ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himP;" and again, " If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain i."
Hear ye then, ye " dealers in proud wrath ;" hear what God himself speaks concerning you ! Think it not a light matter to be angry with your wife, and children, and servants, on every occasion ; and to be of such an irritable temper, that the smallest thing in the world suffices to put you in a passion. Whatever professions you may make of regard for religion, God tells you " not to deceive yourselves ;" for that " no railer or reviler shall enter into his kingdom'":" and such a disgrace does he consider you to his rehgion, that he bids his own people *' not so much as to eat with you^"
You will say, " It is only with the lower class of people that I am angry ; to my equals I am courteous enough." What then, is not one man your "brother," as well as another? Go and murder a poor man ; and see whether the laws of the land will make any distinction : and, if they will not, much less will "God, with whom there is no respect of persons." If you indulge anger in your heart, and express it with your lips, " hell fire" will be your portion, whatever be your own rank, and whether the objects of your anger be poor or rich.
If you would be Christians indeed, your habitual conduct must be agreeable to that precept ; " Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice : and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you *."]
3. The greatness of the Gospel salvation —
[Let any one judge himself by our Lord's exposition of this commandment, and see how often he has been " in danger of the judgment, and the council ; yea, and of hell-fire itself." Yet here is only one commandment ; and that too considered only in a very partial way. What then must be the amount of our guilt, when tried by all the commandments ? And if such be the guilt of every individual amongst us, what must be the guilt of the whole world ? Yet this was the guilt w^hich was laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and was expiated by his all- atoning sacrifice! How "mighty then must He be on whom such help was laid"!" and how precious must that blood be M'hich could wash away such loads of guilt! We do not in general consider this as we ought: if we did, we could not but be filled with wonder at the stupendous plan which the Father laid, the Son executed, the Spirit revealed.
P 1 John iii. 15. <a Jam. i. 26. ^^ 1 Cor, vi. 10
s 1 Cor. v. 10. t Eph. iv. 31, 32. " Ps. Ixxxix. 19.