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which some of the multitude had conceived against Christ and his doctrine, because it was opposed by those men of their church, that called themselves the people's guide.

Now, in this discourse Christ allows their office as expositors of the law. The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat (ver. 2), as public teachers and interpreters of the law. Hence he infers (ver. 3), Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do. As far as they sit in Moses' seat, that is, read and preach the law that was given by Moses (which, as yet, continued in full force, power, and virtue), and judge according to that law, so far you must hearken to them, as remembrancers to you of the written Word.-The scribes and Pharisees made it their business to study the Scriptures, and were well acquainted with the language, history, and customs of it, and its style and phraseology. Now Christ would have the people to make use of the helps they gave them for the understanding of the Scriptures, and do accordingly. As long as their comments did illustrate the text, and not pervert it did make plain, and not make void, the commandment of God—so far they must be observed and obeyed; but with caution, and a judgment of discretion. We must not think the worse of good truths, for their being preached by bad ministers; nor of good laws, for their being executed by bad magistrates.

But whilst he allows their office as teachers, he condemns the men. He had ordered the multitude to do as they taught; but here he annexeth a caution-Do not ye after their works. Doctrines and practices are spirits that must be tried, and, where there is occasion, must be carefully separated and distinguished; and as we must not swallow corrupt doctrines for the sake of any laudable practices of those that teach them, so we must not imitate any bad examples for the sake of the plausible doctrines of those that set them. He specifies divers particulars of their works, wherein we must not imitate them. Their saying and doing were two things. They taught out of the law that which is good, but their conversation gave them the lie; and they seemed to have found another way to heaven for themselves than what they showed to others. Those are of all sinners most inexcusable that allow themselves in the sins they condemn in others, or in worse. This doth especially touch wicked ministers, who will be sure to have their portion appointed them with hypocrites (chap. xxiv. 51); for what greater hypocrisy can there be, than to press that upon others, to be believed and done, which they themselves disbelieve and disobey; pulling down in their practice what they build up in their preaching; when in the pulpit, preaching so well that it is a pity they should ever come out-but, when out of the pulpit, living so ill that it is a pity they should ever come in; like bells, that call others to the church, but hang out of it themselves; or road-posts, that point the way to others, but stand still themselves? Such will be judged out of their own mouths.

They were also very severe in imposing upon others things which they were not themselves willing to submit to (ver. 4),—They bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne. Not only insisting upon the minute circumstances of the law, which is called a "yoke" (Acts xv. 10), and pressing the observation of them with more strictness and severity than God himself did, but by adding to his words, and imposing their own inventions and traditions, under the highest penalties. They loved to show their authority and to exercise their domineering faculty-lording it over God's heritage, and saying to men's souls, "Bow down, that we may go over." But see their hypocrisyThey themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. They would not exercise themselves in those things which they imposed upon others; they pressed upon the people a strictness in religion which they themselves would not be bound by; but secretly transgressed their own traditions, which they publicly enforced.

Our Lord next specifies two things which they did to be seen of men :

First. They made broad their phylacteries. Those were little scrolls of paper or parchment, wherein were written, with great niceness, these four paragraphs of the law-Exod. xiii. 2-11; xiii. 11-16; Deut. iv. 4-9; xi. 13-21. These were sewn up in leather, and worn upon their foreheads and left arms. It was a tradition of the elders, which had reference to Exod. xiii. 9, and Prov. vii. 3, where the expressions seem to be figurative, intimating no more than that we should bear the things of God in our minds as carefully as if we had them bound between our eyes. Now the Pharisees made broad these phylacteries, that they might be thought more holy, and strict, and zealous for the law, than others. It is a gracious ambition, to covet to be really more holy than others; but it is a proud ambition, to covet to appear so.

Second. They enlarged the borders of their garments. God appointed the Jews to make borders or fringes upon their garments (Numb. xv. 38), to distinguish them from other nations, and to be a memorandum to them of their being a peculiar people; but the Pharisees were not content to have these borders like other people's, which might serve God's design in appointing them, but they must be larger than ordinary, to answer their design of making themselves to be taken notice of as if they were more religious than others.

Our Lord next describes their pride, vers. 6, 7. They courted and coveted places of honour and respect. In all public appearances, as at feasts, and in the synagogues, they expected, and had, to their heart's delight, the uppermost rooms, and the chief seats. They took place of all others, and precedency was adjudged to them, as persons of the greatest note and merit; and it is easy to imagine what a complacency they took in it-they loved to have the pre-eminence. 3 John 9. It is not possessing the uppermost rooms, nor sitting in the chief seats, that is condemned (somebody must sit uppermost), but loving them. For men to value such a little piece of ceremony as sitting highest, going first, taking the wall, or the better hand, and to value themselves upon it, to seek it, and to feel resentment if they have it not-what is that but making an idol of ourselves, and then falling down and worshipping it ?-the worst kind of idolatry. It is bad any where, but especially in the synagogues. There to seek honour to ourselves, where we appear in order to give glory to God, and to humble ourselves before him, is indeed to mock God instead of serving him. They loved greetings in the markets-loved to have people put off their hats to them, and show them respect when they met them in the streets. O how it pleased them, and fed their vain humour, to be pointed out, and to have it said, "This is he!"-to have way made for them in the crowd of market people, "Stand off, here is a Pharisee coming!"-and to be complimented with the high and pompous title of Rabbi! Rabbi! This was meat, and drink, and dainties to them; and they took as great satisfaction in it as Nebuchadnezzar did in his palace, when he said, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built?" The greetings would not have done them half so much good, if they had not been in the markets, where every body might see how much they were respected, and how high they stood in the opinion of the people.

vers. 8-10.

Christ cautions his disciples against being herein like them; herein they must not do after their works,-But be not ye called so, for ye shall not be of such a spirit, ver. 8, &c. Here is a prohibition of pride. They are here forbidden to challenge titles of honour and dominion to themselves, It is repeated twice,-Be not ye called Rabbi, neither be ye called Master, or Guide. Not that it is unlawful to give civil respect to those that are over us in the Lord,-nay, it is an instance of the honour and esteem which it is our duty to show them; but Christ's ministers must not affect the name of Rabbi, or Master, by way of distinction from other people; it is not agreeable to the simplicity of the gospel, for them to covet or accept the honour which they have that are in kings' palaces.

They must not assume the authority and dominion implied in those names; they must not be magisterial, or domineer over their brethren, or over God's heritage, as if they had dominion over the faith of Christians. What they received of the Lord, all must receive from them; but in other things they must not make their opinions and wills a rule and standard to all other people, to be admitted with an implicit obedience. The reasons for this prohibition are as follows,—One is your Master, even Christ, ver. 8; and again, ver. 10. Christ only is Master, the great Prophet, whom we must hear, and be ruled and overruled by; whose words must be an oracle and a law to us. Verily I say unto you, must be enough to us. And if he only be our Master, then for his ministers to set up for dictators, and to pretend to a supremacy and an infallibility, is a daring usurpation of that honour of Christ which he will not give to another. All ye are brethren. Ministers are brethren not only to one another, but to the people; and therefore it ill becomes them to be masters, when there are none for them to master it over but their brethren.

But it will also be observed, that the disciples are forbidden to ascribe such titles to others (ver. 9) -Call no man your father upon the earth. Constitute no man the father of your religion; that is, the founder, author, director, and governor, of it. The fathers of our flesh must be called fathers, and as such we must give them reverence; but God only must be allowed as the Father of our spirits. Heb. xii. 9. Our religion must not be derived from, or made to depend upon, any man. We are born again to the spiritual and divine life, not of corruptible seed, but by the word of God; not of the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God. Now, the will of man not being the rise of our religion, must not be the rule of it.

The punishment intended for the proud is expressed (ver. 12),-Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased. If God give them repentance, they will be abased in their own eyes, and will abhor themselves for it; if they repent not, sooner or later they will be abased before the world. Nebuchadnezzar, in the height of his pride, was turned to be a fellow-commoner with the beasts; Herod, to be a feast for the worms; and Babylon, that sat as a queen, to be the scorn of nations. God made the proud and aspiring priests contemptible and base (Mal. ii. 9), and the lying prophets to be the tail. Isa. ix. 15. But if proud men have not marks of humiliation set upon them in this world, there is a day coming when they shall rise to everlasting shame and contempt (Dan. xii. 2); so plentifully will he reward the proud doer! Psal. xxxi. 23.

The preferment intended for the humble is also expressed (ver. 12),-He that shall humble him

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self shall be exalted. Humility is that ornament which is in the sight of God of great price. In this world the humble have the honour of being accepted with the holy God, and respected by all wise and good men-of being qualified for, and often called out to, the most honourable services for honour is like the shadow, which flees from those that pursue it, and grasp at it, but follows those that flee from it. However, in the other world, they that have humbled themselves in contrition for their sin, in compliance with their God, and in condescension to their brethren, shall be exalted to inherit the throne of glory-shall be not only owned, but crowned, before angels and men. 13 But 'woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! "for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, "ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by 'him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by "the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 'for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and "have omitted the weighter matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 'for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

t

Luke xi. 42. + Gr. anethon, dill.

n Chap. xv. 14; ver. 34. o Chap. v. 33, 34.

Luke xi. 52. m Mark xii. 40; Luke xx. 47; 2 Tim. iii. 6; Tit. i. 11. p Exod. xxx. 29. Or, debtor, or bound. q Exod. xxix. 37. 1 Kings viii. 13; 2 Chron. vi. 2; Psal. xxvi. 8, cxxxii. 14. Chap. v. 34; Psal. xi. 4; Acts vil. 49. u 1 Sam. xv. 22; Hos. vi. 6; Mic. vi. 8; Chap. ix. 13, xii. 7. z Mark vii. 4; Luke xi. 39. y Luke xi. 44; Acts xxiii. 3. * Luke xi. 47. a Acts vii. 51, 52; 1 Thess. ii. 15. Gen. xv. 16; 1 Thess. ii. 16. c Chap. iii. 7, xii. 34.

In these verses we have eight woes levelled directly against the scribes and Pharisees by our Lord Jesus Christ, like so many claps of thunder, or flashes of lightning, from mount Sinai, ver. 3. The gospel has its woes as well as the law; and gospel curses are of all curses the heaviest.

Now, each of these woes against the scribes and Pharisees has a reason annexed to it, containing a separate crime charged upon them, proving their hypocrisy, and justifying the judgment of Christ upon them; for his woes, his curses, are never causeless.

I. They were sworn enemies to the gospel of Christ-and consequently, to the salvation of the souls of men (ver. 13),—They shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; that is, they did all they could to keep people from believing in Christ, and so entering into his kingdom. Christ came to open the kingdom of heaven; that is, to lay open for us a new and living way into it—to bring men to be subjects of that kingdom. Now the scribes and Pharisees, who sat in Moses' seat, and pretended to the key of knowledge, ought to have contributed their assistance herein, by opening those Scriptures of the Old Testament which pointed at the Messiah and his kingdom, in their true and proper sense. Thus they might have facilitated that great work, and have helped thousands to heaven; but instead of this, they shut up the kingdom of heaven. They made it their business to press the ceremonial law, which was now in the vanishing; to suppress the prophecies, which were now in the accomplishing; and to beget and nourish up in the minds of the people prejudices against Christ and his doctrine.

II. They made religion and the form of godliness a cloak to their covetous practices and desires, ver. 14. Observe here what their wicked practices were; they devoured widows' houses, either by quartering themselves and their attendants upon them for entertainment, which must be of the best for men of their figure; or by insinuating themselves into their affections, and so getting to be the trustees of their estates, which they could make an easy prey of; for who could presume to call such as they were to an account? The thing they aimed at was to enrich themselves; and, this being their chief and highest end, all considerations of justice and equity were laid aside, and even widows' houses were sacrificed to this. The cloak with which they covered this wicked practice was as follows:-For a pretence they made long prayers; very long indeed, if it be true which some of the Jewish writers tell us, that they spent three hours at a time in the formalities of meditation and prayer, and did it thrice every day, which is more than an upright soul, that makes a conscience of being inward with God in the duty, dares pretend ordinarily to do; but to the Pharisees it was easy enough, who never made a business of the duty, and always made a trade of the outside of it. Christ doth not here condemn long prayers, as in themselves hypocritical; nay, if there were not a great appearance of good in them, they would not have been used for a pretence; and the cloak must be very thick which was used to cover such wicked practices. Christ himself continued all night in prayer to God, and we are commanded to pray without ceasing too soon; where there are many sins to be confessed, and many wants to pray for the supply of, and many mercies to give thanks for, there is occasion for long prayers. But the Pharisees' long prayers were made up of vain repetitions, and (which was the end of them) they were for a pretence; by them they got the reputation of pious devout men, that loved prayer, and were the favourites of Heaven. The pretences of religion, with which hypocrites disguise or excuse their sin now, will aggravate their condemnation shortly. Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Such is the deceitfulness of sin, that the very thing by which sinners hope to expiate and atone for their sins will come against them, and make their sins more exceedingly sinful.

III. While they were such enemies to the conversion of souls to Christianity, they were very industrious in the perversion of them to their faction. They shut up the kingdom of heaven against those that would turn to Christ, but at the same time compassed sea and land to make proselytes to themselves, ver. 15.

The making of proselytes, if it be to the truth and serious godliness, and be done with a good design, is a good work, well worthy of the utmost care and pains. Such is the value of souls, that nothing must be thought too much to do, to save a soul from death. The industry of the Pharisees herein may show the negligence of many who would be thought to act from better principles, but will be at no pains or cost to propagate the gospel. To make a proselyte, sea and land must be compassed; all ways and means must be tried; first one way, and then another, must be tried, all little enough; but all well paid, if the point be gained. But while they showed industry in making proselytes, they showed impiety in abusing them when they were made; "Ye make him the disciple of a Pharisee presently, and he sucks in all a Pharisee's notions; ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves." Hypocrites, while they fancy themselves heirs of heaven, are, in the judgment of Christ, the children of hell. Though all that maliciously oppose the gospel are children of hell, yet some are twofold more so than others. Perverted proselytes are commonly the greatest bigots; the scholars outdid their masters in fondness of ceremony, and in fury against Christianity.

IV. Their seeking their own worldly gain and honour more than God's glory put them upon the coining of false and unwarrantable distinctions, with which they led the people into dangerous mistakes, particularly in the matter of oaths. They allowed swearing by creatures, provided they were consecrated to the service of God, and stood in any special relation to him. They allowed swearing by the temple and the altar, though they were the work of men's hands, intended to be the servants of God's honour, not sharers in it. An oath is an appeal to God, to his omniscience and justice; and to make this appeal to any creature, is to put that creature in the place of God. See Deut. vi. 13. They distinguished between an oath by the temple and an oath by the gold of the temple; an oath by the altar and an oath by the gift upon the altar; making the latter binding, but not the former. Here was a double wickedness; First, That there were some oaths which they dispensed with, and made light of, and reckoned a man was not bound by to assert the truth, or perform a promise. They ought not to have sworn by the temple or the altar; but, when they had so sworn, they were taken in the words of their mouth. That doctrine cannot be of the God of truth which gives countenance to the breach of faith in any case whatsoever. Oaths are edge tools, and are not to be jested with. Secondly, That they preferred the gold before the temple, and the gift before the altar, to encourage people to bring gifts to the altar, and gold to the treasures of the temple, which they hoped to be gainers by. Corrupt church-guides make things to be sin or no sin as it serves their purposes, and lay a much greater stress on that which concerns their own gain than on that which is for God's glory and the good of souls.

Christ shows the folly and absurdity of this distinction (vers. 17-19),-Ye fools, and blind. To convict them of folly, he appeals to themselves,- Whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Any one will own, that, on account of which any thing is qualified in a particular way, must itself be much more qualified in the same way. They that sware by the gold of the temple had an eye to it as holy; but what was it that made it holy but the holiness of the temple, to the service of which it was appropriated? And therefore the temple cannot be less holy than the gold, but must be more so; for the less is blessed and sanctified of the better. Heb. vii. 7. The temple and altar were dedicated to God fixedly, the gold and gift but secondarily. Christ is our altar (Heb. xiii. 10), our temple (John ii. 21); for it is he that sanctifies all our gifts, and puts an acceptableness in them. 1 Pet. ii. 5. Those that put their own works into the place of Christ's righteousness in justification are guilty of the Pharisees' absurdity, who preferred the gift before the altar.

He proceeds to rectify the mistake (vers. 20-22), by reducing all the oaths they had invented to the true intent of an oath, which is, By the name of the Lord: so that though an oath by the temple, or the altar, or heaven, be formally bad, yet it is binding. Engagements which ought not to have been made, are yet, when made, binding. A man shall never take advantage of his own fault.

V. They were very strict and precise in the smaller matters of the law, but as careless and loose in the weighter matters, vers. 23, 24. They were partial in the law (Mal. ii. 9),—would pick and choose their duty, according as they were interested or stood affected. Sincere obedience is universal, and he that from a right principle obeys any of God's precepts, will have respect to them all. Psal. cxix. 6. But hypocrites, who act in religion for themselves, and not for God, will do no more in religion than they can serve a turn by for themselves.

excess.

VI. They were all for the outside, and not at all for the inside, of religion. They were more desirous and solicitous to appear pious to men than to approve themselves so toward God. This is illustrated by two similitudes. 1. They are compared to a vessel that is clean washed on the outside, but all foul within, vers. 25, 26. The Pharisees placed religion in that which at best was but a point of decency-the washing of cups, &c. Mark vii. 4. They were in care to eat their meat in clean cups and platters; but made no conscience of getting their meat by extortion, and using it to In those things which fell under the observation of their neighbours, they seemed very exact, and carried on their wicked intrigues with so much artifice, that their wickedness was not suspected; people generally took them for very good men. But within, in the recesses of their hearts, and the close retirements of their lives, they were full of extortion and excess, of violence and incontinence; that is of injustice and intemperance. While they would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. Their inward part was very wickedness (Psal. v. 9); and that we are really which we are inwardly. Christ gives, in opposition to this practice, a rule, ver. 26. The rule is, Cleanse first that which is within. The principal care of every one of us should be, to wash our hearts from wickedness. Jer. iv. 14. The main business of a Christian lies within-to get cleansed from the filthiness of the spirit. Corrupt affections and inclinations, the secret lusts that lurk in the soul unseen and unobserved, these must first be mortified and subdued. Those sins must be conscientiously abstained from which the eye of God only is a witness to, who searchetn

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