220 SECT. clvii. Mat. 16 Wo unto you, ye blind guides! which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but who Their folly is discovered with respect to oaths. Wo unto you, ye blind guides, who have invented so many nice distinctions, to make men easy in their sins, and subservient to your secuXXIII. lar interests! who say, for instance, Whosoever 16 shall swear only by the temple, it is nothing TM; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the tem- he is a debtor. ple, whether by that with which a part of it is overlaid, or by that which is laid up in its trea17 sures, he is obliged by it. Ye foolish and blind soever shall swear by the gold of the temple, 17 Ye fools, and [creatures], is not the stupid sophistry of this blind for whether is distinction apparent to the weakest understand-eater, the gold, or the temple that sancing for which of these is greater, the gold, or the tifieth the gold? temple that sanctifies the gold, which without its relation to the temple would have nothing in it 18 more sacred than any common metal? And ye 18 And whosoever shall swear by the alalso say, just with the same degree of sense and tar, it is nothing: but piety as before, Whosoever shall swear only by whosoever sweareth by the altar of God, it is nothing; but whoever the gift that is upon shall swear by the gift which is upon it, he is ob- it, he is guilty. 19 liged to the performance of his oath. Ye foolish 19 Ye fools, and and blind [wretches], what an idle and senseless blind for whether is greater the gift, or the distinction is this? for which can you suppose altar that sanctifieth is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift, which, before it was brought thither, was only a common thing, and might be used to any the gift? 20 Whoso therefore 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And be that shall swear by heaven 20 of the ordinary purposes of human life? The shall swear by the al- m Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing.] It seems the Pharisees taught, that oaths by the creatures might be used on trifling occasions, and violated without any great guilt (see noteh on Mat. v. 34, Vol. VI. p. 213. But they excepted oaths by the corban, and by sacrifices; in which IMPROVE it is plain that, without any regard to common sense or decency, they were influenced merely by a view to their own interest; and therefore represented these to the people as things of more eminent sanctity than even the temple or altar itself. Reflections on the pride, &c. of the scribes and Pharisees. 221 IMPROVEMENT. civii. As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise SECT. reprover upon an obedient ear (Prov. xxv. 12). Christ was indeed a wise and faithful Reprover; but the ears of these Pharisees were Mat. disobedient and uncircumcised. Let us, however, who are his xxii. 1, disciples, attend to these instructions of our heavenly Master, and of seq. avoid every thing which has the remotest tendency to what he here condemns with so just a severity. Let not our zeal spend itself upon the externals of religion 5 Let us not impose heavy burdens upon each other; nor lay down 4 rules for the conduct of others, by which we do not in like circumstances think fit to govern ourselves. Let us not impose our own decisions in a magisterial manner on our fellow Christians, nor affect to be called fathers, masters, and teachers; remembering 8-10 that Christ alone is our Master, and God our Father, and that it is a dangerous presumption and folly to set ourselves in the place of either. Let us be upon our guard against that vain ostentation 6, 7 that would lead us to place any part of our happiness in precedence, and to value ourselves upon our rank, or upon any airy titles of 7 honour, by which, perhaps rather by accident than merit, we are distinguished from others; and which to a truly wise man, and especially to a humble follower of Jesus, will appear to be a very little matter. Let us desire that honour which arises from con-11, 12 descending to others, and serving them in love; that honour which springs from the Divine approbation, which it will be impossible to secure without unaffected piety. (John v. 44.) God forbid that our devotions should ever be intended as a 14 cloak of maliciousness, or as the instrument of serving any mean and vile purpose! Such prayers would return in curses on our own heads, and draw down on them aggravated damnation. God 15 forbid that we should spend that time, and that ardency of spirit, in making proselytes to our own peculiar notions and party, which ought to be laid out in making them the servants of God through Christ! God forbid that we should delude ourselves or 16 others by such idle distinctions in matters of conscience, as these which our blessed Redeemer has with so much reason and spirit exposed! Let us retain the greatest reverence for an oath, and not accus-17--22 tom ourselves to trifle with any thing which looks like it. Let us consider heaven as the throne of God, and often think of the majesty and glory of that illustrious Being that sits thereon; for a sense of his continual presence will form us to a better temper, and engage us with a righteousness far exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees, to walk before him in all his commandments and ordinances blameless. 222 The Pharisees reproved for their hypocrisy. SECT. clviii. SECT. CLVIII. Christ continues his discourse with the Pharisees, reproving them for their hypocrisy, and threatening them with approaching judg ments. Mat. XXIII. 23, to the end. OUR MAT. XXIII. 23. UR Lord farther proceeded in his discourse, MAT. XXIII. 25. Wo unto you scribes pocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and and Pharisees, hy anise, and cummin, Mat. risees, hypocrites! you may justly expect the seXXIII. verest vengeance; for ye are careful to tithe mint, and have omitted the 23 and anise, and cummin, and every other com- weightier matters of mon herb which grows in your gardens; and yet the law, judgment. faith: have wholly neglected the weightier matters of the mercy, these ought ye to have law, justice, and mercy, and fidelity: these done, and not to leave should chiefly have been regarded by you as the other undone. what ye ought more especially to have practised, and indeed not to have omitted the other, as a reverent observance is due even to the least of God's commandments. (Compare Luke xi. 2442, sect. cx.) Ye blind guides of blind and wretched followers, who do (as it is proverbially said) carefully strain out a gnat from the li quor you are going to drink, and yet can swallow down a camel; you affect to scruple little things, and disregard those of the greatest mo 25 ment. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ve make clean the outside of the cup, and within they are full of of the platter, but extortion and excess. Wo unto you, ye scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, and are mighty exact in the observance of external rites and washings of the body; but are regardless of the inner parts, and unconcerned about your hearts and consciences, which are full of uncleanness, and of all kinds of rapine and intemperance. (Compare Luke xi. 39, 26 sect. cx.) Thou blind and senseless Pharisee first begin with the heart, and thereby, as it were, risee, cleanse first that a Fidelity. The word wigs has undoubtedly this signification in many places (compare Tit. ii. 10; Gal. v. 22; and Rom. i. 3). But there are many more in which it signifies the confidence reposed in another; and it is of great importance to observe this. See Col. i. 4; and 1 Pet. i. 21. b Strain out a gnat, and swallow down a camel.] In those hot countries, as Serrarius well observes. (Trihares. p. 51), cleanse 26 Thou blind Pha which gnats were apt to fall into wine, if it were not carefully covered; and passing the liquor through a strainer, that no gnat, or part of one, might remain, grew into a proverb for exactness about little matters.-Could any authority be produced in which x7μkov signifies a large insect, I should with great pleasure follow the translation of 1727, in rendering the latter clause, swallow a beetle. c Whited They are compared to whited sepulchres. 223 which is within the cup cleanse the inside of the cup and of the dist, that SECT. and platter, that the thus the outside of them may be clean also, for the civili. life will of course be reformed when the heart is Mat. purified. outside of them may be clean also. 27 Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited se ward, but are with XXIII. Wo unto you, ye scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 27 crites! for ye resemble whited sepulchres, which indeed appear fair and beautiful without, but pulchres, which indeed within are full of the bones of the dead, and of all appear beautiful out- that uncleanness which arises from their putrein full of dead men's fving bodies. Even so you also do indeed out- 28 bones, and of all un- wardly appear righteous unto men, who view nothing more than the external part of your character; but in the sight of an heart-searching God, who has a clear and perfect view of all that lies within, you are full of that hypocrisy and iniquity which is infinitely more loathsome to him than the most disagreeable objects can be to the human eye. cleanness. 28 Even so ye al so outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Wo unto you, hypocrites! because ye Wo unto you, ye scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 29 scribes and Pharisees, crites! for, under a pretence of your regard and build the tombs of the veneration for their characters, you sumptuously prophets, and garnish build up the sepulchres of the ancient prophets, the sepulchres of the and adorn the monuments of the other righteous righteous, men of former generations, as desirous to pre30 And say, if we serve and honour their memories: And ye 30 had been in the days of our fathers, we say, If we had been living in the days of our fawould not have been thers, we would not have been partakers with partakers with them in them in the blood of the holy prophets which they the blood of the pro- shed, but would have treated them in another So that you 31 31 Wherefore be ye manner than our fathers did. witnesses unto your really bear witness to yourselves, that you are the phets. selves e Whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful without.] Though the first intention of whitening sepulchres might be only to mark them out, that they might be avoided; and so (as some Jewish writers, and particularly Maimonides, have observed) a heap of lime laid upon the grave might answer the end; it is evident they were sometimes adorned (ver. 29), probably not only with plaistering and white-washing, but with marble and other stone monuments: and notwithstanding all the applause which Vitringa (Observ. Sacr. lib. i. p. 201) gives to the interpretation which Dr. Lightfoot (Hor. Heb. in loc.) and Dr. Pocock (Port. Mos. cap. v. p. 73) have advanced, I conclude that such ornaments were here referred to; for I cannot think Christ would have called these sepulchres beautiful if they had been nothing but heaps of earth covered with grass. Compare note e, on Luke xi. 44. sect. cx. d You build the sepulchres of the prophets, sons &c.] I can by no means think, with Mar- e How 224 SECT. clviii. Mat. They were filling up the measure of their fathers' sins, the children of them which killed the pro sons of those that murdered the prophets; and in- selves, that ye are deed your present temper and conduct more certainly speaks you to be their genuine off- phets. XXIII. spring, and to be full of that very malignity 31 which you pretend to condemn in them. (Com321 2 pare Luke xi. 47, 48. sect. cx.) And do you [then] fill up, as soon as you think fit, what yet fathers. remains to be completed of the measure of your fathers' sins, that wrath may come upon this guilty land to the uttermost. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your generation of vipers, damnation of hell? how can ye escape the 33 Ye painted and deceitful serpents, ye brood of 33 Ye serpents, ye specious, but venomous and mischievous, vipers, how artfully soever you may evade human censures, how can you so much as hope, by any of these vain pretences, to escape what is infinitely more dreadful, that righteous sentence of the unerring Judge which will consign you over to the damnation of hell? (Compare Mat. iii. 7. Vol. VI. p. 99.) 34 some of them shall ye them from city to city: Therefore, behold I send unto you prophets, 34 Wherefore, beand wise men, and scribes instructed to the king-hold, I send unto you prophets, and Wise dom of heaven, to try you once more, and to men, and scr.bes; and give you the last call to repentance and reforma- some of them ye shall tion which you must ever expect: but I know kill and crucify, and that this last attempt will, with regard to the scourge in your synagenerality of you, be entirely in vain; and that gogues, and persecute [some of them ye will kill, and carry your malice so far as to crucify them like common slaves; and when ye cannot effect that, [some] of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute 35 [them] from city to city. For thus will God in righteous judgment permit you to act, that ve righteous blood shed may become the distinguished trophies of his upon the earth, from displeasure, as if he were reckoning with you for the blood of righteous the guilt of all former ages; so that upon you may seem to come the vengeance due for all the righteous blood which has been poured forth on the earth from the beginning of the world; even from the blood of Abel, that eminently righteous man, whom his brother Cain then slew, to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, one of e How can you hope by any of these rain pretences to escape that sentence, &c.] Raphelius has abundantly proved that awoQuy xpia (which is the same in sense with the original) properly signifies to evade conviction in a court of judicature, which is often done by the artifice of the criminal. Annot. ex. Xen. p. 50, 51. Therefore.] Though Olcarius here the 35 That upon you may come all the Abel, unto the blood of |