change in their principles and motives of action. How unjust to call a man, who is punctual to his engagements, honest in his dealings, and kind to the poor, a pharisee. He is nearly as far removed from a pharisee as an angel is from a devil.

But it will be demanded, does not our Lord represent the pharisees as making clean the outside of the cup and platter? as being like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward? and as outwardly appearing righteous unto men? He does; but the question is, Of what did the white-wash consist? Not of the practice of moral duties, as has been already shown, but, as will subsequently appear, of some religious rites and ceremonies.

The washing of hands before meat was a tradition of the elders, which the pharisees strictly observed. They severely censured the disciples for omitting this ceremony, (Matt. xv. 2; Mark ii. 4,) and considered the performance of it so indispensable, that they maintained, according to Godwin, "That in case a man should come to some water, but not enough both to wash and to drink, he should rather choose to wash than to drink, though he die with thirst." They also held it unlawful to eat with sinners, or even to touch them. (Matt. ix. 11; Luke vii. 39.) The bigot, therefore, who is superstitiously tenacious of every trivial rite and ceremony of his own system, and can tolerate the worst of vices in himself and his own sect, who makes his own creed the test of saintship, and stigmatizes all other denominations of christians as sinners, is a pharisee.

The pharisees pretended to fast twice a week, (Luke xviii. 12,) on Mondays and Thursdays; assigning as a reason for it, that Moses ascended mount Sinai on a Thursday, and came down on a Monday. Though they put on a sad and sullen countenance, on those days, to deceive the multitude, and inspire an exalted idea of their piety, yet it is very doubtful whether they really fasted at all. (Matt. vi. 16.) And when you observe a professor, of loose morals, who looks dull

and sour, under a pretence of gravity and seriousness, and who condemns the smile of cheerfulness as unchristian levity, you see a pharisee.

They prayed long and often; but they loved to do it standing, and in public places, such as the synagogues and the corners of the streets, that they might acquire a reputation for sanctity, and gain public confidence, which they knew how to turn to their own advantage. They devoured widows' houses, and, for a pretence, made long prayers. (Matt. xxiii. 14.) Their practice appears to have been this: when they heard of a widow who was left with some little property, they marked her out for their prey: they visited her, condoled with her on the loss of her husband, offered to assist her in settling her affairs, and, to remove all suspicion, made a long prayer. By these arts they imposed upon her credulity, obtained her money, took possession of her house, and turned her out of doors. A man who constantly goes to religious assemblies, prays long, and loud, and often, but gets into all the debt he can, and never pays again, is a pharisee; for he prays to be seen of men, that he may be thought to be religious, and thus, under cover of the good opinion he inspires, facilitates the execution of his schemes of iniquity.

They gave alms. But their charities were all of a public nature, performed in the synagogues and in the streets. The sounding of a trumpet before them, is a proverbial expression, to denote noise and ostentation. Their object, in all this, was to enjoy the praise of men. But when we read that they were destitute of humanity, (Matt. xxiii. 23,) that they were covetous, (Luke xvi. 14,) and that they devoured widows' houses, (Matt. xxiii. 14,) we may be certain that what they gave publicly, was only intended to keep up their reputation, and enable them to carry on their nefarious practices with the greater ease; and that their charities were as seldom performed, and as small in quantity, as would possibly serve to promote the objects they had in view. A hard-hearted, covetous man will cheer

fully give away a shilling, when it affords him facilities of gaining a pound. Whenever you see a great professor, who gives to public charities, but sends the private sufferer empty away; who grinds the faces of the poor, and robs the widow of her habitation, you may be certain you see a pharisee.

They paid tithe of anise, mint, and cummin, and omitted the duties of justice, humanity, and fidelity. (Matt. xxiii. 23.) It follows, that those who acquire wealth by their immoral practices, and who devote a small part of their ill-gotten gain to the support of ministers and religious institutions, under an idea of sanctifying the remainder, are pharisees.

They made broad their phylacteries. "The phylacteries," says Dr. Jennings, "are little scrolls of parchment, in which are written certain sentences of the law, inclosed in leather cases, and bound with thongs on the forehead and on the left arm." Godwin supposes they wrote at length on these parchments the four following sections of the law: 1. Exod. xiii. 2-10; 2. Exod. xiii. 11-16; 3. Deut. vi. 4—9; 4. Deut. xi. 13-21. They understood, literally, the command respecting the words of the law, "Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." From ostentation, the pharisees made the hand phylactery so broad, that it reached above the elbow, pretending by this an extraordinary reverence for the law. The Greek word, phylacterion, signifies a spell, and these parchments were thus called, because the superstitious pharisees supposed that, like amulets, spells, and charms, they would preserve them from dangers. Hence, those persons who lead wicked lives, and have a superstitious reverence for the scriptures; who transcribe a few verses from the Bible, and wear them about their necks as charms, to preserve them from witches, and cure them from agues, are pharisees.

They enlarged the borders of their garments. The Jews were commanded to "make them fringes in the borders of their garments." (Num. xv. 38, 39.) The

use of this fringe was, "That they might look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them." This fringe was to be set upon the four corners of the upper garment, (see Deut. xxii. 12,) which was made of a square piece of cloth. As to the form of this fringe, the Hebrew word in the former text is tsitsith, "a flower;" and in the latter, gedilim, which denotes the form of the flower; for its import is cones, or conical clusters, increasing in size from the apex, or point. This fringe, therefore, was nothing else but a conical flower appended to the strings with which they tied on the upper garment, and which, in modern phrase, may be rendered, a tassel, or tuft. This is the import of the Greek word craspedon, which, in Matt. xxiii. 5, is improperly rendered border, and in Matt. ix. 20, and xiv. 36, hem. In all these places Dr. Campbell has rendered the word, tuft. was these tufts or tassels of their garments, which the pharisees wore uncommonly large, under a pretence of superior regard to the law. Godwin observes, that they put sharp thorns into these tassels, that by their frequent pricking, they might be reminded of the commandment.

It

These tassels were worn by the Jews generally, and even by our Saviour; and it appears that the common people had adopted the superstitious notion, that some peculiar holiness, or virtue, resided in them; for the woman, who was diseased with the issue of blood, touched the hem (or a tassel) of our Lord's garment, in expectation of a cure; and with the same view, the inhabitants of Gennesaret brought their diseased friends to him, "And besought him that they might only touch the hem (or a tassel) of his garment."

"Some conceive," says Dr. Jennings, "the fringe (or tassel) was to be a distinguishing badge, which God ordered his people of Israel to wear on their clothes, in the nature of a livery, that they might be known for his servants, who was not ashamed to own them for his peculiar people; as he had before, for the same purpose, ordered them to wear a distinguishing

mark in their flesh, namely, circumcision. This account well agrees with the reason given for their wearing it, "That they might look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord to do them :" that is, that it might remind them that, as the servants of Jehovah, whose livery they wore, they were bound to do all that he had commanded them. And as by this badge they were to be distinguished from the servants of all other gods, so it was to be a guard upon them from idolatry; accordingly it follows: "That ye seek not after your own hearts, and your own eyes, after which ye used to go a whoring." Those, then, who pay extraordinary respect to the word of God in their dress, but neglect it in their lives; who are more concerned about the shape and colour of a bonnet, gown, or coat, than the practice of piety and virtue, are pharisees.

They were ambitious of worldly honour, loving the uppermost rooms at feasts, the chief seats in the synagogues, greetings in the markets, and the titles of Rabbi, Master, and Father. And every professor of religion who seeks distinction at feasts, and titles of honour, in one word, every proud professor, is a pharisee.

They regretted the murder, and embellished the sepulchres of the ancient prophets, and persecuted the modern. It follows, that those who are perpetually crying up the virtues, and lamenting the persecutions, of the primitive saints, but who stigmatize the piety and virtue of their contemporaries as enthusiasm and fanaticism, and languish for the repeal of the acts in favour of liberty of conscience; that they may imprison, torture, and hang reputed heretics, are rank pharisees.

If it be objected to the above, that a man ought not to be called a pharisee, who imitates the ancient pharisees only in some one particular; it may be replied, that in each of the particulars noted, they acted the hypocrite, and hypocrisy was the distinguishing characteristic of the sect: "Beware of the leaven of the