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dry places, feeking rest: and finding none, he faith, 25 I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it fwept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him feven other fpirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there and the laft ftate of that man is worse than the firft.

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And it came to pafs as he fpake these things, a certain woman of the company lift up her voice, and faid unto him (f), Bleffed is the womb that bare 28 thee, and the paps which thou haft fucked. But he faid, Yea, rather bleffed are they, that hear the word of God, and keep it.

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And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to fay, This is an evil generation: they feek a fign, and there fhall no fign be given it, 30 but the fign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas.

was a fign unto the Ninevites, fo fhall alfo the Son of 31 man be to this generation. The queen of the fouth fhall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for the came from the utmost parts of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh fhall rife in the judgment with this generation, and fhall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

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No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a fecret place, neither under a bufhel; but on a can34 dleftick, that they which come in may fee the light (g). The

(f) It is no doubt a distinguished favour to be the mother of our Lord, for this could be the lot but of one perfon; there is, however, a far fuperior happinefs, even that of heaven, open to every one who will attend to obey the will of God.

(g) The proper ufe of a candle is to give light; the ufe of our eyes is to fee with; and the ufe of our reafon, the eye of the mind, is to judge between right and wrong; but as a candle must not be

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The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye (b) is fingle, thy whole body alfo is full of light: but when thine eye is evil, thy body alfo is full of 35 darkness. Take heed therefore, that the light which 36 is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole fhall be full of light, as when the bright fhining of a candle doth give thee light.

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And as he fpake, a certain Pharifee befought him to dine with him: and he went in and fat down to 38 meat. And when the Pharifee faw it, he marvelled 39 that he had not first (7) washed before dinner. And. the Lord faid unto him, Now do ye Pharifees make clean the outfide of the cup and the platter: but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40. Ye fools, did not (k) he that made that which is 41 without, make that which is within alfo? But rather give alms of fuch things as you have: and 42 behold, all things are clean unto you. But wo unto you, Pharifees (7): for ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pafs over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and 43 not to leave the other undone. Wo unto you, Pha

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rifees for ye love the uppermoft feats in the fyna 44 gogues, and greetings in the markets. Wo unto you,

placed where it cannot anfwer that purpose, nor can the eye difcern objects if it be difordered, so neither can the understanding duly perform its office, if labouring under wilful and corrupt prejudices; which was the cafe of the Jews, who would not apply their reafon to judge of our Lord's doctrine and miracles, but continued moft perverfely in their unbelief.

(h) See Matt.vi. 22.

(i) See Matt. xv. 2.

(4) Did not God, who made the outward form, make the inward part alfo? If refpect to the Maker is your reafon for cleaning the one, fhould the other be neglected, which is of fo much greater confequence? See Matt. xxiii. 26. Note.

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(4) For the different opinions of the Pharifees and Saducées, fee Matt. iii. 7. Note.

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fcribes and Pharifees, hypocrites: for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them, are not aware of them (m).

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45: Then anfwered one of the (n) lawyers, and said unto him, Mafter, thus faying, thou reproachest 46 us alfe. And he faid, Wo unto you alfo, ye lawyers: for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of 47 your fingers. Wo unto you: for ye build the fepulchres of the (0) prophets, and your fathers killed 48 them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds

of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and 49 ye build their fepulchres (p). Therefore alfo faid the

wifdom of God, I will fend them prophets and apostles, and fome of them they fhall flay and perfe50 cute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was fhed from the foundation of the world, may be 51 required of this generation: From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I fay unto you, it fhall be (9) required of this generation.

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Wo unto you, lawyers: for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and 53 them that were entering in, ye hindered. And as he faid thefe things unto them, the fcribes and the Pha rifees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke

(m) See Matt. xxiii. 27. - Note.

(n) The Lawyers (called in Matt. xxiii. 13. Scribes and Pharifees} were they who undertook to inftruet the people in their duty according to the law of Mofes, as divines do now according to the law of Chrift.

(0) It is hypocrify in you to pretend a refpect for the memory of the prophets, who were killed by your fore-fathers, when you are ready to do the fame by me and my difciples.

(p) You erect thefe fepulchres not to do honour to the prophets, but to your ancestors; this is therefore an evidence that you approve of their cruelty.

(g) See Mat. xxiii. 35.

54 him to fpeak of many things: Laying wait for him, and feeking to catch fomething out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

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the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, infomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to fay unto his difciples first of all (a), Beware ye of the ... leaven of the Pharifees, which is hypocrify. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be (b) reveal3ed; neither hid, that fhall not be known. Therefore, whatfoever ye have spoken in darkness, fhall be heard in the light and that which ye have spoken in the ear in clofets, fhall be proclaimed upon the houfe-tops. And I fay unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, 5have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn

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you whom you fhall fear: Fear him, which after 3 he hath killed, hath power to caft into hell; ́yea, 61 fay unto you, Fear him. Are not five fparrows fold for two farthings, and not one of them is (c) 7 forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of so your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye 8 are of more value than many (parrows. Also I say unto you, Whosoever fhall confefs me before men,

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(a) See Mat. xvi. 12.

(b) Deceit and infincerity are always open to the all-feeing eye of God, and are befides more generally difcovered by men, than the artful are apt to imagine.

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(c) See Mat. x. 29, 30. If the meaneft and moft inconfiderable creatures be thus under the divine protection, let us obferve from thence, that any act of cruelty to any of them, and more efpecially to fúch animals as are ferviceable to man, must be highly difpleafing to the Almighty, who formed both us and them from the duft of the earth.

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him fhall the Son of man alfo confefs before the (d) 9 angels of God. But he that denieth me before men, 10 fhall be denied before the angels of God. And whofoever fhall fpeak a word against the Son of man, it fhall be forgiven him: but unto him that blafphemeth against the (e) holy Ghoft, it fhall not be forII given. And when they bring you unto the fynagogues, and unto magiftrates, and powers (ƒ), take ye no thought how or what thing ye fhall anfwer, 12 or what ye fhall fay: For the holy Ghoft fhall teach you in the fame hour what ye ought to fay. 13 And one of the company faid unto him, Mafter, fpeak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance 14 with me. And he faid unto him, Man, who made 15 me a (g) judge, or a divider over you? And he faid unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetoufnefs for a man's life confifteth not in the abun16 dance of the things which he poffeffeth. And he fpake a parable unto them, faying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, faying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to beftow my 18 fruits? And he faid, This will I do I will pull

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down my barns, and build greater; and there will I 19 beflow all my fruits and my goods. And I will fay to my foul, Soul, thou haft much goods laid up for many years; take thine eafe, eat, drink, and be 20 merry. But God faid unto him, Thou fool, this night thy foul fhall be required of thee: then whofe fhall thofe things be which thou haft provided?

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(d) When Chrift fhall come to judgment in the glory of his Fa ther, attended by the holy angels. Mark viii. 38.

(e) See Mat. xii. 32.

v (f) See Mat. x. 19. (g) See John viii. 12.

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