1: Christ teacheth that the greatest joy and felicity is not in the commodities and pleasures of this life, but is laid up in heaven for them that willingly rest in the good will and pleasure of God, and endeavour to profit all men, although they be cruelly vexed and troubled of the worldlings, because they will not fashion themselves to their manners. *: Luke 6:20 a: Under the name of poverty, are all such miseries meant, as are joined with poverty. b: Whose minds and spirits are brought under, and tamed, and obey God. *: Isaiah 62:2,3 Luke 6:20 *: Psalms 37:11 *: Isaiah 65:13 *: Psalms 24:24 c: Fitly is this word, Pure, joined with the heart, for as a bright shining resemblance, or image may be seen plainly in a clear and pure looking glass, even so doth the face (as it were) of the everlasting God, shine forth, and clearly appear in a pure heart. *: 1 Corinthians 14:33 1 Peter 3:14 *: Acts 5:41 1 Peter 5:14 *: Mark 9:50 Luke 14:34 2: The ministers of the word especially (unless they be the most caitiffs of all) must needs lead other both by word and deed to this greatest joy and felicity. d: Your doctrine must be very sound and good, for if it be not so, it shall be nought set by, and cast away as a thing unsavoury and vain. e: What shall you have to salt withall? And so are fools in the Latin tongue called salt-less, as you would say, men that have no salt, or savour and taste in them. f: You shine and give light, by being made partakers of the true light. *: Mark 4:21 Luke 8:16 and 11:33 *: 1 Peter 2:11 3: Christ came not to bring any new way of righteousness and salvation into the world, but to fulfil that in deed, which was shadowed by the figures of the Law, by delivering men though grace from the curse of the Law: and moreover to teach the true use of obedience, which the Law appointeth, and to grave in our hearts the force of obedience. g: That the prophesies may be accomplished. *: Luke 16:17 *: James 2:10 4: He beginneth with the true expounding of the Law, and setteth it against the old (but yet false) glosses of the Scribes: So far is he from abolishing the least commandment of his Father. h: He shall have no place in the Church. *: Luke 11:39 5: The true meaning of the sixth commandment. *: Exodus 20:13 Deuteronomy 5:17 i: He speaketh of the judgement of God, and of the difference of sins, and therefore applieth his words to the form of civil judgements, which were then used. j: Of that judgement which was ruled by three men, who had the hearing and deciding of money matters, and other such small causes. k: By that judgement which stood of three and twenty Judges, who had the hearing and deciding of weighty affairs, and matters of life and death: as the highest Judges of all were, to the number of seventy and one, which had the hearing of most weighty affairs, as the matter of a whole Tribe, or of an high Priest, or of a false prophet. l: Whereas we read here, Hell, it is in the Text itself, Gehenna, which is an Hebrew word made of two, and is as much to say, as the valley of Hinnon, which otherwise the Hebrews call Tophet: it was a place where the Israelites were want most cruelly to sacrifice their children to false gods, whereupon it was taken for a place appointed to torment the reprobates in, Jeremiah 7:31 m: The Jews used four kinds of punishments, before their government was taken away by Herod, hanging, beheading, stoning and burning: this is it that Christ shot at, because burning was the greatest punishment, therefore in that he maketh mention of a judgement, a Council, and a fire, he showeth that some sins are worse then other, some but yet they are all such, that we must give an account for them, and shall be punished for them. 6: The covetous Pharisees taught, that God was appeased by the sacrifices appointed in the Law, which they themselves devoured. But Christ on the contrary side denieth, that God accepteth any mans offering, unless he maketh satisfaction to his brother whom he hath offended: and saith moreover, that these stubborn and stiff necked despisers of their brethren, shall never escape the wrath and curse of God, before they have made full satisfaction to their brethren. n: He applieth all this speech, to the state of his time, when as there was an Altar standing in Jerusalem: and therefore they are very foolish, that gather hereupon, that we must built Altars, and use Sacrifices: but they are more fools, which draw that to purgatory, which is spoken of peacemaking and atonement one with another. *: Luke 1:58 o: Cut off all cause of enmity. p: Thou shalt be dealt withal, to the utmost extremity. 7: He is taken for an adulterer before God whatsoever he be, that coveteth a woman: and therefore we must keep our eyes chaste, and all the members we have, yea and we must eschew all occasions, which might move us to evil, how dear so ever it cost us. *: Exodus 20:14 Romans 13:9 *: Chapter 18:8,9 Mark 9:47 q: He nameth the right eye and the right hand, because the parts on the right side of our body are the chiefest, and readiest to commit any wickedness. r: Word for word, do cause thee to offend: for sins are stumbling-blocks as it were, that is to say, rocks which we are cast on. *: Chapter 19:7 Deuteronomy 24:1 Mark 10:4 Luke 16:18 1 Corinthians 7:10 8: The meaning of the third commandment against the froward opinion and judgement of the Scribes, which executed by oaths or indirect forms of swearing. *: Exodus 20:7 Leviticus 19:12 Deuteronomy 5:11 *: James 5:12 s: Whatsoever you vouch, vouch it barely, and whatsoever you deny, deny it barely without any more words. t: From an evil conscience, or from the devil. 9: He showeth clean contrary to the doctrine of the scribes, that the sum of the second Table must be so understood, that we may in no wise render evil for evil, but rather suffer double injury, and do well to them that are our deadly enemies. *: Exodus 21:24 Leviticus 24:20 Deuteronomy 19:21 *: Luke 6:29 Romans 12:17 1 Corinthians 6:7 *: Deuteronomy 15:8 *: Leviticus 19:8 *: Luke 6:27 *: Luke 23:34 Acts 7:60 1 Corinthians 4:13 10: A double reason: the one is taken of the relatives, The children must be like their father: the other is taken of comparisons, The children of God must be better than the children of this world. *: Luke 6:35 u: They that were the toll masters, and had the oversight of tributes and customs: and a kind of men that the Jews hated to death, both because they served the Romans in those offices (whose yoke-full bondage they could hardly away withal) and also because these toll masters are for the most part given to covetousness. | Chapter 51 Who are blessed. 13 The Apostles are the salt and light of the world. 14 The city set upon a hill. 15 The candle. 16 Good works. 19 The fulfilling of Christ's commands. 21 What killing is. 23 Reconciliation is set before sacrifice. 27 Adultery. 29 The plucking out of the eye. 30 Cutting off the hand. 31 The bill of divorcement. 33 Not to swear. 43 To love our enemies. 48 Perfectness. And when he saw the multitude, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came to him. |