and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &c. 203 For this purpofe, he áfked their opinion of a difficulty concerning the Mefliah's pedi- gree : What think ye ofaryl ? Whole fon is he? They fay unto him, the fon ofDa- vid, Matt. xxii. 42. I know, anfwered JESUS, you fay, Curets r'is the fon ofDa- vid; but how can you fùpport that opi- nion, or render it confiftent with the words of David, who himfelf calls him Lord ; and how is he hisfan? It Teems, that the Jewilh doors did not imagine that their Meffiah would be indued with any per- fections greater than thofe that might be enjoyed by human nature ; for though they called him the Son of God, they had no notion that he was God, and therefore could not pretend to folve the difficulty. The latter queftion, however, might have convinced them of their error; for if the Meffiahwas only to be a fecular prince, as they fuppofed, and to rule over themen of his own time, he never could have been called Lord, by perfons who died before he was born ; far lefs would fo mighty a prince as David, who was alfo his pro- genitor, have conferred on him that title. Since therefore, he not only rules over the vulgar deadof former ages, but even over the kings from whom he was himfelf defcended, and his kingdom comprehends the men of all countries and times, paf, prefent, and to come ; the donors, if they had thought accurately upon the fubjea, Mould have expe&ed in their Meffiah a king different from all other kings what- ever : befides, he is to fit at God's .right- hand, till all his enemies are made his foot- flool. Numbers of CHRIsT's enemies are fubjea to him in this life ; and they who will not bow to him willingly, (hall be re- duced by punifhment, like the rebellious fubje&s of other kingdoms. He returned fuels clear and fölid anfwers to the enfnaring queflions ofhis adverfaries, that they gave the people an high opinion of his wifdom ; and (hewed them, how far fuperior he was to their molt renowned Rabbi's, whofe arguments to prove their opinions, and anfwers to the objelfions which were raifed againft him, were, in general, very weak and trifling : nay, his foes themfelves, from the repeated proofs they had received from the prodigious depth ofhis underftanding, were impreffed with fuch an opinion of his wifdom, that they judged it impoflible to entangle hint in his talk. Accordingly, they left off at- tempting it, and troubled him no more With their infidious queflions from that day. Our bleffed Sáviour filenced his möff virulent oppofers by this means; but having mentioned the final conqueft and deftruc- tion of his enemies, who were to be made his footftool, agreeable to the prediiflors of the royal Pfalmift, he turned towards his difciples, and, in the hearing of the multitude, folemnly cautioned them to be- ware of the Scribes and Pharifees ; infi- nuating thereby, who the enemies were whofe deftruclion he had mentioned: The Scribes and the Pharifees, faid he, fit in Moles' feat: all therefore whatfoever they bid you obferve, that obferve anddo; but do not ye after their works : for they fay, and do not, Matt. xxiii. 2, g. While they teach the dobtrines before delivered by Mofes, obferve all they fay, but by no means imitate their praftices; for they impofe many precepts on their difciples, which they never perform themfelves : For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men'sfhoulders; but they themfelves will not move themwith one of .theirfingers. But all their works they do for to be Peen of mess. The difficult precepts they impofe on others are never regarded by thefe hypocrites, and any good aFtion they may happen to perform, is vitiated by the principle from whence it proceeds ; they do it only with a view to popular applaufe, and not from a regard to God, far lefs from a love of goodnefs : they are proud and arrogant to excefs, as is plain from their affebfed gravity in their clothes, from the anxiety they difcover, left they fhould not obtain the principal feats in the public affemblies, and from their
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