TOO LOW A STANDARD.

MATT. v, 20.

Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

THIS is one of those solemn and important truths which proceeded out of the mouth of Him" who spake as never man spake." It forms a part of that comprehensive sermon, which contains the whole of inward and outward religion, together with rules for the attainment of it, and directions for its preservation. This inimitable sermon was preached on a mountain in Judea, to an innumerable multitude of people, who, with one consent, gathered round the Heavenly Teacher, and listened with delight to the gracious words which fell from his blessed lips. The persons who composed this assembly, in common with the rest of mankind, were the fallen children of Adam, and, as such, were partakers of the fallen nature. They were all actual transgressors of the law, and therefore, like the rest of the world, were all guilty in the sight of God. It was for their sins that the Saviour was to be wounded, and for their iniquities that he was to be bruised, inasmuch as they were a part of the human race. They, as well as the rest of their species, were exposed to eternal ruin, because they were under the curse of Jehovah's righteous law. But, oh! the love and compassion of the Divine Redeemer! When he spake, it was not to pronounce sentence of death, but to proclaim peace and good-will. "He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," &c.

When the Heavenly Instructor had pronounced the beatitudes, he proceeded to explain the moral law, which had been perverted both by the precepts and practice of the Scribes and Pharisees; but which in itself contains the whole duty of man-the essence of true religion. This law, he informs them, he came not to destroy, but to fulfil its purity and spirituality to enforce; and thereby to point out the way to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, without which all outward performances—such

-are in his sight less

as those of the Scribes and Phariseesthan nothing, and vanity. We will I. Describe the righteousness of the Scribes and Phari

sees.

1. The term Scribe is applied in Scripture to men of eminence, in the political, military, and ecclesiastical departments, in the Jewish nation; but those who are here thus denominated by our Lord, and who are so often mentioned in the New Testament, were of the last order. They were conversant with the laws of God; these were their study, and it was their peculiar office to read and expound the Law and the Prophets in the synagogues. They made Divinity their profession, and preaching their business. They were men of letters; men of the greatest note for learning that were among the Jews, and, according to the titles which we give to men of this description, they might very properly be styled Divines, Doctors in Divinity, or Doctors of learned Law.

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2. The Pharisees were a very ancient sect, or body of men, among the Jews. The word Pharisee signifies division," or " set apart,"-not that they made any formal separation from, or division in the national church, but were only distinguished from others by greater strictness of life, and more exactness of conversation. They were zealous of the law in its minutest points, paying tithe of mint, anise and cummin; and hence they were had in honour of all the people, and generally esteemed the holiest of men.

Many of the Scribes were of the sect of the Pharisees; thus St. Paul, who was educated for a Scribe, declares of himself, before the council, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee ;" and before King Agrippa, " after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." And the whole body of the Scribes generally esteemed and acted in concert with the Pharisees: hence we find our Saviour so frequently coupling them together, as coming in many respects under the same consideration. In this place they seem to be mentioned together as the most eminent professors of religion, the former of whom were accounted the wisest, the latter the holiest of men.

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3. As to the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, may be observed that, in reference to the outward letter

of the law, they had, at least in the most important parts of it, very correct views; and in their expositions they advanced good and wholesome doctrine. This we may learn from what our Lord said to his disciples and the multitude. "The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do,” Matt. xxiii, 3. Now our Lord would not have said thus much, and without restriction, if they had preached pernicious doctrine. And that they were orthodox in their views of the moral law, is evident from the approval which one of the Scribes gave to our Lord's remarks upon the first commandment, Mark, xii, 28–35. We learn also, in the "Acts of the Apostles," that they believed in the doctrine of the Resurrection, and in the existence of angels and spirits: hence when St. Paul exclaimed before the council, "Of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question," there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, the latter of whom denied the resurrection, and the existence of angels and spirits; but the former confessed both, Acts, xxiii, 6-9. Thus, although they were guilty of making additions, by teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, they were, upon the whole, orthodox in their opinions.

4. They made a very public and flaming profession of religion. That they might appear to the best advantage as the holiest of men, they chose the chief seats in the synagogues, they made broad their phylacteries, and enlarged the border of their garments. These phylacteries were scraps of writing, containing some passages of the Law, fastened upon the forehead and left arm, in obedience to the command of having the Law of God always before their eyes, or in their hands, Deut. vi, 8. The Pharisees were remarkable for having these much larger than any of the rest of the Jews. They were also notorious for making long public prayers, in the most conspicuous places they could find; and they were so zealous to make converts to their opinions and practice, that "they compassed sea and land to make one proselyte."

Our Lord has furnished us with a Pharisee's own confession of his religion; we will therefore let the man speak for himself, Luke, xviii, 10-15. He went up into the temple to pray, but having unfortunately forgot his

errand, he stood up, to expatiate upon his own virtues : "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are." No! no! to his credit be it spoken, he was not a profane, immoral man; his sect was so far from open wickedness, that they thought it a crime in our Lord to open the eyes of the blind on the Sabbath-day, and they censured his disciples for rubbing the ears of corn on that day, for the purpose of pressing out the grain to satisfy the cravings of hunger." Or even as this publican." This was not a very charitable and becoming reflection in prayer, but it suited the purpose of the Pharisee, and indeed of the publican also, for it probably affected him, and incited him to pray, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" "I fast twice in the week," which certainly was a mark of self-denial, and mortification of the flesh. I give tithes of all that I possess," viz. one-tenth to the sanctuary, and one-tenth to the poor, which certainly was a proof of liberality. All these ceremonies were scrupulously observed, from a principle of duty, and with the intention of doing God service: this we may gather from St. Paul, who could declare concerning the time when he was a Pharisee. “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." Such was the religion of the Scribes and Pharisees; but with all its plausible appearances, it was deceptive. This leads us,

II. To show that such a righteousness is insufficient to prepare the soul for the enjoyment of the kingdom of heaven. 1. The Scribes and Pharisees understood the outward letter of the Law, but this was of no avail, so long as they were strangers to the spirituality of its requisitions. In this respect our knowledge must exceed theirs. It is true that we ought properly to understand the Word of God,— the judgment must be informed before the will can approve, or the affections embrace divine truths. But then it is possible to be acquainted with the whole theory of the Bible, and not be any better for it. We may be as wise as the Scribes and Pharisees, and as orthodox as the devil, and yet be as great strangers to vital religion as either the one or the other.

2. They made a public profession of religion, but this did not at all alter their moral state. They made broad their phylacteries, and enlarged the borders of their gar

ments; but it was merely an affected sanctity, to attract the attention of men. Their zeal prompted them to compass sea and land to make one proselyte to their creed and practice; but when he was made, they, by their deceit and hypocrisy, made him two-fold more the child of hell than themselves ;" and thus their conduct only made more manifest the fact, that they had a form of godliness, but were destitute of the power thereof. It is possible for a person to profess much while he possesses little. It is right that christians should make an open profession of their religion, but woe be to that man who builds his hope of heaven on a bare name, without the root of the matterChrist in the heart.

3. They were punctual in their attendance at the temple. This was right and good,-it was according to the Divine command. But then, if they did not there present before the Lord the sacrifice of "a humble and a contrite heart," their attendance was but a solemn mockery, and was no argument that they would ever enter that "building above," that "house which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

4. They prayed, and prayed much, but, alas ! the searcher of hearts says of them that it was for "a pretence" that they made long prayers,--for they drew near unto God with their mouths, and honoured him with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. But it was in vain that they thus worshipped him; such devotion as this will not prepare the heart for the "kingdom of heaven." Lip service like this is to be deprecated. What! dare we thus mock our Maker? Dare we, in the presence of an omniscient God, pretend to ask for blessings which we do not feel to want, nor care to obtain. If, in this respect, our righteousness do not exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, we may expect to bring upon ourselves the curse of God, but not his blessing.

5. It is manifest from their conduct, that the cause of the insufficiency of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees was, that it did not affect the heart. They were strangers to inward religion—the religion of the heart. They did not understand any thing about regeneration or the new birth. Nicodemus, one of the most devout of them, was quite astonished when our Lord said unto him,