Much rather that one of thy members fell, Than that they should be all condemned to hell.
It hath been said, whoso away shall force
His wife, shall give her a bill of divorce:
But whosoe'er shall put his wife away,
Except for fornication's sake, I say,
Makes her adult'ress, and who marries her,
So put away, is an adulterer.
Again: Ye've heard, Thou shalt not be for
Was ancient doctrine, but thou shalt perform
Unto the Lord thine oaths: But I declare,
That thou shalt not at all presume to swear;
Neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;
Nor by the earth, for his foot stands thereon:
Neither swear by Jerusalem, for why?
It is the city of the King Most High:
Nor swear thou by thine head, for thou canst make
No hair thereof to be or white or black:
But let yea, yea; nay, nay, in speech suffice,
For what is more from evil doth arise.
Ye've heard, it hath been said, Eye for an eye,
And tooth for tooth: But I do testify,
That you shall not resist; but let him smite
Thy left cheek also, who assaults thy right.
And if that any by a lawsuit shall
Demand thy coat, let them have cloak and
all.
And whosoe'er compelleth thee to go
A mile, refuse not to go with him two.
Give him that asketh, and from him that may
Have need to borrow, turn not thou away.
Ye've heard, 'twas said, That thou shalt love
thy friend
And hate thy foe: But let your love extend
Unto your enemies: thus I declare,
Bless them that curse, do good to them that bear
Ill-will, and for your persecutors pray,
And them that do reproach you; that
Be children of your Father that's in heaven;
For he on good and bad alike hath given
His sun to rise, and in like manner doth
Send rain upon the just and unjust both.
For what is your reward, if you love them
That love you? Do not publicans the same?
And if your brethren only you salute,
What more than they do ye? They also do't.
I will therefore that you be perfect, ev'n
As is your Father perfect that's in heaven.
These lines, and those on the next page, The eye's the light o' th' body,' remind one of Bunyan's style in his Apology for the Pilgrim's Progress
Take heed you do not your alms-deeds bestow
Before men, purposely to make a show;
For then there will no recompense be given
Unto you of your Father that's in heaven:
With sound of trumpet do not thou therefere
Proclaim what thou art giving to the poor;
As is the manner of the hypocrites
To do i' th' synagogues, and in the streets;"
That men may give them praises. Verily
They have their recompense, I testify.
But when thou dost alps, let thy left hand know
Not what thy right hand is about to do:
That giving secretly, thy Father may,
Who sees in secret, openly repay.
And when thou pray'st be not as hypocrites;
For they love in the corners of the streets,
And in the synagogues to stand and pray,
There to be seen: they've their reward, I say.
But thou, when thou dost make thy pray'r, go
thee
Into thy closet, shut thy door unto thee,
And there in secret to thy Father cry,
Who seeing thee shail reward thee openly.
But when ye pray use not vain repetitions,
As heathens do, for they think their petitions
Prevail; when they the same do multiply:
Be ye not like to them therefore; for why?
Your Father knows what things you need be-
You ask him, on this wise pray ye therefore.
Our Father which art in heav'n, thy name
Be hallowed. Thy glorious kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as 'tis in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And ev'n
As we remit our debtors, grant remission
To us. And lead us not into temptation,
But from all evil do thou us deliver;
For th' kingdom, power and glory's thine
for ever.
Amen.
For if you do forgive men that offend,
Your heavenly Father will to you extend
Forgiveness; but if not, nor will he spare,
At any time when you offenders are.
Moreover, when you fast beware lest you
Look sad, as hypocrites are wont to do;
For they disguise their faces, that they may
Appear to fast: they've their reward, I say,
But thou, when thou dost fast, anoint thine
head
And wash thy face, that undiscovered
"Dost thou love picking meat? Or would'st thou ses A man i' th' clouds, and hear him speak to thee?"—ED.
Thy fasting may be unto men, but rather
That thou be seen in secret of thy Father:
And then thy Father, who in secresy
Beholds thee, shall reward thee openly.
Lay not up treasure for yourselves in store
Upon the earth, where moth and rust devour,
The morrow shall things for itself prepare: Sufficient to the day is each day's care.
And where by thieves you may be quite be- Judge not, that you may not be judg'd; for
But lay up treasure for yourselves in heaven, Where neither moth, nor rust, nor thieves can
For where's your treasure there your hearts will centre.
The eye's the light o' th' body, which if right
Then thy whole body will be full of light:
But if thine eye be evil, then there will
A total darkness thy whole body fill.
If therefore all the light that is in thee
Be darkness, how great must that darkness be?
No man can serve two masters, either he
Will hate one, and love t'other, or will be
Faithful to one, and t'other will forego.
Ye cannot serve both God and mammon too.
Take no thought therefore for your life, I say,
What you shall eat or drink; or how you may
Your bodies clothe. Is not the life much more
Than meat; Is not the body far before
The clothes thereof? Behold the fowls o' th' air,
Nor sow nor reap, nor take they any care
How they provision into barns may gather;
Yet they are nourish'd by your heavenly
Father:
Are ye not worth much more? Which of you
By taking thought add to his height one span?
And why for raiment are ye taking thought?
See how the lilies grow; they labour not,
Nor do they spin; yet Solomon, I say,
In all his pomp, had no such gay array.
If in the field God so doth clothe the grass,
Which is to-day, and doth to-morrow pass
Into the oven, shall he not therefore,
Oye of little faith, clothe you much more? Take no thought therefore, saying, What shall we eat,
Or drink, or where shall we our raiment get:
For thus the heathen people used to do;)
For that you need them doth your Father
know.
But seek God's kingdom, and his righteousness
First, and then all these things you shall pos-
Be not then exercis'd with care and sorrow, In making preparation for the morrow;
As you pass judgment, judgment shall be giv'n:
And with such measure as you mete to men, It shall be measured unto you again.
And why dost thou take notice of the mote That's in thy brother's eye; but dost not note The beam that's in thine own? How wilt thou say
Unto thy brother, Let me take away
The mote that's in thine eye, when yet 'tis plain
The beam that's in thine own doth still remain?
First cast away the beam, thou hypocrite,
From thine own eye, so shall thy clearer sight
The better be enabled to descry,
And pluck the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Give not to dogs the things that are divine,
Neither cast ye your pearls before the swine
Lest that they should their feet them trample
under,
And turn upon you, and rend you asunder. Ask, and obtain; seek, and ye shall find; do ye
Knock, and it shall be opened unto ye:
For he that seeks, shall find; that asks, ob-
tain,
And he that knocks, shall an admittance gain.
Or what man is there of you, if his son
Shall ask him bread, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he bestow
A serpent? If then ye being evil know
To give your children good gifts, how much
rather
To them that ask him shall your heav'nly
Father!
Then what you would men should to you, so do
To them for that's the law and prophets too.
Enter in at the strait gate, for the road
That doth unto destruction lead, is broad;
And wide the gate; and many there be that
Enter therein: because strait is the gate,
And narrow is the way that is inclin'd
To life, and which there are but few that fir.d.
False prophets shun, who in sheep's clothes
But inwardly devouring wolves they are:
Ye by their fruits shall know them. Do men either
Pluck grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles gather?
Even so each good tree good fruit will produce;
But a corrupt tree fruit unfit for use:
A good tree cannot bring forth evil food,
Nor can an evil tree bear fruit that's good:
Each tree that bears not good fruit's hewn
down
And burnt, thus by their fruits they shall be known.
Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, but he
That doth my heav'nly Father's will shall be
An heir of heaven: many in that day
Will call, Lord, Lord, and thus to me will say:
Have we not prophesied in thy name?
Cast devils out, done wonders in the same?
And then will I profess I know you not;
Depart from me, ye that have evil wrought.
Whoso therefore these sayings of mine doth hear,
And doth them, to a wise man I'll compare,
The which upon a rock his building founded,
The rain descended and the floods surrounded,
The winds arose, and gave it many a shock,
And it fell not, being founded on a rock.
And ev'ry one that hears these sayings of
mine,
And not to do them doth his heart incline,
Unto a foolish man shall be compar'd;
Who his foundation on the sand prepar'd:
The rain descended and the floods were great,
The winds did blow, and vehemently beat
Against that house; and down the building
And mighty was the downfall of the same.
And now when Jesus thus had finished
His sayings, the people were astonished
Thereat for not as do the scribes taught he
Them, but as one that had authority.
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