92. Why were they not able to answer him? A. Because our Lord had put the question of Christ being the Son of David in a new point of view to them; they had merely expected him as a great prince, a descendant of David, but had never reflected upon his being Lord over David, and upon his being sprung from a divine origin.

GENERAL QUESTIONS.

93. How are we to obtain the wedding garment mentioned in this chapter? A. By praying for it; by calling upon God to renew a right spirit within us, and to enable us to overcome the lusts of the flesh and the devil.

94. Which of the persons of the ever blessed Trinity is more peculiarly the giver of the wedding garment ? A. The Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the hearts of the faithful, and causes the image of God to be renewed upon our souls the Lord and Giver of spiritual life or vital religion, which alone can animate and enliven our exertions to obey the will of God.

95. What important prophecy do we know was fulfilled by the Roman coin being in circulation in Judea, before our Lord's mission commenced? A. That of Jacob, who when he was dying declared, that The sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Gen. xlix. 10.

96. What is the meaning of this prophecy ? A. It foretels, that the tribe of Judah, although not always possessed of the supreme or regal power, yet should be governed by its own princes, and that the total power of the Jews should not be destroyed until the coming of Shiloh, that is, the Messiah and we find, as the circulation of the Roman coin in Judea is mentioned in this chapter, that these events had taken place; the currency of foreign coin in a country, as was before observed, being ever considered as a proof of its subjection. Jesus, the Messiah, had indeed

come.

:

97. Why was the law given to the Jews, that if a man, the eldest son, died without issue, his next brother should marry the widow? A. To preserve the distinction of the tribes, and to make them the more careful about preserving their pedigrees, that it might be the more easily known

that Christ was descended from the family of David, according to promise 1.

98. How many questions, recorded as yet by St. Matthew, had our Lord been asked to tempt him? A. Five; 1st, Whether it was lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause (Matt. xix. 3); 2d, By what authority he did these things in the temple (chap. xxi. 23); 3dly, Whether it was lawful to give tribute to Cæsar or not, (chap. xxii. 17); 4thly, The question of the woman who had the seven husbands (chap. xxii. 25); 5thly, Which was the great commandment of the law (chap. xxii. 36).

CHAPTER XXIII.

1. To whom did Jesus then address himself? A. To the multitude and to his disciples.—v. 1.

2. What did he say to them? A. The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do.—v. 2.

3. How did they sit in Moses' seat? A. As teachers of the law of Moses, explaining it to the people.

4. Why did our Lord desire them to observe whatsoever the Pharisees commanded? A. Because whatsoever they taught the people from the law of Moses must have been right. Our Lord did not mean that they should obey every thing which the Pharisees said, because they frequently made the law of none effect through their traditions. Vide Matt. xv. 6.

5. Did he tell them to imitate their example? A. No; for he said, they say and do not; that is, they give many excellent precepts contained in the law, but they themselves do not observe them.

6. What is meant by their binding heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and laying them on men's shoulders? A. Their not only obliging their followers to observe all

It is a fact worthy of note, that since the destruction of the Jews as a nation, they have found it utterly impossible to trace their genealogies with any degree of accuracy.

the ordinances of the law, however severe, but also compelling them to perform many other acts of obedience to commandments of their own invention.-v. 4.

7. What is meant by their not moving them with one of their fingers? A. That they do not impose this strict mode of living upon themselves. They give good advice to others, but they do not profit by it themselves.

8. From what motive do they perform all these works? A. To be seen of men. Whatever act they do, which is called by the world a good one; they do it, not because it has been commanded by God, or to please him, but solely to gain the applause and admiration of men.—v. 5.

9. What are phylacteries? A. Pieces of parchment, worn on the arms and foreheads, on which were written certain precepts of that law, to impress them more strongly on the minds of those by whom they were worn'. Deut. vi. 8.

10. What is meant by their making broad their phylacteries, and enlarging the borders of their garments? A. Their having broader phylacteries and fringes for their garments, as the law of Moses required, (Numb. xv. 40.) than others, in order to impress the beholders with the opinion of their superior sanctity and respect for the law of Moses.

11. What showed their pride and ambition? A. Their love of the uppermost rooms at feasts, (or places of great consequence) and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. -v. 6.

12. What is a synagogue? A. The place where the Jews assembled for the purpose of divine worship.

13. What is meant by their loving greetings in the markets? A. Their wishing to be saluted with respect in the public places by their followers.

14. What is meant by their loving to be called of men Rabbi, Rabbi? A. They wished to be always addressed with those titles of honour, which tended to gratify their pride.

15. What is meant by the term Rabbi? A. It means master or teacher.

1 From pvλáoow, custodio, to keep in memory.

16. What caution did our Saviour give his disciples relative to their conduct in this respect? A. Be not ye called Rabbi, For one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren; that is, all my followers are equal.—v. 8.

17. What reason did our Lord give them, why they should call no man their father upon earth? A. For one is your Father, which is in heaven.—v. 9.

18. What is meant by calling no man "father?" A. It did not mean that children were to be prevented from calling their parents father, but that they were not to address the title to any mortal in the sense in which they ought to use it when addressing God himself.

19. What reason did our Lord give them why they should not be called Master? A. For one is your Master,

even Christ.-v. 10.

20. What does he mean by this advice? He tells them not to take pleasure, or pride themselves in those titles, as the Pharisees did, but rather to be humble towards every

one.

21. How is God our Father? A. Not only because he is the Creator and Preserver of all, but also because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are his children by adoption through faith in him.

22. What does he tell him to do, who wishes to be the greatest? A. He says, Let him be as a servant.—v. 11.

23. What is meant by being as a servant? A. That he is to conduct himself with humility, and is to minister to the necessities of others as if he were their servant. Chap. xx. Quest. 75.

24. What is meant by He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted? A. That whosoever seeks to exalt himself by improper means above others, and despises them, will in turn be himself despised and brought to disgrace, while that person who preserves moderation and humility in his conduct, will not only, if he lives a righteous and holy life, receive the respect of his neighbour, but will also, through the merits of Christ, be raised to higher honour in the life to come.

25. What does he denounce against the Pharisees? d. Woe; that is, sorrow, the future judgment of God.-v. 13. 26. For what does he denounce the first woe against them? A. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypo

crites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

27. How did they do this? A. By their hypocrisy and wickedness they shut the kingdom of heaven against themselves; and by misleading their followers in many things, and by making the law of none effect through their traditions, they caused them to be as wicked as themselves, and thereby excluded them also from heaven.

28. What did he mean by calling them hypocrites? A. That they outwardly pretended to a great deal of religion, while in reality they had none of it in their hearts.

29. For what did he denounce the second woe against them? A. He said, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers.

30. What is the meaning of this? A. By their outward professions of piety they ingratiated themselves into the favour of simple, but pious women, who gave them their money and their property, in order to gain the benefit of the long prayers, which they publicly made to obtain the admiration of mankind.

31. What will be the consequence of this conduct? He says, They shall receive the greater damnation.

A.

32. For what did he denounce the third woe against them? A. He says, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.-v. 15.

33. What is a proselyte? A. A convert; one who comes over to the opinion of the teacher.

34. What is meant by compassing sea and land to make one proselyte? A. Taking great pains, going every where to bring over the Gentiles or the Jews of a different sect to their own opinions'.

35. How did they make him twofold more the child of

1 The Jewish proselytes were of two sorts: the one called " proselytes of the gate," or "strangers within the gates" (Deut. xiv. 21), were bound to observe only what the Rabbies called the seven precepts of Noah. The others were circumcised, and took upon them the observance of the whole law of Moses. These latter were called "Proselytes of righteousness."