pat up with much, rather than cause strife. He would have us endure much inconvenience and loss, and even sacrifice some of our just rights, rather than have any contention. It is the same lesson that St. Paul enforces in other words : " K it he possihle, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." — "Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath : for it is writ- ten, Vengeance is mine; I wiU repay, saith the Lord." — "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Rom. xii. 18 — 21.
Few things bring out more painfully the little hold that Christianity has on professing Christians, than the utter neglect of our Lord's injunctions in these verses, which everywhere prevails. Anything more contrary to the mind of Christ l^han the duelling, and hand to hand conflicts, of which we hear so often in some countries and some ranks of society, it is impossible to conceive. To give blow for blow, and violence for violence, anger for anger, and abuse for abuse, is the conduct of a dog or a heathen, but not of a Christian.
32. — [Sinners also.'] A. Clarke remarks on the word "sinners," used here and in the two following verses : " I believe this word is used by St. Luke in the same sense in which " publican, or tax-gatherer," is used by St. Matthew. It signifies " heathen," — ^not only men who have no religion, but who acknowledge none."
33. — IDo even the same.'] Quesnel i^marks on this verse : "A man ought to tremble with fear, if beside the external part of his religion, he finds nothing in his life but what may be found in a Turk or a heathen."
35. — [Hoping for nothing again.] The word so translated is not used in any other place in the New Testament. Bishop Pearce would translate "nothing" "no man," and thinks that the mean- ing is " not cutting off the hope of any man by denying him those things which he requests to preserve him from perishing." De Dieu takes much the same view, " not causing him to despair."
87, 88. — [Judge noty and ye shaU not he judged, Sc] It is a dis- puted point whether the promises in these two verses are to be taken in a temporal or spiritual sense. The word " men," in the 88th verse is not in the original, so that no argument can be founded on it. But taking into consideration the whole con- nection in which the two verses stand, it seems most probable to me that the rewards promised by our Lord are primarily and principally rewards to be received in this world.
I cannot close the notes on this passage, without entering my protest against the rapidly increasing opinion, that we may have the fruits of the Spirit without the doctrine of the Spirit. No- thing iis more common now than to find charity, kindness, self-sacrifice, and attention to others, praised and commend- ed by popular writers, who make no secret of their contempt for
LTJKEy CHAP. TI. VER. 39 45. 189
all the leading doctrines of the GospeL Onoe for all, let us understand, that real, genuine, self-denying love, will never grow from any roots hut faith in Christ's atonement, and a heart renewed hy the Holy Ghost. We shall never make men love one another, unless we teach as St. Paul taught, " Walk in love, as Christ hath loved us/' Teaching love on any other principle is, as a general rule, labour in vain.