SERMON XLIII.

LIFE OF CHRIST.

No. X.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

MATTHEW V.

HITHERTO We have beheld our Saviour preparing men for the reception of his gospel by general exhortations to repentance, and establishing the authority of his mission by miraculous cures. We are now to contemplate him announcing a sublimer, and purer morality than the world had ever known, and pointing out the path which leads to felicity on earth, and to happiness beyond the grave. His fame had now become so great that a vast concourse of people attended him. He was touched with pity at considering their ignorance, and ascended a mountain, and seated himself on an eminence, whence he might be distinctly heard, in order to instruct them. From a mountain the law of Moses was given; from a mountain the new law of grace was announced. There were not here, as on Sinai, thunderings, and darkness, and tempest. In conformity with the milder economy which Jesus Christ came to establish, every thing was gentle and unappalling. "His doctrine dropped as the rain; his speech distilled as the dew;

as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass."

Let us review this sermon of our Lord, of Him who "taught with authority," explaining the several parts of it in more or fewer words, as may be required.

He begins with a subject which has always warmly engaged the attention and care of the world, viz. the way to true happiness. The majority of mankind have always sought for felicity from riches, from pleasures, from honours. Jesus, on the contrary, teaches us that happiness is seated in the heart, and results from the exercise of the graces of the Spirit.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The proud, and the great, who are elated with a high opinion of their own perfections, and whose hearts are attached to the earth, the riches and splendours of which they eagerly pursue, are not to be esteemed happy: but those who are humble and lowly-minded, who are sensible of their unworthiness, and their frailty; who are weaned from this world; who prefer righteousness before wealth and honour; who, if they are poor in this world, are satisfied with the disposals of God's providence, and humbly submit to his will; or, who, if they have wealth, value it no more than it deserves; and if they occupy high stations, are lowly in mind. These are the poor in spirit, and they are truly blessed; since they have an interest in the kingdom of grace here, and are prepared for the kingdom of glory hereafter.

"Blessed are they who mourn; for they shall be comforted." Those are not to be esteemed happy, who live in voluptuousness, in merriment, and gayety, but those who mourn with contrite hearts, and broken spirits, under a sense of their sin, and of the misery

to which it has exposed them. Their wounded spirits shall be healed. Having sown in tears, they shall reap in joy; they shall, in due season, be revived by the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit, and shall enter, beyond the grave, upon the everlasting joy of their Lord. And blessed in general are those who endure afflictions of any kind with an humble submission to the Divine Providence; who, by their sorrows, are convinced of the vanity of earth, are excited to amend their lives, and to seek for a better country. God will support them under their trials, give them here an inward tranquillity, which outward sorrows cannot impair, and at last bring them to the fruition of delights unspeakable.

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” The Saviour here alludes to the words of David, in the thirty-seventh Psalm: "Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be, but the meek shall inherit the earth." This promise, in the Old Testament, referred to a quiet possession of the land of Canaan; but Jesus Christ uses it in a sublimer and nobler sense. Meekness is manifested by our conduct both to God and man. It is displayed towards God by quietly bowing to his holy and sovereign will in all things, without murmuring or repining. It is displayed towards our fellow-men by affability, gentleness, and patience; by an exemption from passion and violence, haughtiness and turbulence; by a difficulty to be provoked, and an easiness to be appeased. Happy are those who are of this character. By the providence of God, and according to the common course of things, he will find friends and protectors, and generally enjoy quietly his possessions, with the good will of God and man, and with the greatest tranquillity of conscience, and shall at

last have an inheritance in that world where peace and righteousness dwell for ever.

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." Those are happy who feel their need of that everlasting righteousness which the Messiah came into the world "to bring in" for the justification of the sinner, and of that righteousness of heart and life which he requires of his followers, and who desire and seek these things with as much earnestness as a man oppressed by hunger and thirst employs to satisfy his natural appetites. They shall not be disappointed; they shall have the desire of their hearts. The righteousness of Jesus shall be imputed to them for their justification, and his Holy Spirit shall renew their souls.

“Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. They are happy, who, on true, evangelical principles, exercise compassion; being ready to succour the afflicted, and to forgive the offending. They shall obtain mercy both from God and man, according to their wants.

"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." They are happy, whose hearts are free from hypocrisy and uncleanness, from "all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit." They shall be favoured with special manifestations from God in this world, and shall hereafter" see him as he is."

"Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God." Envy not those warriors and conquerors, who, to obtain fame, have carried bloodshed and slaughter through the world. Far happier is the occupation of those who study to compose contention and discord, to extinguish wrath and malice, and to promote universal concord, forbearance, benevolence, and peace. Imitating the most

glorious perfections of the divine nature, goodness and love, God will acknowledge them as his children, and they must be happy; happy in a resemblance to the God of peace, and in those blessings which he will confer upon them.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Esteem not external ease and liberty blessings, when purchased by the sacrifice of the conscience. Happier far is he, who, for the sake of God, cheerfully foregoes all the outward comforts of life; professes his faith and hope with courage and constancy in the midst of persecution, and is not to be deterred from his duty by the keenest sufferings. Such shall receive an ample and distinguished reward in the life which is to come. With propriety, therefore, did the Saviour add, " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and 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."

Such is our Lord's doctrine concerning happiness. Before we further examine his discourse, let us make some remarks on the part we have considered.

Though our Saviour here annexes blessedness and eternal felicity to the practice of single virtues, yet we must remember that these promises are made on a supposition that we do not neglect other parts of our duty. To think otherwise; to imagine that by attending to one virtue we might be exempted from the performance of others, is equally contrary to reason and religion. "Whosoever shall keep the whole law," says St. James, " and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." And yet how many arc there, who are guilty of this folly? This man ex