transgressed the Tradition of the Elders,— our LORD demands of them why, by that very Tradition of theirs, themselves transgressed the Commandment of GOD; guarded as it was by that awful injunction,-" Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it." As it follows,—

3 But He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the Command4 ment of GOD by your Tradition? For GOD commanded, saying, Honour thy Father and Mother and, He that curseth Father or Mother let him die the death.

:

The former of these two places of Scripture will be found in Exodus xx. 12 and Deut. v. 16: the latter, in Exodus xxi. 17 and Levit. xx. 9. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his Father or his Mother, It is a gift, by what6 soever thou mightest be profited by me: and honour not his Father or his Mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the Commandment of GOD of none effect by your Tradition.

Rather," But ye say, If any one says to his Father or to his Mother, the thing whereby I might have benefited you is an Offering [dedi

Deut. iv. 2: with which compare Deut. xii. 32; and see Rev. xxii. 18.

cated to GOD,-he is bound to keep his vow:] and need not honour his Father or his Mother." For an explanation of this, the reader is referred to the notes on St. Mark vii. 13.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy 7 of you, saying, This people draweth nigh 8 unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, 9 teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of men.

The quotation is from Isaiah xxix. 13: and the surprising discovery is made that these words, spoken more than seven hundred years before, had a prophetical application to the Jews of our SAVIOUR'S Day, no less than to the men who lived in the time of the Prophet. As it is said in verse 7,-" Well did Esaias prophesy of you."

And He called the multitude, and said 10 unto them, Hear, and understand:

He turns away from the stiff-necked Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem, whom He had put to silence; and calls the multitude to Him,-arousing their attention to the Doctrine which He was about to deliver, with the words,-"Hear and understand:"_

Not that which goeth into the mouth de- 11

12

fileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

The truth which He here so briefly delivered, will be found expanded in verses 17 to 20: concerning which, see the note on St. Mark vii. 16.

Then came His Disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

Consider the note on verse 10.-For the "offence" which our LORD's words were to the Pharisees, see what has been said on St. Matth. xi. 6. 13 But He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly FATHER hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

14

15

The reference is to Doctrine,-which is often spoken of in Scripture under a similar image; as in the Parable of the Sower. "What He intends, then, by a plant not planted of His FATHER," says an ancient Archbishop, " is, that Tradition of men, under cover of which the Law had been transgressed."

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Declare unto us this Parable.

16 And JESUS said, Are ye also yet without 17 understanding? Do not ye yet understand,

that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which pro- 18 ceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of 19 the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies :

Which enumeration will be perceived, in at least five particulars, to follow the order of the Commandments of the Second Table. Some remarks will be found in the note on St. Mark vii. 21 and 22, on this instructive passage.

these are the things which defile a man: 20 but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not

a man.

This weighty Discourse ended, an incident of the most affecting beauty and interest follows:

Then JESUS went thence, and departed 21 into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, 22 behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O LORD, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered her not a 23 word.

"A woman of Canaan!".

so that there were even yet lingering in the land, ("The Land of

Canaan,") traces of its occupants in the days of Abraham. This woman was also living within the territory of the ancient people; for "the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon","-which City was mentioned in ver. 21; and she " came out of the same coasts." It had been commanded the Israelites, in the days of Moses, indeed,-" Of the Cities of these people, which the LORD thy GOD doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breathethe:"-but they disobeyed GOD. "And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of . . . Zidon; but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the Land, for they did not drive them out."-In St. Mark's Gospel*, this woman is called "a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation." Her passionate cry to the Son of David, by the way, is not there recorded, but only what took place in the House; whither our SAVIOUR betook Himself, partly, as it would seem, in order to escape this Woman's importunity.

...

Take notice how the Mother, asking Health for her Child, feels that she is asking a favour for herself:-"Have mercy," she says, " on me." And so, lower down, in verse 25. With which saying

b Numbers xxxiv. 2. See Genesis xii. 6, and xiii. 7. d Gen. x. 19. e Deut. xx. 16. f See Psalm cvi. 34 to 41. 8 Judges i. 28, 31, 32. Compare Joshua xvii. 12, 13: also xvi. 10. * St. Mark vii. 26,-where see the note.