OUR lord's exposition of the seventh commandment.
Matt. V. 27, 28. Ye have heard that it was said by [to] them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: hit I say unto you, that whosoever looketh 07i a ivoman to lust after her hath committed adultery loith her already in his heart.
THAT the Jews were unacquainted with the spiritual nature of their law, we do not wonder ; because their authorized instructors were chiefly occupied in ceremonial observances ; but that Chris- tians should be ignorant of it, is astonishing, since the strongest hght has been cast upon it in the New Testament, and every minister of Christ must make it known, in order to state with accuracy the scope and excellence of the Gospel. Yet it is certain that few Christians comparatively have just views of the law : and it is to be feared, that, in many instances, ministers themselves are not sufficiently aware of the importance of setting it before their people in all its spirituality and extent. The exposition of it which our Lord has given us in this sermon, precludes all possibility of doubt respecting its real import. In the words which we have now read, he interprets the seventh commandment: in discoursing upon which, it will be proper to consider, I. Its true import —
The Scribes and Pharisees imagined that the prohi- bition reached no further than to the actual commis- sion of adultery ; but our Lord shews that it extended,
1 . To mental as well as bodily impurity —
[The intent of God's law is, to regulate our hearts. It can never be supposed that God should require us to " cleanse the outside of the cup and platter," and leave us at liberty to retain all manner of uncleanness within. He surely will not be satisfied with seeing us like " whited sepulchres." He forbids an evil desire no less than an evil act^: and especially in relation to the evil we are considering, he specifies every variety of it as alike hateful in his eyes : " adultery, fornica- tion, uncleanness, lasciviousness," are all distinctly mentioned
^ Rom. vii. 7.