Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

•TO ST. MATTHEW.
a foolish vanity, or in following the torrent of a
diabolical custom, or even under the actual impulse
of a mortal hatred, and while his heart is entirely
possessed and inflamed with the' desire and with the
last effort of revenge !
" 26. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no
means come out thence, till thou hast paid the utter-
most farthing."
How terrible is thy justice, O my God, even to
the most righteous ! What will become of
whom thou shalt judge according to rigour?
him
He
who has not laboured before his death to change
justice into mercy by a sincere repentance, shall never
escape out of God's hands.
Sect. IV. Adultei-y in the Heart. The Plucking
out an Eye, Sfc.
" 27. f Ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery :"
It is the property of a Pharisee to abstain only
from the outward crime. Men are very often less
inquisitive to know how far the will of God extends,
that they may please him in performing it, than how
far they may satisfy their lusts, without destroying
themselves by an open violation of the law.
" 28. But I say unto you. That whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after her, hath committed aduhery
with her already in his heart."
Christian righteousness is the righteousness of
the heart. Concupiscence or charity renders the
use of the senses good or evil. If voluntary and
deliberate looks or desires make adulterers, how
many persons are there, whose whole life is but one