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charities ought to bear to our income; every mau must determine it for himself in the presence of God and his own conscience, always bearing in mind that a strict inquisition will be made on this point at the day of judgment, and striving as much as possible to make his worldly bounties subservient to the spiritual welfare of the receivers, by marking the distinction between the religious and the irreligious poor, and by devising such methods of relief as will stimulate to industrious exertion and virtue, instead of encouraging sloth, and beggary, and vice. There are many charitable acts which the poorest can perform ; they may visit the sick and comfort the distressed; they may rebuke the vicious and inform the ignorant of religious truth. If they can give but little in money, they may trust that a peculiar blessing will accompany that little, for the widow's mite was accepted by God above every other gift.

In short, he who lays himself out to be useful will never be totally without opportunities: the providence of God will enable him to pay a portion of that debt of love, which all men owe to all. And blessed is he, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing. He has been employed on earth in his Master's work. The Holy Spirit has transcribed into his character the fairest lineaments of the image of God: for "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him " He has

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11 John iv. 16.

therefore confidence towards God. The happiness of heaven is begun on earth; and the calm and holy joy which he experiences here will assuredly issue in unspeakable bliss hereafter.

SERMON XIII.

THE LOVE OF ENEMIES,

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

MATTHEW V. 43-48.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

"THOU shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy"-thus far the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees extended. Our "righteousness must exceed" it, or we "shall in no case enter into the

kingdom of heaven '." Among all the corruptions which they had introduced into the holy law of God none was more deadly than this; for it struck at the root of that universal love of our fellow-creatures, which our common Creator always intended that we should cherish. We cannot but wonder at the boldness which dared to add to the sacred text, words of such evil tendency-" thou shalt hate thine enemy:" for if we turn to the books of Moses, we there read as follows: “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ""-nothing is there said about our enemies. But when the art of printing was unknown, and the great labour and expense of transcribing books shut up the gate of knowledge from the body of the people, it was practicable to misrepresent the words and doctrines of Scripture without detection to a greater extent than can now be done; and instruction such as this, which harmonized with the depraved passions of the human heart, was sure to be greedily received, and allowed to pass current without much examination. Men liked to be told that they might still be religious, even when wrath, and lust, and falsehood, and malice reigned in their souls. They blindly suffered themselves to be led by their blind guides, and thus both fell into the pit of destruction. We need not any further proof, than my present

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subject affords, in order to show how richly the Jewish teachers deserved the awful sentence of condemnation which Jesus pronounced against them', and which he will doubtless seal when they stand before his judgment-seat at the last day.

It is not difficult to see by what process of reasoning the Scribes extracted the command "to hate our enemies" from the positive precept "to love our neighbour." Only allow that "neighbour," or "companion," as the word may be translated, is confined in its meaning to any particular set of men, to your relations, or to those who live near you, or to your fellow countrymen; and it necessarily follows that the injunction to love extends to them alone; you are not commanded any thing respecting other men, you are at liberty to cherish what sentiments you please towards them; and if they in any way oppose your interest or your pleasure, if you like not their name or their colour, or any other circumstance connected with them, they may be called your enemies, and you are at liberty to hate them. Nay it may with some show of reason be urged, that it is your duty to do so, as a most effectual way of marking the difference between them and your friends-between them and those whom you are commanded to loveand of uniting in one body for mutual support and encouragement all who agree together. Thus it was that the Jews upheld each other in their bitter,

1 Matt. xxiii. 33.

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