thy members Bhould 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 writino^ of divorcement:
32 But I say unto you, That whoso- ever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery ; and whoso- ever 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 :
34 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 tlio 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: for whatsoever is more tuan these cometh of evil.
These verses deserve the closest atteation of all readers of the Bible. A right understanding of the doctrines they contain lies at the very root of Christianity. The Lord Jesus here explains more fully the meaning of His words, " I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil.^' He teaches us that His Gosj)el magnifies the law, and exalts its authority. He shows us that the law, as expounded by Him, was a far more spiritual and heart- searching rule than most of the Jews supposed. And He proves this by selecting three commandments out of the ten as examples of what He means.
He expounds the sixth commandment. Many thought that they kept this part of God's law, so long as they did not commit actual murder. The Lord Jesus shows, that its requirements go much further than this. It con- demns all angry and passionate language, and especially when used without a cause. Let us mark this well. We may be perfectly innocent of taking life away, and yet be guilty of breaking the sixth commandment.
He expounds the seventh commandment. Many sup- posed that they kept this part of God's law, if they did not actually commit adultery. The Lord Jesus teaches, that we may break it in our thoughts, hearts, and imagi-