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SERMON XV.

CHRIST'S EXPOSITION OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT.

MATTHEW V. 21, 22.

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Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill,' and, Whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment:' but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire.

THE decalogue has by some been imagined to be an incomplete rule of moral conduct. In strictness of interpretation, it may be so; yet, in the view taken of it by our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall find it to embrace a great number of cases, to which at first sight, it might not seem to apply. Much of the discourse on the Mount was taken up with

animadversions on the erroneous conceptions with respect to the moral law then prevalent, and with an exposition of its true and full import. The general principle of explication adopted by our divine Teacher, is that when a greater evil is forbidden, all its inferior degrees are so also by necessary implication. For instance, that under the general prohibition to kill, was intended a condemnation of those feelings even in an inferior degree, which in the most violent form led to this atrocious crime.

Such was not, however, the view taken of this precept by those who had undertaken to expound the law of God to their countrymen. While they were ready to bring to judgment such as had taken away another's life, they were inclined to tolerate violent resentment, reproachful language, and injurious conduct, provided it did not extend to the infliction of death. Our Saviour has given us a more accurate understanding of the will of God; and in the passage now under view, there are three particular instances in which the spirit of the sixth commandment is stated to be violated. The first is, being angry without cause.' This offence respects our fellow creatures in general; for in the morality of the gospel, they all sustain to us the relation of brethren. The inquiry which now presents itself, is this, Is anger ever to be indulgedcan it in any instance be viewed as innocent? It

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would seem from the text, that these questions must be answered affirmatively. The prohibition of causeless anger implies the allowance of that for which there exists reasonable grounds. And elsewhere an apostle has thus expressed himself, "Be ye angry and sin not." Eph. iv. 26. It is, however, of great importance to understand this subject aright, for every man who is incensed against another, fancies that he has just reason for being so; and that in fostering his feelings of animosity he is not acting criminally. A few observations will therefore be made on this subject, although it is difficult accurately to discriminate between what is to be allowed, and what is to be condemned. Anger, implying an uneasiness or discomposure of mind under the reception of an injury, is a principle of our nature, which like all others has its appropriate function; and under due restrictions, while it secures our own rights from violation, it is in no wise detrimental to the general welfare. Yet anger should not be causeless; it should not assume undue violence; it should not settle down into violent hatred, or an implacable spirit of revenge. Anger should not be without cause, and when it has cause, there should be a just proportion between the offence given, and the displeasure felt. This is very far from being the case in the intercourse of life. Imaginary insults or real injuries of a very trivial kind lead to immoderate transports of passion,

issuing in violence of speech and action. This, undoubtedly is highly criminal. And even an inferior degree of indignation, even if produced by the most sufficient cause, is greatly to be censured, provided it do not pass away with the occasion which excited it. It is to prevent malice from taking the place of transient anger, that the apostle, after the injunction to be angry and sin not, requires us not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. Such is the first evil against which we are warned, and which our Lord declared to his hearers would render them liable to the judgment of God, although it might not come under the cognizance of any human tribunal.

The next offence mentioned in the text, is the use of insulting, contemptuous language. Whosoever shall say to his brother, "Raca;" the expression indicates the greatest emptiness and worthlessness; it was a common term of reproach among the Jews, as we learn from some collections taken from the Rabbinical writings. This offence, our Lord observes, would render him who committed it, liable to the sentence of the sanhedrin, or great council of the nation, who were competent to the infliction of the highest temporal punishment.

The third instance in which the spirit of God's commandment is violated, is of a similar nature with the one just mentioned. It differs from it in degree, but not in kind. It is the use of language

opprobrious in the extreme. To those who are only acquainted with the ordinary acceptation of the term "fool," it might not seem to convey any great censure. Yet occurring in scriptural language, the original word denotes not imbecility of mind, but perversity of heart. In the Proverbs and in the Psalms, it is frequently used in the sense of "rebel against God," "apostate from all good." He, therefore, who applied to another the epithet "moreh," or fool; who by this term accused him of the highest offence against the Jewish law and the majesty of God; and who did this unjustly, should be in danger of hell-fire-literally, shall be liable to the hell of fire. The word here translated hell, is "Gehenna." It is derived from Ghi Hinnom, the valley of the son of Hinnom. It was a place near Jerusalem. It had been the scene of those abominable sacrifices in which children had been made to pass through the fire to Moloch. From this circumstance, among the Jews contemporary with our Saviour, the name of this valley had been used to express hell, the place of torment, the receptacle of lost souls.

It appears, then, according to our Lord's exposition of the sixth commandment, that it refers not only to the highest injury done to another's happiness; but to unreasonable anger, to contemptuous language, to malignant reproaches. He, therefore, who would preserve a conscience void of

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