Him who is the King of kings, by whom kings reign and princes decree justice. It may be that he may be driven to take up arms in defence of his violated rights and liberties, civil or religious, but this will be his last resource. Not until he has exhausted all other means of obtaining the redress of his grievances, until he has borne to the uttermost, and argued to the uttermost, and complained to the uttermost, and entreated to the uttermost, will he consent to oppose by open resistance, even that government which has lost all claim to be regarded as an ordinance of God, by showing itself to be a terror and a scourge, not to evil-doers, but to those that do well. When a man becomes a Christian, animated by the Spirit of the living God, he feels himself impelled to be a loyal, faithful, and obedient citizen and subject. His obedience to the civil authorities is cheerful, cordial and submissive. Personal insults he will patiently endure; to much injustice he will calmly submit; many hardships he will bear; all in obedience to his Saviour's command, "Resist not evil.” But it were no difficult matter to establish from the Word of God, the lawfulness, as a last resort, of resistance to despotic rulers, who have abused their authority and forfeited all title to be considered as God's ordinance for good. On this subject the illustration of John Knox, in a conversation with Queen Mary, is beautifully apposite :-"Think you," said the Queen, "that

subjects, having the power, may resist their princes?"

"If princes exceed their bounds, madam, no doubt they may be resisted, even by power. For no greater honour, or greater obedience, is to be given to kings and princes, than God has commanded to be given to father and mother. But the father may be struck with a frenzy, in which he would slay his children. Now, madam, if the children arise, join together, apprehend the father, take the sword from him, bind his hands, and keep him in prison till the frenzy be over, think you, madam, that the children do any wrong? Even so, madam, is it with princes that would murder the children of God that are subject unto them. Their blind zeal is nothing but a mad frenzy; therefore, to take the sword from them, to bind their hands, and to cast them into prison, till they be brought to a more sober mind, is no disobedience against princes, but just obedience, because it agreeth with the will of God."

Thus, by these specific cases affecting the person, the property, the liberty of the Christian, does Jesus illustrate the duty of the Christian, "Resist not evil." He must seek to banish from his mind those unhallowed dispositions which prompt to retaliation or private revenge. He must look beyond the earthly instruments by which the injury has been inflicted, to Him who has permitted and who guides them all, and feeling that all such evils are simply the scourge in

the hand of God for correcting His people, and training them to submission, it is his duty to maintain amid them all a calm and peaceful frame, saying from the heart, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth to Him good." "Shall I receive good at the hand of shall I not receive evil? Even so Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight."

the Lord, and

The next verse seems to stand separate and apart from the others, and it might appear at first sight difficult to see any link of connection between the exhortation which it contains and what has gone before.

V. 42. "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." It has sometimes been supposed, with a view to reconcile this passage with the verses we have just considered, that our Lord means to recommend to his people that, not contented with meekly enduring insults and injuries, they should exercise a kind and generous spirit even towards their enemies. This view, however, we are disposed to regard as more limited than the language of our Lord would warrant. His command is of a more unrestricted kind. Christian generosity is large and liberal. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," says Paul, speaking upon this subject, "that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be

rich." If we have known this grace in our blessed experience, we may not imitate our Lord so closely as to impoverish ourselves by our liberality, but we will come nearer to it than we do. A Christian is no niggard, because he feels that he is merely a steward of his wealth, and he remembers the searching question put by an apostle, "If any man see his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." This command is too unlimited say some; it will require to be guarded in some way, otherwise we will ruin ourselves by our generosity, and encourage improvidence and idleness among the poor. Jesus lays down this principle as the broad, expansive spirit of the gospel, and he leaves it to each man to make conscientiously those exceptions which will stand the scrutiny of a judgment day. Beware, however, of diluting, like the Scribes, God's pure and holy word; beware of frittering away by your cold and calculating limitations the all-embracing generosity of the gospel, a generosity which, unlike the selfishness of this cheerless world, seeks not its own but the things that are Jesus Christ's. If we have professed to give ourselves to Christ and yet withhold part of our possessions from Him we lie unto the Holy Ghost.

What a picture is here presented of the faithful

follower of the Lord Jesus! He is patient under Injury, and charitable, considerate and kind to the poor. He shuts his eyes upon his own sufferings, and he opens them to drop many a tear over the sufferings of his fellow men. He can deny himself to many of the comforts of life, that he may have to give to him that needeth. The thought of this quickens his energies as he plies his daily task, and he relishes his morsel all the better if he has the privilege of sharing it with a needy brother. The grace of God has been bestowed upon him, and grace is a generous principle. Nothing opens the heart and the hand like grace. Under its influence a man gives himself unto the Lord, and having given himself, his property follows as a matter of course. "Lord I am thine," is his habitual acknowledgment, "and all that I have is thine."