Agreeably to these found principles, when he was asked what was the great commandment of the law, he answered, (Matt. xxii. 66 37) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the fecond is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." For these principles prevailing in the heart will lead to the practice of every virtue. There is no vice that Jefus more frequently, or more vehemently inveighed against, than that of hypocrify, with which the Pharifees were chargeable. In his first discourse he said, (Matt. vi. 1) "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them, otherwife ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven. When thou doeft thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; that thine alms may be in fecret, and thy Father who feeth in fecret, himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayeft, be not as the hypocrites are, for they lve love to pray standing in the fynagogues, and in the corners of the streets, to be feen of men. But thou when thou prayeft enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in fecret; and thy Father, who feeth in fecret, fhall reward thee openly." In the fame difcourfe he affured his hearers that no perfonal relation to himfelf, not even the power of working miracles in his name, would fupply the want of real virtue: (Matt. vii. 21) "Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will fay unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name, and in thy name have caft out demons, and in thy name have done many wonderful works? But I will profefs unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Jefus's reproaches of the Pharifees for their hypocrify even favour of afperity and rudeness. For on no occafion did he spare them, regardless of the effects of their refent ment, ment, which by this means he was fure to incur, provided he warned the people against their vices. He faid to them, (Luke xi. 39) "Ye Pharifees make clean the outfide of the cup, and of the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickednefs." He also faid, (John xii. 43)" they loved the praise of men more than the praife of God." He compared them (Matt. xxiii. 27) to "whited fepulchres," which appear beautiful without, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleannefs. He alfo compared them to graves, fo concealed that men in walking fell into them. (Luke xi. 44)" Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharifees, hypocrites, for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them." He particularly cenfured them for preferring their traditions to the pofitive commands of God, but "in vain," fays he, (Matt. xv. 9) "do they worship him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." But the most severe of his invectives against them was pronounced in the prefence of the common people in the temple, a few a few days before his death; when he began with exhorting the people (Matt. xxiii. 3) to obferve and do what they taught from Mofes, but not to do after their works, for, faid he," they fay and do not. They bind heavy burdens, grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's fhoulders; but they themfelves will not move them with one of their fingers; but all their works they do to be feen of men," loving to be called of all men Rabbi, Rabbi. They fhut up, he faid, the kingdom of heaven against men; neither going in themselves, nor fuffering others to go in. "Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharifees, hypocrites, for ye devour, widows' houfes, and for a pretence make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharifees, hypocrites, for ye compafs fea and land to make one profelyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourfelves. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharifees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint, annife, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, juftice, mercy, and fidelity. Ye blind guides, guides, who strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." It is not poffible to express indignation, which, according to Jofephus the Jewish hiftorian of thofe times, was very juft, in a stronger manner than this. 6. The virtue that Jefus more particularly recommended was the reverse of hypocrify and oftentation, viz. humility, or not wishing to appear more than we really are, and as the apostle fays, "not thinking of ourfelves more highly than we ought to think," but to " be clothed with humility." In the Old Testament, and especially in the Pfalms, pride and arrogance, leading to a contempt of the laws of God, as well as thofe of men, is generally mentioned as fynonymous to wickedness in general; and meeknefs and humility, the character oppofite to it, as fynonymous to righteoufnefs, being connected with, and leading to, almost every other virtue. Jefus began his first difcourfe with pronouncing bleffings on perfons of this character, in three different branches, or shades of it. (Matt. v. 3) "Bleffed are the poor in fpirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bleffed are they VOL. III. M that |