should be a disposition in the people to admire a false and hypocritical priesthood, as was the case in the days of CHRIST, and again, at the period of the Reformation, the strongest measures may be necessary, in order to expose the existing danger, and to introduce the light of true religion.

Let us now proceed to consider in what respects the righteousness of the followers of CHRIST was to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.

And, first, it was to exceed, inasmuch as the righteousness of the followers of CHRIST was to be inward and real; while that of the Scribes and Pharisees was merely in appearance. The sanctity of the Pharisee was an altogether external and affected sanctity. He loved to clothe himself in a long robe; and to receive frequent greetings in the market place; and to be called, Rabbi. He made in the very streets long prayers; gave alms in the most public manner; and thus endeavoured to attract the veneration of the people. He did all to be seen of men.

It may be material here to remark, that, in these days, vanity will not show itself in the same manner. Devotion is not in the same credit now, as in the days of the Pharisees. Men are sometimes tempted in our age to lay claim to less religion than they really possess, rather than to pretend that they have more. The love of estimation led the Pharisee to say long prayers. Let us beware, lest our love of estimation should ever lead us to neglect saying our prayers, through the fear of some fellow-creature who may be present. We may be guilty of the same sin with the Pharisee; and yet act in a different, and even a contrary,

manner.

The vanity of the Pharisee, was his sin. Beware, then, of vanity. Act not, as he did, from mere regard to character. Be not honest, only from a regard to character. Be not sober, only from a regard to character. Be not chaste, only from a regard to character. If reputation be the spring of all your morality, then your morality is just as superficial, as was the religion of the Pharisees.

Again, the righteousness of Christians must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, inasmuch as it must be universal, and not partial. The Pharisees discharged some duties, and overlooked others. They performed the smaller, and omitted the greater. They paid tithes on mint, cummin, and anise; but they neglected the weighter matters of the law-judgment, mercy, and truth; they strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel. Let us beware of selecting certain parts of duty which are easy, and of slighting others; and especially of being very scrupulous in small things, and yet far from conscientious in great. Let us endeavour to fulfil every duty; for "he, that keepeth the whole law, and yet offendeth in one point, is guilty of all; for the same GOD who hath said, thou shalt not commit adultery, hath said also, thou shalt not steal:-Now therefore, if thou commit not adultery, yet if thou steal, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

Lastly, our righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, inasmuch as they carried no virtue to its proper height. They fell short of true goodness. It was the habit of the Scribe to lower the meaning of Scripture, to explain down the law of GOD, to devise exceptions to it, to make abatements from it. The Scripture had no force or strength, no strictness of meaning, no heart-searching quality, when interpreted by these teachers. Let us be fearful of all lax expositions of the word of God, of all worldly ways of understanding it. The Scribes "took away the key of knowledge;" and, the Scripture being perverted by the priests, neither true religion, nor true morality, prevailed among the people. The particular nature of those erroneous interpretations of Scripture, which the Pharisees introduced, is in some degree explained by CHRIST in the passage which we shall have next to consider.

XII.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 21-26.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee;

Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way: first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

We have here an example of the manner in which our SAVIOUR explained the precept of the law of Moses. "Thou shalt not kill," was one precept of it. The Scribes and Pharisees interpreted this, as forbidding only the direct act of murder: and thought it sufficient to bring the men who had committed this crime before one of their courts. Such was their interpretation of this law; "Whosoever shall kill," said they, "shall be in danger of the judgment." CHRIST, however, considered, that the sin of murder proceeded from anger in the heart; and He, therefore, interprets the prohibition of murder, as a prohibition of anger also. He likewise explains this law, as forbidding every degree of hatred which is without a cause: in doing which He uses some expressions, of which the meaning was then probably familiar to the Jews, though now become a little obscure; we mean the expressions of "Raca," and "Thou fool." He also intimates, that in whatever degree mon

indulge their anger against each other, in the same degree will God be angry with them: and he does this by alluding to the several Jewish courts of law, some of which took cognisance of the smaller offences, and others of the greater, each inflicting a proportionate punishment. The judgment was the lower court; the council was the next; and the word "hell-fire" stands for the highest punishment which could be inflicted by the highest court,-the punishment of being burnt alive.

Our SAVIOUR then proceeds to remark, that he who entertains in his mind any hatred against his brother, cannot be an acceptable worshipper of GoD:-a most important truth, and one which we ought to call to mind, as often as we engage in divine worship. If, therefore, He says, "thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come, and offer thy gift." He then advises those who have any quarrel, to agree with their adversary quickly; and by adverting to the present consequences, which, in this world, attend the delay of the reconciliation, suggests the line of conduct, which it is our highest wisdom to pursue.

Let us make some practical application of this part of the subject. The Pharisees offered up many a sacrifice to GOD, with hearts full of ill-will to their neighbours. Their religion was also on this account a religion which GoD abhorred: He will have a pure heart in his worshippers. He will accept no worship for Himself, while His worshipper is at enmity with his neighbour. The Church of England expects her members to examine whether they are in charity with all men, before they venture to receive the sacrament. Nothing can be more seasonable than such an expectation. This passage, however, may suggest the propriety of questioning ourselves, on the same point, not only then, but, also, as often as we offer up our worship; since there is no part of it which is consistent with an

D

angry state of the heart. He that would acceptably worship GOD must also love his neighbour.

Are we then well assured that we indulge no malice or hatred? Is none of this seed of murder in our hearts ? Let it not satisfy us to say that we would not kill. This was the scanty morality of the Pharisees. This was their narrow way of explaining the law. CHRIST hath taught us a larger interpretation of it. Are we followers of CHRIST, and have we learnt from Him fully to examine ourselves on this point? Do we perceive the sin, even of an angry word or of an angry motion within the heart? Do we therefore watch the heart? Do we keep the heart (as David expresses it) with all diligence, knowing that out of it are the issues of life? Is our religion a religion of the heart, and not of the knee only, and of the lip? In vain do we repair to the house of God; in vain do we prostrate our bodies before Him; in vain does our tongue make even the fullest profession of our guilt; in vain is all our Christian confidence and hope; if we maintain a quarrel against any :-if we do not in our hearts love every man his neighbour:-" for he that hateth his brother," says the Apostle, "is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”*

These observations seem particularly applicable to persons of a very narrow and sectarian spirit; to those, I mean, whose religion, like that of the Jews, has rendered them severe, unsocial, and uncharitable. Men of this class are in great danger of carrying their religious hatred of some opposite sect, up to their very house of worship. It is true, that we should neither tolerate the heresies of any sect, nor the sins of any individual; we should nevertheless anxiously inquire, whether our religious opposition to the errors of men may not degenerate into hatred of them, and thus corrupt our religious service. Let us breathe, especially when we are in the house of prayer, a spirit of kindness

* 1 St. John, iii: 15.