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While we are reading, let us also be adoring at the same time, for the. words of Christ have a gracious divinity about them; they are infinite; they are omnipotent. There is a kind of life in them; a life which communicates itself to those who hear them. Our Saviour did not preach sermons: he preached texts; all his sermons are full of golden sentences, not hammered gold leaf, like those of men, but they are ingots of solid gold, and the gold of that land is good, the most fine gold; there is none like it. Thus he preaches in the seventh chapter of Matthew.
Mat_7:1. Judge not that ye be not judged.
Set not up for critics, especially in the act of worship. Probably there. is no greater destroyer of profit in the hearing of the word than is the spirit of carping criticism.
Mat_7:1-2. 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.
When the Lord comes in judgment, he might almost decline to mount the throne, for he might say, “These men have already tried and condemned each other; let their sentences abide.” If he were to judge us as we have judged others, who amongst us would stand? But we may rest assured that our fellow-men will usually exercise towards us: much the same judgment that we exercise towards them.
Mat_7:3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
It is a beam. You do not see it because it is in your own eye. How is it that you can be so severe towards that which is in another, and so lenient towards yourself?
Mat_7:4-5. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
There may be, dear friends, a great deal of hypocrisy about us, of which we are not aware, for when a man sees a fault in another, and tells him of it, he says, “You know I am a very plain-spoken person; there is no hypocrisy about me.” Well, but there is, and, according to the Saviour’s description, this may be sheer hypocrisy because meanwhile in your own eye there is something else worse than you see in your fellow, and this you pass over, and this is simply untruthful dealing, and it amounts to hypocrisy. If you were really so zealous to make people see, you would begin by being zealous to see yourself, and if you were so concerned to have ,all eyes cleansed from impurity, you would begin by cleansing your own, or seeking to have them cleansed.
Mat_7:6. 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.
It is a pity to talk about some of the secrete of our holy faith in any and every company. It would be almost, profane to speak of them in the company of profane men. We know that they would not. understand us; they would find occasion for jest and ridicule, and therefore our own reverence for holy things must cause us to lay a finger on our lips when we are in the presence of profane persons. Do not let us, however, carry out one precept to the exclusion of others. There are dogs that eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Drop them a crumb. And there are even swine that may yet be translearned; to whom the sight of a pearl might give some inkling of a better condition of heart. Cast not the pearls before them, but you may show them to them sometimes when they are in as good a state of mind as they are likely to be in. It is ours to preach the gospel to every creature; that is a precept of Christ, and yet all creatures are not always in the condition to hear the gospel. We must choose our time. Yet even this I would not push too far. We are to preach the gospel in season and out of season. Oh! that we may be able to follow precepts as far as they are meant to go, and no further.
Mat_7:7. Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
This is the simplest form of prayer. Follow up your prayer by the effort. “Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Add force to your petitions and to your prayers. If the door blocks the way, knock until it is opened.
Mat_7:8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
One way or another you will get the blessing if you are but persevering, and blessed is the man who is a master of the art of asking, but does not forget the labour of seeking an entrance through the importunity of knocking.
Mat_7:9-10. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Our Lord will give us the real thing. Sometimes we should be quite satisfied with the imitation of it. And sometimes we have to wait and be prepared for the reception of the real thing; it is infinitely better for us to wait for months than immediately to get ,a stone; better to wait for a fish than the next moment to have a scorpion. There were some in the wilderness who asked to be satisfied, and they were so, with the flesh of quails. They got their stones, they got their scorpions. But the Lord’s people may sometimes find that they have to wait a while. ,God will not give to them that which is other than good for them.
Mat_7:11-12. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 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.
Wonderful condensation of the two tables off the law! God help us to remember it. This is a golden rule, and he that follows that shall lead a golden life.
Mat_7:13-14. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in, thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Do not be ashamed of being called narrow. Do not be ashamed of being supposed to lead a life of great precision and exactness. There is nothing very grand about breadth, after all. And I have noticed one thing, the broadest men I have ever met in the best sense have always kept to the narrow way, and the narrowest people I know are those who are so fond of the broad way. I could indicate some literature which professes to be exceedingly liberal; it is liberal indeed in finding fault with everybody who holds the gospel, but its tone is bitterness itself towards all the orthodox. Wormwood and gall are honey compared with what the liberal people generally pour out upon those who keep close to the truth. I prefer to cultivate a broad spirit to a narrow heart, and then to talk about the breadth of the way.
Mat_7:15. Beware of false prophets.
But so long as he is a prophet, people will respect him; do not find fault with him, he is a clever man.
Mat_7:15-25. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in, sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that death the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, hare 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. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
For the best man will be tried, and perhaps all the more because he is such.
Mat_7:26-29. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mat_7:1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
You are not called to judge; you are not qualified to judge: “God is the Judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” There is much better work to be done by us than that of setting up as judges of others.
Mat_7:2. For with what Judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Do not judge the whole character of a man by one single action; do not attempt to judge his motives; you cannot read his heart; you are not omniscient; you are not infallible. You will very soon find other people judging you; and when, one of these days, you shall be falsely judged and condemned, you will not need to have any surprise if you have done the same thing yourself; it will be only your corn measured back to you with the bushel you used in measuring other people’s.
Mat_7:3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
There is something in yourself that is worthy of your consideration, something that you ought to consider, it big, blinding beam in your own eye. As for the mote that is in your brother’s eye, there is no need that you should even see it. Why beholdest thou it? Charity is ever a little blind to the faults of others, for it remembers so well its own.
Mat_7:4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
A blind man cannot be a good oculist; he should see well who tries to mend other people’s eyes; but with a beam in one’s own eye, it must be poor work to attempt to take motes out of the eyes of others. This does not prevent our using reproof and rebuke when they are needed. Even under the Law, the command was given, “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him,” as if it were a kind of hatred to avoid the duty of kindly and gentle rebuke. That is a very different thing from exposing the faults of others, and aggravating and exaggerating the faults of others, as, alas, so many do! Oh, how much misery might be saved in the world if the scandal-market were not so brisk! Perhaps tongues would not move so fast if eyes were used to a better purpose.
Mat_7:5-6. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 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.
There are some holy enjoyments, some gracious experiences, some deep doctrines of the Word of God, which it would be out of place to speak of before certain profane and unclean persons. They would only make a jest of them; perhaps they might persecute you on account of them. No; holy things are for holy men; and as of old the crier in the Grecian temple was wont to say, before the mysteries were performed, “Far hence, ye profane!” so sometimes, before we enter into the innermost circle of Christian converse, it would be well for us to notice who is listening.
Mat_7:7-8. Ask, and it shall he given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth;
This is the rule of God’s kingdom invariably, whenever the request is a right one, and is presented in a right manner.
Mat_7:8-11. And he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son, ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
The point is, not only that God gives, but that he knows how to give. If he were always to give according to our prayers, it might be very injurious to us. He might give us that with which we could do hurt, as when a father should put a stone into a boy’s hand; or he might give us that which might do us hurt, as if a father were to give his child a serpent. He will do neither of these things; but be will answer us in discretion, and with prudence will he fulfill our desires. You know how to give to your children; how much more shall your infinitely wise Father, who from heaven sees all the surroundings of men, give good things to them that ask him?
Mat_7:12. 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 law and the prophets” are here condensed into a single sentence. This is the golden rule, a handy rule, a perpetually-applicable rule, useful in every condition, and it never makes a mistake.
Mat_7:13-14. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
It is a way of self-denial, it is a way of humility, it is a way which is distasteful to the natural pride of men; it is a precise way, it is a holy way, a strait way, and therefore men do not care for it. They are too big, too proud, to go along a narrow lane to heaven; yet this is the right way. There are many broad ways, as Banyan says, that abut it; but you may know them by their being broad, and you may know them by their being crowded. The Christian man has to swim against the current; he has to do more than that, he has to go against himself, so strait is the road; but if you wish to go down to perdition, you have only to float with the stream, and you can have any quantity of company that you like.
Mat_7:15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing,
Dressed like Elijah.
Mat_7:15. But inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Very Ahabs and Jezebels; and they will deceive you, if you are not divinely guarded against them.
Mat_7:16. Ye shall know them —
How? By their eloquence? No. Some of the worst of teachers have had great persuasiveness. You shall know them by their earnestness? No. Some have compassed sea and land to make proselytes to a lie. You shall know them how, then?
Mat_7:16. By their fruits.
If their teaching makes you better, if it makes you love God, if it draws you to holiness, if it inspires you with noble and heroic sentiments, so that you imitate Christ, then listen to them.
Mat_7:16-20. Do men, gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
After all, this is the best test of any doctrine, the practice to which it leads. I remember one day discussing with a person about the doctrine of future punishment. We were arguing, and the gentleman, who owned the vessel on which we were, said, “Come up on deck, and enjoy the fresh air, and leave that subject; but,” he said, “you, sir, will kindly go as far as possible from my men, for they are bad enough as they are, and if you tell them there is no punishment for sin, they will be worse than ever. As for you, Mr. Spurgeon, you may go where you like, you won’t do them any harm.” I thought that rough and ready mode of argument was about as good a commendation as I could wish to have.
Mat_7:21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Not talking, but doing, not loud profession, but quiet, practical godliness, wins the day.
Mat_7:22-23. Many will say to me in that day, 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.
If Christ does not know us, it matters not what we do. Even if we work miracles, if we astound the world with our abilities, it is all nothing if Christ does not know us. Now, I think there are many here who can humbly but confidently say, “He knows me.” He knows some of us, if by nothing else, by our constantly begging of him. We have been at him day and night in our necessities, pleading for his bounty, his mercy, his company; and he cannot say he does not know us. He knows a great deal about us, even through our prayers, if by no other way.
Mat_7:24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
What a mercy there is a rock to build on! We could not have made one; but there is the rock.
Mat_7:25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
For the best man will have his troubles.
Mat_7:25. And beat upon that house;
For the best man will feel the troubles; they will come home to him.
Mat_7:25-27. And it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth, them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended,
For the worst of men will have their troubles. There is no escaping the trials of life by sin.
Mat_7:27. And the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
There was no building it again; it was altogether gone, swept right away,
no vestige of it remained.
Mat_7:28-29. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
He touched their conscience; his teaching came home to them; they could not help feeling that it was true. Besides, he did not keep on quoting Rabbi this and Rabbi that, but he spoke from his own knowledge: “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Mat_7:1-2. 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.
Some people are of a censorious disposition; they see nothing in others to praise, but everything to blame, and such people generally find that they are condemned according to their own wicked rule. Other people begin to judge those who are so fond of judging. If they are so wise, and so discriminating, others expect more from them; and not finding it, they are not slow to condemn them. It is an old proverb that chickens come home to roost, and so they do. If you judge ill of others, that judgment will, sooner or later, come home to yourself.
Mat_7:3-5. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye! Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
At the bottom of all censoriousness lies hypocrisy. An honest man would apply to himself the judgment which he exercises upon others, but it usually happens that those who are so busy spying out other people’s faults have no time to see their own; and what is this, at the bottom, but insincerity and hypocrisy?
Mat_7:6. 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.
Zeal should always be tempered by prudence. There are times when it would be treason to truth to introduce it as a topic of conversation,-when men are in such a frame of mind that they will be sure rather to cavil at it than to believe it. Not only speak thou well, but speak thou at the right time, for silence is sometimes golden. See that thou hast thy measure of golden silence as well as of silver speech.
Mat_7:7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Here is a three-fold encouragement to us to pray. When we cannot use one style of prayer, let us use another, for each shall be successful at the right time. O child of God, let nothing keep thee from prayer! It has been well said that a Christian may be hedged in, but he cannot be roofed in; there is always a passage way upwards to the throne of the great Father; and asking, knocking, seeking, he shall be sure to be successful with his suit.
Mat_7:8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Ask the people of God whether it is not so. Go among them, and question them upon this matter. They know the power of prayer, so let them tell you whether they have been deceived or not. Well, then, as it has been so with them, let this encourage you to expect that it shall be the same with you also.
Mat_7:9-12. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him.? 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.
Is there a connection between this conduct on our part and answers to our prayer? Undoubtedly it is so from the position of the text. If we will never grant the requests of those who need our help, in oases where we should expect to be ourselves helped, how can we go to God with any confidence, and ask him to help us? I doubt not that many a man has received no answer to his prayer because that prayer has come out of a heart hard and untender, which would not permit him to grant the requests of others. O child of God, do thou to others as thou wouldst that they should do to thee, then canst thou go to thy God in prayer with the confidence that he will hear and answer thee!
Mat_7:13. Enter ye in at the strait gate:
Do not be ashamed of being called Puritanical, precise, and particular:
Enter ye in at the narrow gate.”
Mat_7:13. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
Do not choose that way.
Mat_7:13-21. And many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth-evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.
That still remains as the great test of the true heir of heaven, the doing of the divine will. All the talking, thinking, posturing in the world will not save a man. There must be in him such a faith as produces holiness.
Mat_7:22-25. Many will say to me in that day, 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. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;-
Whoever you are, and whatever you build, it will be tried. No matter how firm is the rock beneath you, the winds will blow, and the rains will pour down upon your building. Whether you are in a palace or in a hovel, trial and testing must and will come to you: “The floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house,-
Mat_7:25. And it fell not:
There is the mercy “it fell not.”
Mat_7:25-27. For it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house,
Even if you live to the world, or live unto Satan, you will not live without trial. The ungodly, who have their portion in this life, have to eat some bitter herbs with it, and have to dip their morsel in vinegar quite as much as believers do. “The floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
Mat_7:27. And it fell:
Just when the tenant most needed shelter, it fell. He did not need it so much till the floods came, and the winds blew; but now, when he would fain have crouched down beneath his roof-tree, and have been at peace from the howling hurricane, then “it fell.”
Mat_7:27. And great was the fall of it.
The fall was so great because he could never build again.
Mat_7:28-29. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Not quoting Rabbi so-and-so, to show how well he was acquainted with his writings, but speaking as one who knew what he had to say, and who spoke, out of the fullness of his heart, truth that was evidently inspired; and his hearers felt the force of the solemn message which he thus delivered.