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the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother,' and then come and offer thy gift.

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way

1 Prov. xxv. 9. 1 Tim. ii. 8. Jas. iii. 13-18.

comes to worship his Maker filled with malice, and hatred, and envy, and at war with his brethren, is a hypocritical worshipper, and will incur God's displeasure. God is not deceived; and he will not be mocked. ¶Thy gift. Thy sacrifice. What thou art about to devote to God as an offering. To the altar. The altar was situated in front of the temple, and was the place on which sacrifices were made. See Note on Matt. xxi. 12. To bring a gift to the altar, was expressive of worshipping God, for this was the way in which he was formerly worshipped. Thy brother. Any man, especially any fellow worshipper. Any one of the same religious society. Hath ought. Is offended, or thinks he has been injured by you in any manner. First be reconciled. This means, settle the difficulty; make proper acknowledgment, or satisfaction, for the injury. If you have wronged him, make restitution. If you owe him a debt which ought to be paid, pay it. If you have injured his character, confess it, and seek pardon. If he is under an erroneous impression; it your conduct has been such as to lead him to suspect that you have injured him, make an explanation. Do all in your power, and all you ought to do, to have the matter settled. From this we learn: 1. That in order to worship God acceptably, we must do justice to our fellow men. 2. Our worship will not be acceptable, unless we do all we can to live peaceably with others. 3. It is our duty to seek reconciliation with others when we have injured them. 4. This should be done before we attempt to worship God. 5. This is often the reason why God does not accept our offerings, and we go empty away from our devotions. We do not do what we ought to others; we cherish improper feelings, or refuse to make proper acknowledgments, and God will not accept such attempts to worship him.

25, 26. Agree with thine adversary quickly. This is still an illustration of the

with him; lest at any time the ad versary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou

Prov. xxv. 8. Luke xii. 58, 59. Ch. xviii. 34.

It

sixth commandment. To be in hostility, to go to law, to be litigious, is a violation always, on one side or the other, of the law requiring us to love our neighbour; and our Saviour regards it as a violation of the sixth commandment. While you are in the way with him, says he, that is, while you are going to the court, before the trial has taken place, it is your duty, if possible, to come to an agreement. is wrong to carry the contention to a court of law. See 1 Cor. vi. 6, 7. The consequence of not being reconciled, he expresses in the language of courts. The adversary shall deliver to the judge, and he to the executioner, and he shall throw you into prison. He did not mean to say, that this would be literally the way with God; but that his dealings with those that harboured these feelings, and would not be reconciled with their brethren, were represented by the punishment inflicted by human tribunals. That is, he would hold all such as violators of the sixth commandment, and would punish them accordingly.

There is no propriety in the use sometimes made of this verse, in regarding God as the adversary of the sinner, and urging him to be reconciled to God while in the way to judgment. Nor does the phrase, "thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing," refer to the eternity of future punishment. It is language taken from courts of justice, to illustrate the truth that God will punish men according to justice, for not being reconciled. That punishment will be eternal indeed, but this passage does not prove it. Thine adversary. A man that is opposed to us in law. It here means a creditor; a man who has a just claim on us. In the way with him. While you are going before the court. Before the trial comes on. ¶ The officer. The executioner; or as we should say, the sheriff. The uttermost farthing. The last farthing. All that is due. The farthing was a small coin used in Judea,

shalt by no means come out thence, | adultery with her already in his till thou hast paid the uttermost heart. farthing.

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh 1 on a woman to lust after her hath committed

1 Job xxxi. 1. Prov. vi. 25.

equal to two mites. It was equal to about three halfpence of our money.

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee :3 for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend 2 Or, do cause the to offend. 4 Rom. viii. 13. 1 Cor. ix. 27.

31 Cor. ix. 27.

passion may be, or difficult to part with, yet that we should do it. Shall offend thee. The noun from which the verb offend, in the original, is derived, commonly means a stumbling-block, or a stone placed in the way, over which one might fall. It also means a net, or a certain part of a net against which, if a bird strikes, it springs the net, and is taken. It comes to signify, therefore, any thing by which we fall, or are ensnared; and applied to morals, means any thing by which we fall into sin, or by which we are ensnared. The English word offend means now, commonly, to displease; to make angry; to affront. This is by no means the sense of the word in scripture. It means to cause to fall, or to allure into sin. The eye does this, when it wantonly looks on a woman to lust after her.

27, 28. Ye have heard thou shalt not commit adultery. Our Saviour in these verses explains the seventh commandment. It is probable that the Pharisees had explained this commandment as they had the sixth, as extending only to the external act; and that they regarded evil thoughts and a wanton imagination as of little consequence, or as not forbidden by the law. Our Saviour assures them that the commandment did not regard the external act merely, but the secrets of the heart, and the movements of the eye. That they who indulged a wanton desire; that they who looked on a woman to increase their Cust, have already, in the sight of God, violated the commandment, and committed adultery in the heart. Such was the guilt of David, whose deep and awful¶ Pluck it out, &c. It cannot be supcrime fully shows the danger of indulging in evil desires, and in the rovings of a wanton eye. See 2 Sam. xi. Psa. li. See also 2 Pet. ii. 14. So exceedingly strict and broad is the law of God! And so heinous in his sight are thoughts and feelings, which may be for ever concealed from the world!

29. Thy right eye. The Hebrews, like others, were accustomed to represent the affections of the mind by the members or parts of the body. Rom. vii. 23; vi. 13. Thus the bowels denoted compassion; the heart, affection or feeling; the reins, understanding, secret purpose. An evil eye denotes sometimes envy, Matt. xx. 15; sometimes an evil passion, or sin in general. Mark vii. 21, 22: "Out of the heart proceedeth an evil eye." In this place, as in 2 Pet. ii. 14, it is used to denote strong adulterous passion, unlawful desire, and inclination. The right eye and hand are mentioned, because they are of most use to us, and denote that, however strong the

posed that Christ intended this to be taken literally. His design was to teach that the dearest objects, if they caused us to sin, were to be abandoned; that by all sacrifices and self-denials, we must overcome the evil propensities of our nature, and resist our wanton imaginations. Some of the fathers, however, took this commandment literally. Our Saviour several times repeated this sentiment. See Matt. xviii. 9. Mark ix. 43-47. See also Col. iii. 5. It is profitable for thee. It is better for thee. You will be a gainer by it. ¶One of thy members perish. It is better to deny yourself the gratification of an evil passion here, however much it may cost you, than to go down to hell for ever. Thy whole body be cast into hell. Thy body with all its unsubdued and vicious propensities. This will constitute no small part of the misery of hell. The sinner will be sent there as he is, with every evil desire; every unsubdued propensity; every wicked and troublesome

32 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

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. 31 It hath been said, Whoso-is divorced committeth adultery. ever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement :1

1 Deut. xxiv. 1. Jer. iii. 1. Mark x. 2-9.

passion; and yet with no possibility of gratification. It constitutes our highest notions of misery, when we think of a man filled with anger, pride, malice, avarice, envy, and lust, and no opportunity of gratifying them for ever. This is all that is necessary to make an eternal hell.

31, 32. It hath been said, &c. That is, by Moses. Deut. xxiv. 1, 2. The husband was directed, if he put his wife away, to give her a bill of divorce, that is, a certificate of the fact, that she had been his wife, and that he had dissolved the marriage. There was considerable difference of opinion among the Jews for what causes the husband was permitted to do this. One of their famous schools maintained that it might be done for any cause, however trivial. The other, that adultery only could justify it. The truth was, however, that the husband exercised this right at pleasure; that he was judge in the case, and dismissed his wife when, and for what cause, he chose. And this seems to be agreeable to the law in Deuteronomy. Our Saviour, in Mark x. 2-12, says that this was permitted "on account of the hardness of their hearts; but in the beginning it was not so." God made a single pair, and ordained marriage for life. But Moses found the people so much hardened, so long accustomed to the practice, and so rebellious, that, as a matter of civil appointment, he thought it best not to attempt any change. Our Saviour brought marriage back to its original institution, and declared that whosoever put away his wife henceforward should be guilty of adultery. But one offence, he declared, could justify divorce. This is now the law of God. This was the original institution. This is the only law that is productive of peace and good morals, and the due respect of a wife, and

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thy

Ch. xix. 9. 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11.

the good of children. Nor has any man, or set of men, a right to interfere, and declare that divorces may be granted for any other cause. Whosoever, therefore, are divorced for any cause except the single one of adultery, if they marry again, are, according to the scriptures, living in adultery. No earthly laws can trample down the laws of God, or make that right which he has solemnly pronounced wrong.

33. Thou shalt not forswear thyself. Christ here proceeds to correct another false interpretation of the law. The law respecting oaths is found in Lev. xix. 12. By those laws, men were forbidden to perjure themselves, or to forswear, that is, swear falsely. ¶ Perform unto the Lord. Perform literally, really, and religiously, what is promised in an oath. Thine oaths. An oath is a solemn affirmation, or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed, and imprecating his vengeance, and renouncing his favour, if what is affirmed is false. A false oath is called perjury; or, as in this place, forswearing.

It appears, however, from this passage, as well as from the ancient writings of the Jewish rabbins, that while they professedly adhered to the law, they had introduced a number of oaths in common conversation, and oaths which they by no means considered as binding. For example, they would swear by the temple, by the head, by heaven, by the earth. So long as they kept from swearing by the name of Jehovah, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. This is the abuse which Christ wished to correct. It was the practice of swearing in common conversation, and especially swearing by created things. To do this, he said that

self, but shalt perform unto the | lem; för it is the city of the great Lord thine oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusa

1 Lev. xix. 12. Num. XXX. 2. Deut. xxiii. 23. Ch. xxiii. 16-22. Jas. v. 12.

they were mistaken in their views of the sacredness of such oaths. They were very closely connected with God; and to trifle with them, was a species of trifling with God. Heaven is his throne; the earth his footstool; Jerusalem his peculiar abode; the head was made by him, and was so much under his control, that we could not make one hair white or black. To swear by these things, therefore, was to treat irreverently objects created by God; and could not be without guilt.

Our Saviour here evidently had no reference to judicial oaths, or oaths taken in a court of justice. It was merely the foolish and wicked habit of swearing in private conversation; of swearing on every occasion, and by every thing, that he condemned. This he does condemn in a most unqualified manner. He himself, however, did not refuse to take an oath in a court of law. Matt. xxvi. 63, 64. So Paul often called God to witness his sincerity, which is all that is meant by an oath. See Rom. i. 9; ix. 1. Gal. i. 20. Heb. vi. 16. Oaths were, moreover, prescribed in the law of Moses, and Christ did not come to repeal those laws. Deut. vì. 13; x. 20.

34, 35. Swear not at all. That is, in the manner which he proceeds to specify. Swear not in any of the common and profane ways customary at that time. By heaven; for it is God's throne. To swear by that was, if it meant anything, to swear by him that sitteth thereon. Matt. xxiii. 22. ¶The earth-it is his footstool. Swearing by that, therefore, is really swearing by God. Or, perhaps it means: 1. We have no right to pledge, or swear by, what belongs to God; and 2. That oaths by inanimate objects are unmeaning and wicked. If they are real oaths, they are by a living Being, who has power to take vengeance. A footstool is that on which the feet rest when sitting. The

King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for what

3 Rev. xxi. 2, 10.

term is applied to the earth, to denote how lowly and humble an object it is when compared with God. Jerusalem. Ch. ii. 1. City of the great King. That is of God; called the great King, because he was the King of the Israelites, and Jerusalem was the capital of the nation, and the place where he was peculiarly honoured as King.

36. Thy head. This was a common oath. The Gentiles also, many of them, used this oath. To swear by the head was the same as to swear by the life; or to say, I will forfeit my life if what I say is not true. God is the author of the life, and to swear by that, therefore, is the same as to swear by him. One hair, &c. You have no control or right over your own life. You cannot even change one single hair. God has all that control; and it is therefore improper and profane to pledge what is God's gift and God's property; and it is the same as swearing by God himself.

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37. Your communication. Your word; what you say. Be, yea. Yes. This does not mean that we should always use the word yea, for it might as well have been translated yes. But it means that we should simply affirm, or declare that a thing is so. More than these. than these affirmations. Profane oaths come of evil. Cometh of evil. Is evil. Proceeds from some evil disposition or purpose. And from this we may learn: 1. That profane swearing is always the evidence of a depraved heart. To trifle with the name of God, or with any of his works, is itself most decided proof of depravity. 2. That no man is believed any sooner in common conversation because he swears to a thing. When we hear a man swear to a thing, it is pretty good evidence that he knows what he is saying to be false, and we should be on our guard. He that will break the third commandment, will not hesitate to break

soever is more than these cometh of evil.1

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

1 Eph. iv. 25. Col. iii. 9. Jas. v. 12. Exod. xxi. 24.

the ninth also. And this explains the fact that profane swearers are seldom believed. The man who is always believed, is he whose character is beyond suspicion in all things; who obeys all the laws of God; and whose simple declaration therefore is enough. A man that is truly a Christian, and leads a christian life, does not need oaths and profaneness to make him believed. 3. It is no mark of a gentleman to swear. The most worthless and vile; the refuse of mankind; the drunkard and the prostitute, swear as well as the best dressed and educated gentleman. No particular endowments are requisite to give a finish to the art of cursing. The basest and meanest of mankind swear with as much tact and skill as the most refined; and he that wishes to degrade himself to the very lowest level of pollution and shame, should learn to be a common swearer. Any man has talents enough to learn to curse God, and his fellow men, and to pray -for every man who swears, prays that God would sink him and others into hell. No profane man knows but that God will hear his prayer, and send him to the regions of woe. 4. Profaneness does no man any good. No man is the richer, or wiser, or happier for it. It helps no one's education, or manners. It commends no one to any society. The profane man must be, of course, shut out from female society; and no refined intercourse can consist with it. It is disgusting to the refined; abominable to the good, insulting to those with whom we associate; degrading to the mind; unprofitable, needless, and injurious in society; and awful in the sight of God. 5. God will not hold the profane swearer guiltless. Wantonly to profane his name, to call his vengeance down, to curse him on his throne, to invoke damnation, is perhaps of all offences the most awful. And there is not in the universe more cause of amazement at his forbearance, than that God does not rise in vengeance, and smite the profane

39 But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee* on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee

3 Prov. xx. 22; xxiv. 29. 4 Isa. 1. 6.

swearer at once to hell. Verily in a world like this, where his name is profaned every day, and hour, and moment, by thousands, God shows that he is slow to anger; and that his mercy is without bounds.

38-41. An eye for an eye, &c. This command is found in Exod. xxi. 24. Lev. xxiv. 20. Deut. xix. 21. In these places it was given as a rule to regulate the decisions of judges. They were to take eye for eye, and tooth for tooth, and to inflict burning for burning. As a judicial rule, it is not unjust. Christ finds no fault with the rule as applied to magistrates, and does not repeal it. But, instead of confining it to magistrates, the Jews had extended it to private conduct, and made it the rule by which to take revenge. They considered themselves justified by this rule to inflict the same injury on others that they had received. Against this our Saviour remonstrates. He declares that the law had no reference to private revenge; that it was given only to regulate the magistrate; and that their private conduct was to be regulated by different principles.

The general principle which he laid down was, that we are not to resist evil; that is, as it is in the Greek, not to set ourselves against an evil person who is injuring us. But even this general direction is not to be pressed too strictly. Christ did not intend to teach that we are to see our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves, rather than to make resistance. The law of nature, and all laws, human and divine, have justified self-defence, when life is in danger. It cannot surely be the intention to teach that a father should sit by coolly, and see his family butchered by savages, and not be allowed to defend them. Neither natural nor revealed religion ever did, or ever can teach this doctrine. Our Saviour immediately explains what he means by it. Had he intended to refer it to a case where life is in danger, he would most surely have mentioned it. Such a case

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