ready to stir them up in public and private, in church and state, by exaggeration, misrepresentation, and fierce recrimination. But "the wisdom which is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James iii. 17.) May the "Prince of peace" make us children of peace, and so prepare us for a kingdom where all shall be peace!

10. Blessed are they which ore persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake.

12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

What was meant by persecution for righteousness' sake, soon became evident, when the apostles were beaten, and "commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus." (Acts v. 40.) What it was to be reviled, we see in the case of Paul, whose enemies alleged, "We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world; and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, who also hath gone about to profane the temple." (Acts xxiv. 5.) From the same examples we may learn to rejoice and be exceeding glad in such persecution :— as the apostles did, who "departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." (Acts v. 41.) And St. Peter says, "If ye be reproached for the

fied; they shall not hunger and thirst in vain, and more and more, as those commonly do whose desires are fixed upon earthly gratifications. "Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." (Luke x. 39, 42.)

7. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.

The parable of the unmerciful servant is the best comment on this verse; we hear there the circumstances under which the Christian appears before God; "I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me.' And we see his corresponding obligation, "Shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?" (Matt. xviii. 32, 33.)

8. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.

In God, holiness and happiness are inseparably united; and our Lord here reminds us, that in order to partake hereafter of heavenly happiness, we must here cultivate heavenly holiness. It has been declared from the first, "Be ye holy, for I am holy."

But are there any, who, looking into themselves, do not feel their need of a further purification, that they may see God? A further purification is prepared : They that are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. vii. 14, 15.)

9. Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God.

Dispute and contention, which can seldom exist without dislike and enmity, seem to be the element in which many delight to breathe. Hence they are

ready to stir them up in public and private, in church and state, by exaggeration, misrepresentation, and fierce recrimination. But "the wisdom

which is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James iii. 17.) May the "Prince of peace" make us children of peace, and so prepare us for a kingdom where all shall be peace!

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake.

12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

What was meant by persecution for righteousness' sake, soon became evident, when the apostles were beaten, and "commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus." (Acts v. 40.) What it was to be reviled, we see in the case of Paul, whose enemies alleged, "We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world; and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, who also hath gone about to profane the temple." (Acts xxiv. 5.) From the same examples we may learn to rejoice and be exceeding glad in such persecution :- as the apostles did, who "departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." (Acts v. 41.) And St. Peter says, "If ye be reproached for the

name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you." (1 Pet. iv. 14.)

These BEATITUDES are probably brought together here, and placed in the front of our Lord's discourse, in order to convey a just idea of the nature of his kingdom, and to correct the erroneous notions concerning it existing among the Jews.

They should be to us "for a sign upon our hand, and for a memorial between our eyes:" for the characters here enumerated are those on which Eternal Wisdom has pronounced a sentence of happiness in proportion, therefore, as they are found in us, we may be esteemed happy, for in that proportion we are partakers of Christ's kingdom.

Do thou, Lord, make us that which without thee we never can become, in order that we may enjoy that which without thee we never can obtain !

LECTURE IX.

CHRISTIANS THE SALT AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.-RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE PHARISEES. MATT. V. 13-20.

13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick: and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The disciples of our Lord more immediately surrounded him on this occasion: but we must remember that they were the representatives of all future Christians; and that his words are no less applicable to us than to them.

His expressions are intended to prepare their minds for a lofty standard of practice. He raises their ideas towards the commanding station which they were to occupy, by several striking examples. He calls them the salt of the earth; that which is to purify it, and keep it from corruption. The Jewish people, in one sense, had been this already; they had the knowledge of the Creator; "unto them were committed the oracles of God:" but the salt had lost its savour, and was now fit for nothing but to be cast out.

Again, he calls them the light of the world. He is himself the "true light of the world:" they were to reflect his light, and show it to mankind. They were as a city set on a hill; they could not be, and ought not to be hid; he was not to instruct and illuminate them, that they might remain unperceived among the ignorant, and careless, and corrupt multitude; that would be as if men were to light a candle, and to hide it, when lighted, under a bushel. Their light must shine before men, who, seeing the