Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 5 · Verse 43
vers. 34.
Ye hauehave heard that it hath beene said of old, thou shalt louelove thy neighbour, and hate thine enemie:
In this verse and the rest to the ende of this Chapter, our Sauiour goeth about to purge the generall commandement of the second Table touching the louelove of our neighbour, from the corrupt interpretation of the Iewish teachers, and to restore it to his true and proper meaning. And as in the former so here, he first laies downe their false doctrine touching this commandement, v. 43▪ and then consutes the same, v. 44, 45, &c. In laying downe their false interpretation, he propounds the law of Moses touching brotherly louelove, Leuit. 19. 18. Thou shalt louelove thy neighbour, which must here be vnderstood in their false sense, who by neighbour, meant a friend: as if God had said, Thou shalt louelove thy friend. Then he adjoyneth their tradition gathered from the law of God misconceiued; namely, to hate a mans enemie.
In these Iewes we may obserue two manifest abuses of Scripture which ought not to be in any Teachers: to wit, misinterpretation, and a false collection. The word they misconstrue is Neighbour, which inNeighbour, taken two waies. the olde Testament is taken two waies, either strictly and more properly for a familiar friend and acquaintance, in which sense it is commonly taken; or more generally, for any one that in any kind of societie is neare vntounto vsus, as by consanguinitie, habitation, office, traffique, or beeing onelyonly in the same place with vsus: for so is the Samaritane saide to be neighbour to the man that fell among theeues, because he found Luk. 10. 36, ….him lying in the way where he traueiled, and had compassion on him. Now the Iewish teachers leaue the generall signification of the word, which expressed the true meaning of the holy Ghost, and take the speciall signification, and so restraine this law of louelove to friends onelyonly. Whereby we see how necessarie it is, that the tongues wherein the Scriptures were penned, should be well knowne and vnderstood: for the mistaking of the signification of a word by the Iewish teachers, caused a manifest errour to be taught among them for truth. And thisSchooles of learning approoued. maketh greatly for the honour of the Schooles of learning, where the studies of the Tongues is professed. And herein also an other thing may be noted in the Iewish teachers, that in the time of Christ they were ignorant in their owne tongue, and therefore no maruell though at this day they knowe not the proprieties thereof, seeing their Common-wealth is decaied, and they dispersed among all people.
Their second fault is, a false collection and consequent, that because a man must louelove his friend, therefore he must hate his enemie: this is against the rules of Arte, for vnlesse the contraries be equall, a consequent will not thence follow in this sort.
Here then obserue the necessitie of the studie of humane Artes, andVse. 1. among the rest, especially of the Arte of Logicke, whereby we may discerne betweene true and false collections. Againe, here obserue an2 infallible note of a false teacher; to wit, to temper the word of God toA note of a false teacher mens naturall affections, and so to expound it as they may both stand together. The Iewes were a people that loued their friends entirely, and hated their enemies bitterly: now answearably doe their Teachers expound this law, whereby they ouerturne both the law of God, and the saluation of the people. Thirdly, marke here the fruit of corrupt3 Corrupt doctrine corrupts good manners.doctrine, namely, to corrupt good manners. The Iewes were a people that did much bragge of their Ancestours and priuiledges, and in regard of themselues contemned all forraine Nations; yea, they hated them, and therefore▪ they were …o…e in contention with Peter, for going to Cornelius a Gentile: Act. 11. 2. now this their malice proceeded partly from nature, and partly from the false doctrine of their Teachers, which was, that they might hate their enemies. The like may appeare in many practises of Poperie to this day: for when that Superstition was aloft, the people were taught a distinction of times and places, in regard of holinesse, the fruit of which doctrine stickes▪fast in the hearts of many vntounto this day: for they thinke Churches and Chappells to be more holy then other places, and therefore some will neuer pray but when they come into some-such place. And doe they not make great difference of daies and times? all which are fruits of Poperie. In regard whereof, we see it is necessarie that the puritie of Religion in faith and manners, should be strongly maintained by the syncere ministerie of the word: for many disorders in mens liues come from the vnsound handling of the Scriptures. Whereby we may see Gods vnspeakeable merciemercy and goodnesse towards vsus, in vouchsafing vsus an holy Ministerie, wherein the puritie of doctrine is, and hath beene long and may be still through Gods merciemercy maintained and published. This ought to mooue vsus to all thankefulnesse vntounto God, and to endeauour to shew the fruit of this true Religion in all holinesse and pietie, both of heart and life towards God and man.