_AGAINST RASH JUDGMENT_ ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’ Matthew 7:1 Here we see the rule of God’s judgment in matters between man and man—‘With what measure ye mete it shall... [ Continue Reading ]
_THAT WHICH IS HOLY_ ‘Give not that which is holy unto the dogs.’ Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs—that is to say, never surrender the higher to the lower, never sink the celestial to the terrestrial; never desecrate that which has been consecrated. That was the sound piece o... [ Continue Reading ]
_ASK AND RECEIVE_ ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ Matthew 7:7 Three thoughts, similar, yet distinct, rolled up together here, make one precept and one promise. To ‘ask,’ is a single, suppliant action: to ‘seek,’ is a continuous pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_SEEKING AND FINDING_ ‘Seek, and ye shall find.’ Matthew 7:7 Those who, in this world, seek for glory and honour and prosperity and a great name, are doomed to failure and disappointment; _ they seek, but they do not find_. They who hunt after happiness, whether they hunt for it in pleasure, or i... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE GOLDEN RULE_ ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ Matthew 7:12 In this part of the Sermon on the Mount our Lord begins to draw His discourse to a conclusion. The lessons He here enforces on our notice are broad, general, and full of the deepest w... [ Continue Reading ]
_AVOIDING THE WAY OF THE MANY_ ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate,’ etc. Matthew 7:13 Our Lord here gives us a general caution against the way of the many in religion. It is not enough to think as others think, and do as others do. It must not satisfy us to follow the fashion, and swim with the stre... [ Continue Reading ]
_BEWARE!_ ‘Beware of false prophets.… Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.’ Matthew 7:15 The Sermon on the Mount ends with four remarkable warnings. Only the last three are included in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE TREE AND ITS FRUIT_ ‘A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.’ Matthew 7:18 A man’s actions show what he is. If we judge of others at all, we can follow no other rule than this. I. JUDGING OTHERS.—But it is a general rule that we are not... [ Continue Reading ]
_NOMINAL DISCIPLESHIP_ ‘Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.’ Matthew 7:21 These words are familiar to us from their place among the offertory sentences in the Communion Service. Experienc... [ Continue Reading ]
_BUILDING UPON THE ROCK_ ‘Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and It fell not: for it was founded upon a ro... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE PEOPLE ASTONISHED_ ‘It came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine.’ Matthew 7:28 The doctrine of Jesus Christ is the most astonishing which the world has ever heard. I. IT IS ASTONISHING IN ITS SIMPLICITY.—There are portions of Christ’s teach... [ Continue Reading ]