Sermon on the Mount
149
“for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Jesus
continued to impress upon the minds of his disciples the responsibility
of their relation to the world. Said he:—
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“Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing but to
be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” The people could
see the white salt, glistening in the pathway, where it had been cast out
because it had lost its savor and was therefore useless. Jesus used salt
as an illustration of the Christian’s life and teachings upon the world.
Were it not for the few righteous who inhabit the earth, the wrath of
God would not be delayed a moment from punishing the wicked. But
the prayers and good works of the people of God preserve the world;
they are the savor of life. But if Christians are only so in name, if they
have not virtuous characters and godly lives, they are like the salt that
has lost its savor. Their influence upon the world is bad; they are worse
than unbelievers.
Jesus took objects in the view of his listeners as emblems by which
to teach his truth. The people had come together to hear him while it
was yet early morning. The glorious sun, climbing higher and higher
in the blue sky, was chasing away the shadows that lurked in the
valleys and among the narrow defiles of the mountains. The glory
of the eastern heavens had not yet faded out. The sunlight flooded
the land with its splendor, the placid surface of the lake reflected the
golden light, and mirrored the rosy clouds of morning. Every bud and
flower and leafy spray glistened with dew-drops. Nature smiled under
the benediction of a new day, and the birds sang sweetly among the
spreading trees. The Saviour looked upon the company before him,
and then upon the rising sun, and said to his disciples, “Ye are the light
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of the world.” The figure was peculiarly striking. As the sun lit up the
landscape with his genial rays and scattered the shades of night, so
the disciples were to diffuse the light of truth, and scatter the moral
darkness that brooded over the world. In the brilliant light of morning
the towns and villages situated upon the surrounding hills stood forth
clearly and made an attractive feature of the scene. Jesus, pointing to
them said, “A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. Neither do men
light a candle, and it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in