by far the greatest number of wars, as well as the longest, most extensive, and most destructive, have been owing to causes purely political, and those too sometimes of the most trivial nature. And if we can allow men to harass and destroy one another for a mere point of honour, or a few acres of land, why should we think it strange to see them defending, with the same heat and bitterness, what they conceive to be the most essential requisite to happiness both here and hereafter?

Secondly, I must observe, that a very large part of those animosities, wars, and massacres, which have been usually styled religious, and with the entire guilt of which Christianity has been very unjustly loaded, have been altogether, or at least in a great measure, owing to causes of a very different nature; to the ambition, the resentment, the avarice, the rapacity of princes and of conquerors, who assumed the mask of religion to veil their real purposes, and who pretended to fight in the cause of God and his church, when they had in reality nothing else in view than to advance their power or extend their dominions. All history is full of instances of this kind.

Thirdly, It should be remembered, that the wildest excesses of religious persecution did not take place till the world was overrun with barbarity, ignorance, bigotry, and superstition; till military ideas predominated in every thing, in the form of government, in the temper of the laws, in the tenure of lands, in the administration of justice itself; and till the Scriptures were shut up in a foreign tongue, and were, therefore, unknown to the people. It was not therefore from the Gospel, but from a total ignorance of the Gospel, from a total perversion of its true temper, genius, and spirit, that these excesses and enormities arose.

Fourthly, That this is the real truth of the case, appears demonstrably from this circumstance, that when, after the Reformation, the Scriptures were translated into the several vernacular languages of Europe, and the real nature of the Christian revelation became of course more generally known, the violence of persecution began to abate; and as the sacred writings were more and more studied, and their true sense better understood, the baneful spirit of intolerance lost ground every day, and the divine principle of Christian charity and benevolence

has been continually gaining fresh strength; till at length, at the present moment, persecution by Christians, on the score of religion only, has almost entirely vanished from the face of the earth; and we may venture to indulge the hope, that wars of religion, strictly so called, will be heard of no more.

I now proceed to explain the verses immediately following that which we have been just considering.

"I am come," says our Lord, "to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her motherin-law, and a man's foes shall be those of his own household."

This passage is a clear proof, that the calamities and miseries predicted in the preceding verse relate primarily and principally to the apostles themselves, because these words are almost a repetition of what our Lord applied to them in the twenty-seventh verse, "The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death*."

Now, as these cruelties were inflicted on the apostles, not by believers, but by unbelieving Jews and heathens, that is, by the enemies of the Gospel, it is evident, that when our Saviour says he came to set a man at variance against his father, and so on, he meant only to say, that the religion which he taught would meet with the most violent opposition from the world, and would expose his apostles and disciples to the most unjust and inhuman treatment, even sometimes from their nearest relations.

Our Lord then goes on to say, "He that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy of met." This has an evident reference to the two preceding verses; in which our Lord had declared, that, amidst the various miseries that would be occasioned by the wickedness and barbarity of those who rejected and resisted the Christian religion, dissensions would arise even among those most nearly connected with each other, and the true Christian would sometimes find his bitterest enemies even in the bosom of his own family. A father would perhaps persecute his own son, and a mother her + Matt. x, 37.

• Matt. x, 21.

daughter, on account of her religious opinions, and would by argument and by influence endeavour to persuade, or by authority and power to compel them to abjure their faith. In cases such as these our Lord here intimates, that when the choice is between renouncing our nearest relations and renouncing our religion, we must not hesitate a moment what part we are to take; we must, to obey God rather than man, we must give up all, and follow Christ. "He that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son and daughter more than me, is not worthy of me*." That is, evidently, when the nearest and dearest relations come in competition with our belief in Christ, and obedience to his commands, our affection for them and deference to their opinions must give place to love for our Redeemer and attachment to our Maker.

In the parallel place of St. Luke, this precept is expressed in still stronger terms: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple t."

The mind of the reader is at the first view apt to revolt at the seeming harshness of this declaration; but it is evidently nothing more than a bolder and more figurative way (according to a well-known Hebrew idiom) of conveying the very same sentiment that St. Matthew clothes in gentler language. It means nothing more than that we ought to entertain a more ardent affection for our heavenly Father than for our earthly parents; and that his commands must be preferred to theirs, whenever they happen to interfere. And in the same manner several other apparently severe injunctions in the Gospel are to be explained and mitigated by others of the same import, but more perspicuously and more mildly expressed.

But we are not only enjoined to love Christ and his religion more than our nearest relations, where they happen to interfere, but even more than our own life. "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of met." This plainly alludes to the custom of persons who are going to be crucified bearing their own cross; and the literal and primary meaning is, that we should be ready, if called upon, to undergo even that + Matt. x, 38.

* Acts v, 29; Mark x, 28. + Luke xiv, 26.

painful and ignominious death, rather than renounce our faith. This, indeed, is a most severe trial; but it is a trial, which it is not only our duty but our interest to undergo, if reduced to the necessity either of forfeiting our life, or renouncing our allegiance to Christ. For we are told here by our Lord himself, that, "he who findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for his sake shall find it." That is, whoever, to save his life, apostatizes from his faith, shall be punished with the loss of that life which alone deserves the name, life everlasting. But he, who sacrifices his life to his religion in this world, shall be rewarded with eternal life in the world to come.

* Matt. x, 39.

M

LECTURE X.

MATTHEW XII.

THE next chapter, which seems more peculiarly to deserve our attention, and to require some explanation and illustration, is the twelfth chapter of St. Matthew.

It begins thus: "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the show-bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless; for the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into the synagogue. And there was a man which had his hand withered; and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much, then, is a man better than a sheep. Wherefore, it is lawful to do well on the sabbath day. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, like as the other."