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after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." How awful is this saying! Is there not then an irregular thought, however deeply hidden in the heart, which can be indulged without the commission of this sin? How great is that purity to which we thus find ourselves called; and how are all men brought in guilty before God! Blessed," our SAVIOUR had already said, are the pure heart; for they shall see God." The SON OF GOD came from heaven that He might purify the sons of Levi; and baptize men with the Holy Ghost and with fire; that He might put his law in their inward parts, and write it on the table of their hearts: He came to abolish that scanty and superficial system of morality, which the Scribes and Pharisees had established; and with which the people of all ages have been apt to satisfy themselves: He came to substitute, in the place of it, a religion which should govern the most secret thoughts, and should be seated in the heart; a religion which, by discovering to man the exalted nature of true purity, should also reveal to him his own corruption; should teach him, therefore, to come as a sinner to his GoD, and to trust in that Sacrifice which in due time was to be offered up for the sins of the world.

The words of CHRIST in this passage may seem strict. Let us, however, ask ourselves, whether the most effectual means of preventing the highest degrees of a sin, be not to check that sin in the first rising thought. Men commonly are betrayed into great crimes, nearly in the following manner. First, an evil thought occurs; and they indulge it, saying; "Surely, there can be no harm in allowing to my imagination so trifling a latitude as this." The sin is, at first, despised as too little to deserve regard. The evil thought having been allowed to enter, a second evil thought is added to the first. The mind is now possessed; and the imagination becomes inflamed. And, now, the temptation, which had been despised for its insignificance, appears so powerful (as Satan in this stage of the trial would persuade us) that it is no longer possible to resist it; and the same

sin, which was at first tolerated through presumption, is at last submitted to in despair.

How merciful then is our SAVIOUR in thus inspiring us with that fear of the risings of sin, by which we are led to resist its first assault. May we then learn to watch the heart. May we resist sin there. And may we remember that not only the sin here spoken of, but that all sin takes its rise in the same manner; and must be resisted in its first beginnings. May we direct our attention to the secret motions of our own minds. May God, by His Spirit, give us light to discern not only every licentious, but every envious, angry, vain, and self-exalting thought, every discontented and repining thought; and give us grace to suppress them, before they break out into words or actions. May He cleanse all the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit.

XIV.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 29, 30.

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.

OUR SAVIOUR in this passage, as in many others, speaks metaphorically. The right eye and the right hand are some of our most valuable members. They are so dear to us that no man would be willing to part with them, unless it were for the sake of saving his life. If, indeed the life can be saved by sacrificing one of these, and by no other means, then undoubtedly a man may be supposed wiling to

make the sacrifice. Such is our way of judging in temporal things; and it is by appealing to our conduct in common life, that our SAVIOUR often teaches us spiritual wisdom. "If," says He, "thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee;" that is, if there be any thing, however dear to thee, which causes thee to sin, part with it, and remove it far from thee; for it is better to enter into life, having one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. As it is wise in the case of the body to preserve the life at the expense of having only one eye: so it is wise, also, in the case of the soul, to sacrifice the dearest object rather than to retain it at the hazard of the life of the soul. So, also, if our right hand offend us, we are told to "cut it off, and cast it from us; for it is better to enter into life having one hand; than having two hands, to be cast into hell fire." Our SAVIOUR, by repeating his expression, increases the strength of His remark: and by speaking of plucking out an eye, in the one case, and of cutting off a hand, in the other, He seems to intimate, that not one favourite object only, but every favourite object which proves an occasion of sin, must be sacrificed. In one of the other Evangelists, (St. Mark, ix. 44, 46, 48,) He is represented as awfully addressing Himself to our fears on this subject, by adding the words, "where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." He, who so loves his sin as to say that he cannot part with it, would do well to weigh these tremendous words of CHRIST. It may be hard to part with a favourite sin; but it is still harder to dwell with everlasting burnings. It may be a painful task to remove ourselves out of the way of a temptation; but it will be still more painful, after having been taken in the snare of the Devil, and led captive by him at his will, to share the condemnation of that Evil Spirit, and to be commanded to depart, accursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels.

The fear of hell is often a salutary and most necessary fear. Many a man would never break from his sins with

out it. Our lusts and passions are often very importunate; they seem as if they would not be refused indulgence. They are not always to be checked by fears of an inferior sort. The condemnation of the soul must be set before men, as the sure consequence of persisting in the indulgence of a favourite passion; for CHRIST himself hath said it. Even the compassionate SAVIOUR hath said it. He, who was so merciful as to go about healing all manner of sick-He, who came down from heaven to save us, and to die for us, nevertheless cannot, will not, save us, (as is plain from this as well as from many other passages,) if we will hold fast our iniquity. We ought, therefore, to learn, from this metaphorical expression of CHRIST, the danger of living on in any wilful sin.

But we may also learn from it, secondly, the peril of remaining in the way of temptation. Some persons, finding themselves repeatedly betrayed into great guilt, and being much wounded in their consciences, resolve to yield no more to the sin which has so often grieved them, and determine, also, to avoid in some degree those societies, those circumstances, and those places, which have proved the occasion of their falling. They resolve to avoid these in some degree, but not in a sufficient degree; for, if the sin be fallen into again and again, it is then rendered plain by experience, that they ought to remove themselves still farther from temptation. But they will not advance a sufficient length in the case in question: that is, they will not proceed so far as to contradict some worldly companion who is their tempter; or to sacrifice some worldly interest which is their snare; or to abstain from some scene of dissipation, where their virtue is put to greater trial than it can bear. Such persons, though they have made, it is true, some feeble opposition to the tyrant sin which has possession of them, can by no means be said, according to the strong language of our SAVIOUR, to have plucked out their right eye, or to have cut off their right hand and cast it from them. They have as yet been on the plan of sparing

themselves; they have not had the heart to pay the price which is necessary for their deliverance; and hence they continue enslaved. Let such persons gather instruction from these words of CHRIST. Let them remember that even the most innocent thing, if it prove a snare, must be plucked out, and cast from them, though it be done with as much pain as if they were plucking out the eye, or cutting off the hand, which is most dear to them.

It is better surely to do this, it is better surely to affront our friend, to sacrifice our profit, or to absent ourselves from our accustomed place of entertainment, than having kept our friend, having increased our wealth, and having retained our amusement, to be cast into hell fire. It is better to be safe landed in Heaven, though at the expense of having in this world bereaved ourselves of some things which seemed as dear to us, as if they had been a part of ourselves. It is better to enter into life halt or maimed, than, having two eyes or two hands, to be cast into hell fire; where, as already quoted from St. Mark, "the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

XV.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 31, 32.

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 shali put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

CHRIST in this place, extends the law of Moses; for that law had allowed divorces to take place in cases in which CHRIST no longer permits them. It however had never been intended, that divorces should become so light and