which, after all, never afflict us. The anxiety most common to man, is that of which CHRIST speaks in this passage, -anxiety respecting our daily bread. In all ages and countries, the larger part of the community have lived in a state of fear concerning the means of their subsistence. The poor labourer of our day dreads, lest he should either fail to find employment, or should be disabled by sickness; lest his family should grow too numerous and expensive to be supported by him; lest bread should rise in price, and the times become too hard for him. Not a few also of the higher class lead a life of no less anxiety, respecting the means of obtaining that which they deem a decent and even a necessary subsistence. But "take no thought," says our SAVIOUR, "for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Be not at all careful respecting these subjects. "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ?" God has given you life: and, if you owe even this to Him, may you not trust to His providing meat to sustain that life? He has given you a body, and may you not trust to his sending raiment to cover that body? Since you owe to Him that which is greater, may you not trust Him for that which is less? "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them." The birds of the air are evidently provided for by GoD. They gather the food which He sends; not that which they have themselves sown, and reaped, and collected: "Are ye not much better than they?" Are ye not of more value in the sight of GOD, and therefore likely to be more the objects of His care, than many sparrows? "And which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature ?" That is, where is the use of this anxiety? You can no more improve your lot, by your anxious thought; than you can by the same thought, improve your stature. "And why take ye thought for raiment? consider the lilies of the field, how St. Matt. vi. 25. † St. Matt. vi. 26.

they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin." As the fowls of the air are provided for by GoD, so also are the lilies of the field. The fowls of the air fail not to be fed by Him; and, therefore, why should you not trust Him for your food? The lilies of the field fail not to be clothed by Him; and, therefore, why should you not trust Him for your raiment? They are clothed, without their taking thought about it for themselves; for they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet they are clothed so beautifully, "that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if GOD so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?"* Weakness, or want of faith, is the cause of all this distrust. "Therefore, take no thought (or, be not anxious) saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?" Let not these common subjects of anxiety trouble you (" for after all these things do the Gentiles seek.") It is the character of the Gentiles, that is, of the unbelieving world, to be ever careful about these worldly things. Leave it, therefore, to those who know not GoD, to be thus corroded with care respecting their temporal interests. "But seek ye first the kingdom of GOD, and His righteousness." Let your first concern be to be a member of my kingdom, and a partaker of the righteousness of my gospel; and having secured this better part, encourage yourselves by the hope that the same GOD, who enriches you with the great gift of salvation, will not fail to add whatever worldly blessings He sees to be good and necessary for you. Assure yourselves that all these things shall be added unto you. "Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." Multiply not your sorrows, by living in perpetual fear of sorrows. Enjoy the blessings which you have: thank God for these; and trust Him for the future. Possibly, the evil which you dread, may

St. Matt. vi. 29, 30.

GOD will sup

never come; but trust, that, if it shall come, port you under it, in some mode, of which as yet possibly you can form no conception. Take care of to-day; and let to-morrow take thought for the things of itself; for it is enough for every day to bear its own burden. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Such is the meaning of the passage before us. We may take occasion to remark upon it, how merciful a God is He whom we serve. He does not delight in grieving the sons of men; His precepts tend to make our paths through this world cheerful and easy. An Epicurean philosopher could not have delivered a precept more calculated to spare pain. Let us, however, remember, that the comfort here proffered to us, can be fully enjoyed by him only, who has already secured an interest in the Gospel. We must first believe in God; otherwise how can we trust Him? We must, first, perceive that all things happen by His appointment; otherwise, how can we place confidence in his providential dealings towards us? We must seek, first, his kingdom and righteousness; and then, and then only, may we hope that, being assured of heaven and eternal glory, all these inferior things, "which are needful to the body, shall be added unto us."

XXXVI.

ATTH

ST. MATTHEW, VII. 1, 2.

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.

MEN of the world are accustomed to accuse the more strict and religious person of severity in judging them. “Is it not," say they, "written in that very Bible which you profess to follow, "Judge not, that ye be not judged?" Why, therefore, do you not obey your own Scriptures? We, for our part, judge no one; while you, both by thinking ill of human nature in general, and of a multitude of individuals, betray a want of that charity which we deem to be the sum of Christian virtue.-By such language as this, many, who are unacquainted with the superior strictness of Christianity, and walk in the broad road, defend their own cause, while they pretend to be pleading that of the Gospel. Many, also, who allow in themselves some habitual vice, make a somewhat similar defence, when charged with the sin which they commit: "allow us to practise the sin to which we are prone; we will tolerate an equal degree of iniquity in you." Let us, therefore, be careful to construe this passage in such a manner as not to favour any unworthy views of Christianity.

It is a maxim, in explaining Scripture, that one text must always be so construed, that other texts may stand. Let it, therefore, be noticed, that our LORD hath said to Christians, "Ye are the salt of the earth, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid."* Did CHRIST and his Apostles speak favourably of the common practice of the world? Our SAVIOUR testified of it, that its works were evil; and St. John affirmed, "We know that * St. Matt. v. 13, 14.

we are of GOD, and the whole world lieth in wickedness."* The precept "judge not" cannot, therefore, mean, that Christians ought to judge favourably of the common maxims and conduct of the world. Let us beware then of this unchristian mode of interpreting the text. "He that justifieth the wicked,” said Solomon, “and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD."†

Let us now consider, whether sufficient force may not be given to the precept in question, without inclining to any dangerous interpretations of it. It may be considered as forbidding three things: first, a rash and hasty judgment; secondly, a prejudiced and partial judgment; and thirdly, a harsh and severe judgment.

First, it forbids a rash judgment. How many decide on the character and conduct of their neighbour, before they have had the means of forming a tolerable opinion. They judge, before they have heard the cause. We should, first, examine and cross-examine: we should, then, weigh and deliberate; and, if the evidence be defective in any part, we should still suspend our judgment. He, who is in haste to determine, has not yet learnt one great rule of wisdom; and one of the most important lessons of the Gospel.

Secondly, this is a precept against partial judgment. We are all, more or less, prejudiced! If a man, for instance, be of another nation, or of an opposite political party, or of a contrary sect in religion; or if he be our rival in trade, or our opponent in any matter, how hard it is to judge fairly of his conduct. It should be the great care of Christians to divest themselves of partiality. Their ambition should be to rise in this respect above the world. Never let us join in the general abuse of some opposite and absent party, which makes a leading part of the conversation of many circles. Candour is an essential Christian virtue; a point not sufficiently considered by many persons who are strict in other respects. "Judge not that ye be not judged:"-if you may judge uncandidly of others, have they not the

* 1 St. John, v. 19.

† Prov. xvii. 15.