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The law expounded.

Chap. v.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost 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 on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

29 And if thy right eye offend thee,r 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.

30 And if thy right hand of fend 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, 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. Offend thee, be the occasion of thy sinning.

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Swearing forbidden.

31 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 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;s for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil.t

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 right cheek, u 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 cloak 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

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love 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 w 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, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

CHAP. VI.

Of alms and prayer

hypocrites b do in the syna gogues, and in the streets, tha they may have glory of men Verily I say unto you, The have their reward. с

3 But when thou doest alms

let not thy left hand kno what thy right hand doeth ;

4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.

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5 ¶ And when thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the gogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 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.

7 But when ye pray, use not

1 Of alms, 5 prayer, 14 forgive- vain repetitions, as the hea

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ness. 19 Our treasure. God and mammon. TAKE heed that ye do not your alms a before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father

which is in heaven.

2 Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the

w Publicans, Roman tax-gatherers, who were noted for their oppression and injustice.

a Alms, your religious duties.

then do; for they think that they shalt be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye, therefore, like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.

b Hypocrites, deceitful persons, pretending to be very pious and de

vout, while destitute of holiness. Our Saviour probably meant the Scribes and Pharisees. See the Introduction for their character.

c Their reward; the applause of men, but the displeasure of God.

Of prayer.

Chap. vi.

9 After this manner, therefore pray ye; Our Father which art in heaven; Hallowed be thy name.d

10 Thy kingdom come. e Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

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

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

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 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.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face ;h

d Hallowed be thy name; let the name of God be every where feared and praised.

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Thy kingdom come; may the Gospel be received & obeyed by all men.

f Forgive us our debts, &c. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those, who

do us wrong.

g Lead us not into temptation. Abandon or leave us not to temptation. b Anoint thine bead, &c. Appear in thy ordinary dress, and with a cheerful countenance,

Avoid worldly care.

18 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. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal :

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

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

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

24 ¶ 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.k

25 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 ? i If thine eye be sound or clear. j If thine eye be disordered or dim. k Mammon, earthly treasures.

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26 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?

27 Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature ?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

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

30 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 ?

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

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

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take, therefore, no thought n for the morrow; for 1 By taking thought, who by anxious thought, can prolong his life an hour? m Gentiles. All nations except the Jews.

n Take no thought, be not anxious.

Judge not rashly.

the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sutlicient unto the day is the evil thereof.o

CHAP. VII.

1 Christ, ending his sermon on the mount, reproveth rash judgment, 6, forbiddeth to east holy things to dogs, 7 exhorteth to prayer, 13 to enter in at the strait gate, 15 to beware of false prophets, 21 and not to be hearers only, but doers of the word.

JUDGE not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, a it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the moteb that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beame that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

o Is the evil thereof, are its own. cares and troubles.

a Mete. Measure or give. bMote, a grain or particle of dust, a small object.

c Beam, a thorn or considerable

object. The design of the 3, 4, and 5th verses is, to show, that we should correct our own faults, before we reprove and censure others for their infirmities.

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5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

6 ¶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,d neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,

d Give not, &c. Perform not your pious and religious duties before prefane persons, lest they deride you, and make sport of religion to its inju» 7.

Of false prophets.

and many there be which go

in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,' which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

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15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, e which come to you in sheep's clothing, ƒ but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,g Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;h but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in

e False prophets, false teachers; pretenders to divine commission.

f Sheep's clothing, a hypocritical appearance of humility.

g Not every one, &c. that calls himself a Christian shall be admitted to the joys of heaven; but he only, who yields a sincere and cheerful obedience to the will of God.

b Here kingdom of heaven signifies the enjoyment of God in another life.

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