been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 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 is divorced committeth adultery. 33. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the 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 iii. 5: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." 31. Hath been said. Not in the Old Testament, but by its erring interpreters. 32. But I say. Ever speaking with authority. Saving for . . . fornication. Other and lesser causes of divorce being common. Causeth her to commit adultery-i.e. tempts her to do so, by setting her at liberty to marry another. Ch. xix. 3, 9: The Pharisees came to our Lord, "tempting Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? He answered, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." That is divorced-i.e. unlawfully divorced. 33. Not forswear thyself-i.e. evade the obligation of an oath. Deut. xxiii. 21: "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord | thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee." 34. Swear not at all—i.e. evasively, as by heaven, or by the earth, or by Jerusalem; nor lightly, where there is only occasion for a Yea, yea, or a Nay, nay. Oaths taken solemnly on adequate occasions not forbidden, e.g. "Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not" (Gal. i. 20). Oaths sometimes even commanded e.g. Exod. xxii. 11: "Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good." Nay, God Himself, for our "strong consolation (Heb. vi. 18), when He "made promise to Abraham," sware by Himself"wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath" (Heb. vi. 13, 17). Neither by heaven; for it is Jerusalem; for it is the city of the Great 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 whatsover is more than these cometh of evil. 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39. but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy God's throne. Isaiah lxvi. 1: "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is My throne." 35. Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool. Isaiah lxvi. 1: "And the earth is My footstool." Neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the Great King. Ps. xlviii. 2: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King." 36. Neither. by thy head, ... canst not make one hair white or black. For it is God's workmanship. The meaning is, that neither of these three modes of swearing by the creatures avoid the taking of the Name of the Creator in vain; for GOD is implicitly in an oath by heaven, by the earth, by the head-all created things having a relation to Him. Therefore you, by confining the force of the third commandment to its letter, destroy the law; I, by unfolding its spirit, fulfil it. mently, If I should die with Cometh of evil-i.e. of the evil weakness which is in our fallen nature, which makes a solemn form of swearing needful. Unfallen beings need no oaths in their intercourse with one another. R. V. "cometh of the evil one." 66 38. Hath been said... eye for an eye. This retaliation on the part of the law was in order to restrain from crime-e.g. Lev. xxiv. 19: If a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him "—and to hinder private retaliation. You, by extending it to non-judicial retribution, destroy the law. 39. Resist not evil-R.V. "him that is evil"-i.e. forbear to retaliate on your injurer, as in opposing the wrong by the same means. Rom. xii. 17: "Recompense to no man evil for evil.” 37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay-i.e. speak with directness, meaning what you say. Simon Peter erred, when, instead of "Nay, nay," "he spake the more vehe- |-i.e. bear a further wrong rather Shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love than risk doing a wrong. This very indignity was to be borne by our Lord Himself: Isaiah 1. 6: "I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." Christ is not leaving men defenceless against outrages, for S. Paul says of the magistrate that "he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil" (Rom. xiii. 4); but is only curbing revenge, and bringing about a moral victory, gained not by retaliation, but by self-control. 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13: 'Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat." 40. If... sue.. and take coat, let him have thy cloke also. Luke vi. 29 inverts it: "Him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also." The allusion is to payment of debt: Exod. xxii. 26, "If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down." Our Lord, in effect, says, Recede from your rights, and even submit to worse injustice, rather than cherish enmity. S. Paul, therefore, writes in this spirit: "Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?" (1 Cor. vi. 7.) 41. Compel thee to go-R.V. margin, "impress." Same word xxvii. 32, "him [Simon of Cyrene] they compelled "-R.V. margin, "impressed "-"to bear His cross. Go with him twain. S. Paul, in the same spirit, says, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. xii. 20, 21). 42. Give to him that asketh. Not necessarily what he asks, but what thou really judgest most fitting for him. Turn not away-merely to evade. Prov. iii. 28: "Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee." The priest, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, when he saw the wounded traveller, "passed by on the other side." 43. Hath been said. Not in God's Word, but by perversions of it, as by inferring lawfulness of hating enemies, from the command to destroy the seven nations of Canaan (Deut. thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44. 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; 45. 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. 46. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48. Be ye vii. 1, 2); forgetting the reason of that command, "That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God" (Deut. xx. 18). And again, “For every abomination to the Lord which He hateth have they done unto their gods: for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods" (Deut. xii. 31). True, Psalm cxxxix. 21, "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee?" but with a righteous indignation, not with malevolence, or on personal grounds. 44. Pray for them which despitefully use you. As S. Stephen did, who, when they were stoning him to death, "kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts vii. 60). 45. That ye may be the children of your Father-i.e. may become like God, Who is forbearing towards them that hate Him. Eph. v. 1: "Be ye therefore followers"-R.V. "imitators ""of God, as dear children." 46. What reward have ye?— i.e. what is there extraordinary in that? Do not even the publicans the same? An extreme comparison, according to the Jews' estimate of publicans; e.g. the Son of Man called "a friend of publicans and sinners" (Luke vii. 34). 47. If ye salute i.e. are gracious to. The Jew treated the Gentile as a dog; e.g. "It is not meet to take the children's meat, and to cast it to dogs" (xv. 26). So the Brahman accounts the Pariah. But there is more than graciousness implied, even the idea of service, from our Lord's use of the word (x. 12), "When ye come into an house, salute it." So that it comes to be like "do good to (them that hate you)" (ver. 44). 48. Be ye. perfect, ... as your Father. Luke vi. 36: "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father"-i.e. be ye in kind or principle, though not possibly in degree, merciful as your Father; e.g. as He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, so do you bless them that curse you, therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in heaven is perfect. Prayers. ALMIGHTY AND MOST MERCIFUL FATHER, we humbly beseech Thee to enrich us with all those heavenly graces on which our Saviour Christ pronounced His first benediction. Make us to be poor in spirit, that we may be inheritors of the kingdom of heaven; and to mourn for our sin, that we may be comforted and refreshed of Thee. May we be meek and patient under provocations, that our days may be long upon the earth; and may our souls hunger and thirst after righteousness, that, in and through Christ Jesus, we may be filled with all the fulness of God. Enable us to exhibit mercy and loving-kindness to others, that Thine Own infinitely greater mercy may be extended to ourselves; and bestow upon us that purity of heart and mind without which no man shall see God. And O Thou Who art the only Saviour, the Prince of Peace, grant that we may ever love peace, and follow after things which make for peace. Let us count it all joy when we are persecuted for righteousness' sake; contented to be followers of them who, through faith, now inherit the promises, and rejoicing with them in the assurance that great shall be our reward in heaven. We ask all for Thy Name's sake. Amen. O ALMIGHTY GOD, Who of Thy great goodness hast called us unto the Gospel of Thy dear Son, make us mindful of our high and holy vocation. May we feel the obligation which lies upon us to enlighten a sinful and sorrowing world. As "the salt of the earth," let us purify it by the savour of a holy life: and as "the light of the world," let us hold forth the lamp of a godly conversation, that "men, seeing our good works, may glorify our Father Which is in heaven." Impress us also with true reverence |