Called to His KINGDOM in HEAVEN, and may be Counted amongst the Great and Exalted There, Where, to be the Least, is to be in the unabating fruition of Such Preternatural Joy, as the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of Man to conceive.

The Blessed JESUS, having thus Laid down His Doctrine in general terms, Proceeds to exemplify It by an apposite description of the hollow religious profession and practice of the Scribes and Pharisees, who were sufficiently observant of the outward ceremonies of the faith they professed, and, for the sake of the deference and praise of their Fellow-Creatures, put on the appearance of sanctity and devotion, whilst, at the same time, the hearts of too many of them were dead to all the profitable works of Faith, and callous to all the Influences of DIVINE Grace Striving within them. They must have wilfully blinded their own Spiritual eyes, and stifled the warnings and condemning voice of Conscience, or Reflection would have convinced them, since they had not worshipped JEHOVAH in Spirit and in truth, but had made this World the God of their idolatry, that The OMNISCIENT could not be Pleased with their lip-service, and would not, therefore, in the Righteousness of His Judgments, Honour them, when He Cometh in His KINGDOM. Insincerity between Man and Man is an injustice to Oneself, since it sinks and degrades us even in our own estimation, and obliterates the beauty and dignity of our Nature; lowering us by our own admission in the scale of Human merit, and thereby generating in us the hellish vices of envy, hatred, and malice towards those, who shame us by being true of heart, and who would especially blush to be insincere towards GOD. To proclaim aloud His Praise, and outwardly to do Him homage and pay Him worship, when inwardly we deny Him, because our hearts are far from Him, is, in the spirit of the most consummate folly and weakness, to give up the substance for the shadow, the Bread, which Nourisheth unto Eternal Life, for the stone, which destroyeth with a fell destruction: since what is the utmost grasp and bound of temporal influence in power, wealth, and proud and selfish and sensual gratification? how short, how precarious, by how Few attained, and how disappointing even in the enjoyment!-Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!-By Many, when obtained, soon lost in the fickleness of this World's favours, and by None carried beyond the grave: Beyond which they will arise as just instruments of accusation to exclude the Soul of the Accused, then risen to an inglorious immortality, from the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, alas, for ever!

A 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. But I Say unto you, That Whosoever is angry with his Brother, without a cause, shall be in danger of the Judgment; and Whosoever shall say to his Brother, "Raca!" shall be in danger of the Council; But Whosoever shall say, "Thou Fool!" shall be in danger of Hell-fire. 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!-21 to 24.

Here the axe is laid to the root of the evil; it is applied to the heart, where the thought of evil takes root, and where it should and can most easily be stifled in its birth. We are Warned, by the dread of everlasting punishment, against cherishing even anger (which in its extremity is often the cause of murder,) against Others without cause; and are elsewhere Commanded, if our anger should, under strong provocation, arise, in the demonstration of it, to sin not, neither to let the Sun go down upon it. In proportion to the extent of our anger, if groundlessly given way to, in acts of inward malice and outward resentment, though falling far short of murderous intent, will be the awfulness of the Judgment and the severity of the sentence Passed on us in the High Councils

of HEAVEN, if we do not repent in time, and strive to restrain our passion, and put on the Spirit of meekness and gentleness and peace. Amidst the different degrees of offending, the last degree of Punishment, whether intended to be conveyed to our conceptions literally or figuratively, (literally as being indeed a fire, which will never be quenched, and as preying upon our feeling as burnings do here upon our present corporeal sense, only in an infinitely more extreme degree; or whether, figuratively, it be meant to picture that Spiritual fire, which our own Self-accusing and Self-condemning consciences will raise up, and which will never be extinguished,) is matter of present uncertainty, and not unreasonable doubt: but either alternative must be very terrible, and is appallingly distressing in the contemplation; and if any thing like the raging and unallayable fever of remorse arises to our conception, it is the greater, and may be the more probable evil of the two. The Admonition to seek reconciliation with our Fellow-Mortal, ere we hope to find our Common MAKER Willing to Extend His towards us, is universally applicable; all Mankind being Brethren, as Creatures of The Same GOD and Heirs of the Same hope of Salvation, and should not be confined to the limited range of Members of the same Kindred or Family: though as we are particularly injoined to do good to Those of the Household of Faith, so should we, in an especial manner, abstain from harbouring towards any of them uncharitable feelings; for so to offend against one's own Brethren, where the bond of union, both Spiritually and Naturally, should be most strong, is still more to endanger our hope of Pardon and Reconciliation from An All-Pure and Omniscient GOD: it is vitally warring against the Precept and Principle of The Great ADVOCATE of Brotherly Love, Who Came amongst us to Diffuse Peace and Good-Will upon Earth.

Self-examination should be a daily exercise with every one of us, but more extensively and especially should it precede an approach to the House, and still more to the Altar of GOD: if, as the result of that investigation, we discover that we have injured our Neighbours, and have it in our power to make reparation, or, at least, acknowledgment, under an exprest feeling of sorrow, let us do so ere we venture to obtrude ourselves into the conscious and peculiar Presence of GOD, Who is alike Omniscient and Omnipotent; for though with an offering in our hand, and an avowal of penitence and lively sorrow for transgressing His Commandments generally, yet if we withhold the best proofs of repentance in our dealings with the Neighbours we have injured, we withhold from Him the sacrifice most Acceptable to Him, and prove ourselves wanting in that consistency, which is essential to make up the character of a true Christian.

Thou shalt not kill, was a Law Written by the Finger of GOD on the heart of Man from his first Creation. Cain's remorse, at his so early infraction of It, spoke, in more than language, his just sense of It. The Promulgation of It in a Code of Laws Delivered by The ALMIGHTY to Moses, as set forth in the 20th Chapter of Exodus, and repeated in the 5th of Deuteronomy, was only to Impress on the Israelites a deeper observance of It, and to present a concise and striking Record of The DIVINE Will, for their observance on entering a Land of Idolatry. The Favourite Disciple of our Blessed SAVIOUR, Who Himself was Love, and Gentleness and Forbearance and Forgiveness Personified, followed up this Lesson he had received from his LORD and MASTER, treasuring it up in his heart, and thus diffusing it in his writings, himself holding the Pen of Inspiration: Whosoever hateth his Brother is a Murderer; and ye know, that no Murderer hath Eternal Life abiding in him! Nay, he establishes that it is not sufficient not to hate, but that on the contrary we must bring our hearts to cherish Brotherly love unlimitedly; for he adds, 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 iii, 15. 14.

Agree with thine Adversary quickly, whiles 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.—25, 26.

If this be policy, as applied to Human concerns, which undoubtedly it is, yet is it figuratively incalculably more so, as respects Spiritual and Eternal interests. To have our GOD our Adversary, by having despoiled Him of His Right of Homage, and withheld from Him His Dues of Service, by opposing ourselves to His Laws and by breaking His Commandments; and not to strive to be Reconciled to Him at the first instant of conscious and Self-accusing reflection, when we should justly fear that a short interval, and possibly the very next moment, may leave us without the power of proving a penitent sorrow, is an awful and Self-imposed blindness to our Eternal Welfare, and a daring neglect of the Gracious Forbearance of our CREATOR, and a rejection of the Merciful Offices of our DIVINE MEDIATOR; and yet how apt we are to be so slothful and remiss in any effort to acknowledge the Forbearance and seek the Forgiveness of GOD, that we not only endanger the Soul's Dismissal from the Glories of His Presence, but deeply hazard its entire surrender to the captivity of Satan, and its Destiny to Everlasting Burnings. May we, with an earnest desire after The ALMIGHTY'S Reconciliation, pray unto Him, whilst He may be Found, and sue unto Him, while He is Near; ever bearing in mind, what a fearful thing it would be to fall into the Hands of The Living GOD, when He could not but justly be Incensed with our ingratitude and perverseness, and when the Door of DIVINE Mercy, in Observance of His Word, Which never Faileth, would Close for ever against us.

The term Adversary may be understood to include the character of Creditor or Accuser as its object, and by the context should seem to be so used on this occasion. And to whom can we owe so much, or be so everlastingly indebted as to our HEAVENLY FATHER, Who hath not only Created us, but freely Given us all things that we enjoy, and has so Immeasurably Added to Such Bounty, by the Gift of His Only SON to Obtain for us His Pardon and Reconciliation. However, therefore, we may hitherto have offended against so Gracious A LORD and MASTER, and so Merciful A MEDIATOR, let us no longer neglect or break through His Laws, All of Which are Holy, Just, and Pure, and Abounding, as experienced in the observance, with Spiritual Peace and Consolation.

St. Luke's narrative is thus given: When thou goest with thine Adversary to the Magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence, that thou mayest be delivered from him! lest he hale thee to the Judge, and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer, and the Officer cast thee into Prison: I Tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.-Chap. xii, 58, 59. An Admonition of a like tendency had proceeded from Solomon: Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy Neighbour hath put thee to shame! debate thy cause with thy Neighbour himself! [Prov. xxv, 8, 9.] and the exhortation of the Evangelical Prophet forms an appropriate conclusion to these reflections, Seek ye The LORD, while He may be Found! call ye upon Him while He is Near! Let the Wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous Man his thoughts; and let him return unto The LORD! and He will have Mercy upon him; and to our GOD, for He will Abundantly Pardon.-Isa. lv, 5, 6.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery! but I Say unto you, That Whosoever looketh on a Woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.-27, 28.

As The LORD Accepteth the Will of a penitent Sinner to amend his ways,

when opportunity of evincing that will to Man is withheld; so are the corrup-
tions and evil propensities of the heart and spirit of Man, which are alone known
to ourselves, and to GOD, (Who Knoweth all things, even the deep things of
the heart,) obnoxious and offensive to His Pure Eyes, though those imagin-
ings of evil do not break out into action, but are checked by outward and
controulling circumstances from gratification. To lust after a Woman in the
spirit of concubinage or adultery, is to defile our Soul,-to lust with her is to
defile two: to this extent in the Eye of The ALMIGHTY is the difference.
The Man who would, if he could, gratify his passion unwarrantably, is as impure
in the Sight of GOD, and as unfit for the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, and to
stand before the Throne of Righteousness, and to breathe amidst the Spirits of
Perfect Holiness, as he who hath satisfied his accursed appetite. Yet, although
amongst too Many, such and similar evil thoughts will almost involuntarily
obtrude themselves and rise up in the imaginations, more particularly at that
trying period of Life, when the passions are most strong, and the reason not
predominant or matured; yet if they be not dwelt upon or indulged in, but
as instantly dismissed with condemnation, and prayer for a continued mastery
over them, as destructive of inward peace, and hateful in the Sight of HEAVEN,
from Whom they cannot be concealed, then, through the Ever Ready Help of
GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT will a victory have been gained over sin and the subtle
devices of Satan; in comparison of which any worldly conquest or acquisition is
poor indeed. The grievous error on the first openings of lascivious inclinations
is in not at once checking them, and diverting the mind to the consciousness of
their iniquity and their danger; for as Solomon, who spoke from sad experience,
forcibly asks, Can a Man take fire in his bosom, and not be burned?—Prov. vi, 27.
Can he feed a flame within him of so hellish a nature as lust, and not become its
Victim? Let us not give our thoughts to evil, for our thoughts are heard in
HEAVEN. Had David turned away his eye, when the exposed and attractive
person of Bathsheba, first presented itself to his view, what a succession of guilt
would he have restrained himself from committing. Job, in the consciousness
of the danger in yielding to the first impressions of sin, said, I made a covenant
with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? Doth not The AL-
MIGHTY See my ways, and Count all my steps?-Chap. xxxi, 1 and 4.
Solomon thus forcibly and beautifully admonishes the Young, whose passions
grow with their growth, and need the continual and guarded check of Prudence
and Discretion, and the supplicated Controul of The HOLY SPIRIT: My Son,
keep thy Father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy Mother; bind them
continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck! When thou goest, it shall
lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk
with thee; for the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs
of instruction are the way of Life, to keep thee from the evil Woman, from the
flattery of the tongue of a strange Woman: lust not after her beauty in thine heart,
neither let her take thee with her eyelids! for by means of a whorish Woman a Man
is brought to a piece of bread; and the Adultress will hunt for the precious Life.—
Prov. vi, 20 to 26.

And 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 for thee, that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole Body should be cast into Hell.-29, 30.

These are strong figurative expressions, intimating that if Self-government
and Self-denial cannot be attained, otherwise than by the sacrifice of parts of our

K K

natural system, the expedient, however cruel and unnatural it may seem to other than Spiritual eyes, of cutting asunder the parts offending, should be resorted to, because the restraint over violent passion cannot be otherwise attained: that rather than exercise our power of speech in blaspheming our GOD, it would be well for us to root out our tongues, the instruments of such impiousness, if, at the same time, we could have confidence in ourselves, that our hearts would not take GOD'S Holy Name in vain: that rather than look with an eye of scorn on the Meek and Suffering JESUS, or of pride and oppression, of malice and ill-will on His humble and faithful Followers, we should do well to pluck out the eye, as the instrument of our injustice and ingratitude, if we felt that our consciences might, in some degree, be so appeased, and that we could with confidence of success, therefore, pray that such sin might not be laid to our charge: or, that rather than shed a Brother's blood we should suffer to be amputated the limb that would strike the blow. Where the heart has been suffered to dwell on the contemplation of any hellish project, this act of Self-violence is, perhaps, the only or the surest remedy: to obviate, therefore, the necessity of having recourse to such an afflictive and disabling antidote to this more than mortal poison, let us anxiously study and strive to apply, as an effectual and yet grateful specific, in an earlier stage of the malady, by plucking out the mental eye and cutting off the hand of the heart, that would offend by endeavouring to draw us from the paths of purity, of piety, and peace.

St. Mark, in his account of this part of our SAVIOUR'S Address, enters more particularly into the descriptive horrors of that Hell, which it so behoves us, at every sacrifice, to escape: If thy hand offend thee, cut it off! it is better for thee to enter into Life maimed, than having two hands to go into Hell, into the Fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the Fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off! it is better for thee to enter halt into Life, than having two feet to be cast into Hell, into the Fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the Fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out! it is better for thee to enter into The KINGDOM of GOD with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into Hell-fire; where their worm dieth not, and the Fire is not quenched.-Chap. ix, 43 to 48. If Fornicators, who exist amongst married Men, as well as unmarried Persons, by inordinate concupiscence, and if Adulterers cannot otherwise check their evil propensities, which will inevitably exclude them from the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, it might be well for them to be amongst those, who have made themselves Eunuchs for the KINGDOM of HEAVEN'S sake.-Matt. xix, 12. St. Paul's doctrine upon this point is likewise deeply impressive: If we live after the flesh, we shall die; but if we, through The SPIRIT, do mortify the deeds of the Body, we shall live: [Rom. viii, 13.] and he means die the second death, from which there will, it is feared, be no resurrection ever to Glory. Let us, therefore, with St. Paul, pray for the Aid of The HOLY SPIRIT within us, and strive to keep under our bodies, and check their inordinate passions, and bring them into subjection to the law of purity and holiness. [1 Cor. ix, 27.] Let us learn habitually to set our affections on Things Above, not on things on the Earth; and to mortify our members, lest the Wrath of GOD Come on us, as Children of Disobedience.-Col. iii, 2. 5, 6.

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, committeth adultery.-31, 32.

The union of matrimony, sought as it is in the Face of GOD, and as it always ought to be on godly principles, should be sacredly observed in the