May 28

33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not for swear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his foosstool; neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea, Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 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;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

This lesson is a call to holy living. "What do ye more than others?" Let us note the grounds for expecting more from Christians: 1. They profess more. 2. True Christians are more than others. 3. It is certain the true Christian can do more than others, he has the Holy Spirit within him. 4. They have more.

The marrow of the Gospel is found in verses 44-48. The teaching of the New Testament is that love is the only religion. "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." Those are very steep steps!

"I wonder how many prayers you ever sent up for those that hate you? I think it did not take the top of one sheet in the angel's record-book to put down all the prayers that you ever made for men that hate you."—H. W. Beecher.

And yet we are commanded to pray for them. Under what terrible circumstances was the Saviour called upon to illustrate this precept by His own example! And yet, amid all the rasping and stinging taunts and exulting cruelty of those who nailed Him to the cross, with a sweetness of spirit that had in it not one drop of bitterness, He prayed: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Closet Promise.—If any man love God, the same is known of Him.—1 Cor. viii. 3.

A great change comes into the life when love controls it. "For My sake," is never pleaded in vain by lips we love. "For Jesus' sake" is the sweetest impelling motive in a heart that is truly His. It is a motive which makes self-denial a pleasure. "Love never talks of crosses and losses." Love never asks, "How little must I give up?" but "How much can I do?" True love to Jesus sets us to cultivating our conscience to see His claims, instead of trying to accommodate His claims to our limited and selfish views of duty. He said: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." So, then, He has given us the highest possible proof of the deepest and most unselfish devotion. The wonder is that such love has so little influence over our conduct toward Him. What shall I render? Myself, including every faculty of mind and body, and whatever these powers may accomplish in loving service in His name.