LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST. 55 This is an evil of the moll atrocious kind ; innocence and virtue often fuffer, and, however lorry the flanderer may be for the wrong done, the injury cannot be repaired. No charaéter is more hurtful to fociety, and no perfon more hateful to God and man than the slanderer; and our Lord in- timates that both God and man will relent the injury done to his creatures. fudge not, faid he, that ye be notjudged. -If you judge charitable, faid the kind and com- paflionate, the meek and benevolent Sa- viour of mankind ; if you make allowances for the frailty of human nature, and are ready to pity and pardon thofe who have offended you, both your heavenly Father, and your fellow - mortals will deal with you in the fame manner. But if you are always ready to hear, and eager to fpread slan- derous reports ; if youput the harthell con- flruaion on every anion; if you are pleat- ed to hear of another's mifcondua, or mif- fortunes, and never touched with the feel- ing of your brother's infirmities ; if you take all opportunities to injure him in the opinion of mankind, or pursue him with inexorable and implacable refentment ; if you are a stranger to mercy or forgivenefs, no mercy, or forgivenefs will ydu find, either from offended Omnipotence, or -in- jured and infulted man. For with what judgmentye judge, ye jhall be judged ; and with what meafure ye mete, it(hall be mea- fured toyou again. Inorder to prevent mankind from palling rath and cenforious judgment, ourgreat Re- deemer advifes them to look unto them- felves ; and if they would carefully advert to their own errors and failings, they would find lofs time, as well as lefs delire, to cenfure the rest of mankind. It fre- quently happens that thofe perlons who are molt ready to cenfure and condemn their fellow-creatures, and most eager to fearch out, and expose the failings of others, are not the molt blamelefs themfelves ; but frequently more culpable than the perlons whom they are fo ready to accule. It is therefore with the highest reafon that our great Redeemer exhorted his hearers to lookunto themfelves, and carefully mend their own faults, which would be of greater fervice to them than endeavouring to ex- pofe and fcandalize thofe who are better than they. And why beholde thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and con zderejì not the beam that is in thine own eye: or how wilt thou fay to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, farji eaft out the beam out of thine own eye, and then fiat thou fee clearly to eaft out the mote out of thy bro- ther's eye. Such are the feveral branches of moral righteoufnefs inculcated by the Son of God ; but Tome are fo perverfe in their difpofitions, and fo obstinately attached to their evil practices and errors, that it is impoflible to reclaim them ; and therefore our Saviour advifes his followers not to at- tempt it: Give not, fays he, that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cafl yeyourpearls beòre fwine, left they tread them under their feet, and turn again and rent you. Lardy, that it might not be fuppofed that the moral precepts of Chriflianity were above the attainment of mankind, our Lord proceeded to inform his hearers, how gracious, and full of compaflion, their hea- venly Father was, and how ready to hear and AM. all who called upon him ; and in- confequence advised theni humbly to "in- treathisafliflance, at. the' fame time that they exerted their utmost endeavours to do his will, and be found in the way of his commandments. Afk, fays he, and it (hall begivenyou; feek, and ye jhallfind ; knock, and it fhall be opened unto you : for every one that afketh, receiveth ; and he that feeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it limit be opened. Our Lord appeals to their own feelings towards their children, as an encouragement to be earnefl in their petitions to their heavenly Father : If ye, being evil, fays he, know hoto to givegood gifts
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