THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 105 compel you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and from him who would borrow of you, turn not away. You have heard that it was said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:" But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you: that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what praise do you deserve? Do not even the Gentiles the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? do not even the tax-gatherers so? And if you do good to those who do good to you, what praise do you deserve? sinners do even the same. And if you lend to those of whom you hope to receive, what praise do you deserve? sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much in return. But do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Highest: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Be you, then, perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. the vesture without seam, woven throughout, for which lots were cast. (John xix. 23). Should one compel you to go one mile. - It was a custom, introduced by the Persians and adopted by the Romans, to transmit intelligence by couriers, placed at regular distances. These couriers were authorized to impress horses or men for the public service, while on their journeys. The practice is still followed by the Turks, and resistance is punishable with death. Take heed that you do not your good deeds to be seen by men; otherwise you have no reward of your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do, in the Synagogues, and in the streets, that men may give them honor. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing; and your alms being in secret, your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray be not like the hypocrites, who are wont to pray standing in the Synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But do you, when you pray, enter your closet, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, use not idle repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think they shall be heard for their many words. Be not you, then, like them; for - The Who pray standing on the corners of the streets. Mahommedans of Palestine, when overtaken by the hour of prayer, suspend their employments and pray, even in the most public places. Spreading their outer garments on the ground, and turning their faces towards Mecca, they go through certain gestures, and forms of prayer, and then resume their previous employments, as if nothing had happened. Idle repetitions. — The Jewish Rabbis taught that, “Whoever multiplies prayer is heard," "Whoever prolongs prayer, his prayer does not return to him empty, and he that is long in prayer, his days shall be prolonged." The Moslems are required to repeat some expressions thirty times, and others, as often as a hundred. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 107 your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Do you, then, pray in this manner, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our needful bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And bring us not into trial, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you forgive not men their offences, your Father will not forgive your offences. Moreover, when you fast, be not like the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; that you may not appear to men to fast, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and worms consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moths nor worms consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The light of the body is the eye; therefore if your eye be clear your whole body will be full of light; Anoint your head. - The richer class of Jews anointed their bodies daily with sweet or olive oil. The custom still exists among eastern nations. It preserves the skin soft, and in hot climates conduces greatly to health. Worms. An insect is here referred to which destroys wheat and other grains. but if your eye be evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light within you be dark, how great is your darkness! No man can serve two masters; for he will hate one and love the other; or he will adhere to one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. For this reason I say to you; Be not anxious about your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life a greater gift than food, and the body than raiment? Behold the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious about raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I tell you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. And if God so clothes the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not anxious, therefore, say Lilies. A flower called the Hûleh lily grows luxuriantly among the hills of Nazareth, and on the borders of the Lake of Galilee. Dr. Thomson describes it as being very large, its three inner petals meeting above and forming a gorgeous canopy, such as art never approached, or King sat under. It is of a downy softness, the corolla white, but every petal marked with a single streak of bright purple down the middle. The gazelles feed upon it, and owing to the scarcity of fuel, it is, with the myrtle, rosemary, and cinnamon grasses, gathered and used in heating ovens. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 109 ing, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we be clothed? - all which things the Gentiles seek; -for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of them all; but seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you in addition. Therefore, be not anxious about the morrow; let the morrow care for itself. Enough for each day is its own evil. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will men give into your bosom; for the same measure that you deal will be dealt to you again. Why behold you the mote which is in your brother's eye, and perceive not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in your eye, when you perceive not the beam that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! first cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to pull the mote out of your brother's eye. cast your Give not what is holy to dogs, nor pearls before swine, lest the swine trample them under foot, and the dogs turn and rend you. Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son ask for bread, will |