Having thus described, at the beginning of His Sermon, the general character and office of the subjects of His Kingdom, our Blessed Lord went on to answer a question, which would doubtless arise in the minds of His hearers. Would the Kingdom of which He spoke destroy, or be opposed to the Law, under which God's People had lived from ancient times? The answer was most distinct: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (S. Matt. v. 17-20). So far from coming to destroy the Law, He had come that it might be fulfilled by His subjects, as it had never been fulfilled before. For they would be required to surpass even the Scribes and Pharisees in their observance of it, by keeping it in the spirit, as well as in the letter; otherwise they would prove themselves unfit for His Kingdom. And then followed examples of the observance of some of the laws of old--such as the law of purity, and the law against murder--in this enlarged spiritual sense; ending with the exhortation, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect" (S. Matt. v. 21-48). One of the chief ways in which God's People had failed in their service towards Him, was in the spirit in which they had discharged their religious duties. Righteousness had become but another name for formality. Prayers and alms and fasts had been turned into opportunities for showing off before men, and for gaining the reputation of sanctity. Consequently it was necessary that He should lead back His hearers to the real meaning of these duties; and set forth the principle which must guide His subjects in all their religious acts--almsgiving, prayer, and fasting--namely, this; the desire to please their "Father which is in Heaven" (S. Matt. vi. 1-18). And that there might be no mistake about the kind of rewards which they might look for, He declared that they must "lay up for themselves treasures in Heaven" (S. Matt. vi. 19-21); that is to say, they must love and long for spiritual rewards, setting their hearts upon higher things than this world can give. And the only way in which they could do this, was by devoting themselves with their whole strength to the service of God. For no half-service of God was possible: "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon" (S. Matt. vi. 24). Then if they lived for God, they might lay aside all over-anxious thoughts about this present life. If they really gave themselves up to be His subjects, they would certainly have all things ordered for them for the best. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (S. Matt. vi. 33).