CHAPTER 17._Jesus the Christ A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

At some time very near that of the ordination of the Twelve, Jesus

delivered a remarkable discourse, which, in reference to the place where

it was given, has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew

presents an extended account occupying three chapters of the first

Gospel; Luke gives a briefer synopsis.[515] Circumstantial variations

appearing in the two records are of minor importance;[516] it is the

sermon itself to which we may profitably devote attention. Luke

introduces in different parts of his writings many of the precious

precepts given as parts of the sermon recorded as a continuous discourse

in the Gospel written by Matthew. In our present study we shall be

guided principally by Matthew's account. Some portions of this

comprehensive address were expressly directed to the disciples, who had

been or would be called to the apostleship and in consequence be

required to renounce all their worldly interests for the labors of the

ministry; other parts were and are of general application. Jesus had

ascended the mountain side, probably to escape the crowds that thronged

Him in or near the towns.[517] The disciples gathered about Him, and

there He sat and taught them.[518]

THE BEATITUDES.[519]

The opening sentences are rich in blessing, and the first section of the

discourse is devoted to an explanation of what constitutes genuine

blessedness; the lesson, moreover, was made simple and unambiguous by

specific application, each of the blessed being assured of recompense

and reward in the enjoyment of conditions directly opposite to those

under which he had suffered. The blessings particularized by the Lord on

this occasion have been designated in literature of later time as the

Beatitudes. The poor in spirit are to be made rich as rightful heirs to

the kingdom of heaven; the mourner shall be comforted for he shall see

the divine purpose in his grief, and shall again associate with the

beloved ones of whom he has been bereft; the meek, who suffer spoliation

rather than jeopardize their souls in contention, shall inherit the

earth; those that hunger and thirst for the truth shall be fed in rich

abundance; they that show mercy shall be judged mercifully; the pure in

heart shall be admitted to the very presence of God; the peacemakers,

who try to save themselves and their fellows from strife, shall be

numbered among the children of God; they that suffer persecution for the

sake of righteousness shall inherit the riches of the eternal kingdom.

To the disciples the Lord spake directly, saying: "Blessed are ye, when

men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of

evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:

for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets

which were before you."[520]

It is evident that the specified blessings and the happiness comprized

therein are to be realized in their fulness only beyond the grave;

though the joy that comes from the consciousness of right living brings,

even in this world, a rich return. An important element in this splendid

elucidation of the truly blessed state is the implied distinction

between pleasure and happiness.[521] Mere pleasure is at best but

fleeting; happiness is abiding, for in the recollection thereof is joy

renewed. Supreme happiness is not an earthly attainment; the promised

"fulness of joy" lies beyond death and the resurrection.[522] While man

exists in this mortal state he needs some of the things of the world; he

must have food and clothing and provision for shelter; and beside these

bare necessities he may righteously desire the facilities of education,

the incidentals of advancing civilization, and the things that are

conducive to refinement and culture; yet all of these are but aids to

achievement, not the end to attain which man was made mortal.

The Beatitudes are directed to the duties of mortal life as a

preparation for a greater existence yet future. In the kingdom of

heaven, twice named in this part of the Lord's discourse, are true

riches and unfailing happiness to be found. The kingdom of heaven was

the all-comprizing text of this wonderful sermon; the means of reaching

the kingdom and the glories of eternal citizenship therein are the main

divisions of the treatise.

DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MINISTRY.[523]

The Master next proceeded to instruct with particular directness those

upon whom would devolve the responsibility of the ministry as His

commissioned representatives. "Ye are the salt of the earth," said He.

Salt is the great preservative; as such it has had practical use since

very ancient times. Salt was prescribed as an essential addition to

every meat offering under the Mosaic law.[524] Long before the time of

Christ, the use of salt had been accorded a symbolism of fidelity,

hospitality, and covenant.[525] To be of use salt must be pure; to be of

any saving virtue as salt, it must be salt indeed, and not the product

of chemical alteration or of earthy admixture, whereby its saltiness or

"savor" would be lost;[526] and, as worthless stuff, it would be fit

only to be thrown away. Against such change of faith, against such

admixture with the sophistries, so-called philosophies, and heresies of

the times, the disciples were especially warned. Then, changing the

figure, Jesus likened them to the light of the world, and enjoined upon

them the duty of keeping their light before the people, as prominently

as stands a city built upon a hill, to be seen from all directions, a

city that cannot be hid. Of what service would a lighted candle be if

hidden under a tub or a box? "Let your light so shine before men," said

He, "that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is

in heaven."

That they should make no error as to the relationship of the ancient law

and the gospel of the kingdom which He was elucidating, Jesus assured

them that He had not come to destroy the law nor to nullify the

teachings and predictions of the prophets, but to fulfil such and to

establish that for which the developments of the centuries gone had been

but preparatory. The gospel may be said to have destroyed the Mosaic law

only as the seed is destroyed in the growth of the new plant, only as

the bud is destroyed by the bursting forth of the rich, full, and

fragrant flowers, only as infancy and youth pass forever as the maturity

of years develops. Not a jot or a tittle of the law was to be void. A

more effective analogy than the last could scarcely have been conceived;

the jot or yod, and the tittle, were small literary marks in the Hebrew

script; for present purposes we may regard them as equivalent to the dot

of an "i" or the cross of a "t"; with the first, the jot, our English

word "iota," signifying a trifle, is related. Not even the least

commandment could be violated without penalty; but the disciples were

admonished to take heed that their keeping of the commandments was not

after the manner of the scribes and Pharisees, whose observance was that

of ceremonial externalism, lacking the essentials of genuine devotion;

for they were assured that by such an insincere course they could "in no

case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

THE LAW SUPERSEDED BY THE GOSPEL.[527]

The next section of the sermon deals with the superiority of the gospel

of Christ over the law of Moses, and contrasts the requirements of the

two in particular instances. Whereas the law forbade murder, and

provided a just penalty for the crime, Christ taught that one's giving

way to anger, which might possibly lead to violence or even murder, was

of itself a sin. To maliciously use an offensive epithet such as "Raca"

laid one liable to punishment under the decree of the council, and to

call another a fool placed one "in danger of hell fire." These

objectionable designations were regarded at that time as especially

opprobrious and were therefore expressive of hateful intent. The

murderer's hand is impelled by the hatred in his heart. The law provided

penalty for the deed; the gospel rebuked the evil passion in its

incipiency. To emphasize this principle, the Master showed that hatred

was not to be atoned by a material sacrifice; and that if one came to

make an offering at the altar, and remembered that he was at enmity with

his brother, he should first go to that brother and be reconciled, even

though such a course involved the interruption of the ceremonial, which

was a particularly grievous incident according to the judgment of the

priests. Differences and contentions were to be adjusted without delay.

The law forbade the awful sin of adultery; Christ said that the sin

began in the lustful glance, the sensual thought; and He added that it

was better to become blind than to look with evil eye; better to lose a

hand than to work iniquity therewith. Touching the matter of

divorcement, in which great laxity prevailed in that day, Jesus declared

that except for the most serious offense of infidelity to marriage vows,

no man could divorce his wife without becoming himself an offender, in

that she, marrying again while still a wife not righteously divorced,

would be guilty of sin, and so would be the man to whom she was so

married.

Of old it had been forbidden to swear or take oaths except in solemn

covenant before the Lord; but in the gospel dispensation the Lord

forbade that men swear at all; and the heinousness of wanton oaths was

expounded. Grievously sinful indeed it was and is to swear by heaven,

which is the abode of God; or by earth, which is His creation and by Him

called His footstool; or by Jerusalem, which was regarded by those who

swore as the city of the great King; or by one's own head, which is part

of the body God has created. Moderation in speech, decision and

simplicity were enjoined, to the exclusion of expletives, profanity and

oaths.

Of old the principle of retaliation had been tolerated, by which one who

had suffered injury could exact or inflict a penalty of the same nature

as the offense. Thus an eye was demanded for the loss of an eye, a tooth

for a tooth, a life for a life.[528] In contrast, Christ taught that men

should rather suffer than do evil, even to the extent of submission

without resistance under certain implied conditions. His forceful

illustrations--that if one were smitten on one cheek he should turn the

other to the smiter; that if a man took another's coat by process of

law, the loser should allow his cloak to be taken also; that if one was

pressed into service to carry another's burden a mile, he should

willingly go two miles; that one should readily give or lend as

asked--are not to be construed as commanding abject subserviency to

unjust demands, nor as an abrogation of the principle of

self-protection. These instructions were directed primarily to the

apostles, who would be professedly devoted to the work of the kingdom to

the exclusion of all other interests. In their ministry it would be

better to suffer material loss or personal indignity and imposition at

the hands of wicked oppressors, than to bring about an impairment of

efficiency and a hindrance in work through resistance and contention. To

such as these the Beatitudes were particularly applicable--Blessed are

the meek, the peace-makers, and they that are persecuted for

righteousness' sake.

Of old it had been said: "Love thy neighbour, and hate thine

enemy";[529] but the Lord now taught: "Love your enemies, bless them

that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which

despitefully use you, and persecute you." This was a new doctrine. Never

before had Israel been required to love their foes. Friendship for

enemies had found no place in the Mosaic code: indeed the people had

grown to look upon Israel's enemies as God's enemies; and now Jesus

required that tolerance, mercy, and even love be meted out to such! He

supplemented the requirement by an explanation--through the course

indicated by Him men may become children of God, like unto their

Heavenly Father to the extent of their obedience; for the Father is

kind, long-suffering and tolerant, causing His sun to shine on the evil

and on the good, and sending rain for the sustenance of both just and

unjust.[530] And further, what excellence has the man who gives only as

he receives, acknowledges only those who salute him with respect, loves

only as he is loved? Even the publicans[531] did that much. Of the

disciples of Christ much more was expected. The admonition closing this

division of the discourse is an effective and comprehensive summary of

all that had preceded: "_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father

which is in heaven is perfect._"[532]

SINCERITY OF PURPOSE.[533]

In the matter of alms-giving the Master warned against, and

inferentially denounced, ostentation and hypocritical display. To give

to the needy is praiseworthy; but to give for the purpose of winning the

praise of men is rank hypocrisy. The tossing of alms to a beggar, the

pouring of offerings into the temple treasure chests, to be seen of

men,[534] and similar displays of affected liberality, were fashionable

among certain classes in the time of Christ; and the same spirit is

manifest today. Some there be now who cause a trumpet to be sounded,

through the columns of the press perchance, or by other means of

publicity, to call attention to their giving, that they may have glory

of men--to win political favor, to increase their trade or influence, to

get what in their estimation is worth more than that from which they

part. With logical incisiveness the Master demonstrated that such givers

have their reward. They have received what they bid for; what more can

such men demand or consistently expect? _"But" said the Lord, "when thou

doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That

thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret

himself shall reward thee openly!"_

In the same spirit did the Preacher denounce hypocritical prayers--the

saying of prayers in place of praying. There were many who sought places

of public resort, in the synagogs, and even on the street-corners, that

they might be seen and heard of men when saying their prayers. They

secured the publicity they sought; what more could they ask? "Verily I

say unto you, They have their reward," He who would really pray--pray as

nearly as possible as Christ prayed, pray in actual communion with God

to whom the prayer is addressed--will seek privacy, seclusion,

isolation; if opportunity permits he will retire to his chamber, and

will shut the door, that none may intrude; there he may pray indeed, if

the spirit of prayer be in his heart; and this course was commended by

the Lord. Wordy supplications, made up largely of iterations and

repetitions such as the heathen use, thinking that their idol deities

will be pleased with their much speaking, were forbidden.

It is well to know that prayer is not compounded of words, words that

may fail to express what one desires to say, words that so often cloak

inconsistencies, words that may have no deeper source than the physical

organs of speech, words that may be spoken to impress mortal ears. The

dumb may pray, and that too with the eloquence that prevails in heaven.

Prayer is made up of heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of the

soul, of supplication based on the realization of need, of contrition

and pure desire. If there lives a man who has never really prayed, that

man is a being apart from the order of the divine in human nature, a

stranger in the family of God's children. Prayer is for the uplifting of

the suppliant. God without our prayers would be God; but we without

prayer cannot be admitted to the kingdom of God. So did Christ instruct:

"your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

Then gave He unto those who sought wisdom at His feet, a model prayer,

saying: "After this manner therefore pray ye:

_"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name."_ In this we

acknowledge the relation we bear to our Heavenly Father, and while

reverencing His great and holy Name, we avail ourselves of the

inestimable privilege of approaching Him, less with the thought of His

infinite glory as the Creator of all that is, the Supreme Being above

all creation, than with the loving realization that He is Father, and

that we are His children. This is the earliest Biblical scripture giving

instruction, permission, or warrant, for addressing God directly as "Our

Father". Therein is expressed the reconciliation which the human family,

estranged through sin, may attain by the means provided through the well

beloved Son. This instruction is equally definite in demonstrating the

brotherhood between Christ and humanity. As He prayed so pray we to the

same Father, we as brethren and Christ as our Elder Brother.

_"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."_ The

kingdom of God is to be a kingdom of order, in which toleration and the

recognition of individual rights shall prevail. One who really prays

that this kingdom come will strive to hasten its coming by living

according to the law of God. His effort will be to keep himself in

harmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to the

spirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things that

God loves. To make the will of God supreme on earth as it is in heaven

is to be allied with God in the affairs of life. There are many who

profess belief that as God is omnipotent, all that is is according to

His will. Such a supposition is unscriptural, unreasonable, and

untrue.[535] Wickedness is not in harmony with His will; falsehood,

hypocrisy, vice and crime are not God's gifts to man. By His will these

monstrosities that have developed as hideous deformities in human nature

and life shall be abolished, and this blessed consummation shall be

reached when by choice, without surrender or abrogation of their free

agency, men shall do the will of God.

_"Give us this day our daily bread."_ Food is indispensable to life. As

we need it we should ask for it. True, the Father knows our need before

we ask, but by asking we acknowledge Him as the Giver, and are made

humble, grateful, contrite, and reliant by the request. Though the sun

shines and the rain falls alike upon the just and the unjust, the

righteous man is grateful for these blessings; the ungodly man receives

the benefits as a matter of course with a soul incapable of gratitude.

The capacity to be grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which

we should be further grateful. We are taught to pray day by day for the

food we need, not for a great store to be laid by for the distant

future. Israel in the desert received manna as a daily supply[536] and

were kept in mind of their reliance upon Him who gave. The man with much

finds it easier to forget his dependence than he who must ask with each

succeeding day of need.

_"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."_ He who can thus

pray with full intent and unmixed purpose merits forgiveness. In this

specification of personal supplication we are taught to expect only as

we deserve. The selfish and sinful would rejoice in exemption from their

lawful debts, but being selfish and sinful would exact the last farthing

from those who owe them.[537] Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to be

cast at the feet of the unforgiving;[538] and, without the sincerity

that springs from a contrite heart, no man may justly claim mercy. If

others owe us, either in actual money or goods as suggested by debts and

debtors, or through some infringement upon our rights included under the

broader designation as a trespass, our mode of dealing with them will be

taken into righteous account in the judgment of our own offenses.

_"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:"_ The first

part of this petition has occasioned comment and question. We are not to

understand that God would ever lead a man into temptation except,

perhaps, by way of wise permission, to test and prove him, thereby

affording him opportunity of overcoming and so of gaining spiritual

strength, which is the only true advancement in man's eternal course of

progress. The one purpose of providing bodies for the preexistent

spirits of the race, and of advancing them to the mortal state, was to

"prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the

Lord their God shall command them."[539] The plan of mortality involved

the certainty of temptation. The intent of the supplication appears to

be that we be preserved from temptation beyond our weak powers to

withstand; that we be not abandoned to temptation without the divine

support that shall be as full a measure of protection as our exercize of

choice will allow.

How inconsistent then to go, as many do, into the places where the

temptations to which we are most susceptible are strongest; for the man

beset with a passion for strong drink to so pray and then resort to the

dramshop; for the man whose desires are lustful to voice such a prayer

and then go where lust is kindled; for the dishonest man, though he say

the prayer, to then place himself where he knows the opportunity to

steal will be found! Can such souls as these be other than hypocrites in

asking God to deliver them from the evils they have sought? Temptation

will fall in our way without our seeking, and evil will present itself

even when we desire most to do right; for deliverance from such we may

pray with righteous expectation and assurance.

_"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen."_ Herein we acknowledge the supremacy of the Being whom we

addressed at the beginning as Father. He is the Almighty in whom and

through whose provision we live and move and have our existence.[540] To

assert independence of God is both sacrilege and blasphemy; to

acknowledge Him is a filial duty and a just confession of His majesty

and dominion. The Lord's Prayer is closed with a solemn "Amen," set as a

seal to the document of the supplication, attesting its genuineness as

the true expression of the suppliant's soul; gathering within the

compass of a word the meaning of all that has been uttered or thought.

_So let it be_ is the literal signification of _Amen_.

From the subject of prayer the Master turned to that of fasting, and

emphasized the important truth that to be of avail fasting must be a

matter between the man and his God, not between man and his kind. It was

a common thing in the Master's day to see men parading the fact of their

abstinence as an advertisement of their assumed piety.[541] That they

might appear haggard and faint, this class of hypocrites disfigured

their faces, went with unkempt hair, gazed about with sad countenances.

Of these also the Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, They have their

reward." Believers were admonished to fast secretly, with no outward

display, and to fast unto God, who could see in secret and would heed

their sacrifice and prayer.

TREASURES OF EARTH AND OF HEAVEN.[542]

The transitory character of worldly wealth was next contrasted with the

enduring riches of eternity. Many there were and many there are whose

principal effort in life has been that of amassing treasures of earth,

the mere possession of which entails responsibility, care, and

disturbing anxiety. Some kinds of wealth are endangered by the ravages

of moths, such as silks and velvets, satins and furs; some are destroyed

by corrosion and rust--silver and copper and steel; while these and

others are not infrequently made the booty of thieves. Infinitely more

precious are the treasures of a life well spent, the wealth of good

deeds, the account of which is kept in heaven, where the riches of

righteous achievement are safe from moth, rust, and robbers. Then

followed the trenchant lesson: _"For where your treasure is, there will

your heart be also."_

Spiritual light is shown to be greater than any product of physical

illuminants. What does the brightest light avail the man who is blind?

It is the bodily eye that discerns the light of the candle, the lamp, or

the sun; and the spiritual eye sees by spiritual light; if then man's

spiritual eye be single, that is, pure and undimmed by sin, he is filled

with the light that shall show him the way to God; whereas if his soul's

eye be evil, he will be as one full of darkness. Solemn caution is

expressed in the summary, "If therefore the light that is in thee be

darkness, how great is that darkness!" Those whom the Master was

addressing had received of the light of God; the degree of belief they

had already professed was proof of that. Should they turn from the great

emprise on which they had embarked, the light would be lost, and the

succeeding darkness would be denser than that from which they had been

relieved.[543] There was to be no indecision among the disciples. No one

of them could serve two masters; if he professed so to do he would be an

untrue servant to the one or the other. Then followed another profound

generalization: _"Ye cannot serve God and mammon."_[544]

They were told to trust the Father for what they needed, taking no

thought of food, drink, clothing, or even of life itself, for all these

were to be supplied by means above their power to control. With the

wisdom of a Teacher of teachers, the Master appealed to their hearts and

their understanding by citing the lessons of nature, in language of such

simple yet forceful eloquence that to amplify or condense it is but to

mar:

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they

reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are

ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one

cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider

the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they

spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not

arrayed like one of these."

The weakness of faith was reproved in the reminder that the Father who

cared even for the grass of the field, which one day flourishes and on

the next is gathered up to be burned, would not fail to remember His

own. Therefore the Master added: _"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and

his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."_

HYPOCRISY FURTHER CONDEMNED.[545]

Men are prone to judge their fellows and to praise or censure without

due consideration of fact or circumstance. On prejudiced or unsupported

judgment the Master set His disapproval. "Judge not, that ye be not

judged," He admonished, for, according to one's own standard of judging

others, shall he himself be judged. The man who is always ready to

correct his brother's faults, to remove the mote from his neighbor's eye

so that that neighbor may see things as the interested and interfering

friend would have him see, was denounced as a hypocrite. What was the

speck in his neighbor's vision to the obscuring beam in his own eye?

Have the centuries between the days of Christ and our own time made us

less eager to cure the defective vision of those who cannot or will not

assume our point of view, and see things as we see them?

These disciples, some of whom were soon to minister in the authority of

the Holy Apostleship, were cautioned against the indiscreet and

indiscriminate scattering of the sacred truths and precepts committed to

them. Their duty would be to discern the spirits of those whom they

essayed to teach, and to impart unto them in wisdom. The words of the

Master were strong: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither

cast ye your pearls before, swine, lest they trample them under their

feet, and turn again and rend you."[546]

PROMISE AND REASSURANCE[547]

That their supplications would be heard and answered followed as a rich

promise. They were to ask and they would receive; they were to knock and

the door would be opened. Surely the Heavenly Father would not be less

considerate than a human parent; and what father would answer his son's

plea for bread by giving him a stone, or who would give a serpent when a

fish was desired? With greater certainty would God bestow good gifts

upon those who asked according to their need, in faith. "_Therefore all

things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to

them: for this is the law and the prophets."_

The straight and narrow way by which man may walk in Godliness was

compared with the broad highway leading to destruction. False prophets

were to be shunned, such as were then among the people, comparable in

their pretense to sheep, and in their reality to ravening wolves. These

were to be recognized by their works and the results thereof, even as a

tree to be judged as good or bad according to its fruit. A thorn bush

does not produce grapes, nor can thistles bear figs. Conversely, it is

as truly impossible for a good tree to produce evil fruit as for a

useless and corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit.

Religion is more than the confession and profession of the lips. Jesus

averred that in the day of judgment many would pretend allegiance to

Him, saying: "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy

name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye

that work iniquity." Only by doing the will of the Father is the saving

grace of the Son obtainable. To assume to speak and act in the name of

the Lord without the bestowal of authority, such as the Lord alone can

give, is to add sacrilege to hypocrisy. Even miracles wrought will be no

vindication of the claims of those who pretend to minister in the

ordinances of the gospel while devoid of the authority of the Holy

Priesthood.[548]

HEARING AND DOING.[549]

The Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since its

delivery without another to be compared with it. No mortal man has ever

since preached a discourse of its kind. The spirit of the address is

throughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty profession

and neglect. In the closing sentences the Lord showed the uselessness of

hearing alone, as contrasted with the efficacy of doing. The man who

hears and acts is likened unto the wise builder who set the foundation

of his house upon a rock; and in spite of rain and hurricane and flood,

the house stood. He that hears and obeys not is likened unto the foolish

man who built his house upon the sand; and when rain fell, or winds

blew, or floods came, behold it fell, and great was the fall thereof.

Such doctrines as these astonished the people. For His distinctive

teachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own. His address

was free from any array of rabbinical precedents; the law was superseded

by the gospel: _"For he taught them as one having authority, and not as

the scribes!"_

NOTES TO CHAPTER 17.

1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount.--Matthew gives the address

early mention, placing it even before the record of his own call from

the seat of custom--which call certainly preceded the ordination of the

Twelve as a body--and before his account of many sayings and doings of

the Lord already considered in these pages. Luke's partial summary of

the sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthew

tells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that He sat while

speaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and the

Twelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where they

were met by the multitude, and that Jesus preached unto them, standing.

Critics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightier

matters, have tried to make much of these seeming variations. Is it not

probable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to the

disciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and that

after finishing His discourse to them He descended with them to the

plain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeated

parts of what He had before spoken? The relative fulness of Matthew's

report may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was present

at the first and more extended delivery.

2. Pleasure Versus Happiness.--"The present is an age of

pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for

sensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of

counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier

than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture

of pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most

attractive fashion, falsely labeled, _Happiness_. In this

soul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has had centuries of

experience and practise, and by his skill he controls the market. He has

learned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and

arouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in

bright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds

flock to his bargain counters, hustling and crushing one another in

their frenzy to buy.

"Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudy

packet, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gilded

wrapping? He has expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only an

inferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.

"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in

pleasure, and much beside. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but

gilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into

poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough

or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the

paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness

is as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure,

as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.

"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up

the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and

spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spirituous

drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him

fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.

"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing

reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no

remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and

suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and

destruction.

"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a

renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a

barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present

source of anguish.

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded

mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not

infrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that you

have had to weep? I have." From an article by the author, _Improvement

Era_, vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 172, 173.

3. Salt of the Earth.--Dummelow's _Commentary_, on Matt. 5:13, states:

"Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoes

chemical changes by which its flavor is destroyed while its appearance

remains." Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, "if the

salt have lost his savor," may be suggested by the fact that salt mixed

with insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving the

insoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord's

illustration is that spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. The

corresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephites

after His resurrection reads: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give

unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its

savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be

thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden

under foot of men." (3 Nephi 12:13.)

4. Reference to Publicans.--Observe that Matthew, who had been a

publican, frankly records this reference (5:46, 47) to his despized

class. Luke writes "sinners" instead of "publicans" (6:32-34). Of

course, if the accounts of the two writers refer to separate addresses

(see Note 1, above), both may be accurate. But we find Matthew's

designation of himself as a publican in his list of the apostles (10:3)

and the considerate omission of the unenviable title by the other

evangelists (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15).

5. Relative Perfection.--Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect,

even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be

construed otherwise than as implying the possibility of such

achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in

the sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being. It is

possible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a sense

analogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in their

several spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitely

inferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman or

sophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore; his record may

possibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency and

achievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and

the attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assured

possibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end.

FOOTNOTES:

[515] Matt. chaps. 5, 6, 7; Luke 6:20-49. See also the version of the

Sermon as delivered by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to the

Nephites on the western continent; B. of M., 3 Nephi, chaps. 12, 13, 14.