Returning Good for Evil.

MATT. v. 38-48.

E have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and

YE

a tooth for a tooth (Exod. xxi. 24; Lev. xxiv. 20): 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.1 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 (Lev. xix. 18): but I say unto you, Love your enemies,2 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 salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?3 do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in heaven is perfect."

"The law of Moses exacted a punishment of the same kind as the injury done. This the Jew thought a permission to private revenge. Our Lord goes to the root of the matter, and condemns all revengeful feelings and acts, teaching the Christian to return good for evil. We must observe that this passage only concerns our private conduct, and cannot be applied to the laws of the land, and to the punishments they inflict."

2 (

Love your enemies."] "Thus did our Lord 'fulfil' the law of love, widening it till it embraces all the world, and leaves no 'enemies' to hate save sin and the devil."-Canon How.

"Instead of taking vengeance on an enemy, do him all the good you can. Give him meat in his hunger, and drink in his thirst. Let these be the only coals of fire which you heap upon his head. Compare his wrongs with your benefits. Never allow yourself to be so far defeated by another man's evil as to seek to repay it with evil. When he does you wrong, look upon it that he has challenged you, as it were, to battle; and see that you win the battle by doing him more good than he does you evil."-Bishop Moberly.

3 "Must we not expect Him to repeat this question for each of us individually when we stand before His judgment-seat at the great Day of Account? Oh may He stir within us now that spirit of holy emulation, that hunger and thirst after righteousness, which He has promised not to disappoint, that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming!"--Goulburn's " Thoughts on Personal Religion."

66

Almsgiving and Prayer.

MATT. vi. 1-8.

"TAKE yeise ye have no reward of your Father Which

AKE heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen

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."3

I "The blessedness of almsgiving, so constantly taught in God's Word, is nowhere displayed so remarkably as in the description of the great judgment of all nations in chap. xxv. (see especially verses 40 and 45)."-Canon How.

"What is required in the present day is the broad enunciation of the truth that all property is God's, and that some portion of it shall be rendered back to Him by those who are His stewards, in acknowledgment of the fact that their holding is from Him. This truth must be unceasingly proclaimed, until it is intelligently accepted and honestly practised by all, rich and poor alike. The spiritual advantages of systematic giving to works of piety and charity are no less valuable to the donor than to the Church herself. The offering to God is a part of public worship, and should be no more omitted than any other part of public worship."-Parish Magazine.

2 "This may be fulfilled both literally and as a figure literally, by withdrawing to some secret place for private prayer; as a figure, by entering at any time into the secret chamber of the heart, and there holding communion with God." 3 "If so, why then should we pray? Not to inform God of our needs, but because He wills to give to those that ask. It is the same with confession of sin. It may be said, Why confess our sins to God, Who knows them far better than we do? Not to teach God our sinfulness, but to teach ourselves."- Canon How.

"Blessed are they who realize that the prayer of a contrite heart is ever acceptable to the Most High, and who unite with a life of prayer, offerings of praise and thanksgiving."-Dean Duncombe.

A

Prayer and Fasting.

MATT. vi. 9-18.

FTER this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father Which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy Will be done on 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. Verily 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."

"2

"The Lord's Prayer, for a succession of solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention on a few great points, for suitableness to every condition, for sufficiency, for conciseness without obscurity, for the weight and real importance of its petitions, is without an equal or a rival.”—Archdeacon Paley.

2... "Fasting is here spoken of exactly in the same terms as almsgiving and prayer, as an acknowledged religious duty. Surely in these self-indulgent days we neglect this means of grace very sadly. This is not the fault of our Church, which clearly enjoins fasting, and appoints the days for it. It is well to understand both what fasting is, and what is its use. Fasting is the denial to ourselves of lawful and ordinary indulgence. In the letter, fasting is abstinence in eating and drinking; and this may be in quality or in quantity, or in both. In the spirit, fasting may be extended to all usual and lawful indulgences, such as going into company, light reading, and pleasure-seeking of all sorts; or again, to the undertaking of tasks which require some sacrifice of time or convenience, such as adding to the length of our ordinary prayers and reading of God's Word, devoting certain time to the visiting of the sick, or other labours of love. All subduing and keeping under of the flesh is helping to gain the victory for the spirit. Moreover, the subduing of the flesh is a great help towards the resistance of temptation; those who learn to curb and restrain themselves in things lawful are far more able to do so in things unlawful. No one can doubt that the soul is more free and active for prayer and meditation when restraint has been put upon the appetite than when free indulgence has been given to it. Heaviness of body is a sure hindrance to activity of spirit. The error against which our Lord warns us is that of making fasting a mere formal, outward act, as though it were good and meritorious in itself, and not simply a means of grace. They that fast in mere formality, and for the praise of men, are 'hypocrites' like the Pharisees. The true Christian will fast, but he will never make a display of it. True, he will not be ashamed of it, but he will so fast that God, and not man, may see and approve."-Canon How.

The Single and the Evil Eye.

MATT. vi. 19-23.

"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!"

"Why, asks St. Augustine, does Christ desire that thou change the place of thy treasure, except that thou mayest change the place of thy heart? For a man's treasure is only that which his heart careth for. It is the loadstar which will of necessity draw the heart and affections after it. It is impossible for a man to have his treasure upon earth and his heart in heaven."-Canon How.

2 "The single eye' is doubtless to be interpreted by a reference to what follows, 'No man can serve two masters.' Our Lord here describes two extreme spiritual states, the highest and the lowest. The first is characterized by a single eye, i.e. a pure intention in all things to please God out of love. If the eye be thus 'single,' the intention thus pure, thy whole body shall be full of light,' i.e. every action of yours shall be spiritualized, sanctified, interpenetrated by the luminousness of the intention. The lowest and worst spiritual state is that . . . of an evil eye. This is where the soul intends from perverse motives to do wrong, as was exemplified in the Pharisees, who, though convinced of the truth of Christ's mission, bent their whole strength to put down the truth. Of this latter state He says, 'Where the ruling aim is depraved, how dark must the whole lower life of action be, which at best has never any light in itself, but is lit by the ruling aim!' Those who know most of human life and of their own hearts know that very, very rarely indeed is any action done from one single motive. Purity of intention is the highest spiritual state.

Are we striving for this purity of intention, praying for it, labouring for it, seeking to bring the whole of our spiritual life up to this standard . . . that all things should be done from a love of Christ, and a consequent desire to please Him, and that we should act singly from this motive?. Let us habitually apply to actions which are outwardly righteous the crucial questions: 'Should I have done this, or done it with equal zeal, had no eye of man been upon me? Should I have resisted this temptation if there had been no check upon me from human law or public opinion? Should I have acted thus faithfully and conscientiously without the stimulus of human praise?'"—Goulburn's "Pursuit of Holiness."

"Spirit of purity and grace,

Our weakness pitying see;

Oh make our hearts Thy dwelling-place
And worthier Thee. Amen."

"N°

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”

MATT. vi. 24-34.

O 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 I 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. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

"3

I "This springs very clearly from the foregoing. It is a very ready thought, when we read of the treasures on earth and in heaven, to say to ourselves 'Can I not have both?' This thought, then, 'Jesus now meets. He says, 'No, you cannot have both; you must choose where you will have your treasure, and which shall be your master. The heart must go one way or the other.'

2

"Is not the life more than meat?"] "This is one reason against over-anxiety as to food or clothing. God has given us that most mysterious gift, life, and bestowed on us these frames so fearfully and wonderfully made, and shall we not trust Him for the lesser gifts? May there not also be a reproof in these words to such (alas! no small number) as by their devotion to good fare and fine dressing would seem to believe that they lived only to eat and drink, and had bodies only to deck them with grand clothing?'

"

3 "Let us take care that we do not needlessly add to our cares and troubles by bringing to-morrow's upon those of to-day. Each day's burden is sufficient, and God gives strength to bear it. But there is no promise of strength to bear to-day's and to-morrow's at once. The only way to make all these earthly burdens light is to throw into the other scale the weight of the heavenly treasures. He that ever seeks and cares for these first, finds earthly troubles strangely lessened."- Canon How.