rs;:;;^r^^^tf^'^ra:s:^?"-(vvj"% E^%(k"it zitrpU-»^.Ui^^^^^^^^^
tion fv2J)' In the latter passage (7=1 '.i') the importance of doTn^ ttewill of God, as oJ,ntrast«d with mere profession, ,s a condition of entering into the Kingdom. .„ .=, vuu= ,,.rfectly clear that the whole Sermon ot the Mount regards human 1 lays down the
insisted <
- ..^ ..Q^foriMv rlfnr IhaT, ine wnoie j
of the Kingdo oraVprinciples which belong to that point ot It may therefore be fiUy described as the Law of the Kingdom.
At the .same time, it is necessary to observe that the Sermon on the Mount is not a new Decalopie. Our Lord did not issue commandments like those of the old Law. On the contrarj-. He laid down principles, and taught His disciples how to apply them.
This ii ■'•• iipi.'ri ml rlislinction. Commandments which classify a.n ■ i 1 I ^ ■ i.-- and enjoimng educSiorhave
^Ta^u\i^ ■i.^ ^.^".' --'-^''^'■-' '*»»"" °^'""■ '°'™^^^^ '^^nSS^'lu the oSi^ hanltare tJSf^unlv^r^^^SlSef^re "^"rnotcOTfllct There are parts of our ^rd's^n^ne^c^^nj
lave seemed perplexir - " "' sw 39- «• ■" --.
! perplexity vanishes \
IDEAS (LEADING)
IDEAS (LEADINC4)
contain not laws I of a principle (sei-- examples or illusl to circumstances,
Among iiKir; the Kingdom
.1 .1.
»ul,yoiuLonl, supreme. The ith most clearly has been already nolicnl. U .Muupies the whole of Mt 6, which fills the central space in the moral teaching of Jesus as we have it in St. Matthew's report of the Sermon. Here we have the motives of conduct dealt with. First, the prevailing ^vrong motives are pointed out : the praise of men which too often destroys the reality of the religious life ^yy 2. 6. 16. 18) . greed of gain, the laying up of earthly treasures (vv.i''-^), which makes the ' single eye ' impossible ; anxiety for the neces- saries of life, food and clothing, things that will surely be given us if we live a true life (vv.-"'*').
It IS characteristic of our Lord that it is in con- nexion with this last subject that He reveals the true motive. He contemplates the life of the average man toiling for his daily bread and tilled mth anxiety lest that bread should fail. There is an extraordinary tenderness .and sympathy in our Lord's language here. The passage is perhaps the most beautiful in all His teaching. And the lesson reaches the highest heights of spiritual vision. ' Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (the necessaries of life) shall be added unto you ' (v.**).
It is singularly impressive that this teaching should be given in connexion with those common everyday duties at which the vast majority of human beings must spend their lives. To the great mass of the world's toilers our Lord says : Be not anxious about your bodily needs. In doing your daily work, seek the Highest, and the neces- saries of life will not fail. And what is that Highest? It is the Kingdom and righteous- ness of God. The answer presents both sides of the truth, the external and the internal, the objective aim and the quality of character which corresponds to it.
When we come to consider more carefully what is the nature of this highest objective aim which is termed the Kingdom, we are met by the diffi- culty that our Lord nowhere gives a formal defini- tion of it. His manner of referring to it is rather an indication that He desired in the first instance to convince His hearers of its existence, and for the rest to approach it in many different ways, so as to exhibit cufi'erent aspects of a thing too great for its nature to be made evident by any one statement. But certain characteristics emerge with sufficient clearness. What these character- istics are will be seen as we examine the other leading ideas of our Lord's moral teaching. See also art. KINGDOM OF GOD.
2. The Pure Heart. — 'Blessed are the pure in heart,' said the Lord; 'for they shall see God.' The idea expressed in this Beatitude is one of tlie most fundamental in the interpretation of the Law in terms of the gospel. Our Lord insisted upon the inwardness of all true goodness. An external morality had no value in His eyes. This teachin}; was not altogether new. Great prophets and psalmists had seen it (Jer 31=^ P.s 5I'»). Greek philosophers had taught the priority of being to doing. But Jesus gave to the world as a whole what had hitherto been the possession of select souls. By showing the power of this principle to deepen the received code. He was able to alter the popular conception of the moral ideal. He taught that within the Kingdom the only goodness which would be recognized would be goodness of heart. All the examples which He gave to sliow that the righteousness of the Kingdom must exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, display the operation of this ]aiiK-i)iIe. Sec Mt f)-- -»■^■'-''■ "-^8_ ik 6«. (lur Lor.l di.l iM.t al...li>li tlie old Law. He fullilled it i.Mt :.'■). Ur iim. dated to the inner meauiug aii.l .irc|,..i (rulli whieli under- lay it. And what is \rw m ile^ uood is true also of the evil: its nature i- ihmumI, i l proceeds from the heart, and is not meiel;, ...n. erned with the outward action (Mt Ij'" ", Alk 7-', Lk 6-^, see also Mt 12»-'- ^').