17g The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED LORD abandoned the faith, and wantonly afk, Where is the /,romp of his coming? Our Lord having delivered thefe dif- courfes, he next addreffed himfeif to thofe who were righteous in their own conceit, and defpifed others : but as thefe particu- lars are better illufirated by their oppofites, he placed the charaéter of this fpecies of men, in oppofition to thofe of the humble, defcribing the reception each elafs met with from the Almighty, in the parable of the Pharifee and publican, who went up together to the temple at the time when the facrifice was offered, to direft their pe- titions to the God of their fathers. The Pharifee, having a great opinionof his own righteoufnefs, went far into the court of the temple, that he might be as near the place of the divine refidence as poffible i here he offered his prayer, giving Gad the praife of his fuppofed righteouf- nefs ; and had he been poffeffed ofany, he would have aéled properly : God, faid he, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, scnjuft, adulterers, or even as thispublican. Ifall twice in the week, Igive tithes of alt that I yiojefs. Having thus commended himfelf toGod, he wrap- ped himfelf up in his own righteoufnefs, and giving the poor publican a fcornful look, wanted away, perhaps, to tranfgrefs fome of the weightier matters of the law, judgment, juflice, and truth, and to de- vour the houfes of difireffed widows and helplefs orphans. But how different was the behaviour of the humble publican! Im- pref ed with a deep fenfe ofhis own unwor- thinefs, he would not even enter the courts of the temple, but !landing afar off, he (mote uponhis breaff, and in the bitternefs ofhis foul, earneflly implored the mercy ofOmnipotence : And the publican, fend- ing afar of, would not lift ùßi fo much as his eyes unto heaven, but fmote upon his breaft, Paying, God, be merciful to nie a fanner. Our bleffed Lordadded, I tell you, how- ever ye may judge from external appear- ances, and whatever preference ye may 3 give to this haughty Pharifee ; I, who know and fee the heart, declare unto you, that the publican retired from the temple .ac- cepted by his God, and bleffed with the mercy which he implored, while the proud Pharifee was difregarded. The prefentparable fufficiently indicates, that all the fons of men !land in need of mercy ; both the drill Pharifee and the defpifed publican, with the whole race of mankind, are (inners ; and confequently all muff implore pardon of their benevo- lent Creator: we mull all afcend to the templé, and there pour forth our prayers before the throne of grace ; for there he has promifed ever to be prefent, to grant the petitions of all who afk with fincerity and truth. Thefe parables were fpoken in the town ofEphraim ; and during our Lord's con- tinuance in that city, the Pharifees afked him, Whether he thought it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every taufe? Our Saviour had twice before declared his opinion of this particular, once in Galilee; and once in Perea ; it is therefore probable, that the Pharifees were not ignorant of his fentiments, and that theyafked the queflion then, to find an opportunity of incenfing the people againft him, well knowing that the t'fraelites held the liberty which thé law gave them of divorcing their wives as one of their chief privileges : but however that be, JEsus was far from fearing the popular refenttnent, and acéordingly de- clared the third time againft arbitrary divorces. The Pharifees then afked him, why they were commanded by Mofes to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? Infinuating, that Mofes was fo tender of their happinefs, that he gave them liberty of putting away their wives, when they faw occafion. To which Jesus an- fwered, Becaufe of the hardnefs of your hearts, Mofes filtered you to put away your wives ; but from the beginning it was not fo : as unlimited divorces were not permitted in the !late of innocence, fo neither !hall they be under the gofpel-dif= penfation.
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