And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples whom he would, and they came unto him. And of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles, and ordained them that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these Simon (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother; James and John his brother, the sons of Zebedee, whom he surnamed Boanerges, (which is, The sons of thunder); Philip and Bartholemew; Matthew the publican; and Thomas; James the son of Alpheus and Judas Lebbeus his brother whose surname was Thaddeus; Simon the Canaanite called Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot who also was the traitor. And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that were vexed with unclean spirits and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

SECT. VI. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.*

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain : and when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the

The further prosecution of the harmony rests mainly on the identification of the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew v.--vii., with what has been called the Sermon on the Plain, recorded by Luke in chapter vi. The general accordance of the two accounts, as well as the connection in which they occur, lead to the belief that they are reports of the same discourse, though that of Matthew is more copious than that of Luke. Nor is the argument of Greswell, that the one is described as being delivered from a mountain, and the other as being delivered from a plain, of much weight on the opposite side. It is well known that from the Mediterranean Sea the land gradually rises, and a tract of table land stretches across the country to the Jordan, into which it precipitously falls. If we assume the situation of the place where Jesus delivered his discourse to have been an elevated plain, or even the table land of some neighbouring hill, there can be no ground whatever, so far as locality is concerned, to regard them as different discourses. The order followed is that of Luke.

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poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

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But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: 1 am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the

scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in Ex. xx. 13. 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. 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.

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. 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. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away Deut. xxiv. 1. his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say

* The scribes were a political as much as a religious sect. Their business, however, was to write out copies of the law, and expound its meaning. They are frequently termed lawyers. Their views generally coincided with those of the Pharisees, and hence they are usually mentioned together.

There are three degrees of punishment spoken of here, according to what was known among the Jews. 1, The judgment, or inferior court of seven judges existing in every city; 2, The council, or Sanhedrim, consisting of seventy-two elders, chief priests, and scribes, who alone could inflict the severer punishments; and, 3, Hell fire; so called from the valley of Hinnom, on the south of Jerusalem, where once children had been burnt to Moloch, and where malefactors were consumed in a fire constantly kept up. It served as a figure to denote the place "where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

of eternal torment,

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Lev. xxiv. 20.

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.

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: but I say unto you, Swear not at all neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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; 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. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect; and merciful, as your Father is also merciful.

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them : for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this And forgive us our debts, as we And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

day our daily bread.

forgive our debtors.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine

*This form of prayer was probably repeated in answer to the request of the disciples to be taught to pray (Luke xi. 1.). Many have supposed that Matthew's account of Christ's great sermon is simply a summary of discourses given on various occasions. The unity of the whole seems to forbid such an idea; and it seems not improbable that many miracles were repeated in all their essential features and surrounding circumstances, and the same may be true of the discourses.