them from the people. This St. Matthew calls the shutting up of the kingdom of heaven against men. St. Luke calls it, a taking away the key of knowledge from men, which is an allusion to a known custom among the Jews in admission of their doctors; for those that had authority given them to interpret the law and the prophets, were solemnly admitted into that office, by delivering them a key and a table-book. So that by the key of knowledge, is meant the interpretation and understanding of the scriptures; and by taking away the key of knowledge, is signified, first, that they arrogated to themselves alone the understanding of the scriptures. Secondly, That they kept the true knowledge of the scriptures from the people, especially the prophecies which concerned the Messias: and so they hindered men from embracing our Saviour's doctrine, who were otherwise well enough disposed for it. Learn hence, 1. That the knowledge of the holy scriptures is absolutely and indispensably necessary in order

to salvation. This our Saviour calls the

key, which lets men into the kingdom of heaven. Learn, 2. That great is the guilt, and inexcusable the fault, of those who deprive the people of the knowledge of the scriptures. They shut the kingdom of heaven against men, and do what in them lies to hinder their eternal salvation. Men may miscarry with their knowledge, but they are sure to perish for want of knowledge.

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 dam

nation.

The second woe denounced against the Pharisees, is for their gross hypocrisy, in colouring over their covetousness with a pretence of religion; making long prayers in the temple and synagogues for widows, and thereupon persuading them to give bountifully to the Corban, or the common treasury of the temple, some part of which was employed for their maintenance. Learn, 1. It is no new thing for designing hypocrites to cover the foulest transgressions with the cloak of religion. The Pharisecs made long prayers a cover for their

covetousness. 2. That to make use of religion in policy for worldly advantage

sake, is the way to be damned with a vengeance for religion sake. Woe unto you, scribes, &c.

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.

The next woe denounced is for their false-ended zeal and earnestness in proselyting heathens to the Jewish religion; not with a pious intention to save them, but to serve themselves upon them, to have their consciences and purses under their power. And when you have poisoned them, says our Saviour, by your corrupt doctrine, and hardened them in a course of sin by your wicked example, they are more the children of hell than before you practised upon them. Learn, 1. Great is the diligence and indefatigable the industry which false teachers use in gaining proselytes to their opinion and party; they Compass sea and land to make one proseerror, are oft-times faster rivetted in their lyte. 2. That such as are proselyted to false opinions than their teachers themselves: they are made two-fold more the children 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. 12 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.

The fourth woe which our Saviour de

nounceth against the Pharisees, is for their false and erroneous doctrine concerning oaths. 1. They taught men to swear by the creatures. 2. They taught that some caths made by the creatures were obligatory and binding, others not: particularly they affirm, that if a man swear by the temple, or the altar, it is nothing; that is, he was not bound by such an oath: but if a man swear by the gold of the temple and the altar; that is, by the gifts offered to the Corban, or treasury of the temple, and by the sacrifices and oblations on the altar; such an oath they affirmed was binding, because it was for their profit that the gifts on the altar, and the gold brought into the treasury, should be accounted most holy, seeing that would encourage the people to be more ready to contribute and offer. This horrid hypocrisy and covetousness our blessed Saviour here sharply reproves, and shows that oaths made by the creatures, though unlawful, yet being once made, did oblige, as if the parties had sworn by God himself. For he that swears by the temple, swears by it and him that dwelleth therein. Learn, 1. That swearing by the creatures is no new sin, but as old as the Pharisees. 2. That swearing by the creatures is a great profanation of the name of God, and a mighty provocation to him. 3. That this notwithstanding, if the matter of such oaths be not sinful, they are obligatory and binding. He that sweareth by the creatures, sweareth indeed by the God of the creatures: For, says our Saviour, he that sweareth by the heavens, 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 weightier 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.

The next woe denounced is for the Pharisees' ostentation of a precise keeping of the law in smaller matters, and neglecting weightier duties: They paid tithe of mint, anise, and cummin; but at the same time omitted judgment, mercy, and faith; that is, just dealing with men, charity towards

the poor, and faithfulness in their promises and covenants one with another. This, says our Saviour, is to strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. A proverbial expression, intimating, that some persons pretend great niceness and scrupulosity about small matters, and none, or but little, about duties of the greatest moment. Hence note, 1. That hypocrites lay the greatest stress upon the least matters in religion, and place holiness most in those things where God places it least. Ye tithe mint, &c. but neglect the weightier matters of the law. This is indeed the bane of all religion and true piety, to prefer ritual and human institutions before divine commands, and the practice of natural religion. Thus to do is a certain sign of gross hypocrisy. Observe, 2. That although some duties are of greater moment than others, yet a good man will omit none, but perform every duty, the least as well as the greatest, in obedience to the command of God. These things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

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.

Our Saviour doth not here condemn their legal or traditional washing of pots or cups, or any external decency and cleanliness in conversation; but his design is to show them the vanity of outto convince them of the necessity of cleansward purity, without inward sanctity, and ing the heart, in order to the purifying and reforming the life: plainly intimating, 1. That men's lives could not be so bad, if their hearts were not worse, all the obliquity of their lives proceeding from the impurity of their hearts and natures. 2. That an holy heart will be accompanied with an holy life. A man may be outwardly pure, and yet inwardly filthy; but he that has a pure heart will live a pure and holy life. Cleanse that which is within the cup, that the outside 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.

Here we have a woe denounced against the Pharisees for cheating and deceiving the people with an outward show, an external appearance, of piety and religion: their lives were seemingly very religious, but their hearts were full of hypocrisy and all impurity, like sepulchres painted without, and full of rottenness within. Whence learn, That the great design of hypocrisy

is to cheat the world with a vain and

empty show of piety. The ambition of the hypocrite is to be thought good, not to be so; he is the world's saint, not God's.

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?

This is the eighth woe denounced by our blessed Saviour against the Pharisees for their grand hypocrisy, in pretending great honour to the saints departed, building their tombs, and garnishing their sepulchres, and declaring against their fathers' impiety, That had they lived in their days, they would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Now their hypocrisy appeared in three particulars. 1. In that they continued in their own wickedness, and yet recommended the saints departed; they magnify the saints, but multiply their sins, and instead of imitating their virtues, they content themselves with garnishing their sepulchres. 2. In professing great respect to the dead saints, and at the same time persecuting the living. Palpable hypocrisy! And

yet as gross as it is, it prevails to this day. The church of Rome, who magnify martyrs, and canonize saints departed, have their blood. 3. In taking false measures yet added to their numbers by shedding of their love to the saints departed, from their building their tombs, and garnishing their sepulchres; whereas the best evidence their virtues, and cherishing their followers. of our love unto them, is the imitating It is gross hypocrisy to pay respect to the

relics of saints, and veneration to their images; and at the same time to persecute and afflict their followers. Learn hence, 1. That the world has all along loved the dead saints better than living ones. Mortui how bright soever, is not so scorching and non mordent. The dead saints' example, troublesome at a distance; and he himself no longer stands in other men's light; whereas the living saints' example is a cutting reproof to sin and vice. Observe, 2. That there is a certain civility in human nature, which leads men to a just commendation of the dead, and to a due estimation of their worth. The Pharisees here, though they persecuted the prophets whilst alive, yet had they a mighty veneration for their piety and virtue after they were dead, and thought no honour too great to be done unto them. Note, 3. That it is the grossest hypocrisy to pretend to love goodness, and yet hate and persecute good men. These hypocritical Pharisees pretended highly to piety and religion, and at the same time killed the unto them. 4. That the highest honour prophets, and stoned them that were sent we can pay to the saints departed, is not by raising monuments and building tombs to their memory; but by a careful imitation of their piety and virtue, following the holiness of their lives, and their pa tience and constancy at their deaths.

34 Wherefore, behold, I send and scribes: and some of them ye unto you prophets, and wise men, shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you,

sire like unto God's desire of a people's repentance; no longing like unto God's longing for a people's salvation: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee! When shall it once be! Christ did very seriously desire the conversion of the Jews, who continued still in their impenitency and unbelief. And consequently they whom he so seriously desired to convert, might have been converted, but they would not be so I would have gathered you, but ye would not.

CHAP. XXIV.

AND Jesus went out, and depart

ed from the temple: and his disciples came to him, for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Our blessed Saviour had often acquainted his disciples with his approaching death at Jerusalem. The Son of man must go up to Jerusalem to be crucified. Now in this chapter he acquaints them with the destruction that should come upon Jerusalem in general, and upon the temple in particular, for their putting him, the Son of God, to death. The disciples, looking upon the temple with wonder and admiration, were apt to think that the temple, in regard of its invincible strength, could not be destroyed; or, at the least, in regard of its incredible magnificence, it was great pity it should be destroyed; and accordingly they say to Christ, See what goodly buildings are here. As if they had said, Master, what great pity it is, that such a magnificent structure should become a ruinous heap! But hence we learn, 1. That sin brings cities and kingdoms, as well as particular and private persons, to their end. There are no places so strong, but an Almighty God is able to destroy them, and sin is sufficient to lay them waste. Observe, 2. That the threatenings of God are to be feared, and shall be fulfilled, whatever appearing improbabilities there may be to the contrary. God had threatened Jerusalem with destruction for her sin, and now it is not all her strength that can oppose his power. Learn, 3. That notwithstanding magnificence and worldly glory doth mightily dazzle our eye, yet how little doth it affect

Christ's heart. Even the temple itself, that most magnificent structure, Christ values no more than an heap of rubbish, when the impiety of the worshippers had devoted it to destruction. Not one stone, says Christ, shall be left upon another unthrown down. This threatening was fulfilled forty years after Christ's death, when Titus the Roman emperor destroyed the city and burnt the temple, and Turnus Rufus, the general of his army, plowed up the very foundation upon which the temple stood. Thus was the threatening of God fulfilled, Jer. xxvi. 18. Zion shall

be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps. The truth and veracity, the faithfulness and fidelity of God, is as much concerned in the execution of his threatenings, as in the performance of his promises.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

A double question is here propounded by the disciples to our Saviour. First, As to the time of the temple's destruction. Secondly, As to the signs of that destruction. As to the former, the time when the temple should be destroyed. See the curiosity of human nature, both in desiring to know what should be hereafter, and also when that hereafter should be. Thence learn, That there is found with all of us an itching curiosity and desire, rather to inquire and pry into the hidden counsels of God's secret will, than to obey the manifest declarations of God's revealed will: Tell us when these things shall be. As to their second question, What should be the sign of his coming; our Saviour acquaints them with this among many others, That there should arise false Christs, false prophets, and seducers, a multitude of impostors, that would draw many after them; therefore he bids them take heed and beware. Where observe, That Christ doth not gratify his disciples' curiosity, but acquaints them with their present duty, to watch against deceivers and seducers, who should