garden, had been withheld from God : *' he paid tithes of all that he possessed"."
From other parts of Scripture we learn, that the Pharisees were peculiarly jealous of the sacred rest of the Sabbath ; insomuch that they were filled with indignation against any one, who, even by an act of the greatest necessity or mercy, should presume to violate it''. They prayed to God also, and that not in a mere cursory manner, hurrying over a form which they got through as quick as possible : no ; " they made long prayers, as well in the corners of their streets, as in the midst of their synagogues*^. As for the purifications appointed by the law, they were punctual in the observance of them : they even mul- tiplied their lustrations far beyond what the law required ; and were so partial to them, that they never came home from the market, or sat down to their meals, without washing their hands : they even wondered that any one who pretended to religion, could be so profane, as to eat without having first performed these important rites *". Nor must we for- get to mention, that they abounded in almsgivings ; regarding themselves not so much the owners, as the stewards, of the property they possessed ^ In a word, religion, in all its visible branches, was, in their eyes, honourable ; and, in token of their high regard for it, they made their phylacteries broader than any other sect, and " enlarged the fringes of their garments ;" thus displaying before all men their zealous attach- ment to the laws of God^. Nor were they content with thus fulfilhng their own duties : they were desirous that all should honour God in like manner: persuaded that they themselves were right, they strove to the uttermost to recommend their tenets and practices to others, and would even " compass sea and land to make one proselyte^'."
Of course, the attainments of all were not exactly alike: some would excel more in one branch of duty,
b Luke xviii. 11, 12. <= Mark iii. 2, 5, 6.
^ Matt. vi. 5. and xxiii. 14. ^ Mark vii. 2 — 5.
*■ Matt. vi. 2. g Matt, xxiii. .5. ^ Matt, xxiii. 15.