SERMON VI.

Pharifee and Publican in the Temple.

LUKE XVIII. 14. ist part.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

T

the judgment

HESE words are which our SAVIOUR has left upon the behaviour and different degrees of merit in the two men, the Pharifee and Publican, whom he reprefents, in the foregoing parable, as going up into the temple to pray; in what manner they discharged this great and folemn duty, will best be feen from a confideration of the prayer, which each is faid to have addreffed to GOD upon the occafion.

The pharifee, instead of an act of humiliation in that awful prefence before which he ftood,-with an air of triumph and felf-fufficiency, thanks GoD that he had not made him like others-extor

tioners, adulterers, unjuft, or even as this publican. The publican is reprefented as standing afar off, and with a heart touched with humility from a juft fenfe of his own unworthinefs, is faid only to have fmote upon his breaft, fayingGOD be merciful to me a finner. I tell you, adds our SAVIOUR, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

Though the juftice of this determination strikes every one at firft fight, it may not be amifs to enter into a more particular examination of the evidence and reafons upon which it might be founded, not only because it may place the equity of this decifion in favour of the publican in a stronger light, but that the subject feems likely to lead me to a train of reflections not unfuitable to the folemnity of the feafon *.

The pharifee was one of that fect, who, in our SAVIOUR's time, what by the aufterity of their lives-their public alms-deeds, and greater pretences to

*Preached in Lent.

piety than other men, had gradually wrought themselves into much credit and reputation with the people: and indeed, as the bulk of these are easily caught with appearances, their character feems to have been admirably well fuited to fuch a purpose.-If you looked no farther than the outward part of it, you would think it made up of all goodness and perfection; an uncommon fanctity of life, guarded by great decorum and feverity of manners,-profufe and frequent charities to the poor many acts of religion-much obfervance of the law-much abftinence much

prayer.

It is painful to fufpect the appearance of fo much good and would have been fo here, had not our bleffed SAVIOUR left us their real character upon record, and drawn up by himself in one word that the fect were like whitened fepulchres, all fair and beautiful without, and enriched there with whatever could attract the eye of the beholder; but,

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when fearched within-fide, were full of corruption and of whatever could shock and difguft the fearcher. So that with all their affectation and piety, and more extraordinary strictness and regularity in their outward deportment, all was irregular and uncultivated within-and all these fair pretences, how promifing foever, blasted by the indulgence of the worst of human paffions,-pridefpiritual pride, the worst of all pride hypocrify, felf-love, covetoufness, extortion, cruelty and revenge. What pity it is that the facred name of religion should ever have been borrowed, and employed in fo bad a work, as in covering over fuch a black catalogue of vices or that the fair form of virtue fhould have been thus difgraced and for ever drawn into fufpicion, from the unworthy ufes of this kind to which the artful and abandoned have often put her! The pharifee feems to have had not many fcruples of this kind, and the prayer he makes ufe of in the temple is

a true picture of the man's heart, and fhews with what a difpofition and frame of mind he came to worship.

GOD! I thank thee that thou haft formed me of different materials from the reft of my fpecies, whom thou haft created frail and vain by nature, but by choice and difpofition utterly corrupt

and wicked.

Me, thou haft fashioned in a different mould, and haft infufed fo large a portion of thy fpirit into me, lo! I am raised above the temptations and defires to which flesh and blood are subject.-I thank thee that thou haft made me thus -not a frail veffel of clay, like that of other men or even this publican, but that I ftand here a chofen and fanctified veffel unto thee.

After this obvious paraphrafe upon the words, which speaks no more than the true fpirt of the pharifee's prayer,you would naturally afk, what reason was there for all this triumph-or what foundation could he have to infult in this manner over the infirmities of