In this first parable we are told that men ought to pray always and everywhere; that prayer should not be left to a few in the churches, but all men ought to pray.
Jesus gives us a picture, so that we may understand in what spirit we ought to pray.
Two men went up to the Temple--one to pray to himself and the other to pray to God.
I think it will be safe to divide the audience into two bodies, and put them under these two heads. However, whether we divide the audience or not, we come under these two heads--those who have the spirit of the publican and those who have the spirit of the Pharisee.
You can find that the entire community may be correctly divided into these two classes. The spirit of the prodigal and the spirit of an elder brother are still in the world; the spirits of Cain and Abel are still in the world, and these two are representative men.
One of them trusted in his own righteousness and the other did not have any trust in it, and I say I think all men will come under these two heads. They have either given up all their self-righteousness--renounced it all and turned their backs upon it--or else they are clinging to their own righteousness; and you will find that these self-righteous men that are ever clinging to their own righteousness are continually measuring themselves by their neighbors.
“I thank God that I am not as other men are.”
This was the spirit of that Pharisee, and this is the spirit today of one class in this community, and the other class comes under the head of this other man.
Let us look at the man Christ pictured first.
It is evident that he was full of egotism--full of conceit--full of pride; and I believe, as I have said before on this platform, that is one of the greatest enemies the Son of God has today, and I believe it keeps more men from the kingdom of God than any thing else.
Pride can grow on any soil, in any climate. No place is too hot for it, and no place is too cold for its growth. How much misery it has caused in this world! How many men here are kept from salvation by pride!
Why, it sprung up into Heaven, and for it Lucifer was cast out; by pride Nebuchadnezzar lost his throne. As he walked through Babylon he cried: “Is not this a great Babylon which I have built?” And he was hurled from his throne.
How many men that have become drunkards, who are all broken up--will gone, health gone--and yet are just as full of pride as the sun is of light! It will not let them come to Christ and be saved.
A great many live like this Pharisee--only in the form of religion; they do not want the wheat--only the husk; they do not want the kernel--only the shell.
How many men are today just living on empty form! They say their prayers, but they do not mean any thing.
Why, this Pharisee said plenty of prayers, but how did he pray? He prayed to himself. He might as well have prayed to a post. He did not pray to God, who knew his heart a thousand times better than he himself did. He thought he knew himself; he forgot that he was a sepulcher, full of dead men’s bones; forgot that his heart was rotten, corrupt and vile; and he comes and spreads out his hands and looks up to Heaven.
Why, the very angels in Heaven veil their faces before God as they cry: “Holy, holy, holy!”
But this Pharisee comes into the Temple and spreads out his hands, and says:
“Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are. I fast twice a week.”
He set before God what he had done in comparison with other men, and was striking a balance and making out God to be his debtor, as thousands are doing today; and then he says: “I give one-tenth of all I possess.”
I suppose if he was living in Chicago now, and we had gone to him and asked him for a donation to help put up this Tabernacle, he would have said:
“Well, I think it will do good; yes, I think it will. It may reach the vagabonds and outcasts--I do not need it, of course--but if it will reach that class it will do good. I will give $50, especially if you can get it in the morning papers--if you can have it announced: ‘John Jones gave $50 to build the Tabernacle.’”
That is the way some of the people give donations to God’s cause; they give in a patronizing way. But in this manner God will not accept it. If your heart does not go with your gift, God will not accept it.
This Pharisee says: “I give one-tenth of all that I have; I keep up the services in the Temple; I fast twice a week.”
He fasted twice a week, although once was only called for, and he thought because of this he was far above other men. A great many people nowadays think because they do not eat meat on Fridays, but only fish, they deserve great credit, although they go on sinning all the week.
Look at this prayer! There is no confession there. He had got so bad, and the devil had so covered up his sins, that he was above confession.