Matthew 7 · The Lantern

Nile ye deme, `that ye be not demed; for in what doom ye demen,

Let us therefore, brethren, be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness, and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings; and let us act according to that which is written (for the Holy Spirit saith, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in the Lo…

This carries the same intent as another passage, "Pass no judgment before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the thoughts of the heart; and then everyone will have his praise from God." Some actions are indifferent, and, since we do not know with what intention they are performed, it would be rash for any to pas…

Having completed the Law in regard to the precepts and promises, he completes it now in regard to judgments. First, he dictates that judgment not be rash and says, Judge not..., i.e., from the bitterness of hatred: "You have turned judgment into bitterness" (Am 6:13). Or, Judge not those matters that have not been entrusted to us.

ye schulen be demed, and in what mesure ye meten, it schal be meten ayen to you.

Besides, the Lord Himself demonstrates the manner in which He threatens such as judge: "For with what judgment ye judge, judgment shall be given on you." Thus He has not prohibited judging, but taught (how to do it).

It is not, I think, that such a soul should any longer be afraid to say: "My beloved to me"; for from the fact that it feels itself loving, and loving vehemently, it does not doubt that it is loved no less vehemently in return; and from its own singular intention, solicitude, care, effort, diligence, and zeal, with which it incessantly and ardently watches over how to please Go…

The reason follows: For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, i.e., according the judgment with which you have judged you will be judged: "The wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands" (Ps 9:16); and below (26:52): "He that strikes with the sword shall die by the sword." Or, in this way: Those who judge should fear that the Lord might allow them to be p…

But what seest thou a litil mote in the iye of thi brother, and seest not a beem in thin owne iye?

Otherwise; The sin against the Holy Spirit is to take from God power which has influences, and from Christ substance which is of eternity, through whom as God came to man, so shall man likewise come to God. As much greater then as is the beam than the mote, so much greater is the sin against the Holy Spirit than all other sins.

(Serm. in Mont. ii. 18.) The Lord having admonished us concerning hasty and unjust judgment; and because that they are most given to rash judgment, who judge concerning things uncertain; and they most readily find fault, who love rather to speak evil and to condemn than to cure and to correct; a fault that springs either from pride or jealousy—therefore He subjoins, Why seest t…

Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye and do not see the log in your own eye? Here he says that judgment should not be inordinate; for it is such, when it begins from someone, before the cause or its gravity have been fully investigated. For in judging, two things are necessary: knowledge of the cause, and judgment.

Or hou seist thou to thi brothir, Brothir, suffre I schal do out a mote fro thin iye, and lo! a beem is in thin owne iye?

"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;" i.e., first cast the hatred away from thee, and then, but not before, shalt thou be able to amend him whom thou love…

That is, with what face can you charge your brother with sin, when yourself are living in the same or a yet greater sin?

How, therefore, i.e., with what sincerity can you say: Let me take the speck out of your eye. You ought to blush. Chrysostom: "With what effort does a man love another more than himself?" For you correct him with the idea of correcting, you should first correct yourself; but this you do for hatred or vainglory. But one asks whether a person in mortal sin can correct another.

Ipocrite, `do thou out first the beem of thin iye, and thanne thou schalt se to do out the mote of the iye of thi brothir.

"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye." Here His will is to signify the great wrath, which He hath against them that do such things. For so, wheresoever He would indicate that the sin is great, and the punishment and wrath in store for it grievous, He begins with a reproach.

Macarius said also, 'If you are stirred to anger when you want to reprove someone, you are gratifying your own passions. Do not lose yourself in order to save another.'

He continues: Hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye. The Lord begins by arguing as below against the wicked servant. Augustine: "He shows that he intends to rebuke those who assume authority they do not have"; to the sinner God says: "Why do you recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline" (Ps 50:16).

Nile ye yyue hooli thing to houndis, nethir caste ye youre margaritis bifore swyne, lest perauenture thei defoulen hem with her feet, and the houndis be turned, and al to-tere you.

Axe ye, and it schal be youun to you; seke ye, and ye schulen fynde; knocke ye, and it schal be openyd to you.

Therefore, blessed ones, whom the grace of God awaits, when you ascend from that most sacred font of your new birth, and spread your hands for the first time in the house of your mother, together with your brethren, ask from the Father, ask from the Lord, that His own specialties of grace and distributions of gifts may be supplied you.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." In what has preceded the Lord has commanded us to do great and difficult things. Here He shows us how these things can be accomplished: through unceasing prayer.

Ask and it will be given you. He has given his doctrine, which is complete and perfect; here he teaches how it can be fulfilled. This requires two things: prayer and close attention. First, he teaches us to ask; secondly, he gives confidence of obtaining (v. 9). He says, therefore, Ask.

For ech that axith, takith; and he that sekith, fyndith; and it schal be openyd to hym, that knockith.

What man of you is, that if his sone axe hym breed, whethir he wole take hym a stoon?

And so, in petitioning for "daily bread," we ask for perpetuity in Christ, and indivisibility from His body. But, because that word is admissible in a carnal sense too, it cannot be so used without the religious remembrance withal of spiritual Discipline; for (the Lord) commands that bread be prayed for, which is the only food necessary for believers; for "all other things the…

Or; bread which is the common food signifies charity, without which the other virtues are of no avail. The fish signifies faith, which is born of the water of baptism, is tossed in the midst of the waves of this life and yet lives. Luke adds a third thing, an egg, (Luke 11:12.) which signifies hope; for an egg is the hope of the animal.

Therefore he adds: What man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? By bread is understood Christ: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (Jn 6:51). It is also sacred doctrine: "I will feed him with the bread of life and understanding" (Sir 15:3); and it is charity: "The produce of the ground will be rich and plenteous" (Is 30:23).

Or if he axe fische, whether he wole take hym an edder?

Therfor if ye, whanne ye ben yuele men, kunnen yyue good yiftis to youre sones, hou myche more youre fadir that is in heuenes schal yyue good thingis to men that axen hym?

"And wherefore," it may be inquired, "did He not say, what things we ought to ask"? Nay verily, He hath mentioned them all in what precedes, and hath signified for what things we ought to draw nigh.

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" He calls men evil by comparison with God, for our nature is good, being God's creation. But we become evil by our own choice.

He concludes: If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? But someone will say: He said this to the apostles, who were not evil.

Therfor alle thingis, what euere thingis ye wolen that men do to you, do ye to hem, for this is the lawe and the prophetis.

Entre ye bi the streyt yate; for the yate that ledith to perdicioun is large, and the weie is broode, and there ben many that entren bi it.

But who, when so many incentives to evil were assailing him, would desire that good, which he could despise with impunity? Who, again, would take care of what he could lose without danger? You read bow broad is the road to evil, how thronged in comparison with the opposite: would not all glide down that road were there nothing in it to fear?

"Enter ye in at the strait gate," proclaimeth the word of the Redeemer unto all true disciples of His word, for without this gate a man cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Enter by the narrow gate. Lest anyone conclude from the saying, ask and you shall receive, that man has everything from God without good works, he teaches that this, too, comes by good works. First, therefore, he presents the admonition; secondly the reason (v. 13b). He says, therefore, Enter, i.e., try to enter.

Hou streit is the yate, and narwy the weye, that ledith to lijf, and ther ben fewe that fynden it.

And everywhere, if thou seekest, O disciple, thou wilt find that none of the righteous pleased God in the world without tribulations and labours, for this is the road of the royal city which is above, and that "strait and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life."

"How narrow is the gate and how hard the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it!" The word "how" expresses the Lord's wonderment, as if He were saying, "Alas, how narrow it is!" But how is it that the Lord says on another occasion, "My yoke is light" (Mt. 11:30)? It is light on account of the future rewards.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life. This is contrary to the preceding. It is narrow, because it is restricted by the rule of the Law, and it is a way contrary to the other way: "For the ways on your right the Lord knows, but the ones on your left are perverse" (Pr 4:27).

Be ye war of fals prophetis, that comen to you in clothingis of scheep, but withynneforth thei ben as wolues of raueyn;

The fact that there are such men confessing themselves to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of error, causes us who are disciples of the true and pure doctrine of Jesus Christ, to be more faithful and stedfast in the hope announced by Him.

And moreover our Lord also maketh known that heretics are cunning and crafty, for He said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves;" and He maketh known also, that when a man appeareth to be one thing and is another, he is a worker of cunning.

Beware of false prophets. He teaches them to be wary of certain ones whom they should avoid. They are described from their profession, namely, prophets. But one might ask of which prophets, because the Law and the prophets last until John; hence in that time there were no prophets concerning Christ, because they ended in him.

of her fruytis ye schulen knowe hem. Whether men gaderen grapis of thornes, or figus of breris?

Persons are still living who remember them,-their own actual disciples and successors,-who cannot therefore deny the lateness of their date. But, in fact, by their own works they are convicted, even as the Lord said.

"Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." The hypocrites are called thorns and thistles: they are like thorns in that they prick unexpectedly; they are like thistles in their cunning and deviousness.

You will know them by their fruits, i.e., actions. But it seems to be the opposite, because they have sheep's clothing, and clothing is works. Therefore, they will be known from them. Chrysostom: "Fruit is the confession of faith." Hence, if they confess the faith, they are not heretics: "For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth" (Eph 5:9).

So euery good tre makith good fruytis; but an yuel tre makith yuel fruytis.

He, starting from the fact that it is said, "Every good tree beareth good fruit, but an evil evil," attempted to approve the heresy of Cerdo; so that his assertions are identical with those of the former heretic before him.

A hermit said, 'If a man has words but no works, he is like a tree with leaves but no fruit. Just as a tree laden with fruit is also leafy, the man of good works will also have good words.'

He proves this with an example: Every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. From this the Manicheans assumed two natures, namely, good and evil. But this is not true, because we see good fruit formed from an evil creation, and vice versa. Hence from this you should understand that the tree is the principle of the fruit.

A good tre may not make yuel fruytis, nethir an yuel tre make good fruytis.

Here the question will arise How creatures were made good out of it, which were formed without any change at all? How occurs the seed of what is good, nay, very good, in that which is evil, nay, very evil?

(Verse 18 and following) A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Let us ask the heretics who claim that there are two contradictory natures, if according to their understanding, a good tree can never bear bad fruit, then how did Moses, a good tree, sin by striking the rock (Deut. 32)?

"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit as long as it is diseased. But if it has changed its condition, it can bring forth good fruit. See that He did not say, "it will not be able," but only that as long as it is corrupt it does not bear good fruit.

Euery tre that makith not good fruyt, schal be kyt doun, and schal be cast in to the fier.

"For by their fruits," saith He, "ye shall know them." And what commends our own life? Is it indeed a display of miracles, or the perfection of an excellent conversation? Very evidently it is the second; but as to the miracles, they both have their origin from hence, and terminate herein.

On this point, one must carefully avoid the error of those who think that they find in these two trees a reason for believing that there are two natures and that one of them belongs to the nature of God but that the other neither belongs to God nor depends on him.

But what will happen to the bad tree? Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down, because if it does not bear or if it omits doing what it can, it will be cut down: "If anyone does not abide in me, he will be cast out, and they will gather him up and throw him into the fire, and he will burn" (Jn 15:6).

Therfor of her fruytis ye schulen knowe hem.

Not ech man that seith to me, Lord, Lord, schal entre in to the kyngdom of heuenes; but he that doith the wille of my fadir that is in heuenes, he schal entre in to the kyngdoom of heuenes.

Many schulen seie to me in that dai, Lord, Lord, whether we han not prophesied in thi name, and han caste out feendis in thi name, and han doon many vertues in thi name?

They even assure themselves of glory for their prophesying in teaching, for their casting out dæmons, for their mighty works; and hence promise themselves the kingdom of heaven, saying, Have we not prophesied in thy name?

There may be some who, in the beginning, believed rightly and assiduously labored at virtue. They may have even worked miracles and prophesied and cast out demons. And yet later they are found turning aside to evil, to self-assertive deception and desire. Of these Jesus remarks that he "never knew them." He ranks them as equivalent to those who were never known by him at all.

But someone could say that it is enough for salvation to work miracles. He excludes that, because On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name...? He says, many, to signify those who secede from unity, because they are included under a multitude, for "the number of fools is infinite" (Ec 1:15).

And thanne Y schal knouleche to hem, That Y knewe you neuere; departe awei fro me, ye that worchen wickidnesse.

But thus the hypocrites boasted, as though they spoke somewhat of themselves, and as though the power of God did not work all these things, being invoked; but reading has brought them the knowledge of His doctrine, and the name of Christ casts out the dæmons.

But we must note especially how great is the order of narration in the mouth of Truth concerning the proud rich man and the humble poor man. For behold it is said: "There was a certain rich man"; and immediately it is added: "And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus." Certainly among the people the names of the rich are usually known more than those of the poor.

But one asks: How do those who cast out devils become rejected? Chrysostom answers that they lie. Another answer is that at one time they were good and worked miracles; later, they became evil. But this cannot stand, because the Lord said, I never knew you. In another way, it must be said that they say, in your name, not in the name of the Holy Spirit.

Therfor ech man that herith these my wordis, and doith hem, schal be maad lijk to a wise man, that hath bildid his hous on a stoon.

Having now, you see, finished all, having discoursed accurately of all virtue, and pointed out the pretenders to it, of divers kinds, both such as for display fast and make prayers, and such as come in the sheep's hide; and them too that spoil it, whom He also called swine and dogs: He proceeds to signify how great is the profit of virtue even here, and how great the mischief o…

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." No virtue can be accomplished without God, which is why Jesus said, "I will liken him unto a wise man."…

Everyone who hears these words... He shows that without works nothing profits, not even listening to the word of God; because hearing is ordained to faith: "Faith comes by hearing" (Rom 10:17). For hearing is not enough. He manifests this in two ways, because he indicates the lot of one who hears and does, and of one who hears without doing.

And reyn felde doun, and flodis camen, and wyndis blewen, and russchiden `in to that hous; and it felde not doun, for it was foundun on a stoon.

"For neither death nor life nor angels nor other things can separate us from the love of Christ." Neither can the flooding of rivers, as in the lands of Egypt and Assyria, do harm. Only those are harmed who build on sand, who practice the wisdom of the world. The winds that blow are like the false prophets. All these, coming together in one place, "beat upon" the house.

(Verse 25.) And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and they rushed upon that house, and it did not fall. This rain which seeks to overthrow the house is the devil. The rivers, all the Antichrists, who are against Christ. The spiritual winds of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6).

The assault on this house follows: And the rain came. Rain is taken as doctrine, so that there is good rain and bad rain. Therefore, what collapses is bad doctrine: "The Lord rained sulphur and fire on Sodom" (Gen 19:24). Likewise, floods are good and not good: "The floods divided their land" (Is 18:2); and by this the wise, who regard themselves as wise, are signified.

And euery man that herith these my wordis, and doith hem not, is lijk to a fool, that hath bildid his hous on grauel.

Wherefore also He made His argument more expressive, by trying its force in a parable; for it was not the same thing to say, "The virtuous man shall be impregnable but the wicked easily subdued," as to suppose a rock, and a house, and rivers, and rain, and wind, and the like.

Our Lord and our Redeemer Jesus Christ in His living Gospel invited us to draw nigh in wisdom to the work of keeping His commandments, and to lay within ourselves the foundation of His discipline rightly, in order that the edifice of our life and character might mount up straightly.

Then he presents the simile indicating the outcome of one who hears and does not do. In regard to this he mentions the construction; secondly, the assault (v. 27); thirdly, the ruin (v. 27b). He says: and everyone who hears these my words and does not do them, will be like a foolish man, who fell from the light of wisdom.

And reyn cam doun, and floodis camen, and wyndis blewen, and thei hurliden ayen that hous; and it felde doun, and the fallyng doun therof was greet.

Otherwise; By the showers He signifies the allurements of smooth and gently invading pleasures, with which the faith is at first watered as with spreading rills, afterwards comes down the rush of torrent floods, that is, the motions of fiercer desire, and lastly, the whole force of the driving tempests rages against it, that is, the universal spirits of the Devil's reign attack…

Spiritually understood, the one who rightly hears the word is contrasted with the builder who builds his house on sand. In time of temptation the house falls down. The onslaught of evil wind covers it with silt, and troubled waters flood into the soul. From this turbid flood stream of iniquity the house is shaken to its foundations.

The rain came, i.e., good doctrine, the floods came, i.e., sacred teachers, the winds blew, i.e., angels: "Who makes spirits his angels" (Ps 104:4). And they beat against that house, and it fell: "Babylon has fallen, has fallen" (Rev 14:8), namely, through preaching. And great was the fall thereof.

And it was doon, whanne Jhesus hadde endid these wordis, the puple wondride on his techyng;

Or; They measure the efficacy of His power, by the might of His words.

This ending pertains both to the finishing the words, and the completeness of the doctrines. That it is said that the multitude wondered, either signifies the unbelieving in the crowd, who were astonished because they did not believe the Saviour's words; or is said of them all, in that they reverenced in Him the excellence of so great wisdom.

And when Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished. There were three types of men who followed the Lord Jesus: some were astonished and scandalized, as the Pharisees, about whom below (c. 15). Some were astonished, but not scandalized, as the crowds. But some, as the perfect, were not astonished.

for he tauyte hem, as he that hadde power, and not as the scribis `of hem, and the Farisees.

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