The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 295

on the cross. Therefore "judge not, that ye be not judged." Men will judge harshly those who judge others harshly, and the human judgment passed upon the censorious i_s but a shadow of the more dreadful judgment that is to come. 2. Strictness in judg- ing ourselves. We extenuate our own faults; we always have excuses ready. We magnify the faults of others; we have no excuse for them. Our faults seem to us as mote_s, theirs as beams; our judgment is often reversed by the just judgment of God. Consider your own fa~lts, concentrate your 9:ttention upon them-that is your duty; not, as a rule, to pass Judgment upon your n01ghbours. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Of himself; then let him take heed to his own soul let him look into its state narrowly and jealously, let him carefully remove every mote 'and every defilement, let him wash it.white in the blood of the Lamb. This diligent self- examination will prepare us for the difficult and delicate task of helping others. He who would take heed to the flock must take heed first unto himself (Acts xx, 28); it needs a clean heart, and a close fellowship with Christ, and a purified spiritual vision, to see clearly to cast out the mote out of our brother's eye. There is need of true humility and heavenly wisdom and deep spiritual experience, if we are to deal successfully with the souls of others. If we are to restore others, it must be in the spirit of meekness, by the help of the good Spirit of God, always considering ourselve~, lest we also be tempted. 3. Holy cautwn in d,ealing with the worldly and the wicked. " Holy things for the holy," is a well-known direction in the ancient liturgies; it expresses the lesson which the Lord would teach us here. Judge not, but yet be careful. The deep things of spiritual experience a.re not for all men. The mysteries of the soul's converse with God a.re not to be lightly divulged in common talk. " My Beloved is mine, and I am his." The intercourse of the converted soul with the heavenly Bridegroom is a thing too sacred for ordinary conversation. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; " " They that feared the Lord spake often one to another." 'l'he Christian can tell what God bath done for bis soul only to the like-minded-the holy with the holy; and tbere are hidden things of which he speaks only to God in the silence of his heart. The deepest thoughts of that life which is hid with Christ in God, the blessed truths on which the soul feeds in loving faith, are far too sacred to be offered to the contentious, the unbelieving, the mere controversialist; far too precious to be thrown down to the gross and senBtlJll, who despise the pearl of great price in comparison with their low e.nd coarse enjoyments, who will turn angrily and scornfully upon him who introduces such subjects. Confessions of past sin, histories of conversions, spiritual experiences, are very sacred; but they are not for all men. They will do harm to the worldly ; they will provoke them to scorn and derision. IL Otra RELATIONS WITH GoD. 1. The duty and blessedness of prayer. "Ask . . . seek •.. knock." He bids us pray through whom all prayer is offered, in whose Name every knee must bow; he will hear us, we know. He has just taught us the blessed words of his own most holy prayer; he bids us use them. not as mere words uttered by the lips, but as true prayer prayed out of the depths of the heart. ".Ask," he says, " and it shall be given you; . . . every one that asketh receiveth." It is not asking, to repeat a few words withont real desire. The heart must ask ; the heart asks by its longings, yearn- ing after God with groanings that cannot be uttered. Ask thus, and surely ye shall have. "Seek," he says, "and ye shall find." You ask for th!Lt which you need; you seek that which has been lost, that which is hidden. Original innocence has been lost; the true treasure of the soul is a hidden treasure. Seek after righteousne~s, seek the king- dom of God, seek Christ. Seeking implies perseverance, careful, watchful effort. The Lord came to seek and to save that which was lost. He sought on and fainted not through the thirty years of his quiet life at Nazareth, through the three years of his ministry- those years of unwearying labour, self-forgetting love. He sought on even as he hung dying in agony on the cross: "Father, forgive." He sought and he found: "To-day sbalt thou be with me in Paradise." He sought, and we must seek; we must seek him who is seeking us. If we seek as he sought, in patience, perseverance, in love, we shall eurely find him ; for he is still seeking, still calling, "Come unto me." " Knock," he says, "and it shall be opened unto you." But knock now, while it is the day of grace. There are some who will stand without, and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open unto 11s;" and be shall answer," I know you not." Knock now. Knocking implies importunity. It :s not enough to be "not far from the kingd,om of God;" wo need to eI)ter i~, into OH, VIL 1-29.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 289