they were sometimes Jews, or at least proselytes of the gate; for we find the one here coming up to the temple; but for the generality, I am apt to think they were Gentiles; for they were gatherers of the Roman taxes, and used to amass much wealth (as appears from the confession of Zaccheus, one of the chief of them,) by wronging men by false accusations. They were so universally infamous, that our Lord himself tells his disciples, the excommunicated man should be to them as a heathen man, or a publican. And the pharisees thought it a sufficient impeachment of our Lord's character, that he was a friend to publicans and sinners, and went to sit down with them at meat.

But, however they disagreed in other things, they agreed in this, that public worship is a duty incumbent upon all: for they both came up to the temple. The very heathens were observers of temple worship. We have very early notice of men's sacrificing to, and calling upon, the name of the Lord, in the Old Testament! and I find it no where contradicted in the New. Our Lord, and his apostles, went up to the temple; and we are commanded by the apostle, "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together," as the manner of too many is in our days; and such, too, as would have us think well of them, though they seldom or never tread the courts of the Lord's house. But, though our devotions begin in our closets, they must not end there. And, if people never show their devotions abroad, I must suspect they have little or none at home. "Two men went up into the temple." And what went they thither for? Not, (as multitudes amongst us do) to make the house of God a house of merchandise, or to turn it into a den of thieves; much less to ridicule the preacher, or disturb the congregation. No, they came to the temple, says our Lord, to pray. Thither should the tribes of God's spiritual Israel go up, to walk with and pour out their hearts before the mighty God of Jacob.

"Two men went up into the temple to pray." I fear one of them forgot his errand. I have often been at a loss what to call the pharisee's address. It certainly does not deserve the name of a prayer. He may rather be said to come to the temple to boast, than to pray; for I do not find one word of confession of his original guilt; not one single petition for pardon of his past actual sins, or for grace to help and assist him for the time to come; he only brings in God, as it were, a reckoning of his performances, and does that, which no flesh can justly do, I mean, glory in his presence.

Verse 11. "The pharisee stood, and prayed thus with him

self: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican."

Our Lord first takes notice of his posture; the pharisee stood, he is not to be condemned for that; for standing, as well as kneeling, is a proper posture for prayer. When you stand praying, says our Lord; though sometimes our Lord kneeled, nay, lay flat on his face upon the ground; his apostles also kneeled, as we read in the Acts, which has made me wonder at some, who are so bigoted to standing in family as well as public prayer, that they will not kneel, notwithstanding all kneel, that are around them. I fear there is something of the pharisee in this conduct. Kneeling and standing are indifferent, if the knee of the soul be bent, and the heart upright towards God. We should study not to be particular in indifferent things, lest we offend weak minds. What the pharisee is remarked for, is his standing by himself: for the words may be rendered, he stood by himself, upon some eminent place, at the upper part of the temple, near the holy of holies, that the congregation might see what a devout man he was. Or it may be understood as we read it, he prayed by himself or of himself, out of his own heart; he did not pray by form, it was an extempore prayer; for there are many pharisees that pray and preach too extempore. I do not see why these may not be acquired, as well as other arts and sciences. A man, with a good elocution, ready turn of thought, and good memory, may repeat his own or other men's sermons, and by the help of a Wilkins or Henry, may pray seemingly excellently well, and yet not have the least grain of true grace in his heart; and I speak this, not to cry down extempore prayer, or to discourage those dear souls who really pray by the Spirit; I only would hereby give a word of reproof to those who are so bigoted to extempore prayer, that they condemn, at least judge, all that use forms, as though they were not so holy and heavenly, as others who pray without them. Alas! this is wrong. Not every one that prays extempore is a spiritual, nor every one that prays with a form, a formal man. Let us not judge one another; let not him that uses a form, judge him that prays extempore, on that account; and let not him that prays extempore, despise him who uses a form. "The pharisee stood, and prayed thus by himself." Which may signify also praying inwardly in his heart; for there is a way (and that an excellent one too) of praying when we cannot speak; thus Anna prayed, when she spoke not aloud, only her lips moved. Thus God says to Moses, "Why criest thou ?" when it is plain he did not speak a word. This is what the apostle means by the "Spirit making intercession (for believers) with groanings

which cannot be uttered." For there are times when the soul is too big to speak; when God fills as it were, and overshadows it with his presence, so that it can only fall down, worship, adore, and lie in the dust before the Lord. Again, there is a time when the soul is benumbed, barren, and dry, and the believer has not a word to say to his heavenly Father; and then the heart only can speak. And I mention this for the encouragement of weak christians, who think they never are accepted but when they have a flow of words, and fancy they do not please God at the bottom, for no other reason but because they do not please themselves. Such would do well to consider, that God knows the language of the heart, and the mind of the spirit; and that we make use of words, not to inform God, but to affect ourselves. Whenever therefore any of you find yourselves in such a frame, be not discouraged: offer yourselves up in silence before God, as clay in the hands of the potter, for him to write and stamp his own divine image upon your souls. But I believe the pharisee knew nothing of this way of prayer: he was self-righteous, a stranger to the divine life; and therefore either of the former explanations may be best put upon these words. "He stood, and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." Here is some appearance of devotion, but it is only in appearance. To thank God, that we are not extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and as wicked in our practices, as other men are, is certainly meet, right, and our bounden duty for whatever degrees of goodness there may be in us, more than in others, it is owing to God's restraining, preventing, and assisting grace. We are all equally conceived and born in sin; all are fallen short of the glory of God, and liable to all the curses and maledictions of the law; so that he that glorieth, must glory only in the Lord. For none of us have any thing which he did not receive; and whatever we have received, we did not in the least merit it, nor could we lay the least claim to it on any account whatever we are wholly indebted to free grace for all. Had the pharisee thought thus, when he said, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are," it would have been an excellent introduction to his prayer: but he was a free willer, as well as self-righteous, (for he that is the one must be the other) and thought by his own power and strength he had kept himself from these vices. And yet I do not see what reason he had to trust in himself that he was righteous, merely because he was not an extortioner, unjust, adulterer; for all this while he might be, as he certainly was, (as is also every selfrighteous person) as proud as the devil. But he not only boasts,

but lies before God (as all self-justifiers will be found liars here or hereafter.) He thanks God that he was not unjust; but is it not an act of the highest injustice to rob God of his prerogative! Is it not an act of injustice to judge our neighbor? And yet of both these crimes this self-righteous vaunter is guilty. "Even as this publican!" He seems to speak with the utmost disdain; this publican! Perhaps he pointed at the poor man, that others might treat him with the like contempt. Thou proud, confident boaster, what hadst thou to do with that poor publican? Supposing other publicans were unjust, and extortioners, did it therefore follow that he must be so? Or, if he had been such a sinner, how knowest thou but he has repented of those sins? His coming up to the temple to pray, is one good sign of a reformation at least. Thou art therefore inexcusable, O pharisee, who thus judgest the publican: for thou that judgest him to be unjust, art, in the very act of judging, unjust thyself: thy sacrifice is only the sacrifice of a fool.

We have seen what the pharisee's negative goodness comes to; I think, nothing at all. Let us now see how far his positive goodness extends; for, if we are truly religious, we shall not only eschew evil, but also do good: "I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."

The pharisee is not here condemned for his fasting, for fasting is a christian duty; "when you fast," says our Lord, thereby taking it for granted, that his disciples would fast. And "when the bridegroom shall be taken away, then shall they fast in those days." In fasting often, says the apostle. And all that would not be cast-aways, will take care, as their privilege, without legal constraint, to "keep their bodies under, and bring them into subjection." The pharisee is only condemned for making a righteousness of his fasting, and thinking that God would accept him, or that he was any better than his neighbors, merely on account of his fasting: this is what he was blamed for. The pharisee was not to be discommended for fasting twice in a week; I wish some christians would imitate him more in this: but to depend on fasting in the least, for his justification in the sight of God was really abominable. "I give tithes of all that I possess." He might as well have said, I pay tithes. But self-righteous people (whatever they may say to the contrary) think they give something to God. I give tithes of all that I possess. I make conscience of giving tithes, not only of all that the law requires, but of my mint, anise, and cummin, of all things whatever I possess; this was well; but to boast of such things, or of fasting, is pharisaical and devilish. Now then let us sum up all the righteousness of this boasting pharisee, and see what little reason he had to trust in himself,

that he was righteous, or to despise others. He is not unjust, (but we have only his word for that, and I think I have proved the contrary;) he is no adulterer, no extortioner; he fasts twice in the week, and gives tithes of all that he possesses; and all this he might do, and a great deal more, and yet be a child of the devil for here is no mention made of his loving the Lord his God with all his heart, which was the "first and great commandment of the law;" here is not a single syllable of inward religion; and he was not a true Jew, who was only one outwardly. It is only an outside piety at the best; inwardly he is full of pride, self-justification, free-will, and great uncharitableness.

Were not the pharisees, do you think, highly offended at this character? For they might easily know that it was spoken against them. And though perhaps some of you may be offended at me, yet, out of love, I must tell you, I fear this parable is spoken against many of you. For are there not many of you, who go up to the temple to pray, with no better spirit than this pharisee did? And because you fast, it may be in Lent, or every Friday; and because you do nobody any harm, receive the sacrament, pay tithes, and give an alms now and then; you think that you are safe, and trust in yourselves that you are righteous, and inwardly despise those, who do not come up to you in these outward duties. This, I am persuaded, is the case of many of you, though, alas! it is a desperate one, as I shall endeavor to show at the close of this discourse.

Let us now take a view of the publican, verse 13. “And the publican standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."

The "publican standing afar off." Perhaps in the outward court of the temple, conscious to himself that he was not worthy to approach the holy of holies: so conscious, and so weighed down with a sense of his own unworthiness, that he would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, which he knew was God's throne. Poor heart! what did he feel at this time! None but returning publicans, like himself, can tell. Methinks I see him standing afar off, pensive, oppressed, and even overwhelmed with sorrow; sometimes he attempts to look up; but then, thinks he, the heavens are unclean in God's sight, and the very angels are charged with folly; how then shall such a wretch as I, dare to lift up my guilty head! And to show that his heart was full of holy self-resentment, and that he sorrowed after a godly sort, he smote upon his breast; the word in the original implies, that he struck hard upon his breast: he will lay the blame upon none but his own wicked