37. Furthermore: The more exact your own Lives, and the more exalted your own Virtue is; fo much the more charitable, fo much the lefs fevere and cenforious let your Judgment of others be. Be not forward to accuse or condemn your Brethren; but interpret candidly, and forgive eafily; and God will be the lefs fevere in paffing Judgment upon you. 38. Be kind to all Men, and ready to affift them in all their Needs, with Chearfulness, Liberality and Bounty; and God will return the Bleffing upon you abundantly and with great crease: For in what Measure foever ye deal with others, in the fame Proportion will the Divine Juftice deal with In you. 39. Laftly, be sure to remember carefully, and to practife diligently all thefe my Inftructions; fo fhall ye your felves become worthy, and prepared to inftruct and direct others. For if ye practise conftantly and fincerely thefe things your felves, you will have both Skill and Authority to teach others likewife: But if ye neglect them, or practife them not your felves, you will be like the fuperftitious and hypocritical Pharifees, blind and erroneous Directors of others; and then, both he that teaches, and he that is taught, muft needs perish together. 37 Judge not, and ye fhall not be judged: condemn and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye fhall be forgiven: not 40. And do not think, that these Precepts I have given you, are fevere and difficult; or that it is too hard a thing to bear the Hatred and Perfecution, which the fincere Obfervation of them will bring upon you Compare from wicked and perverfe Men. Mat.x.24. John xiii. The Difciple is not above his Maf16. & xv. ter; nor he that is fent, greater 20. 38 Give, and it fhall be given unto you; good measure, thaken together, and preffed down, and men give unto your running over, fhall bofom. For with the fame measure that ye mete withal, it fhall be measured to you again. 39 And he fpake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? fhall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The difciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect fhall be as his mafter. 41 And than he that fent him. If I have gi- 41 And why be- ceiveft not the beam 41. Only remember always in teaching others, to be ftrictly careful that your own Lives be innocent and unblamable firft. For, What can be more unreasonable, than, like the hypocritical Pharifees, to condemn with great Cenforioufnefs the Offences of others; if at the fame time, ye be guilty of the like, or worfe Crimes, your felves? 42 Either how canft thou fay to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that in thine eye, 42. With what Confidence can ye others for their attempt to reprove fmaller Faults, if ye be confcious of when thou thy felf committing greater Crimes your beholdeft not the felves? Or, with what Skill can ye dibeam that is in thine rect others to correct and amend their own eye? Thou hy- Faults, if ye have not Wisdom or Inpocrite, caft out firit tegrity enough to be fenfible of your the beam out of thine own eye, and own? Above all things therefore, be then fhalt thou fee fure to avoid this bafe Hypocrify. In clearly to pull out the first place, effectually amend and the mote that is in reform your own Lives, and then you thy brothers eye. may with Judgment direct, and with VQ L. II. E 2 Authority Authority exhort and urge others to Reformation. 43. And do not imagine, that Teaching others their Duty, and inftructing or exhorting them to correct their Faults, is fufficient to make you approved either in the Sight of God or Men; unless your own Lives and Practice be fuitable to your Doctrine. For 'tis the Fruit of a good Life only, that denominates a Man truly Good. And without this, no Pretence whatsoever can any more really make any Perfon a good Man, than a Tree which has fair Leaves, and yet bears no Fruit, can be justly esteemed a good Tree. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt 44. As every Tree is known by its Fruit, fo every Man is known by his Works. And a Man whofe Life and Actions are bad, can no more justly, upon any other account, be efteemed a good Man; than a Thorn can truly be called a Vine, or a Bramble a Fig tree. 45. Every Man whofe Heart is fincere and good, will as certainly evidence that Sincerity by a good Life, as a sweat Fountain will fend forth fweet Streams, or a found Tree bring forth good Fruit. And a bad Life, is as certain an Indication of an unfincere Heart, as bad Waters are of a bad Fountain, or evil Fruit of a corrupt Tree. tree bring forth good fruit. 46. So that unless you actually oLives bey my Commandments in your and Converfations, 'tis to no purpofe at all to make Profeffion of my gion your felves, or to preach it to Reli o thers. 47. Wherefore, to conclude; I will fhow you, by a plain Similitude, the 44 tree is For every known by his own fruit: for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes. fure of his heart, 45 A good man out of the good treabringeth forth that which is good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil for of the abundance of the heart his fpeaketh. mouth 46 And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I fay? Whofoever cometh to me, and hear 47 eth difference between one that receives my Doctrine, and fincerely obeys it; and one who receives it likewise, yet obeys it not. 48. He that hears my Doctrine, and obeys it in his Life; is like a Man that builds his Houfe with a firm Foundation upon the folid Rock. For as fuch a Houfe ftands firm and unfhaken, against all the Affaults of Wind and Weather: So the Man that receives my Inftructions, and fincerely obeys them; will strongly refift all the Temptations of the Devil, and all the Storms of Perfecution; and perfevering in his Integrity to the End, fhall be able to appear with Comfort before God in Judgment, and receive the Reward of Eternal Life. 49. But he that hears my Doctrine, and obeys it not; is like a Man that builds his Houfe without any Foundation, upon the loofe Sand. For as fuch a Houfe is prefently overturned by the firft Storm and Flood that affaults it: So the Man that receives my Inftructions, and obeys them not; can never abide the Tryals of Temptation and Perfecution; but difcovering his Hypocrify, will fall away with Shame in this prefent World, and perifh for ever in that which is to come. *See Note on ch. iv. 38. + The word CHA P. VII. Jefus heals the Centurion's Servant, ver. 2. Raifes the Widow's Son at Naim, ver. 11. Bids John's Messengers judge of him by his Works and Doctrine, ver. 19. Gives an Account of John the Baptift, ver. 24. Shews the Perverseness · of the Jews in rejecting John, who came in a fevere Way, and Jefus who came in a freer Way, ver. 31. Shews by the Similitude of a forgiven Debtor, that repenting Sinners often exceed ather Men in Zeal and Piety, ver. 41. T. NOW when he WH HEN efus had finished this Difcourfe in the hearing had ended all of his Difciples, and of much other his fayings in the audience of the peoPeople; he went down towards Caper-ple, he entred into naum. Capernaum. 23. And * as he was entring into the City, there met him feveral of the Elders of the Jews, and principal Men of the Town, to defire him to heal an eminent Centurion's Servant, then very dangerously ill. For the Centurion had heard the Fame of Jefus's Miracles; and the Servant him. 45. When therefore thefe Menmet Jefus, they earnestly preffed him, faying That the Centurion who defired this Favour, was a very worthy Perfon; and though he was indeed a Roman and a Soldier, yet that he was a very pious and devout Man, a lover of the Nation and Religion of the Jews, To in this a Worfhipper of the One True God; 5th verfe and that he had † at his own Charge is very em- built them a Synagogue, phatical. 2 And a certain centurions fervant, who was dear unto him, was fick and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jefus, he fent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his fervant. 4 And when they came to Jefus, they inbefought him he is worthy for ftantly, faying, That whom he fhould do this. 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a fyna gogue. 6 Then |