Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-10

CONNECTING woRDS.-There are
fifteen verses between the passage studied
last week and the passage now to be
studied, ell part Of the sermon on the
! mount. In those verses Jesus first afirms
the perpetual authority of the moral law,
which. as He declared, He had come not to
destroy. but to fulfill. This statement was
very important, because the law was held
In extreme reverence by the Jews. who
would tolerate no one indifferent to its
claims. 1t was necessary, however, for
Jesus to interpret the law, as many had
made 1t void through their traditions. Matt.
xv:6) He therefore treated in an original
way the subject Of murder. reconciliation
with enemies and OF adultery. subjects
which had been greatly misunderstood. re-
sulting in many grave abuses and misde-
meanors. 1t was after His reference to
these matters that our Lord discussed the
| themes which are treated In our present les
son.
FALSE SWEARING.-(verse 3a) +y-
Ing Is. and ever has been. one OF the mbst
common vices among orientals- Critus, i:12)
An American, after extensive travel in
eastern lands. says: mo one tells the truth,
ana no one expects another to tell the
truth. The Psalmist appeared to know
this universal foult. (Psolm, cxvi:11) To
get at some measure of truth 1t was Gus
tomary to exact oaths or attestations and
protestations But SO deprecated WAS the
evil that many disregarded their oaths-
they were guilty OF what is termed perjury
IN our courts of justice, called In the Scrip
ture foreswearing. This disregard for oaths
was sternly condemned under the L.evltical
dispensatdon as species of profanity, a
violation of one commandment Of the deca-
io9ue. eek. xx:7) Moses commanded that
when man took an oath in the name of
the Lord he should faithfully keep it. Uex.,
xix:12)
SUBSTITUTE oATHs.-verses "a. IS,
5o) In course of time 1t came to pass that
men were reluctant to make an oath In
WniSn JehoVah was called to witness their
truthfuIness. unwilling to tell falsehoods
and violate the letter of their law. They
therefore substituted various kinds of oaths
Which seem to US to be very peculiar, but
MnAch were accepted in common speech
nhese were all condemned by our Lord.
-four OF them are mentioned here with the
reason Tor His disapproval. Swearing by
heaven as 1t Is the throne OF God lisa,
py the earth. which Ia Gods footstooI
sActs. vn:49). is high Improperly; swear
anR py Jerusalem. Gods habitation Psalm
W. likewise savors of irreverence;
whiie swearing by the head is a piece of
robustness, for the hair cannot be changed
ana such oaths are utterly useless. Swear
not at all, says Jesus. In ordinary CONVEX
s So omit the practice. The judicial oath
SIMPLE SPEECH.-verse BY Over
AGAINST the bad custom then so common
our Lord puts rule of utmost Importance
intended to reform the speech of the peo-
PIE, he enJoins upon them to use plain
and unsupported affirmations and derials
70 let their yes be yes and their no be no
Paui takes up this same subject Col, iv:6)
and directs that the speech of a Christian
snouid De with grace, that is, governed by
the principles and spirit of the gospel and
suited to commend Christianity ones
ianfuage always reveals his character
! NAL. 1xvi:f33 james repeats the ad
md OF dc 1act
condemnation" Games, v:12) and the Mas
ter here declares that what Is more than
this simple easy style of address cometh
from evil, comes out of a bad heart. Matt :.
xii:87.y On reflection every person will see
that speech is a revelation of the inner life
that 1t tends to purify or degrade both the
speaker p. al and I'D the nearer; III Pet; HE'D
Oversees 3S-42.) The ancents were not
more given to falsehood than to dishonesty.
10 large extent the frst-named vice grew
out OF the other. For both reasons the
world was full of violence, as men found
It necessary to defend their rights The
Jewish code attempted to regulate this, but
allowed some things because OF the cor
ruption OF society. Nev., xxiv:2o) There
was a popular maxim. heard now among
US. "Gve az good as is sent" This was
the common rule. man who submitted
to evil. then as now, was thought to be
lacking In spirit Jesus sought to correct
all this. Abiding to the moral law. He
swept away in one sentence retaliation for
four practices-smitins on the cheek taking
coat going mile, giving or borrowing
by which alteration and strife occurred.
1t must not be thought that this rule Of
non-resistance required absolute submits
sion to wrong. 1t only prohibited personal
encounter. The civil courts were accessi-
BILE for the redress of grievances. acts.
xix:3S.l Besides. God will avenge His peo-
pie If they permit Him. (Rom, xii:19.)
ENEMIES LOVED Oversees 43 and 40.
Having condemned resistance to evil. Jesus
passes from the act to the temper of an in
jured party. In this He reverses the stat
ute of Moses as popularity understood
LEV, xix:1S). The obligation to love a
neighbor was supposed to imply hatred of
an enemy, which Interpretation seemed to
be supported by one historic incident
Oeut.. xxiii:6). In the face of the common
practice and spirit, Jesus enuhciated His
law of love for enemies, which must have
been received with establishment by all.
He enjoined in fact, that which after all
the centuries of spiritual progress Is today
deemed by some impossible and by nearly
all as extremely difficult. 1t was taken up
and built into the apostolic code of morals
Rom.. xii:14). 1t was Illustrated by Jesus
as He hung on the cross duke, xxiii:34, by