And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

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.

:

Most deeply did those sayings sink into the hearts of those that heard. St. James calls "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" "the royal law" (James ii. 8). St. Peter was so persuaded with the sense of the blessing of suffering that he wrote (1 Pet. ii. 19—21):—

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

For even hereunto were ye called.

And though he did not hear the discourse, St. Paul caught up the spirit when he wrote-making his own both God's announcement in Deuteronomy xxxii. 35, and Solomon's proverb (Rom. xii. 19, 20):

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath : for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the LORD.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Forgiveness, then, is one of the first Christian laws, and our Lord marks it as the most godlike of qualities; since our Father in heaven feeds the unthankful and the evil, "sending them rain from heaven and fruitful seasons; filling our hearts with food and gladness." "God is love," and love is patient and forbearing, and hopes for nothing again; therefore man is most truly the child of God when he, too, is most loving and long-suffering. And surely no ingratitude to man can equal our constant heedlessness of God.

LESSON XXVII.

REALITY IN CHARITY, PRAYER, AND FASTING.

A.D. 28.-MATT. vi. 1-18.

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 day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

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. Ver ly I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

COMMENT.-The great defect of the Jews at this time was unreality. It is the same fault as Isaiah so severely blamed in the time of Jotham, and Jeremiah in the time of Josiah. It is the

danger, whenever people are respected and admired for religious habits, the way in which those who are encouraged to do right in good homes, good schools, and good parishes, may turn their blessings into a curse.

These later Jews were great givers of alms, believing themselves th's to secure a place in heaven, but also wishing for credit on earth. Even now, rich men in the East, chiefly Mohammedans, when meaning to make distribution of alms, have a trumpet sounded and proclamation made to gather the poor to enjoy their bounty. In contrast, the Saviour bids the subjects of His kingdom make their almsgiving as secret as possible. The ostentatious, He ironically says, "have their reward" in earthly fame, and that is all; the modest ones, whose charity is secret and genuine, shall have theirs from their Heavenly Father.

So with prayer. The hours of prayer were strictly kept, the third, sixth, and ninth-evening, morning, and noon-day; and in imitation of Daniel, when his prayer was a confession of faith, the Jews, like Mohammedans now, suspended all employment, and made a great demonstration of their prayers at the corners of the streets. It is quite plain that our Lord never meant to censure public devotions in the temple or the synagogues. He and His disciples regularly frequented both. It was the hollow, outward appearance of extra devotion without inward feeling that He condemned. All that is not part of the regulated homage to God, paid as by the Church in public, is safest in the most private manner possible, even as David had long ago written :

Stand in awe, and sin not;

Commune with your own heart,

And in your chamber, and be still.—iv. 4.

Attracting attention for the sake of making a sensation and being wondered at is a sin and danger which ruins the whole reality of prayer.

The "vain repetitions" next censured were shouts like those of the prophets of Baal on Carmel—“O Baal, hear us!”—or the "Io pæan " of the Greeks. They do not refer to recurring responses, of which the pattern may be seen in the 136th Psalm; though we should remember that every prayer without our hearts becomes to us "a vain repetition."

VOL. IV.

Then the Saviour gives the pattern of all prayer, partly adopting, in His condescension, one already used in the synagogues; and, as none but the Divine Word could do, compressing every need of man into those few simple words, so easily remembered. He gave it a second time, at His disciples' request, and then without the doxology. Indeed, in the Sermon on the Mount, all copies do not give it; and the Church, though using the prayer itself in every service, keeps this ascription of glory to mark her special times of thanksgiving.

A few words on the need of accompanying prayers for pardon, with pardon to others, were added, but these were much expanded afterwards. And, lastly, the Saviour speaks of a third outward observance of the Jews, namely, fasting. Moses had appointed but one fast-that on the Day of Atonement; but as sin abounded, and punishment with it, fasts were appointed and made permanent and binding. Even in the time of Hezekiah the unreality of their observance had been rebuked. Observe, fasting is treated as quite as positive a duty by our Lord as almsgiving or prayer. He only rebukes ostentation in the practice, as an imaginary merit in itself, instead of a token of true penitence.

Obedience to the rules of the Church in abstinence on her fixed fast-days, in memory once a week of her Bridegroom's death, and once a year of His fast, is no hypocrisy or ostentation; it is a simple duty. The error condemned is a sanctimonious melancholy and ill temper, often venting discomfort in censuring or misusing those in our power, and complacency in our performance, instead of the penitence and love so beautifully dwelt on by Isaiah (Is. Iviii. 3—8).

Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor

that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover hin; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

In fact, all these three-alms, prayer, and fasting-are duties; but they must be done unto the Lord, and not unto men.

LESSON XXVIII.

DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS.

A.D. 28.-MATT. vi. 19-34.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal :

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not

much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? And why take ye thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin :

And yet

say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.