ing you may be perfect,* as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Be not charitable for the sake of applause, for there by you will lose the reward which God in heaven hath laid up for the almsgiver. But when thou dost any act of mercy, do it not vain-gloriously but privately, and thou wilt certainly enjoy the reward of thy secret piety, which God will openly bestow on thee in the sight of men and angels.

When thou addressest thyself to God in prayer, affect not popular hypocrisy, in exposing thyself to the view of the multitude, that thou mayest be admired of them; but retire from worldly company into thy closet, and with thy door shut to thee, pray thus in secret to thy heavenly Father who, though he be invisible, yet seeth thee, and will publickly reward thy private devotion. † Avoid vain repetitions, and lengthen not thy prayers with idle tautologies, after the manner of the heathen, who think they shall have their prayers granted for the multiplicity of words used by them in their devotions. Be not therefore like them, for your Father hath no need of information concerning your wants, and is not likely to be wrought on by the length of your prayers. I will therefore set you a pattern, after which you shall form your prayers. When ye pray, say, Our Father which

Perfect. To imitate or equal God in all things is impossible, and in some things presumptuous; but in acts of mercy, charity, and the like, we are expressly commanded to imitate him, as far as human nature will permit.

+ Devotion. Our Lord certainly did not mean to discountenance public worship, for he frequently sanctioned it by his own example; but he cautions his disciples against the practice of the hypocrites, who, at the hours of public prayer, took care to shew themselves in the market, or some other place of general concourse, that others might witness their devotions; this was a vanity extremely of

fensive to God.

Our Father. This prayer is distinct from that in St. Luke xi. 2, for this in St. Mat. vi. 9, is part of Christ's admirable Sermon on the Mount; but that in St. Luke upon a special motion of the disciples, at a time when he had done praying; who seeing him often retire to pray, desired him to give them a Form of Prayer, which they might constantly use, as John Baptist had given to his disciples. This

art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it.is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Imitate not the hypocrites in fasting,* who put on mournful looks, and appear in foul garments, that they may be thought to be in earnest; but behave thyself as upon another day, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto God.

Lay not up any worldly treasure, which is liable either to rust, vermin, or thieves; but lay up treasure in heaven, where it will be for ever safe. Where covetousness hath taken possession, there is nothing but darkness; for liberality and charity are extinguished by it; and that which tends to the inordinate increase of riches, cannot be reconcileable with the service of God.

Be not anxious or solicitous for the future; it is doubting of the providence of God, who will not fail to supply our necessities, if we trust in him. The fowls of the air are a great instance of his care, who provide nothing, and yet enjoy every thing.

Be not hasty in judging others, lest thou fall under their more severe censure, Why shouldst thou reflect so sharply on the faults of others, who art more liable to their censure for thine own follies? Be cautious in reproving the incorrigible, who will be apt to reproach thee for thy charitable love, as swine † undervalue precious jewels, and dogs bite those that feed them. Apply yourselves to God in prayer for what you want, which will be a sure way of obtaining it. Enter in at the strait gate; let all your care be to set yourselves upon the Christian course, be it ever so strict (for it is easy to enter on a

prayer in St. Matthew was in the second year after Christ's baptism; that in St. Luke in the third.

• Fasting. The Jews anointed and washed themselves every day, except în time of mourning.

+ Swine. Matt. vii. 6.

vicious course, and go through with it, and there are multitudes that pass that way to eternal destruction.) But the gate that leadeth to life being strait, there will be need of all your care, because the entrance and whole course of a Christian's life is made up of perfect strictness, in opposition to the looseness of the world; and that makes so few to choose it.

Beware of false prophets and teachers, who pretend the greatest innocence and meekness, but design the contrary. Ye will discover them by their practices: for when they have gained some esteem with you, they will endeavour to corrupt you; for it is not every one who acknowledgeth me as his Lord and master, that shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. At the day of judgment many will say to me, Lord, we are the men whom thou by thy power hast enabled to cast out devils, and to do all kinds of miracles. But I shall tell such, I never knew them.

Whosoever believeth and entertaineth all these things, and practiseth them, is like a prudent builder, who laid the foundation of his house upon a rock, which wind and weather could no way affect with injury or damage. But he that heareth these things, and practiseth them not, shall by all men be reputed to be like the man who built his house upon the sand, which was soon blown down by the stormy winds, and washed away by the floods."

Our blessed Lord having finished his sermon* on the Mount, the people were astonished at him, for he de

Sermon. The contents of this discourse deserve our most serious regard. Our Lord begins it, like the great High-Priest, blessing his people: but he strikes at the root of that error which generally prevailed among the Jews concerning the expected kingdom of the Messiah, describing its blessings as all of a spiritual nature, and the subjects of it as possessing those holy dispositions to which the several blessing mentioned are annexed.

In the next place he declares, that he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil them, not to contradict the revelation already made, but to unfold the grand scheme and perfect the whole. Accordingly he answered the types of the ceremonial law. He explained and enforced the moral law; he completed the design of all former dispensations, and supplied their defects. Our Lord also Nn

VOL. II.

livered his doctrine with extraordinary authority and power, (prophetic at least, which since the prophet Malachi's time had been interrupted) and not with that indifference which was practised by the doctors of the law among the Jews.

Nor did the multitudes resort to him only for the sake of his doctrine, but also of the miraculous cures, which he daily wrought among them; which had so spread and increased his fame, that all that were afflicted with any disease or malady, if they could but approach him, doubted not of a cure. Among the admiring crowds which continually flocked about him, a poor leprous wretch all over crusted with ulcers, threw himself at the fect of the divine physician, imploring his help, and with a faithful assurance depending on his ability to restore him to his health, if he would be pleased to make use of his power. Our Saviour looking on the poor leper with pity, confirms his faith by an instant cure; at the same time commanding him to make an acknowledgment of the great blessing he had received, by addressing himself to the priest, as the law prescribed, and to present the offering required of all such as are thus cleansed of leprosy. This our Saviour said to him with design, that it might by this means be a testimony to assure them that he was the true Messiah, and that he did not oppose the law given by Moses, but came to fulfil it. The joyful leper, with cheerful obedience retires, and our blessed Lord enters Capernaum, which he makes a fresh scene of his miraculous performances: for he is no sooner discovered to be in any place, but immediate application is made to him for his divine assistance and the farther demonstration of his power.

4

guards his disciples against vain glory and love of the world, and concludes with a variety of practical directions and exhortations. Such was the import of this most instructive and awakening discourse. We, as well as those who heard it, may justly be astonished at his doctrine; but it is incumbent upon us, not only to admire it, but to apply it to ourselves, remembering that every precept is obligatory on all who call themselves Christ's disciples.

In Capernaum, the Holy Jesus received the address of a faithful Centurion,* or captain, in behalf of his favourite servant, who was grievously afflicted with the palsy. Our blessed Lord, always as ready to afford relief, as the sick were to receive it, proposeth to the centurion the honour of his immediate presence to visit and heal his servant; which the faithful commander, with much humility, declines; for, being unwilling to give him the trouble of coming in person, he desires only his sacred fiat, the word of command, firmly believing that the cure would be performed. For through the strength of his faith he was fully assured of the excellency and divinity of his Saviour; and therefore, though himself was a man of authority, he thought it too great an honour for his earthly habitation to be visited by the great Saviour of the world. Jesus,† with pleasure and admiration observing the believing captain, turns to his disciples, to whom he with much earnestness of asseveration expresses himself, assuring them, that he had not found any Jew so fully persuaded of his power, as this Gentile centurion. But this which is now so very admirable, will within a short time be frequently exemplified; for multitudes shall come from all parts of the world, and believe in Christ, and shall sit down with Abraham, and the rest of the Patriarchs of the Jewish nation; but the Jews themselves, to whom the Messiah was primarily sent, will disbelieve, and be punished accordingly; they will be shut out of the church here, and heaven hereafter. Then, turning to the centurion, who with joy and patience heard the discourse of Jesus, he pronounces the servant cured, and dismisses the master, to the enjoyment

* Centurion. He was a captain of the Iron Legion, which was usually quartered in Judea.

Jesus. See Matt. viii. 10, 11, 12, &c.

Nation.

"To sit down (at table) with Abraham, &c." denotes, according to the phraseology of Scripture, the joys of heaven, under the idea of a sumptuous entertainment. For, though the felicity of the redeemed will certainly be of a spiritual nature, yet it is necessary to explain the nature of the life to come, by allusions to the affairs of the present life. The Greek poets represented divine pleasure under the notion of a feast; and feigned that Ixion was permitted to eat with the gods.