Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1866-03-21
mural and 8eli9iuus.
For the ia
The Golden Rule.
For the Gazette.

Inc Golden Rul6.
. Amongst the recorded discoures of
that greatest and best of all teachers.
there is one which he delivered to
large congregation assembled on Il hill
side, and which from this circumstance
is generally called the Sermon on the
Mount That discourse contains many
grand and wonderful sayings-nOne
perhaps grander or more wonderful
/ than this ''AIl things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do
+ ye even 50 to them; for this" says the
great teacher, sis the law and the
prophets " This preeept has by com
mon consent been called The Golden
Rule and if the epithtt golden is to
be applied to any thing, as expoissur
of value, excellence, and glory, then is
no sentence that ever fell from the lips
Of men that have. better claim, or
indeed as good a claim, TO distinction,
as that Of which | am about to treat.
For this rule | believe we stand in
debted to Christ, ahd to him alone; al
though there are some who would rob
him Of the glory Of it, and would have
us believe that both Jews and heathens
taught it long before Christ appeared
in the world But believe that when
we come to examine those jewish aud
heathen maxims, which are alleged to
have anticipated Christ, We shall find
that they are very different from that
which we term "Hhc Golden Rule -
! In some respects they resemble it, and
resemble it so strongly, that 1T the first
glance the jewish and heather rules
and Christ's rule appear to be identical;
but the difference between them Is very
great, and very worthy OF notice
| For what is the jewish for which some
| claim equality with this Golden Rule?
! 1t is, believe to this effect, wv Whats0-
to thy neighbor," And the heathen
maxim supposed to correspond with
! Christ's royal law is this: DO not to
others what you are unwilling to suf-
| fer from others" In this Gibbon
| thought that he had discovered in
| heather literature the Identical Golden
| Rule; and therefore he sneers at christ
ians for attribut.ng that rule to Christ,
and giving him the honor OF first pub
| lishing it to the world. The jewish
and the hcathen maXims are substan-
TALLY the same, and they amount to
this "Whatsoever evil ye would not
that men should do to you, do We not
such evil to them" Is this equivalent
to Christ's precept? By no means 1t
| is only tie negative side OF Christ's
prccept The Jews and heathens tell
us not to do TO others the wrong which
we would deprecate if inflicted on US
! by them; Christ teaches US to do that
good to others which we would desire
| others to do to US. The jews and
heathens say, don't be unjust or cruel
| to your neighbOrs, because you would
not like him to be unjust or cruel to
| you; Christ says, be as just and as kind
as possible to your nelghbor, for you
would like him TO be as just and as kind
as possible to you. In fact, the jews
and heathens only tell US not to wrong
others; Christ tells us to benefit them
! to the utmost extent of our power
| Are these maXims the same, then?
Most certainly not. The jewish and
! heathen maXims are only the law Of
strict Justice; Christ is the law of love.
lie took those views and preceptS, and
gave them a higher form, added to them
! quite another clement And if they
taught men to be just, he taught them
to be generous as we'll. | admit that
these maxims were good; let us call
them silver rules; but between them
and Christ's preccpt there is certainly
all the difference that exists between
silver and gold.
Now many people take the silver
rules of jewish Rabbis and heathen phil
osophers, and strangely mistake them
for the golden rule OF Christ. They
think if they have done nobody any
harm they have fulfilled this glorious
precept; and SO, because you have never
quarreled with your neighbor, never
/ struck him, never blackened his char
acter or defrauded him of his proper,
ty, you suppose that you have done to
him all things whatsoever you would
that he should do TO you; whereas the