject whose faculties are all under 
 the bondage of sin, whose thoughts and affections are all 
 active in the service of sin, but who yet recognize the obli- 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 275 
 
 gatiou of the righteousness which the law demands, who 
 feels that he ought to obey it, and who by no expedient is 
 able to divest himself of the unrest which results from the 
 conflicting elements in his nature. He has gone wrong 
 and does wrong, but his conscience sanctions the right 
 and can by no ingenuity of his reason be made to sanction 
 the wrong, unless he succeeds in deceiving himself into 
 the precarious belief that wrong is right. Conscience thus 
 protects man from becoming a devil, and establishes the 
 possibility of his restoration, by a new creation in Christ 
 Jesus, to his original condition of holiness. But it can- 
 not itself restore him. Sanctioning the right and doing 
 the riglit are far from being the same thing. It always 
 approves the right when the mind knows it, but it does 
 not even secure the knowledge of righteousness, much 
 less its performance, as the morality, theoretical and prac- 
 tical, of peoples without a supernatural revelation amply 
 and painfully shows. Hence notwithstanding the power 
 of conscience man has not in himself a standard which 
 could under all circumstances secure right actions. The 
 very fact that men, in their endeavor to justify or excuse 
 their wrongdoing by a process of self-deception, in which 
 the wrong is made to appear right, shows such an as- 
 sumption to be groundless. 
 
 If therefore the natural man would consent to adopt 
 as the regulation of his life the precept, "Whatsoever ye 
 would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," 
 considerate conduct could be expected on a selfish basis, 
 but not the unselfishness and self-sacrifice involved in 
 tlie law of love whicli is tlie bond of perfoctness. Not 
 even the summit of civil righteousness would be reached. 
 Prudential consideration would lead to a policy of recti- 
 tude, so far as ajjpearances are concerned, but would not 
 prevent the doing of wrong when selfish motives suggested 
 it and reason concluded that doing it would furnish the 
 higher gratification, notwithstanding the drawbacks and 
 
276 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 dangers. That kindly impulses of humanity, such as lie 
 in our nature though fallen, would continue to be exer- 
 cised and their frequency enhanced by the application of 
 the precept is not disputed; but the rule cannot protect 
 the corrupt heart against the power of sin which urges 
 the wrong when the right costs too much. The golden 
 rule, like all other forms of law, can direct our course 
 along the line of righteousness when our inclinations are 
 right, but can never set the heart right. No law can do 
 that. If a workman is disposed to do the honest work 
 that is expected of him, the consideration that he would 
 wish this to be done for him if he were the employer, will 
 no doubt fortify him to resist sporadic temptations to 
 slight it; but if he has no such governing purpose, the 
 rule will not prevent him from resorting to "tricks of the 
 trade" in furtherance of his own selfish desire to make 
 the most that he can for his personal advantage. And 
 not only has the rule no power to better the man who 
 adopts it, but its application may even result in doing 
 wrong. For when work has been slighted the workman 
 might wish that if he were the employer the defect should 
 be concealed, lest his business should be injured, and he 
 accordingly hides the fault. A dishonest man may wish 
 to receive money in exchange for his influence in promot- 
 ing a cause that is profitable, though bad, and proceed 
 to bribe legislators and judges on the principle of doing 
 to others what he would wish them to do to him. 
 
 The golden rule is an excellent guide for good men. 
 But it makes no man good. "If there had been a law 
 given which could have given life, verily righteousness 
 should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath 
 concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus 
 Christ might be given them that believe." Gal. 3, 21. 22. 
 The law shows us what, according to the mission and 
 endowment given to man, we ought to be and to do in 
 order to accomplish the end of our creation ; but since the 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 277 
 
 fall, on account of which we are dead in trespasses and 
 sins and children of wrath by nature, its chief work is to 
 show us our sinfulness and our disability, and thus pre- 
 pare us for the salvation effected by the Savior and 
 graciously offered by the Holy Spirit tlirough the Gospel. 
 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
 through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the like- 
 ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the 
 flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled 
 in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
 Rom. 8, 3. 4. Jesus expounded the law in His sermon 
 on the mount, but even when He, the greatest of all 
 teachers, preached it, it was powerless to sanctify and 
 save the souls whom it condemned because of their trans- 
 gressions, and its chief work continued to be the exposure 
 of our sin and helplessness, while His glorious work was 
 to fulfill all righteousness in our stead and effect our de- 
 liverance by His redeeming grace. "Now we know that 
 whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them who 
 are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped 
 and all the world may become guilty before God. There- 
 fore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justi- 
 fied in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 
 But now the righteousness of God without the law is 
 manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, 
 even the righteousness which is by faith of Jesus Christ 
 unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no 
 difference; for all have sinned and come short of the 
 glory of God, being justified freely by His grace, through 
 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Rom. 3, 19-24. 
 When faith has embraced the great salvation in Christ 
 and thus the heart has been renewed, the golden rule will 
 be an excellent guide of conduct in a life actuated by 
 love. Without such renewal through the grace of our 
 Savior it not only cannot bring about the righteousness 
 which the law demands, but may even be abused in the 
 
278 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 service of sin by the acceptance of a norm that is nothing^ 
 more than a dictate of the flesh. Only when we have the 
 grace to wish that others would do right to us can such 
 wish be a good rule to direct us in our action towards 
 them ; otherwise, by reason of the depravity of our nature, 
 the dominating power will always be the selfish motives 
 of the flesh as against the law of love w^hich requires 
 self-denial. 
 
 Put yourself in his place and then judge what you 
 would like to have your neighbor do to you is emphatical- 
 ly a good plan to ascertain what in existing circum- 
 stances you should do to him, provided you have the love 
 in your heart that wishes no wrong to your neighbor. 
 You owe him money and have no thought of defrauding 
 him. You mean to pay him as an honest man should. 
 But he is needy, and it is not convenient to pay him 
 just now, neither does the law require that you should 
 discharge the debt to-day. Your interest is to defer the 
 payment to a more convenient season. You have a legal 
 right to do this, and it is easy in such a case to persuade 
 yourself that you have also a moral right. Eighteous- 
 ness seems not to be violated by deferring what there is 
 no intention or even desire to neglect. But what does 
 love, which is the fulfilling of the law, require in the 
 matter? Apply the golden rule and the answer will be 
 at hand: Do to him as you would wish him to do to you. 
 It makes no new law : it merely directs attention to that 
 which is the essence of all divine law and sets in motion 
 the powers with which the Christian is endowed when 
 his heart is purified by faith. You wish that he would 
 discharge his obligation to you now, when you are in dis- 
 tress, though it may involve a sacrifice: that is what 
 Christian love would prompt you to do to him. 
 
 This is the law and the prophets, but not the in- 
 stinctive expression of the natural man. The sermon 
 on the mount sets forth the law of God and its fulfill- 
 
THE GOLDEN RULE. 279 
 
 ment in a righteousness that is better than that of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees; and the golden rule can be rightly 
 understood and practiced only on the principles which 
 Christ enumerates, who came not to destroy, but to ful- 
 fill the law. By faith tlie righteousness which He ac- 
 quired for men by His vicarious obedience unto death is 
 appropriated, so that there is no condemnation to them 
 which are in Christ Jesus, and by faith their hearts are 
 purified, so that like their Savior they delight to do God's 
 will. Such children of God obtain a clearer conscious- 
 ness of what is implied in the love which they always 
 desire to exercise towards their fellow men, when they 
 consider Avhat they wish that these should do towards 
 them. The golden rule thus serves as an interpreter of 
 the love that reigns in their hearts and a guide for its 
 proper exercise. But the assumption that all would be 
 good and lovely if only all men could be persuaded to 
 adopt it as a norm of their conduct, is a delusion which 
 comes of disregarding the fundamental requirement of 
 Christian living, that man must be born again. Without 
 Christ we can do nothing. The efforts to glorify sinful 
 humanity by leading men to exalt their own powers and 
 trust in them are not in accord with the law and the 
 prophets. 
 
E 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 The Narrow Way. 
 
 ( Matthew 7, 13. 14.) 
 
 NTEli ye in at the -strait gate; for wide is the 
 gate and broad is the way that leadeth to de- 
 struction, and many there be wliich go in 
 thereat: because strait is the gate and narrow is the 
 way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find 
 it."' 
 
 Something more than our nature furnishes is neces- 
 sary to escape the condemnation which sin has brought 
 upon us, and to walk in righteousness and true holiness 
 according to our Maker's w^ill. If we follow the instincts 
 of our own hearts, our lives will not accord with the re- 
 quirements of God's holy will; for "out of the heart pro- 
 ceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, 
 thefts, false witness, blasphemies.'' Matt. 15, 20. Un- 
 less a better righteousness is attained than that which 
 can be developed from our corrupt nature, we must die 
 in our sins. Our Lord shows what is requisite under the 
 figure of two ways, between which a choice is to be made. 
 One of these is entered by a strait or narrow^ gate leading 
 into a narrow path, which issues in eternal life, but on 
 which comparatively few are found walking, although 
 the grace of God would by the Gospel enable all to 
 choose it and walk in it. The other is a broad road, 
 with a wide gate of entrance, which leads to destruction, 
 and on which multitudes are traveling to a dreadful 
 doom, although God by His holy law earnestly w^arns 
 against it. Dropping the figure, vre (ire tlius taught that 
 we must enter the kingdom of God if we would have 
 
 280 
 
THE NARROW WAY. 281 
 
 eternal life, and that if we decline to do this we shall go 
 with the multitude to the everlastino- death which is the 
 wagey of sin. 
 
 It is marvelous that the many should choose the 
 wide gate and the broad road to death, and that only the 
 few should make choice of the strait and narrow way 
 that leads to life. But we cease to wonder when we 
 study the Scriptures and apply our hearts unto wisdom. 
 It is what we must expect of a people who, because of 
 their blindness in sin, professing to be wise have become 
 fools. For when the fall had taken place, "God saw that 
 the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that 
 every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
 evil continually." Gen. 6, 5. All men are now born in 
 sin and ushered into a world of sin. It is man's native 
 element, and the wide gate and broad road are his natural 
 choice. Death reigns, and only those live whom God 
 rescues by His grace. "You hath He quickened, who 
 were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past 
 ye walked according to the course of this world, accord- 
 ing to the prince of the ix)wer of the air, the spirit that 
 now worketh in the children of disobedience: in whom 
 also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts 
 of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the 
 mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as 
 others." Eph. 2, 1-3. The condition of our fallen race 
 is thus plainly described. There is no spiritual life in 
 man; the whole world lieth in wickedness, under the 
 dominion of Satan, the prince of the power of the air; 
 the moving principle in human hearts is the flesh with 
 its affections and lusts; the walk and conversation of 
 all men is therefore according to the course of this 
 world ; and as a result of the apostacy of a creature 
 whom God had made good and endowed with godlike 
 gifts, all became children of wrath by nature. That in 
 this forlorn state the multitude should choose the broad 
 
282 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 road that leads to death, does not seem so marvelous after 
 all, seeing that it is but natural. 
 
 The situation is not changed when we reflect that 
 man, in the depth of his soul, does not prefer death to life, 
 and never thinks of choosing misery rath^'r than happi- 
 ness. We may infer from this fact that he will not 
 of two alternatives choose that which he knows to be the 
 one which will bring wretchedness upon him in time and 
 in eternity. He does not delight in pain and woe, but 
 shuns it and endeavors to escape it. His efforts are di- 
 rected to the attainment of pleasure and the possession 
 of happiness. Accordingly, when two ways are shown 
 him, the one known to him as a pleasant path that issues 
 in everlasting bliss, the other equally known to him as 
 a rough and thorny road that will bring him to endless 
 grief, he will not intelligently select the latter. But the 
 sin that makes men knaves and slaves does not make 
 them aware of their knaver}^ and slavery and of the un- 
 ending misery which these entail. It perverts their un- 
 derstanding as well as their hearts, and they try to 
 bring their pursuit of happiness into rational consistency 
 with their native wickedness. Hence the Scriptures tell 
 us about the "deceivableness of unrighteousness." Men 
 not only deceive each other, but deceive themselves. 
 They do not know the "exceeding sinfulness" and un- 
 speakable misery of sin, but endeavor to make it appear 
 a form of virtue, or, failing in this, at least to excuse it 
 as the best attainable under the circumstances. And 
 when the truth is told them, so that as rational creatures 
 they might know better, they do not believe it. Only 
 when the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with its enlight- 
 ening and regenerating power has come and made new 
 creatures of fallen man can this be otherwise. "This I 
 say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth 
 walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their 
 mind, having the understanding darkened, being alien- 
 
THE NARROW WAY. 283 
 
 ated from the life of God through the ignorance that is 
 in them, because of the blindness of their heart." Eph. 
 4, 17. 18. This vanity and darkness of the mind in its 
 alienation from the life of God is an obstacle that is 
 insuperable, so far as tlie powers of nature are concerned, 
 in the way of all improvement of man's moral condi- 
 tion. Therefore wlien the only possible help is offered in 
 the grace and truth which the Gospel presents, he re- 
 jects it in his blindness, and in his carnal wisdom, which 
 is vanity, thinks that he acts reasonably when he rejects 
 it. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither 
 can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- 
 cerned." 1 Cor. 2, 14. The situation therefore affords 
 no hope of a change for the better by the exercise of any 
 powers that yet remain in the sinful soul. "The heart is 
 deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who 
 can know it." Jer. 17, 9. 
 
 Hence when our Lord calls upon the people to "enter 
 in at the strait gate" into the narrow way "which lead- 
 eth unto life," we certainly would fail to understand 
 the exhortation if we assumed it to mean, that we should 
 arouse the moral forces of our nature and hopefully seek 
 deliverance from death by strenuous efforts of obedience 
 to the law. The light of the Gospel shone gradually and 
 with ever increasing brightness upon the world, and it 
 may be that some of His hearers were not yet sufficiently 
 enlightened to be secured against such a misunderstand- 
 ing. But this could not be the Savior's meaning, as that 
 would thwart the whole purpose of His advent and work 
 on earth. If there were any who could not yet under- 
 stand it, they were expected to grow in grace and the 
 knowledge of Jesus until they could understand it; but 
 that would not justify us in declining to find in His 
 words anything more than those who were yet under 
 the bondage of the law could comprehend. Faithful fol- 
 
284 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 lowers of Cliiist must learn to read the whole Bible in 
 the light of the Gospel. 
 
 If we desire to be saved, the one thing needful is to 
 put on Christ by faith. That is, in other words, we must 
 be born again. In Him alone we have salvation. "I 
 am the way and tho truth and the life," He tells us; "no 
 man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14, 6. The 
 fruits of holiness can be b.orne only by those who believe 
 in Him as their Savior from sin and death, and are thus 
 renewed in the spirit of their minds: "I am the vine, 
 ye are the branches; he that abideth in me and I in him, 
 the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye 
 can do nothing." John 15, 5. The Son of God came in- 
 to the world to be our Savior and give us life, not to 
 show us how we, who are dead in trespasses and sins, 
 could save ourselves by a better life under the law which 
 w^as given by Moses. That would be impossible, "be- 
 cause the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is 
 not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
 Eom. 8, 7. Jesus expounded the law which the Jews had 
 perverted and rendered incapable of doing its legitimate 
 work, but never taught the people to trust in it for salva- 
 tion from the curse which it pronounces upon sin. "For 
 if there had been a law given which could have given life, 
 verily righteousness should have been by the law. But 
 the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the prom- 
 , ise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that 
 >^ believe." Gal 3, 21.22. In this sermon on the mount 
 our Lord taught the law with a spiritual depth and com- 
 pleteness which its teachers among the Pharisees had 
 never attained; but it was not for the purpose of flatter- 
 ing His hearers that they could, if they would only in a 
 manly way exert themselves, meet all its demands and 
 thus fulfill all righteousness. That would simply have 
 left them on the broad road to destruction and encour- 
 aged them in the self-delusion that they could render 
 
THE NARROW WAY. 285 
 
 complete satisfaction under the law, and need no Savior, 
 His purpose was hiolier and holier; "for God sent not His 
 Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the 
 world throuojh Him might be saved." John 3, 17. His 
 exposition of the law, as well as all the rest of His work, 
 was designed to serve this purpose. The people were 
 led to understand the w411 of God as expressed in His 
 holy commandments, not that thev might deceive them- 
 selves by believing that they had fultilled them or could 
 fulfill them and thus be saved, but that they might see 
 their sin and their lielplessness and embrace the great 
 salvation which He offers by His grace. "Wherefore the ' 
 law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we 
 might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come 
 we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all 
 the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as 
 many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put 
 on Christ." Gal. 3, 24-27. 
 
 The plan of salvation is thus apparent: repent and" 
 believe the Gospel. That is the strait gate by which 
 the narrow way that leads to life is entered. It is the 
 only way, because Christ is the only Savior of sinners. 
 The first thing necessary to share the blessedness of 
 Christ's kingdom is to recognize our sin and the ruin 
 which it has wrought. As long as a soul fails to see 
 that it is lost, the Gospel way of salvation will seem fool- 
 ishness. Even if some superficial knowledge of sin is at- 
 tained, but the delusion is at the same time harbored 
 that God will not hold us strictly to the law, or that we 
 can without much difficulty rid ourselves of any faults 
 that may be charged against us, the call of the Savior to 
 come to Him and find rest for our souls will receive little 
 attention. Why should we seek rescue when w^e are 
 aware of no peril? Wliy should we appeal to a physician 
 for help when we do not know ourselves to be sick — 
 sick though we are unto death? In the natural pride of 
 
286 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 his heart man does not see that he is "desperately 
 wicked," and, not realizing that he is helpless in his lost 
 estate, he resents the offer of salvation. Therefore the 
 Savior preaches the law to work a knowledge of sin, and 
 calls upon all men to repent and believe the Gospel, which 
 is the power of God unto salvation to all them that be- 
 lieve. Those who, despairing of their own power to de- 
 liver themselves from the curse and misery of sin, receive 
 the Lord Jesus as the Savior sent to rescue them from 
 eternal death, thus by His grace enter in at the strait 
 gate and pursue the narrow way to our Father's house 
 in heaven. 
 
 They are sad words which our Lord speaks when He 
 says that "few there be that find it." The reason of this 
 is not hidden from our view. The gate is strait and the 
 way is narrow. That explains it. Man naturally prefers 
 the wide gate, and the broad way, though he does not 
 prefer the destruction to which it leads. He is willing 
 to take chances in regard to that, which of course implies 
 that he does not accept the truth when it is told him, 
 whatever misgivings may arise in his mind. The strait 
 gate is not according to his inclinations. It can be en- 
 tered only at the sacrifice of the pleasures found in the 
 gratification of the flesh with its affections and lusts. 
 By nature no one is willing to crucify self that he may 
 live unto God. "Whosoever he be of you," saith our 
 Lord, "that forsaljeth not all that he hath, he cannot be 
 my disciple." ^mih 14, 33. The selfishness that wants 
 to be its own lord and refuses submission to the law of 
 God and the acceptance of His grace for deliverance 
 from the curse which it has brought upon the soul, finds 
 the gate of the Gospel too strait for it to get through, 
 and the requirement to take up the cross and follow 
 Jesus in a life of perpetual self-denial makes the way of 
 life too narrow for it to walk upon. The consequence 
 naturally is that the number of those who enter in at the 
 
THE NARROW WAY. 287 
 
 strait gate is small compared with the many who go in 
 at the wide gate and pursue the broad way to everlasting 
 death. Although the grace offered in the Gospel is 
 sufficient for all that hear it and furnishes all needful 
 spiritual power to make wise unto salvation every soul 
 that does not wilfully resist its heavenly efficac}', the mul- 
 titude still persists in rejecting the narrow way, in conse- 
 quence of which "many are called but few are chosen." 
 
 Everything that infinite love and wisdom could do 
 to rescue sinful souls from impending destruction has 
 been done, and only the obstinacy of man prevents the 
 execution of the divine will that all should be saved. The 
 Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, interposed for 
 the salvation of all, when all had sinned. In His eternal 
 counsels a gracious plan was devised by which this could 
 be effected. "God so loved the world that He gave His 
 only begotten Sou, that whosoever believeth in Him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3, 16. 
 The Father's love to a sinful world is thus revealed in its 
 heavenly glory. "In this was manifested the love of God 
 toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son 
 into the world that we might live through Him. Herein 
 is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and 
 sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 
 4, 8. 9. The Eternal Son cordially entered upon the plan 
 of infinite love, and in the fulness of time w^ts made flesh 
 to fulfill all righteousness in our stead, and for our de- 
 liverance from the curse of sin suffer its penalty upon 
 the cross. "For tliis purpose the Sou of God was mani- 
 fested that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 
 John 3, 8. And to overcome the obstacle existing in the 
 unbelief of the natural heart, the Holy Spirit, proceeding 
 from the Father and the Son, was sent to do the gracious 
 work of appropriating the redemption in the hearts of 
 men. "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom 
 the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all 
 
288 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what- 
 soever I have said unto you." John 14, 26. Not another 
 Gospel than that of our Lord Jesus Christ did He come to 
 bring us, but the one truth in Jesus unto the salvation of 
 all them that believe. "He shall glorify me," says the Sa- 
 vior, "for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto 
 you. All things that the Father hath are mine ; therefore 
 said I that He shall take of .mine and shall show it unto 
 you." John 16, 14. 15. Thus the Holy Spirit completes 
 the work of God's love by working the faith in human 
 hearts which is necessary to embrace the great salvation 
 in Christ, but which no man can originate in his own 
 soul. "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or 
 strength believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, or come to 
 Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, 
 enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in 
 the faith." That a sinner is brought upon the narrow 
 way and preserved therein unto eternal life is wholly the 
 "^ work of God. He has instituted means to this end, 
 which always convey the needful grace to save the soul, 
 so that if any are lost when the Gospel is preached and 
 the Sacraments are administered, it is never because 
 grace was not offered unto salvation, but always because 
 the grace was wilfully rejected. God has left nothing 
 ^ undone to bring the lost upon the narrow way and pre- 
 serve them in it unto eternal life, and the fault is all 
 man's own if he chooses the broad road that leadeth to 
 ^ destruction. The glory of our salvation belongs to God 
 alone; the shame and misery of our perdition belongs 
 only to ourselves. "After that the kindness and love of 
 God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of 
 righteousness which we have done, but according to 
 His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abun- 
 dantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justi- 
 
THE NARROW WAY. 289 
 
 fied by His grace we should be made heirs according to the 
 hope of eternal life." Tit. 3, 4-7. 
 
 Our gracious Lord made rich provision for continu- 
 ing His saving work until the end of time. Many gave 
 ear to His exhortation to enter into His kingdom and to 
 these He gave the commission: "Go ye therefore and 
 teach all nations, bai^tizing them in the name of the 
 Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching 
 them to observe all things whatsoever I have command- 
 ed you: and lo, I am wdth you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world." Matt. 28, 19. 20. Thus His Church, which 
 is the communion of saints, was established on earth and 
 has been continued until this day. The strait gate of 
 Gospel grace has stood open ever since, the narrow way 
 that leads to life has been kept in plain view of the 
 people, and the call to enter in and enjoy the blessings 
 which it offers has gone out into all the world, and who- 
 soever will may come and share the great salvation. 
 Those who have entered in at the strait gate not only 
 recognize their calling to bring the good tidings of sal- 
 vation to all people and, prompted by the love of souls, 
 do what they can towards teaching all nations, but real- 
 ize that the promise is to them and to their children. 
 Thus the kingdom of God is maintained and extended. 
 Christian parents bring their children to Christ in Holy 
 Baptism, in which the Holy Spirit is given them and 
 they by His grace are made children of God, born again 
 of water and the Spirit, and heirs of eternal life. As 
 such they are to be trained in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord, that being buried with Christ by baptism 
 into His death, "like as Christ was raised up from the 
 dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
 walk in newness of life." Rom. 6, 3. 4. "For as many 
 of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
 Christ." Gal. 3, 27. Nourished as living branches of the 
 19 
 
290 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Vine by the Gospel and, when maturity for self-examina- 
 tion and the intelligent confession of their Christian faith 
 is reached, by communion with Christ through partaking of 
 the holy sacrament of His body and blood, they grow in 
 grace and in the knowledge of their Savior, and thus in 
 the comfort of the Holy Ghost, pursue the narrow path to 
 eternal bliss. But not all have the blessing of baptism 
 in their infancy, and from childhood know the Holy 
 Scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation 
 through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Some are born 
 in pagan lands, and have not access to the means of 
 grace which God has committed to the Church; some, 
 though living in easy reach of Word and Sacrament, have 
 grown up without having been brought under their 
 heavenly influence; and some who were carried as babes 
 to the arms of Jesus have, through neglect of the means 
 appointed for their spiritual preservation and growth, 
 unhappily strayed away from the fold and must needs 
 return to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls if they 
 would inherit the promise. Whilst the normal way of 
 building the Church, when it is once established, is man- 
 ifestly that of bringing the children to Christ in the holy 
 sacrament of Baptism, that they may be born again of 
 water and the Holy Spirit, and then nurtured in the 
 Church as God's children, the design of God to bring all 
 nations into His kingdom renders it obvious that this 
 will not apply in all cases. The conditions are not the 
 same in the three classes designated. Adults must be 
 gathered in as well as the children, and while churches 
 provide for these and thus perpetuate and strengthen 
 themselves, they cannot be faithful if they neglect their 
 missionary calling, at home and abroad, to make the 
 unsearchable riches of Christ known to all people and 
 add to the local Church those who receive the Savior. 
 
 That some will turn a deaf ear to the Lord's call 
 and refuse to enter at the strait gate and w^alk in the 
 
THE NAEROW WAY. 291 
 
 narrow way, is to be expected and must not discourage 
 us. "Many are called but few are chosen." This is la- 
 mentable. But the reason is not that God does not de- 
 sire the salvation of all alike, or that He is not sincere in 
 extending the call whenever and wheresoever and to 
 whomsoever the Gospel is preached. Man is prone to 
 seek the fault in God rather than in himself. But Chris- 
 tians know better, and must not let such thoughts of the 
 flesh dishearten them in their holy work. They know 
 better because they have the Word of the Lord Himself 
 to enlighten them and guide them. "As I live, saith the 
 Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; 
 but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, 
 turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house 
 of Israel?" Ezek. 33, 11. God would not have sent 
 His Son into the world, that the world through Him 
 might be saved; the Eternal Son of the Father would not 
 have given His life a ransom for all, dying that all might 
 live; and the Gospel of salvation would not have been 
 sent in the power of the Holy Spirit to all people, if the 
 Triune God had not meant that all should hear the good 
 tidings and embrace the gracious offer of the remission 
 of sins and eternal life. The Scriptures assure us that 
 "God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the 
 knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim. 2, 4. "The Lord is not 
 slack concerning His promise, as some men count slack- 
 ness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that 
 any should perish, but that all should come to repent- 
 ance." 2 Pet. 3, 9. The fault is all man's own if he 
 is not saved, as the fault is all his own that he is in the 
 sinful condition which needs salvation. God is willing 
 to save all, but alas! of the many wiiom He calls but few 
 are willing to come and be saved through the strait gate 
 and the narrow way of repentance and faith. Hence the 
 plaintive cry of our Savior: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
 thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which 
 
292 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
 children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens 
 under her wings, and ye would not!" Matt. 23, 37. It is 
 amazing, both in the mercy of God and in the obstinacy 
 of men when that mercy is offered them: but so it is. 
 Our Lord's complaint is continued through all time: 
 "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." John 
 5, 40. 
 
 But we who believe have no reason to be discouraged. 
 Some will heed that call of grace. Compared with the 
 multitudes who choose to remain on the broad way that 
 leadeth to destruction they are few. But their number 
 is still great. The Church has flourished and flourishes 
 still. The call is never extended in vain. Some will 
 come and be saved. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, 
 be. ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor 
 is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Cor. 15, 58. 
 
 Meantime we must not forget that the way is nar- 
 row on which we are journeying. This makes it incum- 
 bent upon us to watch and pray, that we may not be se- 
 duced into by-paths or neglect the guideposts which God 
 has graciously given us to direct us. "Let him that 
 thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." "Be sober, 
 be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roar- 
 ing lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 
 whom resist stedfast in the faith." 1 Pet. 5, 8. 9. To 
 imagine that there is no danger is itself dangerous. The 
 world allures, our own flesh inclines to hear its voice, 
 Satan sends false prophets to mislead us. "Take heed 
 to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged 
 with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life." 
 We need not fear while we abide in the narrow way 
 of God's Word, for there the Lord is always with us and 
 His grace is sujBBcient for us. But be thou faithful unto 
 death, that you may receive the crown of life. 
 
SECTION XV. 
 
 The Voice of Warning. 
 
 (Matthew 7, 15-23.) 
 
 ^^♦gjgEWARE of false prophets, which come to you 
 It^ in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are 
 ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their 
 fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
 thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good 
 fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Every 
 tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and 
 cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall 
 know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
 Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he 
 that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
 Many will say to me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not 
 prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out 
 devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful w^orks? 
 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; 
 depart from me, ye that work iniquity." 
 
 1. After pointing out the two ways in which men 
 may choose to walk, the one leading to life, the other to 
 death, Christ gives us a much needed warning against 
 false prophets, who would lead us astray. He lovingly 
 urges His hearers to enter the strait gate and pursue the 
 narrow way which leads to eternal blessedness, while 
 the multitude foolishly chooses the broad road which 
 inevitably leads to destruction. Not only does the un- 
 derstanding of the natural man, darkened and corrupted 
 as it is by sin, prefer the path that leads away from God, 
 but many delight in teaching the errors which seem to 
 justify their unwise choice and make it appear reason- 
 
 293 
 
294 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 able. The warning against false prophets therefore 
 comes appropriately in close connection with the lesson 
 on the two ways open to man's choice. Teachers of error 
 do much towards keeping people on the broad road to 
 ruin and preventing them from finding and entering the 
 narrow gate which opens to the way of life; and their 
 work of evil does not end with this, but they do much 
 also towards misleading th.ose who have entered the 
 strait gate and inducing them to abandon the way of 
 life. As the power by which the Christian lives his spir- 
 itual life is the truth revealed from heaven by the Gospel, 
 every departure from that truth in prophesying or preach- 
 ing is so much done towards preventing the accomplish- 
 ment of God's good will to save mankind. "If ye con- 
 tinue in my Word," our Savior says, "then are ye my 
 disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the 
 truth shall make you free." Those who are led away 
 from this truth by false prophets thus endanger their 
 souls by losing the Gospel which alone can save them. 
 
 The word prophets usually indicates those who are 
 called to preach in the kingdom of God, and who are 
 commissioned to proclaim the saving truth revealed from 
 heaven. This truth is written for our learning in the 
 Holy Scriptures. A false prophet is one who teaches 
 otherwise than God's Word teaches, and accordingly is 
 not faithful to the heavenly message and the divine com- 
 mission. He professes to preach God's Word, but in- 
 stead of this proclaims his own word. Whether he be 
 sent or comes of his own accord under the pretense that 
 he is sent, and whether he is conscious or not of his 
 aberration from the inspired Word, which alone gives 
 spiritual life and light, is not of material import for dis- 
 tinguishing the false from the true prophet. In this re- 
 gard the one essential point to be examined is his preach- 
 ing or prophesying, and that upon which the examina- 
 tion must be based and by which our judgment must be 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 295 
 
 formed is the Word of God recorded in the Scriptures. 
 "If there arise amoncj you a prophet, or a dreamer of 
 dreams, aud giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the 
 sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto 
 thee, saying. Let us go after other gods, which thou hast 
 not known, and let us serve them, thou shall not hearken 
 to that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord 
 your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord 
 your God with all 3'our heart and with all your soul." 
 Duet. 13, 1-3. 
 
 There are false prophets among the chosen people, 
 and God sometimes even permits them to perform signs 
 and wonders to try the faithfulness of His children. 
 These are required to abide by His Word, whatever those 
 who teach otherwise may hold out as an inducement to 
 depart from it. "To the law and to the testimony; if 
 they speak not according to this Word, it is because 
 there is no light in them." Isa. 8, 20. Nor did it become 
 otherwise when Christ came and the fuller light of the 
 Gospel shone upon the world. There were still false 
 prophets, and the criterion by which they were to be 
 judged remained the same: it was still the Word of the 
 Lord which endureth for ever. "There shall arise false 
 Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs 
 and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible they 
 shall deceive the very elect." Matt. 24, 24. The duty of 
 vigilance, that we may beware of false prophets, can 
 therefore not be regarded as of little importance by 
 those who sincerely desire to walk in the narrow way 
 and lay hold on eternal life. "Beloved, believe not every 
 spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; be- 
 cause many false prophets liave gone out into the world." 
 1 John 4, 1. 
 
 It is not in accordance with the mind of Christ, and 
 is neither charitable nor wise to limit the warning to 
 extreme cases, in which the design of Satan to destroy 
 
296 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 tlie soul is immediately apparent and the false prophet 
 is at once seen to be in malicious league with him. Such 
 a limitation accords with the spirit of those who are 
 traveling on the broad road that leads to destruction, 
 not with the vigilant and cautious spirit of those who 
 have entered the strait gate, and are earnestly intent 
 upon following Christ in the way of life. The danger is 
 great, though Satan's devices do not always prove suc- 
 cessful, and some escape the" destruction which he had 
 planned for them. One must disregard the solemn teach- 
 ing of the Bible and of history, if he would accept the 
 alluring assurances of false prophets, that no danger is 
 threatening us as long as we are sincere in our endeavors 
 to know the truth, and that error cannot harm us unless 
 it directly and at once renounces Christ and denies Him 
 to be the way and the truth and the life. The under- 
 mining of the Christian foundation is the known pur- 
 pose of Satan's work. To this end he disseminates his 
 false doctrines, and he is cunning enough not to begin his 
 undermining process by telling people to reject the Scrip- 
 tures and deny that Christ came into the world to save 
 sinners. He has made a good start if he has instilled 
 the foolish belief that a little leaven can not leaven 
 the whole lump, and that danger can begin only when 
 the foundations are destroyed. Many false prophets 
 are themselves deceived, and do their deadly work in the 
 belief that they are rendering God service. Certainly 
 not all are of that manifest sort who openly deny Christ 
 and who would not be tolerated in any Chvirch. "There 
 were false prophets among the people, even as there shall 
 be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring 
 in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought 
 them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And 
 many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of 
 whom the way of truth shall be evil -spoken of." 2 Pet. 
 2, 1. 2. That is the natural outcome of all satanic lies 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 297 
 
 that are spread in opposition to divine truth. If they 
 are permitted to exert their deadly power and are un- 
 hindered in the attainment of their destructive pur- 
 pose, the result of false doctrine must be dishonor to 
 the Savior and death to the soul, as the proper work of 
 the truth in Jesus is glory to God, and salvation to man. 
 
 But there are manifold hindrances on account of 
 which causes do not produce their peculiar effects, be- 
 cause powers meet with obstructions and are resisted by 
 opposing powers that neutralize their action. It i? so in 
 the whole realm of sin and grace. Not all sin results 
 in death, though this is its proper consequence. The 
 wages of sin is death. It is so even in the children of 
 God, if they permit it to work out its inherent power and 
 produce its natural result. "Every man is tempted 
 when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. 
 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: 
 and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Jas. 
 1, 14. 15. If sin were allowed to have its own pernicious 
 way, not a soul would be saved. But Christ came to 
 save us from our sins and the death which is their con- 
 sequence. His grace is sufficient for us all, so that now 
 no one who hears the Word of salvation through His 
 atonement need perish. But grace, too, may be resisted 
 so that it does not always produce its salutary effects. 
 Sin hinders its saving work; and if it is persisted in, the 
 grace of God will be bestowed in vain, and death will 
 result, notwithstanding all the unspeakable mercies of 
 God to rescue the sinner from its proper wages. 
 
 Hence is apparent the wretched unwisdom of those 
 who represent the warnings of our Lord against false 
 propliets to be not all manner of teaching and living 
 otherwise than God's Word teaches, but as referring 
 only to those who knowingly seek entirely to overthrow 
 Christianity, or to sins tliat are so radically ruinous as 
 to preclude the possibility of the existence or the con- 
 
298 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 tinuance of faith in the soul, and therefore to shut out 
 the remission of sins and eternal life which grace offers. 
 Satan has gained much if he succeeds in leading a soul 
 to think that what he regards as little departures from 
 the truth of the Gospel or the strictness of the law are 
 of no importance and may safely be indulged in, as long 
 as the main promises and requirements are retained. 
 There is undoubtedly a difference between doctrines 
 which are fundamental and others which are not so, 
 and between sins which are mortal and others which 
 are venial. But the distinction which is of moment for 
 questions of church fellowship and for consoling the 
 troubled conscience, is mischievous when it is manip- 
 ulated by untaught men and made to serve the purposes 
 of sin, unintentional though this may be, by inducing 
 others to imagine that some errors and some transgres- 
 sions are harmless, and require neither vigilance to avoid 
 them nor repentance to escape their guilt. The love of 
 God, who would keep us in the narrow path that leads 
 to life, tells us to watch and pray that we may not enter 
 into temptation, and to resist all beginnings of unscrip- 
 tural influences; and it impresses the admonition upon 
 us to "shun profane and vain babblings; for they will 
 increase to more ungodliness, and their word will eat as 
 doth a canker; of whom is Hymenseus and Philetus; 
 who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the 
 resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of 
 some." 2 Tim. 2, 16-18. And the warning is twice given, 
 referring both to doctrine and life: "Know ye not that 
 a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" 1 Cor. 5, 6; 
 Gal. 5, 9. 
 
 Some false prophets do not scatter opinions that 
 are directly subversive of the whole foundation of grace 
 and truth on which Christian faith rests. But when 
 they refuse to submit to the law and the testimony which 
 is written in the Scriptures, claiming that their doctrine 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 299 
 
 is reasonable and must be right, though it does not har- 
 monize with the very words of the Bible, the Lord ad- 
 monishes us to beware of them, whatever their excuses 
 may be for declining to accept the divine testimony as it 
 reads and whatever their profession of good intentions 
 may be, such as making the Word of God more palatable 
 to men by bringing its contents into better harmony 
 with the advancement of learning and the changed de- 
 mands of the times. No reasons can justify or excuse 
 the wretched wisdom of men who would be wiser than 
 God, and who in such folly presume to correct the eter- 
 nal truth of Scripture, by which we must all be judged 
 on the last day, and against which nothing can stand 
 when heaven and earth shall pass away. Therefore 
 those who are wise will heed the admonition: "Be not 
 carried about with divers and strange doctrines; for it 
 is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." 
 Heb. 13, 9. 
 
 Whether the men who teach false doctrines mean 
 well or ill is, so far as our Lord's command to beware 
 of them is concerned, not the question which it places 
 before the Christian conscience. Whoever they may be 
 or whatever they may be, we must beware of the teach- 
 ing that conflicts with God's Word. That Word is in- 
 fallibly sure, and he who believes it has certainty of the 
 truth which it declares. Adverse opinions of man can- 
 not render it questionable. Hence the apostle could 
 write: "As we said before, so say I now again, if any 
 man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye 
 have received, let him be accursed." Gal 1, 9. Even 
 supposing that one who teaches doctrines inconsistent 
 with those given by revelation of God lias no wicked 
 design, being deceived ratlier tlian a deceiver, the soul 
 that continues in the Lord's Word, and therefore knows 
 the truth, must beware of him. Charity as well as fi- 
 delity to the Savior requires this; for the nature of error 
 
300 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 being to spread and ultimately to destroy, true love 
 cannot refrain from preventing the operation of the per- 
 nicious power so far as this is possible. "Now I beseech 
 you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and 
 offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, 
 and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good 
 words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." 
 Rom. 16, 17. 18. 
 
 The fact that the warnings against the false prophets 
 generally directed attention to the deadly results of their 
 false teaching, when it works out its natural power and 
 reaches its natural end, has led many a careless reader to 
 conclude that a professed teacher is a false prophet only 
 when he is consciously an enemy of the truth revealed in 
 Scripture, and when his teaching subverts the foundation 
 of Christianity and renders it impossible for him and 
 his followers to be Christians. Much damage has been 
 done in the Church by such superficial reasoning. Vital 
 truths have been pronounced indifferent, the vigilance 
 of earnest Christians has been relaxed, and consciences 
 that were standing in awe of God's Word have been 
 gradually rendered obdurate by the repeated assurances 
 that a little leaven of sin is attended with no danger as 
 long as it is not of a kind, in doctrine or life, to pro- 
 duce immediate death. The warning against it is given 
 because its nature is to produce death, and it eateth 
 as doth a canker, so that if it is admitted into the soul 
 and treated as harmless, death will surely come as its 
 inevitable result. The contention that our Lord's de- 
 scription of the false prophets as persons "who come to 
 you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravening 
 wolves," shows that only bold, bad men, who lie in wait 
 to deceive and delight in destroying souls, are meant by 
 the term false prophets, is a specimen of such superficial 
 interpretation that breaks the force of the words of warn- 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 301 
 
 ing spoken in love; and the sentimental appeal to the 
 sympathies of our nature, intimating that it would be 
 unkind in the extreme to. stigmatize a Koman bishop as 
 a false prophet because of his Romish errors, though he 
 is regarded by the whole community as a good man, is of 
 the same sort as the contention which it is designed to 
 support. But our Lord does not say that the false 
 prophets are all designing knaves who have no mercy for 
 sinful men, who all know that they are ravening wolves, 
 who put on their sheep's clothing to gain access to the 
 flock in order to devour the sheep, and who have as little 
 regard for the Word of God as they have for the salvation 
 of souls. He does not tell us to judge their hearts and 
 to declare them false prophets because they are ungodly 
 men, who are consciously serving the devil and gather- 
 ing recruits for his truculent army of enemies of God and 
 all righteousness. Such judging of the hearts of men, 
 whether they are teachers or not, is God's prerogative, 
 and our Lord not only does not require us to exercise 
 it, but has in this very sermon on the mount strictly for- 
 bidden it. What He does here say is this, that the false 
 prophets appear like innocent and harmless sheep, but 
 are in reality destructive and dangerous wolves, and 
 that we must be on our guard that we may not be de- 
 ceived by appearances. Outwardly they present them- 
 selves as sheep, of whom we would suspect no evil; but 
 that does not excuse us from the exercise of that vigi- 
 lance which God enjoins and which the eternal interests 
 at stake demand. The divine injunction is: "Be not 
 carried about with divers and strange doctrines; for it is 
 a good thing that the heart be established with grace." 
 Heb. 13, 9. Tlio truth alone can make us free and save 
 the soul, and many false teachers have gone out into 
 the world whose false teaching tends to undermine our 
 faith and divert us from the path of life. Therefore we 
 must "prove all things and hold fast that which is good." 
 
302 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 1 Thess. 5, 21. When the prophets come to us out- 
 wardly in sheep's clothing, it is so far well; but we must 
 look further and ascertain whether they are inwardly, 
 in deed and in truth, what they profess to be. "Beloved, 
 believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they 
 are of God: because many false prophets have gone out 
 into the world." 1 John 4, 1. If men come to us with 
 a message ostensibly from heaven, but which is in con- 
 flict with the Word which" God has given us for our 
 guidance, our duty is to avoid them as false prophets. The 
 question whether they have a malicious purpose, or are 
 ignorantly misled, God will decide. Both our devotion to 
 the glory of God and our care for the salvation of our souls 
 make this plain. We must beware of false prophets. 
 
 Enemies of the cross of Christ who set out as teach- 
 ers with the conscious intention of leading souls away 
 from Christ and keeping them on the broad way which 
 ends in destruction, would accomplish but little in the 
 churches if they openly avowed their pernicious purpose. 
 They would then be ravening wolves who do not come in 
 sheep's clothing, but boldly manifest themselves as 
 wolves, and they would be shunned by all who desire to 
 escape the damnation of hell. It is not the notoriously 
 wicked infidel that does the greatest mischief among the 
 peoi3le interested in religious truth. The success of 
 false teachers is largely owing to their claim of being true 
 teachers. They come in sheep's clothing and thus gain 
 access to the churches. This sheep's clothing is of course 
 not any avowal of deviation from the Scriptures in 
 doctrine or life, but their profession of soundness in the 
 faith and their regard for holy living. On this account 
 they are regarded by Christian believers as brethren and 
 welcomed in their congregations as such. The mischief 
 which they do there is made possible by their wearing 
 the garb of true prophets and thus securing the people's 
 confidence. 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 303 
 
 Among those who have rejected the Divinity of 
 Christ and tauc'ht the people to regard Him merely as 
 a good man whose doctrine was sublime and whose life 
 was exemplary, there were some men who were generally 
 recognized as upright and lovable. But this does not 
 alter the instruction given us: "Whosoever transgress- 
 eth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not 
 God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he 
 hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any 
 unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not 
 into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that 
 biddeth liim God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." 
 2 John 9, 11. Some Jesuits are distinguished for their 
 self-denying zeal in what they regard as the cause of 
 Christianity. But they do not cease on that account 
 to be false prophets, of whom all who would save their 
 souls should beware. The sentimentalism that shrinks 
 from applying the term to those who teach otherwise 
 than God's Word teaches, because these appear to be 
 good men, is not of God and does not promote godliness. 
 
 Our Lord bids His disciples to beware of the false 
 prophets, which implies that it is possible to distin- 
 guish them and avoid them. "Ye shall know them by 
 their fruits. Do men gather grapes of tliorns or figs 
 of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth 
 good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." 
 1'he fruit indicates the kind of tree, and we are not ex- 
 cusable if we mistake thornbushes and thistles for grape- 
 vines and fig trees. Unfortunately many commentators 
 on the passage have made it difficult to apply the test 
 which seems so simple, and have led multitudes of the 
 common people to think it impracticable and to pass it 
 by as useless. The fruits are represented as the good 
 works and holy lives of teachers, who are supposed to 
 become manifest as false prophets when these fruits do 
 not appear. But is a man teaching false doctrine be- 
 
304 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 cause he fails himself to walk by the holy rule which he 
 teaches? "Then spake Jesus to the multitude and to His 
 disciples, saying, the Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' 
 seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that 
 observe and do; but do not ye after their works, for 
 they say and do not." Matt. 23, 1-3. As long as they 
 teach right they are not to be avoided as false prophets; 
 if their example does not agree with their teaching, we 
 must beware of their bad example, not of their good 
 instruction, by reason of which they are true prophets. 
 It is not the fact that all false teachers are manifest by 
 their ungodly living before the eyes of all people, and 
 it is unjust to judge men and churches by such a cri- 
 terion. False teachers sometimes lead blameless lives, 
 so far as appearances can be an indication, and teachers 
 of the truth sometimes do not adorn the doctrine with 
 holy lives as they should. The criterion thus set forth 
 is neither true nor charitable, and there is no warrant for 
 it in the words or the works of our Savior. Eather such 
 sanctity is the sheep's clothing in which the wolves come 
 to us, and by which the people are deceived. An unholy 
 life is a disgrace to the teacher and mars his influence 
 for good, but it does not make him a false prophet. As 
 long as he teaches the truth of God's Word he is a true 
 prophet, much as he may merit rebuke and ultimately 
 expulsion as a false Christian. 
 
 The fruit of a prophet or teacher is his prophesying 
 or teaching. By this he is to be judged as a prophet. It 
 does not require special proof that every Christian teacher 
 is required to be a Christian believer. No one should be 
 called to be a leader of Christ's flock who is not himself a 
 follower of Christ. All that is possible should be done 
 to shut out from the holy ministry men who do not repent 
 and believe the Gospel. The prophet should be a Chris- 
 tian man, who is sound in the faith,' and sincerely follows 
 after holiness, as is required and expected of every disciple 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 305 
 
 of Christ. He is a Christian brother among Christian 
 brethren, whose greatest glory is not that he is a prophet, 
 but that he is a child of God and an heir of heaven. 
 Higher than this he cannot rise on earth. But the shep- 
 herd of the flock of our Lord has an important and re- 
 sponsible office in the fold. He is the teacher of the Word 
 of life, which is the power of God unto the salvation of 
 the people. If he teaches the truth, of which the Son of 
 God came unto the world to bear witness, this truth 
 will make free every soul that believes it; if he teaches 
 his own opinions and endeavors to palm these off 
 as the light from on high that leads to everlasting glory, 
 he leaves the people in their darkness and death, for such 
 teaching has no power to regenerate and save. "In vain do 
 they worship me," saith our Savior, "teaching for doc- 
 trines the commandments of men." Matt. 15, 9. Instead of 
 teaching opinions and ordinances of men, the prophet must 
 set forth the truth given by revelation of God, and rebuke 
 the "unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially them 
 of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who 
 subvert whole houses." "Wherefore rebuke them sharply, 
 that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to 
 Jewish fables and commandments of men, that turn from 
 the truth." Titus 1, 10-12. The fruit which the teacher 
 bears as a prophet is the doctrine that he teaches. This 
 must be tested by the Word of God, which is written for 
 our learning in Holy Scripture. To this the teacher and 
 the taught have access and are alike bound. Of the teach- 
 er it is required that he be found faithful, "holding fast 
 the faithful Word, as he hath been taught, that he may be 
 able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the 
 gainsayers." Tit. 1, 9. If he does not do this, tlie faith- 
 ful members of the flock, determined to continue in the 
 Word by which they try his doctrine, must admonish him, 
 and if he persists in his false teaching they liave no alter- 
 
 20 
 
806 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 native but to exclude him as a false prophet. "Every tree 
 that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast 
 into the fire." False teaching must be rejected under all 
 circumstances, and that involves the rejection of the teach- 
 er who will not abandon his error. 
 
 2. "Not every one that saith unto Me Lord, Lord, 
 shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the 
 will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to 
 Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
 Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in 
 Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I 
 profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from Me 
 ye that work iniquity." The connection of this with the 
 foregoing warning against false prophets is evident. False 
 teaching leads many astray, who are induced to imagine 
 that, if they only accept the form of Christianity in what 
 they regard as its main feature of calling upon the name of 
 the Lord, they shall inherit its promises. Some false proph- 
 ets themselves are not disposed openly to reject Christ 
 and subvert the foundation of man's salvation through 
 the gracious plan which is revealed in Him. They would 
 be Christians, and their departures from the Gospel are 
 not such that all Christians must deny their claim to be 
 disciples of Christ and to the hope of eternal life through 
 His name. Some of these prophets are themselves de- 
 ceived by the same falsities with which they deceive others. 
 But although even whole congregations and denominations 
 may be misled into the acceptance and promulgation of 
 dangerous doctrines, so that their churches must be rec- 
 ognized as Christian because they still retain enough of the 
 truth to save the souls of sincere believers, in whom this 
 truth, not the false doctrine, becomes effective, the deceiv- 
 ers and hypocrites will not forever pass as true disciples of 
 Christ. On the judgment day the Lord who searcheth 
 the hearts and judgeth righteous judgment, will profess 
 that He never knew them as true believers and will then, 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 307 
 
 as He does now, refuse to recognize them as members 
 of His kingdom, because they have refused to own Him 
 as the King and to bow to the scepter of His Word. Mean- 
 time the sincere believers, in whom the false teaching has 
 not become effective to undermine their faith, although 
 they had the misfortune to live in congregations that were 
 under the guidance of false prophets, are saved, as are 
 ^11 other Christian believers, by the faith which clings 
 to the Savior, and in Him have daily and richly the for- 
 giveness of sins and inherit eternal life through His merits. 
 The warning in the verses before us is general. There 
 are mai^y who say, "Lord, Lord," thus professing to be 
 His subjects in the kingdom of grace, but who do not 
 stand in awe of His Word and whom, because they do 
 not repent and believe the (Jospel, He does not own as 
 His disciples. Tlie number of those is large who flatter 
 themselves that membership in the visible Church and 
 external performance of the duties which this involves is 
 a sufficient guarantee of their salvation, overlooking the 
 essential truth that the promise of eternal life is given 
 only to those who believe with their hearts as well as 
 confess with their lips. They deceive themselves. "If 
 any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." 
 Rom. 8, 9. No membership in the external church organ- 
 ization and no zeal and activity in the external work of 
 the Church can supply the place of faith in the heart which 
 embraces the Savior and appropriates His righteousness. 
 "For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of 
 yourselves : it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any 
 man should boast." Eph. 2, 8, 9.. The warning given by 
 our Lord cannot be emphasized too much and too often : 
 "Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom, but he that doeth the will of Mj Father 
 which is in heaven." And because false prophets do not 
 cease to magnify human ability and merit and preach 
 salvation by human effort and righteousness, too much 
 
308 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 stress cannot be laid upon our Lord's own instruction 
 concerning our salvation, that we make no mistake as to 
 what is the will of our Father which is in heaven. When 
 Jesus was asked, "What shall we do that we might work 
 the works of God?" He "answered and said unto them, 
 This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him, whom 
 He hath sent." John 6, 29. So to the great question, 
 "What must I do to be saved?" the constant answer is, 
 "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
 This is unquestionably the work of God in this sense also, 
 that God the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts. But 
 it is the one needful work which the sinner must do to 
 execute the Father's will, which is our salvation, and for 
 the accomplishment of which the Holy Spirit is given us 
 through the means of grace, since by our own reason or 
 strength we cannot believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him. 
 If any one would do the will of our Father which is in 
 heaven, let him repent of his sins and believe the Gospel. 
 "This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which 
 seeth the Son and believeth on Him, may have everlasting 
 life." John 6, 40. This is in no respect inconsistent with 
 the declaration that the will of God is our sanctification. 
 Certainly God would have us walk in the way of His 
 commandments, which is the way of holiness and good 
 works. But His will is first of all to save us from the 
 sin and death that have come upon us. This can be done 
 only by faith in the Savior, who was delivered for our 
 offences and raised again for our justification. Then we 
 are qualified for further obedience to His will as His 
 peculiar people, who glorify His name by a right con- 
 fession in doctrine and life according to His Word. So 
 far is the proposition, that doing the will of the Father is 
 believing in Christ, from being in conflict with the other 
 proposition, that doing the will of the Father is keeping 
 His commandments, that the latter, is conditioned by the 
 former. No one can walk in the law of the Lord until 
 
THE VOICE OF WARNING. 309 
 
 he has received power from on liigh through faith in the 
 Redeemer, who is the way and the truth and the life. 
 Therefore when the apostle has declared that we are saved 
 by grace through faith, that this is a gift of God, not a 
 product of our own power, and that it is not of works, 
 lest any man should boast, he immediately adds: "For 
 we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
 good works, which God hath before ordained that we 
 sliould walk in them." Eph. 2, 10. 
 
 A difficulty has been found in the statement, that the 
 persons who hypocritically say Lord, Lord, and whom 
 the Lord refuses to recognize as His disciples, have cast 
 out devils and done many wonderful works in His name. 
 The assumption is that only true believers could per- 
 form such miracles. But the difficulty is not formidable. 
 There certainly is no ground, on the basis of such an as- 
 sumption, to make the ill-natured charge that the Scrip- 
 tures contradict themselves. They state the truth, which 
 Christians accept, whether they can give a satisfactory 
 explanation of its implications or not. But there is 
 nothing dark or perplexing in the case before us. Even 
 on the gratuitous assumption of fault-finders, that no in- 
 sincere person could perform wonderful works in Jesus' 
 name, there is no contradiction involved; for these hypo- 
 crites may be putting forth a false claim when they ap- 
 peal to the miracles which they have performed, or they 
 may have performed them before they had fallen away 
 and their godliness had become a mere form. But the 
 assumption on which the objection is founded is itself 
 unfounded. "For there shall arise false Christs and 
 false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, 
 insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the 
 very elect." Matt. 24, 24. This is indeed one of the notes 
 of Antichrist, "whose coming is after the working of 
 Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and 
 with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that 
 
310 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 perish." 2 Thess. 2, 9. 10. The Word must stand, and no 
 signs and wonders be allowed to lead us away from that. 
 
 Our Lord's warning is always timely. Satan is ever 
 seeking to deceive us ; the world offers powerful seductions 
 to lure Christians away from the only hope of life; and 
 the flesh, which is always reluctant to follow the motions 
 of the Spirit, renders all the solicitations of the world 
 and the devil plausible. We are all too prone to think 
 that all is well as long as we continue to say Lord, Lord, 
 and are not conscious of any deliberate purpose to re- 
 nounce the Savior. The deceitfulness of our own hearts 
 prevents us from seeing the dangers that so easily beset 
 us, and gradually habits of indifference are formed to 
 what seem unimportant portions of revealed truth and 
 slight deviations from the law of righteousness. And 
 these things grow upon us while we slumber. Each 
 addition appears but a little thing, until the little leaven 
 has leavened the whole lump and we have a name to live, 
 but are dead. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your ad- 
 versary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seek- 
 ing whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the 
 faith." 1 Pet. 5, 8^. 9. 
 
 The voice of warning which our Lord gives us is 
 full of love and wisdom, and the Spirit in our hearts en- 
 treats us to hear it and heed it. Beware of false proph- 
 ets, who come indeed in sheep's clothing, but whose 
 work, whether intentional or not, is that of the wolf. 
 And beware of the self-deceit which thinks itself secure 
 while it says Lord, Lord, though the heart is not in it. 
 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." 
 
SECTION XVI. 
 
 The Wise Builder. 
 
 ( Matthew 7, 24-27. ) 
 
 ^^^HE great sermon concludes with a comparison of 
 ^1^ the hearer's attitude towards it to the building 
 of a house. Some are wise and some are foolish. 
 One man builds on a rock, and the structure withstands 
 all the elements of destruction; another builds on the 
 sand, and when the storms come it is swept away. One 
 hears the Lord's words, believes them, and continues 
 steadfast until the end and is saved. Another hears 
 them and gives no heed, perliaps scoffs at them, or learns 
 to say Lord, Lord, but refuses to open his heart to em- 
 brace the consolation, and receives the grace of God in 
 vain. Alas, that among the many for whom Christ died 
 so few are wise and accept the great salvation! 
 
 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, 
 and doeth them. I will liken him unto a wise man, which 
 built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and 
 the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that 
 house; and it fell not: for it Avas founded upon a rock. 
 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and 
 doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which 
 built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, 
 and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat 
 upon that house; and it fell : and great was the fall of it." 
 The words with which tlie sermon ends have a dole- 
 ful sound, suggesting the solemn words of the prophet: 
 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are 
 not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people 
 
 311 
 
312 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on 
 me. Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician 
 there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my 
 people recovered"? Jer. 8, 20-22. But it need not be a 
 despairing cry that goes up when the words come to our 
 ears. They are spoken as a warning, not as the closing 
 of the doors of grace on a sinful generation. The harvest 
 is not yet past for us who read, and there is a balm in 
 Gilead, and there is a physician there, that the mortal 
 wounds of sin may yet be healed by Him who is mighty 
 to save when all earthly skill and power have failed. 
 The Lord Jesus, who speaks the words, still lives and 
 still calls to all of us : "Come unto me, all ye that labor 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." We who 
 read, still have time to build wiselj^, that our house may 
 not fall when the tempest comes. These things are 
 written for our learning: "he that hath ears to hear, let 
 him hear." "Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, 
 now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6, 2. 
 
 Exhortations to hear the Word of God abound in 
 Holy Scripture. The reason of this is evident. God 
 does His gracious work through His Word. "By the 
 Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the 
 host of them by the breath of His mouth." Ps. 33, 6. The 
 preservation of all things is effected by the same power 
 and means by which they were created. He "upholdeth 
 all things by the Word of His power." Heb. 1, 3. And 
 the Word of His grace and power is the means also by 
 which He reaches and influences the hearts of men. "I 
 am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it -is the 
 power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." 
 Kom. 1, 16. Hence all spiritual life depends on the sin- 
 ner's hearing the heavenly truth and receiving its 
 heavenly power, "being born again, not of corruptible 
 seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which 
 liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, 
 
TFIK WISE BUILDER. 313 
 
 and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The 
 grass withoreth, and tlio flower thereof falleth away; but 
 tlie Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is 
 the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." 
 1 Pet. 1, 23-25. This Word must therefore be heard, if 
 God's will is to be done by men and in men. But hearing 
 and reading the Word is not all that is required. If we 
 merely hear it, and stop at that, the purpose for which 
 God gave it is not attained. It is the means by which 
 He would work faith in our hearts unto salvation and 
 sanctifj^ us for His service and glory. Alas, that so 
 many to whom this word of salvation is sent allow them- 
 selves to be deceived by the vain thought, that if they 
 only hear the Word they are doing a good work and acquire 
 the merit of it, and that this is enough for such as would be 
 plain Christians and make no profession to be saints. The 
 Word is given us as a means of God's grace, and accom- 
 plishes that whereunto it is sent only when it is received 
 into the heart by faith. "Let us therefore fear lest, a prom- 
 ise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should 
 seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel 
 preached as well as unto them; but the Word preached 
 did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them 
 that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into 
 rest." Heb. 4, 1-3. Therefore "receive with meekness 
 the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. 
 But be ye doers of the Word, not hearers only, deceiving 
 your own selves." Jas. 1, 22. 23. 
 
 This self-deception is nothing wonderful in this 
 world of sin, strange as it may seem when it occurs 
 among those who have the light of the Gospel and pro- 
 fess to be Christians. The natural heart is prone to it. 
 Tlie impulses of our nature are not in accord with the 
 righteousness of God. To follow the W^ord of truth 
 revealed from heaven requires the renunciation of self. 
 "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will 
 
314 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
 cross and follow me." Matt. 16, 24. This is not the easy 
 task which some imagine it to be. Our nature strives 
 to retain its sense of its own power and importance, and 
 reason therefore exerts its energies, when the Word of 
 God is heard and conscience is awakened, to bring this 
 Word into harmony with its own inclinations. The right- 
 eousness which God requires is thus reduced to the civil 
 righteousness of external works which nature approves,^ 
 and the outward work is substituted for the inward holi- 
 ness which the divine law demands. The good deeds per- 
 formed and the natural sympathies of our hearts with 
 the form of piety thus produced are readily mistaken for 
 obedience to the Word, and the self-deception is accom- 
 plished. The Pharisees, who were the best product of 
 legal righteousness in their day, and many of whom were 
 no doubt sincere in their profession to be disciples of 
 Moses, may be cited as a notable example. The Roman- 
 ists furnish a similar case in Christendom. They profess 
 to be followers of Christ, and no doubt many of them 
 are sincere in their profession. But they deceive them- 
 selves when they presume that their submission to the 
 pope and their devotion to the papal system of work- 
 righteousness is accepting Christ as their Savior and fol- 
 lowing Him. It is pitiful that such large numbers of 
 nominal Christians, at least some of whom are no doubt 
 sincere in their desire to escape the damnation that is 
 denounced against sin and to flee for refuge to the Savior, 
 are deluded by the fancy that their own righteousness 
 will save them, while they obey a corrupt Church that 
 teaches for doctrines the commandments of men and is 
 satisfied with the form of godliness. Thus it comes 
 that notwithstanding the clear light given us in Holy 
 Scripture and the earnest warning not to be deceived, 
 many build their house upon the sand.' 
 
THE WISE BUILDER. 315 
 
 When the rains descend and the floods come and the 
 winds blow, the inevitable happens to those who, though 
 they desire to be recognized as Christians, have only a 
 natural religion in a Christian garb. Some have trusted 
 in the science which this world teaches, and which flat- 
 ters them with the thought that it furnishes all that 
 need be known or can be known of created things, or of 
 an alleged Creator of man and the earth on which he 
 lives, and of their ultimate destiny. But this revelation 
 in nature, though good and profitable for the uses of 
 this world, knows no Savior and nothing of the purpose 
 of God in regard to man after death has ended his earth- 
 ly career. Some have professed acceptance of the Gospel 
 and its glorious hopes of eternal blessedness through 
 the atoning blood of Christ, but have failed to let the 
 law expose to them their sin and reveal to them the divine 
 curse that is upon it, and thus avoided the strait gate of 
 repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and therefore they continue on in the broad road 
 that leads to destruction, with never a fear, until the 
 storm comes, that their Christian profession will in such 
 a condition avail them nothing. Thus there is a large 
 number of people in the Christian churches who are 
 indifferent about the saving truth of God's Word, or 
 about the holy life which is required to adorn the doc- 
 trine there revealed for our salvation, and who cannot 
 abide the trials which Christians must endure, but in 
 times of temptation fall away. 
 
 Tliese times will surely come, and all who profess to 
 be Christ's must be prepared for them. Those who do 
 not watch and pray, and faithfully use the means of 
 grace, which work and nurture faith in the soul, are build- 
 ing their house on the sand, and it must fall when the" 
 storm comes. The truth will be spoken against, its con- 
 fessors will be ridiculed .and persecuted, and the flesh, 
 secretly in league with the foe from the start, will soon 
 
316 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 bring about an unconditional surrender. The house of 
 the religionist who seeks to rescue himself from the 
 ravages of sin and win a place in heaven by the exer- 
 cise of his natural powers, whether of thought or senti- 
 ment, of will or works, is built upon the sand, and all 
 his efforts, herculean though they may be, will not pro- 
 tect it against the rains and floods and winds that bear 
 down upon it : it must fall, and no attempts to patch it or 
 prop it can avert the calamity. False prophets, "that 
 see vanity and that divine lies," will endeavor to flatter 
 the deluded souls that there is no danger, and that the 
 threatened disaster is all a dream; but the Word of our 
 God shall stand, and what it declares must come to pass. 
 "Because, even because they have seduced my people, 
 saying. Peace, and there was no peace, and one built up 
 a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar : 
 say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, 
 that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; 
 and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall ; and a stormy wind 
 shall rend it." Ezek. 13, 10. 11. No power of earth 
 or hell shall be able to preserve the soul or the church 
 that builds its hopes of salvation on any other founda- 
 tion than that which God has laid in Christ. If people 
 will not heed the instructions and warnings graciously 
 given us in Holy Scripture, they must abide the con- 
 sequences. The house built upon the sand must fall, and 
 great will be the fall of it. 
 
 Since God has given us His Word to guide us, there 
 is no need, as there is no sense, in our trying to find an- 
 other foundation for our hope of eternal blessedness than 
 that which He has laid and which His Word reveals. 
 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and 
 doeth- them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built 
 his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the 
 floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house ; 
 and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." The 
 
THE WISE BUILDER. 317 
 
 Christian faith has a sure foundation. "Thus saith the 
 Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, 
 a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation : 
 he that believeth shall not make haste. Judjpnent also 
 will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet; 
 and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the 
 waters shall overflow the hiding place." Isa. 28, 16. 17. 
 Fleeing to supposed hiding places and refuges of lies to 
 escape from the wrath to come, is only the result of men's 
 own folly who, thinking themselves wise, become fools. 
 We have a Savior, and the Word of God directs us to 
 Him as a mighty Savior. We need no other; there is no 
 other; there can be no other. "Be it known unto you all, 
 and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus 
 Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised 
 from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here be- 
 fore you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught 
 of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 
 Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none 
 other name under heaven given among men whereby we 
 must be saved." Acts 4, 10-12. The professing Christian 
 who neglects this foundation is building his house upon the 
 sand instead of the Rock, which is Christ, and which bids 
 defiance to every stormy wind that blows. 
 
 Nor is it enough that we recognize Christ as our 
 Teacher in the ways of righteousness. Lost souls need 
 something more than a teacher that shows us how to be 
 holy, as God requires us to be, and thus to save ourselves. 
 He is not a Savior by teaching us to be our own saviors. 
 That we cannot be, and such instruction could not give us 
 the consolation which the sinner needs who trembles under 
 the terrors of the law. We do not build upon the Rock 
 as long as we do not know Christ and trust in Him as the 
 Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. He 
 is the Word made flesh to the end that He might fulfill 
 all righteousness in our stead, doing what we are required 
 
B18 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 to do and suffering the wages of our sin. "Surely He hath 
 borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did 
 esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But 
 He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised 
 for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." Isa. 53, 
 5. 6. He alone is our Savior, and to Him alone belongs 
 all the glory of our salvation, "He was delivered for our 
 offences and raised again for our justification." Rom. 
 4, 25. Not what we do, or can do, forms a solid founda- 
 tion on which to build our hope of eternal life, but what 
 the Son of God did and suffered as our gracious Substi- 
 tute. "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent 
 forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to 
 redeem them that were under the law, that we might re- 
 ceive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God 
 hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, 
 crying Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a 
 servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God 
 through Christ." Gal. 4, 4-7. As long as men, though they 
 profess to receive Christ and call themselves Christians, re- 
 fuse to believe that He is the eternal Son of God, very 
 God of very God, who was manifest in the flesh to offer 
 Himself as a sacrifice to make satisfaction for the sins of 
 the world, and to redeem all sinners from the curse that 
 sin has brought upon them, they are not building upon 
 the sure foundation. Eejecting the atonement made by 
 One that was mighty to save, they deprive themselves 
 of all the power and all the comfort that lies in truly 
 receiving Christ as the Savior. "Beloved, believe not every 
 spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God ; because 
 many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby 
 know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth 
 that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every 
 spirit that confesseth not that Jesu-s Christ is come in 
 the flesh is not of God." 1 John 4, 1-3. "Whosoever trans- 
 
THE WISE BUILDER. 319 
 
 gresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath 
 not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he 
 hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any 
 unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not 
 into your house, neither bid him Godspeed." 2 John 9. 
 10. And this doctrine of Christ as the Word made flesh 
 is the doctrine of our salvation through the atonement 
 made by the shedding of His blood for the sins of the 
 world. Not that Christ was a great legislator and a heroic 
 advocate of the right and the good, that we might learn 
 by His precepts and example liow to become good like 
 Him and thus save our souls, is the precious Gospel writ- 
 ten in the Bible for our learning, but that He was de- 
 livered into death for our offences and raised again for 
 our justification. "For all have sinned and come short of 
 the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace 
 through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom 
 God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
 His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission 
 of sins that are past through the forbearance of God, to 
 declare, I sa}^, at this time His righteousness, that He 
 might be just and the justifier of him which believeth 
 in Jesus." Building upon Him as the liock of Ages, the be- 
 liever is safe against all the powers of darkness and of 
 death. 
 
 But they do not truly build on Ilim who, though they 
 claim to preach and confess Christ, still urge the merit and 
 the necessity of good works for salvation, as if something 
 more were needed to fulfill all righteousness than the 
 atoning work of our Savior. It is as ungrateful as it is 
 absurd to think that the stupendous sacrifice which the 
 Son of God made upon the cross must be perfected by 
 adding our sin-stained works of the law, and the royal 
 robe of His merit were rendered beautiful and effective 
 l)y pinning on it the filthy rags of our own righteousness. 
 The only way to enjoy the salvation which our blessed 
 
320 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 Lord secured for all the world is to accept it by faith. 
 "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 
 But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power 
 to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on 
 His name." John 1, 11. 12. The idea that men must do 
 something yet to lay a good foundation, after God has 
 done all and is doing all that the glory may be all His own 
 as His alone is the power, is never suggested by the Scrip- 
 tures, but is a product of their own sinful hearts, by which 
 Satan would lead them away from Christ. "That no man 
 is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident ; for 
 the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith; 
 but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath 
 redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
 a curse for us; for it is written. Cursed is every one that 
 hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might 
 come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might 
 receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3, 
 11-14. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by 
 faith without the deeds of the law." Rom. 3, 28. The law 
 of God is holy and good, and God commands us to walk 
 in it. But because of the sin that is in us no man could 
 fulfill its requirements and be holy as God is holy. There- 
 fore its curse came upon all men because of their trans- 
 gressions. But God, who has no pleasure in the death of 
 the wicked, sent His Son into this world of sin to fulfill 
 all the requirements of the law in our stead. "For He 
 hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 
 Cor. 5, 21. 
 
 And now when He in pursuance of His gracious plan, 
 by His Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts to receive 
 our Savior and accept the great salvation offered freely 
 by His grace, without any merit or worthiness of ours, He 
 wants us to walk worthy of Him according to His holy 
 law ; to which the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us, also 
 
THE WISE BUILDER. 321 
 
 moves us. But the thought is satanic that our cheerful 
 obedience to the law then proceeds from the mercenary 
 motive of settiuj^ up a legal righteousness of our own, to 
 the disparagement of Christ's righteousness received by 
 faith, and to our own exclusion from its gracious bene- 
 fits. That is building our house upon tiie sand, while we 
 profess to be building upon the Kock, which is in full view, 
 but which we fully ignore. "Christ is become of no effect 
 unto you, whosoever of you are justifiwl by the law : ye are 
 fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the 
 hope of righteousness by faith." Gal. 5, 4. 5. The house 
 that is built upon this rock shall never fall, however 
 fierce the storms that beat upon it. 
 
 Self-righteous souls continue, as they did in the time 
 of Christ and later in the days of Luther, to traduce the 
 doctrine of justification by faith alone, without the deeds 
 of the law. With seeming concern to uj)liold true right- 
 eousness, the Pharisees, ancient and modern, deplore the 
 teaching which eliminates all creature merit and rejects 
 all human zeal to promote man's own glory. They profess 
 to believe that the removal of the incitement to holy 
 living based on the necessity of good works to salvation 
 and on the hoi)e of rewards here and hereafter, must tend 
 to undermine true morality and disparage Christianity. 
 But people reason thus because they have not known the 
 Scriptures and have not realized the power of faith. Fie 
 who has experienced the terrors of conscience under the 
 wrath of God denounced by the law against his sins, and 
 who has fled for refuge to the ho])e set before him in the 
 (lospel and found [)eace in believing, is not at all likely 
 now to think of claiming any merit for himself or of buy- 
 ing with his works the peace which the merits of Chi-is(, be- 
 stowed by grace and enibraccHl by faith, have given him 
 without money and without price. The thought cannot be 
 permitted to enter his heart, that the merits of Christ's 
 21* 
 
322 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
 
 bitter suffering and death are insuflflcient and must be sup- 
 plemented by his own good deeds before they can avail 
 for his salvation. It would be an insult to the Savior of 
 which no one could be guilty without renouncing Him and 
 remaining in the bondage of sin. Those who receive Him 
 by faith find rest for their souls, and receiving power to 
 become the children of God rejoice to do His will. They 
 are thus endued with power from on high, as they were 
 not by nature, and the grace which saves their souls by 
 faith makes them zealous workers by love. "Do we then 
 make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we 
 establish the law." Rom. 3, 31. "For we are His work- 
 manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which 
 God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." 
 Eph. 2, 10. He who builds thus, builds wisely, and his 
 building shall not fall when the storm comes. 
 
 "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these 
 sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine; for 
 He taught them as One having authority, and not as the 
 scribes." He expounded the law, but it was that w^e 
 might understand and believe the Gospel. Hear Him. 
 To whom should we go but to Thee, O Christ? Thou hast 
 the words of eternal life. Blessed are they that hear the 
 Word of God and keep it. 
 
 
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