1. C11i.1,T's EXI'0SITION OI" PHARTRAJC nvroCRTRY. (Vars. 37-44.) Ph1uisnisrn ~!I.I' a~uprc•111e regiu:d for a1:1p..·arances. Long; g.irll?ents, phylactrnies, multiplied ablu- twns, long rrafer~ m public pl~s, ostent.ations tithing of little thingR, combined to make up Pha.nsa.1sm, & repnta~1on b&sed upon e~terna.ls. One who looked upon the heart, h;;:e our Lord, could 81LSily see tha.t all this outwa.rd decorum was quite com- patible with wickedneBB of heart. And so he told his host delibera.tely "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup a.nd the platter; but you~ inward part is full of ravening 11 extortion,' Revised Version] and wickedness." The cnre Is i;ugg<"sted when he leads him to think of God as alike the Author and Observer of what is without and within. •• Ye fools[' foolish ones,' Revised Version], did not be thnt made that which is without [' the outeide,' Revised Version] make that which is within [' the inside') also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have [' Howbeit give for a.lms those things which are within,' Revised Version]; and, behold, all thin!!& ~ clean unto you." In this way he tries to lead his Pharisaic host to.spirituality ~f hfe, to the expenditure of sympathy, of love, of brotherly kindness upon others instead of indulging in outwa.rd acts behind which there was no real heart, but onlya desire for personal reputation. Following up this line, he charges them with tithina pot- herbs, "the mint, anise, and cummin," while the wrigbtier matters, "judgme;t and the love of God," matters that were within and spiritual, were left undone. Their preference for appearances, for the uppermost seats in the synagogues, for greetings in the markets, and all that goes to form a reputa.tion, showed that they had not weighed r.right the matters of the heart. No wonder that he concludes by comparing them to ~raves-" tombs," Revised Version-that appear not, over which men unwittingly tread. Whited sepulchres they were, beautiful outwardly, but within were dead men's bones and all uncleanness. It was a manly and terrible indict.ment for our Lord to make against them. And in doing so he exposed the principle of hypocrisy. It rests on 11ppea.ranccs, on superficial judgments, on a forgetfulness that God scarcheth the heart. l t can be got rid of only by our getting down to first principles, and remembering that God "searchetb the hearts and trieth the reins of the children of men, even to give .to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer, xvii, 9, 10). Il. CHRIST'S EXPOSURE OP' LY.GAUZED IMPOSITIONS. (Vera. 45-54.) A lawyer in the company, seeing his Pharisaic friends so severely handled by Christ, complains tl,at bis special department was involved also in the reproach. This leads our Lord to band.le the lawyers more severely still. Their position was one of monopoly of the Law. To sustain their profession they Lad to make a great mystery of the meaning of the Law. Though it was larS!ely plain enough for a runner to read and understand, it would have swept away all their privileges and profits to have left such an impression on the co=on people. Hence they took the Law into their own especial keeping, and interpreted it for tLe people as they pleased. 'l'be result of this was the imposition of heavy burdens upon the ignorant people. 'fbb k.s been the temptation of legal experts always; they increase the burdens of 1he common people-burdens which they leave the people to carry alone. Not only so, but the law.vers were manufacturing reputations out of the shortcomings of their fathers. Their fathers had murdered the prophets; the sons were now busy building the:r sepulchres, and so far pretending to dissent from their fathers' murderous spirit. B'.tt our Lord shows that this policy is a simple bypocri~y, for, in seeking the life of Jesus, they were dem<mstrating that the old spirit was still within them. It is e&l'ier to serve on a building committee than to entertain kin<lly feelings towards the Saviour. All this hypocrisy, however, will rrceive judg- ment in due season. Upon the generation that murdered Christ will descend the judg- ment which the murderous spirit of so many generations deserved. Our Lord in this way brings out bow we may, by our conduct in the present, become involved in the respoosibilities of the past. We cannQt is?l~t.e _ourselves from the past; we are not onl_y heirs of all the ages, but share the respons1biJ1t1es of all the ages by reason of our atti- tude towards them. History is thus brought into the field of responsibility, and we aro ei tber for or a"ainst the good in the olden time. It would be well for us to treat his- tory in a sympathetic fasl,ion, and Lave our hearts in proper training as we review the past. \Ve may sin by Jui.ting an old ma1tyr's memory just as reallv as by despising his coumcr1,an to-<lay. Our Lord conciudes by denouncing the dog-in-the-m11.nger on. Ill. 1-6!.l.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDIRG TO ST. LUKR. 331
policy of the l11wyerR, preton<lin;: to knowledge, while l\t once they lrnd lost the key Rnd kept othors e!Tectunliy from findinz it. No wonder that, wben our Lord came out from the b11nquet, be found himself violently beset on every side by those he h,id so e:tposl'd, in hope that some such BtRtement would form the basis of bis accusation. llut they found Lhemselves baffled by his limitless knowledge of human n11t11re. Instead of contending with him, it will be better for us all to sulimit to hie supedor judgment and graoiuua plee.sure.-R. M. E.