Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount Discourse III

1This is a listening version of John Wesley's sermon, Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Discourse Three. It is the sermon as printed in John Wesley's 1771 Works. Rendered in modern English.

2Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Matthew 5:8. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9). Matthew 5:9. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10). Matthew 5:10. Blessed are you when people revile you, and persecute you, and say every kind of evil against you falsely, for my sake (Matthew 5:11). Matthew 5:11. Rejoice and be very glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:12). Matthew 5:12.

3How excellent are the things spoken of the love of our neighbor. It is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10), the end of the commandment (1 Timothy 1:5). Without this, all we have, all we do, all we suffer, is of no value in the sight of God. But it is that love of our neighbor which springs from the love of God. Otherwise it itself is worth nothing. It is our duty, then, to examine well the foundation on which our love of our neighbor stands. Is it really built on the love of God? Do we love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)? Are we pure in heart? For this is the foundation which shall never be moved. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

4The pure in heart are those whose hearts God has purified even as he is pure (1 John 3:3), who are purified through faith in the blood of Jesus from every unholy affection, who, being cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1), perfect holiness in the loving fear of God. They are, through the power of his grace, purified from pride by the deepest poverty of spirit, from anger and from every unkind or turbulent passion by meekness and gentleness, from every desire except to please and enjoy God, to know and love him more and more, by that hunger and thirst after righteousness which now fills their whole soul, so that now they love the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

5But how little has this purity of heart been regarded by the false teachers of every age. They have taught people only to abstain from such outward impurities as God has forbidden by name. But they did not strike at the heart, and by not guarding against inward corruptions they in effect approved them.

6Our Lord has given us a remarkable instance of this in the following words. You have heard that it was said by those of old, You shall not commit adultery (Matthew 5:27). And in explaining this, those blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14) only insist on people abstaining from the outward act. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:28). For God requires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). He searches the heart and tests the mind (Jeremiah 17:10). And if you incline to iniquity with your heart, the Lord will not hear you (Psalm 66:18).

7And God admits no excuse for keeping anything which is an occasion of impurity. Therefore, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. For it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29. If people as dear to you as your right eye are an occasion of your offending God in this way, a means of stirring up unholy desire in your soul, do not delay. Separate from them by force. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:30. If anyone who seems as necessary to you as your right hand is an occasion of sin, of impure desire, even though it were never to go beyond the heart, never to break out in word or action, force yourself to an entire and final parting. Cut them off at a stroke. Give them up to God. Any loss, whether of pleasure, or property, or friends, is better than the loss of your soul.

8Only two steps may properly be taken before such an absolute and final separation. First, try whether the unclean spirit may not be driven out by fasting and prayer (Matthew 17:21), and by carefully abstaining from every action, and word, and look which you have found to be an occasion of evil. Second, if you are not delivered by this means, ask counsel of the one who watches over your soul, or at least of some who have experience in the ways of God, about the time and manner of that separation. But do not confer with flesh and blood (Galatians 1:16), lest you be given up to a strong delusion to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

9Nor may marriage itself, holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4) as it is, be used as a pretext for giving free rein to our desires. Indeed, it has been said, Whoever puts away his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. And then all was well, though he alleged no cause except that he did not like her, or liked another better. But I say to you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, that is, adultery, the word meaning unchastity in general, whether in the married or the unmarried state, causes her to commit adultery if she marries again. And whoever marries her who is put away commits adultery. Matthew 5:31. Matthew 5:32.

10All polygamy is clearly forbidden in these words, in which our Lord expressly declares that for any woman who has a husband alive to marry again is adultery. By the same reasoning, it is adultery for any man to marry again so long as he has a wife alive. Yes, even though they were divorced, unless that divorce had been for the cause of adultery. In that case only, there is no scripture which forbids marrying again.

11Such is the purity of heart which God requires, and works in those who believe in the Son of his love (Colossians 1:13). And blessed are those who are thus pure in heart, for they shall see God. He will show himself to them, not only as he does not to the world, but as he does not always to his own children. He will bless them with the clearest communications of his Spirit, the most intimate fellowship with the Father and with the Son (1 John 1:3). He will cause his presence to go continually before them (Exodus 33:14), and the light of his face to shine on them (Numbers 6:25). It is the unceasing prayer of their heart, I beg you, show me your glory (Exodus 33:18). And they have the petition they ask of him. They now see him by faith, the veil of the flesh being made, as it were, transparent, even in these his lowest works, in all that surrounds them, in all that God has created and made. They see him in the height above, in the depth beneath. They see him filling all in all.

12The pure in heart see all things full of God. They see him in the firmament of heaven, in the moon walking in brightness, in the sun when he rejoices like a giant to run his course (Psalm 19:5). They see him making the clouds his chariots, and walking on the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3). They see him preparing rain for the earth (Psalm 147:8), and blessing its increase, giving grass for the cattle (Psalm 104:14) and green plants for the use of man. They see the Creator of all wisely governing all, and upholding all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). O Lord, our governor, how excellent is your name in all the world (Psalm 8:1).

13In all his providences relating to themselves, to their souls or their bodies, the pure in heart see God more particularly. They see his hand ever over them for good, giving them all things in weight and measure, numbering the hairs of their head (Matthew 10:30), making a hedge around them (Job 1:10) and all that they have, and arranging all the circumstances of their life according to the depth of both his wisdom and his mercy.

14But in a more special way they see God in his ordinances. Whether they appear in the great congregation to pay him the honor due to his name, and worship him in the beauty of holiness, or enter their rooms and there pour out their souls before their Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6), whether they search the oracles of God, or hear the ambassadors of Christ proclaiming the good news of salvation, or, by eating that bread and drinking that cup, proclaim his death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26) in the clouds of heaven, in all these appointed ways they find such a near approach as cannot be expressed. They see him, as it were, face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), and talk with him as a man talks with his friend (Exodus 33:11), a fit preparation for those mansions above, in which they shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).

15But how far they were from seeing God, who, having heard that it had been said by those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths (Matthew 5:33), interpreted it this way: You shall not swear falsely when you swear by the Lord Jehovah. You shall perform to the Lord these oaths of yours. But as for other oaths, he does not regard them.

So the Pharisees taught. They not only allowed every kind of swearing in common conversation, but counted even false swearing a small thing, so long as they had not sworn by the special name of God.

16But our Lord here absolutely forbids all common swearing, as well as false swearing, and shows how serious both are by the same solemn consideration: that every creature is God's, and he is present everywhere, in all and over all.

I say to you, do not swear at all (Matthew 5:34), neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, and therefore this is the same as swearing by him who sits on the circle of the heavens, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, and he is as closely present in earth as in heaven, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King, and God is well known in her palaces. Nor shall you swear by your head (Matthew 5:36), because you cannot make one hair white or black, because even this, it is plain, is not yours but God's, the only disposer of all in heaven and earth. But let your speech, your conversation, your talk with one another, be yes, yes, no, no: a plain, serious affirming or denying (Matthew 5:37). For whatever is more than these comes from evil (Matthew 5:37). It is of the evil one. It proceeds from the devil, and is a mark of his children.

17Our Lord does not here forbid swearing in judgment and truth, when we are required to do so by a magistrate. This may appear, first, from the occasion of this part of his discourse, the abuse he was reproving, which was false swearing and common swearing. Swearing before a magistrate was quite out of the question. Second, from the very words in which he forms the general conclusion: Let your speech, or conversation, be yes, yes, no, no. Third, from his own example, for he himself answered on oath when required by a magistrate. When the high priest said to him, I charge you by the living God (Matthew 26:63) to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus immediately answered in the affirmative, You have said, that is, the truth. Moreover, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64). Fourth, from the example of God, even the Father, who, wanting to show more fully to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, confirmed it by an oath (Hebrews 6:17). Fifth, from the example of Saint Paul, who we think had the Spirit of God and well understood the mind of his Master. God is my witness, he says to the Romans (Romans 1:9), that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. To the Corinthians, I call God as witness against my soul (2 Corinthians 1:23) that to spare you I have not yet come to Corinth. And to the Philippians, God is my witness how greatly I long for you (Philippians 1:8), in the affection of Jesus Christ. From this it undeniably appears that if the apostle knew the meaning of his Lord's words, they do not forbid swearing on weighty occasions, even to one another, much less before a magistrate. And last, from that statement of the great apostle about solemn swearing in general, which it is impossible he could have mentioned without any touch of blame if his Lord had totally forbidden it: People swear by the greater, by one greater than themselves, and an oath for confirmation is to them the end of all dispute (Hebrews 6:16).

18But the great lesson which our blessed Lord presses here, and which he illustrates by this example, is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature. We should use and look on nothing as separate from God, which is indeed a kind of practical atheism. But with a true greatness of thought we should survey heaven and earth, and all that is in them, as held by God in the hollow of his hand (Isaiah 40:12), who by his intimate presence holds them all in being, who pervades and moves the whole created frame, and is, in a true sense, the soul of the universe.

19So far our Lord has been more directly employed in teaching the religion of the heart. He has shown what Christians are to be. He goes on to show what they are to do as well: how inward holiness is to show itself in our outward conduct. Blessed, he says, are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9).

20The peacemakers. The word in the original means those who make peace. It is well known that the word for peace in the sacred writings means every kind of good, every blessing that relates either to the soul or the body, to time or to eternity. So when Saint Paul, in the openings of his letters, wishes grace and peace to the Romans or the Corinthians, it is as if he had said: As a fruit of the free, undeserved love and favor of God, may you enjoy all blessings, spiritual and temporal, all the good things which God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

21From this we may easily learn in how wide a sense the term peacemakers is to be understood. In its literal meaning it means those lovers of God and man who utterly detest and abhor all strife and debate, all variance and contention, and accordingly work with all their might either to prevent this fire of hell from being kindled, or, when it is kindled, from breaking out, or, when it has broken out, from spreading any further. They try to calm the stormy spirits of people, to quiet their turbulent passions, to soften the minds of contending parties, and if possible to reconcile them to each other. They use every innocent means, and employ all their strength, all the talents God has given them, both to preserve peace where it is and to restore it where it is not. It is the joy of their heart to promote, to confirm, to increase mutual good will among people, but more especially among the children of God, however distinguished by things of smaller importance, so that, as they have all one Lord, one faith, as they are all called in one hope of their calling, they may all walk worthy of the calling with which they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

But in the full extent of the word, a peacemaker is one who, as he has opportunity, does good to all people (Galatians 6:10), one who, being filled with the love of God and of all mankind, cannot confine the expressions of it to his own family, or friends, or acquaintances, or party, or to those of his own opinions, no, nor to those who share the same precious faith, but steps over all these narrow bounds so that he may do good to every person, so that he may in some way show his love to neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He does good to them all as he has opportunity, that is, on every possible occasion, redeeming the time for that purpose, buying up every opportunity, improving every hour, losing no moment in which he may benefit another. He does good not of one particular kind, but good in general, in every possible way, using in this all his talents of every kind, all his powers and faculties of body and soul, all his fortune, his influence, his reputation, desiring only that when his Lord comes he may say, Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21).

22He does good, to the utmost of his power, even to the bodies of all people. He rejoices to share his bread with the hungry, and to cover the naked with a garment (Isaiah 58:7). Is anyone a stranger? He takes him in and relieves him according to his needs. Are any sick or in prison? He visits them and gives the help they need most. And all this he does not as to a mere person, but remembering the one who has said, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done it to me (Matthew 25:40).

23How much more does he rejoice if he can do any good to the soul of any person. This power indeed belongs to God. It is he only who changes the heart, without which every other change is lighter than vanity. Nevertheless it pleases him who works all in all (1 Corinthians 12:6) to help people chiefly by people, to convey his own power, and blessing, and love through one person to another. Therefore, although it is certain that the help which is done on earth, God does it himself, yet no one needs, on this account, to stand idle in his vineyard (Matthew 20:6). The peacemaker cannot. He is always working in it, and as an instrument in God's hand, preparing the ground for his Master's use, or sowing the seed of the kingdom, or watering what is already sown, if perhaps God may give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). According to the measure of grace which he has received, he uses all diligence either to reprove the gross sinner, to reclaim those who run headlong in the broad way of destruction (Matthew 7:13), or to give light to those who sit in darkness (Luke 1:79) and are ready to perish for lack of knowledge, or to support the weak, to lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12), or to bring back and heal what was lame and turned out of the way (Hebrews 12:13). Nor is he less zealous to confirm those who are already striving to enter at the narrow gate, to strengthen those who stand so that they may run with patience the race set before them (Hebrews 12:1), to build up in their most holy faith those who know the one in whom they have believed (2 Timothy 1:12), to exhort them to stir up the gift of God which is in them, so that, growing daily in grace, an entrance may be supplied to them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom (2 Peter 1:11) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

24Blessed are those who are thus continually employed in the work of faith and the labor of love (1 Thessalonians 1:3), for they shall be called, that is, they shall be, a common Hebrew way of speaking, the children of God. God shall continue to them the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). Yes, he shall pour it more abundantly into their hearts. He shall bless them with all the blessings of his children. He shall acknowledge them as sons before angels and people, and if sons, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

25One would imagine that such a person as has been described, so full of genuine humility, so unaffectedly serious, so mild and gentle, so free from all selfish design, so devoted to God, and such an active lover of people, would be the darling of mankind. But our Lord knew human nature better, in its present state. He therefore closes the character of this man of God by showing the treatment he is to expect in the world. Blessed, he says, are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10).

26In order to understand this thoroughly, let us first ask who they are that are persecuted. And this we may easily learn from Saint Paul. As of old, the one who was born after the flesh persecuted the one who was born after the Spirit (Galatians 4:29), so it is now. Yes, says the apostle, and all who will live in a godly way in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). The same we are taught by Saint John. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you (1 John 3:13). We know that we have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14), because we love the brothers and sisters. As if he had said, the brothers and sisters, the Christians, cannot be loved except by those who have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14). And most expressly by our Lord: If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you (John 15:18). If you were of the world, the world would love its own (John 15:19). But because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:19). Remember the word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his Lord (John 15:20). If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you (John 15:20).

By all these scriptures it plainly appears who they are that are persecuted: namely, the righteous, the one who is born after the Spirit, all who will live in a godly way in Christ Jesus, those who have passed from death to life, those who are not of the world, all those who are meek and lowly in heart, who mourn for God, who hunger after his likeness, all who love God and their neighbor, and therefore, as they have opportunity, do good to all people (Galatians 6:10).

27If it is asked, second, why they are persecuted, the answer is equally plain and obvious. It is for righteousness' sake, because they are righteous, because they are born after the Spirit, because they will live in a godly way in Christ Jesus, because they are not of the world. Whatever may be pretended, this is the real cause. Be their weaknesses more or less, still, if it were not for this, they would be tolerated, and the world would love its own. They are persecuted because they are poor in spirit, that is, the world says, poor-spirited, mean, cowardly souls, good for nothing, not fit to live in the world. Because they mourn: they are such dull, heavy, lumpish creatures, enough to sink anyone's spirits who sees them. They are mere death's heads. They kill innocent mirth and spoil company wherever they come. Because they are meek: tame, passive fools, just fit to be trampled on. Because they hunger and thirst after righteousness: a pack of hot-brained enthusiasts, gaping after they know not what, not content with rational religion, but running mad after raptures and inward feelings. Because they are merciful, lovers of all, lovers of the evil and the unthankful, encouraging every kind of wickedness, yes, tempting people to do mischief by letting them go unpunished, and people who, it is to be feared, have their own religion still to seek, very loose in their principles. Because they are pure in heart: uncharitable creatures, who damn all the world except those of their own sort, blasphemous wretches who pretend to make God a liar, to live without sin. Above all, because they are peacemakers, because they take every opportunity of doing good to all people. This is the great reason why they have been persecuted in every age, and will be until the restoration of all things.

If they would only keep their religion to themselves, it would be tolerable. But it is this spreading of their errors, this infecting of so many others, which is not to be endured. They do so much mischief in the world that they ought to be tolerated no longer. It is true, the people do some things well enough. They relieve some of the poor. But this too is only done to gain more to their party, and so, in effect, to do more mischief. Thus the people of the world honestly think and speak. And the more the kingdom of God prevails, the more the peacemakers are able to spread lowliness, meekness, and all the other divine tempers, the more mischief is done, in their account. Consequently, the more they are enraged against the authors of this, and the more fiercely they will persecute them.

28Let us ask, third, who they are that persecute them. Saint Paul answers, the one who is born after the flesh, everyone who is not born of the Spirit, or at least desiring to be so, all who do not at least labor to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus, all who have not passed from death to life and consequently cannot love the brothers and sisters, the world, that is, according to our Savior's account, those who do not know him who sent me, those who do not know God, even the loving, pardoning God, by the teaching of his own Spirit.

The reason is plain. The spirit which is in the world is directly opposite to the Spirit which is of God. It must therefore be that those who are of the world will be opposite to those who are of God. There is the utmost contrast between them in all their opinions, their desires, their designs, and their tempers. And so far the leopard and the kid (Isaiah 11:6) cannot lie down in peace together. The proud, because he is proud, cannot help persecuting the lowly. The light and careless persecute those who mourn. And so in every other kind. The unlikeness of disposition, even if there were no other ground, is a lasting ground of enmity. Therefore, even on this account alone, all the servants of the devil will persecute the children of God.

29If it is asked, fourth, how they will persecute them, it may be answered in general, just in that manner and measure which the wise Disposer of all sees will be most for his glory, will tend most to his children's growth in grace and the enlargement of his own kingdom. There is no branch of God's government of the world which is more to be admired than this. His ear is never dull to the threats of the persecutor or the cry of the persecuted. His eye is always open, and his hand stretched out, to direct even the smallest circumstance. When the storm shall begin, how high it shall rise, which way it shall point, when and how it shall end, are all determined by his unerring wisdom. The ungodly are only a sword of his, an instrument which he uses as it pleases him, and which itself, when the gracious ends of his providence are answered, is thrown into the fire.

At some rare times, as when Christianity was first planted, and while it was taking root in the earth, and also when the pure doctrine of Christ began to be planted again in our nation, God permitted the storm to rise high, and his children were called to resist to the point of blood (Hebrews 12:4). There was a particular reason why he allowed this with regard to the apostles, so that their evidence might be the more beyond exception. But from the records of the church we learn another, and a very different, reason why he allowed the heavy persecutions which arose in the second and third centuries, namely, because the mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7) was working so strongly, because of the monstrous corruptions which even then reigned in the church. These God chastised, and at the same time tried to heal, by those severe but necessary visitations.

Perhaps the same observation may be made about the great persecution in our own land. God had dealt very graciously with our nation. He had poured out various blessings on us. He had given us peace abroad and at home, and a king wise and good beyond his years. And above all, he had caused the pure light of his gospel to rise and shine among us. But what return did he find? He looked for righteousness, but behold, a cry (Isaiah 5:7). A cry of oppression and wrong, of ambition and injustice, of malice, and fraud, and covetousness. Yes, the cry of those who even then died in the flames entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts (James 5:4). It was then that God rose to maintain his own cause against those who held the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Then he sold them into the hands of their persecutors, by a judgment mixed with mercy, an affliction to punish, and yet a medicine to heal, the grievous backslidings of his people.

30But it is seldom that God allows the storm to rise so high as torture, or death, or bonds, or imprisonment. His children are frequently called to endure those lighter kinds of persecution. They frequently suffer the estrangement of relatives, the loss of the friends who were as their own soul. They find the truth of their Lord's word, concerning the event, though not the design, of his coming. Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth (Luke 12:51)? I tell you, no, but rather division (Luke 12:51). And from this will naturally follow loss of business or employment, and consequently of property. But all these circumstances likewise are under the wise direction of God, who allots to everyone what is most fitting for him.

31But the persecution which attends all the children of God is the one our Lord describes in the following words. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you, shall persecute you by reviling you, and say every kind of evil against you falsely, for my sake. This cannot fail. It is the very badge of our discipleship. It is one of the seals of our calling. It is a sure portion entailed on all the children of God. If we do not have it, we are bastards and not sons (Hebrews 12:8). Straight through evil report, as well as good report (2 Corinthians 6:8), lies the only way to the kingdom. The meek, serious, humble, zealous lovers of God and man are of good report among their brothers and sisters, but of evil report with the world, who count and treat them as the filth and offscouring of all things (1 Corinthians 4:13).

32Indeed, some have supposed that before the fullness of the Gentiles (Romans 11:25) comes in, the scandal of the cross (Galatians 5:11) will cease, that God will cause Christians to be esteemed and loved even by those who are still in their sins. Yes, and it is sure that even now he sometimes suspends the contempt as well as the fierceness of people. He makes a person's enemies be at peace with him for a season, and gives him favor with his bitterest persecutors. But setting aside this exceptional case, the scandal of the cross (Galatians 5:11) has not yet ceased. A person may still say, If I please people, I am not the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). Let no one, therefore, regard that pleasing suggestion, pleasing no doubt to flesh and blood, that bad people only pretend to hate and despise those who are good, but do indeed love and esteem them in their hearts. Not so. They may employ them sometimes, but it is for their own profit. They may put confidence in them, for they know their ways are not like other people's. But still they do not love them, unless so far as the Spirit of God may be striving with them. Our Savior's words are express. If you were of the world, the world would love its own (John 15:19). But because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:19). Yes, setting aside what exceptions may be made by the grace that goes before, or by the peculiar providence of God, it hates them as heartily and sincerely as it ever hated their Master.

33It remains only to ask how the children of God are to behave with regard to persecution. And first, they ought not knowingly or on purpose to bring it on themselves. This is contrary both to the example and the advice of our Lord and all his apostles, who teach us not only not to seek it, but to avoid it as far as we can, without injuring our conscience, without giving up any part of that righteousness which we are to prefer before life itself. So our Lord expressly: When they persecute you in this city, flee to another (Matthew 10:23). That is indeed, when it can be taken, the most unobjectionable way of avoiding persecution.

34Yet do not think that you can always avoid it, either by this or by any other means. If ever that idle imagination steals into your heart, put it to flight by that earnest caution: Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his Lord (John 15:20). If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you (John 15:20). Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). But will this screen you from persecution? Not unless you have more wisdom than your Master, or more innocence than the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

Neither desire to avoid it, to escape it wholly. For if you do, you are none of his. If you escape the persecution, you escape the blessing, the blessing of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. If you are not persecuted for righteousness' sake, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12). But if we deny him, he will also deny us (2 Timothy 2:12).

35No. Rather, rejoice and be very glad when people persecute you for his sake, when they persecute you by reviling you and by saying every kind of evil against you falsely, which they will not fail to mix with every kind of persecution. They must blacken you to excuse themselves. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:12), those who were most eminently holy in heart and life, yes, and all the righteous who have ever been from the beginning of the world. Rejoice, because by this mark also you know to whom you belong, and because great is your reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12), the reward purchased by the blood of the covenant and freely given in proportion to your sufferings as well as to your holiness of heart and life. Be very glad, knowing that these light afflictions, which are only for a moment, work out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).

36Meanwhile, let no persecution turn you out of the way of lowliness and meekness, of love and kindness. You have heard indeed that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38). And your miserable teachers have from this allowed you to avenge yourselves, to return evil for evil.

But I say to you, do not resist evil (Matthew 5:39), not in this way, not by returning it in kind. But, rather than do this, whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39). And if anyone wants to sue you at law and take away your coat, let him have your cloak as well (Matthew 5:40). And whoever compels you to go a mile, go with him two (Matthew 5:41).

So let your meekness be invincible, and let your love match it. Give to the one who asks you, and from the one who would borrow from you do not turn away (Matthew 5:42). Only, do not give away what is another person's, what is not your own. Therefore, first, take care to owe no one anything (Romans 13:8). For what you owe is not your own, but another person's. Second, provide for those of your own household. This also God has required of you, and what is necessary to keep them in life and godliness is also not your own. Then, third, give or lend all that remains, from day to day or from year to year. Only, first, since you cannot give or lend to everyone, remember the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

37The meekness and love we are to feel, the kindness we are to show to those who persecute us for righteousness' sake, our blessed Lord describes further in the following verses. Oh, that they were engraved on our hearts.

You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy (Matthew 5:43). God indeed had said only the former part, You shall love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18). The children of the devil had added the latter, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, first, love your enemies (Matthew 5:44). See that you bear a tender good will toward those who are most bitter in spirit against you, who wish you every kind of evil. Second, bless those who curse you (Matthew 5:44). Are there any whose bitterness of spirit breaks out in bitter words, who are continually cursing and reproaching you when you are present, and saying every evil against you when you are absent? So much the more, bless them. In talking with them, use all mildness and softness of language. Reprove them by repeating a better lesson before them, by showing them how they ought to have spoken. And in speaking of them, say all the good you can, without breaking the rules of truth and justice. Third, do good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44). Let your actions show that you are as real in love as they are in hatred. Return good for evil. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Fourth, if you can do nothing more, at least pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). You can never be disabled from doing this, nor can all their malice or violence hinder you. Pour out your souls to God, not only for those who did this once but now repent. This is a small thing. If your brother, seven times a day, turns and says to you, I repent (Luke 17:4), that is, if after ever so many relapses he gives you reason to believe that he is really and thoroughly changed, then you shall forgive him, so as to trust him, to take him to your heart, as if he had never sinned against you at all. But pray for, wrestle with God for, those who do not repent, who now spitefully use you and persecute you. Forgive them this far, not until seven times only, but until seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). Whether they repent or not, yes, though they appear further and further from it, still show them this instance of kindness, so that you may be the children, so that you may prove yourselves the genuine children, of your Father who is in heaven, who shows his goodness by giving such blessings as they are capable of, even to his most stubborn enemies, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have (Matthew 5:46)? Do not even the tax collectors do the same (Matthew 5:46), who claim no religion, whom you yourselves acknowledge to be without God in the world? And if you greet, show kindness in word or deed, only to your brothers and sisters, your friends or relatives, what do you do more than others (Matthew 5:47), than those who have no religion at all? Do not even the tax collectors do so (Matthew 5:47)? No. Follow a better pattern than theirs. In patience, in long-suffering, in mercy, in kindness of every kind, to all, even to your bitterest persecutors, be, Christians, perfect, in kind though not in degree, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

38Behold Christianity in its native form, as delivered by its great Author. This is the genuine religion of Jesus Christ. Such he presents it to the one whose eyes are opened. See a picture of God, so far as he can be imitated by a person. A picture drawn by God's own hand. Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish (Acts 13:41). Or rather, wonder and adore. Rather cry out, Is this the religion of Jesus of Nazareth, the religion which I persecuted? Let me no more be found even fighting against God (Acts 5:39). Lord, what would you have me do (Acts 9:6)? What beauty appears in the whole. How just a symmetry. What exact proportion in every part. How desirable is the happiness described here. How venerable, how lovely the holiness. This is the spirit of religion, the very essence of it. These are indeed the fundamentals of Christianity. Oh, that we may not be hearers of it only (James 1:22), like a person looking at his own face in a mirror (James 1:23), who goes away and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. No. Let us look steadily into this perfect law of liberty (James 1:25), and continue in it. Let us not rest until every line of it is copied into our own hearts. Let us watch, and pray, and believe, and love, and strive for the mastery, until every part of it appears in our soul, engraved there by the finger of God, until we are holy as he who has called us is holy (1 Peter 1:16), perfect as our Father who is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).