:

They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi,

Rabbi.

The proper meaning of the word Rabbi is great, and it was given to those men who had rendered themselves remarkable for the extent of their learning; it is therefore no wonder that the proud and supercilious Pharisees were so fond of a title, which gave them great authority with their disciples, and bighly complimented their understandings.

But our Lord's followers were to decline this title because the thing sigbified by it belonged solely to the Master, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; and becaused they owed no part of their knowledge to themselves but derived it entirely from him who came down from heaven: "But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren: And call no man your Father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Matt. xiii. 8, 9. Life, with all it's blessings, comes from God, and men wholly depend upon him; all praise and thankfulness, therefore should ultimately be referred to him; so that if any one teacheth rightly, not the teacher, but the wisdom of the Almighty is to be praised, which exerts and communicates itself by him.

The disciples of our blessed Saviour were likewise enjoined not to accept of the title of master or leader, which the Jewish doctors also courted; because in point of commission and inspiration they were all equal, neither had they any title to rule the consciences of men, except by virtue of the inspiration which they had received from their Master, to whom alone the perogative of infallibility belonged: "Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master, even Christ."

However, our blessed Saviour did not intend by this to insinuate, that it was sinful to call men by the stations they held in the world; he only intended to reprove the simplicity of the common people, who loaded their teachers with praises, and forgot to ascribe any thing to God; and to root, out of the mind of his apostles, the Pharisaical vanity, which decked itself with honours belonging solely to the Creator of the universe. Accordingly, that he might instill into their hearts humility to dispose them to do good offices to one another, as occasion offered, he assured them, it was the only road to true greatness; for, by assuming what did not properly belong to them, they should be despised both by God and man; whereas, they should enjoy a high degree of the divine faveur, who did not disdain to perform the meanest offices of love to their brethren.

The Scribes and Pharisees were greatly incensed at the above discourses; and, as they were pronounced in the hearing of many of that order, it is therefore no wonder that they watched every opportunity to destroy him: but this was not a time to put their bloody designs in execution; the people set too high a value on his doctrine to suffer any violence to be offered to his person; and, as this was the last sermon he was ever to preach in public, and as all his mild persuasions had hitherto proved ineffeotual, it was necessary, that he should now use some severity.

He accordingly denounced in the most solemn manner, dreadful woes against them, not on account of the personal injuries he had received from them, but on account of their excessive wickedness. They were public teachers of religion; and therefore should have used every method in their power to recommend it's precepts to the people, and to have been themselves shining examples of every duty it enjoined; but, on the contrary, they abused every mark and character of goodness for all the purposes of villany; and under the cloak of a severe and sanctified aspect, they were malicious, implacable, lewd, covetous, and rapacious; in a word instead of being reformers, they were the corrupters of the people, and consequently

good, and not flatter ourselves that we can cover our crimes from that piercing eye to which nothing is concealed with the cloak of hypocrisy.

At these discourses, the people could not fail of being astonished, as they had always considered their teachers as the most righteous among the sons of men; nay the persons themselves, against whom they were levelled, were confounded, because their own consciences convinced them of the truth of every thing laid to their charge. They therefore knew not what course to pursue; and they let Jesus depart without making any attempt to seize him, or inflict on him any kind of punishment, being prevented fro from putting their wicked purposes in practice until the work was finished for which he was sept of his father into the world to do.

4

CHAPTER XXX.

CHRIST valueth the poor Widow's two Mites above all the gifts of the Rich: He foretelleth the destruction of the Temple; sheweth what signs and calamities should go before, and what should happen at the time of his coming: He delivers the parable of the ten Virgins; and of the Talents, which a king distributed among his servants, to be improved by them: and in a third parable, delivered at the same time he gives a description of the last Judgment.

1

AFTER our dear Lord had exposed the secret practices of the Scribes and Pharisees he repaired with his disciples unto the court of the women, called the treasury, from several chests being fixed to the pillars of the portico surrounding the court for receiving the offerings of those who came to worship in the temple. While he continued in the court "He beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury; for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had even all her living. Mark xii. 41, 42, 43, 44.

1. This poor widow's offering was, in itself, very small, yet, in proportion to the goods she enjoyed, it was remarkably large; for it was all she she had, even all her living. In order, therefore, to encourage charity, and shew that it is the disposition of the mind, not the magnificence of the offering, that attracted the regard of the Almighty, the Son of God applauded this poor widow, as having given more in proportion than any of the rich. Their offerings though great in respect of her's, were but a small part of their estates, whereas, her offering was her whole stock. And from this passage of the gospel, we should learn, that the poor, who in appearance are denied the means of doing charitable offices are encouraged to do all they can; for how small soever the gift may be, the Almighty, who beholds the heart, values it, not according to what it is itself, but according to the disposition with which it is given. On the other hand, we should learn from hence, that it is not enough for the rich, that they exceed the poor in their gifts of charity, they should bestow in proportion to their fortune; and they would do well to remember, that a little given where a little only is possessed, appears a much nobler offering in the sight of the Almighty, and discovers a more benevolent and humane temper of mind, than a greater sum out of the abundance of the rich.

Our Lord having declared, at the conclusion of his pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem that the temple should not any more be favoured with his presence, till they should say, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." which declaration greatly surprised his disciples; and there fore, as he was departing from that sacred structure, they desired him to.:: observe the beauty of the building, insinuating, that they thought it strange be should intimate an intention of leaving it desolate; that so glorious a faorie, celebrated in every cornet of the earth, was not to be deserted rashly; and that they should think themselves supremely happy, when he as the Messiah, and descendent of David, should take possession of it, and erect his throne in the midst of Jerusalem: "And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here! The eastern wall of the temple, which fronted the Mount of Olives, whither the disciples, with their Mas. ter, were then retiring, was built front the bottom of the valley to a prodigious height, with stones of an incredible bulk, firmly compacted together, and, therefore, made a very grand appearance at a distance. This, eastern wall is supposed to have been the only remains of Solomon's temp'e, and had scaped when the Chaldeans burnt it but this building however costly er strong it appeared, our Saviour told them should be totally destroyed: "Seest thou," said he, these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Mark

xii. 2.

This venerable structure which you behold with wonder, adorned with huge stones of amazing beauty, shall be tazed to the very foundation. The disciples, therefore, when they heard their master afirm, that not so much as one of these enormous stones. that mocked the fury of Nebuchadnezzar's army, and survived the destructive hand of time, was to be left one upon another, they perceived that the whole temple was to be demolished, bu did not suspect that the sacrifices were to be taken away, and a new religion introduced, which rendered the temple unnecessary. They therefore, flattered themselves, that the fabrick then standing, however glorious it might appear, was too small for the numerous worshippers who would frequent it, when all the nations of the world were subject to the Messiah's kingdom, and was, therefore, to be pulled down, in order to be erected on a more magnificent plan, suitable to the idea they had conceived of his fature empire. Filled with these pleasing imaginations, they received the news with pleasure, meditating, as they walked to the moun tain, on the glorious things which were shortly to come to pass.

As soon as they arrived at the mount of Olives, and their master had taken his seat on an eminence, from whence they had a prospect of the temple & part of the city, his disciples drew near, to know when the demolition of the old structure was to happen, and what were to be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the world: "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the signs of thy coming, and of the end of the world. ? Matt xκίν. 3.

It is probable the disciples meant what signs should precede the erection of that extensive erapire, over which they supposed the Messiah was to reign, for they still expected he would govern a secular kingdom. They therefore, connected the demolition of the temple with there Master's coming, though thy had not the least notion that he was to destroy the nation; and change from the religious worship. They, therefore, meant by the end of the world, or, as the words should have been translated, the end of the age, the period of the political goverement then executed by Hea then procurators, and considered their Master's coming to destroy the constitution then subsisting, as a very desirable event: they aslo thought the demolition of the temple proper, as they expected a larger and more