your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth. He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive: and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed : for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him : because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works. It is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. The poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, 'Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. Ye have the poor with you always; and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good. Give alms of such things as ye have. Give and it shall be given unto you. Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. To do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Jesus said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come, follow me. CHAP. VI. BENEVOLENCE. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Seek good. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Be pitiful. Shew mercy and compassions. Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted : forbearing one another, and forgiving one an other. Comfort one another. Pray for one another. Let us love one another. Being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. Love the good. Love your enemies. Ever follow that which is good to all men. CHAP. VII. CHARITY. ABOVE all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up, and doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things. Charity never faileth. And now abideth faith, hope, charity; these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Follow after charity. Let all your things be done with charity. Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Judge not according to appearance; but judge righteous judgment. Judge nothing before the time. 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. 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. Jesus said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. CHAP. VIII. CHASTITY. KEEP thyself pure. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Flee youthful lusts. Flee fornication. This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. I wrote unto you an epistle not to keep company with fornicators. Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead: none that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go notastray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. The commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man. By means of a strange woman a man is brought to a piece of bread. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth: and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? Neither fornicators nor adulterers shall inherit the kingdom of God. |