Matthew 6

Matthew 6:1

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 22

THE GIVING OF ALMS

Matthew 6:1-4

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms. let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.”

We now enter upon the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a section which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. As we shall see, Christ here takes up quite a different aspect of Truth, yet is it one which is closely related to what had formerly occupied His attention. There He had made it very evident that He required more from His followers than the religion of the scribes and Pharisees produced (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 5:47). Here He insists that a far higher quality is also absolutely necessary. There He had warned His hearers against the erroneous doctrines of the Jewish teachers, here He cautions them against their evil practices, particularly the sins of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). There is no doubt whatever in our mind that in this instance the rendering of the Revised Version is to be preferred: “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them,” though the Revised Version rightly uses “alms” in Matthew 6:2. This first verse enunciates a general principle in reference to moral and spiritual duties, which in the succeeding verses is illustrated, amplified, and enforced in the three particular duties of alms, prayer and fasting-it is acts of righteousness which are in view. Thus it is a case where an abstract noun is given a concrete sense: it is similarly used in Matthew 3:15, and Matthew 5:20; in all three passages it has the force of “righteousnesses” or “good works.”

In Matthew 6:2-4 the general principle laid down in the opening sentence is applied manward, Godward, and self-ward, and the three duties specified have to do with our estates, our souls, and our bodies. Those three good works of alms, prayer and fasting have occupied a conspicuous place in all the leading religious systems, and have been almost universally regarded as the chief means of obtaining salvation and the clearest proofs of righteousness and sanctity. In their most serious moments, all, except the most abandoned, have been willing to practice some form and degree of self-denial, or perform acts of devotion, in the hope that they might thereby appease the great God whose wrath they feared.

In the teachings of the Koran, prayer, fasting and alms are the chief duties required from the Mohammedan. Prayer, it is said, will carry a man halfway to Paradise. fasting will bring him to the gates, and alms will give him entrance. The great prominence which Romanism assigns to almsgiving-especially when the alms are bestowed upon herself-to the senseless repetition of prayers, and to bodily mortifications, is too well known to need any enlarging upon. Similar ideas obtain among other religions, especially in Buddhism-lamaism with its prayer-wheels being a case in point. But in our present passage Christ shows us that, as mere formal works, these religious acts are worthless in the sight of God.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). It ought to be apparent that our Lord is not here reprehending the giving of alms as such, but rather that He is condemning that ostentatious bestowment of charity which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement. As a matter of fact this particular admonition of the Saviour’s takes it for granted that His disciples were in the habit of relieving the indigent, and this notwithstanding that most of them had to labour for their own daily bread. That against which Christ warned was the giving of unnecessary publicity in the discharge of this duty, and the making the praise of men our ultimate object therein. Most flagrantly did the Pharisees err at this very point. Edersheim gives the following quotation as a specimen, “He that says, I give this ‘sela’ that my sons may live, and that I may merit the world to come, behold, this is the perfect righteousness.”

To show pity unto the afflicted is but common humanity. It is a great mistake to suppose that the exercise of beneficence is something peculiar to this Christian era. Under the legal economy God commanded His people, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8). “And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee” (Leviticus 25:35). Job declared, “I was a father to the poor” (Job 29:16). Said the Psalmist, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalms 41:1).

“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Proverbs 14:21)-there was the fullest room for the exercise of mercy under the Mosaic dispensation. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17): yes, for the poor, equally with the rich, are His creatures, and the Lord will be no man’s debtor. “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13); we need hardly say that the principle of this verse is still in operation. “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27). At a time of great spiritual declension in Israel, Jehovah brought against them the following charges, “They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. . . . For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12).

It is therefore a most un-Christian attitude to argue, We have enough to do to provide for our families: it is for the rich and not for the laboring people to give alms. If the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts we shall feel for the afflicted, and according to our ability shall be ready to relieve the needy, especially such as belong to the Household of Faith; yea, if a situation requires it, shall gladly deny ourselves comforts so as to do more for those in want. And let us not overlook the fact that Christ here designates almsgiving as “righteousness.” The apostle struck the same note when he pressed Psalms 112:9, on his hearers: “As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever” (2 Corinthians 9:9). Those who refuse to give unto the poor are guilty of a gross injustice, for inasmuch as they are but stewards over what they possess they rob the needy of their due.

Thus, by making alms an essential branch of practical righteousness, our Lord teaches us that the succouring of the poor is not a work of freedom, left to our own choice, but something which is enjoined upon us by Divine commandment. So far from the matter of providing for the needy being left to our own option, it is one of bare justice, and failure therein is a grievous breach both of the Law of God and of nature. But the giving of alms to the poor is not only an act of righteousness, it is also the exercise of kindness. The Greek word, which is here rendered, “alms” is derived from a root which signifies to have compassion or to be merciful. This takes us behind the act itself to the spirit which prompts it: it is not the mere bestowment of goods or money which constitutes “alms,” but the merciful and pitiful heart of the giver.

From what has just been pointed out we may also discover who are the ones entitled to be relieved, the kind of persons whom we may rightfully bestow alms upon, for we are not to act blindly in this matter. It is those who are in such a condition as really to draw out our pity: such as orphans and elderly widows, the maimed, the sick, and the blind. If this principle be duly heeded, we shall be guarded against indiscriminate giving, which often does a great deal more harm than good-encouraging idleness and intemperance. Obviously, healthy and robust beggars who would trade upon the generosity of others are not entitled to receive alms: “This we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Thus, in abetting the indolent we are partners with those who defy Divine authority.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” This admonition is for the avoidance of an unlawful manner of giving alms, for even a good deed may be done in an ill way. Alas, so very deceitful and desperately wicked are our hearts that our most beneficent actions may proceed from corrupt desires and thereby be rendered not only void, but evil in the sight of Him with whom we have to do. Christ’s “take heed” intimates that we are in great danger of erring at this very point. Acts of charity are specially offensive in the sight of our gracious God when they are performed from a desire to procure for ourselves a reputation of sanctity or generosity among our fellows. Alas, how much of this obnoxious pride, this vaunting of charity, is there today both in the religious world and the secular.

That against which Christ here warns His disciples is the secret pride of their hearts. This pride is twofold: of the mind and will, and of the affections. Pride of mind is a corrupt disposition whereby a man thinks more highly of himself than he ought to do: this was the sin of the Pharisees (Luke 18:12) and of the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:16). This conceit is most dangerous, especially in the matter of saving grace, for it has caused multitudes to deceive themselves by imagining they had been born again when in fact they were dead in trespasses and sins, and moving real Christians to imagine they possess more grace than they actually do. Pride of will is an inward affection which makes a man discontented with the estate in which God has p laced him, leading him to hanker after a better: this was the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5-6).

Now from these corrupt principles of pride of mind and pride of will issues that exercise or practice of pride in a man’s life whereby he is determined to do whatever he can which will promote his own praise and glory. Such pride is not something which is peculiar to a few people only, but is found in every man by nature-the Lord Jesus alone excepted. And where this pride is not mortified and held in leash by God, it is so strong that it will not be crossed at any price, for rather than have his proud will thwarted a person will commit any sin: as Pharaoh when he asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2); as Absalom, who was responsible for the banishing of his father from his own kingdom; and as Ahithophel, who went and hanged himself when his counsel was rejected. It was just such pride as this which occasioned the fall of Satan himself (Isa. 14; 1 Timothy 3:6).

Therefore, “take heed,” says Christ: take every possible precaution to guard against this sin. How? First, by unsparing self-examination. The more careful we are to know the pride of our hearts, the less likely are we to be deceived by it. Second, by sincere self-condemnation: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). If we would humble ourselves before God, we must hate ourselves for our wicked pride and penitently confess it to Him.

Third, by reminding ourselves of the judgments of God upon this sin. Herod was eaten up of worms because he took unto himself the glory due unto God (Acts 12:23). “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Fourth, by meditating upon the fearful sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane and on Golgotha: nothing will more effectually humble my proud heart than the realization that it was my very sins which occasioned the death of God’s Lamb.

“Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). The value of an action is determined by the principle from which it proceeds. To give to the poor simply because it is customary is merely the limitation of others. To minister unto the needy in order to increase our own influence and power is a display of carnal ambition. To give so as to advance worldly interests is a manifestation of covetousness; if to seek applause, it is to gratify pride; if to alleviate the sufferings of my fellows, it is only the exercise of common humanity. But if I minister unto the needy out of a respect to the Divine authority and with the desire of pleasing God, acting from regard for His will, to which I long to be conformed in all things, then it is a spiritual act and acceptable unto the Lord. (Condensed from John Brown.)

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). “Sound not a trumpet” is a figurative way of saying, Seek not to attract the attention of other people unto thyself. The word “hypocrite” is a significant one, for it properly denotes an actor who wears a mask, playing his part behind it. The Pharisees posed as being most devout worshippers of Cod and lovers of their fellow men, when in reality they were self-righteous and sought only the applause of men: behind the outward appearance of piety and generosity they were the slaves of worldly and selfish passions. They performed their deeds of charity where the largest number of onlookers congregated together. Their “reward” was the admiration of shallow-minded men, as “dust” is the Serpent’s meat.

The sin which Christ here reprehended is far more grievous than is commonly supposed, and, we may add, far more prevalent, many of the Lord’s own people being guilty of it. It consists of making men, rather than God, the judges and approvers of their actions. And do not we often fall into this snare? When we do that which is right, and yet incur thereby the displeasure of our fellows, are we not mole grieved than when by sin we offend God Himself? If so, does not that clearly prove that our hearts have more regard to the censure of men than of the Lord? Are we not deeply hurt when our fellows dishonor God?

Are we more afraid of offending mortal man than the everlasting God? When in sore straits, which comforts us the more: the assurances of earthly friends to relieve us or the promises of the Lord?

“But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). This Divine precept is designed to restrain the corrupt ambition of our hearts after the praise of men. It goes much farther than the commandment in Matthew 6:2. There the Lord had forbidden that ostentatious giving of alms which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement and the procuring of the applause of our fellows; while here He prohibits any self-satisfaction or complacency in the performing of this good work. It is strange how the commentators see in Matthew 6:3 nothing more than the repetition of that which is found in Matthew 6:2, quite missing the force of “let not thy left hand know [approve of] what thy right hand doeth.” We are to give alms in simplicity, with the sole intent and desire of pleasing God only. When a good work has been done, we should dismiss it from our minds and not congratulate ourselves upon it, and press on to what is yet before us.

“That thine alms may be in secret” (Matthew 6:4). Here is still another instance where the language of Christ in this discourse must not be taken literally and absolutely, or otherwise any act of mercy which came under the cognizance of our fellows would be thereby prohibited. Certainly the primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations, as is clear from Acts 11:29-30. Secrecy itself may become a cloak to avarice, and under the pretence of hiding good works we may hoard up our money to spend upon ourselves. There are times when a person of prominence may rightly excite his backward brethren by his own example of liberality. So we must not understand Christ as here forbidding all charitable actions which may be seen by others, but rather understand Him to mean that we should perform them as unobtrusively as possible, making it our chief concern to aim at the approbation of God therein.

“That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4). Though there be nothing meritorious about our best performances, yea, though everything we do is defiled, nevertheless “God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). Nevertheless, it must be a work of faith-for “without faith it is impossible to please Him”-and a labour of love, if it is to receive God’s commendation. In the Divine administration it is so ordered that, in the end, the selfish person is disappointed, while he who seeks the good of others is himself the gainer. The more we truly aim at our Father’s approbation, the less shall we be concerned about either the praise or contempt of the world. The Divine reward, in the day to come, will be given “openly,” before an assembled universe. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every one have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Matthew 6:2

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 22

THE GIVING OF ALMS

Matthew 6:1-4

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms. let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.”

We now enter upon the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a section which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. As we shall see, Christ here takes up quite a different aspect of Truth, yet is it one which is closely related to what had formerly occupied His attention. There He had made it very evident that He required more from His followers than the religion of the scribes and Pharisees produced (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 5:47). Here He insists that a far higher quality is also absolutely necessary. There He had warned His hearers against the erroneous doctrines of the Jewish teachers, here He cautions them against their evil practices, particularly the sins of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). There is no doubt whatever in our mind that in this instance the rendering of the Revised Version is to be preferred: “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them,” though the Revised Version rightly uses “alms” in Matthew 6:2. This first verse enunciates a general principle in reference to moral and spiritual duties, which in the succeeding verses is illustrated, amplified, and enforced in the three particular duties of alms, prayer and fasting-it is acts of righteousness which are in view. Thus it is a case where an abstract noun is given a concrete sense: it is similarly used in Matthew 3:15, and Matthew 5:20; in all three passages it has the force of “righteousnesses” or “good works.”

In Matthew 6:2-4 the general principle laid down in the opening sentence is applied manward, Godward, and self-ward, and the three duties specified have to do with our estates, our souls, and our bodies. Those three good works of alms, prayer and fasting have occupied a conspicuous place in all the leading religious systems, and have been almost universally regarded as the chief means of obtaining salvation and the clearest proofs of righteousness and sanctity. In their most serious moments, all, except the most abandoned, have been willing to practice some form and degree of self-denial, or perform acts of devotion, in the hope that they might thereby appease the great God whose wrath they feared.

In the teachings of the Koran, prayer, fasting and alms are the chief duties required from the Mohammedan. Prayer, it is said, will carry a man halfway to Paradise. fasting will bring him to the gates, and alms will give him entrance. The great prominence which Romanism assigns to almsgiving-especially when the alms are bestowed upon herself-to the senseless repetition of prayers, and to bodily mortifications, is too well known to need any enlarging upon. Similar ideas obtain among other religions, especially in Buddhism-lamaism with its prayer-wheels being a case in point. But in our present passage Christ shows us that, as mere formal works, these religious acts are worthless in the sight of God.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). It ought to be apparent that our Lord is not here reprehending the giving of alms as such, but rather that He is condemning that ostentatious bestowment of charity which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement. As a matter of fact this particular admonition of the Saviour’s takes it for granted that His disciples were in the habit of relieving the indigent, and this notwithstanding that most of them had to labour for their own daily bread. That against which Christ warned was the giving of unnecessary publicity in the discharge of this duty, and the making the praise of men our ultimate object therein. Most flagrantly did the Pharisees err at this very point. Edersheim gives the following quotation as a specimen, “He that says, I give this ‘sela’ that my sons may live, and that I may merit the world to come, behold, this is the perfect righteousness.”

To show pity unto the afflicted is but common humanity. It is a great mistake to suppose that the exercise of beneficence is something peculiar to this Christian era. Under the legal economy God commanded His people, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8). “And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee” (Leviticus 25:35). Job declared, “I was a father to the poor” (Job 29:16). Said the Psalmist, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalms 41:1).

“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Proverbs 14:21)-there was the fullest room for the exercise of mercy under the Mosaic dispensation. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17): yes, for the poor, equally with the rich, are His creatures, and the Lord will be no man’s debtor. “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13); we need hardly say that the principle of this verse is still in operation. “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27). At a time of great spiritual declension in Israel, Jehovah brought against them the following charges, “They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. . . . For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12).

It is therefore a most un-Christian attitude to argue, We have enough to do to provide for our families: it is for the rich and not for the laboring people to give alms. If the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts we shall feel for the afflicted, and according to our ability shall be ready to relieve the needy, especially such as belong to the Household of Faith; yea, if a situation requires it, shall gladly deny ourselves comforts so as to do more for those in want. And let us not overlook the fact that Christ here designates almsgiving as “righteousness.” The apostle struck the same note when he pressed Psalms 112:9, on his hearers: “As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever” (2 Corinthians 9:9). Those who refuse to give unto the poor are guilty of a gross injustice, for inasmuch as they are but stewards over what they possess they rob the needy of their due.

Thus, by making alms an essential branch of practical righteousness, our Lord teaches us that the succouring of the poor is not a work of freedom, left to our own choice, but something which is enjoined upon us by Divine commandment. So far from the matter of providing for the needy being left to our own option, it is one of bare justice, and failure therein is a grievous breach both of the Law of God and of nature. But the giving of alms to the poor is not only an act of righteousness, it is also the exercise of kindness. The Greek word, which is here rendered, “alms” is derived from a root which signifies to have compassion or to be merciful. This takes us behind the act itself to the spirit which prompts it: it is not the mere bestowment of goods or money which constitutes “alms,” but the merciful and pitiful heart of the giver.

From what has just been pointed out we may also discover who are the ones entitled to be relieved, the kind of persons whom we may rightfully bestow alms upon, for we are not to act blindly in this matter. It is those who are in such a condition as really to draw out our pity: such as orphans and elderly widows, the maimed, the sick, and the blind. If this principle be duly heeded, we shall be guarded against indiscriminate giving, which often does a great deal more harm than good-encouraging idleness and intemperance. Obviously, healthy and robust beggars who would trade upon the generosity of others are not entitled to receive alms: “This we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Thus, in abetting the indolent we are partners with those who defy Divine authority.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” This admonition is for the avoidance of an unlawful manner of giving alms, for even a good deed may be done in an ill way. Alas, so very deceitful and desperately wicked are our hearts that our most beneficent actions may proceed from corrupt desires and thereby be rendered not only void, but evil in the sight of Him with whom we have to do. Christ’s “take heed” intimates that we are in great danger of erring at this very point. Acts of charity are specially offensive in the sight of our gracious God when they are performed from a desire to procure for ourselves a reputation of sanctity or generosity among our fellows. Alas, how much of this obnoxious pride, this vaunting of charity, is there today both in the religious world and the secular.

That against which Christ here warns His disciples is the secret pride of their hearts. This pride is twofold: of the mind and will, and of the affections. Pride of mind is a corrupt disposition whereby a man thinks more highly of himself than he ought to do: this was the sin of the Pharisees (Luke 18:12) and of the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:16). This conceit is most dangerous, especially in the matter of saving grace, for it has caused multitudes to deceive themselves by imagining they had been born again when in fact they were dead in trespasses and sins, and moving real Christians to imagine they possess more grace than they actually do. Pride of will is an inward affection which makes a man discontented with the estate in which God has p laced him, leading him to hanker after a better: this was the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5-6).

Now from these corrupt principles of pride of mind and pride of will issues that exercise or practice of pride in a man’s life whereby he is determined to do whatever he can which will promote his own praise and glory. Such pride is not something which is peculiar to a few people only, but is found in every man by nature-the Lord Jesus alone excepted. And where this pride is not mortified and held in leash by God, it is so strong that it will not be crossed at any price, for rather than have his proud will thwarted a person will commit any sin: as Pharaoh when he asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2); as Absalom, who was responsible for the banishing of his father from his own kingdom; and as Ahithophel, who went and hanged himself when his counsel was rejected. It was just such pride as this which occasioned the fall of Satan himself (Isa. 14; 1 Timothy 3:6).

Therefore, “take heed,” says Christ: take every possible precaution to guard against this sin. How? First, by unsparing self-examination. The more careful we are to know the pride of our hearts, the less likely are we to be deceived by it. Second, by sincere self-condemnation: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). If we would humble ourselves before God, we must hate ourselves for our wicked pride and penitently confess it to Him.

Third, by reminding ourselves of the judgments of God upon this sin. Herod was eaten up of worms because he took unto himself the glory due unto God (Acts 12:23). “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Fourth, by meditating upon the fearful sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane and on Golgotha: nothing will more effectually humble my proud heart than the realization that it was my very sins which occasioned the death of God’s Lamb.

“Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). The value of an action is determined by the principle from which it proceeds. To give to the poor simply because it is customary is merely the limitation of others. To minister unto the needy in order to increase our own influence and power is a display of carnal ambition. To give so as to advance worldly interests is a manifestation of covetousness; if to seek applause, it is to gratify pride; if to alleviate the sufferings of my fellows, it is only the exercise of common humanity. But if I minister unto the needy out of a respect to the Divine authority and with the desire of pleasing God, acting from regard for His will, to which I long to be conformed in all things, then it is a spiritual act and acceptable unto the Lord. (Condensed from John Brown.)

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). “Sound not a trumpet” is a figurative way of saying, Seek not to attract the attention of other people unto thyself. The word “hypocrite” is a significant one, for it properly denotes an actor who wears a mask, playing his part behind it. The Pharisees posed as being most devout worshippers of Cod and lovers of their fellow men, when in reality they were self-righteous and sought only the applause of men: behind the outward appearance of piety and generosity they were the slaves of worldly and selfish passions. They performed their deeds of charity where the largest number of onlookers congregated together. Their “reward” was the admiration of shallow-minded men, as “dust” is the Serpent’s meat.

The sin which Christ here reprehended is far more grievous than is commonly supposed, and, we may add, far more prevalent, many of the Lord’s own people being guilty of it. It consists of making men, rather than God, the judges and approvers of their actions. And do not we often fall into this snare? When we do that which is right, and yet incur thereby the displeasure of our fellows, are we not mole grieved than when by sin we offend God Himself? If so, does not that clearly prove that our hearts have more regard to the censure of men than of the Lord? Are we not deeply hurt when our fellows dishonor God?

Are we more afraid of offending mortal man than the everlasting God? When in sore straits, which comforts us the more: the assurances of earthly friends to relieve us or the promises of the Lord?

“But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). This Divine precept is designed to restrain the corrupt ambition of our hearts after the praise of men. It goes much farther than the commandment in Matthew 6:2. There the Lord had forbidden that ostentatious giving of alms which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement and the procuring of the applause of our fellows; while here He prohibits any self-satisfaction or complacency in the performing of this good work. It is strange how the commentators see in Matthew 6:3 nothing more than the repetition of that which is found in Matthew 6:2, quite missing the force of “let not thy left hand know [approve of] what thy right hand doeth.” We are to give alms in simplicity, with the sole intent and desire of pleasing God only. When a good work has been done, we should dismiss it from our minds and not congratulate ourselves upon it, and press on to what is yet before us.

“That thine alms may be in secret” (Matthew 6:4). Here is still another instance where the language of Christ in this discourse must not be taken literally and absolutely, or otherwise any act of mercy which came under the cognizance of our fellows would be thereby prohibited. Certainly the primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations, as is clear from Acts 11:29-30. Secrecy itself may become a cloak to avarice, and under the pretence of hiding good works we may hoard up our money to spend upon ourselves. There are times when a person of prominence may rightly excite his backward brethren by his own example of liberality. So we must not understand Christ as here forbidding all charitable actions which may be seen by others, but rather understand Him to mean that we should perform them as unobtrusively as possible, making it our chief concern to aim at the approbation of God therein.

“That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4). Though there be nothing meritorious about our best performances, yea, though everything we do is defiled, nevertheless “God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). Nevertheless, it must be a work of faith-for “without faith it is impossible to please Him”-and a labour of love, if it is to receive God’s commendation. In the Divine administration it is so ordered that, in the end, the selfish person is disappointed, while he who seeks the good of others is himself the gainer. The more we truly aim at our Father’s approbation, the less shall we be concerned about either the praise or contempt of the world. The Divine reward, in the day to come, will be given “openly,” before an assembled universe. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every one have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Matthew 6:3

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 22

THE GIVING OF ALMS

Matthew 6:1-4

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms. let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.”

We now enter upon the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a section which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. As we shall see, Christ here takes up quite a different aspect of Truth, yet is it one which is closely related to what had formerly occupied His attention. There He had made it very evident that He required more from His followers than the religion of the scribes and Pharisees produced (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 5:47). Here He insists that a far higher quality is also absolutely necessary. There He had warned His hearers against the erroneous doctrines of the Jewish teachers, here He cautions them against their evil practices, particularly the sins of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). There is no doubt whatever in our mind that in this instance the rendering of the Revised Version is to be preferred: “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them,” though the Revised Version rightly uses “alms” in Matthew 6:2. This first verse enunciates a general principle in reference to moral and spiritual duties, which in the succeeding verses is illustrated, amplified, and enforced in the three particular duties of alms, prayer and fasting-it is acts of righteousness which are in view. Thus it is a case where an abstract noun is given a concrete sense: it is similarly used in Matthew 3:15, and Matthew 5:20; in all three passages it has the force of “righteousnesses” or “good works.”

In Matthew 6:2-4 the general principle laid down in the opening sentence is applied manward, Godward, and self-ward, and the three duties specified have to do with our estates, our souls, and our bodies. Those three good works of alms, prayer and fasting have occupied a conspicuous place in all the leading religious systems, and have been almost universally regarded as the chief means of obtaining salvation and the clearest proofs of righteousness and sanctity. In their most serious moments, all, except the most abandoned, have been willing to practice some form and degree of self-denial, or perform acts of devotion, in the hope that they might thereby appease the great God whose wrath they feared.

In the teachings of the Koran, prayer, fasting and alms are the chief duties required from the Mohammedan. Prayer, it is said, will carry a man halfway to Paradise. fasting will bring him to the gates, and alms will give him entrance. The great prominence which Romanism assigns to almsgiving-especially when the alms are bestowed upon herself-to the senseless repetition of prayers, and to bodily mortifications, is too well known to need any enlarging upon. Similar ideas obtain among other religions, especially in Buddhism-lamaism with its prayer-wheels being a case in point. But in our present passage Christ shows us that, as mere formal works, these religious acts are worthless in the sight of God.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). It ought to be apparent that our Lord is not here reprehending the giving of alms as such, but rather that He is condemning that ostentatious bestowment of charity which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement. As a matter of fact this particular admonition of the Saviour’s takes it for granted that His disciples were in the habit of relieving the indigent, and this notwithstanding that most of them had to labour for their own daily bread. That against which Christ warned was the giving of unnecessary publicity in the discharge of this duty, and the making the praise of men our ultimate object therein. Most flagrantly did the Pharisees err at this very point. Edersheim gives the following quotation as a specimen, “He that says, I give this ‘sela’ that my sons may live, and that I may merit the world to come, behold, this is the perfect righteousness.”

To show pity unto the afflicted is but common humanity. It is a great mistake to suppose that the exercise of beneficence is something peculiar to this Christian era. Under the legal economy God commanded His people, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8). “And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee” (Leviticus 25:35). Job declared, “I was a father to the poor” (Job 29:16). Said the Psalmist, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalms 41:1).

“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Proverbs 14:21)-there was the fullest room for the exercise of mercy under the Mosaic dispensation. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17): yes, for the poor, equally with the rich, are His creatures, and the Lord will be no man’s debtor. “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13); we need hardly say that the principle of this verse is still in operation. “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27). At a time of great spiritual declension in Israel, Jehovah brought against them the following charges, “They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. . . . For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12).

It is therefore a most un-Christian attitude to argue, We have enough to do to provide for our families: it is for the rich and not for the laboring people to give alms. If the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts we shall feel for the afflicted, and according to our ability shall be ready to relieve the needy, especially such as belong to the Household of Faith; yea, if a situation requires it, shall gladly deny ourselves comforts so as to do more for those in want. And let us not overlook the fact that Christ here designates almsgiving as “righteousness.” The apostle struck the same note when he pressed Psalms 112:9, on his hearers: “As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever” (2 Corinthians 9:9). Those who refuse to give unto the poor are guilty of a gross injustice, for inasmuch as they are but stewards over what they possess they rob the needy of their due.

Thus, by making alms an essential branch of practical righteousness, our Lord teaches us that the succouring of the poor is not a work of freedom, left to our own choice, but something which is enjoined upon us by Divine commandment. So far from the matter of providing for the needy being left to our own option, it is one of bare justice, and failure therein is a grievous breach both of the Law of God and of nature. But the giving of alms to the poor is not only an act of righteousness, it is also the exercise of kindness. The Greek word, which is here rendered, “alms” is derived from a root which signifies to have compassion or to be merciful. This takes us behind the act itself to the spirit which prompts it: it is not the mere bestowment of goods or money which constitutes “alms,” but the merciful and pitiful heart of the giver.

From what has just been pointed out we may also discover who are the ones entitled to be relieved, the kind of persons whom we may rightfully bestow alms upon, for we are not to act blindly in this matter. It is those who are in such a condition as really to draw out our pity: such as orphans and elderly widows, the maimed, the sick, and the blind. If this principle be duly heeded, we shall be guarded against indiscriminate giving, which often does a great deal more harm than good-encouraging idleness and intemperance. Obviously, healthy and robust beggars who would trade upon the generosity of others are not entitled to receive alms: “This we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Thus, in abetting the indolent we are partners with those who defy Divine authority.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” This admonition is for the avoidance of an unlawful manner of giving alms, for even a good deed may be done in an ill way. Alas, so very deceitful and desperately wicked are our hearts that our most beneficent actions may proceed from corrupt desires and thereby be rendered not only void, but evil in the sight of Him with whom we have to do. Christ’s “take heed” intimates that we are in great danger of erring at this very point. Acts of charity are specially offensive in the sight of our gracious God when they are performed from a desire to procure for ourselves a reputation of sanctity or generosity among our fellows. Alas, how much of this obnoxious pride, this vaunting of charity, is there today both in the religious world and the secular.

That against which Christ here warns His disciples is the secret pride of their hearts. This pride is twofold: of the mind and will, and of the affections. Pride of mind is a corrupt disposition whereby a man thinks more highly of himself than he ought to do: this was the sin of the Pharisees (Luke 18:12) and of the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:16). This conceit is most dangerous, especially in the matter of saving grace, for it has caused multitudes to deceive themselves by imagining they had been born again when in fact they were dead in trespasses and sins, and moving real Christians to imagine they possess more grace than they actually do. Pride of will is an inward affection which makes a man discontented with the estate in which God has p laced him, leading him to hanker after a better: this was the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5-6).

Now from these corrupt principles of pride of mind and pride of will issues that exercise or practice of pride in a man’s life whereby he is determined to do whatever he can which will promote his own praise and glory. Such pride is not something which is peculiar to a few people only, but is found in every man by nature-the Lord Jesus alone excepted. And where this pride is not mortified and held in leash by God, it is so strong that it will not be crossed at any price, for rather than have his proud will thwarted a person will commit any sin: as Pharaoh when he asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2); as Absalom, who was responsible for the banishing of his father from his own kingdom; and as Ahithophel, who went and hanged himself when his counsel was rejected. It was just such pride as this which occasioned the fall of Satan himself (Isa. 14; 1 Timothy 3:6).

Therefore, “take heed,” says Christ: take every possible precaution to guard against this sin. How? First, by unsparing self-examination. The more careful we are to know the pride of our hearts, the less likely are we to be deceived by it. Second, by sincere self-condemnation: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). If we would humble ourselves before God, we must hate ourselves for our wicked pride and penitently confess it to Him.

Third, by reminding ourselves of the judgments of God upon this sin. Herod was eaten up of worms because he took unto himself the glory due unto God (Acts 12:23). “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Fourth, by meditating upon the fearful sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane and on Golgotha: nothing will more effectually humble my proud heart than the realization that it was my very sins which occasioned the death of God’s Lamb.

“Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). The value of an action is determined by the principle from which it proceeds. To give to the poor simply because it is customary is merely the limitation of others. To minister unto the needy in order to increase our own influence and power is a display of carnal ambition. To give so as to advance worldly interests is a manifestation of covetousness; if to seek applause, it is to gratify pride; if to alleviate the sufferings of my fellows, it is only the exercise of common humanity. But if I minister unto the needy out of a respect to the Divine authority and with the desire of pleasing God, acting from regard for His will, to which I long to be conformed in all things, then it is a spiritual act and acceptable unto the Lord. (Condensed from John Brown.)

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). “Sound not a trumpet” is a figurative way of saying, Seek not to attract the attention of other people unto thyself. The word “hypocrite” is a significant one, for it properly denotes an actor who wears a mask, playing his part behind it. The Pharisees posed as being most devout worshippers of Cod and lovers of their fellow men, when in reality they were self-righteous and sought only the applause of men: behind the outward appearance of piety and generosity they were the slaves of worldly and selfish passions. They performed their deeds of charity where the largest number of onlookers congregated together. Their “reward” was the admiration of shallow-minded men, as “dust” is the Serpent’s meat.

The sin which Christ here reprehended is far more grievous than is commonly supposed, and, we may add, far more prevalent, many of the Lord’s own people being guilty of it. It consists of making men, rather than God, the judges and approvers of their actions. And do not we often fall into this snare? When we do that which is right, and yet incur thereby the displeasure of our fellows, are we not mole grieved than when by sin we offend God Himself? If so, does not that clearly prove that our hearts have more regard to the censure of men than of the Lord? Are we not deeply hurt when our fellows dishonor God?

Are we more afraid of offending mortal man than the everlasting God? When in sore straits, which comforts us the more: the assurances of earthly friends to relieve us or the promises of the Lord?

“But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). This Divine precept is designed to restrain the corrupt ambition of our hearts after the praise of men. It goes much farther than the commandment in Matthew 6:2. There the Lord had forbidden that ostentatious giving of alms which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement and the procuring of the applause of our fellows; while here He prohibits any self-satisfaction or complacency in the performing of this good work. It is strange how the commentators see in Matthew 6:3 nothing more than the repetition of that which is found in Matthew 6:2, quite missing the force of “let not thy left hand know [approve of] what thy right hand doeth.” We are to give alms in simplicity, with the sole intent and desire of pleasing God only. When a good work has been done, we should dismiss it from our minds and not congratulate ourselves upon it, and press on to what is yet before us.

“That thine alms may be in secret” (Matthew 6:4). Here is still another instance where the language of Christ in this discourse must not be taken literally and absolutely, or otherwise any act of mercy which came under the cognizance of our fellows would be thereby prohibited. Certainly the primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations, as is clear from Acts 11:29-30. Secrecy itself may become a cloak to avarice, and under the pretence of hiding good works we may hoard up our money to spend upon ourselves. There are times when a person of prominence may rightly excite his backward brethren by his own example of liberality. So we must not understand Christ as here forbidding all charitable actions which may be seen by others, but rather understand Him to mean that we should perform them as unobtrusively as possible, making it our chief concern to aim at the approbation of God therein.

“That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4). Though there be nothing meritorious about our best performances, yea, though everything we do is defiled, nevertheless “God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). Nevertheless, it must be a work of faith-for “without faith it is impossible to please Him”-and a labour of love, if it is to receive God’s commendation. In the Divine administration it is so ordered that, in the end, the selfish person is disappointed, while he who seeks the good of others is himself the gainer. The more we truly aim at our Father’s approbation, the less shall we be concerned about either the praise or contempt of the world. The Divine reward, in the day to come, will be given “openly,” before an assembled universe. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every one have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Matthew 6:4

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 22

THE GIVING OF ALMS

Matthew 6:1-4

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms. let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.”

We now enter upon the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a section which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. As we shall see, Christ here takes up quite a different aspect of Truth, yet is it one which is closely related to what had formerly occupied His attention. There He had made it very evident that He required more from His followers than the religion of the scribes and Pharisees produced (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 5:47). Here He insists that a far higher quality is also absolutely necessary. There He had warned His hearers against the erroneous doctrines of the Jewish teachers, here He cautions them against their evil practices, particularly the sins of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). There is no doubt whatever in our mind that in this instance the rendering of the Revised Version is to be preferred: “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them,” though the Revised Version rightly uses “alms” in Matthew 6:2. This first verse enunciates a general principle in reference to moral and spiritual duties, which in the succeeding verses is illustrated, amplified, and enforced in the three particular duties of alms, prayer and fasting-it is acts of righteousness which are in view. Thus it is a case where an abstract noun is given a concrete sense: it is similarly used in Matthew 3:15, and Matthew 5:20; in all three passages it has the force of “righteousnesses” or “good works.”

In Matthew 6:2-4 the general principle laid down in the opening sentence is applied manward, Godward, and self-ward, and the three duties specified have to do with our estates, our souls, and our bodies. Those three good works of alms, prayer and fasting have occupied a conspicuous place in all the leading religious systems, and have been almost universally regarded as the chief means of obtaining salvation and the clearest proofs of righteousness and sanctity. In their most serious moments, all, except the most abandoned, have been willing to practice some form and degree of self-denial, or perform acts of devotion, in the hope that they might thereby appease the great God whose wrath they feared.

In the teachings of the Koran, prayer, fasting and alms are the chief duties required from the Mohammedan. Prayer, it is said, will carry a man halfway to Paradise. fasting will bring him to the gates, and alms will give him entrance. The great prominence which Romanism assigns to almsgiving-especially when the alms are bestowed upon herself-to the senseless repetition of prayers, and to bodily mortifications, is too well known to need any enlarging upon. Similar ideas obtain among other religions, especially in Buddhism-lamaism with its prayer-wheels being a case in point. But in our present passage Christ shows us that, as mere formal works, these religious acts are worthless in the sight of God.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). It ought to be apparent that our Lord is not here reprehending the giving of alms as such, but rather that He is condemning that ostentatious bestowment of charity which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement. As a matter of fact this particular admonition of the Saviour’s takes it for granted that His disciples were in the habit of relieving the indigent, and this notwithstanding that most of them had to labour for their own daily bread. That against which Christ warned was the giving of unnecessary publicity in the discharge of this duty, and the making the praise of men our ultimate object therein. Most flagrantly did the Pharisees err at this very point. Edersheim gives the following quotation as a specimen, “He that says, I give this ‘sela’ that my sons may live, and that I may merit the world to come, behold, this is the perfect righteousness.”

To show pity unto the afflicted is but common humanity. It is a great mistake to suppose that the exercise of beneficence is something peculiar to this Christian era. Under the legal economy God commanded His people, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8). “And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee” (Leviticus 25:35). Job declared, “I was a father to the poor” (Job 29:16). Said the Psalmist, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalms 41:1).

“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Proverbs 14:21)-there was the fullest room for the exercise of mercy under the Mosaic dispensation. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17): yes, for the poor, equally with the rich, are His creatures, and the Lord will be no man’s debtor. “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13); we need hardly say that the principle of this verse is still in operation. “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27). At a time of great spiritual declension in Israel, Jehovah brought against them the following charges, “They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. . . . For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12).

It is therefore a most un-Christian attitude to argue, We have enough to do to provide for our families: it is for the rich and not for the laboring people to give alms. If the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts we shall feel for the afflicted, and according to our ability shall be ready to relieve the needy, especially such as belong to the Household of Faith; yea, if a situation requires it, shall gladly deny ourselves comforts so as to do more for those in want. And let us not overlook the fact that Christ here designates almsgiving as “righteousness.” The apostle struck the same note when he pressed Psalms 112:9, on his hearers: “As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever” (2 Corinthians 9:9). Those who refuse to give unto the poor are guilty of a gross injustice, for inasmuch as they are but stewards over what they possess they rob the needy of their due.

Thus, by making alms an essential branch of practical righteousness, our Lord teaches us that the succouring of the poor is not a work of freedom, left to our own choice, but something which is enjoined upon us by Divine commandment. So far from the matter of providing for the needy being left to our own option, it is one of bare justice, and failure therein is a grievous breach both of the Law of God and of nature. But the giving of alms to the poor is not only an act of righteousness, it is also the exercise of kindness. The Greek word, which is here rendered, “alms” is derived from a root which signifies to have compassion or to be merciful. This takes us behind the act itself to the spirit which prompts it: it is not the mere bestowment of goods or money which constitutes “alms,” but the merciful and pitiful heart of the giver.

From what has just been pointed out we may also discover who are the ones entitled to be relieved, the kind of persons whom we may rightfully bestow alms upon, for we are not to act blindly in this matter. It is those who are in such a condition as really to draw out our pity: such as orphans and elderly widows, the maimed, the sick, and the blind. If this principle be duly heeded, we shall be guarded against indiscriminate giving, which often does a great deal more harm than good-encouraging idleness and intemperance. Obviously, healthy and robust beggars who would trade upon the generosity of others are not entitled to receive alms: “This we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Thus, in abetting the indolent we are partners with those who defy Divine authority.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” This admonition is for the avoidance of an unlawful manner of giving alms, for even a good deed may be done in an ill way. Alas, so very deceitful and desperately wicked are our hearts that our most beneficent actions may proceed from corrupt desires and thereby be rendered not only void, but evil in the sight of Him with whom we have to do. Christ’s “take heed” intimates that we are in great danger of erring at this very point. Acts of charity are specially offensive in the sight of our gracious God when they are performed from a desire to procure for ourselves a reputation of sanctity or generosity among our fellows. Alas, how much of this obnoxious pride, this vaunting of charity, is there today both in the religious world and the secular.

That against which Christ here warns His disciples is the secret pride of their hearts. This pride is twofold: of the mind and will, and of the affections. Pride of mind is a corrupt disposition whereby a man thinks more highly of himself than he ought to do: this was the sin of the Pharisees (Luke 18:12) and of the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:16). This conceit is most dangerous, especially in the matter of saving grace, for it has caused multitudes to deceive themselves by imagining they had been born again when in fact they were dead in trespasses and sins, and moving real Christians to imagine they possess more grace than they actually do. Pride of will is an inward affection which makes a man discontented with the estate in which God has p laced him, leading him to hanker after a better: this was the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5-6).

Now from these corrupt principles of pride of mind and pride of will issues that exercise or practice of pride in a man’s life whereby he is determined to do whatever he can which will promote his own praise and glory. Such pride is not something which is peculiar to a few people only, but is found in every man by nature-the Lord Jesus alone excepted. And where this pride is not mortified and held in leash by God, it is so strong that it will not be crossed at any price, for rather than have his proud will thwarted a person will commit any sin: as Pharaoh when he asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2); as Absalom, who was responsible for the banishing of his father from his own kingdom; and as Ahithophel, who went and hanged himself when his counsel was rejected. It was just such pride as this which occasioned the fall of Satan himself (Isa. 14; 1 Timothy 3:6).

Therefore, “take heed,” says Christ: take every possible precaution to guard against this sin. How? First, by unsparing self-examination. The more careful we are to know the pride of our hearts, the less likely are we to be deceived by it. Second, by sincere self-condemnation: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). If we would humble ourselves before God, we must hate ourselves for our wicked pride and penitently confess it to Him.

Third, by reminding ourselves of the judgments of God upon this sin. Herod was eaten up of worms because he took unto himself the glory due unto God (Acts 12:23). “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Fourth, by meditating upon the fearful sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane and on Golgotha: nothing will more effectually humble my proud heart than the realization that it was my very sins which occasioned the death of God’s Lamb.

“Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). The value of an action is determined by the principle from which it proceeds. To give to the poor simply because it is customary is merely the limitation of others. To minister unto the needy in order to increase our own influence and power is a display of carnal ambition. To give so as to advance worldly interests is a manifestation of covetousness; if to seek applause, it is to gratify pride; if to alleviate the sufferings of my fellows, it is only the exercise of common humanity. But if I minister unto the needy out of a respect to the Divine authority and with the desire of pleasing God, acting from regard for His will, to which I long to be conformed in all things, then it is a spiritual act and acceptable unto the Lord. (Condensed from John Brown.)

“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). “Sound not a trumpet” is a figurative way of saying, Seek not to attract the attention of other people unto thyself. The word “hypocrite” is a significant one, for it properly denotes an actor who wears a mask, playing his part behind it. The Pharisees posed as being most devout worshippers of Cod and lovers of their fellow men, when in reality they were self-righteous and sought only the applause of men: behind the outward appearance of piety and generosity they were the slaves of worldly and selfish passions. They performed their deeds of charity where the largest number of onlookers congregated together. Their “reward” was the admiration of shallow-minded men, as “dust” is the Serpent’s meat.

The sin which Christ here reprehended is far more grievous than is commonly supposed, and, we may add, far more prevalent, many of the Lord’s own people being guilty of it. It consists of making men, rather than God, the judges and approvers of their actions. And do not we often fall into this snare? When we do that which is right, and yet incur thereby the displeasure of our fellows, are we not mole grieved than when by sin we offend God Himself? If so, does not that clearly prove that our hearts have more regard to the censure of men than of the Lord? Are we not deeply hurt when our fellows dishonor God?

Are we more afraid of offending mortal man than the everlasting God? When in sore straits, which comforts us the more: the assurances of earthly friends to relieve us or the promises of the Lord?

“But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). This Divine precept is designed to restrain the corrupt ambition of our hearts after the praise of men. It goes much farther than the commandment in Matthew 6:2. There the Lord had forbidden that ostentatious giving of alms which is done for the purpose of self-advertisement and the procuring of the applause of our fellows; while here He prohibits any self-satisfaction or complacency in the performing of this good work. It is strange how the commentators see in Matthew 6:3 nothing more than the repetition of that which is found in Matthew 6:2, quite missing the force of “let not thy left hand know [approve of] what thy right hand doeth.” We are to give alms in simplicity, with the sole intent and desire of pleasing God only. When a good work has been done, we should dismiss it from our minds and not congratulate ourselves upon it, and press on to what is yet before us.

“That thine alms may be in secret” (Matthew 6:4). Here is still another instance where the language of Christ in this discourse must not be taken literally and absolutely, or otherwise any act of mercy which came under the cognizance of our fellows would be thereby prohibited. Certainly the primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations, as is clear from Acts 11:29-30. Secrecy itself may become a cloak to avarice, and under the pretence of hiding good works we may hoard up our money to spend upon ourselves. There are times when a person of prominence may rightly excite his backward brethren by his own example of liberality. So we must not understand Christ as here forbidding all charitable actions which may be seen by others, but rather understand Him to mean that we should perform them as unobtrusively as possible, making it our chief concern to aim at the approbation of God therein.

“That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4). Though there be nothing meritorious about our best performances, yea, though everything we do is defiled, nevertheless “God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). Nevertheless, it must be a work of faith-for “without faith it is impossible to please Him”-and a labour of love, if it is to receive God’s commendation. In the Divine administration it is so ordered that, in the end, the selfish person is disappointed, while he who seeks the good of others is himself the gainer. The more we truly aim at our Father’s approbation, the less shall we be concerned about either the praise or contempt of the world. The Divine reward, in the day to come, will be given “openly,” before an assembled universe. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every one have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Matthew 6:5

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 23

PRAYER

Matthew 6:5-8

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”

As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of our last chapter, we are now in the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a division which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. In order to do this His disciples must shun not only the false doctrines but also the evil practices of the scribes and Pharisees. The keynote is struck in the opening verse, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them” (R.V.). The general principle which is expressed in this warning is enlarged upon in Matthew 6:2-18, being applied to three specific cases: in “alms” manward, in “prayer” Godward, and in “fasting” selfward. Having already dwelt upon the first, we now turn unto what Christ here had to say upon the second. By keeping in mind the connection we shall the better perceive His scope and design, and be preserved from an erroneous interpretation of the clauses which are to be before us.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5). The opening words make it quite clear that Christ takes it for granted His disciples will pray, and in what follows He reveals the need there is for them to be diligent to perform this duty in a way acceptable to God. When the Lord assured Ananias of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus He said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). As a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” he had made many long prayers, but not until the miracle of grace had been wrought within him could it be said that he prayed. Saying prayers and pouring out the heart before God are totally different things: a self-righteous Pharisee may be diligent in the former, only one who has been born again will do the latter. As another has said, “The moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation it sends up a cry of helpless dependence toward the source of its birth.”

That which is now to engage our attention consists of the first recorded utterance of Christ on the subject of prayer, and it is most searching and solemn to note that it opens with a warning against hypocrisy in the discharge of this duty. That particular species of hypocrisy which is here reprehended is ostentatiousness in our devotions, the public parading of our piety, the seeking to attract the notice of others and win for ourselves the reputation of great spirituality. Prayer is the expression of creature need and dependency and therefore it is utterly inconsistent with thoughts of pride and self-complacency. But alas, such is fallen man that he can unite these opposites, and therefore our need of this caution: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” A “hypocrite” is one who assumes a character which does not belong to him. The “hypocrites” which Christ had immediately in view were the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13), for their “leaven” was hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5). We need hardly say that Christ is not here condemning this posture of standing in prayer (for He Himself employed it- John 11:41), nor is He forbidding His disciples to pray in public: Paul gave thanks unto God in the presence of a whole ship’s company (Acts 27:35), and in his epistles gave order that “men pray everywhere” (1 Timothy 2:8). No, rather was it the motive and manner of prayer which our Lord here had in view. It is a caution against vainglory, the seeking to commend ourselves unto our fellows. And what sort of creatures are we that need this caution?

Think of it-praying to God, in order that we may be seen of men! In how many ways does the evil of our hearts lead us away from godly simplicity and sincerity.

Sin defiles our very devotions, and unless we are very much on our guard it will not only render them nugatory but an offence unto God. Particularly does the minister need to place a strict watch upon himself in his public praying, lest he be guilty of praying to the congregation rather than unto God. Alas, does not a spirit of hypocrisy often creep into the pulpit prayers of those who could not justly be called “hypocrites?” It is but natural that the minister should desire to be regarded as a highly spiritual man, as one who enjoys very close communion with God, whose aspirations of soul are of a most exalted order. It is no easy matter not to be mindful that there are many critical ears which are listening to our petitions and to be affected accordingly both in the matter and manner of our supplications. Would not our public prayers often be simpler and shorter if we were alone with God?

What need there is, then, that those who are accustomed to lead in public prayer should diligently examine their hearts and cry earnestly unto God for the mortifying of their pride. What is the good opinion of fellow sinners worth if we have not the Lord’s “Well done”? Let us be more careful in seeing to it that our affections prompt each petition, than in giving thought to the expressing of them in words which will charm the ears of men. Truth and sincerity in the heart are vastly more important than choice language or a correct demeanor. Let us seek grace to heed that exhortation, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God . . . Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). If the Divine perfections duly impress our souls, then we shall be saved from much folly.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father” (Matthew 6:6). Having condemned the vice of hypocrisy in the former verse our Lord now commends the virtue of sincerity, and instructs us in the right manner of praying to God. It seems strange that some have quite missed Christ’s meaning here, a few extremists supposing that He forbade all praying in the congregation. That which our Lord was reprehending in the previous verse was not public prayer, but personal praying in public, which was done with the object of calling attention to ourselves. The Lord Jesus encouraged social praying in His memorable declaration, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst” (Matthew 18:20), which was specifically a promise to praying souls, having no reference at all to the Lord’s supper. That united prayer was practiced by the early Christians is clear from many passages in the Acts (see Acts 1:14; Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4; Acts 12:5; Acts 16:13).

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” In our exposition of Matthew 5 we have shown repeatedly that much of our Lord’s language in this Sermon cannot be understood literally, and if this principle be borne in mind we shall be preserved from unwarrantably restricting His scope and meaning in this verse. Viewed in the light of its immediate context, we regard this verse as, first, giving most necessary directions to the one who leads in public prayer. So far from engaging therein in order to win human esteem, we must discharge the duty in precisely the same spirit of humility and sincerity as though we were alone, engaged in private prayer. Entering the closet and closing the door was a figurative way of saying, Shut out from thy mind all thoughts of the creature and have respect unto God alone; be not occupied with those present, but with Him who is invisible.

While we are satisfied that the first reference in verse 6 is to public prayer, yet (as the greater includes the less) there is also important teaching here concerning private prayer. Three things in it are to be noted: the place of prayer, the privacy, and privilege thereof. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet!” By the “closet” we are to understand a place of seclusion and retirement. Our omniscient Saviour knew the tendency of our minds to stray, how easily our thoughts wander away from God, and therefore He exhorts us to get away from everything which disturbs and distracts, to some quiet spot where our communion with God may not be hindered. Private prayer is to be as secret as possible, and this calls for a secluded spot, a place free from the observations and interruptions of our fellows. When Christ engaged in private prayer He withdrew from the crowd and retired to the solitude of the mountain.

Ere passing on it should be pointed out that we must be careful not to run to an unwarrantable extreme at this point, otherwise we should make this verse clash with other passages. If on the one hand we must be careful to avoid ostentation and seeking the praise of men, yet on the other we must be on our guard against intimidation and being unfaithful through the fear of men. Daniel closed not the windows of his room when praying, even though he knew that he was thereby endangering his life (Daniel 6:10). Even when in a public place we should not allow the sneers of others to hinder us from bowing our heads and returning thanks to God at meal times, or kneeling by our bedside at night if someone else be sharing the room.

“Enter into thy closet”: these words suggest not only a silent and secluded place, but also a stated place-whether it be in the fields, the woods, or our own dwelling. When David received tidings of the death of Absalom, we are told that he “went up to the chamber over the gate” and wept (2 Samuel 18:33), as though that was the spot where he was accustomed to pour out his griefs unto the Lord. When the widow of Zarephath acquainted Elijah with the death of her son, the prophet “carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed,” and then and there “he cried unto the Lord” (1 Kings 17:19-20). The same practice was evidently followed by our Saviour, for we read that He “went [for the specific purpose of making supplication to God] as He was wont [accustomed] to the mount of Olives” (Luke 12:39).

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “closet” occurs but four times in the original New Testament-in Matthew 24:26, it is translated “secret chambers.” Our Lord’s language was most probably adopted from Isaiah 26:20 : “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” Now what would these words “enter into thy closet” suggest to a Jew? The “closet” is simply a closed place, shut in for privacy, shut out from. obtrusion. What would such a term naturally suggest to Christ’s hearers? There was one place in their midst which was preeminently a secret chamber, namely the innermost section of the temple, where Jehovah had His special dwelling in the holy of holies. It was peculiarly a “closet,” from which the people were excluded. It was a place marked by silence and secrecy, seclusion and separation.

The holy of holies in the tabernacle and temple was of unique design. It had neither door nor window, and unlike the inner courts of Orientals which are opened to the sky, this one was roofed in and had no skylight. None of the Levites were permitted to enter, save only the high priest, who went there as the representative of the nation to meet with God. Significantly enough there was in it but a single piece of furniture, namely the sacred ark covered by the mercy-seat. How unspeakably blessed: Aaron drew nigh to converse with God at a blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. There was one notable exception to what we have just pointed out: “and when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him” (Numbers 7:89). Thus the Holy “closet” was where man spoke to God and God to him.

There are two expressions in our verse which emphasize the note of privacy in our individual devotions: “when thou hast shut thy door” and “pray to thy Father who is in secret.” The former suggests the need for seclusion and silence, the getting away from all sights and sounds which would disturb and distract. The latter means get alone with God, enter the secret place of the Most High, converse and commune with Him in the holy of holies. Let the reader carefully note the special stress which is here laid upon the singular number of the second personal pronoun: “but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,” etc. Here is something which is unique in all the Word of God: no less than eight times in this one verse is the second person used in the singular number. Nothing could bring out more strikingly the imperative need of aloneness with God: for this the world must be entirely shut out.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” How clear it is that both the spirit and the letter of this verse rebuke those misguided souls who clamor for churches and chapels to be kept perpetually open so that any member of the public may repair thither for private devotions either day or night, as if buildings set apart for religious exercises were any nearer to the throne of grace than our own dwellings or the open fields. The Lord of heaven and earth “dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” He is “not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:24-27). The localization of worship was abolished when Christ declared, “The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. . . . God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). The argument that church buildings should be kept open for the benefit of those away from home can have no weight in the face of Mat 6:5-6. Such an innovation is certain to be abused.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6). Here is set forth the holy and unspeakable privilege of prayer. Here we are invited to open our minds and hearts freely unto Him who cares for us, acquainting Him with our needs and cares, making known our requests with thanksgiving. “Pray to thy Father which is in secret”: He is invisible to carnal sight, imperceptible to our bodily senses, but a living reality unto faith. We must therefore labour to come into His conscious presence, seek to acquaint ourselves with Him, and make Him real to our souls, for He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” In order to this, after entering our closet and before offering up any petition, we need to meditate upon God’s wondrous perfections; ponder His blessed attributes; dwell upon His ineffable holiness, His almighty power, His unchanging faithfulness, His infinite mercy; above all rejoice in the fact that He is our Father.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” This is set over against “they have their reward” of Matthew 6:5. Their “reward” is not the approbation of God, but merely the worthless admiration of their silly dupes who are imposed upon by an outward show of piety. They “have their reward,” for there is nothing but the gall of bitterness awaiting them in the future: “men of the world have their portion in this life” (Psalms 17:14). Different far is it with the Christian. His prayers do not and cannot merit anything from God, yet if they are offered from right principles and unto right ends they are pleasing unto Him, and are rewarded even now by tokens of His favour, and in the Day to come they shall be openly approved by Him.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). That which our Lord here condemned is not our asking again and again for the same thing, but the reducing of the duty and privilege of prayer to a mere lip labour. In Psalms 119 we find David praying “teach me Thy statutes” no less than seven times. Our Saviour in the garden repeatedly asked for the removal of the cup, and Paul thrice besought the Lord for the departure of his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:8). It is vain repetitions that are prohibited, such as those used by the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:26), the worshippers of Diana (Acts 19:34), and the papists’ “Paternosters” and “Ave Marias,” which they are taught to use without meaning or devotion and which they number by counting strings of beads. Cold and formal extempore prayers are equally forbidden, for they are mere babblings.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Here Christ presents as an inducement to praying souls the very reason which infidels use as an argument against prayer: if God be omniscient what need is there for us to inform Him of our requirements? We do not present our requests to God in order to acquaint Him with our wants, but to render obedience unto His commandment which requireth this duty from us. We pray unto God for the purpose of honoring Him, acknowledging Him to be the Knower of our hearts and the Giver of all mercies. Moreover, prayer is a means for us rightly to receive and improve the gifts of heaven, being an indispensable preparation of our souls thereto. It should be understood that this knowledge of our Father’s is far more than a bare cognition of our wants: it is such a solicitation for our welfare that ensures the supply of every needed thing.

Matthew 6:6

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 23

PRAYER

Matthew 6:5-8

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”

As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of our last chapter, we are now in the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a division which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. In order to do this His disciples must shun not only the false doctrines but also the evil practices of the scribes and Pharisees. The keynote is struck in the opening verse, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them” (R.V.). The general principle which is expressed in this warning is enlarged upon in Matthew 6:2-18, being applied to three specific cases: in “alms” manward, in “prayer” Godward, and in “fasting” selfward. Having already dwelt upon the first, we now turn unto what Christ here had to say upon the second. By keeping in mind the connection we shall the better perceive His scope and design, and be preserved from an erroneous interpretation of the clauses which are to be before us.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5). The opening words make it quite clear that Christ takes it for granted His disciples will pray, and in what follows He reveals the need there is for them to be diligent to perform this duty in a way acceptable to God. When the Lord assured Ananias of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus He said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). As a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” he had made many long prayers, but not until the miracle of grace had been wrought within him could it be said that he prayed. Saying prayers and pouring out the heart before God are totally different things: a self-righteous Pharisee may be diligent in the former, only one who has been born again will do the latter. As another has said, “The moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation it sends up a cry of helpless dependence toward the source of its birth.”

That which is now to engage our attention consists of the first recorded utterance of Christ on the subject of prayer, and it is most searching and solemn to note that it opens with a warning against hypocrisy in the discharge of this duty. That particular species of hypocrisy which is here reprehended is ostentatiousness in our devotions, the public parading of our piety, the seeking to attract the notice of others and win for ourselves the reputation of great spirituality. Prayer is the expression of creature need and dependency and therefore it is utterly inconsistent with thoughts of pride and self-complacency. But alas, such is fallen man that he can unite these opposites, and therefore our need of this caution: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” A “hypocrite” is one who assumes a character which does not belong to him. The “hypocrites” which Christ had immediately in view were the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13), for their “leaven” was hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5). We need hardly say that Christ is not here condemning this posture of standing in prayer (for He Himself employed it- John 11:41), nor is He forbidding His disciples to pray in public: Paul gave thanks unto God in the presence of a whole ship’s company (Acts 27:35), and in his epistles gave order that “men pray everywhere” (1 Timothy 2:8). No, rather was it the motive and manner of prayer which our Lord here had in view. It is a caution against vainglory, the seeking to commend ourselves unto our fellows. And what sort of creatures are we that need this caution?

Think of it-praying to God, in order that we may be seen of men! In how many ways does the evil of our hearts lead us away from godly simplicity and sincerity.

Sin defiles our very devotions, and unless we are very much on our guard it will not only render them nugatory but an offence unto God. Particularly does the minister need to place a strict watch upon himself in his public praying, lest he be guilty of praying to the congregation rather than unto God. Alas, does not a spirit of hypocrisy often creep into the pulpit prayers of those who could not justly be called “hypocrites?” It is but natural that the minister should desire to be regarded as a highly spiritual man, as one who enjoys very close communion with God, whose aspirations of soul are of a most exalted order. It is no easy matter not to be mindful that there are many critical ears which are listening to our petitions and to be affected accordingly both in the matter and manner of our supplications. Would not our public prayers often be simpler and shorter if we were alone with God?

What need there is, then, that those who are accustomed to lead in public prayer should diligently examine their hearts and cry earnestly unto God for the mortifying of their pride. What is the good opinion of fellow sinners worth if we have not the Lord’s “Well done”? Let us be more careful in seeing to it that our affections prompt each petition, than in giving thought to the expressing of them in words which will charm the ears of men. Truth and sincerity in the heart are vastly more important than choice language or a correct demeanor. Let us seek grace to heed that exhortation, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God . . . Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). If the Divine perfections duly impress our souls, then we shall be saved from much folly.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father” (Matthew 6:6). Having condemned the vice of hypocrisy in the former verse our Lord now commends the virtue of sincerity, and instructs us in the right manner of praying to God. It seems strange that some have quite missed Christ’s meaning here, a few extremists supposing that He forbade all praying in the congregation. That which our Lord was reprehending in the previous verse was not public prayer, but personal praying in public, which was done with the object of calling attention to ourselves. The Lord Jesus encouraged social praying in His memorable declaration, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst” (Matthew 18:20), which was specifically a promise to praying souls, having no reference at all to the Lord’s supper. That united prayer was practiced by the early Christians is clear from many passages in the Acts (see Acts 1:14; Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4; Acts 12:5; Acts 16:13).

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” In our exposition of Matthew 5 we have shown repeatedly that much of our Lord’s language in this Sermon cannot be understood literally, and if this principle be borne in mind we shall be preserved from unwarrantably restricting His scope and meaning in this verse. Viewed in the light of its immediate context, we regard this verse as, first, giving most necessary directions to the one who leads in public prayer. So far from engaging therein in order to win human esteem, we must discharge the duty in precisely the same spirit of humility and sincerity as though we were alone, engaged in private prayer. Entering the closet and closing the door was a figurative way of saying, Shut out from thy mind all thoughts of the creature and have respect unto God alone; be not occupied with those present, but with Him who is invisible.

While we are satisfied that the first reference in verse 6 is to public prayer, yet (as the greater includes the less) there is also important teaching here concerning private prayer. Three things in it are to be noted: the place of prayer, the privacy, and privilege thereof. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet!” By the “closet” we are to understand a place of seclusion and retirement. Our omniscient Saviour knew the tendency of our minds to stray, how easily our thoughts wander away from God, and therefore He exhorts us to get away from everything which disturbs and distracts, to some quiet spot where our communion with God may not be hindered. Private prayer is to be as secret as possible, and this calls for a secluded spot, a place free from the observations and interruptions of our fellows. When Christ engaged in private prayer He withdrew from the crowd and retired to the solitude of the mountain.

Ere passing on it should be pointed out that we must be careful not to run to an unwarrantable extreme at this point, otherwise we should make this verse clash with other passages. If on the one hand we must be careful to avoid ostentation and seeking the praise of men, yet on the other we must be on our guard against intimidation and being unfaithful through the fear of men. Daniel closed not the windows of his room when praying, even though he knew that he was thereby endangering his life (Daniel 6:10). Even when in a public place we should not allow the sneers of others to hinder us from bowing our heads and returning thanks to God at meal times, or kneeling by our bedside at night if someone else be sharing the room.

“Enter into thy closet”: these words suggest not only a silent and secluded place, but also a stated place-whether it be in the fields, the woods, or our own dwelling. When David received tidings of the death of Absalom, we are told that he “went up to the chamber over the gate” and wept (2 Samuel 18:33), as though that was the spot where he was accustomed to pour out his griefs unto the Lord. When the widow of Zarephath acquainted Elijah with the death of her son, the prophet “carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed,” and then and there “he cried unto the Lord” (1 Kings 17:19-20). The same practice was evidently followed by our Saviour, for we read that He “went [for the specific purpose of making supplication to God] as He was wont [accustomed] to the mount of Olives” (Luke 12:39).

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “closet” occurs but four times in the original New Testament-in Matthew 24:26, it is translated “secret chambers.” Our Lord’s language was most probably adopted from Isaiah 26:20 : “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” Now what would these words “enter into thy closet” suggest to a Jew? The “closet” is simply a closed place, shut in for privacy, shut out from. obtrusion. What would such a term naturally suggest to Christ’s hearers? There was one place in their midst which was preeminently a secret chamber, namely the innermost section of the temple, where Jehovah had His special dwelling in the holy of holies. It was peculiarly a “closet,” from which the people were excluded. It was a place marked by silence and secrecy, seclusion and separation.

The holy of holies in the tabernacle and temple was of unique design. It had neither door nor window, and unlike the inner courts of Orientals which are opened to the sky, this one was roofed in and had no skylight. None of the Levites were permitted to enter, save only the high priest, who went there as the representative of the nation to meet with God. Significantly enough there was in it but a single piece of furniture, namely the sacred ark covered by the mercy-seat. How unspeakably blessed: Aaron drew nigh to converse with God at a blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. There was one notable exception to what we have just pointed out: “and when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him” (Numbers 7:89). Thus the Holy “closet” was where man spoke to God and God to him.

There are two expressions in our verse which emphasize the note of privacy in our individual devotions: “when thou hast shut thy door” and “pray to thy Father who is in secret.” The former suggests the need for seclusion and silence, the getting away from all sights and sounds which would disturb and distract. The latter means get alone with God, enter the secret place of the Most High, converse and commune with Him in the holy of holies. Let the reader carefully note the special stress which is here laid upon the singular number of the second personal pronoun: “but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,” etc. Here is something which is unique in all the Word of God: no less than eight times in this one verse is the second person used in the singular number. Nothing could bring out more strikingly the imperative need of aloneness with God: for this the world must be entirely shut out.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” How clear it is that both the spirit and the letter of this verse rebuke those misguided souls who clamor for churches and chapels to be kept perpetually open so that any member of the public may repair thither for private devotions either day or night, as if buildings set apart for religious exercises were any nearer to the throne of grace than our own dwellings or the open fields. The Lord of heaven and earth “dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” He is “not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:24-27). The localization of worship was abolished when Christ declared, “The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. . . . God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). The argument that church buildings should be kept open for the benefit of those away from home can have no weight in the face of Mat 6:5-6. Such an innovation is certain to be abused.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6). Here is set forth the holy and unspeakable privilege of prayer. Here we are invited to open our minds and hearts freely unto Him who cares for us, acquainting Him with our needs and cares, making known our requests with thanksgiving. “Pray to thy Father which is in secret”: He is invisible to carnal sight, imperceptible to our bodily senses, but a living reality unto faith. We must therefore labour to come into His conscious presence, seek to acquaint ourselves with Him, and make Him real to our souls, for He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” In order to this, after entering our closet and before offering up any petition, we need to meditate upon God’s wondrous perfections; ponder His blessed attributes; dwell upon His ineffable holiness, His almighty power, His unchanging faithfulness, His infinite mercy; above all rejoice in the fact that He is our Father.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” This is set over against “they have their reward” of Matthew 6:5. Their “reward” is not the approbation of God, but merely the worthless admiration of their silly dupes who are imposed upon by an outward show of piety. They “have their reward,” for there is nothing but the gall of bitterness awaiting them in the future: “men of the world have their portion in this life” (Psalms 17:14). Different far is it with the Christian. His prayers do not and cannot merit anything from God, yet if they are offered from right principles and unto right ends they are pleasing unto Him, and are rewarded even now by tokens of His favour, and in the Day to come they shall be openly approved by Him.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). That which our Lord here condemned is not our asking again and again for the same thing, but the reducing of the duty and privilege of prayer to a mere lip labour. In Psalms 119 we find David praying “teach me Thy statutes” no less than seven times. Our Saviour in the garden repeatedly asked for the removal of the cup, and Paul thrice besought the Lord for the departure of his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:8). It is vain repetitions that are prohibited, such as those used by the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:26), the worshippers of Diana (Acts 19:34), and the papists’ “Paternosters” and “Ave Marias,” which they are taught to use without meaning or devotion and which they number by counting strings of beads. Cold and formal extempore prayers are equally forbidden, for they are mere babblings.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Here Christ presents as an inducement to praying souls the very reason which infidels use as an argument against prayer: if God be omniscient what need is there for us to inform Him of our requirements? We do not present our requests to God in order to acquaint Him with our wants, but to render obedience unto His commandment which requireth this duty from us. We pray unto God for the purpose of honoring Him, acknowledging Him to be the Knower of our hearts and the Giver of all mercies. Moreover, prayer is a means for us rightly to receive and improve the gifts of heaven, being an indispensable preparation of our souls thereto. It should be understood that this knowledge of our Father’s is far more than a bare cognition of our wants: it is such a solicitation for our welfare that ensures the supply of every needed thing.

Matthew 6:7

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 23

PRAYER

Matthew 6:5-8

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”

As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of our last chapter, we are now in the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a division which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. In order to do this His disciples must shun not only the false doctrines but also the evil practices of the scribes and Pharisees. The keynote is struck in the opening verse, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them” (R.V.). The general principle which is expressed in this warning is enlarged upon in Matthew 6:2-18, being applied to three specific cases: in “alms” manward, in “prayer” Godward, and in “fasting” selfward. Having already dwelt upon the first, we now turn unto what Christ here had to say upon the second. By keeping in mind the connection we shall the better perceive His scope and design, and be preserved from an erroneous interpretation of the clauses which are to be before us.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5). The opening words make it quite clear that Christ takes it for granted His disciples will pray, and in what follows He reveals the need there is for them to be diligent to perform this duty in a way acceptable to God. When the Lord assured Ananias of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus He said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). As a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” he had made many long prayers, but not until the miracle of grace had been wrought within him could it be said that he prayed. Saying prayers and pouring out the heart before God are totally different things: a self-righteous Pharisee may be diligent in the former, only one who has been born again will do the latter. As another has said, “The moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation it sends up a cry of helpless dependence toward the source of its birth.”

That which is now to engage our attention consists of the first recorded utterance of Christ on the subject of prayer, and it is most searching and solemn to note that it opens with a warning against hypocrisy in the discharge of this duty. That particular species of hypocrisy which is here reprehended is ostentatiousness in our devotions, the public parading of our piety, the seeking to attract the notice of others and win for ourselves the reputation of great spirituality. Prayer is the expression of creature need and dependency and therefore it is utterly inconsistent with thoughts of pride and self-complacency. But alas, such is fallen man that he can unite these opposites, and therefore our need of this caution: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” A “hypocrite” is one who assumes a character which does not belong to him. The “hypocrites” which Christ had immediately in view were the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13), for their “leaven” was hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5). We need hardly say that Christ is not here condemning this posture of standing in prayer (for He Himself employed it- John 11:41), nor is He forbidding His disciples to pray in public: Paul gave thanks unto God in the presence of a whole ship’s company (Acts 27:35), and in his epistles gave order that “men pray everywhere” (1 Timothy 2:8). No, rather was it the motive and manner of prayer which our Lord here had in view. It is a caution against vainglory, the seeking to commend ourselves unto our fellows. And what sort of creatures are we that need this caution?

Think of it-praying to God, in order that we may be seen of men! In how many ways does the evil of our hearts lead us away from godly simplicity and sincerity.

Sin defiles our very devotions, and unless we are very much on our guard it will not only render them nugatory but an offence unto God. Particularly does the minister need to place a strict watch upon himself in his public praying, lest he be guilty of praying to the congregation rather than unto God. Alas, does not a spirit of hypocrisy often creep into the pulpit prayers of those who could not justly be called “hypocrites?” It is but natural that the minister should desire to be regarded as a highly spiritual man, as one who enjoys very close communion with God, whose aspirations of soul are of a most exalted order. It is no easy matter not to be mindful that there are many critical ears which are listening to our petitions and to be affected accordingly both in the matter and manner of our supplications. Would not our public prayers often be simpler and shorter if we were alone with God?

What need there is, then, that those who are accustomed to lead in public prayer should diligently examine their hearts and cry earnestly unto God for the mortifying of their pride. What is the good opinion of fellow sinners worth if we have not the Lord’s “Well done”? Let us be more careful in seeing to it that our affections prompt each petition, than in giving thought to the expressing of them in words which will charm the ears of men. Truth and sincerity in the heart are vastly more important than choice language or a correct demeanor. Let us seek grace to heed that exhortation, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God . . . Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). If the Divine perfections duly impress our souls, then we shall be saved from much folly.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father” (Matthew 6:6). Having condemned the vice of hypocrisy in the former verse our Lord now commends the virtue of sincerity, and instructs us in the right manner of praying to God. It seems strange that some have quite missed Christ’s meaning here, a few extremists supposing that He forbade all praying in the congregation. That which our Lord was reprehending in the previous verse was not public prayer, but personal praying in public, which was done with the object of calling attention to ourselves. The Lord Jesus encouraged social praying in His memorable declaration, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst” (Matthew 18:20), which was specifically a promise to praying souls, having no reference at all to the Lord’s supper. That united prayer was practiced by the early Christians is clear from many passages in the Acts (see Acts 1:14; Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4; Acts 12:5; Acts 16:13).

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” In our exposition of Matthew 5 we have shown repeatedly that much of our Lord’s language in this Sermon cannot be understood literally, and if this principle be borne in mind we shall be preserved from unwarrantably restricting His scope and meaning in this verse. Viewed in the light of its immediate context, we regard this verse as, first, giving most necessary directions to the one who leads in public prayer. So far from engaging therein in order to win human esteem, we must discharge the duty in precisely the same spirit of humility and sincerity as though we were alone, engaged in private prayer. Entering the closet and closing the door was a figurative way of saying, Shut out from thy mind all thoughts of the creature and have respect unto God alone; be not occupied with those present, but with Him who is invisible.

While we are satisfied that the first reference in verse 6 is to public prayer, yet (as the greater includes the less) there is also important teaching here concerning private prayer. Three things in it are to be noted: the place of prayer, the privacy, and privilege thereof. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet!” By the “closet” we are to understand a place of seclusion and retirement. Our omniscient Saviour knew the tendency of our minds to stray, how easily our thoughts wander away from God, and therefore He exhorts us to get away from everything which disturbs and distracts, to some quiet spot where our communion with God may not be hindered. Private prayer is to be as secret as possible, and this calls for a secluded spot, a place free from the observations and interruptions of our fellows. When Christ engaged in private prayer He withdrew from the crowd and retired to the solitude of the mountain.

Ere passing on it should be pointed out that we must be careful not to run to an unwarrantable extreme at this point, otherwise we should make this verse clash with other passages. If on the one hand we must be careful to avoid ostentation and seeking the praise of men, yet on the other we must be on our guard against intimidation and being unfaithful through the fear of men. Daniel closed not the windows of his room when praying, even though he knew that he was thereby endangering his life (Daniel 6:10). Even when in a public place we should not allow the sneers of others to hinder us from bowing our heads and returning thanks to God at meal times, or kneeling by our bedside at night if someone else be sharing the room.

“Enter into thy closet”: these words suggest not only a silent and secluded place, but also a stated place-whether it be in the fields, the woods, or our own dwelling. When David received tidings of the death of Absalom, we are told that he “went up to the chamber over the gate” and wept (2 Samuel 18:33), as though that was the spot where he was accustomed to pour out his griefs unto the Lord. When the widow of Zarephath acquainted Elijah with the death of her son, the prophet “carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed,” and then and there “he cried unto the Lord” (1 Kings 17:19-20). The same practice was evidently followed by our Saviour, for we read that He “went [for the specific purpose of making supplication to God] as He was wont [accustomed] to the mount of Olives” (Luke 12:39).

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “closet” occurs but four times in the original New Testament-in Matthew 24:26, it is translated “secret chambers.” Our Lord’s language was most probably adopted from Isaiah 26:20 : “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” Now what would these words “enter into thy closet” suggest to a Jew? The “closet” is simply a closed place, shut in for privacy, shut out from. obtrusion. What would such a term naturally suggest to Christ’s hearers? There was one place in their midst which was preeminently a secret chamber, namely the innermost section of the temple, where Jehovah had His special dwelling in the holy of holies. It was peculiarly a “closet,” from which the people were excluded. It was a place marked by silence and secrecy, seclusion and separation.

The holy of holies in the tabernacle and temple was of unique design. It had neither door nor window, and unlike the inner courts of Orientals which are opened to the sky, this one was roofed in and had no skylight. None of the Levites were permitted to enter, save only the high priest, who went there as the representative of the nation to meet with God. Significantly enough there was in it but a single piece of furniture, namely the sacred ark covered by the mercy-seat. How unspeakably blessed: Aaron drew nigh to converse with God at a blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. There was one notable exception to what we have just pointed out: “and when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him” (Numbers 7:89). Thus the Holy “closet” was where man spoke to God and God to him.

There are two expressions in our verse which emphasize the note of privacy in our individual devotions: “when thou hast shut thy door” and “pray to thy Father who is in secret.” The former suggests the need for seclusion and silence, the getting away from all sights and sounds which would disturb and distract. The latter means get alone with God, enter the secret place of the Most High, converse and commune with Him in the holy of holies. Let the reader carefully note the special stress which is here laid upon the singular number of the second personal pronoun: “but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,” etc. Here is something which is unique in all the Word of God: no less than eight times in this one verse is the second person used in the singular number. Nothing could bring out more strikingly the imperative need of aloneness with God: for this the world must be entirely shut out.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” How clear it is that both the spirit and the letter of this verse rebuke those misguided souls who clamor for churches and chapels to be kept perpetually open so that any member of the public may repair thither for private devotions either day or night, as if buildings set apart for religious exercises were any nearer to the throne of grace than our own dwellings or the open fields. The Lord of heaven and earth “dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” He is “not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:24-27). The localization of worship was abolished when Christ declared, “The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. . . . God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). The argument that church buildings should be kept open for the benefit of those away from home can have no weight in the face of Mat 6:5-6. Such an innovation is certain to be abused.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6). Here is set forth the holy and unspeakable privilege of prayer. Here we are invited to open our minds and hearts freely unto Him who cares for us, acquainting Him with our needs and cares, making known our requests with thanksgiving. “Pray to thy Father which is in secret”: He is invisible to carnal sight, imperceptible to our bodily senses, but a living reality unto faith. We must therefore labour to come into His conscious presence, seek to acquaint ourselves with Him, and make Him real to our souls, for He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” In order to this, after entering our closet and before offering up any petition, we need to meditate upon God’s wondrous perfections; ponder His blessed attributes; dwell upon His ineffable holiness, His almighty power, His unchanging faithfulness, His infinite mercy; above all rejoice in the fact that He is our Father.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” This is set over against “they have their reward” of Matthew 6:5. Their “reward” is not the approbation of God, but merely the worthless admiration of their silly dupes who are imposed upon by an outward show of piety. They “have their reward,” for there is nothing but the gall of bitterness awaiting them in the future: “men of the world have their portion in this life” (Psalms 17:14). Different far is it with the Christian. His prayers do not and cannot merit anything from God, yet if they are offered from right principles and unto right ends they are pleasing unto Him, and are rewarded even now by tokens of His favour, and in the Day to come they shall be openly approved by Him.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). That which our Lord here condemned is not our asking again and again for the same thing, but the reducing of the duty and privilege of prayer to a mere lip labour. In Psalms 119 we find David praying “teach me Thy statutes” no less than seven times. Our Saviour in the garden repeatedly asked for the removal of the cup, and Paul thrice besought the Lord for the departure of his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:8). It is vain repetitions that are prohibited, such as those used by the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:26), the worshippers of Diana (Acts 19:34), and the papists’ “Paternosters” and “Ave Marias,” which they are taught to use without meaning or devotion and which they number by counting strings of beads. Cold and formal extempore prayers are equally forbidden, for they are mere babblings.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Here Christ presents as an inducement to praying souls the very reason which infidels use as an argument against prayer: if God be omniscient what need is there for us to inform Him of our requirements? We do not present our requests to God in order to acquaint Him with our wants, but to render obedience unto His commandment which requireth this duty from us. We pray unto God for the purpose of honoring Him, acknowledging Him to be the Knower of our hearts and the Giver of all mercies. Moreover, prayer is a means for us rightly to receive and improve the gifts of heaven, being an indispensable preparation of our souls thereto. It should be understood that this knowledge of our Father’s is far more than a bare cognition of our wants: it is such a solicitation for our welfare that ensures the supply of every needed thing.

Matthew 6:8

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 23

PRAYER

Matthew 6:5-8

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”

As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of our last chapter, we are now in the fourth division of our Lord’s Sermon, a division which includes the first eighteen verses of Matthew 6, the general subject of which is the performing of good works so as to secure the approbation of God. In order to do this His disciples must shun not only the false doctrines but also the evil practices of the scribes and Pharisees. The keynote is struck in the opening verse, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them” (R.V.). The general principle which is expressed in this warning is enlarged upon in Matthew 6:2-18, being applied to three specific cases: in “alms” manward, in “prayer” Godward, and in “fasting” selfward. Having already dwelt upon the first, we now turn unto what Christ here had to say upon the second. By keeping in mind the connection we shall the better perceive His scope and design, and be preserved from an erroneous interpretation of the clauses which are to be before us.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5). The opening words make it quite clear that Christ takes it for granted His disciples will pray, and in what follows He reveals the need there is for them to be diligent to perform this duty in a way acceptable to God. When the Lord assured Ananias of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus He said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). As a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” he had made many long prayers, but not until the miracle of grace had been wrought within him could it be said that he prayed. Saying prayers and pouring out the heart before God are totally different things: a self-righteous Pharisee may be diligent in the former, only one who has been born again will do the latter. As another has said, “The moment a spiritual babe is born into the new creation it sends up a cry of helpless dependence toward the source of its birth.”

That which is now to engage our attention consists of the first recorded utterance of Christ on the subject of prayer, and it is most searching and solemn to note that it opens with a warning against hypocrisy in the discharge of this duty. That particular species of hypocrisy which is here reprehended is ostentatiousness in our devotions, the public parading of our piety, the seeking to attract the notice of others and win for ourselves the reputation of great spirituality. Prayer is the expression of creature need and dependency and therefore it is utterly inconsistent with thoughts of pride and self-complacency. But alas, such is fallen man that he can unite these opposites, and therefore our need of this caution: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” A “hypocrite” is one who assumes a character which does not belong to him. The “hypocrites” which Christ had immediately in view were the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13), for their “leaven” was hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5). We need hardly say that Christ is not here condemning this posture of standing in prayer (for He Himself employed it- John 11:41), nor is He forbidding His disciples to pray in public: Paul gave thanks unto God in the presence of a whole ship’s company (Acts 27:35), and in his epistles gave order that “men pray everywhere” (1 Timothy 2:8). No, rather was it the motive and manner of prayer which our Lord here had in view. It is a caution against vainglory, the seeking to commend ourselves unto our fellows. And what sort of creatures are we that need this caution?

Think of it-praying to God, in order that we may be seen of men! In how many ways does the evil of our hearts lead us away from godly simplicity and sincerity.

Sin defiles our very devotions, and unless we are very much on our guard it will not only render them nugatory but an offence unto God. Particularly does the minister need to place a strict watch upon himself in his public praying, lest he be guilty of praying to the congregation rather than unto God. Alas, does not a spirit of hypocrisy often creep into the pulpit prayers of those who could not justly be called “hypocrites?” It is but natural that the minister should desire to be regarded as a highly spiritual man, as one who enjoys very close communion with God, whose aspirations of soul are of a most exalted order. It is no easy matter not to be mindful that there are many critical ears which are listening to our petitions and to be affected accordingly both in the matter and manner of our supplications. Would not our public prayers often be simpler and shorter if we were alone with God?

What need there is, then, that those who are accustomed to lead in public prayer should diligently examine their hearts and cry earnestly unto God for the mortifying of their pride. What is the good opinion of fellow sinners worth if we have not the Lord’s “Well done”? Let us be more careful in seeing to it that our affections prompt each petition, than in giving thought to the expressing of them in words which will charm the ears of men. Truth and sincerity in the heart are vastly more important than choice language or a correct demeanor. Let us seek grace to heed that exhortation, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God . . . Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). If the Divine perfections duly impress our souls, then we shall be saved from much folly.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father” (Matthew 6:6). Having condemned the vice of hypocrisy in the former verse our Lord now commends the virtue of sincerity, and instructs us in the right manner of praying to God. It seems strange that some have quite missed Christ’s meaning here, a few extremists supposing that He forbade all praying in the congregation. That which our Lord was reprehending in the previous verse was not public prayer, but personal praying in public, which was done with the object of calling attention to ourselves. The Lord Jesus encouraged social praying in His memorable declaration, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst” (Matthew 18:20), which was specifically a promise to praying souls, having no reference at all to the Lord’s supper. That united prayer was practiced by the early Christians is clear from many passages in the Acts (see Acts 1:14; Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4; Acts 12:5; Acts 16:13).

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” In our exposition of Matthew 5 we have shown repeatedly that much of our Lord’s language in this Sermon cannot be understood literally, and if this principle be borne in mind we shall be preserved from unwarrantably restricting His scope and meaning in this verse. Viewed in the light of its immediate context, we regard this verse as, first, giving most necessary directions to the one who leads in public prayer. So far from engaging therein in order to win human esteem, we must discharge the duty in precisely the same spirit of humility and sincerity as though we were alone, engaged in private prayer. Entering the closet and closing the door was a figurative way of saying, Shut out from thy mind all thoughts of the creature and have respect unto God alone; be not occupied with those present, but with Him who is invisible.

While we are satisfied that the first reference in verse 6 is to public prayer, yet (as the greater includes the less) there is also important teaching here concerning private prayer. Three things in it are to be noted: the place of prayer, the privacy, and privilege thereof. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet!” By the “closet” we are to understand a place of seclusion and retirement. Our omniscient Saviour knew the tendency of our minds to stray, how easily our thoughts wander away from God, and therefore He exhorts us to get away from everything which disturbs and distracts, to some quiet spot where our communion with God may not be hindered. Private prayer is to be as secret as possible, and this calls for a secluded spot, a place free from the observations and interruptions of our fellows. When Christ engaged in private prayer He withdrew from the crowd and retired to the solitude of the mountain.

Ere passing on it should be pointed out that we must be careful not to run to an unwarrantable extreme at this point, otherwise we should make this verse clash with other passages. If on the one hand we must be careful to avoid ostentation and seeking the praise of men, yet on the other we must be on our guard against intimidation and being unfaithful through the fear of men. Daniel closed not the windows of his room when praying, even though he knew that he was thereby endangering his life (Daniel 6:10). Even when in a public place we should not allow the sneers of others to hinder us from bowing our heads and returning thanks to God at meal times, or kneeling by our bedside at night if someone else be sharing the room.

“Enter into thy closet”: these words suggest not only a silent and secluded place, but also a stated place-whether it be in the fields, the woods, or our own dwelling. When David received tidings of the death of Absalom, we are told that he “went up to the chamber over the gate” and wept (2 Samuel 18:33), as though that was the spot where he was accustomed to pour out his griefs unto the Lord. When the widow of Zarephath acquainted Elijah with the death of her son, the prophet “carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed,” and then and there “he cried unto the Lord” (1 Kings 17:19-20). The same practice was evidently followed by our Saviour, for we read that He “went [for the specific purpose of making supplication to God] as He was wont [accustomed] to the mount of Olives” (Luke 12:39).

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “closet” occurs but four times in the original New Testament-in Matthew 24:26, it is translated “secret chambers.” Our Lord’s language was most probably adopted from Isaiah 26:20 : “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.” Now what would these words “enter into thy closet” suggest to a Jew? The “closet” is simply a closed place, shut in for privacy, shut out from. obtrusion. What would such a term naturally suggest to Christ’s hearers? There was one place in their midst which was preeminently a secret chamber, namely the innermost section of the temple, where Jehovah had His special dwelling in the holy of holies. It was peculiarly a “closet,” from which the people were excluded. It was a place marked by silence and secrecy, seclusion and separation.

The holy of holies in the tabernacle and temple was of unique design. It had neither door nor window, and unlike the inner courts of Orientals which are opened to the sky, this one was roofed in and had no skylight. None of the Levites were permitted to enter, save only the high priest, who went there as the representative of the nation to meet with God. Significantly enough there was in it but a single piece of furniture, namely the sacred ark covered by the mercy-seat. How unspeakably blessed: Aaron drew nigh to converse with God at a blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. There was one notable exception to what we have just pointed out: “and when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him” (Numbers 7:89). Thus the Holy “closet” was where man spoke to God and God to him.

There are two expressions in our verse which emphasize the note of privacy in our individual devotions: “when thou hast shut thy door” and “pray to thy Father who is in secret.” The former suggests the need for seclusion and silence, the getting away from all sights and sounds which would disturb and distract. The latter means get alone with God, enter the secret place of the Most High, converse and commune with Him in the holy of holies. Let the reader carefully note the special stress which is here laid upon the singular number of the second personal pronoun: “but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,” etc. Here is something which is unique in all the Word of God: no less than eight times in this one verse is the second person used in the singular number. Nothing could bring out more strikingly the imperative need of aloneness with God: for this the world must be entirely shut out.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” How clear it is that both the spirit and the letter of this verse rebuke those misguided souls who clamor for churches and chapels to be kept perpetually open so that any member of the public may repair thither for private devotions either day or night, as if buildings set apart for religious exercises were any nearer to the throne of grace than our own dwellings or the open fields. The Lord of heaven and earth “dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” He is “not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:24-27). The localization of worship was abolished when Christ declared, “The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. . . . God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). The argument that church buildings should be kept open for the benefit of those away from home can have no weight in the face of Mat 6:5-6. Such an innovation is certain to be abused.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6). Here is set forth the holy and unspeakable privilege of prayer. Here we are invited to open our minds and hearts freely unto Him who cares for us, acquainting Him with our needs and cares, making known our requests with thanksgiving. “Pray to thy Father which is in secret”: He is invisible to carnal sight, imperceptible to our bodily senses, but a living reality unto faith. We must therefore labour to come into His conscious presence, seek to acquaint ourselves with Him, and make Him real to our souls, for He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” In order to this, after entering our closet and before offering up any petition, we need to meditate upon God’s wondrous perfections; ponder His blessed attributes; dwell upon His ineffable holiness, His almighty power, His unchanging faithfulness, His infinite mercy; above all rejoice in the fact that He is our Father.

“Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” This is set over against “they have their reward” of Matthew 6:5. Their “reward” is not the approbation of God, but merely the worthless admiration of their silly dupes who are imposed upon by an outward show of piety. They “have their reward,” for there is nothing but the gall of bitterness awaiting them in the future: “men of the world have their portion in this life” (Psalms 17:14). Different far is it with the Christian. His prayers do not and cannot merit anything from God, yet if they are offered from right principles and unto right ends they are pleasing unto Him, and are rewarded even now by tokens of His favour, and in the Day to come they shall be openly approved by Him.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). That which our Lord here condemned is not our asking again and again for the same thing, but the reducing of the duty and privilege of prayer to a mere lip labour. In Psalms 119 we find David praying “teach me Thy statutes” no less than seven times. Our Saviour in the garden repeatedly asked for the removal of the cup, and Paul thrice besought the Lord for the departure of his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:8). It is vain repetitions that are prohibited, such as those used by the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:26), the worshippers of Diana (Acts 19:34), and the papists’ “Paternosters” and “Ave Marias,” which they are taught to use without meaning or devotion and which they number by counting strings of beads. Cold and formal extempore prayers are equally forbidden, for they are mere babblings.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Here Christ presents as an inducement to praying souls the very reason which infidels use as an argument against prayer: if God be omniscient what need is there for us to inform Him of our requirements? We do not present our requests to God in order to acquaint Him with our wants, but to render obedience unto His commandment which requireth this duty from us. We pray unto God for the purpose of honoring Him, acknowledging Him to be the Knower of our hearts and the Giver of all mercies. Moreover, prayer is a means for us rightly to receive and improve the gifts of heaven, being an indispensable preparation of our souls thereto. It should be understood that this knowledge of our Father’s is far more than a bare cognition of our wants: it is such a solicitation for our welfare that ensures the supply of every needed thing.

Matthew 6:9

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 24

PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

It is only two years since we wrote a series of ten cover-page articles on what is usually designated the Lord’s Prayer, and therefore we shall not now enter as fully into detail as we otherwise would have done. Before taking up its several clauses, let us make one or two general observations on the prayer as a whole. First, we would note the words with which Christ prefaced it: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” This intimates that the Lord Jesus was supplying a pattern after which our prayers are to be modeled. So ignorant are we that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26), and therefore in answer to our oft-repeated request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), He has graciously furnished the instruction we so sorely need, revealing the manner in which Christians should approach God, the order in which their requests should be presented, the things they most need to ask for, and the adoration which is due to the One they are supplicating.

This model prayer is also found, in condensed form, in Luke’s Gospel, and there it is introduced by the words, “When ye pray, say,” (Luke 11:2). This makes it clear that this prayer is not only a pattern to be copied, but also a form to be used verbatim, the plural pronouns therein suggesting that it is appropriate for collective use when the saints assemble together. The fact that its use as a form has been perverted is no argument why it should never be thus employed. True we need to be much on our guard against repeating it by rote, coldly and mechanically, and earnestly seek grace to recite it reverently and feelingly-in our judgment, once every public service, and always at family worship. In view of the class to whom we write it is scarcely necessary to add that many have made a superstitious use of this prayer as though it were a magical charm.

A few of our readers may have been disturbed by the foolish and harmful error that the Lord’s prayer was not designed and is not suited for use in this dispensation: that instead, it is “Jewish” and intended for a godly remnant in some “great tribulation period” yet future. One would think the very stating of such a fantasy quite sufficient to expose its absurdity to those with any spiritual intelligence. Neither our Lord nor any of His apostles gave any warning that this prayer was not to be used by Christians, or any intimation that it was designed for a future age. The fact that it is found in Luke’s Gospel as well as Matthew’s is clear indication that it is to be employed by Jewish and Gentile saints alike. There is nothing whatever in this prayer which is unsuited to Christians now, yea, everything in it is needed by them. That it is addressed to “our Father” furnishes all the warrant we need for it to be used by all the members of His family. Then let none of God’s children allow Satan to rob them of this valuable part of their birthright.

The more this blessed and wondrous prayer be pondered-one which we personally love to think of as “the family prayer”-the more will the perfect wisdom of its Author be apparent. Here we are taught both the manner and method of how to pray, and the matter for which to pray. Christ knew both our needs and the Father’s good will toward us, and therefore has He graciously supplied us with a simple but sufficient directory. Every aspect of prayer is included therein: adoration in its opening clause, thanksgiving at the close, confession of sin is implied. Its petitions are seven in number, showing the completeness of the outline here furnished us. It is virtually an epitome of the Psalms and a most excellent summary of all prayer. Every clause in it is taken from the Old Testament, denoting that our prayers cannot be acceptable unless they be scriptural. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and God’s will can only be learned from His Word.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” This opening clause presents to us the Object to whom we p ray and the most endearing relation which He sustains to us. B y directing us to address the great God as “Our Father which art in heaven” we are assured of His love and power: this precious title being designed to raise our affections, excite to reverential fear and confirm our confidence in the efficacy of prayer. It is to a Divine person, One who has our best interests at heart, that we are invited to draw nigh: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1)! God is our “Father” first by creation: (Malachi 2:10). Second, He is our Father by covenant-relationship, and this by virtue of our federal union with Christ-because God is His Father, He is ours (John 20:17). Third, He is our Father by regeneration: when born again we are “made partakers of the Divine nature” (Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:4.) Oh, for faith to extract the sweetness of this relationship.

It is blessed to see how the Old Testament saints, at a time of peculiar trouble and distress, boldly pleaded this relationship to God. They declared, “Thou didst terrible things . . . behold Thou art wroth.” They owned, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They acknowledged, “Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.” And then they pleaded, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father” (Isaiah 64:3-8). Though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully toward Thee, yet we are Thy dear children: though Thou hast chastened us sorely, nevertheless Thou art still our Father. To Thee therefore we now in penitence turn, to Thee we would apply ourselves in prayer, for to whom should we look for succour and relief but our Father! That was the language of faith.

“Our Father.” This teaches us to recognize the Christian brotherhood,. to pray for the whole family and not for ourselves only. We must express our love for the brethren by praying for them: we are to be as much concerned about their needs as we are over our own. “Which art in heaven.” Here we are reminded of God’s greatness, of His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. It is true that God is everywhere, but He is present in heaven in a special sense. It is there that He has “prepared His throne”: not only His throne of government, by which His kingdom rules over all, but also His throne of grace to which we must by faith draw near. We are to eye Him as God in heaven, in contrast with the false gods which dwell in temples made by hands.

These words, “which art in heaven,” should serve as a guide to direct us in our praying. Heaven is a high and exalted place, and we should address ourselves to God as One who is infinitely above us. It is the place of prospect, and we must picture His holy eye upon us. It is a place of ineffable purity, and nothing which defiles or makes a lie can enter there. It is the “firmament of His power,” and we must depend upon Him as the One to whom all might belongs. When the Lord Jesus prayed He “lifted up His eyes to heaven,” directing us whence to obtain the blessings we need.

If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all of earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions. Since we pray to God in heaven our desires and aspirations must be heavenly.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus begins the petitionary part of this blessed prayer. The requests are seven in number, being divided into a three and a four: the first three concerning God, and the last four (ever the number of the creature) our own selves-similarly are the Ten Commandments divided: the first five treating of our duty Godward (in the fifth the parent stands to the child in the place of God), the last five our duty manwards. How clearly, then, is the fundamental duty in prayer here set forth: self and all its needs must be given a secondary place and the Lord freely accorded the preeminence in our thoughts, desires and supplications. This petition must take the precedence, for the glory of God’s great name is the ultimate end of all things: every other request must not only be subordinated to this one, but be in harmony with and in pursuance of it. We cannot pray aright unless the honour of God be dominant in our hearts. If we cherish a desire for the honoring of God’s name we must not ask for anything which it would be against the Divine holiness to bestow.

By “Thy name” is meant God Himself, as in Psalms 20:1, etc. But more particularly His “name” signifies God as He is revealed. It has pleased the Maker of heaven and earth to make Himself known to us, not only in His works, but in the Scriptures, and supremely so in Christ. In the written and in the personal Word God has displayed Himself to us, manifesting His glorious perfections: His matchless attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; His moral character of holiness, righteousness, goodness and mercy. He is also revealed through His blessed titles: the Rock of Israel, Him that cannot lie, the Father of mercies, the God of all grace. And when we pray that the name of God may be hallowed we make request that the glory thereof may be displayed by Him, and that we may be enabled to esteem and magnify Him agreeably thereto.

In praying that God’s name be hallowed we ask that He will so act that His creatures may be moved to render that adoration which is due Him. His name has indeed been eminently glorified in all ages, in the various workings of His providence and grace, whereby His power, wisdom, righteousness and mercy have been demonstrated before the eyes of angels and of men. We therefore request that He would continue to glorify these perfections. In the past God has in the magnifying of His name employed methods and measures which were strange and staggering to finite intelligence: often allowing His enemies to prosper for a time and His people to be sorely persecuted-nevertheless, they glorified “the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). And so now, and in the future, when we ask for God to be glorified in the prosperity of His Church, the dissemination of the Gospel and the extension of His kingdom, we must subordinate our request to the Divine sovereignty and leave it with Him as to where and when and how these things shall be brought to pass.

“Hallowed be Thy name”: how easy it is to utter these words without the slightest thought of their profound and holy import! If we offer this petition from the heart we desire that God’s name may be sanctified by us, and at the same time own the indisposition and utter inability to do this of ourselves. Such a request denotes a longing to be empowered to glorify God in everything whereby He makes Himself known, that we may honour Him in all situations and circumstances. Whatever be my lot, however low I may sink, through whatever deep waters I may be called to pass, get to Thyself glory in me and by me. Blessedly was this exemplified by our perfect Saviour. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:27-28): though He must be immersed in the baptism of suffering, yet “Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first petition has respect to God’s honour, the second and third indicate the means whereby His glory is manifested on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here just in proportion as His “kingdom” comes to us and His “will” is done by us. This is why we are exhorted to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). In praying “Thy kingdom come” we acknowledge that by nature we are under the dominion of sin and Satan, and beg that we may be the more fully delivered therefrom and that the rule of God may be more completely established in our hearts. We long to see the kingdom of grace extended and the kingdom of glory ushered in. Accordingly we make request that God’s will may be more fully made known to us, wrought in us and performed by us: “in earth as it is in heaven”: that is, humbly, cheerfully, impartially, promptly, constantly.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the first of the four petitions more immediately relating to the supply of our own needs, in which we can clearly discern an implied reference to each of the Persons in the blessed Trinity. Our temporal wants are supplied by the kindness of the Father; our sins are forgiven through the mediation of the Son; we are preserved from temptation anti delivered from evil by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. By asking for our “daily bread” a tacit acknowledgment is made that “in Adam and by our own sins we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them, but prone to desire, get and use them unlawfully; we pray for ourselves and others that they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day, in the use of lawful means, may of His free gift, and as His Fatherly wisdom shall deem best, enjoy a competent portion of them, and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them and contentment in them” (Larger Cat.).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor and reproach to us; as it is a violation of His Law, it is a crime; and as to the guilt which we contract thereby, it is a debt. As creatures we owed a debt of obedience unto our Maker and Governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience we have incurred a debt of punishment, and it is for this latter that we implore the Divine pardon. In order to the obtaining of God’s forgiveness we are required to address ourselves unto Him in faith and prayer. The designed connection between this and the preceding petition should not be missed: “Give us . . . and forgive us”: the former cannot profit us without the latter-what true comfort can we derive from external mercies when our conscience remains burdened on account of a sense of guilt! But since Christ here teaches us that He is a giving God, what encouragement to look unto Him as a forgiving God!

“And lead us not into temptation.” The “us” includes all fellow Christians on earth, for one of the first things which grace teaches us is unselfishness; to be as much concerned about the good of my brethren as I am about my own-not only for their temporal welfare, but especially for their spiritual. In the preceding petition we have prayed that the guilt of past sins may be remitted, here we beg to be saved from incurring new guilt through being overcome by fresh sin. This request makes acknowledgment of the universal providence of God, that all creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker, that He has the same absolute control over evil as over good, and therefore has the ordering of all temptations. It is from the evil of temptations we ask to be spared: if God sees fit that we should be tempted objectively (through providences which, though good in themselves, offer occasion to sin within us), that we may not yield thereto, or, if we yield, that we may not be absolutely overcome.

“But deliver us from evil.” All temptations (trials and troubles) are not evil either in their nature, design, or outcome. The Saviour Himself was tempted of the Devil and was definitely led into the wilderness by the Spirit for that very end. It is therefore from the evil of temptations we are to ask for deliverance, as this final petition indicates. We are to pray not for a total exemption from them, but only for a removal of the judgment of them. This is clear from our Lord’s own example in prayer: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). To be kept from the evil of sin is a far greater mercy than deliverance from the trouble of temptation.

But how far has God undertaken to deliver us from evil? First, as it would be hurtful to our highest interests: it was for Peter’s ultimate good that he was suffered temporarily to fall. Second, from its having full dominion over us, so that we shall not totally and finally apostatize. Third, by an ultimate deliverance when He removes us to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Thus the family prayer closes with a doxology or an ascription of that glory which is due unto God, thereby teaching us that prayer and praise should always go together. It is to be carefully noted that this doxology of the Divine perfections is made use of as a plea to enforce the preceding petitions: “deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom,” etc.-teaching us to back up our requests with scriptural reasons or arguments. From the Divine perfections the suppliant is to take encouragement to expect a gracious answer. There is nothing in or from ourselves which is meritorious, and therefore hope must be grounded upon the character of Him to whom we pray. His perfections are not evanescent. but “for ever.” The concluding “Amen” expresses both a fervent desire, “so be it,” and an avowal to faith, “it shall be so.”

Matthew 6:10

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 24

PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

It is only two years since we wrote a series of ten cover-page articles on what is usually designated the Lord’s Prayer, and therefore we shall not now enter as fully into detail as we otherwise would have done. Before taking up its several clauses, let us make one or two general observations on the prayer as a whole. First, we would note the words with which Christ prefaced it: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” This intimates that the Lord Jesus was supplying a pattern after which our prayers are to be modeled. So ignorant are we that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26), and therefore in answer to our oft-repeated request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), He has graciously furnished the instruction we so sorely need, revealing the manner in which Christians should approach God, the order in which their requests should be presented, the things they most need to ask for, and the adoration which is due to the One they are supplicating.

This model prayer is also found, in condensed form, in Luke’s Gospel, and there it is introduced by the words, “When ye pray, say,” (Luke 11:2). This makes it clear that this prayer is not only a pattern to be copied, but also a form to be used verbatim, the plural pronouns therein suggesting that it is appropriate for collective use when the saints assemble together. The fact that its use as a form has been perverted is no argument why it should never be thus employed. True we need to be much on our guard against repeating it by rote, coldly and mechanically, and earnestly seek grace to recite it reverently and feelingly-in our judgment, once every public service, and always at family worship. In view of the class to whom we write it is scarcely necessary to add that many have made a superstitious use of this prayer as though it were a magical charm.

A few of our readers may have been disturbed by the foolish and harmful error that the Lord’s prayer was not designed and is not suited for use in this dispensation: that instead, it is “Jewish” and intended for a godly remnant in some “great tribulation period” yet future. One would think the very stating of such a fantasy quite sufficient to expose its absurdity to those with any spiritual intelligence. Neither our Lord nor any of His apostles gave any warning that this prayer was not to be used by Christians, or any intimation that it was designed for a future age. The fact that it is found in Luke’s Gospel as well as Matthew’s is clear indication that it is to be employed by Jewish and Gentile saints alike. There is nothing whatever in this prayer which is unsuited to Christians now, yea, everything in it is needed by them. That it is addressed to “our Father” furnishes all the warrant we need for it to be used by all the members of His family. Then let none of God’s children allow Satan to rob them of this valuable part of their birthright.

The more this blessed and wondrous prayer be pondered-one which we personally love to think of as “the family prayer”-the more will the perfect wisdom of its Author be apparent. Here we are taught both the manner and method of how to pray, and the matter for which to pray. Christ knew both our needs and the Father’s good will toward us, and therefore has He graciously supplied us with a simple but sufficient directory. Every aspect of prayer is included therein: adoration in its opening clause, thanksgiving at the close, confession of sin is implied. Its petitions are seven in number, showing the completeness of the outline here furnished us. It is virtually an epitome of the Psalms and a most excellent summary of all prayer. Every clause in it is taken from the Old Testament, denoting that our prayers cannot be acceptable unless they be scriptural. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and God’s will can only be learned from His Word.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” This opening clause presents to us the Object to whom we p ray and the most endearing relation which He sustains to us. B y directing us to address the great God as “Our Father which art in heaven” we are assured of His love and power: this precious title being designed to raise our affections, excite to reverential fear and confirm our confidence in the efficacy of prayer. It is to a Divine person, One who has our best interests at heart, that we are invited to draw nigh: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1)! God is our “Father” first by creation: (Malachi 2:10). Second, He is our Father by covenant-relationship, and this by virtue of our federal union with Christ-because God is His Father, He is ours (John 20:17). Third, He is our Father by regeneration: when born again we are “made partakers of the Divine nature” (Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:4.) Oh, for faith to extract the sweetness of this relationship.

It is blessed to see how the Old Testament saints, at a time of peculiar trouble and distress, boldly pleaded this relationship to God. They declared, “Thou didst terrible things . . . behold Thou art wroth.” They owned, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They acknowledged, “Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.” And then they pleaded, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father” (Isaiah 64:3-8). Though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully toward Thee, yet we are Thy dear children: though Thou hast chastened us sorely, nevertheless Thou art still our Father. To Thee therefore we now in penitence turn, to Thee we would apply ourselves in prayer, for to whom should we look for succour and relief but our Father! That was the language of faith.

“Our Father.” This teaches us to recognize the Christian brotherhood,. to pray for the whole family and not for ourselves only. We must express our love for the brethren by praying for them: we are to be as much concerned about their needs as we are over our own. “Which art in heaven.” Here we are reminded of God’s greatness, of His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. It is true that God is everywhere, but He is present in heaven in a special sense. It is there that He has “prepared His throne”: not only His throne of government, by which His kingdom rules over all, but also His throne of grace to which we must by faith draw near. We are to eye Him as God in heaven, in contrast with the false gods which dwell in temples made by hands.

These words, “which art in heaven,” should serve as a guide to direct us in our praying. Heaven is a high and exalted place, and we should address ourselves to God as One who is infinitely above us. It is the place of prospect, and we must picture His holy eye upon us. It is a place of ineffable purity, and nothing which defiles or makes a lie can enter there. It is the “firmament of His power,” and we must depend upon Him as the One to whom all might belongs. When the Lord Jesus prayed He “lifted up His eyes to heaven,” directing us whence to obtain the blessings we need.

If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all of earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions. Since we pray to God in heaven our desires and aspirations must be heavenly.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus begins the petitionary part of this blessed prayer. The requests are seven in number, being divided into a three and a four: the first three concerning God, and the last four (ever the number of the creature) our own selves-similarly are the Ten Commandments divided: the first five treating of our duty Godward (in the fifth the parent stands to the child in the place of God), the last five our duty manwards. How clearly, then, is the fundamental duty in prayer here set forth: self and all its needs must be given a secondary place and the Lord freely accorded the preeminence in our thoughts, desires and supplications. This petition must take the precedence, for the glory of God’s great name is the ultimate end of all things: every other request must not only be subordinated to this one, but be in harmony with and in pursuance of it. We cannot pray aright unless the honour of God be dominant in our hearts. If we cherish a desire for the honoring of God’s name we must not ask for anything which it would be against the Divine holiness to bestow.

By “Thy name” is meant God Himself, as in Psalms 20:1, etc. But more particularly His “name” signifies God as He is revealed. It has pleased the Maker of heaven and earth to make Himself known to us, not only in His works, but in the Scriptures, and supremely so in Christ. In the written and in the personal Word God has displayed Himself to us, manifesting His glorious perfections: His matchless attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; His moral character of holiness, righteousness, goodness and mercy. He is also revealed through His blessed titles: the Rock of Israel, Him that cannot lie, the Father of mercies, the God of all grace. And when we pray that the name of God may be hallowed we make request that the glory thereof may be displayed by Him, and that we may be enabled to esteem and magnify Him agreeably thereto.

In praying that God’s name be hallowed we ask that He will so act that His creatures may be moved to render that adoration which is due Him. His name has indeed been eminently glorified in all ages, in the various workings of His providence and grace, whereby His power, wisdom, righteousness and mercy have been demonstrated before the eyes of angels and of men. We therefore request that He would continue to glorify these perfections. In the past God has in the magnifying of His name employed methods and measures which were strange and staggering to finite intelligence: often allowing His enemies to prosper for a time and His people to be sorely persecuted-nevertheless, they glorified “the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). And so now, and in the future, when we ask for God to be glorified in the prosperity of His Church, the dissemination of the Gospel and the extension of His kingdom, we must subordinate our request to the Divine sovereignty and leave it with Him as to where and when and how these things shall be brought to pass.

“Hallowed be Thy name”: how easy it is to utter these words without the slightest thought of their profound and holy import! If we offer this petition from the heart we desire that God’s name may be sanctified by us, and at the same time own the indisposition and utter inability to do this of ourselves. Such a request denotes a longing to be empowered to glorify God in everything whereby He makes Himself known, that we may honour Him in all situations and circumstances. Whatever be my lot, however low I may sink, through whatever deep waters I may be called to pass, get to Thyself glory in me and by me. Blessedly was this exemplified by our perfect Saviour. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:27-28): though He must be immersed in the baptism of suffering, yet “Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first petition has respect to God’s honour, the second and third indicate the means whereby His glory is manifested on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here just in proportion as His “kingdom” comes to us and His “will” is done by us. This is why we are exhorted to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). In praying “Thy kingdom come” we acknowledge that by nature we are under the dominion of sin and Satan, and beg that we may be the more fully delivered therefrom and that the rule of God may be more completely established in our hearts. We long to see the kingdom of grace extended and the kingdom of glory ushered in. Accordingly we make request that God’s will may be more fully made known to us, wrought in us and performed by us: “in earth as it is in heaven”: that is, humbly, cheerfully, impartially, promptly, constantly.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the first of the four petitions more immediately relating to the supply of our own needs, in which we can clearly discern an implied reference to each of the Persons in the blessed Trinity. Our temporal wants are supplied by the kindness of the Father; our sins are forgiven through the mediation of the Son; we are preserved from temptation anti delivered from evil by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. By asking for our “daily bread” a tacit acknowledgment is made that “in Adam and by our own sins we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them, but prone to desire, get and use them unlawfully; we pray for ourselves and others that they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day, in the use of lawful means, may of His free gift, and as His Fatherly wisdom shall deem best, enjoy a competent portion of them, and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them and contentment in them” (Larger Cat.).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor and reproach to us; as it is a violation of His Law, it is a crime; and as to the guilt which we contract thereby, it is a debt. As creatures we owed a debt of obedience unto our Maker and Governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience we have incurred a debt of punishment, and it is for this latter that we implore the Divine pardon. In order to the obtaining of God’s forgiveness we are required to address ourselves unto Him in faith and prayer. The designed connection between this and the preceding petition should not be missed: “Give us . . . and forgive us”: the former cannot profit us without the latter-what true comfort can we derive from external mercies when our conscience remains burdened on account of a sense of guilt! But since Christ here teaches us that He is a giving God, what encouragement to look unto Him as a forgiving God!

“And lead us not into temptation.” The “us” includes all fellow Christians on earth, for one of the first things which grace teaches us is unselfishness; to be as much concerned about the good of my brethren as I am about my own-not only for their temporal welfare, but especially for their spiritual. In the preceding petition we have prayed that the guilt of past sins may be remitted, here we beg to be saved from incurring new guilt through being overcome by fresh sin. This request makes acknowledgment of the universal providence of God, that all creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker, that He has the same absolute control over evil as over good, and therefore has the ordering of all temptations. It is from the evil of temptations we ask to be spared: if God sees fit that we should be tempted objectively (through providences which, though good in themselves, offer occasion to sin within us), that we may not yield thereto, or, if we yield, that we may not be absolutely overcome.

“But deliver us from evil.” All temptations (trials and troubles) are not evil either in their nature, design, or outcome. The Saviour Himself was tempted of the Devil and was definitely led into the wilderness by the Spirit for that very end. It is therefore from the evil of temptations we are to ask for deliverance, as this final petition indicates. We are to pray not for a total exemption from them, but only for a removal of the judgment of them. This is clear from our Lord’s own example in prayer: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). To be kept from the evil of sin is a far greater mercy than deliverance from the trouble of temptation.

But how far has God undertaken to deliver us from evil? First, as it would be hurtful to our highest interests: it was for Peter’s ultimate good that he was suffered temporarily to fall. Second, from its having full dominion over us, so that we shall not totally and finally apostatize. Third, by an ultimate deliverance when He removes us to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Thus the family prayer closes with a doxology or an ascription of that glory which is due unto God, thereby teaching us that prayer and praise should always go together. It is to be carefully noted that this doxology of the Divine perfections is made use of as a plea to enforce the preceding petitions: “deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom,” etc.-teaching us to back up our requests with scriptural reasons or arguments. From the Divine perfections the suppliant is to take encouragement to expect a gracious answer. There is nothing in or from ourselves which is meritorious, and therefore hope must be grounded upon the character of Him to whom we pray. His perfections are not evanescent. but “for ever.” The concluding “Amen” expresses both a fervent desire, “so be it,” and an avowal to faith, “it shall be so.”

Matthew 6:11

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 24

PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

It is only two years since we wrote a series of ten cover-page articles on what is usually designated the Lord’s Prayer, and therefore we shall not now enter as fully into detail as we otherwise would have done. Before taking up its several clauses, let us make one or two general observations on the prayer as a whole. First, we would note the words with which Christ prefaced it: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” This intimates that the Lord Jesus was supplying a pattern after which our prayers are to be modeled. So ignorant are we that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26), and therefore in answer to our oft-repeated request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), He has graciously furnished the instruction we so sorely need, revealing the manner in which Christians should approach God, the order in which their requests should be presented, the things they most need to ask for, and the adoration which is due to the One they are supplicating.

This model prayer is also found, in condensed form, in Luke’s Gospel, and there it is introduced by the words, “When ye pray, say,” (Luke 11:2). This makes it clear that this prayer is not only a pattern to be copied, but also a form to be used verbatim, the plural pronouns therein suggesting that it is appropriate for collective use when the saints assemble together. The fact that its use as a form has been perverted is no argument why it should never be thus employed. True we need to be much on our guard against repeating it by rote, coldly and mechanically, and earnestly seek grace to recite it reverently and feelingly-in our judgment, once every public service, and always at family worship. In view of the class to whom we write it is scarcely necessary to add that many have made a superstitious use of this prayer as though it were a magical charm.

A few of our readers may have been disturbed by the foolish and harmful error that the Lord’s prayer was not designed and is not suited for use in this dispensation: that instead, it is “Jewish” and intended for a godly remnant in some “great tribulation period” yet future. One would think the very stating of such a fantasy quite sufficient to expose its absurdity to those with any spiritual intelligence. Neither our Lord nor any of His apostles gave any warning that this prayer was not to be used by Christians, or any intimation that it was designed for a future age. The fact that it is found in Luke’s Gospel as well as Matthew’s is clear indication that it is to be employed by Jewish and Gentile saints alike. There is nothing whatever in this prayer which is unsuited to Christians now, yea, everything in it is needed by them. That it is addressed to “our Father” furnishes all the warrant we need for it to be used by all the members of His family. Then let none of God’s children allow Satan to rob them of this valuable part of their birthright.

The more this blessed and wondrous prayer be pondered-one which we personally love to think of as “the family prayer”-the more will the perfect wisdom of its Author be apparent. Here we are taught both the manner and method of how to pray, and the matter for which to pray. Christ knew both our needs and the Father’s good will toward us, and therefore has He graciously supplied us with a simple but sufficient directory. Every aspect of prayer is included therein: adoration in its opening clause, thanksgiving at the close, confession of sin is implied. Its petitions are seven in number, showing the completeness of the outline here furnished us. It is virtually an epitome of the Psalms and a most excellent summary of all prayer. Every clause in it is taken from the Old Testament, denoting that our prayers cannot be acceptable unless they be scriptural. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and God’s will can only be learned from His Word.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” This opening clause presents to us the Object to whom we p ray and the most endearing relation which He sustains to us. B y directing us to address the great God as “Our Father which art in heaven” we are assured of His love and power: this precious title being designed to raise our affections, excite to reverential fear and confirm our confidence in the efficacy of prayer. It is to a Divine person, One who has our best interests at heart, that we are invited to draw nigh: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1)! God is our “Father” first by creation: (Malachi 2:10). Second, He is our Father by covenant-relationship, and this by virtue of our federal union with Christ-because God is His Father, He is ours (John 20:17). Third, He is our Father by regeneration: when born again we are “made partakers of the Divine nature” (Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:4.) Oh, for faith to extract the sweetness of this relationship.

It is blessed to see how the Old Testament saints, at a time of peculiar trouble and distress, boldly pleaded this relationship to God. They declared, “Thou didst terrible things . . . behold Thou art wroth.” They owned, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They acknowledged, “Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.” And then they pleaded, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father” (Isaiah 64:3-8). Though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully toward Thee, yet we are Thy dear children: though Thou hast chastened us sorely, nevertheless Thou art still our Father. To Thee therefore we now in penitence turn, to Thee we would apply ourselves in prayer, for to whom should we look for succour and relief but our Father! That was the language of faith.

“Our Father.” This teaches us to recognize the Christian brotherhood,. to pray for the whole family and not for ourselves only. We must express our love for the brethren by praying for them: we are to be as much concerned about their needs as we are over our own. “Which art in heaven.” Here we are reminded of God’s greatness, of His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. It is true that God is everywhere, but He is present in heaven in a special sense. It is there that He has “prepared His throne”: not only His throne of government, by which His kingdom rules over all, but also His throne of grace to which we must by faith draw near. We are to eye Him as God in heaven, in contrast with the false gods which dwell in temples made by hands.

These words, “which art in heaven,” should serve as a guide to direct us in our praying. Heaven is a high and exalted place, and we should address ourselves to God as One who is infinitely above us. It is the place of prospect, and we must picture His holy eye upon us. It is a place of ineffable purity, and nothing which defiles or makes a lie can enter there. It is the “firmament of His power,” and we must depend upon Him as the One to whom all might belongs. When the Lord Jesus prayed He “lifted up His eyes to heaven,” directing us whence to obtain the blessings we need.

If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all of earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions. Since we pray to God in heaven our desires and aspirations must be heavenly.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus begins the petitionary part of this blessed prayer. The requests are seven in number, being divided into a three and a four: the first three concerning God, and the last four (ever the number of the creature) our own selves-similarly are the Ten Commandments divided: the first five treating of our duty Godward (in the fifth the parent stands to the child in the place of God), the last five our duty manwards. How clearly, then, is the fundamental duty in prayer here set forth: self and all its needs must be given a secondary place and the Lord freely accorded the preeminence in our thoughts, desires and supplications. This petition must take the precedence, for the glory of God’s great name is the ultimate end of all things: every other request must not only be subordinated to this one, but be in harmony with and in pursuance of it. We cannot pray aright unless the honour of God be dominant in our hearts. If we cherish a desire for the honoring of God’s name we must not ask for anything which it would be against the Divine holiness to bestow.

By “Thy name” is meant God Himself, as in Psalms 20:1, etc. But more particularly His “name” signifies God as He is revealed. It has pleased the Maker of heaven and earth to make Himself known to us, not only in His works, but in the Scriptures, and supremely so in Christ. In the written and in the personal Word God has displayed Himself to us, manifesting His glorious perfections: His matchless attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; His moral character of holiness, righteousness, goodness and mercy. He is also revealed through His blessed titles: the Rock of Israel, Him that cannot lie, the Father of mercies, the God of all grace. And when we pray that the name of God may be hallowed we make request that the glory thereof may be displayed by Him, and that we may be enabled to esteem and magnify Him agreeably thereto.

In praying that God’s name be hallowed we ask that He will so act that His creatures may be moved to render that adoration which is due Him. His name has indeed been eminently glorified in all ages, in the various workings of His providence and grace, whereby His power, wisdom, righteousness and mercy have been demonstrated before the eyes of angels and of men. We therefore request that He would continue to glorify these perfections. In the past God has in the magnifying of His name employed methods and measures which were strange and staggering to finite intelligence: often allowing His enemies to prosper for a time and His people to be sorely persecuted-nevertheless, they glorified “the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). And so now, and in the future, when we ask for God to be glorified in the prosperity of His Church, the dissemination of the Gospel and the extension of His kingdom, we must subordinate our request to the Divine sovereignty and leave it with Him as to where and when and how these things shall be brought to pass.

“Hallowed be Thy name”: how easy it is to utter these words without the slightest thought of their profound and holy import! If we offer this petition from the heart we desire that God’s name may be sanctified by us, and at the same time own the indisposition and utter inability to do this of ourselves. Such a request denotes a longing to be empowered to glorify God in everything whereby He makes Himself known, that we may honour Him in all situations and circumstances. Whatever be my lot, however low I may sink, through whatever deep waters I may be called to pass, get to Thyself glory in me and by me. Blessedly was this exemplified by our perfect Saviour. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:27-28): though He must be immersed in the baptism of suffering, yet “Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first petition has respect to God’s honour, the second and third indicate the means whereby His glory is manifested on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here just in proportion as His “kingdom” comes to us and His “will” is done by us. This is why we are exhorted to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). In praying “Thy kingdom come” we acknowledge that by nature we are under the dominion of sin and Satan, and beg that we may be the more fully delivered therefrom and that the rule of God may be more completely established in our hearts. We long to see the kingdom of grace extended and the kingdom of glory ushered in. Accordingly we make request that God’s will may be more fully made known to us, wrought in us and performed by us: “in earth as it is in heaven”: that is, humbly, cheerfully, impartially, promptly, constantly.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the first of the four petitions more immediately relating to the supply of our own needs, in which we can clearly discern an implied reference to each of the Persons in the blessed Trinity. Our temporal wants are supplied by the kindness of the Father; our sins are forgiven through the mediation of the Son; we are preserved from temptation anti delivered from evil by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. By asking for our “daily bread” a tacit acknowledgment is made that “in Adam and by our own sins we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them, but prone to desire, get and use them unlawfully; we pray for ourselves and others that they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day, in the use of lawful means, may of His free gift, and as His Fatherly wisdom shall deem best, enjoy a competent portion of them, and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them and contentment in them” (Larger Cat.).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor and reproach to us; as it is a violation of His Law, it is a crime; and as to the guilt which we contract thereby, it is a debt. As creatures we owed a debt of obedience unto our Maker and Governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience we have incurred a debt of punishment, and it is for this latter that we implore the Divine pardon. In order to the obtaining of God’s forgiveness we are required to address ourselves unto Him in faith and prayer. The designed connection between this and the preceding petition should not be missed: “Give us . . . and forgive us”: the former cannot profit us without the latter-what true comfort can we derive from external mercies when our conscience remains burdened on account of a sense of guilt! But since Christ here teaches us that He is a giving God, what encouragement to look unto Him as a forgiving God!

“And lead us not into temptation.” The “us” includes all fellow Christians on earth, for one of the first things which grace teaches us is unselfishness; to be as much concerned about the good of my brethren as I am about my own-not only for their temporal welfare, but especially for their spiritual. In the preceding petition we have prayed that the guilt of past sins may be remitted, here we beg to be saved from incurring new guilt through being overcome by fresh sin. This request makes acknowledgment of the universal providence of God, that all creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker, that He has the same absolute control over evil as over good, and therefore has the ordering of all temptations. It is from the evil of temptations we ask to be spared: if God sees fit that we should be tempted objectively (through providences which, though good in themselves, offer occasion to sin within us), that we may not yield thereto, or, if we yield, that we may not be absolutely overcome.

“But deliver us from evil.” All temptations (trials and troubles) are not evil either in their nature, design, or outcome. The Saviour Himself was tempted of the Devil and was definitely led into the wilderness by the Spirit for that very end. It is therefore from the evil of temptations we are to ask for deliverance, as this final petition indicates. We are to pray not for a total exemption from them, but only for a removal of the judgment of them. This is clear from our Lord’s own example in prayer: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). To be kept from the evil of sin is a far greater mercy than deliverance from the trouble of temptation.

But how far has God undertaken to deliver us from evil? First, as it would be hurtful to our highest interests: it was for Peter’s ultimate good that he was suffered temporarily to fall. Second, from its having full dominion over us, so that we shall not totally and finally apostatize. Third, by an ultimate deliverance when He removes us to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Thus the family prayer closes with a doxology or an ascription of that glory which is due unto God, thereby teaching us that prayer and praise should always go together. It is to be carefully noted that this doxology of the Divine perfections is made use of as a plea to enforce the preceding petitions: “deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom,” etc.-teaching us to back up our requests with scriptural reasons or arguments. From the Divine perfections the suppliant is to take encouragement to expect a gracious answer. There is nothing in or from ourselves which is meritorious, and therefore hope must be grounded upon the character of Him to whom we pray. His perfections are not evanescent. but “for ever.” The concluding “Amen” expresses both a fervent desire, “so be it,” and an avowal to faith, “it shall be so.”

Matthew 6:12

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 24

PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

It is only two years since we wrote a series of ten cover-page articles on what is usually designated the Lord’s Prayer, and therefore we shall not now enter as fully into detail as we otherwise would have done. Before taking up its several clauses, let us make one or two general observations on the prayer as a whole. First, we would note the words with which Christ prefaced it: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” This intimates that the Lord Jesus was supplying a pattern after which our prayers are to be modeled. So ignorant are we that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26), and therefore in answer to our oft-repeated request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), He has graciously furnished the instruction we so sorely need, revealing the manner in which Christians should approach God, the order in which their requests should be presented, the things they most need to ask for, and the adoration which is due to the One they are supplicating.

This model prayer is also found, in condensed form, in Luke’s Gospel, and there it is introduced by the words, “When ye pray, say,” (Luke 11:2). This makes it clear that this prayer is not only a pattern to be copied, but also a form to be used verbatim, the plural pronouns therein suggesting that it is appropriate for collective use when the saints assemble together. The fact that its use as a form has been perverted is no argument why it should never be thus employed. True we need to be much on our guard against repeating it by rote, coldly and mechanically, and earnestly seek grace to recite it reverently and feelingly-in our judgment, once every public service, and always at family worship. In view of the class to whom we write it is scarcely necessary to add that many have made a superstitious use of this prayer as though it were a magical charm.

A few of our readers may have been disturbed by the foolish and harmful error that the Lord’s prayer was not designed and is not suited for use in this dispensation: that instead, it is “Jewish” and intended for a godly remnant in some “great tribulation period” yet future. One would think the very stating of such a fantasy quite sufficient to expose its absurdity to those with any spiritual intelligence. Neither our Lord nor any of His apostles gave any warning that this prayer was not to be used by Christians, or any intimation that it was designed for a future age. The fact that it is found in Luke’s Gospel as well as Matthew’s is clear indication that it is to be employed by Jewish and Gentile saints alike. There is nothing whatever in this prayer which is unsuited to Christians now, yea, everything in it is needed by them. That it is addressed to “our Father” furnishes all the warrant we need for it to be used by all the members of His family. Then let none of God’s children allow Satan to rob them of this valuable part of their birthright.

The more this blessed and wondrous prayer be pondered-one which we personally love to think of as “the family prayer”-the more will the perfect wisdom of its Author be apparent. Here we are taught both the manner and method of how to pray, and the matter for which to pray. Christ knew both our needs and the Father’s good will toward us, and therefore has He graciously supplied us with a simple but sufficient directory. Every aspect of prayer is included therein: adoration in its opening clause, thanksgiving at the close, confession of sin is implied. Its petitions are seven in number, showing the completeness of the outline here furnished us. It is virtually an epitome of the Psalms and a most excellent summary of all prayer. Every clause in it is taken from the Old Testament, denoting that our prayers cannot be acceptable unless they be scriptural. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and God’s will can only be learned from His Word.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” This opening clause presents to us the Object to whom we p ray and the most endearing relation which He sustains to us. B y directing us to address the great God as “Our Father which art in heaven” we are assured of His love and power: this precious title being designed to raise our affections, excite to reverential fear and confirm our confidence in the efficacy of prayer. It is to a Divine person, One who has our best interests at heart, that we are invited to draw nigh: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1)! God is our “Father” first by creation: (Malachi 2:10). Second, He is our Father by covenant-relationship, and this by virtue of our federal union with Christ-because God is His Father, He is ours (John 20:17). Third, He is our Father by regeneration: when born again we are “made partakers of the Divine nature” (Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:4.) Oh, for faith to extract the sweetness of this relationship.

It is blessed to see how the Old Testament saints, at a time of peculiar trouble and distress, boldly pleaded this relationship to God. They declared, “Thou didst terrible things . . . behold Thou art wroth.” They owned, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They acknowledged, “Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.” And then they pleaded, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father” (Isaiah 64:3-8). Though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully toward Thee, yet we are Thy dear children: though Thou hast chastened us sorely, nevertheless Thou art still our Father. To Thee therefore we now in penitence turn, to Thee we would apply ourselves in prayer, for to whom should we look for succour and relief but our Father! That was the language of faith.

“Our Father.” This teaches us to recognize the Christian brotherhood,. to pray for the whole family and not for ourselves only. We must express our love for the brethren by praying for them: we are to be as much concerned about their needs as we are over our own. “Which art in heaven.” Here we are reminded of God’s greatness, of His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. It is true that God is everywhere, but He is present in heaven in a special sense. It is there that He has “prepared His throne”: not only His throne of government, by which His kingdom rules over all, but also His throne of grace to which we must by faith draw near. We are to eye Him as God in heaven, in contrast with the false gods which dwell in temples made by hands.

These words, “which art in heaven,” should serve as a guide to direct us in our praying. Heaven is a high and exalted place, and we should address ourselves to God as One who is infinitely above us. It is the place of prospect, and we must picture His holy eye upon us. It is a place of ineffable purity, and nothing which defiles or makes a lie can enter there. It is the “firmament of His power,” and we must depend upon Him as the One to whom all might belongs. When the Lord Jesus prayed He “lifted up His eyes to heaven,” directing us whence to obtain the blessings we need.

If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all of earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions. Since we pray to God in heaven our desires and aspirations must be heavenly.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus begins the petitionary part of this blessed prayer. The requests are seven in number, being divided into a three and a four: the first three concerning God, and the last four (ever the number of the creature) our own selves-similarly are the Ten Commandments divided: the first five treating of our duty Godward (in the fifth the parent stands to the child in the place of God), the last five our duty manwards. How clearly, then, is the fundamental duty in prayer here set forth: self and all its needs must be given a secondary place and the Lord freely accorded the preeminence in our thoughts, desires and supplications. This petition must take the precedence, for the glory of God’s great name is the ultimate end of all things: every other request must not only be subordinated to this one, but be in harmony with and in pursuance of it. We cannot pray aright unless the honour of God be dominant in our hearts. If we cherish a desire for the honoring of God’s name we must not ask for anything which it would be against the Divine holiness to bestow.

By “Thy name” is meant God Himself, as in Psalms 20:1, etc. But more particularly His “name” signifies God as He is revealed. It has pleased the Maker of heaven and earth to make Himself known to us, not only in His works, but in the Scriptures, and supremely so in Christ. In the written and in the personal Word God has displayed Himself to us, manifesting His glorious perfections: His matchless attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; His moral character of holiness, righteousness, goodness and mercy. He is also revealed through His blessed titles: the Rock of Israel, Him that cannot lie, the Father of mercies, the God of all grace. And when we pray that the name of God may be hallowed we make request that the glory thereof may be displayed by Him, and that we may be enabled to esteem and magnify Him agreeably thereto.

In praying that God’s name be hallowed we ask that He will so act that His creatures may be moved to render that adoration which is due Him. His name has indeed been eminently glorified in all ages, in the various workings of His providence and grace, whereby His power, wisdom, righteousness and mercy have been demonstrated before the eyes of angels and of men. We therefore request that He would continue to glorify these perfections. In the past God has in the magnifying of His name employed methods and measures which were strange and staggering to finite intelligence: often allowing His enemies to prosper for a time and His people to be sorely persecuted-nevertheless, they glorified “the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). And so now, and in the future, when we ask for God to be glorified in the prosperity of His Church, the dissemination of the Gospel and the extension of His kingdom, we must subordinate our request to the Divine sovereignty and leave it with Him as to where and when and how these things shall be brought to pass.

“Hallowed be Thy name”: how easy it is to utter these words without the slightest thought of their profound and holy import! If we offer this petition from the heart we desire that God’s name may be sanctified by us, and at the same time own the indisposition and utter inability to do this of ourselves. Such a request denotes a longing to be empowered to glorify God in everything whereby He makes Himself known, that we may honour Him in all situations and circumstances. Whatever be my lot, however low I may sink, through whatever deep waters I may be called to pass, get to Thyself glory in me and by me. Blessedly was this exemplified by our perfect Saviour. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:27-28): though He must be immersed in the baptism of suffering, yet “Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first petition has respect to God’s honour, the second and third indicate the means whereby His glory is manifested on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here just in proportion as His “kingdom” comes to us and His “will” is done by us. This is why we are exhorted to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). In praying “Thy kingdom come” we acknowledge that by nature we are under the dominion of sin and Satan, and beg that we may be the more fully delivered therefrom and that the rule of God may be more completely established in our hearts. We long to see the kingdom of grace extended and the kingdom of glory ushered in. Accordingly we make request that God’s will may be more fully made known to us, wrought in us and performed by us: “in earth as it is in heaven”: that is, humbly, cheerfully, impartially, promptly, constantly.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the first of the four petitions more immediately relating to the supply of our own needs, in which we can clearly discern an implied reference to each of the Persons in the blessed Trinity. Our temporal wants are supplied by the kindness of the Father; our sins are forgiven through the mediation of the Son; we are preserved from temptation anti delivered from evil by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. By asking for our “daily bread” a tacit acknowledgment is made that “in Adam and by our own sins we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them, but prone to desire, get and use them unlawfully; we pray for ourselves and others that they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day, in the use of lawful means, may of His free gift, and as His Fatherly wisdom shall deem best, enjoy a competent portion of them, and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them and contentment in them” (Larger Cat.).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor and reproach to us; as it is a violation of His Law, it is a crime; and as to the guilt which we contract thereby, it is a debt. As creatures we owed a debt of obedience unto our Maker and Governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience we have incurred a debt of punishment, and it is for this latter that we implore the Divine pardon. In order to the obtaining of God’s forgiveness we are required to address ourselves unto Him in faith and prayer. The designed connection between this and the preceding petition should not be missed: “Give us . . . and forgive us”: the former cannot profit us without the latter-what true comfort can we derive from external mercies when our conscience remains burdened on account of a sense of guilt! But since Christ here teaches us that He is a giving God, what encouragement to look unto Him as a forgiving God!

“And lead us not into temptation.” The “us” includes all fellow Christians on earth, for one of the first things which grace teaches us is unselfishness; to be as much concerned about the good of my brethren as I am about my own-not only for their temporal welfare, but especially for their spiritual. In the preceding petition we have prayed that the guilt of past sins may be remitted, here we beg to be saved from incurring new guilt through being overcome by fresh sin. This request makes acknowledgment of the universal providence of God, that all creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker, that He has the same absolute control over evil as over good, and therefore has the ordering of all temptations. It is from the evil of temptations we ask to be spared: if God sees fit that we should be tempted objectively (through providences which, though good in themselves, offer occasion to sin within us), that we may not yield thereto, or, if we yield, that we may not be absolutely overcome.

“But deliver us from evil.” All temptations (trials and troubles) are not evil either in their nature, design, or outcome. The Saviour Himself was tempted of the Devil and was definitely led into the wilderness by the Spirit for that very end. It is therefore from the evil of temptations we are to ask for deliverance, as this final petition indicates. We are to pray not for a total exemption from them, but only for a removal of the judgment of them. This is clear from our Lord’s own example in prayer: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). To be kept from the evil of sin is a far greater mercy than deliverance from the trouble of temptation.

But how far has God undertaken to deliver us from evil? First, as it would be hurtful to our highest interests: it was for Peter’s ultimate good that he was suffered temporarily to fall. Second, from its having full dominion over us, so that we shall not totally and finally apostatize. Third, by an ultimate deliverance when He removes us to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Thus the family prayer closes with a doxology or an ascription of that glory which is due unto God, thereby teaching us that prayer and praise should always go together. It is to be carefully noted that this doxology of the Divine perfections is made use of as a plea to enforce the preceding petitions: “deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom,” etc.-teaching us to back up our requests with scriptural reasons or arguments. From the Divine perfections the suppliant is to take encouragement to expect a gracious answer. There is nothing in or from ourselves which is meritorious, and therefore hope must be grounded upon the character of Him to whom we pray. His perfections are not evanescent. but “for ever.” The concluding “Amen” expresses both a fervent desire, “so be it,” and an avowal to faith, “it shall be so.”

Matthew 6:13

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 24

PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-13

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

It is only two years since we wrote a series of ten cover-page articles on what is usually designated the Lord’s Prayer, and therefore we shall not now enter as fully into detail as we otherwise would have done. Before taking up its several clauses, let us make one or two general observations on the prayer as a whole. First, we would note the words with which Christ prefaced it: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” This intimates that the Lord Jesus was supplying a pattern after which our prayers are to be modeled. So ignorant are we that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26), and therefore in answer to our oft-repeated request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), He has graciously furnished the instruction we so sorely need, revealing the manner in which Christians should approach God, the order in which their requests should be presented, the things they most need to ask for, and the adoration which is due to the One they are supplicating.

This model prayer is also found, in condensed form, in Luke’s Gospel, and there it is introduced by the words, “When ye pray, say,” (Luke 11:2). This makes it clear that this prayer is not only a pattern to be copied, but also a form to be used verbatim, the plural pronouns therein suggesting that it is appropriate for collective use when the saints assemble together. The fact that its use as a form has been perverted is no argument why it should never be thus employed. True we need to be much on our guard against repeating it by rote, coldly and mechanically, and earnestly seek grace to recite it reverently and feelingly-in our judgment, once every public service, and always at family worship. In view of the class to whom we write it is scarcely necessary to add that many have made a superstitious use of this prayer as though it were a magical charm.

A few of our readers may have been disturbed by the foolish and harmful error that the Lord’s prayer was not designed and is not suited for use in this dispensation: that instead, it is “Jewish” and intended for a godly remnant in some “great tribulation period” yet future. One would think the very stating of such a fantasy quite sufficient to expose its absurdity to those with any spiritual intelligence. Neither our Lord nor any of His apostles gave any warning that this prayer was not to be used by Christians, or any intimation that it was designed for a future age. The fact that it is found in Luke’s Gospel as well as Matthew’s is clear indication that it is to be employed by Jewish and Gentile saints alike. There is nothing whatever in this prayer which is unsuited to Christians now, yea, everything in it is needed by them. That it is addressed to “our Father” furnishes all the warrant we need for it to be used by all the members of His family. Then let none of God’s children allow Satan to rob them of this valuable part of their birthright.

The more this blessed and wondrous prayer be pondered-one which we personally love to think of as “the family prayer”-the more will the perfect wisdom of its Author be apparent. Here we are taught both the manner and method of how to pray, and the matter for which to pray. Christ knew both our needs and the Father’s good will toward us, and therefore has He graciously supplied us with a simple but sufficient directory. Every aspect of prayer is included therein: adoration in its opening clause, thanksgiving at the close, confession of sin is implied. Its petitions are seven in number, showing the completeness of the outline here furnished us. It is virtually an epitome of the Psalms and a most excellent summary of all prayer. Every clause in it is taken from the Old Testament, denoting that our prayers cannot be acceptable unless they be scriptural. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14), and God’s will can only be learned from His Word.

“Our Father which art in heaven.” This opening clause presents to us the Object to whom we p ray and the most endearing relation which He sustains to us. B y directing us to address the great God as “Our Father which art in heaven” we are assured of His love and power: this precious title being designed to raise our affections, excite to reverential fear and confirm our confidence in the efficacy of prayer. It is to a Divine person, One who has our best interests at heart, that we are invited to draw nigh: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1)! God is our “Father” first by creation: (Malachi 2:10). Second, He is our Father by covenant-relationship, and this by virtue of our federal union with Christ-because God is His Father, He is ours (John 20:17). Third, He is our Father by regeneration: when born again we are “made partakers of the Divine nature” (Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:4.) Oh, for faith to extract the sweetness of this relationship.

It is blessed to see how the Old Testament saints, at a time of peculiar trouble and distress, boldly pleaded this relationship to God. They declared, “Thou didst terrible things . . . behold Thou art wroth.” They owned, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They acknowledged, “Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.” And then they pleaded, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father” (Isaiah 64:3-8). Though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully toward Thee, yet we are Thy dear children: though Thou hast chastened us sorely, nevertheless Thou art still our Father. To Thee therefore we now in penitence turn, to Thee we would apply ourselves in prayer, for to whom should we look for succour and relief but our Father! That was the language of faith.

“Our Father.” This teaches us to recognize the Christian brotherhood,. to pray for the whole family and not for ourselves only. We must express our love for the brethren by praying for them: we are to be as much concerned about their needs as we are over our own. “Which art in heaven.” Here we are reminded of God’s greatness, of His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. It is true that God is everywhere, but He is present in heaven in a special sense. It is there that He has “prepared His throne”: not only His throne of government, by which His kingdom rules over all, but also His throne of grace to which we must by faith draw near. We are to eye Him as God in heaven, in contrast with the false gods which dwell in temples made by hands.

These words, “which art in heaven,” should serve as a guide to direct us in our praying. Heaven is a high and exalted place, and we should address ourselves to God as One who is infinitely above us. It is the place of prospect, and we must picture His holy eye upon us. It is a place of ineffable purity, and nothing which defiles or makes a lie can enter there. It is the “firmament of His power,” and we must depend upon Him as the One to whom all might belongs. When the Lord Jesus prayed He “lifted up His eyes to heaven,” directing us whence to obtain the blessings we need.

If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all of earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions. Since we pray to God in heaven our desires and aspirations must be heavenly.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus begins the petitionary part of this blessed prayer. The requests are seven in number, being divided into a three and a four: the first three concerning God, and the last four (ever the number of the creature) our own selves-similarly are the Ten Commandments divided: the first five treating of our duty Godward (in the fifth the parent stands to the child in the place of God), the last five our duty manwards. How clearly, then, is the fundamental duty in prayer here set forth: self and all its needs must be given a secondary place and the Lord freely accorded the preeminence in our thoughts, desires and supplications. This petition must take the precedence, for the glory of God’s great name is the ultimate end of all things: every other request must not only be subordinated to this one, but be in harmony with and in pursuance of it. We cannot pray aright unless the honour of God be dominant in our hearts. If we cherish a desire for the honoring of God’s name we must not ask for anything which it would be against the Divine holiness to bestow.

By “Thy name” is meant God Himself, as in Psalms 20:1, etc. But more particularly His “name” signifies God as He is revealed. It has pleased the Maker of heaven and earth to make Himself known to us, not only in His works, but in the Scriptures, and supremely so in Christ. In the written and in the personal Word God has displayed Himself to us, manifesting His glorious perfections: His matchless attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; His moral character of holiness, righteousness, goodness and mercy. He is also revealed through His blessed titles: the Rock of Israel, Him that cannot lie, the Father of mercies, the God of all grace. And when we pray that the name of God may be hallowed we make request that the glory thereof may be displayed by Him, and that we may be enabled to esteem and magnify Him agreeably thereto.

In praying that God’s name be hallowed we ask that He will so act that His creatures may be moved to render that adoration which is due Him. His name has indeed been eminently glorified in all ages, in the various workings of His providence and grace, whereby His power, wisdom, righteousness and mercy have been demonstrated before the eyes of angels and of men. We therefore request that He would continue to glorify these perfections. In the past God has in the magnifying of His name employed methods and measures which were strange and staggering to finite intelligence: often allowing His enemies to prosper for a time and His people to be sorely persecuted-nevertheless, they glorified “the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). And so now, and in the future, when we ask for God to be glorified in the prosperity of His Church, the dissemination of the Gospel and the extension of His kingdom, we must subordinate our request to the Divine sovereignty and leave it with Him as to where and when and how these things shall be brought to pass.

“Hallowed be Thy name”: how easy it is to utter these words without the slightest thought of their profound and holy import! If we offer this petition from the heart we desire that God’s name may be sanctified by us, and at the same time own the indisposition and utter inability to do this of ourselves. Such a request denotes a longing to be empowered to glorify God in everything whereby He makes Himself known, that we may honour Him in all situations and circumstances. Whatever be my lot, however low I may sink, through whatever deep waters I may be called to pass, get to Thyself glory in me and by me. Blessedly was this exemplified by our perfect Saviour. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:27-28): though He must be immersed in the baptism of suffering, yet “Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The first petition has respect to God’s honour, the second and third indicate the means whereby His glory is manifested on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here just in proportion as His “kingdom” comes to us and His “will” is done by us. This is why we are exhorted to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). In praying “Thy kingdom come” we acknowledge that by nature we are under the dominion of sin and Satan, and beg that we may be the more fully delivered therefrom and that the rule of God may be more completely established in our hearts. We long to see the kingdom of grace extended and the kingdom of glory ushered in. Accordingly we make request that God’s will may be more fully made known to us, wrought in us and performed by us: “in earth as it is in heaven”: that is, humbly, cheerfully, impartially, promptly, constantly.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the first of the four petitions more immediately relating to the supply of our own needs, in which we can clearly discern an implied reference to each of the Persons in the blessed Trinity. Our temporal wants are supplied by the kindness of the Father; our sins are forgiven through the mediation of the Son; we are preserved from temptation anti delivered from evil by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. By asking for our “daily bread” a tacit acknowledgment is made that “in Adam and by our own sins we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them, but prone to desire, get and use them unlawfully; we pray for ourselves and others that they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day, in the use of lawful means, may of His free gift, and as His Fatherly wisdom shall deem best, enjoy a competent portion of them, and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them and contentment in them” (Larger Cat.).

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor and reproach to us; as it is a violation of His Law, it is a crime; and as to the guilt which we contract thereby, it is a debt. As creatures we owed a debt of obedience unto our Maker and Governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience we have incurred a debt of punishment, and it is for this latter that we implore the Divine pardon. In order to the obtaining of God’s forgiveness we are required to address ourselves unto Him in faith and prayer. The designed connection between this and the preceding petition should not be missed: “Give us . . . and forgive us”: the former cannot profit us without the latter-what true comfort can we derive from external mercies when our conscience remains burdened on account of a sense of guilt! But since Christ here teaches us that He is a giving God, what encouragement to look unto Him as a forgiving God!

“And lead us not into temptation.” The “us” includes all fellow Christians on earth, for one of the first things which grace teaches us is unselfishness; to be as much concerned about the good of my brethren as I am about my own-not only for their temporal welfare, but especially for their spiritual. In the preceding petition we have prayed that the guilt of past sins may be remitted, here we beg to be saved from incurring new guilt through being overcome by fresh sin. This request makes acknowledgment of the universal providence of God, that all creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker, that He has the same absolute control over evil as over good, and therefore has the ordering of all temptations. It is from the evil of temptations we ask to be spared: if God sees fit that we should be tempted objectively (through providences which, though good in themselves, offer occasion to sin within us), that we may not yield thereto, or, if we yield, that we may not be absolutely overcome.

“But deliver us from evil.” All temptations (trials and troubles) are not evil either in their nature, design, or outcome. The Saviour Himself was tempted of the Devil and was definitely led into the wilderness by the Spirit for that very end. It is therefore from the evil of temptations we are to ask for deliverance, as this final petition indicates. We are to pray not for a total exemption from them, but only for a removal of the judgment of them. This is clear from our Lord’s own example in prayer: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). To be kept from the evil of sin is a far greater mercy than deliverance from the trouble of temptation.

But how far has God undertaken to deliver us from evil? First, as it would be hurtful to our highest interests: it was for Peter’s ultimate good that he was suffered temporarily to fall. Second, from its having full dominion over us, so that we shall not totally and finally apostatize. Third, by an ultimate deliverance when He removes us to heaven.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Thus the family prayer closes with a doxology or an ascription of that glory which is due unto God, thereby teaching us that prayer and praise should always go together. It is to be carefully noted that this doxology of the Divine perfections is made use of as a plea to enforce the preceding petitions: “deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom,” etc.-teaching us to back up our requests with scriptural reasons or arguments. From the Divine perfections the suppliant is to take encouragement to expect a gracious answer. There is nothing in or from ourselves which is meritorious, and therefore hope must be grounded upon the character of Him to whom we pray. His perfections are not evanescent. but “for ever.” The concluding “Amen” expresses both a fervent desire, “so be it,” and an avowal to faith, “it shall be so.”

Matthew 6:14

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 25

PRAYER

Matthew 6:14-15

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses. your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). These verses have received scant attention from most of those who have written on the Lord’s prayer. This ought not to be, for they form a most important appendix to and round off the teaching of our Lord begun at Matthew 6:6. It is significant to observe that the fifth petition in the family prayer is the only one singled out by Christ for specific comment-probably because the duty enforced in it is the most painful of all to flesh and blood. But however distasteful the contents of these verses may be to our sinful hearts, that is no reason why they should be virtually shelved by most of the commentators.

Timely indeed are the brief remarks of Matthew Henry thereon: “If we pray in anger, we have reason to fear that God will answer us in anger. What reason is it that God should forgive us the talents [huge sums] we are indebted to Him, if we forgive not our brethren the pence they are indebted to us? Christ came into the world as the great Peacemaker not only to reconcile us to God, but to one another; and in this we must comply with Him. It is a great assumption and of dangerous consequences for anyone to make a light matter of that which Christ lays great stress upon. Men’s passions must not frustrate God’s Word.” Far too weighty and momentous are these solemn and searching declarations of the Lord Jesus to be summarily dismissed with only a brief and light notice of them.

It was the comparative failure of Christian expositors in the past to adequately explain and enforce the teaching of Christ in the verses now before us which made it so much easier for modern errorists to foist their evil perversions on the uninstructed and unwary. For example, take the following footnote from the Scofield Reference Bible: “This is legal ground. Compare Ephesians 4:32, which is grace. Under the Law forgiveness was conditioned upon a like spirit because we have been forgiven.” This is a fair example of the vicious method followed by “Dispensationalists” who (under the pretence of “rightly dividing the Word of Truth”) delight in pitting the Old Testament against the New, and lowering the standard of Christianity, presenting a fictitious ‘‘grace which does not ’’ reign through righteousness (Romans 5:21). Let us briefly examine this statement of Scofield’s, which has misled thousands.

By saying that because our receiving Divine forgiveness is dependent upon our forgiving those who wrong us is “legal ground,” attempt is made to set aside the Lord’s positive declaration. In the added statement-“Compare Ephesians 4:32, which is grace”-we are asked to believe that Matthew 6:14-15, pertains not at all to this Christian era. This is made quite plain in what follows where this “renowned Bible teacher” opposes the one to the other. “Under the Law forgiveness was conditioned upon a like spirit in us, under grace we are forgiven for Christ’s sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have been forgiven.” Such a declaration betrays the mental confusion of its author. Under no dispensation has God bestowed mercy upon any who maintained a vindictive spirit, nor does He now: were He to do so, it would not be “grace,” but a disgrace to His holiness. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament economy penitent souls were pardoned for Christ’s sake, as truly as believers are today. There is no conflict between the Law and the Gospel: the one is the handmaid of the other.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” What analogy is there between our forgiving of others and God’s forgiving us? Let us begin with the negative side. First, it is not because our forgiving those who wrong us is in any sense or degree a meritorious act which deserves well at the hands of God. The meritorious ground on which God pardons our sins is the atonement of Christ, and that alone. Our best performances are imperfect, and in no way proportionate to the mercies we receive from God. What proportion is there between God’s pardoning of us and our pardoning of others, either with respect to the parties interested in the action, the subject matter, the manner of performance or the issues of the action? God has laid a law upon us that we should forgive others, and compliance therewith is simply discharging our duty, and not something by which we bring the Lord into debt to us.

Second, it is not a rule so that our forgiving others should be a pattern of forgiving to God. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” does denote a conformity of the one to the other; but “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” is not a pattern or rule. We are to be imitators of God, but He does not imitate us in pardoning offenders-it would fare ill with us indeed if God were to forgive us no better than we forgive one another. God is matchless in all His work and all His ways. Let it be duly noted that when He declares, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9), it is specifically said in connection with His “abundant pardon” (see Isaiah 6:7).

Third, nor do these words “For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you” signify a priority of order, as though our acts had the precedency of God’s, or as if we could heartily forgive others before God had shown mercy to us. No, in all acts of love God is first: His mercy to us is the cause of our mercy to others. In the great parable on forgiveness (Matthew 18:23-35), which forms the best commentary on the verses now before us, God’s forgiving us is the motive of our forgiving: “I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest Me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Matthew 18:32-33). So again, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32)-in that manner, according to that example.

Turning now to the positive side. “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Very searching indeed are these words, constituting a severe test of discipleship, a test which excludes from the ranks of God’s children those professors who cherish a spirit of malignity and revenge, refusing to forgive those who injure them. Unless our pride be truly broken by a sense of sin, so that we are not only willing to forgive others, but also rejoice in those opportunities for exercising (in some small degree at least) that loving kindness which we ourselves stand in such sore need of from God, then we are not really penitent in heart and therefore cannot be pardoned ourselves. If our prayers are to be acceptable unto God we must “lift up holy hands, without wrath” (1 Timothy 2:8).

First, our forgiveness of others is a condition or necessary qualification if we are to receive the continued pardon of God. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”: these two are definitely joined together and must not be sundered by us. Divine forgiveness always presupposes our repentance: it is not bestowed on that account, yet it is inseparably connected with it. Unless we forgive those who injure us we are in no moral condition ourselves to receive the mercy of God. We have no scriptural warrant whatever to expect the Divine pardon while we refuse to pardon those who have trespassed against us. It is quite wrong to limit this by saying that we cannot expect the comfort of God’s pardon: so long as we indulge implacable resentment it is presumptuous for us to hope for Divine mercy.

Second, as intimated above, our forgiveness of others is a mark or sign that we ourselves have been pardoned by God. “Hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:3) was our condition by nature; but if by grace we have drunk of the blessed spirit of the Redeemer then shall we like Him (Luke 23) pray for our enemies. Said the beloved apostle, “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering” (1 Timothy 1:16). Where the grace of God has wrought a miracle in the human heart graciousness is the inevitable effect. Reconciliation with God is made manifest by a conciliatory spirit to our fellows. If God has softened our hearts, how can we be hard and mercilessly exacting toward others? “There is none so tender to others as they which have received mercy themselves: that know how gently God hath dealt with them” (Thomas Manton).

Third, the joining together of our forgiving of others with God’s forgiving of us is in order to show this is a duty incumbent upon those who are pardoned. God has laid this necessity upon us. Every time we beg His pardon we are to remind ourselves most solemnly of this duty and bind ourselves to it in the sight of God. So that when we pray “Forgive us our debts,” we are required to add, “as we forgive our debtors.” It is a definite undertaking on our part, a formal promise which we make to God: His showing of mercy to us will incline us to show mercy unto others. In all earnest requests we are to bind ourselves to the corresponding duties. In asking for our daily bread we pledge ourselves to labour for it. In asking that we may not be led into temptation, we agree not to place a stumbling-block before others.

Fourth, it is an argument inspiring confidence in God’s pardoning mercy. We who have still so much of the old leaven of revenge left in us find that the receiving of a spark of grace enkindles in our hearts a readiness to forgive those who injure us, what may we not expect from God! Clearly this is what is urged in “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4): if we who have so little grace find it possible to be magnanimous, how much more so shall the God of all grace exceed the creature in this! Christ employed the same kind of reasoning in His “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). Since fallen man is moved with affection toward his weak and needy offspring, certainly the Father of mercies will not be indifferent to our wants.

We must next inquire what is meant by our forgiving those who trespass against us. Before answering this question in detail it should be pointed out that we can only forgive those injuries which are directed against ourselves, for none but God can forgive those which are against Himself-He alone can remit that punishment which is due to the transgressor for the violation of His Law. It should also be premised that we are not required to forgive those injuries done to us which constitute a flagrant violation of the laws of the land, whereby the offender has committed a serious crime, for it belongs not to a private person to condone evil-doing or to obstruct the course of justice. Yet if we have recourse to human courts for the redress of wrongs, it must not be in a spirit of malice, but only for the glory of God and the public good.

What is meant by our forgiving others? First, forbearing ourselves and withholding revenge. “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Proverbs 24:29). Corrupt nature thirsts for retaliation, but grace must suppress it. If someone has slandered us, that does not warrant us to slander him. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32): we rule our spirit when we overcome our passions. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21), for this will shame the offender if his conscience be not utterly calloused. When David had Saul at a disadvantage and forbore any act of revenge against him, Saul acknowledged, “Thou art more righteous than I” (1 Samuel 24:17).

Second, Christians are required not only to forbear the avenging of themselves, but actually to pardon those who have wronged them. There must be the laying aside of all anger and hatred, and the exercise of love toward my neighbour, remembering that by nature I am no better than the offender (Galatians 6:1). If we have genuinely pardoned the one who has injured us, we shall earnestly desire that God will pardon him too, as Stephen prayed for his enemies, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). This forgiveness must be sincere and from the heart. When Joseph’s brethren submitted themselves to him, he not only remitted their offences, but “comforted them and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:21).

Third, we must be ready to perform all the offices of love unto those who have wronged us; if the offending one be not a brother in Christ, yet is he still our fellow creature. Nor must we so magnify his faults as to be blind to his compensating virtues. We are required to do good unto those that hate us (Luke 6:27) and to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Though Miriam had wronged Moses, yet he prayed to the Lord for her forgiveness and healing (Numbers 12:13). And surely it is fitting that we who need mercy ourselves should show mercy unto others. It is a general rule that we should do as we would be done unto. How we need to pray for more grace if we are to be gracious unto others!

But are we required to forgive offenders absolutely and unconditionally, whether they express contrition or no? Certainly not. A holy God does not require us to condone evil-doing and countenance sin. The teaching of our Lord on this point is crystal clear: first we are bidden to seek out the offender, privately and meekly, and expostulate with him, endeavoring to make him see that he has displeased the Lord and wronged his own soul more than he has us (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 18:15). Second, “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

But suppose the offender evidences no sign of repentance? Even then, we must not harbor any malice or any revenge, yet we are not to act as freely and familiarly as before. Third, we are to pray for him.

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Unspeakably solemn is this, and each of us needs diligently to search his heart in the light of it. Let us bear in mind that other declaration of Christ’s, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). God’s government is a reality, and He sees to it that whatsoever we sow that we do also reap. The same truth, in principle, is enunciated in “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13). Many an earnest prayer is offered which never reaches the ear of God. Why is it that such a verse as, “For He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy” (James 2:13), has no place in the preaching of our day?

How much that is distasteful to flesh and blood is withheld by men-pleasers! Such will never receive the Master’s “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

It will be seen, then, that the passage we have been considering presents a very real test of discipleship. On the one hand it shows that if we are merciful to others we shall ourselves “obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). On the other hand it teaches that if we retain malice and hatred against those who injure us, then is the hypocrisy of our Christian profession plainly exposed. How necessary it is that we diligently examine our hearts and test ourselves at this point. As a guide therein, ponder before God the following queries. Do I secretly rejoice when I hear of any calamity befalling one who has wronged me?

If so, I certainly have not forgiven him. Do I retain in my memory the wrongs suffered and upbraid the transgressor with it? Or, assuming he has repented, am I willing and anxious to do whatever I can to help him and promote his interests?

It is abundantly clear from all that has been before us that God’s pardon of our sins and the reformation of our lives go together: the one can only be known by the other. The more our hearts and lives are regulated by a Christlike spirit, the clearer our evidence that we are new creatures in Him. It is utterly vain for me to believe that I have received the Divine pardon if I refuse to forgive those who injure me. True, it is often difficult to forget the wrongs we have forgiven, and the injuries we have received may still rankle with us. The flesh is yet in us and indwelling sin mars all the actings of grace Yet if we honestly strive to banish ill will and seek to cherish a meek disposition toward our enemies, we may comfort ourselves that God will be gracious unto us, for His love is infinitely superior to ours. If our hearts condemn us not, then do we have confidence toward Him.

Matthew 6:15

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 25

PRAYER

Matthew 6:14-15

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses. your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). These verses have received scant attention from most of those who have written on the Lord’s prayer. This ought not to be, for they form a most important appendix to and round off the teaching of our Lord begun at Matthew 6:6. It is significant to observe that the fifth petition in the family prayer is the only one singled out by Christ for specific comment-probably because the duty enforced in it is the most painful of all to flesh and blood. But however distasteful the contents of these verses may be to our sinful hearts, that is no reason why they should be virtually shelved by most of the commentators.

Timely indeed are the brief remarks of Matthew Henry thereon: “If we pray in anger, we have reason to fear that God will answer us in anger. What reason is it that God should forgive us the talents [huge sums] we are indebted to Him, if we forgive not our brethren the pence they are indebted to us? Christ came into the world as the great Peacemaker not only to reconcile us to God, but to one another; and in this we must comply with Him. It is a great assumption and of dangerous consequences for anyone to make a light matter of that which Christ lays great stress upon. Men’s passions must not frustrate God’s Word.” Far too weighty and momentous are these solemn and searching declarations of the Lord Jesus to be summarily dismissed with only a brief and light notice of them.

It was the comparative failure of Christian expositors in the past to adequately explain and enforce the teaching of Christ in the verses now before us which made it so much easier for modern errorists to foist their evil perversions on the uninstructed and unwary. For example, take the following footnote from the Scofield Reference Bible: “This is legal ground. Compare Ephesians 4:32, which is grace. Under the Law forgiveness was conditioned upon a like spirit because we have been forgiven.” This is a fair example of the vicious method followed by “Dispensationalists” who (under the pretence of “rightly dividing the Word of Truth”) delight in pitting the Old Testament against the New, and lowering the standard of Christianity, presenting a fictitious ‘‘grace which does not ’’ reign through righteousness (Romans 5:21). Let us briefly examine this statement of Scofield’s, which has misled thousands.

By saying that because our receiving Divine forgiveness is dependent upon our forgiving those who wrong us is “legal ground,” attempt is made to set aside the Lord’s positive declaration. In the added statement-“Compare Ephesians 4:32, which is grace”-we are asked to believe that Matthew 6:14-15, pertains not at all to this Christian era. This is made quite plain in what follows where this “renowned Bible teacher” opposes the one to the other. “Under the Law forgiveness was conditioned upon a like spirit in us, under grace we are forgiven for Christ’s sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have been forgiven.” Such a declaration betrays the mental confusion of its author. Under no dispensation has God bestowed mercy upon any who maintained a vindictive spirit, nor does He now: were He to do so, it would not be “grace,” but a disgrace to His holiness. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament economy penitent souls were pardoned for Christ’s sake, as truly as believers are today. There is no conflict between the Law and the Gospel: the one is the handmaid of the other.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” What analogy is there between our forgiving of others and God’s forgiving us? Let us begin with the negative side. First, it is not because our forgiving those who wrong us is in any sense or degree a meritorious act which deserves well at the hands of God. The meritorious ground on which God pardons our sins is the atonement of Christ, and that alone. Our best performances are imperfect, and in no way proportionate to the mercies we receive from God. What proportion is there between God’s pardoning of us and our pardoning of others, either with respect to the parties interested in the action, the subject matter, the manner of performance or the issues of the action? God has laid a law upon us that we should forgive others, and compliance therewith is simply discharging our duty, and not something by which we bring the Lord into debt to us.

Second, it is not a rule so that our forgiving others should be a pattern of forgiving to God. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” does denote a conformity of the one to the other; but “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” is not a pattern or rule. We are to be imitators of God, but He does not imitate us in pardoning offenders-it would fare ill with us indeed if God were to forgive us no better than we forgive one another. God is matchless in all His work and all His ways. Let it be duly noted that when He declares, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9), it is specifically said in connection with His “abundant pardon” (see Isaiah 6:7).

Third, nor do these words “For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you” signify a priority of order, as though our acts had the precedency of God’s, or as if we could heartily forgive others before God had shown mercy to us. No, in all acts of love God is first: His mercy to us is the cause of our mercy to others. In the great parable on forgiveness (Matthew 18:23-35), which forms the best commentary on the verses now before us, God’s forgiving us is the motive of our forgiving: “I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest Me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Matthew 18:32-33). So again, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32)-in that manner, according to that example.

Turning now to the positive side. “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Very searching indeed are these words, constituting a severe test of discipleship, a test which excludes from the ranks of God’s children those professors who cherish a spirit of malignity and revenge, refusing to forgive those who injure them. Unless our pride be truly broken by a sense of sin, so that we are not only willing to forgive others, but also rejoice in those opportunities for exercising (in some small degree at least) that loving kindness which we ourselves stand in such sore need of from God, then we are not really penitent in heart and therefore cannot be pardoned ourselves. If our prayers are to be acceptable unto God we must “lift up holy hands, without wrath” (1 Timothy 2:8).

First, our forgiveness of others is a condition or necessary qualification if we are to receive the continued pardon of God. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”: these two are definitely joined together and must not be sundered by us. Divine forgiveness always presupposes our repentance: it is not bestowed on that account, yet it is inseparably connected with it. Unless we forgive those who injure us we are in no moral condition ourselves to receive the mercy of God. We have no scriptural warrant whatever to expect the Divine pardon while we refuse to pardon those who have trespassed against us. It is quite wrong to limit this by saying that we cannot expect the comfort of God’s pardon: so long as we indulge implacable resentment it is presumptuous for us to hope for Divine mercy.

Second, as intimated above, our forgiveness of others is a mark or sign that we ourselves have been pardoned by God. “Hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:3) was our condition by nature; but if by grace we have drunk of the blessed spirit of the Redeemer then shall we like Him (Luke 23) pray for our enemies. Said the beloved apostle, “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering” (1 Timothy 1:16). Where the grace of God has wrought a miracle in the human heart graciousness is the inevitable effect. Reconciliation with God is made manifest by a conciliatory spirit to our fellows. If God has softened our hearts, how can we be hard and mercilessly exacting toward others? “There is none so tender to others as they which have received mercy themselves: that know how gently God hath dealt with them” (Thomas Manton).

Third, the joining together of our forgiving of others with God’s forgiving of us is in order to show this is a duty incumbent upon those who are pardoned. God has laid this necessity upon us. Every time we beg His pardon we are to remind ourselves most solemnly of this duty and bind ourselves to it in the sight of God. So that when we pray “Forgive us our debts,” we are required to add, “as we forgive our debtors.” It is a definite undertaking on our part, a formal promise which we make to God: His showing of mercy to us will incline us to show mercy unto others. In all earnest requests we are to bind ourselves to the corresponding duties. In asking for our daily bread we pledge ourselves to labour for it. In asking that we may not be led into temptation, we agree not to place a stumbling-block before others.

Fourth, it is an argument inspiring confidence in God’s pardoning mercy. We who have still so much of the old leaven of revenge left in us find that the receiving of a spark of grace enkindles in our hearts a readiness to forgive those who injure us, what may we not expect from God! Clearly this is what is urged in “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4): if we who have so little grace find it possible to be magnanimous, how much more so shall the God of all grace exceed the creature in this! Christ employed the same kind of reasoning in His “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). Since fallen man is moved with affection toward his weak and needy offspring, certainly the Father of mercies will not be indifferent to our wants.

We must next inquire what is meant by our forgiving those who trespass against us. Before answering this question in detail it should be pointed out that we can only forgive those injuries which are directed against ourselves, for none but God can forgive those which are against Himself-He alone can remit that punishment which is due to the transgressor for the violation of His Law. It should also be premised that we are not required to forgive those injuries done to us which constitute a flagrant violation of the laws of the land, whereby the offender has committed a serious crime, for it belongs not to a private person to condone evil-doing or to obstruct the course of justice. Yet if we have recourse to human courts for the redress of wrongs, it must not be in a spirit of malice, but only for the glory of God and the public good.

What is meant by our forgiving others? First, forbearing ourselves and withholding revenge. “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Proverbs 24:29). Corrupt nature thirsts for retaliation, but grace must suppress it. If someone has slandered us, that does not warrant us to slander him. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32): we rule our spirit when we overcome our passions. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21), for this will shame the offender if his conscience be not utterly calloused. When David had Saul at a disadvantage and forbore any act of revenge against him, Saul acknowledged, “Thou art more righteous than I” (1 Samuel 24:17).

Second, Christians are required not only to forbear the avenging of themselves, but actually to pardon those who have wronged them. There must be the laying aside of all anger and hatred, and the exercise of love toward my neighbour, remembering that by nature I am no better than the offender (Galatians 6:1). If we have genuinely pardoned the one who has injured us, we shall earnestly desire that God will pardon him too, as Stephen prayed for his enemies, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). This forgiveness must be sincere and from the heart. When Joseph’s brethren submitted themselves to him, he not only remitted their offences, but “comforted them and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:21).

Third, we must be ready to perform all the offices of love unto those who have wronged us; if the offending one be not a brother in Christ, yet is he still our fellow creature. Nor must we so magnify his faults as to be blind to his compensating virtues. We are required to do good unto those that hate us (Luke 6:27) and to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Though Miriam had wronged Moses, yet he prayed to the Lord for her forgiveness and healing (Numbers 12:13). And surely it is fitting that we who need mercy ourselves should show mercy unto others. It is a general rule that we should do as we would be done unto. How we need to pray for more grace if we are to be gracious unto others!

But are we required to forgive offenders absolutely and unconditionally, whether they express contrition or no? Certainly not. A holy God does not require us to condone evil-doing and countenance sin. The teaching of our Lord on this point is crystal clear: first we are bidden to seek out the offender, privately and meekly, and expostulate with him, endeavoring to make him see that he has displeased the Lord and wronged his own soul more than he has us (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 18:15). Second, “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

But suppose the offender evidences no sign of repentance? Even then, we must not harbor any malice or any revenge, yet we are not to act as freely and familiarly as before. Third, we are to pray for him.

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Unspeakably solemn is this, and each of us needs diligently to search his heart in the light of it. Let us bear in mind that other declaration of Christ’s, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). God’s government is a reality, and He sees to it that whatsoever we sow that we do also reap. The same truth, in principle, is enunciated in “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13). Many an earnest prayer is offered which never reaches the ear of God. Why is it that such a verse as, “For He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy” (James 2:13), has no place in the preaching of our day?

How much that is distasteful to flesh and blood is withheld by men-pleasers! Such will never receive the Master’s “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

It will be seen, then, that the passage we have been considering presents a very real test of discipleship. On the one hand it shows that if we are merciful to others we shall ourselves “obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). On the other hand it teaches that if we retain malice and hatred against those who injure us, then is the hypocrisy of our Christian profession plainly exposed. How necessary it is that we diligently examine our hearts and test ourselves at this point. As a guide therein, ponder before God the following queries. Do I secretly rejoice when I hear of any calamity befalling one who has wronged me?

If so, I certainly have not forgiven him. Do I retain in my memory the wrongs suffered and upbraid the transgressor with it? Or, assuming he has repented, am I willing and anxious to do whatever I can to help him and promote his interests?

It is abundantly clear from all that has been before us that God’s pardon of our sins and the reformation of our lives go together: the one can only be known by the other. The more our hearts and lives are regulated by a Christlike spirit, the clearer our evidence that we are new creatures in Him. It is utterly vain for me to believe that I have received the Divine pardon if I refuse to forgive those who injure me. True, it is often difficult to forget the wrongs we have forgiven, and the injuries we have received may still rankle with us. The flesh is yet in us and indwelling sin mars all the actings of grace Yet if we honestly strive to banish ill will and seek to cherish a meek disposition toward our enemies, we may comfort ourselves that God will be gracious unto us, for His love is infinitely superior to ours. If our hearts condemn us not, then do we have confidence toward Him.

Matthew 6:16

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 26

FASTING

Matthew 6:16-18

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say Unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Our present passage brings before us still another subject upon which multitudes of professing Christians are in much need of instruction. Personally we have never heard a sermon or “Bible reading” on fasting, and very little has come to our notice thereon which was written during the last forty years, and most of that “little” left very much to be desired. From conversations and communications with others it appears that our experience has been by no means a singular one, and therefore we do not feel it necessary to apologize for devoting two chapters to the above verses. Following our usual custom, we will first deal with our passage generally and topically, comparing with it the teaching of other sections of Scripture on this theme; and then consider our verses more specifically, seeking to expound and apply their terms.

Four hundred years ago Calvin wrote in his Institutes, “Let me say something on fasting: because many, for want of knowing its usefulness undervalue its necessity, and some reject it as altogether superfluous; while on the other hand, where the use of it is not well understood, it easily degenerates into superstition.” Upon this matter the passing of the centuries has produced little or no improvement, for the very conditions which confronted this eminent reformer prevail extensively today. If on the one side Romanists have perverted a means unto an end, and have exalted what is exceptional to a principal part of their religious worship, Protestants have gone to the opposite extreme, allowing what was practiced by primitive Christians to sink into general disuse.

Though there may have been much formality and hypocrisy in some who attended to this religious duty, yet that is no reason why the practice itself should be discountenanced and discontinued. Nowhere in our Lord’s teaching is there anything to discourage religious fasting, but not a little to the contrary. Most certainly He was not reprehending this practice in the passage before us, rather was He uttering a caution against hypocrisy therein. By saying, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” He takes it for granted that His disciples will fast-as much so as He assumes by His “when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5) that they would be men of prayer. Christ was here engaged in condemning the wicked perversion of the Pharisees, from which He also took occasion to give us valuable instruction upon our present theme.

When the heart and mind are deeply exercised upon a serious subject, especially one of a solemn or sorrowful kind, there is a disinclination for the partaking of food, and abstinence therefrom is a natural expression of our unworthiness, of our sense of the comparative worthlessness of earthly things, and of our desire to fix our attention upon things above. Fasting, either total or partial, seems to have been connected with seasons of peculiarly solemn devotion in all ages. When Jonah testified to a guilty city, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (i.e. if it did not repent and turn to God), we are told, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed . . . Let neither man nor beast . . . feed nor drink water and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way . . .Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:5-9).

There are a number of features about the above incident which are to be carefully noted, for they throw not a little light on several aspects of our present subject. This was no ordinary occasion when the Ninevites fasted, but a time of exceptional gravity, when the black clouds of Divine judgment hung heavy over their heads. It was not a fast undertaken by the individual, but one into which the whole populace entered. It was designed to express their deep humiliation before God and was an appendage unto their crying “mightily” to Him. It was not a duty performed in response to any express commandment from the Lord, but was entered into voluntarily and spontaneously. Its object was to divert the fierce anger of heaven against them, and as the closing verse of Jonah 3 tells us, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that He had said [provisionally] that He would do unto them; and He did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

Our first main division, then, shall be occasions of fasting. Let us preface our remarks thereon by pointing out that what we are about to consider particularly is extraordinary fasting in contradistinction from ordinary. As we shall yet see, Scripture mentions partial fasting as well as total abstinence from food. There is an ordinary fasting which is required from all men, especially from the saints, namely an avoidance of gluttony and surfeiting, a making a “god” of our belly (Phi 3:19). This ordinary fasting consists in temperance and sobriety, whereby the appetites are restrained from the use of food and drink which exceeds moderation. We are to be temperate in all things, and at all times. Rightly did the godly Payson point out: “Fasting is not so much by total abstinence from food beyond accustomed intervals, as by denying self at every meal, and using a spare and simple diet at all times-a course well adapted to preserve the mind and body in the best condition for study and devotional exercises.”

Now the occasion of an extraordinary religious fast is when a weighty cause thereof is offered. This is when some judgment of God hangs over our heads, such as the sword, famine or pestilence. In circumstances of grave danger the pious kings and prophets of Israel called on the people to engage in fasting as well as prayer. As examples of this we may cite the following. When the hand of the Lord lay heavily upon Israel and thousands fell in battle before the Benjamites, “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came unto the house of God, and wept and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings” (Judges 20:26). When the Moabites, Ammonites and others combined against Jehoshaphat in battle, we are told that he “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4). In a time of national calamity Joel cried, “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly . . . and cry unto the Lord” (Joe 1:14).

The second general cause and occasion for fasting is when God is earnestly sought for some special and particular blessing or the supply of some great need. Thus on the annual day of atonement, when remission was sought for the sins of the nation, the Israelites were most expressly forbidden to do any manner of work, no not in their dwellings, but instead to “afflict their souls” (Leviticus 23:29-32). So too upon the exodus of the Jews from Babylon Ezra tells us, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right of way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance” (Ezra 8:21).

In addition to these examples of public fasting, Scripture also mentions that of many pious individuals. When his child by the wife of Uriah was smitten with sore sickness, we are told that “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went and lay all night upon the earth” (2 Samuel 12:16). On another occasion, when sorely beset by enemies, David declared, “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalms 35:13). When Nehemiah was informed that the remnant of his people left of the captivity in the provinces were “in great affliction and reproach” and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned with fire, he “sat down and wept and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). When Daniel ardently desired the deliverance of the children of Israel from their captivity in Babylon he “Set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

It is a great mistake to suppose that either public or private fasting on the part of the pious was a practice confined to the Old Testament era. Of Anna we read, “She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). When devout Cornelius ardently desired more light from God concerning the Messiah, he fasted and prayed (Acts 10:30). When the church at Antioch sought God’s special blessing upon the success of His servants in the Gospel, they “fasted” (Acts 13:3). In like manner when Paul and Silas were about to establish local churches, they “prayed with fasting” (Acts 14:23), because in a matter of such importance they looked for special directions from God. In 1 Corinthians 7:5, the apostle gives plain intimation that it was the ordinary and proper custom of Christians to give themselves to “prayer and fasting” when special needs called for the same.

Next, we will .consider the manner of fasting. Fasting consists in an abstinence from meat and drink, yet not such an abstinence as would impair health or injure the body-which is forbidden in Colossians 2:23, and would clash with Christ’s directions that we should pray for our “daily bread.” It is the abstinence from such meals as would interfere with an uninterrupted and earnest waiting upon God. Such fasting would primarily be a denying ourselves of all dainties, as Daniel “ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into his mouth, neither did he anoint himself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled” (Daniel 10:3). Coupled with the sparsest possible diet, there must also be an abstaining from all the delights of nature (see Joe 2:15-16). All of this is designed for the afflicting of ourselves, as Paul in his “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Ere proceeding farther it should be pointed out that there may be a prolonged abstinence from food and yet no fasting in the scriptural sense of the term. One may observe a weekly fast, and observe it strictly, and yet not fast at all if it be no expression of an evangelical sorrow of the soul. The mere non-partaking of food is not fasting any more than the mere moving of the lips is prayer; and certainly there is nothing whatever of it in the denying to oneself meats while yet the hunger is appeased with eggs and fish. Unless our fasting be that which marks such a heartfelt sense of sin and of seeking unto God as will brook no diversion from its purpose, moving us spontaneously and for the time being with a lack of appetite for all things else, then it is but a superstition, a piece of morbid formalism.

God is not to be imposed upon by any mere outward performance, no matter how solemnly and decorously it be executed. It is at the heart He ever looks, and unless our hearts be in our fasting we do but mock the Most High with an empty show. Of old He asked Israel, “When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me?” (Zechariah 7:5). On another occasion He refused to accept the fasting of the people because they were flagrantly setting at naught the precepts of the Second Table, saying, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free?” (Isaiah 58:5-6). And at a later date the Lord gave orders, “Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God” (Joe 2:13).

From the very nature of the case we should never let our minds dwell on the act of fasting, as though we had therein discharged a duty. Fasting is not to be undertaken for the mere sake of fasting. It is not as the doing of penance that we are ever to abstain from food, neither is it as though the abstaining were a process of holiness; still less must we regard it as in any wise a meritorious performance. Private fasting must issue from an urge within and not because it is imposed from without. Private fasting should be spontaneous, the result of our being under a great stress of spirit, and the simple act itself be entirely lost sight of in the engrossing fervour which prompted it. There had been little or no practical difficulties on the subject of fasting if these simple rules had been understood and observed.

And yet, so prone are we to run to extremes, a word of caution is needed here lest what has just been said above be put to an evil use. It would be quite wrong to draw the conclusion, seeing I feel no inward urge to engage in fasting, therefore I am discharged from this duty. The Christian reader should at once perceive that such an argument would be quite invalid in connection with other spiritual duties. If I feel no appetite for the heavenly manna or no desire to draw near unto the throne of grace, then it is my bounden duty penitently to confess unto God my coldness of heart and beg Him to stir me up afresh unto a hearty use of the appointed means. The same principle most certainly holds good in connection with fasting.

The particular seasons for fasting are to be determined mainly by the governmental dealings of God, and therefore those who would improve such seasons must be strict observers of the workings of Providence: otherwise God may be calling aloud for weeping and girding of sackcloth, while we hear not His call but indulge in joy and feasting (Isaiah 22:12-13). As to the amount of time to be spent in either individual or corporate fasting, the duty-the exigencies of the situation-should regulate it and not it the duty. Various lengths of time are mentioned in different cases (see 2 Samuel 12:16; Esther 4:16; Daniel 10:2-3). “Wherefore I judge that none are to be solicitous as to what quantity of time, more or less, they spend in these exercises, so that the work of the time bc done. Nay, I very much doubt, men lay a snare to themselves in tying themselves to a certain quantity of time in such cases” (Thomas Boston).

Let us now consider the purpose of fasting. Various designs are mentioned in Scripture. The first end in fasting is the denying of self, the bringing of our body and its lusts in subjection unto the will and Word of God. Said the Psalmist, “I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach” (Psalms 69:10). Before men, yes; but not so before God. Our Lord warned us, “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness” (Luke 21:34).

The body is made heavy, its senses dulled, and the mind rendered sluggish by much eating or drinking, and thereby the whole man becomes unfit for the duties of prayer and hearing of the Word. That this unfitness may be avoided and that the lusts of the flesh may be mortified and subdued, fasting is to be duly engaged in.

The second end of fasting is to stir up our devotions and to confirm our minds in the duties of hearing and prayer. In this connection it is to be duly noted that fasting and prayer are almost always linked together in the Scriptures, or it would be more correct to say “prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21; Acts 13:3 and Acts 14:23) to intimate that the latter is designed as an aid to the former, chiefly in that the non-preparation and participation of meals leaves us the freer for uninterrupted communion with God. When the stomach is full, the body and mind are less qualified for the performance of spiritual duties. For this reason we are told Anna “served God with fastings and prayers,” the design of the Holy Spirit being to commend her to our notice for the fervency of her spirit, which she evidenced in this manner.

The third end in fasting is to bear witness unto the humiliation and contrition of our hearts, for the denying ourselves of nature’s comforts suitably expresses the inward sorrow and grief we feel over our sins. “Proclaim a fast” is the Lord’s requirement (Joe 1:14) when He would have His people testify their contrition Surely it is obvious that the participation of creature dainties or the indulgence of self in similar ways is most incongruous at a time when we are mourning before God and declaring our repentance. When convicted of our iniquities God requires us to turn unto Him with fasting and mourning and with the rending of our hearts.

The fourth end of fasting is to admonish us of our guilt and uncleanness, to put us in mind of our utter unworthiness of even the common mercies of Providence, that we deserve not food nor drink. It is designed to make us conscious of our wants and miseries, and thereby make us the more aware of our sins. If the Ninevites were made to perceive the propriety of abstaining from food and drink when the sword of Divine judgment was hanging over their heads (Jonah 3), then how much more should we, with our vastly greater light and privileges, be sensible of the same. If we duly “consider our ways” (Haggai 1:5) must we not feel that sackcloth and ashes well become us? The main peril to guard against in our fasting will be considered in our next.

Chapter 27

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” These words brought to a close the fourth division of our Lord’s address, a division which covered the first eighteen verses of Matthew vi, the subject of which is the performing of good works in such a manner as to secure the approval of God. Fasting is mentioned last of the three branches of practical righteousness because it is not so much a duty for its own sake as a means to dispose us for other duties.

Fasting is the abstaining from food for a religious purpose. Though there is no express commandment in either the Law or the Gospel binding us thereto, yet it is plain both from precept and practice in the Old and New Testaments alike that there are occasions when fasting is both needful and helpful. Though there is nothing meritorious in it, fasting is both an appropriate sign and a valuable means. It should be the outward sign of an inward mortification. It is the opposite of feasting, which expresses joy and merriment. It is a voluntary denying ourselves of those creature comforts to which we are ordinarily accustomed.

Rightly engaged in, it should be found a valuable adjunct to prayer, particularly for afflicting our souls when expressing sorrow for sin. As to the frequency and the duration thereof this must largely be determined by our ordinary habits, our constitutions, and our vocations.

So depraved is the human heart and so prone is man to rest in externals that he changes what was originally the means or sign unto the end itself. Thus we find the Pharisee boasting that he “fasted twice in the week” (Luke 18:12). Thus that which was designed as a simple means to further and to testify humiliation, repentance and zeal in prayer was perverted into a meritorious performance which produced self-complacency. But what was still worse, the Pharisees made a stage-play of this holy ordinance and resorted to various hypocritical devices therein, in order to further their reputation among men for extraordinary piety and devotion. They advertised what should have been a secret between their souls and God: they employed a counterfeit sadness and ostentatious grief, and thereby reduced to a farce and a mockery what should have been held in great sanctity.

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” This was our Lord’s first word on the subject of fasting, and like His first on prayer it consists in a warning against hypocrisy therein. This is very searching and should be seriously taken to heart by all of us. Every species of pride is exceedingly foolish and most obnoxious unto the Lord, but the worst form of all is spiritual pride, and especially that which aims at securing the applause of our fellows. Fasting, if it be genuine, arises from a deep sense of our utter unworthiness and is designed to express our self-loathing before God. To make the same into a pedestal from which we proclaim our humility and sanctity is indeed a turning of light into darkness.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” It may be inquired, How is such a prohibition as this to be harmonized with Joe 1:13-14, where God required the Jews to “laments” and “howl” in their fast, which could scarcely be without mournful and appropriate gestures of the body? The answer is that Christ was not here condemning a sorrowful countenance in fasting when a just occasion for the same is offered, for godly Nehemiah looked sad (Nehemiah 2:2). Instead, our Lord was here engaged in reprehending the wicked deceits of the Pharisees, who deliberately feigned an appearance of great sorrow when in fact their hearts were devoid of contrition. This is quite clear from His next words.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” But to this it might also be objected, Did not some of God’s own people in the past disfigure their faces in various ways, and that with Divine approval? For example, are we not informed that Ezra plucked off the hairs of his head and of his beard (Ezra 9:3), and are we not told that Joshua and his fellows fell to the ground upon their faces and put dust upon their heads (Joshua 7:6)? But all of those cases were spontaneous expressions of deep sorrow of heart-something quite different from what our Lord was here rebuking. He blames the Pharisees for disfiguring their faces, first, because this was the chief, yea, the only, thing they had respect unto in their fasts, namely the outward show thereof, which God hated. And second, because the word “disfigure” here signifies the very abolishing of their comeliness. They deliberately took means to look wan and emaciated so that they might the better advertise their fasting.

Instead of keeping to the privacy of their homes on fast days and using the time in those sacred exercises of which fasting is both the means and the sign, the Pharisees went abroad and, like stage-players, paraded all the marks of a state of mind which they did not feel, but which they desired that others should believe they experienced. They assumed a sad countenance. “They employed all the usual tokens of deep affliction and mental distress. They covered their heads with dust and ashes, vailed their countenances, neglected their dress, and deformed their features by contracting them into the most gloomy and dejected looks. They studiously exhibited all the external appearances of humiliation, while their hearts were lifted up in spiritual pride” (Brewster).

Ere passing on let it be duly noted that it was the practice of the scribes and Pharisees not only to fast but also to be very punctilious in observing all the outward rites and signs pertaining to religious fasts; nevertheless, as in the former works of almsgiving and prayer, so in this, the principal thing was lacking, namely truth and sincerity in the heart. Their grief-stricken faces proceeded not from broken hearts. They were whole and righteous in their own conceits and needed neither the great Physician nor regeneration of soul. In this we may see a true exemplification of the properties of natural men in matters of spiritual moment: they are more concerned with external deeds than in having the Truth in their inward parts; they content themselves with their outward performances and have little or no regard to worshipping in the spirit. In like manner, the wicked Ahab went to much trouble in humbling himself outwardly, from fear of punishment (1 Kings 21:27), yet continued in his sins.

How often it was thus with Israel of old; they went through the form of humbling themselves and seeking God’s favour, when as David said, “They did flatter Him with their mouth and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they stedfast in His covenant” (Psalms 78:36-37). And thus it is generally with natural men. The whole religion of the deluded papists stands in outward ceremonial acts, partly Jewish and partly heathenish, and when they have observed them they look no farther. And it is no better with tens of thousands among the Protestants, who content themselves with the external acts of going to church, hearing the Word, and “receiving the sacrament” once or twice a year; and when these duties are scrupulously observed they imagine that all is well with them and think God is served sufficiently. Yea, let anyone set before them the real requirements of a thrice holy God and he will at once be sneered at by them as being too strict and precise, puritanical and fanatical.

Since our Lord here condemned the fasting of the Pharisees because they rested in the outward work and did it ostentatiously for the praise of men, then how clear it is that the fasting of the papists is an abomination in His sight, for theirs abounds with more numerous abuses. First, they reduce the practice of fasting to a ludicrous farce, by allowing fish and eggs to take the place of meats and by placing no restriction at all upon wines and other drinks. Second, they bind men in conscience to numerous days of fasting and make the omission thereof a deadly sin, thereby taking away Christian liberty, for neither the Saviour nor any of His apostles appointed any set fast days. Third, they make fasting a meritorious performance, teaching that a man thereby renders satisfaction unto Divine justice for his sins, whereby they blasphemously derogate from the sufficiency of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice. How the godly should grieve at the spread of such wicked superstitions in our midst.

It should now be quite apparent that Christ did not here forbid all fasting as such, but was engaged in correcting the abuses of this ordinance. His words, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” not only take it for granted that His disciples would fast, but manifestly denote that the godly ought to do so, both in private and in public upon just occasion. Nay, if the Saviour here rebukes the Pharisees for their perversion of this holy means of grace, then much more must He blame those who fast not at all. This is not a thing indifferent, left to our option, but something which God requires from us, and for the absence of which He may often increase His judgments (Isaiah 22:12-14).

Sufficient has already been before us to show that God has given us many inducements to stir up our hearts to engage in this exercise. There is the worthy precedent of many holy men in the past who carefully performed this duty when occasion offered, such as David, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. In like manner we have recorded examples in the New Testament of the Saviour Himself (Matthew 4), Anna, Cornelius, the apostles and elders of the churches. Moreover, we have among us pressing occasions of fasting, both in public and in private. The present state of God’s cause upon earth, the withdrawal of the Spirit’s unction and blessing, the drying up of the streams of vital godliness, the lack of fruit from the preaching of the Gospel, the abounding error on every side, the rising tide of infidelity, iniquity and immorality, and, above all, the national judgments of God now hanging over our heads, call loudly for humiliation, afflicting of our souls, and repentance.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret” (Matthew 6:17-18). This statement is not to be taken absolutely and literally, but relatively and figuratively. These words of Christ must be understood in the light of their setting, their scope being quite apparent from the context. In oriental countries, where the air is hot and dry, it is the common custom to anoint the head and face with oil and ointments, which are there plentiful and cheap (Rth 3:3; Luke 7:46; etc.)-“oil to make his face to shine” (Psalms 104:15). That Christ is not to be here understood literally appears from His scope: He was off-setting Pharisees’ practice of disfiguring their faces. Second, from the fact that He does not here command contraries: the use of such things in fasting as are more appropriate for feasting, for the anointing of the face is indicative of cheerfulness and joy.

The obvious meaning of Christ in the above words is: When thou engagest in a private fast, so conduct thyself as it may not appear unto men that thou art so engaged. Fasting is unto God, and our one and only concern must be to perform this duty in a manner which is pleasing unto Him. So far from parading this duty before men, we must take every possible precaution to conceal our private devotions from them. If we are to enter our chambers and shut to the door when engaging in private prayer, equally necessary is it that we observe the utmost secrecy in connection with our private fasting. Everything which savors of pride and ostentation is to be rigidly eschewed. Whenever we devote a portion of our time to extraordinary private devotions there should be nothing in our deportment or general appearance to indicate this unto others. So far from any show of our religious feelings, we should do all we can to hide them from the notice of others.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast.” “This exhortation certainly does not mean that on these occasions men should assume a cheerfulness they do not feel, but that there should be nothing in the dress or in the appearance calculated to attract notice; that there should be no abatement in the ordinary attention to cleanliness of person or propriety of apparel; and that when, having brought the solemn services of the closet to a termination, they go out to society, there should be nothing to tell the world how they have been engaged” (John Brown). The great thing to remember and be concerned about is that it is with God we have to do, and not with men. It is with Him our hearts are to be occupied, it is unto Him we are praying and fasting, it is before Him we are to unburden ourselves. It is His pardon and favour we are soliciting. The opinion and esteem of fellow mortals fades into utter insignificance before the approval and reward of our heavenly Father.

“When thou fastest anoint thine head and wash thy face.” In these instructions we are also taught that Christ requires us to take due care of our bodies. There are two extremes to be avoided: undue pampering and the careless neglecting of them-the former presenting the more real danger in this effeminate age. Any species of gluttony and intemperance is sinful, for it dulls the mind, stimulates our lusts, and leads to further evil. Such excesses are forbidden in “make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). On the other hand we are warned against the “neglecting of the body” (Colossians 2:23) under the pretence of honoring the soul: anything which produces weakness and disability is to be avoided. That care of the body which God requires is a moderate concern for its needs, a temperate use of food so as to fit it for the discharge of duty.

In the above words of Christ we may also perceive that it is a Christian duty to p reserve a cheerful countenance. While on the one hand we must eschew all carnal frivolity and lightness, manifesting an habitual seriousness and sobriety; yet on the other hand we must see to it that we carefully avoid everything which savors of an affected solemnity and melancholy. If we are bidden to guard against any external displays of grief while engaged in those religious exercises which from their very nature tend to sadden the countenance, then most certainly it is our duty to manifest in our general deportment the natural symptoms of a cheerful and contented mind.

It is our duty to refute the world’s lie that Christianity is incapable of making its subjects happy. Few things have done more injury to the cause of the Gospel than the sourness, sadness, and moroseness of a large class of its professors. Where Christ rules in the heart He sheds abroad a peace which passes all understanding and a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. True we must not pretend a peace and joy we do not possess, yet we should be most diligent in opening our hearts unto the influences of that Truth which we profess to believe. God’s commands are not grievous, and in the keeping of them there is great reward. Let us seek to make it evident to those around us that Christ’s yoke is not a hard one nor His burden heavy. Let us make it appear that the Truth has not made us slaves, but free, and that wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness.

“But unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:18). These words contain a warning against the one-sided idea of dispensationalists that Christ will be the sole Judge and Rewarder-a concept which is plainly refuted by such a passage as Hebrews 12:23. It is just as erroneous to restrict the judicial office to the Son as to exclude the Father and the Spirit (Job 33:4, etc.) from the work of creation. The truth is that, with regard to deliberation, authority and con sent, the final judgment shall be determined by the whole Trinity, yet with regard to immediate execution by Christ.

We cannot do better than conclude these remarks by quoting from Calvin. “It were far better that fasting should be entirely disused than that the practice should be diligently observed, and at the same time corrupted with false opinions, into which the world is continually falling, unless it be presented by the greatest fidelity of the pastors. The first caution necessary is ‘Rend your heart and not your garments’ (Joe 2:13): that is, God sets no value on fasting unless it be accompanied with a corresponding disposition of heart, a real displeasure against sin, sincere self-abhorrence, true humiliation, and unfeigned grief; and that fasting is of no use of any other account than as an additional and subordinate assistance to these things.”

Matthew 6:17

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 26

FASTING

Matthew 6:16-18

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say Unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Our present passage brings before us still another subject upon which multitudes of professing Christians are in much need of instruction. Personally we have never heard a sermon or “Bible reading” on fasting, and very little has come to our notice thereon which was written during the last forty years, and most of that “little” left very much to be desired. From conversations and communications with others it appears that our experience has been by no means a singular one, and therefore we do not feel it necessary to apologize for devoting two chapters to the above verses. Following our usual custom, we will first deal with our passage generally and topically, comparing with it the teaching of other sections of Scripture on this theme; and then consider our verses more specifically, seeking to expound and apply their terms.

Four hundred years ago Calvin wrote in his Institutes, “Let me say something on fasting: because many, for want of knowing its usefulness undervalue its necessity, and some reject it as altogether superfluous; while on the other hand, where the use of it is not well understood, it easily degenerates into superstition.” Upon this matter the passing of the centuries has produced little or no improvement, for the very conditions which confronted this eminent reformer prevail extensively today. If on the one side Romanists have perverted a means unto an end, and have exalted what is exceptional to a principal part of their religious worship, Protestants have gone to the opposite extreme, allowing what was practiced by primitive Christians to sink into general disuse.

Though there may have been much formality and hypocrisy in some who attended to this religious duty, yet that is no reason why the practice itself should be discountenanced and discontinued. Nowhere in our Lord’s teaching is there anything to discourage religious fasting, but not a little to the contrary. Most certainly He was not reprehending this practice in the passage before us, rather was He uttering a caution against hypocrisy therein. By saying, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” He takes it for granted that His disciples will fast-as much so as He assumes by His “when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5) that they would be men of prayer. Christ was here engaged in condemning the wicked perversion of the Pharisees, from which He also took occasion to give us valuable instruction upon our present theme.

When the heart and mind are deeply exercised upon a serious subject, especially one of a solemn or sorrowful kind, there is a disinclination for the partaking of food, and abstinence therefrom is a natural expression of our unworthiness, of our sense of the comparative worthlessness of earthly things, and of our desire to fix our attention upon things above. Fasting, either total or partial, seems to have been connected with seasons of peculiarly solemn devotion in all ages. When Jonah testified to a guilty city, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (i.e. if it did not repent and turn to God), we are told, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed . . . Let neither man nor beast . . . feed nor drink water and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way . . .Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:5-9).

There are a number of features about the above incident which are to be carefully noted, for they throw not a little light on several aspects of our present subject. This was no ordinary occasion when the Ninevites fasted, but a time of exceptional gravity, when the black clouds of Divine judgment hung heavy over their heads. It was not a fast undertaken by the individual, but one into which the whole populace entered. It was designed to express their deep humiliation before God and was an appendage unto their crying “mightily” to Him. It was not a duty performed in response to any express commandment from the Lord, but was entered into voluntarily and spontaneously. Its object was to divert the fierce anger of heaven against them, and as the closing verse of Jonah 3 tells us, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that He had said [provisionally] that He would do unto them; and He did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

Our first main division, then, shall be occasions of fasting. Let us preface our remarks thereon by pointing out that what we are about to consider particularly is extraordinary fasting in contradistinction from ordinary. As we shall yet see, Scripture mentions partial fasting as well as total abstinence from food. There is an ordinary fasting which is required from all men, especially from the saints, namely an avoidance of gluttony and surfeiting, a making a “god” of our belly (Phi 3:19). This ordinary fasting consists in temperance and sobriety, whereby the appetites are restrained from the use of food and drink which exceeds moderation. We are to be temperate in all things, and at all times. Rightly did the godly Payson point out: “Fasting is not so much by total abstinence from food beyond accustomed intervals, as by denying self at every meal, and using a spare and simple diet at all times-a course well adapted to preserve the mind and body in the best condition for study and devotional exercises.”

Now the occasion of an extraordinary religious fast is when a weighty cause thereof is offered. This is when some judgment of God hangs over our heads, such as the sword, famine or pestilence. In circumstances of grave danger the pious kings and prophets of Israel called on the people to engage in fasting as well as prayer. As examples of this we may cite the following. When the hand of the Lord lay heavily upon Israel and thousands fell in battle before the Benjamites, “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came unto the house of God, and wept and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings” (Judges 20:26). When the Moabites, Ammonites and others combined against Jehoshaphat in battle, we are told that he “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4). In a time of national calamity Joel cried, “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly . . . and cry unto the Lord” (Joe 1:14).

The second general cause and occasion for fasting is when God is earnestly sought for some special and particular blessing or the supply of some great need. Thus on the annual day of atonement, when remission was sought for the sins of the nation, the Israelites were most expressly forbidden to do any manner of work, no not in their dwellings, but instead to “afflict their souls” (Leviticus 23:29-32). So too upon the exodus of the Jews from Babylon Ezra tells us, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right of way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance” (Ezra 8:21).

In addition to these examples of public fasting, Scripture also mentions that of many pious individuals. When his child by the wife of Uriah was smitten with sore sickness, we are told that “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went and lay all night upon the earth” (2 Samuel 12:16). On another occasion, when sorely beset by enemies, David declared, “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalms 35:13). When Nehemiah was informed that the remnant of his people left of the captivity in the provinces were “in great affliction and reproach” and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned with fire, he “sat down and wept and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). When Daniel ardently desired the deliverance of the children of Israel from their captivity in Babylon he “Set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

It is a great mistake to suppose that either public or private fasting on the part of the pious was a practice confined to the Old Testament era. Of Anna we read, “She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). When devout Cornelius ardently desired more light from God concerning the Messiah, he fasted and prayed (Acts 10:30). When the church at Antioch sought God’s special blessing upon the success of His servants in the Gospel, they “fasted” (Acts 13:3). In like manner when Paul and Silas were about to establish local churches, they “prayed with fasting” (Acts 14:23), because in a matter of such importance they looked for special directions from God. In 1 Corinthians 7:5, the apostle gives plain intimation that it was the ordinary and proper custom of Christians to give themselves to “prayer and fasting” when special needs called for the same.

Next, we will .consider the manner of fasting. Fasting consists in an abstinence from meat and drink, yet not such an abstinence as would impair health or injure the body-which is forbidden in Colossians 2:23, and would clash with Christ’s directions that we should pray for our “daily bread.” It is the abstinence from such meals as would interfere with an uninterrupted and earnest waiting upon God. Such fasting would primarily be a denying ourselves of all dainties, as Daniel “ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into his mouth, neither did he anoint himself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled” (Daniel 10:3). Coupled with the sparsest possible diet, there must also be an abstaining from all the delights of nature (see Joe 2:15-16). All of this is designed for the afflicting of ourselves, as Paul in his “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Ere proceeding farther it should be pointed out that there may be a prolonged abstinence from food and yet no fasting in the scriptural sense of the term. One may observe a weekly fast, and observe it strictly, and yet not fast at all if it be no expression of an evangelical sorrow of the soul. The mere non-partaking of food is not fasting any more than the mere moving of the lips is prayer; and certainly there is nothing whatever of it in the denying to oneself meats while yet the hunger is appeased with eggs and fish. Unless our fasting be that which marks such a heartfelt sense of sin and of seeking unto God as will brook no diversion from its purpose, moving us spontaneously and for the time being with a lack of appetite for all things else, then it is but a superstition, a piece of morbid formalism.

God is not to be imposed upon by any mere outward performance, no matter how solemnly and decorously it be executed. It is at the heart He ever looks, and unless our hearts be in our fasting we do but mock the Most High with an empty show. Of old He asked Israel, “When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me?” (Zechariah 7:5). On another occasion He refused to accept the fasting of the people because they were flagrantly setting at naught the precepts of the Second Table, saying, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free?” (Isaiah 58:5-6). And at a later date the Lord gave orders, “Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God” (Joe 2:13).

From the very nature of the case we should never let our minds dwell on the act of fasting, as though we had therein discharged a duty. Fasting is not to be undertaken for the mere sake of fasting. It is not as the doing of penance that we are ever to abstain from food, neither is it as though the abstaining were a process of holiness; still less must we regard it as in any wise a meritorious performance. Private fasting must issue from an urge within and not because it is imposed from without. Private fasting should be spontaneous, the result of our being under a great stress of spirit, and the simple act itself be entirely lost sight of in the engrossing fervour which prompted it. There had been little or no practical difficulties on the subject of fasting if these simple rules had been understood and observed.

And yet, so prone are we to run to extremes, a word of caution is needed here lest what has just been said above be put to an evil use. It would be quite wrong to draw the conclusion, seeing I feel no inward urge to engage in fasting, therefore I am discharged from this duty. The Christian reader should at once perceive that such an argument would be quite invalid in connection with other spiritual duties. If I feel no appetite for the heavenly manna or no desire to draw near unto the throne of grace, then it is my bounden duty penitently to confess unto God my coldness of heart and beg Him to stir me up afresh unto a hearty use of the appointed means. The same principle most certainly holds good in connection with fasting.

The particular seasons for fasting are to be determined mainly by the governmental dealings of God, and therefore those who would improve such seasons must be strict observers of the workings of Providence: otherwise God may be calling aloud for weeping and girding of sackcloth, while we hear not His call but indulge in joy and feasting (Isaiah 22:12-13). As to the amount of time to be spent in either individual or corporate fasting, the duty-the exigencies of the situation-should regulate it and not it the duty. Various lengths of time are mentioned in different cases (see 2 Samuel 12:16; Esther 4:16; Daniel 10:2-3). “Wherefore I judge that none are to be solicitous as to what quantity of time, more or less, they spend in these exercises, so that the work of the time bc done. Nay, I very much doubt, men lay a snare to themselves in tying themselves to a certain quantity of time in such cases” (Thomas Boston).

Let us now consider the purpose of fasting. Various designs are mentioned in Scripture. The first end in fasting is the denying of self, the bringing of our body and its lusts in subjection unto the will and Word of God. Said the Psalmist, “I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach” (Psalms 69:10). Before men, yes; but not so before God. Our Lord warned us, “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness” (Luke 21:34).

The body is made heavy, its senses dulled, and the mind rendered sluggish by much eating or drinking, and thereby the whole man becomes unfit for the duties of prayer and hearing of the Word. That this unfitness may be avoided and that the lusts of the flesh may be mortified and subdued, fasting is to be duly engaged in.

The second end of fasting is to stir up our devotions and to confirm our minds in the duties of hearing and prayer. In this connection it is to be duly noted that fasting and prayer are almost always linked together in the Scriptures, or it would be more correct to say “prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21; Acts 13:3 and Acts 14:23) to intimate that the latter is designed as an aid to the former, chiefly in that the non-preparation and participation of meals leaves us the freer for uninterrupted communion with God. When the stomach is full, the body and mind are less qualified for the performance of spiritual duties. For this reason we are told Anna “served God with fastings and prayers,” the design of the Holy Spirit being to commend her to our notice for the fervency of her spirit, which she evidenced in this manner.

The third end in fasting is to bear witness unto the humiliation and contrition of our hearts, for the denying ourselves of nature’s comforts suitably expresses the inward sorrow and grief we feel over our sins. “Proclaim a fast” is the Lord’s requirement (Joe 1:14) when He would have His people testify their contrition Surely it is obvious that the participation of creature dainties or the indulgence of self in similar ways is most incongruous at a time when we are mourning before God and declaring our repentance. When convicted of our iniquities God requires us to turn unto Him with fasting and mourning and with the rending of our hearts.

The fourth end of fasting is to admonish us of our guilt and uncleanness, to put us in mind of our utter unworthiness of even the common mercies of Providence, that we deserve not food nor drink. It is designed to make us conscious of our wants and miseries, and thereby make us the more aware of our sins. If the Ninevites were made to perceive the propriety of abstaining from food and drink when the sword of Divine judgment was hanging over their heads (Jonah 3), then how much more should we, with our vastly greater light and privileges, be sensible of the same. If we duly “consider our ways” (Haggai 1:5) must we not feel that sackcloth and ashes well become us? The main peril to guard against in our fasting will be considered in our next.

Chapter 27

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” These words brought to a close the fourth division of our Lord’s address, a division which covered the first eighteen verses of Matthew vi, the subject of which is the performing of good works in such a manner as to secure the approval of God. Fasting is mentioned last of the three branches of practical righteousness because it is not so much a duty for its own sake as a means to dispose us for other duties.

Fasting is the abstaining from food for a religious purpose. Though there is no express commandment in either the Law or the Gospel binding us thereto, yet it is plain both from precept and practice in the Old and New Testaments alike that there are occasions when fasting is both needful and helpful. Though there is nothing meritorious in it, fasting is both an appropriate sign and a valuable means. It should be the outward sign of an inward mortification. It is the opposite of feasting, which expresses joy and merriment. It is a voluntary denying ourselves of those creature comforts to which we are ordinarily accustomed.

Rightly engaged in, it should be found a valuable adjunct to prayer, particularly for afflicting our souls when expressing sorrow for sin. As to the frequency and the duration thereof this must largely be determined by our ordinary habits, our constitutions, and our vocations.

So depraved is the human heart and so prone is man to rest in externals that he changes what was originally the means or sign unto the end itself. Thus we find the Pharisee boasting that he “fasted twice in the week” (Luke 18:12). Thus that which was designed as a simple means to further and to testify humiliation, repentance and zeal in prayer was perverted into a meritorious performance which produced self-complacency. But what was still worse, the Pharisees made a stage-play of this holy ordinance and resorted to various hypocritical devices therein, in order to further their reputation among men for extraordinary piety and devotion. They advertised what should have been a secret between their souls and God: they employed a counterfeit sadness and ostentatious grief, and thereby reduced to a farce and a mockery what should have been held in great sanctity.

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” This was our Lord’s first word on the subject of fasting, and like His first on prayer it consists in a warning against hypocrisy therein. This is very searching and should be seriously taken to heart by all of us. Every species of pride is exceedingly foolish and most obnoxious unto the Lord, but the worst form of all is spiritual pride, and especially that which aims at securing the applause of our fellows. Fasting, if it be genuine, arises from a deep sense of our utter unworthiness and is designed to express our self-loathing before God. To make the same into a pedestal from which we proclaim our humility and sanctity is indeed a turning of light into darkness.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” It may be inquired, How is such a prohibition as this to be harmonized with Joe 1:13-14, where God required the Jews to “laments” and “howl” in their fast, which could scarcely be without mournful and appropriate gestures of the body? The answer is that Christ was not here condemning a sorrowful countenance in fasting when a just occasion for the same is offered, for godly Nehemiah looked sad (Nehemiah 2:2). Instead, our Lord was here engaged in reprehending the wicked deceits of the Pharisees, who deliberately feigned an appearance of great sorrow when in fact their hearts were devoid of contrition. This is quite clear from His next words.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” But to this it might also be objected, Did not some of God’s own people in the past disfigure their faces in various ways, and that with Divine approval? For example, are we not informed that Ezra plucked off the hairs of his head and of his beard (Ezra 9:3), and are we not told that Joshua and his fellows fell to the ground upon their faces and put dust upon their heads (Joshua 7:6)? But all of those cases were spontaneous expressions of deep sorrow of heart-something quite different from what our Lord was here rebuking. He blames the Pharisees for disfiguring their faces, first, because this was the chief, yea, the only, thing they had respect unto in their fasts, namely the outward show thereof, which God hated. And second, because the word “disfigure” here signifies the very abolishing of their comeliness. They deliberately took means to look wan and emaciated so that they might the better advertise their fasting.

Instead of keeping to the privacy of their homes on fast days and using the time in those sacred exercises of which fasting is both the means and the sign, the Pharisees went abroad and, like stage-players, paraded all the marks of a state of mind which they did not feel, but which they desired that others should believe they experienced. They assumed a sad countenance. “They employed all the usual tokens of deep affliction and mental distress. They covered their heads with dust and ashes, vailed their countenances, neglected their dress, and deformed their features by contracting them into the most gloomy and dejected looks. They studiously exhibited all the external appearances of humiliation, while their hearts were lifted up in spiritual pride” (Brewster).

Ere passing on let it be duly noted that it was the practice of the scribes and Pharisees not only to fast but also to be very punctilious in observing all the outward rites and signs pertaining to religious fasts; nevertheless, as in the former works of almsgiving and prayer, so in this, the principal thing was lacking, namely truth and sincerity in the heart. Their grief-stricken faces proceeded not from broken hearts. They were whole and righteous in their own conceits and needed neither the great Physician nor regeneration of soul. In this we may see a true exemplification of the properties of natural men in matters of spiritual moment: they are more concerned with external deeds than in having the Truth in their inward parts; they content themselves with their outward performances and have little or no regard to worshipping in the spirit. In like manner, the wicked Ahab went to much trouble in humbling himself outwardly, from fear of punishment (1 Kings 21:27), yet continued in his sins.

How often it was thus with Israel of old; they went through the form of humbling themselves and seeking God’s favour, when as David said, “They did flatter Him with their mouth and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they stedfast in His covenant” (Psalms 78:36-37). And thus it is generally with natural men. The whole religion of the deluded papists stands in outward ceremonial acts, partly Jewish and partly heathenish, and when they have observed them they look no farther. And it is no better with tens of thousands among the Protestants, who content themselves with the external acts of going to church, hearing the Word, and “receiving the sacrament” once or twice a year; and when these duties are scrupulously observed they imagine that all is well with them and think God is served sufficiently. Yea, let anyone set before them the real requirements of a thrice holy God and he will at once be sneered at by them as being too strict and precise, puritanical and fanatical.

Since our Lord here condemned the fasting of the Pharisees because they rested in the outward work and did it ostentatiously for the praise of men, then how clear it is that the fasting of the papists is an abomination in His sight, for theirs abounds with more numerous abuses. First, they reduce the practice of fasting to a ludicrous farce, by allowing fish and eggs to take the place of meats and by placing no restriction at all upon wines and other drinks. Second, they bind men in conscience to numerous days of fasting and make the omission thereof a deadly sin, thereby taking away Christian liberty, for neither the Saviour nor any of His apostles appointed any set fast days. Third, they make fasting a meritorious performance, teaching that a man thereby renders satisfaction unto Divine justice for his sins, whereby they blasphemously derogate from the sufficiency of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice. How the godly should grieve at the spread of such wicked superstitions in our midst.

It should now be quite apparent that Christ did not here forbid all fasting as such, but was engaged in correcting the abuses of this ordinance. His words, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” not only take it for granted that His disciples would fast, but manifestly denote that the godly ought to do so, both in private and in public upon just occasion. Nay, if the Saviour here rebukes the Pharisees for their perversion of this holy means of grace, then much more must He blame those who fast not at all. This is not a thing indifferent, left to our option, but something which God requires from us, and for the absence of which He may often increase His judgments (Isaiah 22:12-14).

Sufficient has already been before us to show that God has given us many inducements to stir up our hearts to engage in this exercise. There is the worthy precedent of many holy men in the past who carefully performed this duty when occasion offered, such as David, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. In like manner we have recorded examples in the New Testament of the Saviour Himself (Matthew 4), Anna, Cornelius, the apostles and elders of the churches. Moreover, we have among us pressing occasions of fasting, both in public and in private. The present state of God’s cause upon earth, the withdrawal of the Spirit’s unction and blessing, the drying up of the streams of vital godliness, the lack of fruit from the preaching of the Gospel, the abounding error on every side, the rising tide of infidelity, iniquity and immorality, and, above all, the national judgments of God now hanging over our heads, call loudly for humiliation, afflicting of our souls, and repentance.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret” (Matthew 6:17-18). This statement is not to be taken absolutely and literally, but relatively and figuratively. These words of Christ must be understood in the light of their setting, their scope being quite apparent from the context. In oriental countries, where the air is hot and dry, it is the common custom to anoint the head and face with oil and ointments, which are there plentiful and cheap (Rth 3:3; Luke 7:46; etc.)-“oil to make his face to shine” (Psalms 104:15). That Christ is not to be here understood literally appears from His scope: He was off-setting Pharisees’ practice of disfiguring their faces. Second, from the fact that He does not here command contraries: the use of such things in fasting as are more appropriate for feasting, for the anointing of the face is indicative of cheerfulness and joy.

The obvious meaning of Christ in the above words is: When thou engagest in a private fast, so conduct thyself as it may not appear unto men that thou art so engaged. Fasting is unto God, and our one and only concern must be to perform this duty in a manner which is pleasing unto Him. So far from parading this duty before men, we must take every possible precaution to conceal our private devotions from them. If we are to enter our chambers and shut to the door when engaging in private prayer, equally necessary is it that we observe the utmost secrecy in connection with our private fasting. Everything which savors of pride and ostentation is to be rigidly eschewed. Whenever we devote a portion of our time to extraordinary private devotions there should be nothing in our deportment or general appearance to indicate this unto others. So far from any show of our religious feelings, we should do all we can to hide them from the notice of others.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast.” “This exhortation certainly does not mean that on these occasions men should assume a cheerfulness they do not feel, but that there should be nothing in the dress or in the appearance calculated to attract notice; that there should be no abatement in the ordinary attention to cleanliness of person or propriety of apparel; and that when, having brought the solemn services of the closet to a termination, they go out to society, there should be nothing to tell the world how they have been engaged” (John Brown). The great thing to remember and be concerned about is that it is with God we have to do, and not with men. It is with Him our hearts are to be occupied, it is unto Him we are praying and fasting, it is before Him we are to unburden ourselves. It is His pardon and favour we are soliciting. The opinion and esteem of fellow mortals fades into utter insignificance before the approval and reward of our heavenly Father.

“When thou fastest anoint thine head and wash thy face.” In these instructions we are also taught that Christ requires us to take due care of our bodies. There are two extremes to be avoided: undue pampering and the careless neglecting of them-the former presenting the more real danger in this effeminate age. Any species of gluttony and intemperance is sinful, for it dulls the mind, stimulates our lusts, and leads to further evil. Such excesses are forbidden in “make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). On the other hand we are warned against the “neglecting of the body” (Colossians 2:23) under the pretence of honoring the soul: anything which produces weakness and disability is to be avoided. That care of the body which God requires is a moderate concern for its needs, a temperate use of food so as to fit it for the discharge of duty.

In the above words of Christ we may also perceive that it is a Christian duty to p reserve a cheerful countenance. While on the one hand we must eschew all carnal frivolity and lightness, manifesting an habitual seriousness and sobriety; yet on the other hand we must see to it that we carefully avoid everything which savors of an affected solemnity and melancholy. If we are bidden to guard against any external displays of grief while engaged in those religious exercises which from their very nature tend to sadden the countenance, then most certainly it is our duty to manifest in our general deportment the natural symptoms of a cheerful and contented mind.

It is our duty to refute the world’s lie that Christianity is incapable of making its subjects happy. Few things have done more injury to the cause of the Gospel than the sourness, sadness, and moroseness of a large class of its professors. Where Christ rules in the heart He sheds abroad a peace which passes all understanding and a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. True we must not pretend a peace and joy we do not possess, yet we should be most diligent in opening our hearts unto the influences of that Truth which we profess to believe. God’s commands are not grievous, and in the keeping of them there is great reward. Let us seek to make it evident to those around us that Christ’s yoke is not a hard one nor His burden heavy. Let us make it appear that the Truth has not made us slaves, but free, and that wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness.

“But unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:18). These words contain a warning against the one-sided idea of dispensationalists that Christ will be the sole Judge and Rewarder-a concept which is plainly refuted by such a passage as Hebrews 12:23. It is just as erroneous to restrict the judicial office to the Son as to exclude the Father and the Spirit (Job 33:4, etc.) from the work of creation. The truth is that, with regard to deliberation, authority and con sent, the final judgment shall be determined by the whole Trinity, yet with regard to immediate execution by Christ.

We cannot do better than conclude these remarks by quoting from Calvin. “It were far better that fasting should be entirely disused than that the practice should be diligently observed, and at the same time corrupted with false opinions, into which the world is continually falling, unless it be presented by the greatest fidelity of the pastors. The first caution necessary is ‘Rend your heart and not your garments’ (Joe 2:13): that is, God sets no value on fasting unless it be accompanied with a corresponding disposition of heart, a real displeasure against sin, sincere self-abhorrence, true humiliation, and unfeigned grief; and that fasting is of no use of any other account than as an additional and subordinate assistance to these things.”

Matthew 6:18

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 26

FASTING

Matthew 6:16-18

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say Unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Our present passage brings before us still another subject upon which multitudes of professing Christians are in much need of instruction. Personally we have never heard a sermon or “Bible reading” on fasting, and very little has come to our notice thereon which was written during the last forty years, and most of that “little” left very much to be desired. From conversations and communications with others it appears that our experience has been by no means a singular one, and therefore we do not feel it necessary to apologize for devoting two chapters to the above verses. Following our usual custom, we will first deal with our passage generally and topically, comparing with it the teaching of other sections of Scripture on this theme; and then consider our verses more specifically, seeking to expound and apply their terms.

Four hundred years ago Calvin wrote in his Institutes, “Let me say something on fasting: because many, for want of knowing its usefulness undervalue its necessity, and some reject it as altogether superfluous; while on the other hand, where the use of it is not well understood, it easily degenerates into superstition.” Upon this matter the passing of the centuries has produced little or no improvement, for the very conditions which confronted this eminent reformer prevail extensively today. If on the one side Romanists have perverted a means unto an end, and have exalted what is exceptional to a principal part of their religious worship, Protestants have gone to the opposite extreme, allowing what was practiced by primitive Christians to sink into general disuse.

Though there may have been much formality and hypocrisy in some who attended to this religious duty, yet that is no reason why the practice itself should be discountenanced and discontinued. Nowhere in our Lord’s teaching is there anything to discourage religious fasting, but not a little to the contrary. Most certainly He was not reprehending this practice in the passage before us, rather was He uttering a caution against hypocrisy therein. By saying, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” He takes it for granted that His disciples will fast-as much so as He assumes by His “when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5) that they would be men of prayer. Christ was here engaged in condemning the wicked perversion of the Pharisees, from which He also took occasion to give us valuable instruction upon our present theme.

When the heart and mind are deeply exercised upon a serious subject, especially one of a solemn or sorrowful kind, there is a disinclination for the partaking of food, and abstinence therefrom is a natural expression of our unworthiness, of our sense of the comparative worthlessness of earthly things, and of our desire to fix our attention upon things above. Fasting, either total or partial, seems to have been connected with seasons of peculiarly solemn devotion in all ages. When Jonah testified to a guilty city, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (i.e. if it did not repent and turn to God), we are told, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed . . . Let neither man nor beast . . . feed nor drink water and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way . . .Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:5-9).

There are a number of features about the above incident which are to be carefully noted, for they throw not a little light on several aspects of our present subject. This was no ordinary occasion when the Ninevites fasted, but a time of exceptional gravity, when the black clouds of Divine judgment hung heavy over their heads. It was not a fast undertaken by the individual, but one into which the whole populace entered. It was designed to express their deep humiliation before God and was an appendage unto their crying “mightily” to Him. It was not a duty performed in response to any express commandment from the Lord, but was entered into voluntarily and spontaneously. Its object was to divert the fierce anger of heaven against them, and as the closing verse of Jonah 3 tells us, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that He had said [provisionally] that He would do unto them; and He did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

Our first main division, then, shall be occasions of fasting. Let us preface our remarks thereon by pointing out that what we are about to consider particularly is extraordinary fasting in contradistinction from ordinary. As we shall yet see, Scripture mentions partial fasting as well as total abstinence from food. There is an ordinary fasting which is required from all men, especially from the saints, namely an avoidance of gluttony and surfeiting, a making a “god” of our belly (Phi 3:19). This ordinary fasting consists in temperance and sobriety, whereby the appetites are restrained from the use of food and drink which exceeds moderation. We are to be temperate in all things, and at all times. Rightly did the godly Payson point out: “Fasting is not so much by total abstinence from food beyond accustomed intervals, as by denying self at every meal, and using a spare and simple diet at all times-a course well adapted to preserve the mind and body in the best condition for study and devotional exercises.”

Now the occasion of an extraordinary religious fast is when a weighty cause thereof is offered. This is when some judgment of God hangs over our heads, such as the sword, famine or pestilence. In circumstances of grave danger the pious kings and prophets of Israel called on the people to engage in fasting as well as prayer. As examples of this we may cite the following. When the hand of the Lord lay heavily upon Israel and thousands fell in battle before the Benjamites, “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came unto the house of God, and wept and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings” (Judges 20:26). When the Moabites, Ammonites and others combined against Jehoshaphat in battle, we are told that he “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4). In a time of national calamity Joel cried, “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly . . . and cry unto the Lord” (Joe 1:14).

The second general cause and occasion for fasting is when God is earnestly sought for some special and particular blessing or the supply of some great need. Thus on the annual day of atonement, when remission was sought for the sins of the nation, the Israelites were most expressly forbidden to do any manner of work, no not in their dwellings, but instead to “afflict their souls” (Leviticus 23:29-32). So too upon the exodus of the Jews from Babylon Ezra tells us, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right of way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance” (Ezra 8:21).

In addition to these examples of public fasting, Scripture also mentions that of many pious individuals. When his child by the wife of Uriah was smitten with sore sickness, we are told that “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went and lay all night upon the earth” (2 Samuel 12:16). On another occasion, when sorely beset by enemies, David declared, “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalms 35:13). When Nehemiah was informed that the remnant of his people left of the captivity in the provinces were “in great affliction and reproach” and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned with fire, he “sat down and wept and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). When Daniel ardently desired the deliverance of the children of Israel from their captivity in Babylon he “Set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

It is a great mistake to suppose that either public or private fasting on the part of the pious was a practice confined to the Old Testament era. Of Anna we read, “She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). When devout Cornelius ardently desired more light from God concerning the Messiah, he fasted and prayed (Acts 10:30). When the church at Antioch sought God’s special blessing upon the success of His servants in the Gospel, they “fasted” (Acts 13:3). In like manner when Paul and Silas were about to establish local churches, they “prayed with fasting” (Acts 14:23), because in a matter of such importance they looked for special directions from God. In 1 Corinthians 7:5, the apostle gives plain intimation that it was the ordinary and proper custom of Christians to give themselves to “prayer and fasting” when special needs called for the same.

Next, we will .consider the manner of fasting. Fasting consists in an abstinence from meat and drink, yet not such an abstinence as would impair health or injure the body-which is forbidden in Colossians 2:23, and would clash with Christ’s directions that we should pray for our “daily bread.” It is the abstinence from such meals as would interfere with an uninterrupted and earnest waiting upon God. Such fasting would primarily be a denying ourselves of all dainties, as Daniel “ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into his mouth, neither did he anoint himself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled” (Daniel 10:3). Coupled with the sparsest possible diet, there must also be an abstaining from all the delights of nature (see Joe 2:15-16). All of this is designed for the afflicting of ourselves, as Paul in his “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Ere proceeding farther it should be pointed out that there may be a prolonged abstinence from food and yet no fasting in the scriptural sense of the term. One may observe a weekly fast, and observe it strictly, and yet not fast at all if it be no expression of an evangelical sorrow of the soul. The mere non-partaking of food is not fasting any more than the mere moving of the lips is prayer; and certainly there is nothing whatever of it in the denying to oneself meats while yet the hunger is appeased with eggs and fish. Unless our fasting be that which marks such a heartfelt sense of sin and of seeking unto God as will brook no diversion from its purpose, moving us spontaneously and for the time being with a lack of appetite for all things else, then it is but a superstition, a piece of morbid formalism.

God is not to be imposed upon by any mere outward performance, no matter how solemnly and decorously it be executed. It is at the heart He ever looks, and unless our hearts be in our fasting we do but mock the Most High with an empty show. Of old He asked Israel, “When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me?” (Zechariah 7:5). On another occasion He refused to accept the fasting of the people because they were flagrantly setting at naught the precepts of the Second Table, saying, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free?” (Isaiah 58:5-6). And at a later date the Lord gave orders, “Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God” (Joe 2:13).

From the very nature of the case we should never let our minds dwell on the act of fasting, as though we had therein discharged a duty. Fasting is not to be undertaken for the mere sake of fasting. It is not as the doing of penance that we are ever to abstain from food, neither is it as though the abstaining were a process of holiness; still less must we regard it as in any wise a meritorious performance. Private fasting must issue from an urge within and not because it is imposed from without. Private fasting should be spontaneous, the result of our being under a great stress of spirit, and the simple act itself be entirely lost sight of in the engrossing fervour which prompted it. There had been little or no practical difficulties on the subject of fasting if these simple rules had been understood and observed.

And yet, so prone are we to run to extremes, a word of caution is needed here lest what has just been said above be put to an evil use. It would be quite wrong to draw the conclusion, seeing I feel no inward urge to engage in fasting, therefore I am discharged from this duty. The Christian reader should at once perceive that such an argument would be quite invalid in connection with other spiritual duties. If I feel no appetite for the heavenly manna or no desire to draw near unto the throne of grace, then it is my bounden duty penitently to confess unto God my coldness of heart and beg Him to stir me up afresh unto a hearty use of the appointed means. The same principle most certainly holds good in connection with fasting.

The particular seasons for fasting are to be determined mainly by the governmental dealings of God, and therefore those who would improve such seasons must be strict observers of the workings of Providence: otherwise God may be calling aloud for weeping and girding of sackcloth, while we hear not His call but indulge in joy and feasting (Isaiah 22:12-13). As to the amount of time to be spent in either individual or corporate fasting, the duty-the exigencies of the situation-should regulate it and not it the duty. Various lengths of time are mentioned in different cases (see 2 Samuel 12:16; Esther 4:16; Daniel 10:2-3). “Wherefore I judge that none are to be solicitous as to what quantity of time, more or less, they spend in these exercises, so that the work of the time bc done. Nay, I very much doubt, men lay a snare to themselves in tying themselves to a certain quantity of time in such cases” (Thomas Boston).

Let us now consider the purpose of fasting. Various designs are mentioned in Scripture. The first end in fasting is the denying of self, the bringing of our body and its lusts in subjection unto the will and Word of God. Said the Psalmist, “I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach” (Psalms 69:10). Before men, yes; but not so before God. Our Lord warned us, “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness” (Luke 21:34).

The body is made heavy, its senses dulled, and the mind rendered sluggish by much eating or drinking, and thereby the whole man becomes unfit for the duties of prayer and hearing of the Word. That this unfitness may be avoided and that the lusts of the flesh may be mortified and subdued, fasting is to be duly engaged in.

The second end of fasting is to stir up our devotions and to confirm our minds in the duties of hearing and prayer. In this connection it is to be duly noted that fasting and prayer are almost always linked together in the Scriptures, or it would be more correct to say “prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21; Acts 13:3 and Acts 14:23) to intimate that the latter is designed as an aid to the former, chiefly in that the non-preparation and participation of meals leaves us the freer for uninterrupted communion with God. When the stomach is full, the body and mind are less qualified for the performance of spiritual duties. For this reason we are told Anna “served God with fastings and prayers,” the design of the Holy Spirit being to commend her to our notice for the fervency of her spirit, which she evidenced in this manner.

The third end in fasting is to bear witness unto the humiliation and contrition of our hearts, for the denying ourselves of nature’s comforts suitably expresses the inward sorrow and grief we feel over our sins. “Proclaim a fast” is the Lord’s requirement (Joe 1:14) when He would have His people testify their contrition Surely it is obvious that the participation of creature dainties or the indulgence of self in similar ways is most incongruous at a time when we are mourning before God and declaring our repentance. When convicted of our iniquities God requires us to turn unto Him with fasting and mourning and with the rending of our hearts.

The fourth end of fasting is to admonish us of our guilt and uncleanness, to put us in mind of our utter unworthiness of even the common mercies of Providence, that we deserve not food nor drink. It is designed to make us conscious of our wants and miseries, and thereby make us the more aware of our sins. If the Ninevites were made to perceive the propriety of abstaining from food and drink when the sword of Divine judgment was hanging over their heads (Jonah 3), then how much more should we, with our vastly greater light and privileges, be sensible of the same. If we duly “consider our ways” (Haggai 1:5) must we not feel that sackcloth and ashes well become us? The main peril to guard against in our fasting will be considered in our next.

Chapter 27

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” These words brought to a close the fourth division of our Lord’s address, a division which covered the first eighteen verses of Matthew vi, the subject of which is the performing of good works in such a manner as to secure the approval of God. Fasting is mentioned last of the three branches of practical righteousness because it is not so much a duty for its own sake as a means to dispose us for other duties.

Fasting is the abstaining from food for a religious purpose. Though there is no express commandment in either the Law or the Gospel binding us thereto, yet it is plain both from precept and practice in the Old and New Testaments alike that there are occasions when fasting is both needful and helpful. Though there is nothing meritorious in it, fasting is both an appropriate sign and a valuable means. It should be the outward sign of an inward mortification. It is the opposite of feasting, which expresses joy and merriment. It is a voluntary denying ourselves of those creature comforts to which we are ordinarily accustomed.

Rightly engaged in, it should be found a valuable adjunct to prayer, particularly for afflicting our souls when expressing sorrow for sin. As to the frequency and the duration thereof this must largely be determined by our ordinary habits, our constitutions, and our vocations.

So depraved is the human heart and so prone is man to rest in externals that he changes what was originally the means or sign unto the end itself. Thus we find the Pharisee boasting that he “fasted twice in the week” (Luke 18:12). Thus that which was designed as a simple means to further and to testify humiliation, repentance and zeal in prayer was perverted into a meritorious performance which produced self-complacency. But what was still worse, the Pharisees made a stage-play of this holy ordinance and resorted to various hypocritical devices therein, in order to further their reputation among men for extraordinary piety and devotion. They advertised what should have been a secret between their souls and God: they employed a counterfeit sadness and ostentatious grief, and thereby reduced to a farce and a mockery what should have been held in great sanctity.

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” This was our Lord’s first word on the subject of fasting, and like His first on prayer it consists in a warning against hypocrisy therein. This is very searching and should be seriously taken to heart by all of us. Every species of pride is exceedingly foolish and most obnoxious unto the Lord, but the worst form of all is spiritual pride, and especially that which aims at securing the applause of our fellows. Fasting, if it be genuine, arises from a deep sense of our utter unworthiness and is designed to express our self-loathing before God. To make the same into a pedestal from which we proclaim our humility and sanctity is indeed a turning of light into darkness.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” It may be inquired, How is such a prohibition as this to be harmonized with Joe 1:13-14, where God required the Jews to “laments” and “howl” in their fast, which could scarcely be without mournful and appropriate gestures of the body? The answer is that Christ was not here condemning a sorrowful countenance in fasting when a just occasion for the same is offered, for godly Nehemiah looked sad (Nehemiah 2:2). Instead, our Lord was here engaged in reprehending the wicked deceits of the Pharisees, who deliberately feigned an appearance of great sorrow when in fact their hearts were devoid of contrition. This is quite clear from His next words.

“When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” But to this it might also be objected, Did not some of God’s own people in the past disfigure their faces in various ways, and that with Divine approval? For example, are we not informed that Ezra plucked off the hairs of his head and of his beard (Ezra 9:3), and are we not told that Joshua and his fellows fell to the ground upon their faces and put dust upon their heads (Joshua 7:6)? But all of those cases were spontaneous expressions of deep sorrow of heart-something quite different from what our Lord was here rebuking. He blames the Pharisees for disfiguring their faces, first, because this was the chief, yea, the only, thing they had respect unto in their fasts, namely the outward show thereof, which God hated. And second, because the word “disfigure” here signifies the very abolishing of their comeliness. They deliberately took means to look wan and emaciated so that they might the better advertise their fasting.

Instead of keeping to the privacy of their homes on fast days and using the time in those sacred exercises of which fasting is both the means and the sign, the Pharisees went abroad and, like stage-players, paraded all the marks of a state of mind which they did not feel, but which they desired that others should believe they experienced. They assumed a sad countenance. “They employed all the usual tokens of deep affliction and mental distress. They covered their heads with dust and ashes, vailed their countenances, neglected their dress, and deformed their features by contracting them into the most gloomy and dejected looks. They studiously exhibited all the external appearances of humiliation, while their hearts were lifted up in spiritual pride” (Brewster).

Ere passing on let it be duly noted that it was the practice of the scribes and Pharisees not only to fast but also to be very punctilious in observing all the outward rites and signs pertaining to religious fasts; nevertheless, as in the former works of almsgiving and prayer, so in this, the principal thing was lacking, namely truth and sincerity in the heart. Their grief-stricken faces proceeded not from broken hearts. They were whole and righteous in their own conceits and needed neither the great Physician nor regeneration of soul. In this we may see a true exemplification of the properties of natural men in matters of spiritual moment: they are more concerned with external deeds than in having the Truth in their inward parts; they content themselves with their outward performances and have little or no regard to worshipping in the spirit. In like manner, the wicked Ahab went to much trouble in humbling himself outwardly, from fear of punishment (1 Kings 21:27), yet continued in his sins.

How often it was thus with Israel of old; they went through the form of humbling themselves and seeking God’s favour, when as David said, “They did flatter Him with their mouth and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they stedfast in His covenant” (Psalms 78:36-37). And thus it is generally with natural men. The whole religion of the deluded papists stands in outward ceremonial acts, partly Jewish and partly heathenish, and when they have observed them they look no farther. And it is no better with tens of thousands among the Protestants, who content themselves with the external acts of going to church, hearing the Word, and “receiving the sacrament” once or twice a year; and when these duties are scrupulously observed they imagine that all is well with them and think God is served sufficiently. Yea, let anyone set before them the real requirements of a thrice holy God and he will at once be sneered at by them as being too strict and precise, puritanical and fanatical.

Since our Lord here condemned the fasting of the Pharisees because they rested in the outward work and did it ostentatiously for the praise of men, then how clear it is that the fasting of the papists is an abomination in His sight, for theirs abounds with more numerous abuses. First, they reduce the practice of fasting to a ludicrous farce, by allowing fish and eggs to take the place of meats and by placing no restriction at all upon wines and other drinks. Second, they bind men in conscience to numerous days of fasting and make the omission thereof a deadly sin, thereby taking away Christian liberty, for neither the Saviour nor any of His apostles appointed any set fast days. Third, they make fasting a meritorious performance, teaching that a man thereby renders satisfaction unto Divine justice for his sins, whereby they blasphemously derogate from the sufficiency of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice. How the godly should grieve at the spread of such wicked superstitions in our midst.

It should now be quite apparent that Christ did not here forbid all fasting as such, but was engaged in correcting the abuses of this ordinance. His words, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” not only take it for granted that His disciples would fast, but manifestly denote that the godly ought to do so, both in private and in public upon just occasion. Nay, if the Saviour here rebukes the Pharisees for their perversion of this holy means of grace, then much more must He blame those who fast not at all. This is not a thing indifferent, left to our option, but something which God requires from us, and for the absence of which He may often increase His judgments (Isaiah 22:12-14).

Sufficient has already been before us to show that God has given us many inducements to stir up our hearts to engage in this exercise. There is the worthy precedent of many holy men in the past who carefully performed this duty when occasion offered, such as David, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. In like manner we have recorded examples in the New Testament of the Saviour Himself (Matthew 4), Anna, Cornelius, the apostles and elders of the churches. Moreover, we have among us pressing occasions of fasting, both in public and in private. The present state of God’s cause upon earth, the withdrawal of the Spirit’s unction and blessing, the drying up of the streams of vital godliness, the lack of fruit from the preaching of the Gospel, the abounding error on every side, the rising tide of infidelity, iniquity and immorality, and, above all, the national judgments of God now hanging over our heads, call loudly for humiliation, afflicting of our souls, and repentance.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret” (Matthew 6:17-18). This statement is not to be taken absolutely and literally, but relatively and figuratively. These words of Christ must be understood in the light of their setting, their scope being quite apparent from the context. In oriental countries, where the air is hot and dry, it is the common custom to anoint the head and face with oil and ointments, which are there plentiful and cheap (Rth 3:3; Luke 7:46; etc.)-“oil to make his face to shine” (Psalms 104:15). That Christ is not to be here understood literally appears from His scope: He was off-setting Pharisees’ practice of disfiguring their faces. Second, from the fact that He does not here command contraries: the use of such things in fasting as are more appropriate for feasting, for the anointing of the face is indicative of cheerfulness and joy.

The obvious meaning of Christ in the above words is: When thou engagest in a private fast, so conduct thyself as it may not appear unto men that thou art so engaged. Fasting is unto God, and our one and only concern must be to perform this duty in a manner which is pleasing unto Him. So far from parading this duty before men, we must take every possible precaution to conceal our private devotions from them. If we are to enter our chambers and shut to the door when engaging in private prayer, equally necessary is it that we observe the utmost secrecy in connection with our private fasting. Everything which savors of pride and ostentation is to be rigidly eschewed. Whenever we devote a portion of our time to extraordinary private devotions there should be nothing in our deportment or general appearance to indicate this unto others. So far from any show of our religious feelings, we should do all we can to hide them from the notice of others.

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast.” “This exhortation certainly does not mean that on these occasions men should assume a cheerfulness they do not feel, but that there should be nothing in the dress or in the appearance calculated to attract notice; that there should be no abatement in the ordinary attention to cleanliness of person or propriety of apparel; and that when, having brought the solemn services of the closet to a termination, they go out to society, there should be nothing to tell the world how they have been engaged” (John Brown). The great thing to remember and be concerned about is that it is with God we have to do, and not with men. It is with Him our hearts are to be occupied, it is unto Him we are praying and fasting, it is before Him we are to unburden ourselves. It is His pardon and favour we are soliciting. The opinion and esteem of fellow mortals fades into utter insignificance before the approval and reward of our heavenly Father.

“When thou fastest anoint thine head and wash thy face.” In these instructions we are also taught that Christ requires us to take due care of our bodies. There are two extremes to be avoided: undue pampering and the careless neglecting of them-the former presenting the more real danger in this effeminate age. Any species of gluttony and intemperance is sinful, for it dulls the mind, stimulates our lusts, and leads to further evil. Such excesses are forbidden in “make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). On the other hand we are warned against the “neglecting of the body” (Colossians 2:23) under the pretence of honoring the soul: anything which produces weakness and disability is to be avoided. That care of the body which God requires is a moderate concern for its needs, a temperate use of food so as to fit it for the discharge of duty.

In the above words of Christ we may also perceive that it is a Christian duty to p reserve a cheerful countenance. While on the one hand we must eschew all carnal frivolity and lightness, manifesting an habitual seriousness and sobriety; yet on the other hand we must see to it that we carefully avoid everything which savors of an affected solemnity and melancholy. If we are bidden to guard against any external displays of grief while engaged in those religious exercises which from their very nature tend to sadden the countenance, then most certainly it is our duty to manifest in our general deportment the natural symptoms of a cheerful and contented mind.

It is our duty to refute the world’s lie that Christianity is incapable of making its subjects happy. Few things have done more injury to the cause of the Gospel than the sourness, sadness, and moroseness of a large class of its professors. Where Christ rules in the heart He sheds abroad a peace which passes all understanding and a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. True we must not pretend a peace and joy we do not possess, yet we should be most diligent in opening our hearts unto the influences of that Truth which we profess to believe. God’s commands are not grievous, and in the keeping of them there is great reward. Let us seek to make it evident to those around us that Christ’s yoke is not a hard one nor His burden heavy. Let us make it appear that the Truth has not made us slaves, but free, and that wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness.

“But unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:18). These words contain a warning against the one-sided idea of dispensationalists that Christ will be the sole Judge and Rewarder-a concept which is plainly refuted by such a passage as Hebrews 12:23. It is just as erroneous to restrict the judicial office to the Son as to exclude the Father and the Spirit (Job 33:4, etc.) from the work of creation. The truth is that, with regard to deliberation, authority and con sent, the final judgment shall be determined by the whole Trinity, yet with regard to immediate execution by Christ.

We cannot do better than conclude these remarks by quoting from Calvin. “It were far better that fasting should be entirely disused than that the practice should be diligently observed, and at the same time corrupted with false opinions, into which the world is continually falling, unless it be presented by the greatest fidelity of the pastors. The first caution necessary is ‘Rend your heart and not your garments’ (Joe 2:13): that is, God sets no value on fasting unless it be accompanied with a corresponding disposition of heart, a real displeasure against sin, sincere self-abhorrence, true humiliation, and unfeigned grief; and that fasting is of no use of any other account than as an additional and subordinate assistance to these things.”

Matthew 6:19

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 28

Matthew 6:19-21

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and l4here thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

We are now to enter the fifth division of our Lord’s sermon, and as we do it is well to remind ourselves afresh of His first and primary design in this important address, namely to correct and refute the erroneous views of His hearers. The Jews held false beliefs concerning the person of the Messiah, the character of His mission, and the nature of the kingdom He would establish. As unregenerate men their views were carnal and mundane, self-centered and confined to things temporal. It requires little perspicuity to perceive that all through this Sermon the Lord Jesus makes direct reference unto the false notions which were generally entertained by the Jews respecting His kingdom, to which He constantly opposed the holy claims of God, the righteous requirements of His Law, and the imperative necessity of the new birth for all who were to be His subjects and disciples.

What has just been pointed out explains why our Lord began His Sermon with the Beatitudes, in which He described the characters and defined the graces of those who enter His kingdom. The Jews looked for great material enrichment, festivity and feasting, and supposed that those who would occupy the principal positions of honour under the Messiah’s reign would be they who were fierce and successful warriors, and who, though ceremonially holy, would avenge on the Gentiles all the wrongs they had inflicted on Israel, and that henceforth they would be free from all opposition and oppression. But Christ declared blessed those who were poor in spirit, who mourned, who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, who were merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and were persecuted for righteousness’ sake. A greater contrast could not be imagined.

So in His second division Christ announced that the officers of His kingdom would not be the destroyers of men’s bodies but the preservers of their souls-the “salt of the earth”; not the suppressors of the Gentiles but “the light of the world.” In like manner, in His third division Christ declared that so far from it being His mission to overthrow the ancient order and introduce radical changes, He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it. Thus too with what is now to be before us: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” The Jews expected in their Messiah a temporal prince, and the happiness they anticipated under His sceptre was merely a high degree of worldly prosperity, to enjoy an abundance of riches, honours and pleasures. But our Lord here exposes their error, and declares that the happiness He imparts is not carnal but spiritual, and that it will be found in its perfection not on earth (Palestine) but in heaven.

Now it should be pointed out that the false notions generally entertained by the Jews respecting the Messiah’s kingdom originated in principles which are common to unregenerate human nature. though taking a peculiar form and color from their special circumstances. Hence it is that the teachings of Christ in this sermon are pertinent to all men in every age. Human nature is the same everywhere. The citizens of this world have ever devoted the greater part of their time and energy to procuring and accumulating something which they may call their own, and in setting their hearts steadfastly upon the same rather than upon God. So general is this practice that, providing they are not unduly unscrupulous and do not injure their fellows in their greedy quest, such a policy evokes approval rather than reproach: “Men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself” (Psalms 49:18). Those who succeed in business are called shrewd and efficient, and those who amass great wealth “the captains of industry,” “financial wizards,” etc.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:19). The order of Truth followed by Christ in Matthew 6 is very striking and blessed, and needs to be carefully heeded by us. In the first eighteen verses we are conducted into the Sanctuary, instructed to have our hearts occupied with Him who seeth in secret; in Matthew 6:19 and onwards we come out to face the temptations and trials of the world. It is parallel with what we find in Leviticus and Numbers: in the former, Israel is engaged almost entirely with the services and privileges of the tabernacle; in the latter we have a description of their walk and warfare in the wilderness. It is of vital importance that we attend to this order, for it is only as we duly maintain communion with God in the secret place that we are equipped and enabled for the trials of the way as we journey toward the heavenly Canaan. Unless our hearts be firmly set upon the Promised Land, they will turn back to Egypt and lust after its flesh-pots.

“Lay not up for ourselves treasures upon earth.” From here to the end of the chapter Christ’s design is to divert the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness, first delivering the prohibition and then amplifying and enforcing the same by a variety of cogent reasons. The word for “lay up” is more expressive and emphatic in the original than is expressed here in the English: signifying first to gather together, and second to hoard or heap up against the future-as in Romans 2:5, heapeth up or “treasurest up unto thyself.” “Treasure” means wealth in abundance, costly things such as property, lands, gold and precious stones. The words “upon earth” here refer not so much to place as to the kind of treasures, for heavenly treasure may be laid up while we are here on earth, and therefore it is the hoarding of earthly and material treasures which is in view.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” There have been some fanatics who interpreted this command literally, insisting that it is to be taken without limitation as a prohibition against accumulating money or adding to our earthly possessions. To be consistent they should not stop there, but go on to “sell that thou hast and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21), for this is no less expressly required than the former. But such a course would mean the overturning of all distinctions between rich and poor, any possession of property, which is clearly contrary to the whole trend of Scripture. Let us, then, briefly point out what Christ did not here forbid. First, diligent labour in a man’s vocation, whereby he provides things needful for himself and those dependent upon him: “not slothful in business” (Romans 12:11) is one of the precepts of the Gospel.

Nor does Christ here forbid the fruit of our labours in the possession of goods and riches, provided they be acquired honestly and used aright. Let us not forget that scripture, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). The Lord graciously prospered Abraham, Job and David, and so far from their possession of wealth being a mark of His disfavor it was the very opposite. Third, nor does Christ here forbid the laying up in store for our own future use or for our family. Is not the sluggard admonished to take a leaf out of the book of the ants, who gather together their winter’s food in the summertime (Proverbs 6:6-8)? And has not the apostle declared that “the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14)? And again, “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8).

What, then, is it which Christ here forbids? We answer, various forms of covetousness. First, the excessive seeking after worldly wealth, wherein men keep neither moderation nor measure: although God gives them more than sufficient to supply their needs, yet they are not content, their desire being insatiable. That it is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life-either for his present or future use-we have shown above. As to what constitutes necessity, this varies considerably in different cases, according to the station which providence has allotted in this world: a workman requires tools, a business man must have capital, the master of a large estate sufficient to pay his servants. No precise rule can be laid down, but the judgment and example of the godly who use the creature aright, and not the practice of the covetous, must guide us.

Second, Christ here condemns those who seek principally after worldly goods and disparage and disregard the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Thus it was in the case of Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage (Hebrews 12:16). Thus it was with the Gadarenes, who upon the loss of their herds of swine besought Christ that He would depart out of their coasts (Luke 8:37). Thus it has been throughout the ages, and so it still is, that the great majority of men spend their strength in laboring after that which “satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2), seeking after almost anything or everything rather than after that which perisheth not. That is why there is so much preaching and so little profiting: the hearers’ thoughts and desires are taken up with other things.

Third, Christ here condemns those who put their trust and confidence in worldly things that they have treasured up, which is idolatry of the heart. Whatever a man sets his heart upon and looks to for support is his god, and therefore his covetousness is called “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). If we have stored up a supply against future need and this takes us from dependence upon God for our daily sustenance, then we are guilty of this sin. It is for this reason that Christ makes it so hard for a rich man to enter heaven (Matthew 19:23-24), because he trusts in his riches, and if we are close observers we shall usually find that rich men are proud-hearted and secure, neither heeding God’s judgments nor attending to the means of salvation. David’s counsel must therefore be followed, “If riches increase [not give them away, but] set not your heart upon them” (Psalms 62:10).

The fourth practice here forbidden is the selfish laying up of treasures for ourselves only, without regard to using the same for the good of our generation, the support of the Gospel, or the praise of God. This is indeed a devilish practice, for every one of us is but a steward, to dispense our portion to the glory of God and the good of his fellows. The poor are God’s poor, the creatures of His hands, and therefore He requires that each steward shall be found faithful in seeing to it that each of them has his portion. God will yet call the rich to an accounting, therefore let each of us live in the light of that day of reckoning. Let us seek grace to be preserved from hoarding up riches for our own selfish use, from putting our trust in them, and from making them our chief delight.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” Here our Lord gives a threefold reason for the enforcing of His precept, or illustrates the corruption and uncertainty of worldly possession by three examples: showing they are liable to destruction by such creatures as moths, by the inherent decay which pertains to all earthly things, and from the fact they may be taken from us by fraud or violence. Have we procured an elaborate wardrobe, with large supplies of apparel? In secret and silence the moth may be eating it up. Have we invested in property? The ravages of time will soon wear it away. Is it gold and platinum, diamonds and pearls we have hoarded up?

The hand of the marauder may soon seize them. Heaven is the only safe place in which to deposit our riches.

As we have pointed out in an earlier paragraph, the vast majority of our fellows make it their supreme aim in life to acquire as much as possible of worldly wealth. With such an example on every side, and the trend of their own hearts in the same direction, the disciples of Christ are in greater danger from this sin than from most others. To nullify this evil tendency Christ here emphasizes the relative valuelessness of mundane things. “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). What true satisfaction can there be in the possession of things which are subject to decay and loss by violence. One of the strongest proofs of human depravity and of the diseased state of our minds is the extreme difficulty which most of us experience in the realizing of this fact in such a way that it really influences our actions.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). Having shown what we must not do in respect of treasures here on earth, and knowing his inclination to be such that man will needs have something for his treasure, Christ here makes known what treasure we may lay up for ourselves. But how shall we lay up treasure in heaven? For we cannot of ourselves come there. No man can save himself: the beginning, progress and end of our salvation is wholly of God. Answer: as often in Scripture, the work of the efficient cause is here ascribed to the instrument (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Timothy 4:16). To make us rich with heavenly treasure is the work of God alone, yet because we are instrumental by His grace in the use of means to get this treasure, this command is given to us as though the work is solely ours, though God be alone the Author of it.

It is of the very first moment that we form a true estimate of what is necessary for true happiness-where it is to be found and how it is to be obtained-for the tenor of our thoughts, the direction of our affections, and the pursuit of our energies will largely be regulated thereby. Therefore does Christ here bid us, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” That we may the better understand and practice this command two points are to be carefully and reverently considered: what this treasure is, and how a man may lay it up for himself-matters of the greatest weight, for in the practice thereof lies our salvation. As to the real treasure, which neither time nor the creature can mar, it is the true and living God, the triune Jehovah who made and governs all things: in Him alone is all genuine good and happiness to be found.

This is clear from such scriptures as the Lord’s statement to Abraham, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1); the words of Eliphaz to Job, “The Almighty shall be thy gold” (Job 22:25, margin); and the declaration of David: “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance . . . I have a goodly heritage”-i.e. He is my treasure (Psalms 16:5-6). Yet let it be said emphatically that it is God as He is revealed in Christ who is our Treasure, for out of Christ He is “a consuming fire.” God incarnate is our true treasure, for in Him are hid “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); our very life is “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). To what is the apostle there referring? Why, as the previous verse shows, to that which God has treasured up for His people in a crucified Christ: the Lord Jesus is the great Fountain and Storehouse of all true blessings communicated from God to the saints, and therefore do they exclaim, “Of His fulness [as out of a rich treasure] have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Wouldest thou have remission of sins and righteousness with God? Then Christ was “made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Wouldest thou have everlasting well-being?

Then Christ Himself is “the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Whatever thou needest-wisdom to direct, strength to energize, comfort to assuage grief, cleansing for defilement-all is to be found in the Saviour.

How may we lay up for ourselves in heaven the Divine and durable riches which are to be found in Christ? First, by faith’s appropriation: “as many as received Him” (John 1:12)-so that I can say “my Beloved is mine, and I am His” (Son 2:16). God in Christ becomes our everlasting portion when we surrender to and accept Him as He is offered to us in the Gospel. Second, by daily communion with Christ, drawing from His “unsearchable riches” (Ephesians 3:8). “Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). And what was that “good part”? Why, to sit at His feet and drink in His word (Luke 10:39).

Third, by emulating the example which Christ has left us. And what did that example consist of? Why, complete self-abnegation, living wholly in subjection to God-for which He was richly rewarded (see Phi 2:5-11). Fourth, by acting as His stewards and using the goods He has entrusted to us by laying them out to His glory (see Luke 12:33; Hebrews 6:10, etc.).

Almost all will say they hope for happiness from God in the next world, but what do they now make their chief good? What are they most taken up with, both in the pursuit and enjoyment? It is at this point each of us must examine and test himself. What things does my soul most favour and relish, the things of the world or of God (see Romans 8:5)? Which seasons of time do I regard as lost or as most gainful, which are my days of richest income? Of the Sabbath the wicked ask, “When will it be gone”? But the healthy saint declares, “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand” (Psalms 84:10)-because of the spiritual gains it brings in. What is dearest to my heart, what engages my most serious thoughts? This determines which I prize the more highly: earthly or heavenly treasures.

Chapter 29

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Let it be borne in mind that when our Lord uttered these words there were no such things as banks or government security-bonds, that the rich were chiefly distinguished by their costly wardrobes, hoards of precious metals and jewels. Nevertheless, modern life affords no real guarantee of protection: it is still true that “riches certainly make themselves wings: they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). All happiness of a worldly sort is evanescent: all carnal enjoyments are perishable in themselves: all earthly possessions are liable to theft.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” It should be pointed out that there is no sin in the possessing of a considerable amount of earthly riches, providing they are come by honestly. God greatly prospered Abraham in temporal things, yet He reminded him “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Job was the owner of vast herds and flocks, and though for a season he was without them, yet “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12). So, too, David was permitted to acquire an immense amount of material wealth, yet he regarded not his “treasure” as being in this world. On the contrary he was sharply distinguished from worldlings, who had “their portion in this life,” declaring “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalms 17:14-15). It is just as true that it is the Lord who “giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18) as it is that He alone enriches the soul spiritually.

What, then, is it which Christ here prohibits, when He says “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth”? Why, He forbids us making material things our chief concern, either in the pursuit or in the enjoyment of them. He forbids us either seeking or expecting our ultimate happiness in any earthly object. He forbids us setting our affections on anything seen and temporal, with the fond imagination that it is capable of satisfying the heart. It is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life, either for his present or future use, but it is wrong for him to give way to a spirit of covetousness and strive after worldly wealth without moderation. “Let us, therefore, receive and lawfully enjoy that portion of this life which our Father in heaven is pleased to bestow upon us, but let us not set our affections upon them” (John Brown).

In the above commandment Christ condemned those who seek principally after worldly goods, disparaging and disregarding the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Such was the sin of Esau, who is termed a “profane person” because he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. So, too, Christ here condemned those who put their trust and confidence in the worldly things they amass, for this is idolatry of the heart. In like manner He here reprehended the making of earthly riches our chief good and delight for He warns us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. Christ also condemned the selfish practice of laying up for ourselves only, without regard to using the same to the glory of God and the good of our generation, which is a grievous betrayal of our stewardship. Each of us will yet be called upon to render an account unto God.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.” In the second part of this verse Christ enforced His commandment with reasons drawn from the corruptibility and uncertainty of worldly possessions. Therein He shows us the vanity of the creature, both in respect of its nature and of its abuse. Be the treasures never so pure and costly, as gold and silver, furs and silks, yet are they subject to either rust or the moth. No matter how carefully they be tended, yet the thief may come and seize them. If it be asked whence cometh this vanity of the creature, the answer is, God has subjected them unto it for the fall of man (Romans 8:20), to let us see the grievousness of our sin and the greatness of His anger upon it, by imprinting the stamp of His wrath on the creature. Hence, when we see a moth upon our garments or rust upon our silver, we ought to be humbled over our original apostasy and taught to hold the creature with a light hand.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (v. 20). This was only another way of saying, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27). Instead of setting our affections upon and spending our strength in the acquirement of the perishing things of time and sense, we should desire and seek our happiness in spiritual and Divine objects which are incorruptible and eternal. Our real blessedness lies in a knowledge of God, a conformity to His image. a walking in His ways, a communing with Him: then shall we have a peace and joy which the creature can neither impart nor take from us. Men are ever seeking a safe place in which they may deposit their treasures, only to find that no place and no thing in this world is secure. If, then, we would have our treasure where no marauder can reach it, it must be hid in Christ with God (Colossians 3:3).

Let us consider five things in connection with this laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. First, the finding thereof. We can neither obtain nor make use of the great Treasure until it is located. This consists of God’s revealing of it to us-for like Hagar of old (Genesis 21:19) we are blind thereto until He opens our eyes to see it; giving us to perceive our deep need of it-for until He does so we are self-complacent; and making us feel we are poor without it-for until He does so we are like the Laodiceans, “rich and increased with goods” in our own esteem. Not till then do we seek God in Christ with all our hearts. It is here we must examine and test ourselves: have we been made to realize our wretchedness and want: our filthiness and guilt, our deep need of cleansing and pardon? If so, are we truly hungering and thirsting after Christ’s righteousness?

Second, having found this great Treasure, as it is exhibited in the Gospel and revealed in the soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must highly prize and value it, above all that we have or desire, regarding it as worth far more than the whole world. Such we find was Paul’s estimate of this Treasure: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phi 3:8). The rating of Christ so highly is absolutely necessary if we are to lay Him up for our Treasure. Here too we must honestly and diligently test ourselves. Can we truly say with David, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee” (Psalms 73:25)? Does the general tenor of our lives bear witness to the fact that we value spiritual things above all else?

Is it true of us that “The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver . . . I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (Psalms 119:72, Psalms 119:127)?

Third, having discovered this Treasure and perceived its inestimable worth, we must strive to obtain the same and make it our own. As said the wise man, “If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). We are required to use the means which God has appointed for this purpose, which are hearing, reading, praying, exercising faith. In His written Word and preached Gospel God’s two hands do, as it were, hold out to us this heavenly Treasure and all spiritual blessings, and our faith is the hand of the soul reaching out to receive, and by our prayers we testify our faith.

Fourth, having obtained this Treasure we must labour to assure it unto ourselves. To this end we must follow Paul’s charge to rich men: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). By trusting in the living God, and then by giving liberally unto the needy, we “lay up in store a good foundation.” Are we saved, then, by performing such good deeds? No, for the ground of our salvation Godwards is in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11); but in our own conscience, for assurance of our interest in Christ, the fruits of faith and the works of love are our evidences. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). Compare 2 Peter 1:10, and interpret “give diligence” by 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Fifth, being assured that this Treasure is ours, we must use the same as a treasure. This means that since Christ is in heaven our hearts are to be there too, and if our affections be set upon Him in desire and delight then our behavior will be spiritual and heavenly. If our souls be earthbound and our affections set wholly or even principally on the things of time and sense, then Christ is not our “treasure” at all. To use our Treasure aright means that we turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance, which we do when we truly employ them to the glory of God and the good of our fellows. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17). The merciful man, then, has the Lord for his Debtor, for He sends the poor man as His messenger unto the rich, to borrow of him such things as the poor man lacks; and the Lord’s return of payment is in heavenly and spiritual blessings.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall [affording protection], in his own conceit” (Proverbs 18:10-11). What a contrast is here presented between the use which the godly and the godless make of their respective “treasures,” and how often we see it illustrated on the pages of Holy Writ. Take the case of Esau and Jacob. When the former lost his birthright and wept, how did he seek to comfort himself? by planning revenge (Genesis 27:41). But when Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed” (Genesis 32:7) what did he do?

Why, he had recourse to God (his “Treasure”) and hoped in Him (Genesis 32:9-11). So it was with Saul and David. When the former lost his kingdom (his “treasure”) he said to Samuel. “Honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people” (1 Samuel 15:30); but when David lost all at Ziklag he “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). “Unless Thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction” (Psalms 119:92) he exclaimed later. Whither do you turn in trouble? from whence do you seek relief?

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matthew 6:20). As in the preceding verse Christ backs up His precept with a weighty consideration, one which is drawn from the unchangeability and absolute security of heavenly riches. The world may deem His followers crazy and losers because of their separation from its pursuits and pleasures, but the Lord assures them they shall be the everlasting gainers: whatever we do in His name and for His sake shall turn to our account in the day to come. “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you. he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). God will liberally reward all denyings of self for Christ’s sake: “Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29). Let us, then, turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance and so heed our Saviour’s exhortation: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33).

Who can wish for a better increase than that: the exchange of what is temporal and precarious for that which is eternal and imperishable? What abundant cause have Christians to adore the triune God for having begotten them unto “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for them (1 Peter 1:4). What reason have they to love, trust, serve and glorify their God. Surely we should rather part with all that we have than with this Treasure-friends, goods, country, liberty, yea, life itself; thus it was with the primitive saints, who “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Hebrews 10:34). Those who have Christ for their Treasure find such satisfaction in Him that prosperity will not lift them too high nor adversity cast them down too low.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This verse contains a further reason to enforce the commandment in the two preceding: it is common to both, persuading to the obedience of each. The force of this reason may be stated thus: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also: but your heart should not be wedded to earthly objects but to heavenly, therefore lay not up for yourselves treasures in earth but in heaven. By “treasure,” as we have stated before, must be understood things which are excellent and precious in our esteem, things laid up for the time to come, wherein we repose our trust and in which we take a special delight. By “heart” we must conceive not only the affections but thoughts, imagination, and will, with the effects of them in action, such as deliberation and endeavor.

Let us try and point out some of the practical uses to which verse 21 may be put. First, how it shows the vast importance of our choosing the right kind of treasure. Oh, how deeply it concerns us for time and eternity that we make a wise selection, for the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives will be carnal or spiritual according as our treasure is earthly or heavenly. “The heart follows the treasure as the needle follows the loadstone” (Matthew Henry). Whichever way be the direction of our deepest longings, thither will follow our efforts. This from the very constitution of our nature: that which we deem our chief good will employ our principal thoughts, draw forth our fixed longings, stimulate our most earnest endeavors. If we think that happiness is to be found in anything of earth then our whole character will be “of the earth earthy,” for our desires and pursuits will all correspond with the object of our supreme satisfaction. But if we be persuaded that true happiness is only to be found in knowing, loving and serving God. walking and communing with Him, then will our character be spiritual, and our thoughts, desires and pursuits will correspond thereto.

Second, since heart and treasure go together, then how important it is that we learn to search out and try the state of our own hearts. It is true that the heart of fallen man is deceitful above all things and that none of us can know it thoroughly, nevertheless if we rightly apply this dictum of Christ unto ourselves, we ought to be able to give a true judgment of our spiritual state. Consider: an earthly treasure and an earthly heart: a heavenly treasure and a heavenly heart-these cannot be severed from each other. Therefore we must diligently inquire: Whereon is my love placed, my mind fixed, my care bestowed, my labours directed, my delights found? If honesty requires me to answer upon an earthly object, then my heart is earthly, and consequently all my church attendance and religious profession is vain (Psalms 10:4; Ezekiel 33:31). But if my chief love and delight and my constant concern be a conformity to His image, and my daily endeavour be seeking to please and obey Him, then is my heart heavenly (Psalms 139:17-18; Isaiah 26:9).

Third, this coupling together of the heart and treasure shows us the relative value of the two worlds (this and the one to come) and informs us which of them should be chiefly esteemed and sought after by us. In comparison with heaven, the earth and mundane life are to be despised. We say the relative value of the two worlds, for we must not be unthankful to God or look with contempt upon the products of His hands. As earthly creatures are the workmanship of God and temporal mercies His blessings, they are not to be hated but received with gratitude and used to His glory; nevertheless, we must not suffer them to obtain in our hearts that place which is due alone to the Creator of earth and the Giver of every blessing. As high as heaven is above the earth and as long as eternity exceeds the duration of time, so far are spiritual things to be esteemed above material; and the more our “treasure” truly is in heaven, the less disposed shall we be to amass earthly wealth and the more inclined to improve (as means to an end) the things of time and sense.

Matthew 6:20

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 28

Matthew 6:19-21

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and l4here thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

We are now to enter the fifth division of our Lord’s sermon, and as we do it is well to remind ourselves afresh of His first and primary design in this important address, namely to correct and refute the erroneous views of His hearers. The Jews held false beliefs concerning the person of the Messiah, the character of His mission, and the nature of the kingdom He would establish. As unregenerate men their views were carnal and mundane, self-centered and confined to things temporal. It requires little perspicuity to perceive that all through this Sermon the Lord Jesus makes direct reference unto the false notions which were generally entertained by the Jews respecting His kingdom, to which He constantly opposed the holy claims of God, the righteous requirements of His Law, and the imperative necessity of the new birth for all who were to be His subjects and disciples.

What has just been pointed out explains why our Lord began His Sermon with the Beatitudes, in which He described the characters and defined the graces of those who enter His kingdom. The Jews looked for great material enrichment, festivity and feasting, and supposed that those who would occupy the principal positions of honour under the Messiah’s reign would be they who were fierce and successful warriors, and who, though ceremonially holy, would avenge on the Gentiles all the wrongs they had inflicted on Israel, and that henceforth they would be free from all opposition and oppression. But Christ declared blessed those who were poor in spirit, who mourned, who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, who were merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and were persecuted for righteousness’ sake. A greater contrast could not be imagined.

So in His second division Christ announced that the officers of His kingdom would not be the destroyers of men’s bodies but the preservers of their souls-the “salt of the earth”; not the suppressors of the Gentiles but “the light of the world.” In like manner, in His third division Christ declared that so far from it being His mission to overthrow the ancient order and introduce radical changes, He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it. Thus too with what is now to be before us: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” The Jews expected in their Messiah a temporal prince, and the happiness they anticipated under His sceptre was merely a high degree of worldly prosperity, to enjoy an abundance of riches, honours and pleasures. But our Lord here exposes their error, and declares that the happiness He imparts is not carnal but spiritual, and that it will be found in its perfection not on earth (Palestine) but in heaven.

Now it should be pointed out that the false notions generally entertained by the Jews respecting the Messiah’s kingdom originated in principles which are common to unregenerate human nature. though taking a peculiar form and color from their special circumstances. Hence it is that the teachings of Christ in this sermon are pertinent to all men in every age. Human nature is the same everywhere. The citizens of this world have ever devoted the greater part of their time and energy to procuring and accumulating something which they may call their own, and in setting their hearts steadfastly upon the same rather than upon God. So general is this practice that, providing they are not unduly unscrupulous and do not injure their fellows in their greedy quest, such a policy evokes approval rather than reproach: “Men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself” (Psalms 49:18). Those who succeed in business are called shrewd and efficient, and those who amass great wealth “the captains of industry,” “financial wizards,” etc.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:19). The order of Truth followed by Christ in Matthew 6 is very striking and blessed, and needs to be carefully heeded by us. In the first eighteen verses we are conducted into the Sanctuary, instructed to have our hearts occupied with Him who seeth in secret; in Matthew 6:19 and onwards we come out to face the temptations and trials of the world. It is parallel with what we find in Leviticus and Numbers: in the former, Israel is engaged almost entirely with the services and privileges of the tabernacle; in the latter we have a description of their walk and warfare in the wilderness. It is of vital importance that we attend to this order, for it is only as we duly maintain communion with God in the secret place that we are equipped and enabled for the trials of the way as we journey toward the heavenly Canaan. Unless our hearts be firmly set upon the Promised Land, they will turn back to Egypt and lust after its flesh-pots.

“Lay not up for ourselves treasures upon earth.” From here to the end of the chapter Christ’s design is to divert the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness, first delivering the prohibition and then amplifying and enforcing the same by a variety of cogent reasons. The word for “lay up” is more expressive and emphatic in the original than is expressed here in the English: signifying first to gather together, and second to hoard or heap up against the future-as in Romans 2:5, heapeth up or “treasurest up unto thyself.” “Treasure” means wealth in abundance, costly things such as property, lands, gold and precious stones. The words “upon earth” here refer not so much to place as to the kind of treasures, for heavenly treasure may be laid up while we are here on earth, and therefore it is the hoarding of earthly and material treasures which is in view.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” There have been some fanatics who interpreted this command literally, insisting that it is to be taken without limitation as a prohibition against accumulating money or adding to our earthly possessions. To be consistent they should not stop there, but go on to “sell that thou hast and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21), for this is no less expressly required than the former. But such a course would mean the overturning of all distinctions between rich and poor, any possession of property, which is clearly contrary to the whole trend of Scripture. Let us, then, briefly point out what Christ did not here forbid. First, diligent labour in a man’s vocation, whereby he provides things needful for himself and those dependent upon him: “not slothful in business” (Romans 12:11) is one of the precepts of the Gospel.

Nor does Christ here forbid the fruit of our labours in the possession of goods and riches, provided they be acquired honestly and used aright. Let us not forget that scripture, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). The Lord graciously prospered Abraham, Job and David, and so far from their possession of wealth being a mark of His disfavor it was the very opposite. Third, nor does Christ here forbid the laying up in store for our own future use or for our family. Is not the sluggard admonished to take a leaf out of the book of the ants, who gather together their winter’s food in the summertime (Proverbs 6:6-8)? And has not the apostle declared that “the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14)? And again, “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8).

What, then, is it which Christ here forbids? We answer, various forms of covetousness. First, the excessive seeking after worldly wealth, wherein men keep neither moderation nor measure: although God gives them more than sufficient to supply their needs, yet they are not content, their desire being insatiable. That it is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life-either for his present or future use-we have shown above. As to what constitutes necessity, this varies considerably in different cases, according to the station which providence has allotted in this world: a workman requires tools, a business man must have capital, the master of a large estate sufficient to pay his servants. No precise rule can be laid down, but the judgment and example of the godly who use the creature aright, and not the practice of the covetous, must guide us.

Second, Christ here condemns those who seek principally after worldly goods and disparage and disregard the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Thus it was in the case of Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage (Hebrews 12:16). Thus it was with the Gadarenes, who upon the loss of their herds of swine besought Christ that He would depart out of their coasts (Luke 8:37). Thus it has been throughout the ages, and so it still is, that the great majority of men spend their strength in laboring after that which “satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2), seeking after almost anything or everything rather than after that which perisheth not. That is why there is so much preaching and so little profiting: the hearers’ thoughts and desires are taken up with other things.

Third, Christ here condemns those who put their trust and confidence in worldly things that they have treasured up, which is idolatry of the heart. Whatever a man sets his heart upon and looks to for support is his god, and therefore his covetousness is called “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). If we have stored up a supply against future need and this takes us from dependence upon God for our daily sustenance, then we are guilty of this sin. It is for this reason that Christ makes it so hard for a rich man to enter heaven (Matthew 19:23-24), because he trusts in his riches, and if we are close observers we shall usually find that rich men are proud-hearted and secure, neither heeding God’s judgments nor attending to the means of salvation. David’s counsel must therefore be followed, “If riches increase [not give them away, but] set not your heart upon them” (Psalms 62:10).

The fourth practice here forbidden is the selfish laying up of treasures for ourselves only, without regard to using the same for the good of our generation, the support of the Gospel, or the praise of God. This is indeed a devilish practice, for every one of us is but a steward, to dispense our portion to the glory of God and the good of his fellows. The poor are God’s poor, the creatures of His hands, and therefore He requires that each steward shall be found faithful in seeing to it that each of them has his portion. God will yet call the rich to an accounting, therefore let each of us live in the light of that day of reckoning. Let us seek grace to be preserved from hoarding up riches for our own selfish use, from putting our trust in them, and from making them our chief delight.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” Here our Lord gives a threefold reason for the enforcing of His precept, or illustrates the corruption and uncertainty of worldly possession by three examples: showing they are liable to destruction by such creatures as moths, by the inherent decay which pertains to all earthly things, and from the fact they may be taken from us by fraud or violence. Have we procured an elaborate wardrobe, with large supplies of apparel? In secret and silence the moth may be eating it up. Have we invested in property? The ravages of time will soon wear it away. Is it gold and platinum, diamonds and pearls we have hoarded up?

The hand of the marauder may soon seize them. Heaven is the only safe place in which to deposit our riches.

As we have pointed out in an earlier paragraph, the vast majority of our fellows make it their supreme aim in life to acquire as much as possible of worldly wealth. With such an example on every side, and the trend of their own hearts in the same direction, the disciples of Christ are in greater danger from this sin than from most others. To nullify this evil tendency Christ here emphasizes the relative valuelessness of mundane things. “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). What true satisfaction can there be in the possession of things which are subject to decay and loss by violence. One of the strongest proofs of human depravity and of the diseased state of our minds is the extreme difficulty which most of us experience in the realizing of this fact in such a way that it really influences our actions.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). Having shown what we must not do in respect of treasures here on earth, and knowing his inclination to be such that man will needs have something for his treasure, Christ here makes known what treasure we may lay up for ourselves. But how shall we lay up treasure in heaven? For we cannot of ourselves come there. No man can save himself: the beginning, progress and end of our salvation is wholly of God. Answer: as often in Scripture, the work of the efficient cause is here ascribed to the instrument (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Timothy 4:16). To make us rich with heavenly treasure is the work of God alone, yet because we are instrumental by His grace in the use of means to get this treasure, this command is given to us as though the work is solely ours, though God be alone the Author of it.

It is of the very first moment that we form a true estimate of what is necessary for true happiness-where it is to be found and how it is to be obtained-for the tenor of our thoughts, the direction of our affections, and the pursuit of our energies will largely be regulated thereby. Therefore does Christ here bid us, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” That we may the better understand and practice this command two points are to be carefully and reverently considered: what this treasure is, and how a man may lay it up for himself-matters of the greatest weight, for in the practice thereof lies our salvation. As to the real treasure, which neither time nor the creature can mar, it is the true and living God, the triune Jehovah who made and governs all things: in Him alone is all genuine good and happiness to be found.

This is clear from such scriptures as the Lord’s statement to Abraham, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1); the words of Eliphaz to Job, “The Almighty shall be thy gold” (Job 22:25, margin); and the declaration of David: “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance . . . I have a goodly heritage”-i.e. He is my treasure (Psalms 16:5-6). Yet let it be said emphatically that it is God as He is revealed in Christ who is our Treasure, for out of Christ He is “a consuming fire.” God incarnate is our true treasure, for in Him are hid “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); our very life is “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). To what is the apostle there referring? Why, as the previous verse shows, to that which God has treasured up for His people in a crucified Christ: the Lord Jesus is the great Fountain and Storehouse of all true blessings communicated from God to the saints, and therefore do they exclaim, “Of His fulness [as out of a rich treasure] have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Wouldest thou have remission of sins and righteousness with God? Then Christ was “made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Wouldest thou have everlasting well-being?

Then Christ Himself is “the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Whatever thou needest-wisdom to direct, strength to energize, comfort to assuage grief, cleansing for defilement-all is to be found in the Saviour.

How may we lay up for ourselves in heaven the Divine and durable riches which are to be found in Christ? First, by faith’s appropriation: “as many as received Him” (John 1:12)-so that I can say “my Beloved is mine, and I am His” (Son 2:16). God in Christ becomes our everlasting portion when we surrender to and accept Him as He is offered to us in the Gospel. Second, by daily communion with Christ, drawing from His “unsearchable riches” (Ephesians 3:8). “Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). And what was that “good part”? Why, to sit at His feet and drink in His word (Luke 10:39).

Third, by emulating the example which Christ has left us. And what did that example consist of? Why, complete self-abnegation, living wholly in subjection to God-for which He was richly rewarded (see Phi 2:5-11). Fourth, by acting as His stewards and using the goods He has entrusted to us by laying them out to His glory (see Luke 12:33; Hebrews 6:10, etc.).

Almost all will say they hope for happiness from God in the next world, but what do they now make their chief good? What are they most taken up with, both in the pursuit and enjoyment? It is at this point each of us must examine and test himself. What things does my soul most favour and relish, the things of the world or of God (see Romans 8:5)? Which seasons of time do I regard as lost or as most gainful, which are my days of richest income? Of the Sabbath the wicked ask, “When will it be gone”? But the healthy saint declares, “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand” (Psalms 84:10)-because of the spiritual gains it brings in. What is dearest to my heart, what engages my most serious thoughts? This determines which I prize the more highly: earthly or heavenly treasures.

Chapter 29

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Let it be borne in mind that when our Lord uttered these words there were no such things as banks or government security-bonds, that the rich were chiefly distinguished by their costly wardrobes, hoards of precious metals and jewels. Nevertheless, modern life affords no real guarantee of protection: it is still true that “riches certainly make themselves wings: they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). All happiness of a worldly sort is evanescent: all carnal enjoyments are perishable in themselves: all earthly possessions are liable to theft.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” It should be pointed out that there is no sin in the possessing of a considerable amount of earthly riches, providing they are come by honestly. God greatly prospered Abraham in temporal things, yet He reminded him “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Job was the owner of vast herds and flocks, and though for a season he was without them, yet “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12). So, too, David was permitted to acquire an immense amount of material wealth, yet he regarded not his “treasure” as being in this world. On the contrary he was sharply distinguished from worldlings, who had “their portion in this life,” declaring “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalms 17:14-15). It is just as true that it is the Lord who “giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18) as it is that He alone enriches the soul spiritually.

What, then, is it which Christ here prohibits, when He says “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth”? Why, He forbids us making material things our chief concern, either in the pursuit or in the enjoyment of them. He forbids us either seeking or expecting our ultimate happiness in any earthly object. He forbids us setting our affections on anything seen and temporal, with the fond imagination that it is capable of satisfying the heart. It is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life, either for his present or future use, but it is wrong for him to give way to a spirit of covetousness and strive after worldly wealth without moderation. “Let us, therefore, receive and lawfully enjoy that portion of this life which our Father in heaven is pleased to bestow upon us, but let us not set our affections upon them” (John Brown).

In the above commandment Christ condemned those who seek principally after worldly goods, disparaging and disregarding the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Such was the sin of Esau, who is termed a “profane person” because he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. So, too, Christ here condemned those who put their trust and confidence in the worldly things they amass, for this is idolatry of the heart. In like manner He here reprehended the making of earthly riches our chief good and delight for He warns us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. Christ also condemned the selfish practice of laying up for ourselves only, without regard to using the same to the glory of God and the good of our generation, which is a grievous betrayal of our stewardship. Each of us will yet be called upon to render an account unto God.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.” In the second part of this verse Christ enforced His commandment with reasons drawn from the corruptibility and uncertainty of worldly possessions. Therein He shows us the vanity of the creature, both in respect of its nature and of its abuse. Be the treasures never so pure and costly, as gold and silver, furs and silks, yet are they subject to either rust or the moth. No matter how carefully they be tended, yet the thief may come and seize them. If it be asked whence cometh this vanity of the creature, the answer is, God has subjected them unto it for the fall of man (Romans 8:20), to let us see the grievousness of our sin and the greatness of His anger upon it, by imprinting the stamp of His wrath on the creature. Hence, when we see a moth upon our garments or rust upon our silver, we ought to be humbled over our original apostasy and taught to hold the creature with a light hand.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (v. 20). This was only another way of saying, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27). Instead of setting our affections upon and spending our strength in the acquirement of the perishing things of time and sense, we should desire and seek our happiness in spiritual and Divine objects which are incorruptible and eternal. Our real blessedness lies in a knowledge of God, a conformity to His image. a walking in His ways, a communing with Him: then shall we have a peace and joy which the creature can neither impart nor take from us. Men are ever seeking a safe place in which they may deposit their treasures, only to find that no place and no thing in this world is secure. If, then, we would have our treasure where no marauder can reach it, it must be hid in Christ with God (Colossians 3:3).

Let us consider five things in connection with this laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. First, the finding thereof. We can neither obtain nor make use of the great Treasure until it is located. This consists of God’s revealing of it to us-for like Hagar of old (Genesis 21:19) we are blind thereto until He opens our eyes to see it; giving us to perceive our deep need of it-for until He does so we are self-complacent; and making us feel we are poor without it-for until He does so we are like the Laodiceans, “rich and increased with goods” in our own esteem. Not till then do we seek God in Christ with all our hearts. It is here we must examine and test ourselves: have we been made to realize our wretchedness and want: our filthiness and guilt, our deep need of cleansing and pardon? If so, are we truly hungering and thirsting after Christ’s righteousness?

Second, having found this great Treasure, as it is exhibited in the Gospel and revealed in the soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must highly prize and value it, above all that we have or desire, regarding it as worth far more than the whole world. Such we find was Paul’s estimate of this Treasure: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phi 3:8). The rating of Christ so highly is absolutely necessary if we are to lay Him up for our Treasure. Here too we must honestly and diligently test ourselves. Can we truly say with David, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee” (Psalms 73:25)? Does the general tenor of our lives bear witness to the fact that we value spiritual things above all else?

Is it true of us that “The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver . . . I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (Psalms 119:72, Psalms 119:127)?

Third, having discovered this Treasure and perceived its inestimable worth, we must strive to obtain the same and make it our own. As said the wise man, “If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). We are required to use the means which God has appointed for this purpose, which are hearing, reading, praying, exercising faith. In His written Word and preached Gospel God’s two hands do, as it were, hold out to us this heavenly Treasure and all spiritual blessings, and our faith is the hand of the soul reaching out to receive, and by our prayers we testify our faith.

Fourth, having obtained this Treasure we must labour to assure it unto ourselves. To this end we must follow Paul’s charge to rich men: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). By trusting in the living God, and then by giving liberally unto the needy, we “lay up in store a good foundation.” Are we saved, then, by performing such good deeds? No, for the ground of our salvation Godwards is in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11); but in our own conscience, for assurance of our interest in Christ, the fruits of faith and the works of love are our evidences. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). Compare 2 Peter 1:10, and interpret “give diligence” by 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Fifth, being assured that this Treasure is ours, we must use the same as a treasure. This means that since Christ is in heaven our hearts are to be there too, and if our affections be set upon Him in desire and delight then our behavior will be spiritual and heavenly. If our souls be earthbound and our affections set wholly or even principally on the things of time and sense, then Christ is not our “treasure” at all. To use our Treasure aright means that we turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance, which we do when we truly employ them to the glory of God and the good of our fellows. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17). The merciful man, then, has the Lord for his Debtor, for He sends the poor man as His messenger unto the rich, to borrow of him such things as the poor man lacks; and the Lord’s return of payment is in heavenly and spiritual blessings.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall [affording protection], in his own conceit” (Proverbs 18:10-11). What a contrast is here presented between the use which the godly and the godless make of their respective “treasures,” and how often we see it illustrated on the pages of Holy Writ. Take the case of Esau and Jacob. When the former lost his birthright and wept, how did he seek to comfort himself? by planning revenge (Genesis 27:41). But when Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed” (Genesis 32:7) what did he do?

Why, he had recourse to God (his “Treasure”) and hoped in Him (Genesis 32:9-11). So it was with Saul and David. When the former lost his kingdom (his “treasure”) he said to Samuel. “Honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people” (1 Samuel 15:30); but when David lost all at Ziklag he “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). “Unless Thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction” (Psalms 119:92) he exclaimed later. Whither do you turn in trouble? from whence do you seek relief?

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matthew 6:20). As in the preceding verse Christ backs up His precept with a weighty consideration, one which is drawn from the unchangeability and absolute security of heavenly riches. The world may deem His followers crazy and losers because of their separation from its pursuits and pleasures, but the Lord assures them they shall be the everlasting gainers: whatever we do in His name and for His sake shall turn to our account in the day to come. “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you. he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). God will liberally reward all denyings of self for Christ’s sake: “Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29). Let us, then, turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance and so heed our Saviour’s exhortation: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33).

Who can wish for a better increase than that: the exchange of what is temporal and precarious for that which is eternal and imperishable? What abundant cause have Christians to adore the triune God for having begotten them unto “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for them (1 Peter 1:4). What reason have they to love, trust, serve and glorify their God. Surely we should rather part with all that we have than with this Treasure-friends, goods, country, liberty, yea, life itself; thus it was with the primitive saints, who “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Hebrews 10:34). Those who have Christ for their Treasure find such satisfaction in Him that prosperity will not lift them too high nor adversity cast them down too low.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This verse contains a further reason to enforce the commandment in the two preceding: it is common to both, persuading to the obedience of each. The force of this reason may be stated thus: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also: but your heart should not be wedded to earthly objects but to heavenly, therefore lay not up for yourselves treasures in earth but in heaven. By “treasure,” as we have stated before, must be understood things which are excellent and precious in our esteem, things laid up for the time to come, wherein we repose our trust and in which we take a special delight. By “heart” we must conceive not only the affections but thoughts, imagination, and will, with the effects of them in action, such as deliberation and endeavor.

Let us try and point out some of the practical uses to which verse 21 may be put. First, how it shows the vast importance of our choosing the right kind of treasure. Oh, how deeply it concerns us for time and eternity that we make a wise selection, for the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives will be carnal or spiritual according as our treasure is earthly or heavenly. “The heart follows the treasure as the needle follows the loadstone” (Matthew Henry). Whichever way be the direction of our deepest longings, thither will follow our efforts. This from the very constitution of our nature: that which we deem our chief good will employ our principal thoughts, draw forth our fixed longings, stimulate our most earnest endeavors. If we think that happiness is to be found in anything of earth then our whole character will be “of the earth earthy,” for our desires and pursuits will all correspond with the object of our supreme satisfaction. But if we be persuaded that true happiness is only to be found in knowing, loving and serving God. walking and communing with Him, then will our character be spiritual, and our thoughts, desires and pursuits will correspond thereto.

Second, since heart and treasure go together, then how important it is that we learn to search out and try the state of our own hearts. It is true that the heart of fallen man is deceitful above all things and that none of us can know it thoroughly, nevertheless if we rightly apply this dictum of Christ unto ourselves, we ought to be able to give a true judgment of our spiritual state. Consider: an earthly treasure and an earthly heart: a heavenly treasure and a heavenly heart-these cannot be severed from each other. Therefore we must diligently inquire: Whereon is my love placed, my mind fixed, my care bestowed, my labours directed, my delights found? If honesty requires me to answer upon an earthly object, then my heart is earthly, and consequently all my church attendance and religious profession is vain (Psalms 10:4; Ezekiel 33:31). But if my chief love and delight and my constant concern be a conformity to His image, and my daily endeavour be seeking to please and obey Him, then is my heart heavenly (Psalms 139:17-18; Isaiah 26:9).

Third, this coupling together of the heart and treasure shows us the relative value of the two worlds (this and the one to come) and informs us which of them should be chiefly esteemed and sought after by us. In comparison with heaven, the earth and mundane life are to be despised. We say the relative value of the two worlds, for we must not be unthankful to God or look with contempt upon the products of His hands. As earthly creatures are the workmanship of God and temporal mercies His blessings, they are not to be hated but received with gratitude and used to His glory; nevertheless, we must not suffer them to obtain in our hearts that place which is due alone to the Creator of earth and the Giver of every blessing. As high as heaven is above the earth and as long as eternity exceeds the duration of time, so far are spiritual things to be esteemed above material; and the more our “treasure” truly is in heaven, the less disposed shall we be to amass earthly wealth and the more inclined to improve (as means to an end) the things of time and sense.

Matthew 6:21

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 28

Matthew 6:19-21

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and l4here thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

We are now to enter the fifth division of our Lord’s sermon, and as we do it is well to remind ourselves afresh of His first and primary design in this important address, namely to correct and refute the erroneous views of His hearers. The Jews held false beliefs concerning the person of the Messiah, the character of His mission, and the nature of the kingdom He would establish. As unregenerate men their views were carnal and mundane, self-centered and confined to things temporal. It requires little perspicuity to perceive that all through this Sermon the Lord Jesus makes direct reference unto the false notions which were generally entertained by the Jews respecting His kingdom, to which He constantly opposed the holy claims of God, the righteous requirements of His Law, and the imperative necessity of the new birth for all who were to be His subjects and disciples.

What has just been pointed out explains why our Lord began His Sermon with the Beatitudes, in which He described the characters and defined the graces of those who enter His kingdom. The Jews looked for great material enrichment, festivity and feasting, and supposed that those who would occupy the principal positions of honour under the Messiah’s reign would be they who were fierce and successful warriors, and who, though ceremonially holy, would avenge on the Gentiles all the wrongs they had inflicted on Israel, and that henceforth they would be free from all opposition and oppression. But Christ declared blessed those who were poor in spirit, who mourned, who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, who were merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and were persecuted for righteousness’ sake. A greater contrast could not be imagined.

So in His second division Christ announced that the officers of His kingdom would not be the destroyers of men’s bodies but the preservers of their souls-the “salt of the earth”; not the suppressors of the Gentiles but “the light of the world.” In like manner, in His third division Christ declared that so far from it being His mission to overthrow the ancient order and introduce radical changes, He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it. Thus too with what is now to be before us: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” The Jews expected in their Messiah a temporal prince, and the happiness they anticipated under His sceptre was merely a high degree of worldly prosperity, to enjoy an abundance of riches, honours and pleasures. But our Lord here exposes their error, and declares that the happiness He imparts is not carnal but spiritual, and that it will be found in its perfection not on earth (Palestine) but in heaven.

Now it should be pointed out that the false notions generally entertained by the Jews respecting the Messiah’s kingdom originated in principles which are common to unregenerate human nature. though taking a peculiar form and color from their special circumstances. Hence it is that the teachings of Christ in this sermon are pertinent to all men in every age. Human nature is the same everywhere. The citizens of this world have ever devoted the greater part of their time and energy to procuring and accumulating something which they may call their own, and in setting their hearts steadfastly upon the same rather than upon God. So general is this practice that, providing they are not unduly unscrupulous and do not injure their fellows in their greedy quest, such a policy evokes approval rather than reproach: “Men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself” (Psalms 49:18). Those who succeed in business are called shrewd and efficient, and those who amass great wealth “the captains of industry,” “financial wizards,” etc.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:19). The order of Truth followed by Christ in Matthew 6 is very striking and blessed, and needs to be carefully heeded by us. In the first eighteen verses we are conducted into the Sanctuary, instructed to have our hearts occupied with Him who seeth in secret; in Matthew 6:19 and onwards we come out to face the temptations and trials of the world. It is parallel with what we find in Leviticus and Numbers: in the former, Israel is engaged almost entirely with the services and privileges of the tabernacle; in the latter we have a description of their walk and warfare in the wilderness. It is of vital importance that we attend to this order, for it is only as we duly maintain communion with God in the secret place that we are equipped and enabled for the trials of the way as we journey toward the heavenly Canaan. Unless our hearts be firmly set upon the Promised Land, they will turn back to Egypt and lust after its flesh-pots.

“Lay not up for ourselves treasures upon earth.” From here to the end of the chapter Christ’s design is to divert the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness, first delivering the prohibition and then amplifying and enforcing the same by a variety of cogent reasons. The word for “lay up” is more expressive and emphatic in the original than is expressed here in the English: signifying first to gather together, and second to hoard or heap up against the future-as in Romans 2:5, heapeth up or “treasurest up unto thyself.” “Treasure” means wealth in abundance, costly things such as property, lands, gold and precious stones. The words “upon earth” here refer not so much to place as to the kind of treasures, for heavenly treasure may be laid up while we are here on earth, and therefore it is the hoarding of earthly and material treasures which is in view.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” There have been some fanatics who interpreted this command literally, insisting that it is to be taken without limitation as a prohibition against accumulating money or adding to our earthly possessions. To be consistent they should not stop there, but go on to “sell that thou hast and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21), for this is no less expressly required than the former. But such a course would mean the overturning of all distinctions between rich and poor, any possession of property, which is clearly contrary to the whole trend of Scripture. Let us, then, briefly point out what Christ did not here forbid. First, diligent labour in a man’s vocation, whereby he provides things needful for himself and those dependent upon him: “not slothful in business” (Romans 12:11) is one of the precepts of the Gospel.

Nor does Christ here forbid the fruit of our labours in the possession of goods and riches, provided they be acquired honestly and used aright. Let us not forget that scripture, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). The Lord graciously prospered Abraham, Job and David, and so far from their possession of wealth being a mark of His disfavor it was the very opposite. Third, nor does Christ here forbid the laying up in store for our own future use or for our family. Is not the sluggard admonished to take a leaf out of the book of the ants, who gather together their winter’s food in the summertime (Proverbs 6:6-8)? And has not the apostle declared that “the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14)? And again, “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8).

What, then, is it which Christ here forbids? We answer, various forms of covetousness. First, the excessive seeking after worldly wealth, wherein men keep neither moderation nor measure: although God gives them more than sufficient to supply their needs, yet they are not content, their desire being insatiable. That it is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life-either for his present or future use-we have shown above. As to what constitutes necessity, this varies considerably in different cases, according to the station which providence has allotted in this world: a workman requires tools, a business man must have capital, the master of a large estate sufficient to pay his servants. No precise rule can be laid down, but the judgment and example of the godly who use the creature aright, and not the practice of the covetous, must guide us.

Second, Christ here condemns those who seek principally after worldly goods and disparage and disregard the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Thus it was in the case of Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage (Hebrews 12:16). Thus it was with the Gadarenes, who upon the loss of their herds of swine besought Christ that He would depart out of their coasts (Luke 8:37). Thus it has been throughout the ages, and so it still is, that the great majority of men spend their strength in laboring after that which “satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2), seeking after almost anything or everything rather than after that which perisheth not. That is why there is so much preaching and so little profiting: the hearers’ thoughts and desires are taken up with other things.

Third, Christ here condemns those who put their trust and confidence in worldly things that they have treasured up, which is idolatry of the heart. Whatever a man sets his heart upon and looks to for support is his god, and therefore his covetousness is called “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). If we have stored up a supply against future need and this takes us from dependence upon God for our daily sustenance, then we are guilty of this sin. It is for this reason that Christ makes it so hard for a rich man to enter heaven (Matthew 19:23-24), because he trusts in his riches, and if we are close observers we shall usually find that rich men are proud-hearted and secure, neither heeding God’s judgments nor attending to the means of salvation. David’s counsel must therefore be followed, “If riches increase [not give them away, but] set not your heart upon them” (Psalms 62:10).

The fourth practice here forbidden is the selfish laying up of treasures for ourselves only, without regard to using the same for the good of our generation, the support of the Gospel, or the praise of God. This is indeed a devilish practice, for every one of us is but a steward, to dispense our portion to the glory of God and the good of his fellows. The poor are God’s poor, the creatures of His hands, and therefore He requires that each steward shall be found faithful in seeing to it that each of them has his portion. God will yet call the rich to an accounting, therefore let each of us live in the light of that day of reckoning. Let us seek grace to be preserved from hoarding up riches for our own selfish use, from putting our trust in them, and from making them our chief delight.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” Here our Lord gives a threefold reason for the enforcing of His precept, or illustrates the corruption and uncertainty of worldly possession by three examples: showing they are liable to destruction by such creatures as moths, by the inherent decay which pertains to all earthly things, and from the fact they may be taken from us by fraud or violence. Have we procured an elaborate wardrobe, with large supplies of apparel? In secret and silence the moth may be eating it up. Have we invested in property? The ravages of time will soon wear it away. Is it gold and platinum, diamonds and pearls we have hoarded up?

The hand of the marauder may soon seize them. Heaven is the only safe place in which to deposit our riches.

As we have pointed out in an earlier paragraph, the vast majority of our fellows make it their supreme aim in life to acquire as much as possible of worldly wealth. With such an example on every side, and the trend of their own hearts in the same direction, the disciples of Christ are in greater danger from this sin than from most others. To nullify this evil tendency Christ here emphasizes the relative valuelessness of mundane things. “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). What true satisfaction can there be in the possession of things which are subject to decay and loss by violence. One of the strongest proofs of human depravity and of the diseased state of our minds is the extreme difficulty which most of us experience in the realizing of this fact in such a way that it really influences our actions.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). Having shown what we must not do in respect of treasures here on earth, and knowing his inclination to be such that man will needs have something for his treasure, Christ here makes known what treasure we may lay up for ourselves. But how shall we lay up treasure in heaven? For we cannot of ourselves come there. No man can save himself: the beginning, progress and end of our salvation is wholly of God. Answer: as often in Scripture, the work of the efficient cause is here ascribed to the instrument (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Timothy 4:16). To make us rich with heavenly treasure is the work of God alone, yet because we are instrumental by His grace in the use of means to get this treasure, this command is given to us as though the work is solely ours, though God be alone the Author of it.

It is of the very first moment that we form a true estimate of what is necessary for true happiness-where it is to be found and how it is to be obtained-for the tenor of our thoughts, the direction of our affections, and the pursuit of our energies will largely be regulated thereby. Therefore does Christ here bid us, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” That we may the better understand and practice this command two points are to be carefully and reverently considered: what this treasure is, and how a man may lay it up for himself-matters of the greatest weight, for in the practice thereof lies our salvation. As to the real treasure, which neither time nor the creature can mar, it is the true and living God, the triune Jehovah who made and governs all things: in Him alone is all genuine good and happiness to be found.

This is clear from such scriptures as the Lord’s statement to Abraham, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1); the words of Eliphaz to Job, “The Almighty shall be thy gold” (Job 22:25, margin); and the declaration of David: “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance . . . I have a goodly heritage”-i.e. He is my treasure (Psalms 16:5-6). Yet let it be said emphatically that it is God as He is revealed in Christ who is our Treasure, for out of Christ He is “a consuming fire.” God incarnate is our true treasure, for in Him are hid “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); our very life is “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). To what is the apostle there referring? Why, as the previous verse shows, to that which God has treasured up for His people in a crucified Christ: the Lord Jesus is the great Fountain and Storehouse of all true blessings communicated from God to the saints, and therefore do they exclaim, “Of His fulness [as out of a rich treasure] have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Wouldest thou have remission of sins and righteousness with God? Then Christ was “made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Wouldest thou have everlasting well-being?

Then Christ Himself is “the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Whatever thou needest-wisdom to direct, strength to energize, comfort to assuage grief, cleansing for defilement-all is to be found in the Saviour.

How may we lay up for ourselves in heaven the Divine and durable riches which are to be found in Christ? First, by faith’s appropriation: “as many as received Him” (John 1:12)-so that I can say “my Beloved is mine, and I am His” (Son 2:16). God in Christ becomes our everlasting portion when we surrender to and accept Him as He is offered to us in the Gospel. Second, by daily communion with Christ, drawing from His “unsearchable riches” (Ephesians 3:8). “Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). And what was that “good part”? Why, to sit at His feet and drink in His word (Luke 10:39).

Third, by emulating the example which Christ has left us. And what did that example consist of? Why, complete self-abnegation, living wholly in subjection to God-for which He was richly rewarded (see Phi 2:5-11). Fourth, by acting as His stewards and using the goods He has entrusted to us by laying them out to His glory (see Luke 12:33; Hebrews 6:10, etc.).

Almost all will say they hope for happiness from God in the next world, but what do they now make their chief good? What are they most taken up with, both in the pursuit and enjoyment? It is at this point each of us must examine and test himself. What things does my soul most favour and relish, the things of the world or of God (see Romans 8:5)? Which seasons of time do I regard as lost or as most gainful, which are my days of richest income? Of the Sabbath the wicked ask, “When will it be gone”? But the healthy saint declares, “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand” (Psalms 84:10)-because of the spiritual gains it brings in. What is dearest to my heart, what engages my most serious thoughts? This determines which I prize the more highly: earthly or heavenly treasures.

Chapter 29

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Let it be borne in mind that when our Lord uttered these words there were no such things as banks or government security-bonds, that the rich were chiefly distinguished by their costly wardrobes, hoards of precious metals and jewels. Nevertheless, modern life affords no real guarantee of protection: it is still true that “riches certainly make themselves wings: they fly away as an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). All happiness of a worldly sort is evanescent: all carnal enjoyments are perishable in themselves: all earthly possessions are liable to theft.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” It should be pointed out that there is no sin in the possessing of a considerable amount of earthly riches, providing they are come by honestly. God greatly prospered Abraham in temporal things, yet He reminded him “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Job was the owner of vast herds and flocks, and though for a season he was without them, yet “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12). So, too, David was permitted to acquire an immense amount of material wealth, yet he regarded not his “treasure” as being in this world. On the contrary he was sharply distinguished from worldlings, who had “their portion in this life,” declaring “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalms 17:14-15). It is just as true that it is the Lord who “giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18) as it is that He alone enriches the soul spiritually.

What, then, is it which Christ here prohibits, when He says “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth”? Why, He forbids us making material things our chief concern, either in the pursuit or in the enjoyment of them. He forbids us either seeking or expecting our ultimate happiness in any earthly object. He forbids us setting our affections on anything seen and temporal, with the fond imagination that it is capable of satisfying the heart. It is not sinful for a man to seek after the necessities of life, either for his present or future use, but it is wrong for him to give way to a spirit of covetousness and strive after worldly wealth without moderation. “Let us, therefore, receive and lawfully enjoy that portion of this life which our Father in heaven is pleased to bestow upon us, but let us not set our affections upon them” (John Brown).

In the above commandment Christ condemned those who seek principally after worldly goods, disparaging and disregarding the true riches. This is clear from the opposition made in the next verse, where “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is placed over against “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Such was the sin of Esau, who is termed a “profane person” because he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. So, too, Christ here condemned those who put their trust and confidence in the worldly things they amass, for this is idolatry of the heart. In like manner He here reprehended the making of earthly riches our chief good and delight for He warns us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. Christ also condemned the selfish practice of laying up for ourselves only, without regard to using the same to the glory of God and the good of our generation, which is a grievous betrayal of our stewardship. Each of us will yet be called upon to render an account unto God.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.” In the second part of this verse Christ enforced His commandment with reasons drawn from the corruptibility and uncertainty of worldly possessions. Therein He shows us the vanity of the creature, both in respect of its nature and of its abuse. Be the treasures never so pure and costly, as gold and silver, furs and silks, yet are they subject to either rust or the moth. No matter how carefully they be tended, yet the thief may come and seize them. If it be asked whence cometh this vanity of the creature, the answer is, God has subjected them unto it for the fall of man (Romans 8:20), to let us see the grievousness of our sin and the greatness of His anger upon it, by imprinting the stamp of His wrath on the creature. Hence, when we see a moth upon our garments or rust upon our silver, we ought to be humbled over our original apostasy and taught to hold the creature with a light hand.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (v. 20). This was only another way of saying, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27). Instead of setting our affections upon and spending our strength in the acquirement of the perishing things of time and sense, we should desire and seek our happiness in spiritual and Divine objects which are incorruptible and eternal. Our real blessedness lies in a knowledge of God, a conformity to His image. a walking in His ways, a communing with Him: then shall we have a peace and joy which the creature can neither impart nor take from us. Men are ever seeking a safe place in which they may deposit their treasures, only to find that no place and no thing in this world is secure. If, then, we would have our treasure where no marauder can reach it, it must be hid in Christ with God (Colossians 3:3).

Let us consider five things in connection with this laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. First, the finding thereof. We can neither obtain nor make use of the great Treasure until it is located. This consists of God’s revealing of it to us-for like Hagar of old (Genesis 21:19) we are blind thereto until He opens our eyes to see it; giving us to perceive our deep need of it-for until He does so we are self-complacent; and making us feel we are poor without it-for until He does so we are like the Laodiceans, “rich and increased with goods” in our own esteem. Not till then do we seek God in Christ with all our hearts. It is here we must examine and test ourselves: have we been made to realize our wretchedness and want: our filthiness and guilt, our deep need of cleansing and pardon? If so, are we truly hungering and thirsting after Christ’s righteousness?

Second, having found this great Treasure, as it is exhibited in the Gospel and revealed in the soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must highly prize and value it, above all that we have or desire, regarding it as worth far more than the whole world. Such we find was Paul’s estimate of this Treasure: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phi 3:8). The rating of Christ so highly is absolutely necessary if we are to lay Him up for our Treasure. Here too we must honestly and diligently test ourselves. Can we truly say with David, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee” (Psalms 73:25)? Does the general tenor of our lives bear witness to the fact that we value spiritual things above all else?

Is it true of us that “The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver . . . I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (Psalms 119:72, Psalms 119:127)?

Third, having discovered this Treasure and perceived its inestimable worth, we must strive to obtain the same and make it our own. As said the wise man, “If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). We are required to use the means which God has appointed for this purpose, which are hearing, reading, praying, exercising faith. In His written Word and preached Gospel God’s two hands do, as it were, hold out to us this heavenly Treasure and all spiritual blessings, and our faith is the hand of the soul reaching out to receive, and by our prayers we testify our faith.

Fourth, having obtained this Treasure we must labour to assure it unto ourselves. To this end we must follow Paul’s charge to rich men: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). By trusting in the living God, and then by giving liberally unto the needy, we “lay up in store a good foundation.” Are we saved, then, by performing such good deeds? No, for the ground of our salvation Godwards is in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11); but in our own conscience, for assurance of our interest in Christ, the fruits of faith and the works of love are our evidences. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). Compare 2 Peter 1:10, and interpret “give diligence” by 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Fifth, being assured that this Treasure is ours, we must use the same as a treasure. This means that since Christ is in heaven our hearts are to be there too, and if our affections be set upon Him in desire and delight then our behavior will be spiritual and heavenly. If our souls be earthbound and our affections set wholly or even principally on the things of time and sense, then Christ is not our “treasure” at all. To use our Treasure aright means that we turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance, which we do when we truly employ them to the glory of God and the good of our fellows. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17). The merciful man, then, has the Lord for his Debtor, for He sends the poor man as His messenger unto the rich, to borrow of him such things as the poor man lacks; and the Lord’s return of payment is in heavenly and spiritual blessings.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall [affording protection], in his own conceit” (Proverbs 18:10-11). What a contrast is here presented between the use which the godly and the godless make of their respective “treasures,” and how often we see it illustrated on the pages of Holy Writ. Take the case of Esau and Jacob. When the former lost his birthright and wept, how did he seek to comfort himself? by planning revenge (Genesis 27:41). But when Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed” (Genesis 32:7) what did he do?

Why, he had recourse to God (his “Treasure”) and hoped in Him (Genesis 32:9-11). So it was with Saul and David. When the former lost his kingdom (his “treasure”) he said to Samuel. “Honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people” (1 Samuel 15:30); but when David lost all at Ziklag he “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). “Unless Thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction” (Psalms 119:92) he exclaimed later. Whither do you turn in trouble? from whence do you seek relief?

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matthew 6:20). As in the preceding verse Christ backs up His precept with a weighty consideration, one which is drawn from the unchangeability and absolute security of heavenly riches. The world may deem His followers crazy and losers because of their separation from its pursuits and pleasures, but the Lord assures them they shall be the everlasting gainers: whatever we do in His name and for His sake shall turn to our account in the day to come. “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you. he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). God will liberally reward all denyings of self for Christ’s sake: “Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29). Let us, then, turn our earthly goods into heavenly substance and so heed our Saviour’s exhortation: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33).

Who can wish for a better increase than that: the exchange of what is temporal and precarious for that which is eternal and imperishable? What abundant cause have Christians to adore the triune God for having begotten them unto “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for them (1 Peter 1:4). What reason have they to love, trust, serve and glorify their God. Surely we should rather part with all that we have than with this Treasure-friends, goods, country, liberty, yea, life itself; thus it was with the primitive saints, who “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Hebrews 10:34). Those who have Christ for their Treasure find such satisfaction in Him that prosperity will not lift them too high nor adversity cast them down too low.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This verse contains a further reason to enforce the commandment in the two preceding: it is common to both, persuading to the obedience of each. The force of this reason may be stated thus: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also: but your heart should not be wedded to earthly objects but to heavenly, therefore lay not up for yourselves treasures in earth but in heaven. By “treasure,” as we have stated before, must be understood things which are excellent and precious in our esteem, things laid up for the time to come, wherein we repose our trust and in which we take a special delight. By “heart” we must conceive not only the affections but thoughts, imagination, and will, with the effects of them in action, such as deliberation and endeavor.

Let us try and point out some of the practical uses to which verse 21 may be put. First, how it shows the vast importance of our choosing the right kind of treasure. Oh, how deeply it concerns us for time and eternity that we make a wise selection, for the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives will be carnal or spiritual according as our treasure is earthly or heavenly. “The heart follows the treasure as the needle follows the loadstone” (Matthew Henry). Whichever way be the direction of our deepest longings, thither will follow our efforts. This from the very constitution of our nature: that which we deem our chief good will employ our principal thoughts, draw forth our fixed longings, stimulate our most earnest endeavors. If we think that happiness is to be found in anything of earth then our whole character will be “of the earth earthy,” for our desires and pursuits will all correspond with the object of our supreme satisfaction. But if we be persuaded that true happiness is only to be found in knowing, loving and serving God. walking and communing with Him, then will our character be spiritual, and our thoughts, desires and pursuits will correspond thereto.

Second, since heart and treasure go together, then how important it is that we learn to search out and try the state of our own hearts. It is true that the heart of fallen man is deceitful above all things and that none of us can know it thoroughly, nevertheless if we rightly apply this dictum of Christ unto ourselves, we ought to be able to give a true judgment of our spiritual state. Consider: an earthly treasure and an earthly heart: a heavenly treasure and a heavenly heart-these cannot be severed from each other. Therefore we must diligently inquire: Whereon is my love placed, my mind fixed, my care bestowed, my labours directed, my delights found? If honesty requires me to answer upon an earthly object, then my heart is earthly, and consequently all my church attendance and religious profession is vain (Psalms 10:4; Ezekiel 33:31). But if my chief love and delight and my constant concern be a conformity to His image, and my daily endeavour be seeking to please and obey Him, then is my heart heavenly (Psalms 139:17-18; Isaiah 26:9).

Third, this coupling together of the heart and treasure shows us the relative value of the two worlds (this and the one to come) and informs us which of them should be chiefly esteemed and sought after by us. In comparison with heaven, the earth and mundane life are to be despised. We say the relative value of the two worlds, for we must not be unthankful to God or look with contempt upon the products of His hands. As earthly creatures are the workmanship of God and temporal mercies His blessings, they are not to be hated but received with gratitude and used to His glory; nevertheless, we must not suffer them to obtain in our hearts that place which is due alone to the Creator of earth and the Giver of every blessing. As high as heaven is above the earth and as long as eternity exceeds the duration of time, so far are spiritual things to be esteemed above material; and the more our “treasure” truly is in heaven, the less disposed shall we be to amass earthly wealth and the more inclined to improve (as means to an end) the things of time and sense.

Matthew 6:22

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 30

THE SINGLE EYE

Matthew 6:22-23

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.”

Though there is substantial agreement among the commentators in their interpretation of these verses, yet we find considerable difference when it comes to their explanation of details, especially so in connection with the repeated mention of the “eye” and exactly what is connoted thereby. We therefore propose to examine carefully the several terms here employed by our Lord; then seek to ascertain the coherence of the passage, its relation to the context; and then look for the practical application unto ourselves.

“The light of the body is the eye,” rendered “the lamp of the body is the eye” by both Bagster’s Interlinear and the American R.V. We believe this a more accurate translation, for the Greek word for “light” in this clause is quite different from the one used in “full of light” at the end of the verse, it being the same as that found in Luke 12:35-36. In describing the eye as the “lamp” of the body Christ employed a most apt figure, since that organ has no light within itself. The great source of light to the world and of all things therein is the sun, yet such cannot illumine the body without the eye as a medium. The eye is the receptacle of its light, and by means of its rays, which flow into it, gives light to the body. The word for “if therefore thine eye be single” occurs again only in Luke 12:34, yet it is found in a slightly different form in “for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12).

Thus the meaning of our Lord appears to be something like this: the activities of the body are directed according to the light which is received through the eye. When that organ is sound and functioning properly, perceiving objects as they really are, the whole body is illumined, and we are able to discharge our duties and to move with safety and circumspection. But if the eye be blind, or its vision faulty, then we perceive objects confusedly and without distinction, and then we stumble as if in the dark, and cannot perform our task or journey properly, being continually liable to lose our way or run into danger. So far all is simple and plain. But what, we may ask, is connoted by the “eye”? and what is here signified by “the whole body”? That these are figures of speech is obvious, but figures of what? It is at this point the commentators vary so much in their explanations.

Matthew Henry begins his exposition with, “The eye, that is, the heart (so some), if that be single-free and bountiful, so the word is frequently rendered as in Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2-9, 2 Corinthians 8:11, 2 Corinthians 8:13; James 1:5; and we read of a ‘bountiful eye’ (Proverbs 22:9). If the heart be liberally affected and stand inclined to goodness and charity, it will direct the man to Christian actions, the whole conversation will be ‘full of light,’ full of the evidences and instances of true Christianity-that pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father (James 1:27); ‘full of light,’ or good works, which are our light shining before man. But if the heart be ’evil,’ covetous. hard, and envious, grinding and grudging (such a temper of mind is often expressed by an evil eye-Matthew 20:15; Mark 7:22; Proverbs 23:6-7), the body will be ‘full of darkness,’ and the whole conversation will be heathenish and un-Christian. The instruments of the churl are and always will be ’evil,’ but ’the liberal deviseth liberal things’ (Isaiah 32:5-8).”

Such an explanation agrees well with the context, both with the more remote as well as the immediate. As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of chapter twenty-eight (page 185), in this fifth section of His Sermon (which runs from Matthew 6:19-34, to the end of the chapter) Christ’s design was to correct the erroneous views of the Jews concerning the character of His kingdom, and to divert the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness, and this by a variety of cogent reasons. Having warned them that our characters conform to that which we treasure most, He now intimates that discernment in our choice of treasure will be determined by the singleness of our eye or aim. Yet a little consideration of the above interpretation shows it is too narrow for the scope of our passage: the “eye” is here called the light of “the whole body,” but clearly a liberal mind is not the regulator of all our affections and actions, but only of works of mercy and bounty.

Continuing his remarks, Matthew Henry went on to say, “The eye, that is, the understanding (so some): the practical judgment, the conscience, which is to the other faculties of the soul as the eye is to the body, to guide and direct their motions. Now if the eye be ‘single,’ if it make a true and right judgment, and discern things that differ, especially in the great concern of laying up the treasure so as to choose right in that, it will rightly guide the affections and actions, which will all be ‘full of light,’ of grace and comfort. But if the eye be ’evil,’ corrupt, and instead of leading the inferior powers, is led, and bribed, and biased by them, if this be erroneous and misinformed, the heart and life must needs be ‘full of darkness,’ the whole conversation corrupt. They that will not understand are said to walk on in darkness (Psalms 82:5). It is said when the spirit of a man, which should be ’the candle of the Lord,’ is an ignis fatuus; when the leaders of the people, the leaders of the faculties, cause them to err, for then they that are led of them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16). An error in the practical judgment is fatal: it is that which calls evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). therefore it concerns us to understand things aright, to get our eyes anointed with eye-salve.”

This we deem to be more satisfactory, though it is rather lacking in perspicuity, drawing no clear distinction between the “eye” and the eye being “single.” We believe the “eye” in this parable of Christ’s is to be taken for the understanding, for this is the faculty of the soul which more than any other gives direction to the whole man in all his motions. What a man believes is what largely determines how he lives-“as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” Such an interpretation differentiates more definitely between what we have in the previous verse as also in the one which follows. In Matthew 6:21 the “heart” stands principally (though not exclusively) for the affections, for they are what are fixed upon our “treasure.” In Matthew 6:24 (the serving of God and mammon) it is the will which is primarily in view. Thus in Matthew 6:21-24 we have the affections, the understanding, and the will respectively, which together make up the inner man.

“If the eye be single” or sound in vision. The contrast presented in the next verse is that of the eye being “evil” or “wicked,” so that a “single” eye is a good or holy one. And what is a good “eye”? Plainly it is a renewed understanding, an anointed eye, a mind illuminated by the Spirit of God, a mind which is dominated and regulated by the Truth. As the body is furnished with light for its activities by means of the eye, so the mind is fitted for its operations only as it is receptive to the influences of the Holy Spirit. A “single” eye has but one object-God, the pleasing and glorifying of Him.

This is borne out by the other occurrence (in a slightly different form) of this word: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12). The joyful confidence of the apostle-which sustained him in his labours-consisted of the consciousness of his sincerity, namely his “simplicity” (the opposite of duplicity) and godly sincerity of spiritual translucence.

“The eye, that is, the aims and intentions. By the eye we set our end before us, the mark we aim at, the place we go to, we keep that in view, and direct our motion accordingly. In everything we do in religion there is something or other that we have in our eye: now if our eye be single, if we aim honestly, fix right ends, and move rightly towards them, if we aim purely and only at the glory of God, seek His honour and favour, and direct all entirely to Him, then the eye is single. Paul’s was so when he said, ’to me to live is Christ’; and if we be right here, ’the whole body will be full of light’-all the actions will be regular and gracious, pleasing to God and comfortable to ourselves. But if the eye be evil, if, instead of aiming only at the glory of God and our acceptance with Him, we look aside at the applause of men, and while we profess to honour God, contrive to honour ourselves, and seek our own things under color of seeking the things of Christ, this spoils all-the whole conversation will be perverse and unsteady, and the foundations being thus out of course, there can be nothing but confusion and every evil work in the superstructure” (Matthew Henry).

So much then for the meaning of the principal terms of our passage. Let us next consider its connection with the context. This appears to be somewhat as follows: our discernment between things, our estimation of values, our practical judgment of earthly and heavenly objects is very largely determined by the condition of our understanding-whether it be Divinely illumined or still in nature’s darkness. An enlightened understanding, perceiving objects according to their real nature and worth, enables its possessor to form a true judgment, to make a wise choice and to act aright respecting them. But a darkened understanding, conveying a wrong estimate of things, results in an erroneous choice and a disastrous end. In the latter case the “light which is in” a man is unaided human reason, and moved according to its dictates men imagine that they are acting wisely when instead they are pursuing a course of egregious folly, and then how great is their darkness!

Above we have intimated the general connection, but there was also a more particular one with special reference to the Jews. In Matthew 6:19-21 Christ had pointed out that true happiness is of a spiritual and not of a carnal nature, and that it is to be found (in perfection) not on earth but in heaven. A firm conviction of this is indispensable if our thoughts, desires and pursuits are to take that direction in which true blessedness is to be obtained. But the bulk of the Jews were expecting from their Messiah riches of a mundane and worldly nature, and therefore they despised and refused the spiritual joys He made known to them-their “treasure” being earthly (restored Palestine), their hearts were so too. And why was this? Because the light in them was darkness.

They had been erroneously taught, and as unregenerate men they could not perceive their error. They must be born again before they could “enter” or even “see” the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5).

The false notions of the Jews respecting the Messiah’s kingdom corresponded to the carnal desires of their corrupt hearts, and but served to illustrate what is common to fallen human nature, for “as in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man” (Proverbs 27:19). The Gentile no more than the Jew has any love or longing for spiritual things, nor can either the one or the other perceive the wretchedness of his condition, for the light which is in them is darkness, great darkness. Proof of this is furnished by Christ in the verses we are now considering: in them He may be regarded as replying to a secret objection which the hearts of men were likely to frame against the two commandments which He had just given. Should it be asked, If there be such a necessity of laying up treasure in heaven and of avoiding to lay up treasure on earth, why is it that the best educated, the shrewdest, the great men of this world commonly seek earthly riches far more than heavenly?

This is a question which, in one form or another, often exercises young Christians and stumbles inquirers, if the true riches of the soul are found not in the things of time and sense, why is it that our fellows labour so hard for “that which satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2)? If the best which this world has to offer us perishes with the using of it, why is it prized so highly by almost one and all? Here is the explanation: because men view things through a vitiated eye, so that the real appears but a phantom, and the shadows are mistaken for the substance. Marvel not at this, says Christ, they lack the single eye, the Divinely enlightened understanding, they are in nature’s darkness: they cannot discern between things that differ, they are incapable of judging aright of the true treasure, and being ignorant of the heavenly they seek only the earthly.

In order that we may have a better conception of what a single “eye” consists of, we need to inquire diligently into what true wisdom is. Spiritual wisdom is no common gift which every professing Christian possesses, but is a special bestowment of God in Christ peculiar to those who are regenerated, for Christ Himself is made wisdom unto them (1 Corinthians 1:30). And this, not only because He is the matter of their wisdom-they being only truly wise when they are brought to know Christ and Him crucified, but because He is the root thereof. In Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3), and as believers are vitally united to Him they partake of His virtues, as a branch derives vitality from its stock.

Now this heavenly wisdom has two actions: the first is to discern aright between things that differ. Thus Paul prayed for the Philippians: “that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent,” or as the margin, “try things that differ” (Phi 1:9-10): that is distinguish good from evil, heavenly from earthly. Thereby the children of God distinguish the voice of Christ, the true Shepherd, from the voice of all false shepherds. Thereby they put a difference between the water of baptism and all other waters, and between the Lord’s supper and all other bread-discerning the Lord’s body therein. Thereby they discern their election and calling, perceiving more or less in themselves the marks thereof. Thereby they see the hand of God in providence, ever making all things minister to their ultimate good. “He that is spiritual judgeth all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15), which the natural man cannot do.

The second action of this true and heavenly wisdom is to determine and give sentence of things, what is to be done and what is not to be done, what is good and what is evil in behavior. But here let it be remembered that the principal work of this wisdom is to determine of true happiness, whereto the whole life of man ought to be directed, which happiness is the love and favour of God in Christ. Herein David showed his wisdom to be far different from that of the godless around him: “there be many that say, Who will show us any good?"-that is the world’s vain quest for happiness: “Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us” (Psalms 4:6)- wherein is the believer’s true happiness. So too with the apostle Paul (Phi 3:8). The same should be our wisdom, for if man have all learning and an intellect developed to the highest possible point, yet if he fail rightly to determine of true blessedness his sagacity is folly. Another important part of this heavenly wisdom is the right use of means whereby we arrive at this happiness.

Now the fruit of this single eye is to make “the whole body full of light,” that is to order the entire life aright, guiding it into the paths of righteousness and making it abound in good works. “I [wisdom-see Proverbs 8:1, Proverbs 8:11] lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance” (Proverbs 8:20-21). How urgently it behooves us, then, to seek after and endeavour to make sure we have obtained this true wisdom: if the mind endowed thus possesses such powers of discrimination, how necessary it is that we become partakers thereof. In order to this we must be very careful to get the fear of God into our hearts, for “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10). This fear is a reverential awe of the heart toward God, whereby a person is fearful to offend and careful to please Him in all things. And this we obtain if we receive His Word with reverence, apply it to our own souls as we read it, tremble when it searches our conscience, and humbly submit ourselves unto it without repining. David could say, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105), and therefore “Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies” (Psalms 119:98). If we would be truly wise we must cease leaning unto our own understanding and be directed by the Word in all things.

Our deep need of diligently seeking after a single eye-an enlightened understanding, a mind endued with true wisdom- appears in the solemn fact that by nature each of us possesses an eye that is evil, filling our whole body with darkness. In consequence of the fall we lost the power to judge aright in spiritual things, so that we mistake evil for good, things which ought to be refused for things which ought to be chosen. The natural man perceives not the presence of God, or he would be restrained from doing things which he is ashamed to do in the sight of his fellows. The natural man perceives not the sufficiency of God, or he would not trust in the creature far more than in the Creator. The natural man is blind to the justice of God, or he would not persuade himself that sin as he may yet he shall escape punishment. So too the natural man is blind self-ward: he perceives not his own darkness, his sinfulness, his impotency, his frailty, his true happiness.

Since this evil eye is in each of us by nature, we should constantly remind ourselves of our inability to judge rightly either of God or of ourselves, for it is the first step in true knowledge to acknowledge our own blindness. We must be suitably affected by such a realization, judging ourselves unsparingly, bewailing our misery, that we have a mind so corrupt that it disorders the whole of our conduct and seeks by grace to mortify the same. Since this evil eye is common to human nature, we discover therein what explains the mad course followed by the unregenerate, why they are so infatuated by sin and so in love with the world, and why the seriously inclined among them are deceived by error and captivated by false doctrines. Since human reason is now completely eclipsed, how profoundly thankful we should be for the light of God’s Word, yet if that light illumine us and we fail to walk accordingly, suppressing its requirements, then doubly great will be our darkness.

Chapter 31

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” In these words Christ continues to illustrate and enforce the principle which He had inculcated all through this part of His Sermon, namely the vital importance and imperative necessity of a pure motive and right aim in all we do. First, He had shown this in the matter of our “alms” or deeds of charity, if the same are to meet with God’s acceptance (Matthew 6:2-4). Second, He had insisted thereon in connection with our “prayers,” if they were to meet with God’s approval (Matthew 6:5-15). Next, He had pointed out the same in regard to “fasting,” if we are to receive anything more than the hypocrite’s portion (Matthew 6:16-18).

Then He had applied the same principle to the laying up of riches, pointing Out that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also (Matthew 6:19-21). And how are we to obtain right views of what the true and imperishable " treasure” is, and where it is to be found? This is the question which our Lord here anticipated and proceeded to answer.

By use of a striking figure Christ proceeded to urge upon His hearers that their undivided gaze must be fixed upon the things which are above. “The light [or better, “lamp”] of the body is the eye.” This refers in the first instance to the light of reason, which distinguishes man from the lower orders of creation: animals are guided by their instincts, but man was to be regulated by his intelligence, an intelligence which capacitated him for communion with his Maker, and so long as he remained in communion with Him who is Light, his mind would so inform and govern his soul that all his ways would be ordered to God’s glory and meet with His approbation. But alas, man forsook the Fountain of all blessing, left the place of dependency, apostatized. As the consequence his “eye” became “evil” or, in other words, his understanding was darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in him, because of the blindness of his heart (Ephesians 4:18). Hence the imperative need of his being renewed in the spirit of his mind (Ephesians 4:23).

In seeking to ponder the verses which are now before us, it needs to be carefully borne in mind that Christ was not here addressing a heathen audience or part of the profane world, but Jews who professed to be the Lord’s people. As such they were far from being atheists or infidels, rather did they acknowledge the Supreme Being and perform outward worship unto Him, though for the most part their hearts were far from Him. Their aims and intentions were divided: that is why in verse 24 the Saviour warns them, “No man can serve two masters,” which was the very thing they were vainly attempting. Hence it should be carefully noted that Christ did not here say “if thine eye be good” (which would be the most obvious antithesis from the “evil eye” in the next verse), but “if thine eye be single,” which both anticipates and forms a link with verse 24. Yet it is also to be pointed out that our Lord used the most suitable word pathologically, for a good or sound vision is a “single” one-to see double or to look at different objects or different parts of an object with each eye is proof that our visual organs are defective, a sign of approaching blindness.

Now at regeneration the eye of the soul is renewed and its vision rectified, the eye of faith is opened, the understanding is Divinely enlightened, and God becomes its all-absorbing object and His glory the chief concern of its possessor. In consequence, the whole of the soul is now “full of light,” all its faculties come under its beneficent influences: the conscience being informed, the affections warmed, the will moved to action in the right direction. An enlightened understanding and a Divinely instructed conscience are now able to distinguish between things that differ, between good and evil, things heavenly and things earthly. Thereby the child of God discriminates between the voice of Christ, the true Shepherd, and the voices of all false shepherds; between the Source of true happiness and those broken cisterns which hold no water. Thus the believer, by means of his spiritual judgment (which is informed and educated by the Word of God), determines and gives sentence of things: what is to be done and what is to be avoided; endowed with heavenly wisdom he learns the secret of real blessedness and joy unspeakable.

But let it be pointed out that it is only so long as the believer’s “eye” remains “single” in a practical way that his whole body (soul) is “full of light.” As the physical eye, the organ of sight, has no light whatever of its own, but must be illumined from without, so the renewed understanding is entirely dependent upon God for constant enlightenment. As the physical eye is the receptacle of light, and by means of its rays gives light to the body, so the understanding and conscience are the medium through which spiritual instruction is received into the soul. And as the body is left to grope its way in darkness as soon as its eye no longer takes in the light, so the soul is devoid of discernment when communion with God is broken. It is in His light, and there alone, that we “see light” (Psalms 36:9). While the glory of God be truly our aim and His word our rule, “good judgment” will be ours, so that we shall see and avoid the snares of self-will and the pitfalls of Satan; but when the gratification of self becomes our end and carnal reason be our regulator, we shall be given up to folly, confusion and disaster.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:23). The “evil eye” is the mind or understanding of the unregenerate man, having some light of intelligence in it by nature, yet terribly blinded and darkened by the corruption of sin through our fall in Adam. That the reader may have a more definite conception of the havoc which sin has thus wrought in us, it should be pointed out that man’s understanding has lost the gift of discernment and judgment in spiritual things, so that he mistakes evil for good, earthly for heavenly, things to be refused for things to be chosen. This is clear from the natural man’s ignorance and blindness in the real knowledge of God. It is true that the mind of the natural man possesses some knowledge of God: he believes in His existence and professes to own His supremacy. Yet such knowledge as he possesses, though rendering him accountable to his Maker, exerts no spiritual influence upon his soul and life. Proof of this appears in the following facts.

The natural man does not realize and own in a practical way the presence of God, that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3): if he did, he would not, without fear and trembling, dare to commit those sins in God’s sight which he is afraid and ashamed to commit before the eyes of his fellows. The natural man does not realize and own the particular providences of God, for in time of want and distress, when outward springs dry up, his heart is dead within him and the promise of help from man does more to cheer him than any hope he has in God. How plain it is then that he trusts more in the creature than he does in the Creator. Again, the natural man does not realize and own the justice of God, for he imagines that though he sins yet he shall escape punishment: by his very conduct he says, “I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst” (Deuteronomy 29:19). Though the natural man knows God must be worshipped, yet he is quite incapable of discerning the right kind of worship: the vast majority bow down before idols and images, and even those who pretend outwardly to honour the true God have their hearts far from Him while engaged in such exercises (Matthew 15:8).

What lamentable proofs are these that sin has debased man, corrupted the very springs of his being, and blinded his understanding. What unmistakable and irrefutable evidences are these that the “eye” of the unregenerate is an evil one. Though blessed with rationality, though endowed with the perception that God is and that He is to be owned and worshipped, though capable of receiving intellectual instruction concerning the character and claims of God, yet such knowledge avails him nothing in a spiritual way. The unregenerate is blind to God’s glory, unaffected by His majesty, unawed by His sovereignty, unsoftened by His goodness, unable to worship Him aright or do that which is acceptable to Him. How clear it is that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them; because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Before he can have any spiritual discernment or experiential acquaintance with God, before he can obtain an effectual and transforming knowledge of Him, he must be born again (1 John 5:20)

Not only does the blindness of the natural man appear in his crass ignorance of God, but also with respect to himself. His mind is totally lacking in spiritual discernment. This is evident from the following facts. The unregenerate are completely unaware of the awful darkness which rests upon their understandings. They deem themselves to be wise, when in the things of God they are veritable fools: “the way of peace have they not known” (Romans 3:17). When really awakened by the Holy Spirit they are made aware of this, for their cry then is, “What must I do to be saved?” So blind is the natural man that he cannot discern aright of his own sins nor see the vileness of them: if he did, he would not continue therein as he does.

He judges wrongly of his frailty and mortality: others may be cut off in youth, but not so himself; no matter how old, he still gives himself several more years. This is why we are instructed to pray, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalms 90:12).

So blind is the natural man that he is incapable of discerning aright the scope and end of his life, which is to aim at the glory of God and be a help and blessing to his fellows. But so far from this characterizing them, the unregenerate think little or nothing about these things, but seek their own praise and are a stumbling-block unto their neighbours. Nor can the natural man judge rightly of his own true happiness. So stupid and sottish is he that he measures happiness by outward things, esteeming the wealthy to be envied and the poor to be pitied. Therefore does he regard phantoms as realities and realities as phantoms, and spends his time and strength in pursuing the shadows while he misses the substance. That is why we are exhorted to set our affection “upon things above” (Colossians 3:2), for by nature they are fixed upon things below.

From all of this it is unmistakably evident that the eye of the natural man is an “evil” one, that sin has debased his faculties, darkened his understanding, destroyed his spiritual perception. And unless God is pleased to perform a miracle of grace upon us, “the blackness of darkness” (Jude 1:13) must inevitably be our portion for ever.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall he full of darkness” (Matthew 6:23). Here is the fruit of an evil eye: the whole man is affected. If the understanding be Divinely illumined and the aim be the glory of God, the whole soul will be rightly directed and its activities be holy; but where the mind is blinded by sin and Satan, all the faculties of the inner man are vitiated and all his actions are evil. It is a striking fact in the natural realm that an injured optic cannot bear the light, which solemnly shadows forth the awful spiritual state of the unregenerate. They cannot endure the presence of God, nor His Word which condemns them. Their eye is evil, their judgment is blinded by love of the world, and therefore their whole life is full of disorder and unrighteousness.

How can it be otherwise, when their most important faculty, which should discern between good and evil and direct accordingly, is vitiated, disabled thereunto? Thus, “The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble” (Proverbs 4:19).

What cause is there for humiliation and self-judgment: that by nature we are utterly unable to judge rightly either of God or of ourselves, that we have a mind which is so corrupt that it produces nothing but disorder in the whole of our life. How greatly we dread natural blindness: what horror strikes the heart when we have reason to think we are in imminent danger of being deprived of bodily vision; yet how much worse is that spiritual darkness whereby the soul is kept from God under the power of Satan! Fearful beyond words is such a state, yet the vast majority of our fellows are quite insensible of their wretched plight and indifferent when it is declared unto them. What cause for thankfulness, then, if the writer and the reader have been enabled to discover their blindness: in such case, how diligently should we heed that word of the great Physician, “I counsel thee to buy of Me . . . eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:18). We must seek from Him that enlightening of His Spirit, through the Word, for this is that “anointing” which “teacheth us all things” (1 John 2:27).

Hereby we perceive how the course of the world, in regard to the state of their minds, is to be reproved, for on every side we behold those who are quite content with an evil eye. Even those who acknowledge, in a formal way, that God is and He is to be loved and worshipped, and that we should love our neighbours as ourselves, yet they seek no farther. They have nothing more than the mere light of nature, the remnants of intelligence left to them since the Fall. They are still in spiritual darkness, “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Their life is full of darkness, and they shall yet be “cast into the outer darkness” unless the Lord is pleased to have mercy upon them. A natural knowledge of Divine things will save no man.

The homage of our lips and the external reformation of our lives will not secure God’s favour. Nothing but a new creation in Christ, being renewed in the spirit of our minds, God commanding the light to shine “in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:6), will avail any for eternity.

Since this “evil eye” is in each of us by nature, what care we need to take lest we be wise in our own conceits, especially in matters of salvation: herein the Word of God must be our wisdom. “Ye shall not do . . . every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes,” but “all that I command thee,” says the Lord (Deuteronomy 12:8-11). It is not for the creature to say how the Creator is to be worshipped, nor for the sinner to determine how he shall he saved, yet such is their blind presumption that men will be their own masters in such things. The Jew, the Mohammedan, the papist, has each his own different manner of worshipping God and of seeking salvation, yet though they all depart from the Truth, each is thoroughly convinced that his worship meets with the Divine acceptance and that heaven will be his eternal home. And so it is with the majority who have been brought up among Protestants: either they rely on their own works, trust in their own faith (such as it is), or else they persuade themselves that if they repent at the last and commit their souls unto God all will be well.

Since this evil eye is in each of us by nature, then how earnestly we should pray for and labour after the eye of faith, by which alone we look unto the mercy of God in Christ and rest in His promises, for all things needful both in life and in death. This eye looks out of self for those supplies of grace which are lacking in natural knowledge. By means of the eye of faith we are enabled to discern aright both of God and of ourselves: His holiness and claims, our vileness and wants. By this eye we are enabled to see things afar off, to be persuaded of them, to embrace the same (Hebrews 11:13). Yea, by it we are enabled to perceive things which are invisible, for “faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). By it Abraham saw the day of Christ, and was “glad” (John 8:56).

This will enable us to walk in the steps of the patriarchs unto the heavenly city. Then let us earnestly beg God for this eye of faith, that by becoming the children of the promise we may be counted for the seed.

“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). Unspeakably solemn is this. “The light that is in thee” is the light of nature, the remnants of that moral and intellectual perception with which man was originally endowed. It is that knowledge of God and that discernment of good and evil which though greatly dimmed and corrupted by the Fall has not been utterly extinguished, for the veriest atheist and the most voluptuous wretch still has some stirrings of conscience left within him, some inklings that there is a God and that he is accountable to Him. But if that remaining “light” be stifled, if no use be made of it, if its promptings be constantly resisted, if the voice of conscience be deliberately silenced, until God is denied and His Word rejected as a Divine revelation, then even that “light” becomes “darkness” and its possessors are given over by God to a reprobate mind. And then “how great is that darkness”: sin is committed greedily, without remorse; there is then nothing in that man’s life but brutish confusion and devilish actions.

“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” These words may also be legitimately applied unto those who are led astray by religious error and given up to fanaticism. When men deem themselves to have been extraordinarily illumined, to have received some voice or vision from heaven which will not stand the test of Holy Writ, some fancied “baptism of the Spirit” which renders them independent of the Scriptures, supposing that this special light within is all that they need, “how great is that darkness.” Finally, there is a yet more solemn application of these words of Christ to those who have sat under a sound ministry: the light of the Truth has shone upon their minds, only to be resisted and the Spirit quenched, and how great is their darkness! “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20).

If then the very light of nature may be put out and the light of the Gospel quenched by us, how seriously we ought to meditate upon our vileness, for we have within us such brutish lusts and devilish desires that unless they be restrained and kept under, they will surely plunge us into the blackness of darkness for ever. How the realization of this should humble us! And hereby we should be admonished to mortify our corrupt desires and unruly affections. Before the Fall, the mind ruled the will and the affections, but now these inferior faculties overrule the mind, so that they lead us into folly against our better judgment. Our only safeguard is to deny our perverse wills and corrupt desires, and strive to bring them into subjection unto the Word of God. And how we need to heed that injunction, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Then let us seek grace to embrace the Gospel, walk according to its precepts, and beg God to unite our hearts to fear His name.

Matthew 6:23

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 30

THE SINGLE EYE

Matthew 6:22-23

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.”

Though there is substantial agreement among the commentators in their interpretation of these verses, yet we find considerable difference when it comes to their explanation of details, especially so in connection with the repeated mention of the “eye” and exactly what is connoted thereby. We therefore propose to examine carefully the several terms here employed by our Lord; then seek to ascertain the coherence of the passage, its relation to the context; and then look for the practical application unto ourselves.

“The light of the body is the eye,” rendered “the lamp of the body is the eye” by both Bagster’s Interlinear and the American R.V. We believe this a more accurate translation, for the Greek word for “light” in this clause is quite different from the one used in “full of light” at the end of the verse, it being the same as that found in Luke 12:35-36. In describing the eye as the “lamp” of the body Christ employed a most apt figure, since that organ has no light within itself. The great source of light to the world and of all things therein is the sun, yet such cannot illumine the body without the eye as a medium. The eye is the receptacle of its light, and by means of its rays, which flow into it, gives light to the body. The word for “if therefore thine eye be single” occurs again only in Luke 12:34, yet it is found in a slightly different form in “for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12).

Thus the meaning of our Lord appears to be something like this: the activities of the body are directed according to the light which is received through the eye. When that organ is sound and functioning properly, perceiving objects as they really are, the whole body is illumined, and we are able to discharge our duties and to move with safety and circumspection. But if the eye be blind, or its vision faulty, then we perceive objects confusedly and without distinction, and then we stumble as if in the dark, and cannot perform our task or journey properly, being continually liable to lose our way or run into danger. So far all is simple and plain. But what, we may ask, is connoted by the “eye”? and what is here signified by “the whole body”? That these are figures of speech is obvious, but figures of what? It is at this point the commentators vary so much in their explanations.

Matthew Henry begins his exposition with, “The eye, that is, the heart (so some), if that be single-free and bountiful, so the word is frequently rendered as in Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2-9, 2 Corinthians 8:11, 2 Corinthians 8:13; James 1:5; and we read of a ‘bountiful eye’ (Proverbs 22:9). If the heart be liberally affected and stand inclined to goodness and charity, it will direct the man to Christian actions, the whole conversation will be ‘full of light,’ full of the evidences and instances of true Christianity-that pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father (James 1:27); ‘full of light,’ or good works, which are our light shining before man. But if the heart be ’evil,’ covetous. hard, and envious, grinding and grudging (such a temper of mind is often expressed by an evil eye-Matthew 20:15; Mark 7:22; Proverbs 23:6-7), the body will be ‘full of darkness,’ and the whole conversation will be heathenish and un-Christian. The instruments of the churl are and always will be ’evil,’ but ’the liberal deviseth liberal things’ (Isaiah 32:5-8).”

Such an explanation agrees well with the context, both with the more remote as well as the immediate. As we pointed out in the opening paragraphs of chapter twenty-eight (page 185), in this fifth section of His Sermon (which runs from Matthew 6:19-34, to the end of the chapter) Christ’s design was to correct the erroneous views of the Jews concerning the character of His kingdom, and to divert the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness, and this by a variety of cogent reasons. Having warned them that our characters conform to that which we treasure most, He now intimates that discernment in our choice of treasure will be determined by the singleness of our eye or aim. Yet a little consideration of the above interpretation shows it is too narrow for the scope of our passage: the “eye” is here called the light of “the whole body,” but clearly a liberal mind is not the regulator of all our affections and actions, but only of works of mercy and bounty.

Continuing his remarks, Matthew Henry went on to say, “The eye, that is, the understanding (so some): the practical judgment, the conscience, which is to the other faculties of the soul as the eye is to the body, to guide and direct their motions. Now if the eye be ‘single,’ if it make a true and right judgment, and discern things that differ, especially in the great concern of laying up the treasure so as to choose right in that, it will rightly guide the affections and actions, which will all be ‘full of light,’ of grace and comfort. But if the eye be ’evil,’ corrupt, and instead of leading the inferior powers, is led, and bribed, and biased by them, if this be erroneous and misinformed, the heart and life must needs be ‘full of darkness,’ the whole conversation corrupt. They that will not understand are said to walk on in darkness (Psalms 82:5). It is said when the spirit of a man, which should be ’the candle of the Lord,’ is an ignis fatuus; when the leaders of the people, the leaders of the faculties, cause them to err, for then they that are led of them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16). An error in the practical judgment is fatal: it is that which calls evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). therefore it concerns us to understand things aright, to get our eyes anointed with eye-salve.”

This we deem to be more satisfactory, though it is rather lacking in perspicuity, drawing no clear distinction between the “eye” and the eye being “single.” We believe the “eye” in this parable of Christ’s is to be taken for the understanding, for this is the faculty of the soul which more than any other gives direction to the whole man in all his motions. What a man believes is what largely determines how he lives-“as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” Such an interpretation differentiates more definitely between what we have in the previous verse as also in the one which follows. In Matthew 6:21 the “heart” stands principally (though not exclusively) for the affections, for they are what are fixed upon our “treasure.” In Matthew 6:24 (the serving of God and mammon) it is the will which is primarily in view. Thus in Matthew 6:21-24 we have the affections, the understanding, and the will respectively, which together make up the inner man.

“If the eye be single” or sound in vision. The contrast presented in the next verse is that of the eye being “evil” or “wicked,” so that a “single” eye is a good or holy one. And what is a good “eye”? Plainly it is a renewed understanding, an anointed eye, a mind illuminated by the Spirit of God, a mind which is dominated and regulated by the Truth. As the body is furnished with light for its activities by means of the eye, so the mind is fitted for its operations only as it is receptive to the influences of the Holy Spirit. A “single” eye has but one object-God, the pleasing and glorifying of Him.

This is borne out by the other occurrence (in a slightly different form) of this word: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12). The joyful confidence of the apostle-which sustained him in his labours-consisted of the consciousness of his sincerity, namely his “simplicity” (the opposite of duplicity) and godly sincerity of spiritual translucence.

“The eye, that is, the aims and intentions. By the eye we set our end before us, the mark we aim at, the place we go to, we keep that in view, and direct our motion accordingly. In everything we do in religion there is something or other that we have in our eye: now if our eye be single, if we aim honestly, fix right ends, and move rightly towards them, if we aim purely and only at the glory of God, seek His honour and favour, and direct all entirely to Him, then the eye is single. Paul’s was so when he said, ’to me to live is Christ’; and if we be right here, ’the whole body will be full of light’-all the actions will be regular and gracious, pleasing to God and comfortable to ourselves. But if the eye be evil, if, instead of aiming only at the glory of God and our acceptance with Him, we look aside at the applause of men, and while we profess to honour God, contrive to honour ourselves, and seek our own things under color of seeking the things of Christ, this spoils all-the whole conversation will be perverse and unsteady, and the foundations being thus out of course, there can be nothing but confusion and every evil work in the superstructure” (Matthew Henry).

So much then for the meaning of the principal terms of our passage. Let us next consider its connection with the context. This appears to be somewhat as follows: our discernment between things, our estimation of values, our practical judgment of earthly and heavenly objects is very largely determined by the condition of our understanding-whether it be Divinely illumined or still in nature’s darkness. An enlightened understanding, perceiving objects according to their real nature and worth, enables its possessor to form a true judgment, to make a wise choice and to act aright respecting them. But a darkened understanding, conveying a wrong estimate of things, results in an erroneous choice and a disastrous end. In the latter case the “light which is in” a man is unaided human reason, and moved according to its dictates men imagine that they are acting wisely when instead they are pursuing a course of egregious folly, and then how great is their darkness!

Above we have intimated the general connection, but there was also a more particular one with special reference to the Jews. In Matthew 6:19-21 Christ had pointed out that true happiness is of a spiritual and not of a carnal nature, and that it is to be found (in perfection) not on earth but in heaven. A firm conviction of this is indispensable if our thoughts, desires and pursuits are to take that direction in which true blessedness is to be obtained. But the bulk of the Jews were expecting from their Messiah riches of a mundane and worldly nature, and therefore they despised and refused the spiritual joys He made known to them-their “treasure” being earthly (restored Palestine), their hearts were so too. And why was this? Because the light in them was darkness.

They had been erroneously taught, and as unregenerate men they could not perceive their error. They must be born again before they could “enter” or even “see” the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5).

The false notions of the Jews respecting the Messiah’s kingdom corresponded to the carnal desires of their corrupt hearts, and but served to illustrate what is common to fallen human nature, for “as in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man” (Proverbs 27:19). The Gentile no more than the Jew has any love or longing for spiritual things, nor can either the one or the other perceive the wretchedness of his condition, for the light which is in them is darkness, great darkness. Proof of this is furnished by Christ in the verses we are now considering: in them He may be regarded as replying to a secret objection which the hearts of men were likely to frame against the two commandments which He had just given. Should it be asked, If there be such a necessity of laying up treasure in heaven and of avoiding to lay up treasure on earth, why is it that the best educated, the shrewdest, the great men of this world commonly seek earthly riches far more than heavenly?

This is a question which, in one form or another, often exercises young Christians and stumbles inquirers, if the true riches of the soul are found not in the things of time and sense, why is it that our fellows labour so hard for “that which satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2)? If the best which this world has to offer us perishes with the using of it, why is it prized so highly by almost one and all? Here is the explanation: because men view things through a vitiated eye, so that the real appears but a phantom, and the shadows are mistaken for the substance. Marvel not at this, says Christ, they lack the single eye, the Divinely enlightened understanding, they are in nature’s darkness: they cannot discern between things that differ, they are incapable of judging aright of the true treasure, and being ignorant of the heavenly they seek only the earthly.

In order that we may have a better conception of what a single “eye” consists of, we need to inquire diligently into what true wisdom is. Spiritual wisdom is no common gift which every professing Christian possesses, but is a special bestowment of God in Christ peculiar to those who are regenerated, for Christ Himself is made wisdom unto them (1 Corinthians 1:30). And this, not only because He is the matter of their wisdom-they being only truly wise when they are brought to know Christ and Him crucified, but because He is the root thereof. In Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3), and as believers are vitally united to Him they partake of His virtues, as a branch derives vitality from its stock.

Now this heavenly wisdom has two actions: the first is to discern aright between things that differ. Thus Paul prayed for the Philippians: “that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent,” or as the margin, “try things that differ” (Phi 1:9-10): that is distinguish good from evil, heavenly from earthly. Thereby the children of God distinguish the voice of Christ, the true Shepherd, from the voice of all false shepherds. Thereby they put a difference between the water of baptism and all other waters, and between the Lord’s supper and all other bread-discerning the Lord’s body therein. Thereby they discern their election and calling, perceiving more or less in themselves the marks thereof. Thereby they see the hand of God in providence, ever making all things minister to their ultimate good. “He that is spiritual judgeth all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15), which the natural man cannot do.

The second action of this true and heavenly wisdom is to determine and give sentence of things, what is to be done and what is not to be done, what is good and what is evil in behavior. But here let it be remembered that the principal work of this wisdom is to determine of true happiness, whereto the whole life of man ought to be directed, which happiness is the love and favour of God in Christ. Herein David showed his wisdom to be far different from that of the godless around him: “there be many that say, Who will show us any good?"-that is the world’s vain quest for happiness: “Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us” (Psalms 4:6)- wherein is the believer’s true happiness. So too with the apostle Paul (Phi 3:8). The same should be our wisdom, for if man have all learning and an intellect developed to the highest possible point, yet if he fail rightly to determine of true blessedness his sagacity is folly. Another important part of this heavenly wisdom is the right use of means whereby we arrive at this happiness.

Now the fruit of this single eye is to make “the whole body full of light,” that is to order the entire life aright, guiding it into the paths of righteousness and making it abound in good works. “I [wisdom-see Proverbs 8:1, Proverbs 8:11] lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance” (Proverbs 8:20-21). How urgently it behooves us, then, to seek after and endeavour to make sure we have obtained this true wisdom: if the mind endowed thus possesses such powers of discrimination, how necessary it is that we become partakers thereof. In order to this we must be very careful to get the fear of God into our hearts, for “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10). This fear is a reverential awe of the heart toward God, whereby a person is fearful to offend and careful to please Him in all things. And this we obtain if we receive His Word with reverence, apply it to our own souls as we read it, tremble when it searches our conscience, and humbly submit ourselves unto it without repining. David could say, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105), and therefore “Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies” (Psalms 119:98). If we would be truly wise we must cease leaning unto our own understanding and be directed by the Word in all things.

Our deep need of diligently seeking after a single eye-an enlightened understanding, a mind endued with true wisdom- appears in the solemn fact that by nature each of us possesses an eye that is evil, filling our whole body with darkness. In consequence of the fall we lost the power to judge aright in spiritual things, so that we mistake evil for good, things which ought to be refused for things which ought to be chosen. The natural man perceives not the presence of God, or he would be restrained from doing things which he is ashamed to do in the sight of his fellows. The natural man perceives not the sufficiency of God, or he would not trust in the creature far more than in the Creator. The natural man is blind to the justice of God, or he would not persuade himself that sin as he may yet he shall escape punishment. So too the natural man is blind self-ward: he perceives not his own darkness, his sinfulness, his impotency, his frailty, his true happiness.

Since this evil eye is in each of us by nature, we should constantly remind ourselves of our inability to judge rightly either of God or of ourselves, for it is the first step in true knowledge to acknowledge our own blindness. We must be suitably affected by such a realization, judging ourselves unsparingly, bewailing our misery, that we have a mind so corrupt that it disorders the whole of our conduct and seeks by grace to mortify the same. Since this evil eye is common to human nature, we discover therein what explains the mad course followed by the unregenerate, why they are so infatuated by sin and so in love with the world, and why the seriously inclined among them are deceived by error and captivated by false doctrines. Since human reason is now completely eclipsed, how profoundly thankful we should be for the light of God’s Word, yet if that light illumine us and we fail to walk accordingly, suppressing its requirements, then doubly great will be our darkness.

Chapter 31

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” In these words Christ continues to illustrate and enforce the principle which He had inculcated all through this part of His Sermon, namely the vital importance and imperative necessity of a pure motive and right aim in all we do. First, He had shown this in the matter of our “alms” or deeds of charity, if the same are to meet with God’s acceptance (Matthew 6:2-4). Second, He had insisted thereon in connection with our “prayers,” if they were to meet with God’s approval (Matthew 6:5-15). Next, He had pointed out the same in regard to “fasting,” if we are to receive anything more than the hypocrite’s portion (Matthew 6:16-18).

Then He had applied the same principle to the laying up of riches, pointing Out that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also (Matthew 6:19-21). And how are we to obtain right views of what the true and imperishable " treasure” is, and where it is to be found? This is the question which our Lord here anticipated and proceeded to answer.

By use of a striking figure Christ proceeded to urge upon His hearers that their undivided gaze must be fixed upon the things which are above. “The light [or better, “lamp”] of the body is the eye.” This refers in the first instance to the light of reason, which distinguishes man from the lower orders of creation: animals are guided by their instincts, but man was to be regulated by his intelligence, an intelligence which capacitated him for communion with his Maker, and so long as he remained in communion with Him who is Light, his mind would so inform and govern his soul that all his ways would be ordered to God’s glory and meet with His approbation. But alas, man forsook the Fountain of all blessing, left the place of dependency, apostatized. As the consequence his “eye” became “evil” or, in other words, his understanding was darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in him, because of the blindness of his heart (Ephesians 4:18). Hence the imperative need of his being renewed in the spirit of his mind (Ephesians 4:23).

In seeking to ponder the verses which are now before us, it needs to be carefully borne in mind that Christ was not here addressing a heathen audience or part of the profane world, but Jews who professed to be the Lord’s people. As such they were far from being atheists or infidels, rather did they acknowledge the Supreme Being and perform outward worship unto Him, though for the most part their hearts were far from Him. Their aims and intentions were divided: that is why in verse 24 the Saviour warns them, “No man can serve two masters,” which was the very thing they were vainly attempting. Hence it should be carefully noted that Christ did not here say “if thine eye be good” (which would be the most obvious antithesis from the “evil eye” in the next verse), but “if thine eye be single,” which both anticipates and forms a link with verse 24. Yet it is also to be pointed out that our Lord used the most suitable word pathologically, for a good or sound vision is a “single” one-to see double or to look at different objects or different parts of an object with each eye is proof that our visual organs are defective, a sign of approaching blindness.

Now at regeneration the eye of the soul is renewed and its vision rectified, the eye of faith is opened, the understanding is Divinely enlightened, and God becomes its all-absorbing object and His glory the chief concern of its possessor. In consequence, the whole of the soul is now “full of light,” all its faculties come under its beneficent influences: the conscience being informed, the affections warmed, the will moved to action in the right direction. An enlightened understanding and a Divinely instructed conscience are now able to distinguish between things that differ, between good and evil, things heavenly and things earthly. Thereby the child of God discriminates between the voice of Christ, the true Shepherd, and the voices of all false shepherds; between the Source of true happiness and those broken cisterns which hold no water. Thus the believer, by means of his spiritual judgment (which is informed and educated by the Word of God), determines and gives sentence of things: what is to be done and what is to be avoided; endowed with heavenly wisdom he learns the secret of real blessedness and joy unspeakable.

But let it be pointed out that it is only so long as the believer’s “eye” remains “single” in a practical way that his whole body (soul) is “full of light.” As the physical eye, the organ of sight, has no light whatever of its own, but must be illumined from without, so the renewed understanding is entirely dependent upon God for constant enlightenment. As the physical eye is the receptacle of light, and by means of its rays gives light to the body, so the understanding and conscience are the medium through which spiritual instruction is received into the soul. And as the body is left to grope its way in darkness as soon as its eye no longer takes in the light, so the soul is devoid of discernment when communion with God is broken. It is in His light, and there alone, that we “see light” (Psalms 36:9). While the glory of God be truly our aim and His word our rule, “good judgment” will be ours, so that we shall see and avoid the snares of self-will and the pitfalls of Satan; but when the gratification of self becomes our end and carnal reason be our regulator, we shall be given up to folly, confusion and disaster.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:23). The “evil eye” is the mind or understanding of the unregenerate man, having some light of intelligence in it by nature, yet terribly blinded and darkened by the corruption of sin through our fall in Adam. That the reader may have a more definite conception of the havoc which sin has thus wrought in us, it should be pointed out that man’s understanding has lost the gift of discernment and judgment in spiritual things, so that he mistakes evil for good, earthly for heavenly, things to be refused for things to be chosen. This is clear from the natural man’s ignorance and blindness in the real knowledge of God. It is true that the mind of the natural man possesses some knowledge of God: he believes in His existence and professes to own His supremacy. Yet such knowledge as he possesses, though rendering him accountable to his Maker, exerts no spiritual influence upon his soul and life. Proof of this appears in the following facts.

The natural man does not realize and own in a practical way the presence of God, that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3): if he did, he would not, without fear and trembling, dare to commit those sins in God’s sight which he is afraid and ashamed to commit before the eyes of his fellows. The natural man does not realize and own the particular providences of God, for in time of want and distress, when outward springs dry up, his heart is dead within him and the promise of help from man does more to cheer him than any hope he has in God. How plain it is then that he trusts more in the creature than he does in the Creator. Again, the natural man does not realize and own the justice of God, for he imagines that though he sins yet he shall escape punishment: by his very conduct he says, “I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst” (Deuteronomy 29:19). Though the natural man knows God must be worshipped, yet he is quite incapable of discerning the right kind of worship: the vast majority bow down before idols and images, and even those who pretend outwardly to honour the true God have their hearts far from Him while engaged in such exercises (Matthew 15:8).

What lamentable proofs are these that sin has debased man, corrupted the very springs of his being, and blinded his understanding. What unmistakable and irrefutable evidences are these that the “eye” of the unregenerate is an evil one. Though blessed with rationality, though endowed with the perception that God is and that He is to be owned and worshipped, though capable of receiving intellectual instruction concerning the character and claims of God, yet such knowledge avails him nothing in a spiritual way. The unregenerate is blind to God’s glory, unaffected by His majesty, unawed by His sovereignty, unsoftened by His goodness, unable to worship Him aright or do that which is acceptable to Him. How clear it is that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them; because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Before he can have any spiritual discernment or experiential acquaintance with God, before he can obtain an effectual and transforming knowledge of Him, he must be born again (1 John 5:20)

Not only does the blindness of the natural man appear in his crass ignorance of God, but also with respect to himself. His mind is totally lacking in spiritual discernment. This is evident from the following facts. The unregenerate are completely unaware of the awful darkness which rests upon their understandings. They deem themselves to be wise, when in the things of God they are veritable fools: “the way of peace have they not known” (Romans 3:17). When really awakened by the Holy Spirit they are made aware of this, for their cry then is, “What must I do to be saved?” So blind is the natural man that he cannot discern aright of his own sins nor see the vileness of them: if he did, he would not continue therein as he does.

He judges wrongly of his frailty and mortality: others may be cut off in youth, but not so himself; no matter how old, he still gives himself several more years. This is why we are instructed to pray, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalms 90:12).

So blind is the natural man that he is incapable of discerning aright the scope and end of his life, which is to aim at the glory of God and be a help and blessing to his fellows. But so far from this characterizing them, the unregenerate think little or nothing about these things, but seek their own praise and are a stumbling-block unto their neighbours. Nor can the natural man judge rightly of his own true happiness. So stupid and sottish is he that he measures happiness by outward things, esteeming the wealthy to be envied and the poor to be pitied. Therefore does he regard phantoms as realities and realities as phantoms, and spends his time and strength in pursuing the shadows while he misses the substance. That is why we are exhorted to set our affection “upon things above” (Colossians 3:2), for by nature they are fixed upon things below.

From all of this it is unmistakably evident that the eye of the natural man is an “evil” one, that sin has debased his faculties, darkened his understanding, destroyed his spiritual perception. And unless God is pleased to perform a miracle of grace upon us, “the blackness of darkness” (Jude 1:13) must inevitably be our portion for ever.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall he full of darkness” (Matthew 6:23). Here is the fruit of an evil eye: the whole man is affected. If the understanding be Divinely illumined and the aim be the glory of God, the whole soul will be rightly directed and its activities be holy; but where the mind is blinded by sin and Satan, all the faculties of the inner man are vitiated and all his actions are evil. It is a striking fact in the natural realm that an injured optic cannot bear the light, which solemnly shadows forth the awful spiritual state of the unregenerate. They cannot endure the presence of God, nor His Word which condemns them. Their eye is evil, their judgment is blinded by love of the world, and therefore their whole life is full of disorder and unrighteousness.

How can it be otherwise, when their most important faculty, which should discern between good and evil and direct accordingly, is vitiated, disabled thereunto? Thus, “The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble” (Proverbs 4:19).

What cause is there for humiliation and self-judgment: that by nature we are utterly unable to judge rightly either of God or of ourselves, that we have a mind which is so corrupt that it produces nothing but disorder in the whole of our life. How greatly we dread natural blindness: what horror strikes the heart when we have reason to think we are in imminent danger of being deprived of bodily vision; yet how much worse is that spiritual darkness whereby the soul is kept from God under the power of Satan! Fearful beyond words is such a state, yet the vast majority of our fellows are quite insensible of their wretched plight and indifferent when it is declared unto them. What cause for thankfulness, then, if the writer and the reader have been enabled to discover their blindness: in such case, how diligently should we heed that word of the great Physician, “I counsel thee to buy of Me . . . eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:18). We must seek from Him that enlightening of His Spirit, through the Word, for this is that “anointing” which “teacheth us all things” (1 John 2:27).

Hereby we perceive how the course of the world, in regard to the state of their minds, is to be reproved, for on every side we behold those who are quite content with an evil eye. Even those who acknowledge, in a formal way, that God is and He is to be loved and worshipped, and that we should love our neighbours as ourselves, yet they seek no farther. They have nothing more than the mere light of nature, the remnants of intelligence left to them since the Fall. They are still in spiritual darkness, “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Their life is full of darkness, and they shall yet be “cast into the outer darkness” unless the Lord is pleased to have mercy upon them. A natural knowledge of Divine things will save no man.

The homage of our lips and the external reformation of our lives will not secure God’s favour. Nothing but a new creation in Christ, being renewed in the spirit of our minds, God commanding the light to shine “in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:6), will avail any for eternity.

Since this “evil eye” is in each of us by nature, what care we need to take lest we be wise in our own conceits, especially in matters of salvation: herein the Word of God must be our wisdom. “Ye shall not do . . . every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes,” but “all that I command thee,” says the Lord (Deuteronomy 12:8-11). It is not for the creature to say how the Creator is to be worshipped, nor for the sinner to determine how he shall he saved, yet such is their blind presumption that men will be their own masters in such things. The Jew, the Mohammedan, the papist, has each his own different manner of worshipping God and of seeking salvation, yet though they all depart from the Truth, each is thoroughly convinced that his worship meets with the Divine acceptance and that heaven will be his eternal home. And so it is with the majority who have been brought up among Protestants: either they rely on their own works, trust in their own faith (such as it is), or else they persuade themselves that if they repent at the last and commit their souls unto God all will be well.

Since this evil eye is in each of us by nature, then how earnestly we should pray for and labour after the eye of faith, by which alone we look unto the mercy of God in Christ and rest in His promises, for all things needful both in life and in death. This eye looks out of self for those supplies of grace which are lacking in natural knowledge. By means of the eye of faith we are enabled to discern aright both of God and of ourselves: His holiness and claims, our vileness and wants. By this eye we are enabled to see things afar off, to be persuaded of them, to embrace the same (Hebrews 11:13). Yea, by it we are enabled to perceive things which are invisible, for “faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). By it Abraham saw the day of Christ, and was “glad” (John 8:56).

This will enable us to walk in the steps of the patriarchs unto the heavenly city. Then let us earnestly beg God for this eye of faith, that by becoming the children of the promise we may be counted for the seed.

“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). Unspeakably solemn is this. “The light that is in thee” is the light of nature, the remnants of that moral and intellectual perception with which man was originally endowed. It is that knowledge of God and that discernment of good and evil which though greatly dimmed and corrupted by the Fall has not been utterly extinguished, for the veriest atheist and the most voluptuous wretch still has some stirrings of conscience left within him, some inklings that there is a God and that he is accountable to Him. But if that remaining “light” be stifled, if no use be made of it, if its promptings be constantly resisted, if the voice of conscience be deliberately silenced, until God is denied and His Word rejected as a Divine revelation, then even that “light” becomes “darkness” and its possessors are given over by God to a reprobate mind. And then “how great is that darkness”: sin is committed greedily, without remorse; there is then nothing in that man’s life but brutish confusion and devilish actions.

“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” These words may also be legitimately applied unto those who are led astray by religious error and given up to fanaticism. When men deem themselves to have been extraordinarily illumined, to have received some voice or vision from heaven which will not stand the test of Holy Writ, some fancied “baptism of the Spirit” which renders them independent of the Scriptures, supposing that this special light within is all that they need, “how great is that darkness.” Finally, there is a yet more solemn application of these words of Christ to those who have sat under a sound ministry: the light of the Truth has shone upon their minds, only to be resisted and the Spirit quenched, and how great is their darkness! “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20).

If then the very light of nature may be put out and the light of the Gospel quenched by us, how seriously we ought to meditate upon our vileness, for we have within us such brutish lusts and devilish desires that unless they be restrained and kept under, they will surely plunge us into the blackness of darkness for ever. How the realization of this should humble us! And hereby we should be admonished to mortify our corrupt desires and unruly affections. Before the Fall, the mind ruled the will and the affections, but now these inferior faculties overrule the mind, so that they lead us into folly against our better judgment. Our only safeguard is to deny our perverse wills and corrupt desires, and strive to bring them into subjection unto the Word of God. And how we need to heed that injunction, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Then let us seek grace to embrace the Gospel, walk according to its precepts, and beg God to unite our hearts to fear His name.

Matthew 6:24

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 32

SERVING GOD

Matthew 6:24

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”

Those who have read attentively the last few chapters of this series will scarcely need for us to point out the relation of this verse to the context. Its connection is obvious almost at a glance. All through this part of His sermon Christ was separating the precious from the vile, drawing a sharp line between the true and the false. He had discriminated between the two worshippers-the genuine and the hypocrite. He had distinguished between the two treasures-earthly and heavenly. He had differentiated between the two eyes or wisdoms-the single and the evil.

Now He opposes the two masters-setting God over against mammon. Herein He teaches the ministers of His Word a most important lesson: that of drawing so clearly the line of demarcation between the regenerate and unregenerate, the possessor and the mere professor, that each hearer may have no difficulty in knowing which side of the line he belongs on. It is the general lack of such searching ministry, the substituting of superficial generalities, which is bolstering up formalists and encouraging multitudes in a vain hope.

But there is yet a closer link of connection between our present verse and those more immediately preceding it. As we pointed out in the introductory paragraphs of chapter twenty-eight Matthew 6:19-34 our Lord’s design was to turn the hearts of His hearers from a spirit of covetousness or setting their affections upon the things of time and sense: first He delivered the prohibition and commandment, and then amplified and enforced the same by a variety of cogent reasons. Those reasons so far as we have yet gone may be summed up thus: Make not material things thy chief good, because earthly treasure is of a perishing nature: moth, rust, and thieves of various kinds depleting it in spite of all precaution. Because earthly treasure captures the heart: men argue that it need not do so, but the Son of God declares it will (Matthew 6:21). Because its pursuit ends in darkness: people suppose that wealth brings light or happiness, but instead it ends in darkness and misery (Matthew 6:22-23). Because it will enslave us: if God be not our Master, the world and its representative, mammon, will be.

More immediately, Matthew 6:24 may be regarded as Christ’s refutation of a second objection which the carnal heart of man is fond of making against the commandments He has laid down in Matthew 6:19-20. There He had forbidden the treasuring up of worldly riches and had commanded the seeking of heavenly treasure. First, He had anticipated the objection, if there be such an urgent necessity of laying up treasure in heaven and abstaining from the laying up of treasures on earth, why is it that the vast majority of men, including the shrewdest and best educated, bend their energies to the seeking of earthly treasure rather than heavenly? He bids His hearers to marvel not nor be stumbled by this, seeing that the unregenerate lack a sound or single eye and therefore are incapable of judging aright of the true riches. Here in our text He refutes the common persuasion that it is possible for us to seek both, and lay up for ourselves treasures on earth and treasure in heaven as well. Men think to compound with God and the world, dividing their affections and energies between them; but Christ here exposes the utter fallacy of such an idea and the impossibility of such a course.

Once again we must bear in mind the fact that our Lord was addressing Himself more immediately to His Jewish hearers and reprehending their false conceptions of His kingdom. They entertained certain vague notions of happiness in a future regime under the Messiah, but their minds were mainly engrossed with dreams of carnal prosperity, supposing that the expectation of worldly aggrandizement and spiritual happiness were quite consistent. Our Lord informs them of their mistake: they needed to “repent” of this also-undergo a radical change of mind. But it is not the Jews only who are infected with this delusion: it is common to the Gentiles also. In every age there are multitudes who fondly hope that though they seek their happiness in earthly objects, yet it is possible for them, at the same time, to secure the enjoyment of heavenly felicity. The hypocrite has ever argued that it is well to have two strings to one’s bow, but Christ here exposes this cheat and demonstrates the impossibility of the human heart being divided between God and the world.

He who has his eye partly on God and partly on self, who desires and endeavors to grasp both worlds, deceives his own soul. Such a one is in danger of losing both, and if he does not he will certainly miss the kingdom of God. Our minds must be fixed supremely upon God in Christ, and the world sought only in strict subservience to Him. Our hearts must he given to the Lord, wholly or without reserve, and the eyes of our soul he fixed upon Him alone. Here, then, is the reason why spiritual blindness must inevitably be our portion unless both our eyes are fixed steadfastly on a heavenly Object: a man’s affections cannot be divided; if he attempts to love the things of the world as well as love God, he will certainly fail of the latter, for “the friendship of the world is enmity with God: whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). The serving of two masters is absolutely opposed to the single eye, for the eye will be at the master’s hand: “Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eves of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us” (Psalms 123:1-2).

The endeavor to lay up for ourselves both treasure upon earth and treasure in heaven is an utter impossibility, for “no man can serve two masters.” But to seek both earthly and heavenly riches is an attempt to serve two masters, to wit, God and mammon; and therefore no man can seek them both. Proof of this is here set forth by Christ by the effect of such attempts to serve, in contrary affections and behavior: “For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.” The conclusion therefore is unmistakable: “ye cannot serve God and mammon.” To “serve God” is the same thing as to “lay up treasure in heaven,” for by a Divine appointment true happiness is to be found only there, and He who has made this appointment has also ordained certain means by which we may attain unto this happiness. He who makes the attainment of this happiness, by the appointed means, the chief object in life is the servant of God-for he does the will of God. Contrariwise, to “serve mammon” is the same thing as to “lay up treasure on earth.”

“No man can serve two masters.” The force of our Lord’s declaration is more apparent in the Greek than it is here in the English. First, the word “serve” does not signify to do an occasional act of obedience, but to he a bondservant, a slave, the property of his master, constantly and entirely subject to his will. No one can thus serve two masters. The same Greek word occurs in, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). It is also found in “but now we are delivered from the law [as a covenant of works], being dead to that wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit” (Romans 7:6). Second, there are two different words in the Greek which both mean “other,” but the one signifies another of the same kind or order, while the second denotes another of an entirely different genus or sort.

When Christ here declared, “No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other,” He employed the latter term-signifying a master diametrically opposed to the other. Therefore it is evident that no one can be devoted unto two different and opposing masters.

“A man may be a servant to two masters in succession, even although they should be of very different and directly opposite characters. A man may serve two masters of opposite characters-the one in profession, the other in reality. A man may serve two masters unequally-occasionally doing an act of service to the one while he usually, habitually, serves the other. A man may serve two or more masters, if they are all on one side, all subordinate to one another: a soldier may serve his king and at the same time his commanding officer and his inferior officers, for in obeying them he is obeying his prince; but no man can be at the same time, in reality, habitually the servant of two masters who are hostile to each other, and whose interests are entirely incompatible. In this sense our Lord says, ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon’” (Jay).

“No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one”-that is, the master commanding him, disliking that he should be his master, and displeased with his orders-“and love the other”-that is, the master in whom he takes delight and with whose orders he is well pleased. “Or else he will hold to the one and despise the other,” which words are an amplification and application of the former clause, showing how it is made manifest that a servant hates one master and loves the other. His holding to-leaning toward and cleaving unto-the one declares his love unto him: that is, he applies himself to respecting his master’s pleasure and doing his commandments. And his “despising the other” denotes his hatred-seen in his having no regard to his master’s will. Thus our Lord shows the impracticability and impossibility of any man seeking to serve two opposing masters from the contrary affections and behavior exercised by the servant.

“Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon is a Syriac word which denotes “riches,” or as men term them, the good things of this world. But it is evident that the word is used as a personification: one can scarcely be said to serve inanimate things. Moreover, the figure used here is that of “two masters,” and as mammon is here opposed to God, we must understand it to signify the god of riches, the Prince of this world and the love of the world-its treasures and pleasures-which is really the service of Satan. As, then, it is impossible to serve “two masters,” how much less two gods! “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). The influence which material riches exert upon men’s minds and affections, leading them to seek happiness in them and moving them to devote their time and energies to the acquiring of the same, indicate the fearful power of this prince or master, and their yielding to that influence is the “service” which multitudes render unto him. How utterly incompatible, then, are the obtaining of heavenly happiness and the means thereto, and the seeking of earthly happiness and the efforts put forth to secure the same.

“Their orders are diametrically opposed. The one commands you to walk by faith, the other to walk by sight; the one to be humble, the other to be proud; the one to set your affections on things above, the other to set them on the things that are on the earth; the one to look at the things unseen and eternal, the other to look at the things seen and temporal; the one to have your conversation in heaven, the other to cleave to the dust; the one to be careful for nothing, the other to be all anxiety; the one to be content with such things as ye have, the other to enlarge your desires as hell; the one to be ready to distribute, the other to withhold; the one to look at the things of others, the other to look only at one’s own things; the one to seek happiness in the Creator, the other to seek happiness in the creature. Is it not plain there is no serving two such masters? If you love the one, you must hate the other; if you cleave to the one, you must despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Jay).

From our text we may perceive clearly what it is to serve God. This is a thing much spoken of, but little known, and practiced still less. To serve God is to “love” Him and to “hold to” or “cleave unto” Him. Alas, how very few out of the present-day multitudes who profess to serve God manifest these marks! Love to God consists not of words and lip patronage, but in deed and in truth. And it is to be carefully noted that in this verse Christ insists God must be loved not only as Father, but as He is a Lord and “Master,” that is, commanding us.

It is in His Word, especially in the preceptive parts thereof, that His will and pleasure are made known. It is there He has revealed the service which He requires at our hands, and if our service be sincere and genuine we must love God in His right of commanding, even though He should bestow no reward upon us. The Lord God has Himself expressly joined these two things together: “showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:6). David exemplified this principle very clearly in Psalm 119: “I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved” (Psalms 119:47 and see Psalms 119:16, Psalms 119:54, Psalms 119:97, Psalms 119:127, Psalms 119:140, Psalms 119:159, Psalms 119:167).

Moreover, our text makes it crystal clear that if we are to serve God acceptably it must be a wholehearted service that we render to Him. He is a jealous God, and will brook no rival. He is a holy God, and will tolerate no idols in the secret chambers of our souls. His demand is stated in unmistakable language: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and nothing short of that will satisfy Him: let it be duly noted that the Lord Jesus insisted on no less in Matthew 22:37. He who serves God must serve Hun singly, and his eye must be “single.” God requires all our affections and will not permit us to divide them between Him and the world. Caleb could say, “I wholly followed the Lord my God” (Joshua 14:8)- can we?

David declared, “I will keep Thy precepts with my whole heart” (Psalms 119:69)-is such our resolution? Or must the Lord say of us, “They have not wholly followed Me” (Numbers 32:11).

Furthermore, our text makes it plain that if we “serve” God acceptably we must “hold to” or “cleave unto” Him, and thereby testify our love. What is meant by cleaving to Him? This is answered for us in Luke 15, where we are told of the prodigal son that he “joined himself to a citizen of that country” (Luke 15:15), which means that he resigned and gave himself up to his service: so to cleave unto God is for a man to resign himself unto His service, obeying all His commands and embracing all His promises, not suffering himself to be drawn away from any Divine precept, either by unbelief or disobedience, even though all the world should set itself against him. This was the policy of David: “I have stuck unto Thy testimonies: O Lord.” “Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments” (Psalms 119:31, Psalms 119:6). On the contrary, when a man leans unto his own understanding, follows the corrupt desires of his heart, gives place to self-pleasing, or takes “the way of the heathen” (Jeremiah 10:2), he departs from and despises the Lord, and if that be the general trend of his conduct it is clear that he hates God, no matter what he professes by his lips to the contrary (see Titus 1:16).

From what has been before us we may clearly perceive the gross blindness and superstitious ignorance of the world. How many there are in this so-called Christian land and day of enlightenment who think that if they repeat the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed they serve God well, let their lives be never so worldly and carnal. But Christ here teaches us that in order to serve God acceptably we must cleave unto Him both in the affections of our hearts and in the activities of obedience of our lives. Thus did Abraham, the father of all them that believe, for when God called him to leave the land of his nativity he “went out not knowing whither he went”; and when the Lord bade him slay his well-beloved Isaac, he promptly proceeded to do so. Alas, Christendom is filled with atheists, for to hate and despise God is rank atheism, and all who withdraw their hearts from God, setting themselves to seek the things of this world to the neglect of obedience to the Divine commandments, are here accounted by Christ the despisers and haters of God, which is the very worst form of atheism.

From the fact that God and mammon are here opposed as two “masters,” we may learn that “mammon,” that is earthly riches, is a great lord in the world, and therefore does Christ warn us against the same. If it be asked, How can riches be a master or god? the answer is, They are not so in themselves, being merely creatures, but the corrupt hearts of men make an idol of such unto themselves. setting their love and delight upon them, and trusting in them more than in God: for this reason is covetousness called idolatry (Colossians 3:5), and the covetous person an idolator (Ephesians 5:5). Whatever a man sets his heart upon, making it his true happiness, that is his lord and god. Proof that men do set up riches in their hearts as idols, and so become servants unto that which should serve them, appears in the following facts: they neglect the service of God for lucre and take greater delight in earthly things than in heavenly graces: they derive more satisfaction from them than from Divine ordinances: their loss of earthly goods produces greater vexation and sorrow than all the Divine promises produce comfort.

Herein we may perceive the dreadful state into which Christendom has fallen, for the vast majority in it are plainly worshippers of mammon. They are far more eager and diligent in their quest after worldly gain than they are for personal piety and conformity to the image of Christ. A spirit of covetousness possesses State and Church alike. Greedy landlords (and landladies), profiteering merchants, the cornering of commodities, on the one hand; discontented laborers, ever demanding higher wages and more and more of the luxuries of life, on the other: the rich hoarding up wealth and the poor insisting that it be divided among them are sad witnesses to the idolatry which now reigns supreme in the hearts of men. And God’s professing people are infected with the same evil spirit: the denying of self and living as strangers and pilgrims here is a thing of the past, as their extravagantly furnished homes and richly laden tables only too plainly attest. And, worst of all, the rising generation of preachers, with their motor-cars and elaborately furnished parsonages and manses, are giving a lead to this wicked self-indulgence and mammon worship.

Is there any wonder, then, that the judgments of an angry God are now falling so heavily upon us? Judgment began first at the house of God: a grieved Spirit withdrew, and His power and unction are now noticeably absent from the preaching of the Word. But instead of God’s people humbling themselves beneath His mighty hand, repenting of and forsaking their sins, they have in large measure “lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton” (James 5:5). Read Amos 6:1, Amos 6:3-6, and see if the extravagance of Israel has not been duplicated in Christendom: and as God’s wrath was poured out on them, so it is now being poured out on us. Many scores of church buildings and hundreds of the homes of rich and poor alike have been reduced to rubble and ashes. Why?

Why has God so visited us? Because He will not be mocked with impunity. For the last fifty years Christendom has attempted to serve both God and mammon: and having sown the wind, God is now making us reap the whirlwind. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Matthew 6:25

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 33

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:25

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

It will be seen from the title of our chapter that another subject of practical importance is presented to our notice in the verse we have now reached. It is a subject which immediately concerns each one of us, for in varying degrees all are guilty of the very thing which is here forbidden, namely worrying over material things, yielding to anxiety about future supplies. This is something which is highly dishonoring to God, a sin which we need to make conscience of, confessing it with shame and seeking grace to avoid any further repetitions thereof. The very fact that such anxiety is here forbidden not only exhibits once more the exalted standard of piety which is set before us in the Holy Scriptures, but also evidences their uniqueness, their Divine Authorship, for there is no other book or religion in the world which condemns inordinate solicitude over the temporal necessities of life. Proof of this assertion appears in the fact that the natural man is quite unaware that anxiety about food and clothing is a SIN.

Not only is such anxiety wrong, but it is a sin of great gravity. It is not simply a constitutional infirmity which we may excuse, a mere trifle we need not be concerned about, but rather is it a foul iniquity from which we should seek cleansing. To be fearful about the supply of future needs, to be worried that we may yet be left to suffer the lack of temporal necessities, is to be guilty of wicked unbelief. It calls into question the goodness and care of our Creator. It manifests a lack of faith in His wise and gracious providence. And if we be Christians, it betrays doubt of our Father’s love.

And surely these are evils of the deepest dye. Moreover, as we shall yet see, such disquietude and distraction of mind is, in reality, the workings of covetousness, the lusting after things we have not, which is a sin of great magnitude. Oh, that the Spirit may convict us of this wickedness and subdue this iniquity.

It has been pointed out in previous chapters that the main draft of our Saviour’s Sermon from Matthew 6:19 to the end of chapter 6 was to dissuade and deliver His hearers from the spirit of covetousness. Having forbidden the practice itself (Matthew 6:19), and disposed of those objections which the corrupt heart of man might frame to excuse himself in the committing thereof (Matthew 6:22-24), Christ now struck at the very root of covetousness and sought to remove the cause thereof, namely a distrustful and inordinate care for the things of this life, especially for such things as are necessary for the maintenance thereof. This is clear from His words in Matthew 6:25, and the attentive reader will note that the same line of thought is continued by Him to the end of Mat 6:34. Such unusual repetitions as “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat” (Matthew 6:25), “Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat?” (Matthew 6:31), “Take therefore no thought for the morrow” (Matthew 6:34) intimate not only the weightiness of this Divine precept, but also our slowness in heeding the same.

“Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on” (Matthew 6:25). Before proceeding to amplify what has been said in the last paragraph, let us point out that there is a close connection between this verse and those preceding. It may be regarded as Christ’s meeting a further objection against what He had insisted on. He had forbidden the laying up of treasures on earth, and had warned against the making of mammon our god. To this many might answer, There is no danger of us doing that: so little of this world’s riches come our way that we can scarcely procure the bare necessities of life. Even so, says Christ, you too are in grave danger: the fear of poverty and worrying about the future as truly ensnare the souls of the poor as the love of wealth does the rich. Distrustful and distracting care about supplies of temporal needs is a sure sign that the heart is fixed on earthly things.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life.” This is another declaration of Christ’s which must not be taken absolutely or without limitation (compare our remarks on Matthew 5:34, Matthew 5:42). If scripture be compared with scripture, it will be found that there are two kinds of “care”: a godly and moderate one, a distrustful and inordinate. The former is enjoined upon us by the Word of God. For example, in Proverbs 6:6, wisdom sends the sluggard to the ant to learn diligence and providence for things needful. The apostle Paul points out that it is the duty of parents to “lay up” for their children (2 Corinthians 12:14), and declares that “If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel’s (1 Timothy 5:8). From these passages it is quite clear that there is a lawful care to be taken even for the things pertaining to this life, nor do the words of Christ in the passage now before us conflict with this to the slightest degree.

There is a solicitude about temporal things which is a duty, varying according to a man’s station in the world. God requires him to be diligent in business and prudent in its management. He is obligated to provide for himself and family so far as health and industry will permit. He is required to live within his income, so that he may owe no man anything.” He is to guard against any of God’s bounty being wasted or squandered in prodigality. It is his business to look ahead and seek to provide for those demands which may be made upon him in the future-by additions to his family, by illness, by old age. He should, so far as is consistent with piety and charity, endeavour to make provision for those dependent upon him, so that if he should die first, those left behind will not become a burden upon others. It is not faith but presumption which would lead to carelessness therein, fanaticism and not spirituality which inculcates the neglect of all proper means.

Yet it should be pointed out that there is real danger lest the above-mentioned duties be extended beyond due bounds. None ought to be so occupied with the consideration of providing for the future that he be unfitted for the discharge of present obligations or the enjoyment of present privileges. None ought to attend to such duties in a way that is distrustful of Divine providence. None ought to be weighed down with anxiety over them. The following rules must regulate us therein. First, attention to the needs of the body must be subordinated to our seeking after the welfare of our souls, for temporal affairs must never crowd out spiritual and eternal concerns.

Second, in diligently walking in our earthly calling we must strictly see to it that we deal uprightly and honestly with our fellows, seeking to acquire only those things which are needful and right. Third, we must leave the issue or success of all our labors and endeavors to God: ours is to use the means to the best of our ability and opportunity, His is to bless and prosper according as He deems best.

Let it be clearly understood then that when Christ gave commandment “Take no thought for your life” He was very far from forbidding us to look ahead and make provision against a future livelihood. Foresight and foreboding are two very different things. That which our Lord here prohibits is not the making of careful preparation for what is likely to come, but the constant occupation of the mind and distraction of the heart over what will never come. It is not the foresight of the storm and the taking in of sail while there is yet time which He reprehends, but that after we have taken in the sail we continue to gaze at the horizon with such fear and unbelief that we are weakened thereby and disqualified for the discharge of far more important duties. To be tormented by anxious thoughts about the future is unworthy of our manhood, let alone of our Divine sonship, and is most dishonoring to our Creator.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life.” Observe the force of the opening “Therefore.” Seeing that they who set their hearts upon earthly treasures do neglect the true riches and do lack the single eye of spiritual wisdom to discern heavenly treasure, and are therefore the slaves of mammon, be not concerned, harbor not immoderate and distrustful thoughts about things needful to your temporal life. Because it is impossible at one and the same time to make earthly and heavenly things the principal subject of your thoughts, all anxiety about material things is improper. Note, too, the “I say unto you”-I, your Master, upon whom you depend for instruction and direction in all things needful for both soul and body-so as to command their attention and compliance. “He says it as the Lord and Sovereign of our hearts; He says it as our Comforter and Helper of our joy” (Matthew Henry).

“Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life” (Amer. R.V.), which conveys the idea better than the A.V. The care which is here forbidden is a tormenting one, which disquietens and distracts, which disturbs our joy in God, and destroys our peace. When concern over making provision for the future leads the heart away from God and produces distrust, it has become sinful. Foresight must not degenerate into foreboding, diligence into worrying. It is carking care and distressing fear which are here reprehended.

It is distrustful care we are called upon to guard against. We are guilty of this when we trouble ourselves about the issue of our labours: when having used the means and performed our duty we vex ourselves over the success, instead of relying upon God’s providence for the blessing of the same. It is this distrust of God which draws the covetous hearts of men to employ unlawful means in the obtaining of worldly things-such as lying, fraud, false weights, oppression of the weak.

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.” To take it on its lowest ground, such things as food and clothing are not worth worrying about. In a few years at most we shall no more need the staff of life to support us and shall be where the coarsest shroud will serve as well as a royal robe. Of what worth are those things over which death has dominion? Why be so foolish, then, as to make our chief concern those things which perish with the using? And how much worse is our offence if, instead of being content with such things as a gracious God has provided us with, we lust after and bend our best efforts to acquire something of a superior quality. What will it matter a hundred years hence whether we fed on the fat of the land or the poorest of fare, whether we were dressed in silks and satins or the cheapest of garments? But it will matter everything whether or not we fed on the Lamb and were clothed with the robe of His righteousness!

But to look higher. Why is it that there is so little fruit from the preaching of God’s Word? How few realize that this worldly care one of the chief hindrances thereto. Yet, that this is the case is clear from the teaching of our Lord in His parable of the Sower. There He informs us that “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22), so that worry over poverty is as fatal to spiritual fruitfulness as is gloating over wealth. Alas, what a large percentage there is in our congregations who can neither pray, hear the Word, nor go home and meditate thereon, without their poor minds being distracted with such worldly thoughts and carnal anxieties. Our minds are so constituted that they cannot at one and the same time be stayed upon the Lord and fixed upon next winter’s new coat or hat.

Having sought to show something of the sinfulness of worrying about temporal things, let us seek to point out how it may be avoided. This is to be found in following the counsel which is given to us in the Word of Truth. “Commit thy way into the Lord: trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalms 37:5). “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Psalms 55:22). “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3). “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). It is not that these passages exempt us from performing the duties of our calling and using all lawful means therein, but that in the performance of duty and after the use of means we must leave the event and issue for good success to the blessing of God. Such a course involves the exercise of faith and the complete submitting of ourselves unto the sovereign pleasure of Him with whom we have to do, and who alone can give the increase.

Thus the tradesman, whose business it is to buy and sell, must be careful and diligent in his business, disdaining all lying and deceit, misrepresentation or overcharging, and then refer the success of his trade to the blessing of God. Thus too with the farmer and crofter: he must faithfully do his part in ploughing and sowing, and then leave the harvest to God’s good providence. This is the apostle’s counsel: “Be careful for nothing,” that is, after a distrustful and distressing sort. “But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phi 4:6). Thus it is clear that the anxiety and worry are opposed to prayer and thanksgiving, being a hindrance thereto. Instead, after using lawful means, we are to pray God’s blessing thereon, that when it comes we may give Him thanks, yea, thank Him now by faith’s anticipation.

But is it not hard for flesh and blood to abstain from anxiety about success? How, then, shall we be enabled to leave it wholly with God? By laying to heart the precious promises of God which are made to those who depend upon His mercy and goodness, laboring to live by faith thereon. “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows”: while men trust to themselves or in the means, moiling and toiling as they will, theirs is the bread of fretfulness; but in sharp contrast therewith, “so He giveth His beloved sleep” (Psalms 127:2). In sleep there is a laying aside of care and a forgetfulness of need. Those who trust in and love the Lord are delivered from fretting and fuming, and are given rest of soul. “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing” (Psalms 34:10). If we had no other promise in the Scriptures than this, it is sufficient warrant to make us rest upon God’s providence, in the sober use of lawful means. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (Psalms 37:3). What more can we ask than that?

“He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure” (Isaiah 33:15-16). No matter in what period of the world’s history our lot be cast, how evil the days, or how sore and severe God’s judgments upon the earth, if we fulfil His specified conditions, then (even though drought and famine be upon the land, as in the time of Elijah) our bread and water are sure. Nowhere has God promised that His child shall be feasted with dainties, but “verily thou shalt be fed.” Such was the blessed assurance of the apostle, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:19)-not all your desire or greed, but need. Now if faith be really mixed with these promises, then we shall be quietened from fear and our hearts will be kept in peace.

How shall we rely upon the mercy of God in the hour of death if we are afraid to trust His providence for the things of this life? But when serious losses a us and everything seems to be against us, must we not redouble our efforts and look increasingly to the use of means? Nay, rather is that the time to cleave more closely to God and rely upon Him to undertake for us. If the blessing were in the means men would not be so often crossed in them. God knows far better than we do what is good for us, and therefore we should rest content with His providence, no matter how He may disappoint our expectations for temporal things. Lack is often better for God’s child than plenty, adversity than prosperity.

So David found, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy word” (Psalms 119:67). And many a saint since then has had reason to exclaim, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted” (Psalms 119:71).

“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Observe how Christ here distinguishes between life and food, the body and the clothing, and that He does so with the purpose of showing us how senseless is our worrying over the supply of temporal things. This first reason of His to dissuade us from such anxiety may be stated thus: the life is greatly superior to food and the body to raiment, and since the Creator has bestowed the former, therefore much more will He provide the latter for their sustenance. Therein the Saviour teaches us to make good use of our creation, and by a contemplation thereof to learn confidence in God’s providence for all things needful to our natural life. “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet Thou dost destroy me!” (Job 10:8): thus the patriarch persuaded himself of preservation because God had made him. “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Hun in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19): because God is our faithful Creator, in death we may fully rely upon Him.

If the Christian be trusting in God and attending to duty, he need have no fear that he will be deserted by Him and left to starve. God called us into being and furnished us with a body without our care, then is He not well able to sustain the one and clothe the other? Dependence is the law of our being: we are obliged to leave unto God the size, form, color, and age of our body: then count upon Him for its maintenance. As long as God means us to live, He will assuredly feed and clothe us. He who brought Israel out of Egypt with a high hand and delivered them from death at the Red Sea did not suffer them to perish from lack of food in the wilderness. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things!” (Romans 8:32): such a guarantee should be amply sufficient to quieten every fear and allay all anxiety about food and raiment.

Matthew 6:26

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 34

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:26-27

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25). In the last chapter we pointed out that Christ was not here forbidding a diligent use of all lawful means in our earthly calling, nor a judicious laying by against a future rainy day; rather is He prohibiting that worrying about the future which evidences a distrust of Divine providence and a doubting of our Father’s goodness. Yet so senseless are we, so filled with unbelief, so slow to obey this precept, that our Lord not only repeated the same in verse 31 but condescends to reason with us and enforce His injunction by a great variety of cogent arguments. This at once intimates to us the deep importance which He attaches to a heart that is free from distrustful anxiety and distracting fear, and also makes unmistakably evident the exceeding sinfulness of such sins. Let us then seek grace to attend closely unto our Lord’s reasoning in this connection and treasure up in our hearts His different arguments.

“Take no [anxious] thought for your life.” As Matthew Henry tersely summarizes it: “(1) Not about the continuance of it: refer it to God, to lengthen or shorten as He please. (2) Not about the comforts of it: refer it to God, to embitter or sweeten as He pleases.” Our times are in His hands. The One who communicated life to our bodies has unalterably decreed the exact length of our earthly existence: “Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5), so that all our fretting and fuming is needless and useless, for neither planning nor worrying can prolong our natural life a single hour. And so long as we faithfully perform our duty and trust in God we need not be the slightest bit concerned as to how He is going to provide for us. The Lord is not tied to ways and means, and when one source of supplies fails us He will open another-as He did for Elijah.

“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25). Here is the first of seven reasons or arguments used by Christ on this occasion to show us how foolish, how needless, how useless, how sinful, are anxious thoughts and distracting fears over the supply of our temporal needs. It is an inference drawn from the greater to the less: an argument frequently made use of in Scripture, but one, alas, that we easily forget-see the “much more” of Romans 5:9-10, Romans 5:15. It is an argument based upon the infinite goodness and unchanging faithfulness of our Creator: God Himself has given us life and a body, and He does not stop half-way in His bestowments: when He implants life, He also grants all that is needful for its sustenance. When God gives, He gives royally and liberally, honestly and sincerely, logically and completely. Therefore we may rest assured that when He bestows life itself, He is not going to stultify His own gift by withholding anything that is needful for our good and blessing.

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them, Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). These words contain Christ’s second reason to dissuade us from distrustful care about things needful. It is taken from the consideration of God’s providing for creatures inferior to us, His supplying needful things for them. It was as though the Redeemer said, Do you want further assurance that God will provide for all your temporal needs? Then lift up your eyes to the air and mark its feathered inhabitants as they flit to and fro, free from anxiety, filling the atmosphere with their cheerful songs. Oh, how they should show us, who are so often distrustful and despondent, how much more cause have we to celebrate the goodness of our gracious God and show forth His praises. Yet it is much to be feared that He receives less acknowledgment from us, fewer expressions of gratitude, than He does from those creatures upon whom He has bestowed the feeblest endowment.

“Behold the fowls of the air:” that is, take a serious view of, thoughtfully contemplate them. From this we learn that it is our duty duly to consider the works of God, laboring to behold His wisdom, goodness, power, mercy and providence therein. This is the lesson inculcated by Solomon: “Consider the work of God” (Ecclesiastes 7:13), and by Eliphaz, “Remember that thou magnify His work, which men behold” (Job 36:24). God has revealed Himself through His works as truly as He has through His Word, and we are greatly the losers if we fail to examine carefully and ponder prayerfully the wonders of creation, wherein the Divine perfections are so blessedly displayed. “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches” (Psalms 104:24). “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein . . . He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered” (Psalms 111:2-4). “Marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalms 139:14).

Why was it that the Lord God took six days to make one creature after another, then took a particular view of them all after their creation, beholding with pleasure the products of His hands (Genesis 1:31), and then sanctified the seventh day for a holy rest? Was it not, among other reasons, to teach us by His own example to consider distinctly all the works of His hands, and that among other duties we should meditate on the Lord’s day upon the wondrous and glorious works of our Creator? This was David’s practice, as we learn from his Sabbath Psalm: “For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep” (Psalms 92:4-5). Oh, to be able to say with him, “I meditate on all Thy works: I muse on the work of Thy hands” (Psalms 143:5). How otherwise can we intelligently discharge the duty laid upon us in “One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works” (Psalms 145:4-5).

“Behold the fowls of the air.” And what is it we are specially to learn and take to heart in connection with them? Why, this: “They sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” They use not the means of provision which man does, and therefore have not that care and anxiety which he has. They are not required to perform those labors which are demanded of us, nor commanded to eat in the sweat of their face; nevertheless, they do not starve to death. Here is a marvelous fact which few ponder. The manner in which the lower animals, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, are provided with their food and clothing supplies a most convincing and unbelief-rebuking demonstration of the superintendence of God over this world, displaying as it does in so many ways His manifold wisdom, His wondrous providence, His infinite goodness. His unfailing faithfulness, His tender care, His compassions which are “new every morning.”

If the question be asked, Since the fowls of the air sow not, neither reap nor gather into barns, how then are they provided for? the answer is that they expect their food from God’s own hand. “Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God” (Job 38:41). “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts . . . these wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season” (Psalms 104:25-27). “The eyes of all wait upon thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season” (Psalms 145:15). “He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry” (Psalms 147:9). But how can irrational creatures be said to cry unto God? They do not use prayer as men do, yet are they said to “wait on God,” because by a natural instinct in creation they seek for that food which God has ordained for them and are content therewith. By such phrases as “they cry to God” He would teach us that they depend upon His providence wholly for provision and rest satisfied therewith.

Here we may see how the irrational creatures, made subject to vanity by the sin of man, come nearer to their first estate and better observe the order of nature in their creation than man does, for they seek only for that which God has provided for them, and when they receive it are content; whereas man is deeply fallen from the estate of his creation in regard to his dependency on God’s providence for temporal things. Though he be endowed with reason, and has the use of means which the fowls of heaven lack, yet his heart is filled with distrustful care, whether we respect the obtaining of or the use which he makes of earthly things. This solemnly demonstrates that man is more corrupt than other creatures, more vile and base than are the brute beasts. How deeply this ought to humble every one of us under a serious consideration of our sinfulness, that we have so debased our nature that we are more rebellious to the laws of our being and more distrustful of the Divine providence than are irrational creatures!

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” How the consideration of this truth ought to take us off from our useless and senseless worrying. The feathered creatures of the air use not means, yet are they fed. Man is required to use means, for God has ordained them for his provision: if, then, we dutifully employ them, in obedience to and trust in God, will He suffer us to want? Birds are incapable of providing for themselves, unable to lay up a store of food against the winter’s snow and cold, yet their needs are supplied. We are granted foresight and the means of providing for a rainy day: if we are faithful therein, will God mock our industry? Surely not: then how unnecessary, how dishonoring to God, how sinful, are our carking care, our distrustfulness, our fretting and worrying!

“Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” Herein we may observe God’s special and particular providence. The dictates of reason would lead us to conclude that those creatures which are incapable of making provision for themselves and laying up store in summertime against the winter would starve when the earth yields not such means of nourishment during the cold weather and when the ground is covered with snow; yet they do not commonly do so. Yea, experience shows that birds are for the most part fatter and fitter for human consumption in the winter than they are in the summer! What a striking and blessed manifestation of God’s special providence is this: that He attends to and meets the need of His feathered creatures and feeds them in the dead of winter! Oh, how this should shame us for doubting His providence, how it rebukes our wicked distrust of His care, how it exposes the groundlessness and wickedness of our unbelief! Next time you are tempted to worry over future supplies, dear reader, and rack your poor brains over where they are going to come from, think of the birds of the air and remember that a faithful Creator feeds them even in the winter.

“Your heavenly Father feedeth them.” Has He not here set before us an example which we do well to follow? “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). If God is so merciful unto the fowls of heaven as to feed them, then must not those who are His children evidence their likeness to the Father by exercising mercy unto all His creatures? True, He is not dependent upon our aid, yet is He often pleased to make use of means: then next time the ground is covered with snow, fail not to place some crusts of bread or lumps of suet in your garden or back-yard, and when the ponds are frozen over put a cup of hot water within the reach of your feathered friends. And let not your kindness be limited unto the birds, but extend it also unto the animals, the poor among men, and especially unto any indigent members of the Household of Faith. In time of stress and scarcity, refrain from profiteering and grinding the face of the poor.

“Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Here is the application which Christ makes of His second argument. Considered simply as members of the human race we are creatures of a nobler order than the fowls of the air, for we are endowed with rationality and designed for an eternal destiny. If then God feeds the birds of the air, will He fail to provide for those who are created in His own image? But considered as sons and daughters of the Almighty, the objects of His special love, of redeeming grace, of the quickening operations of the Holy Spirit, as begotten unto an inheritance “incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us,” think you that the heavenly Father will suffer any of them to starve to death while they pass through this wilderness of sin? If He provides for the birds in the dead of winter, is He unable or unwilling to minister to your temporal needs in sickness or old age? How small is our faith in His goodness, His faithfulness, His tender care, if we worry now about where our future bread or clothing is to come from!

“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew 6:27). Here is the third reason advanced by Christ against carking care for worldly things. It is propounded in the way of a question, which form of speech imports the affirming of or denying of the thing spoken of with more vehemence. Here it has the force of an emphatic negative: as though Christ had said, Certainly none of you by taking care can add a single cubit to his height. This unanswerable argument is taken from man’s impotency: neither the most ambitious, the strongest, nor the wisest is able to do so. We did not reach our present weight or height by any efforts of our own, but solely by the providence of God. “An infant of a span long has grown up to be a man of six feet, and how was one cubit after another added to his stature? Not by his own foresight or contrivance: he grew he knew not how, by the power and goodness of God” (Matthew Henry).

A “cubit” varies from eighteen to twenty-one inches, being the measure taken from the length of a man’s arm from the elbow to the tip of his middle finger. Now in the framing of a man’s body, God brings it from a span long in the mother’s womb by gradual increase, adding to it cubit after cubit until he has reached the height God ordained. The exact height each man comes to, God has appointed, and no man, either by his skill, his anxiety, or his industry, can exceed the stature God has determined him. That is the work of the Creator: He who gives the body decrees the stature, and by His providence brings it thereto by daily increase. Hence, reasons Christ, since man cannot by the most diligent use of means augment his stature one cubit, neither can he by all his fretting and fuming, moiling and toiling, better his temporal estate for things needful in this life, and therefore it is needless and useless to vex our hearts therewith.

“We cannot alter the stature we are of, if we would: what a foolish and ridiculous thing it would be for a man of low stature to perplex himself, to break his sleep and beat his brains about it, and to be continually taking thought how he might be a cubit higher; when, after all, he knows he cannot effect it, and therefore he had better be content and take it is as it is. . . . Now as we do in reference to our bodily estate. (1) We should not covet an abundance of the wealth of this world. (2) We must reconcile ourselves to our state, as we do to our stature: we must set the conveniences against the inconveniences, and so make a virtue of necessity-what cannot be remedied must be made the best of. We cannot alter the disposals of providence, and therefore must acquiesce in them and accommodate ourselves to them” (Matthew Henry).

Certain it is that man’s labour, care and industry are utterly vain and fruitless without the blessing of God’s providence. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows” (Psalms 127:1-2). “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7): if two such men as these could do nothing of themselves, what shall we think to do? This same truth-so much lost sight of today-is brought out again in “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. . . Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it” (Haggai 1:6-9). How this should teach us to commend all the sober care and labour of our lawful callings to God by prayer for His blessing, and when He has granted the same fail not to return thanks unto Him.

No man can better his natural estate in this world either for wealth or dignity, by all his care and labour, above that which God has appointed him to reach unto. As the Creator has determined each man’s bodily stature which we cannot add to, so He has foreordained what each man’s estate shall be, whether of wealth or poverty, dignity or disgrace, and it lies not in the power of any creature to alter the same. “Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalms 75:5-7). “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up” (1 Samuel 2:7)-true alike naturally and spiritually. The grand lessons to be drawn from all of this are that we must learn to depend upon God in the sober use of lawful means, humbly seek His blessing thereon, and rest content therewith, whether it be more or less, accepting with gratitude and thanksgiving the portion He has been pleased to allot us. We are completely dependent upon God for our stature, so why not leave all things to Him!

Matthew 6:27

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 34

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:26-27

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25). In the last chapter we pointed out that Christ was not here forbidding a diligent use of all lawful means in our earthly calling, nor a judicious laying by against a future rainy day; rather is He prohibiting that worrying about the future which evidences a distrust of Divine providence and a doubting of our Father’s goodness. Yet so senseless are we, so filled with unbelief, so slow to obey this precept, that our Lord not only repeated the same in verse 31 but condescends to reason with us and enforce His injunction by a great variety of cogent arguments. This at once intimates to us the deep importance which He attaches to a heart that is free from distrustful anxiety and distracting fear, and also makes unmistakably evident the exceeding sinfulness of such sins. Let us then seek grace to attend closely unto our Lord’s reasoning in this connection and treasure up in our hearts His different arguments.

“Take no [anxious] thought for your life.” As Matthew Henry tersely summarizes it: “(1) Not about the continuance of it: refer it to God, to lengthen or shorten as He please. (2) Not about the comforts of it: refer it to God, to embitter or sweeten as He pleases.” Our times are in His hands. The One who communicated life to our bodies has unalterably decreed the exact length of our earthly existence: “Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5), so that all our fretting and fuming is needless and useless, for neither planning nor worrying can prolong our natural life a single hour. And so long as we faithfully perform our duty and trust in God we need not be the slightest bit concerned as to how He is going to provide for us. The Lord is not tied to ways and means, and when one source of supplies fails us He will open another-as He did for Elijah.

“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25). Here is the first of seven reasons or arguments used by Christ on this occasion to show us how foolish, how needless, how useless, how sinful, are anxious thoughts and distracting fears over the supply of our temporal needs. It is an inference drawn from the greater to the less: an argument frequently made use of in Scripture, but one, alas, that we easily forget-see the “much more” of Romans 5:9-10, Romans 5:15. It is an argument based upon the infinite goodness and unchanging faithfulness of our Creator: God Himself has given us life and a body, and He does not stop half-way in His bestowments: when He implants life, He also grants all that is needful for its sustenance. When God gives, He gives royally and liberally, honestly and sincerely, logically and completely. Therefore we may rest assured that when He bestows life itself, He is not going to stultify His own gift by withholding anything that is needful for our good and blessing.

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them, Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). These words contain Christ’s second reason to dissuade us from distrustful care about things needful. It is taken from the consideration of God’s providing for creatures inferior to us, His supplying needful things for them. It was as though the Redeemer said, Do you want further assurance that God will provide for all your temporal needs? Then lift up your eyes to the air and mark its feathered inhabitants as they flit to and fro, free from anxiety, filling the atmosphere with their cheerful songs. Oh, how they should show us, who are so often distrustful and despondent, how much more cause have we to celebrate the goodness of our gracious God and show forth His praises. Yet it is much to be feared that He receives less acknowledgment from us, fewer expressions of gratitude, than He does from those creatures upon whom He has bestowed the feeblest endowment.

“Behold the fowls of the air:” that is, take a serious view of, thoughtfully contemplate them. From this we learn that it is our duty duly to consider the works of God, laboring to behold His wisdom, goodness, power, mercy and providence therein. This is the lesson inculcated by Solomon: “Consider the work of God” (Ecclesiastes 7:13), and by Eliphaz, “Remember that thou magnify His work, which men behold” (Job 36:24). God has revealed Himself through His works as truly as He has through His Word, and we are greatly the losers if we fail to examine carefully and ponder prayerfully the wonders of creation, wherein the Divine perfections are so blessedly displayed. “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches” (Psalms 104:24). “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein . . . He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered” (Psalms 111:2-4). “Marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalms 139:14).

Why was it that the Lord God took six days to make one creature after another, then took a particular view of them all after their creation, beholding with pleasure the products of His hands (Genesis 1:31), and then sanctified the seventh day for a holy rest? Was it not, among other reasons, to teach us by His own example to consider distinctly all the works of His hands, and that among other duties we should meditate on the Lord’s day upon the wondrous and glorious works of our Creator? This was David’s practice, as we learn from his Sabbath Psalm: “For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep” (Psalms 92:4-5). Oh, to be able to say with him, “I meditate on all Thy works: I muse on the work of Thy hands” (Psalms 143:5). How otherwise can we intelligently discharge the duty laid upon us in “One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works” (Psalms 145:4-5).

“Behold the fowls of the air.” And what is it we are specially to learn and take to heart in connection with them? Why, this: “They sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” They use not the means of provision which man does, and therefore have not that care and anxiety which he has. They are not required to perform those labors which are demanded of us, nor commanded to eat in the sweat of their face; nevertheless, they do not starve to death. Here is a marvelous fact which few ponder. The manner in which the lower animals, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, are provided with their food and clothing supplies a most convincing and unbelief-rebuking demonstration of the superintendence of God over this world, displaying as it does in so many ways His manifold wisdom, His wondrous providence, His infinite goodness. His unfailing faithfulness, His tender care, His compassions which are “new every morning.”

If the question be asked, Since the fowls of the air sow not, neither reap nor gather into barns, how then are they provided for? the answer is that they expect their food from God’s own hand. “Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God” (Job 38:41). “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts . . . these wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season” (Psalms 104:25-27). “The eyes of all wait upon thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season” (Psalms 145:15). “He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry” (Psalms 147:9). But how can irrational creatures be said to cry unto God? They do not use prayer as men do, yet are they said to “wait on God,” because by a natural instinct in creation they seek for that food which God has ordained for them and are content therewith. By such phrases as “they cry to God” He would teach us that they depend upon His providence wholly for provision and rest satisfied therewith.

Here we may see how the irrational creatures, made subject to vanity by the sin of man, come nearer to their first estate and better observe the order of nature in their creation than man does, for they seek only for that which God has provided for them, and when they receive it are content; whereas man is deeply fallen from the estate of his creation in regard to his dependency on God’s providence for temporal things. Though he be endowed with reason, and has the use of means which the fowls of heaven lack, yet his heart is filled with distrustful care, whether we respect the obtaining of or the use which he makes of earthly things. This solemnly demonstrates that man is more corrupt than other creatures, more vile and base than are the brute beasts. How deeply this ought to humble every one of us under a serious consideration of our sinfulness, that we have so debased our nature that we are more rebellious to the laws of our being and more distrustful of the Divine providence than are irrational creatures!

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” How the consideration of this truth ought to take us off from our useless and senseless worrying. The feathered creatures of the air use not means, yet are they fed. Man is required to use means, for God has ordained them for his provision: if, then, we dutifully employ them, in obedience to and trust in God, will He suffer us to want? Birds are incapable of providing for themselves, unable to lay up a store of food against the winter’s snow and cold, yet their needs are supplied. We are granted foresight and the means of providing for a rainy day: if we are faithful therein, will God mock our industry? Surely not: then how unnecessary, how dishonoring to God, how sinful, are our carking care, our distrustfulness, our fretting and worrying!

“Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” Herein we may observe God’s special and particular providence. The dictates of reason would lead us to conclude that those creatures which are incapable of making provision for themselves and laying up store in summertime against the winter would starve when the earth yields not such means of nourishment during the cold weather and when the ground is covered with snow; yet they do not commonly do so. Yea, experience shows that birds are for the most part fatter and fitter for human consumption in the winter than they are in the summer! What a striking and blessed manifestation of God’s special providence is this: that He attends to and meets the need of His feathered creatures and feeds them in the dead of winter! Oh, how this should shame us for doubting His providence, how it rebukes our wicked distrust of His care, how it exposes the groundlessness and wickedness of our unbelief! Next time you are tempted to worry over future supplies, dear reader, and rack your poor brains over where they are going to come from, think of the birds of the air and remember that a faithful Creator feeds them even in the winter.

“Your heavenly Father feedeth them.” Has He not here set before us an example which we do well to follow? “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). If God is so merciful unto the fowls of heaven as to feed them, then must not those who are His children evidence their likeness to the Father by exercising mercy unto all His creatures? True, He is not dependent upon our aid, yet is He often pleased to make use of means: then next time the ground is covered with snow, fail not to place some crusts of bread or lumps of suet in your garden or back-yard, and when the ponds are frozen over put a cup of hot water within the reach of your feathered friends. And let not your kindness be limited unto the birds, but extend it also unto the animals, the poor among men, and especially unto any indigent members of the Household of Faith. In time of stress and scarcity, refrain from profiteering and grinding the face of the poor.

“Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Here is the application which Christ makes of His second argument. Considered simply as members of the human race we are creatures of a nobler order than the fowls of the air, for we are endowed with rationality and designed for an eternal destiny. If then God feeds the birds of the air, will He fail to provide for those who are created in His own image? But considered as sons and daughters of the Almighty, the objects of His special love, of redeeming grace, of the quickening operations of the Holy Spirit, as begotten unto an inheritance “incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us,” think you that the heavenly Father will suffer any of them to starve to death while they pass through this wilderness of sin? If He provides for the birds in the dead of winter, is He unable or unwilling to minister to your temporal needs in sickness or old age? How small is our faith in His goodness, His faithfulness, His tender care, if we worry now about where our future bread or clothing is to come from!

“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew 6:27). Here is the third reason advanced by Christ against carking care for worldly things. It is propounded in the way of a question, which form of speech imports the affirming of or denying of the thing spoken of with more vehemence. Here it has the force of an emphatic negative: as though Christ had said, Certainly none of you by taking care can add a single cubit to his height. This unanswerable argument is taken from man’s impotency: neither the most ambitious, the strongest, nor the wisest is able to do so. We did not reach our present weight or height by any efforts of our own, but solely by the providence of God. “An infant of a span long has grown up to be a man of six feet, and how was one cubit after another added to his stature? Not by his own foresight or contrivance: he grew he knew not how, by the power and goodness of God” (Matthew Henry).

A “cubit” varies from eighteen to twenty-one inches, being the measure taken from the length of a man’s arm from the elbow to the tip of his middle finger. Now in the framing of a man’s body, God brings it from a span long in the mother’s womb by gradual increase, adding to it cubit after cubit until he has reached the height God ordained. The exact height each man comes to, God has appointed, and no man, either by his skill, his anxiety, or his industry, can exceed the stature God has determined him. That is the work of the Creator: He who gives the body decrees the stature, and by His providence brings it thereto by daily increase. Hence, reasons Christ, since man cannot by the most diligent use of means augment his stature one cubit, neither can he by all his fretting and fuming, moiling and toiling, better his temporal estate for things needful in this life, and therefore it is needless and useless to vex our hearts therewith.

“We cannot alter the stature we are of, if we would: what a foolish and ridiculous thing it would be for a man of low stature to perplex himself, to break his sleep and beat his brains about it, and to be continually taking thought how he might be a cubit higher; when, after all, he knows he cannot effect it, and therefore he had better be content and take it is as it is. . . . Now as we do in reference to our bodily estate. (1) We should not covet an abundance of the wealth of this world. (2) We must reconcile ourselves to our state, as we do to our stature: we must set the conveniences against the inconveniences, and so make a virtue of necessity-what cannot be remedied must be made the best of. We cannot alter the disposals of providence, and therefore must acquiesce in them and accommodate ourselves to them” (Matthew Henry).

Certain it is that man’s labour, care and industry are utterly vain and fruitless without the blessing of God’s providence. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows” (Psalms 127:1-2). “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7): if two such men as these could do nothing of themselves, what shall we think to do? This same truth-so much lost sight of today-is brought out again in “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. . . Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it” (Haggai 1:6-9). How this should teach us to commend all the sober care and labour of our lawful callings to God by prayer for His blessing, and when He has granted the same fail not to return thanks unto Him.

No man can better his natural estate in this world either for wealth or dignity, by all his care and labour, above that which God has appointed him to reach unto. As the Creator has determined each man’s bodily stature which we cannot add to, so He has foreordained what each man’s estate shall be, whether of wealth or poverty, dignity or disgrace, and it lies not in the power of any creature to alter the same. “Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalms 75:5-7). “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up” (1 Samuel 2:7)-true alike naturally and spiritually. The grand lessons to be drawn from all of this are that we must learn to depend upon God in the sober use of lawful means, humbly seek His blessing thereon, and rest content therewith, whether it be more or less, accepting with gratitude and thanksgiving the portion He has been pleased to allot us. We are completely dependent upon God for our stature, so why not leave all things to Him!

Matthew 6:28

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 35

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:28-29

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“And why take ye thought for raiment?” (Matthew 6:28). In those words Christ returns to the commandment which He had given in Matthew 6:25 : “Therefore I say unto you, Take no [anxious] thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” In the verse we have now arrived at our Lord restricts His remarks to the matter of “raiment,” while in Matthew 6:31 He again takes up the subject of food and drink. “Why take ye [anxious] thought for raiment?” though in the form of a question-to stir up our conscience-has the force of a prohibition, and therefore is a repeating of the former precept. This is very solemn and humbling, for it shows how unresponsive we are to the voice of God: we have to be told again and again what we must do and what we must avoid. There is so much self-will, so much in us which is opposed to God, that a single order from Him is not sufficient. What vile and intractable creatures we are, still are, even if regenerate.

Observe, then, the method followed by the supreme Teacher of the Church and the manner in which He propounded heavenly doctrine. He not only propounded it, and then urged it by strong and forcible reasons, but He proceeded to repeat it, and urge it by piecemeal. Whenever He had a weighty truth in hand, because fallen man is unwilling to receive and practice it, Christ, in addition to propounding and confirming it, took it up in detail, pressing it upon us again and again, that thereby it might the better find place in our hearts and be the more effectual in bringing forth obedience in our lives. Herein our blessed Redeemer has left an example to be followed by all who teach God’s Word to others: not only unto ministers, but unto parents. “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children” (Deuteronomy 6:7): the margin gives “whet” or “sharpen” for “teach diligently,” the Hebrew word referring to the sharpening of a dull tool or sword-that so it may more deeply enter into the heart.

“And why take ye [anxious] thought for raiment?” All care for apparel is not here forbidden. There is a lawful and godly concern, whereby we may labour honestly and in a sober manner for such clothing as is meet for the station of life which Divine providence has allotted us: such as is needful to the health and comfort of our bodies. That which is here prohibited is a carnal and inordinate care for clothing, which arises either from distrust and fear of want or from pride and discontentedness with such apparel as is meet and necessary. It is the latter which is one of the crying sins of our age, when there is such a lusting after strange and costly garments, when such vast sums are wasted annually upon outward adornment, when there is such a making of a “god” out of fashion, when maids covet the finery of their mistresses and when their mistresses waste so much time on the attiring of their bodies which ought to be spent upon more profitable duties. Well may all such seriously face the question, “Why take ye [such] thought for raiment?”

And why, we may well ask, has the pulpit for so long maintained a criminal silence, instead of condemning this flagrant sin? It is not one which only a few are guilty of, but is common to all classes and ages. Preachers were not ignorant that many in their own congregations were spending money they could ill afford in order to “keep up with the latest styles”-styles often imported from countries whose morals are notoriously corrupt. Why, then, has not the pulpit denounced such vanity and extravagance? Was it the fear of man, of becoming unpopular, which restrained them? Was it the sight of their own wives and daughters in silk stockings, fur coats and expensive hats which hindered them?

Alas, only too often the minister’s family, instead of setting an example of sobriety, frugality and modesty, has given a lead to the community in worldliness and wastefulness. The churches have failed lamentably in this matter as in many others.

It may be that some preachers who read this article will be ready to say, We have something better to do than give our attention to such things, a far more important message to deliver than one relating to the covering worn by the body. But such a rejoinder will not satisfy God, who requires His servants to declare all His counsel and to keep back nothing which is profitable. If the Scriptures be read attentively it will be found that they have not a little to say upon the subject of clothing, from the aprons of fig leaves made by our first parents to the mother of harlots “arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” of Revelation 17:4. Has not the Most High said, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 22:5)? No wonder His wrath is upon us when our streets are becoming filled with empty-headed women wearing trousers. No wonder so many church houses are being destroyed when their pulpits have so long been unfaithful!

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin” (Matthew 6:28). The scope of these words is wider than appears at first glance. As “raiment” must be taken to include all that is used for the adorning as well as covering of the body, so we are to learn from the “lilies” that which corrects every form of sin we may commit in connection with apparel, not only in distrusting God to supply us with what we need, but also our displeasing Him by setting our affections upon such trifles, by following the evil fashions of the world, or by disregarding 1-us prohibitions. In sending us to learn of the flowers of the field Christ would humble our proud hearts, for notwithstanding our intelligence there are many important and valuable lessons to be learned even from these lowly and irrational creatures if only we have ears to hear what they have to say unto us.

“Consider the lilies of the field.” This is brought in here to correct that inordinate care and that immoderate lusting which men and women have concerning raiment. It seems to us that part of the force of our Lord’s design here has been generally missed, and this through failure to perceive the significance of His following remarks. “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you?” (Matthew 6:30). Thus: though the lily be such a lovely flower, nevertheless it is but “the grass of the field.” Notwithstanding its beauty and delicacy, it belongs to the same order and stands upon the same level as the common grass, which withers and dies and is used (in oriental countries, where there is no coal) for fuel. What ground or occasion then has the lily to be proud and vain? None whatever: it is exceedingly frail, it belongs to a very lowly order of creation, its loveliness quickly vanishes, its destiny is but the oven.

In what has just been pointed out we may discover a forceful reason why we should not be unduly concerned about either our appearance or our raiment. There are some who are given gracefulness of body and comeliness of feature, which, like the lilies, are much admired by those who behold them. Nevertheless such people need to be reminded that they come only of the common stock, that they are of the same constitution and subject to the same experiences as their less favored fellows. Physical beauty is but skin deep, and the fairest countenance loses its bloom in a few short years at most: the ravages of disease and the effects of sorrow dim the brightest eye and mar the roundest cheek, and wrinkles will soon crease what before was so attractive. “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1 Peter 1:24), and the grave is the “oven” to which the handsomest equally with the ugliest are hastening.

In view of the brevity of life and fleetingness of physical charm, how groundless and foolish is pride over a handsome body! That beauty upon which we need to fix our hearts and unto which we should devote our energies is “the beauty of holiness” (1 Chronicles 16:29), for it is a beauty that fadeth not away, is not transient and disappointing, is not destroyed in the grave, but endureth for ever. And what is the beauty of holiness? It is the opposite of the hideousness of sin, which is likeness unto the Devil. The beauty of holiness consists in a conformity unto Him of whom it is said, “how great is His goodness! and how great is His beauty! (Zechariah 9:17). This is not creature beauty, but Divine beauty, yet it is imparted to God’s elect, for “the King’s daughter is all glorious within” (Psalms 45:13). Oh, how we need to pray, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psalms 90:17), then shall we be admired by the holy angels.

Not only does the evanescent beauty of the lily rebuke those who are proud of their physical comeliness, but it condemns all who make an idol of costly or showy apparel. Alas, such a sorry wretch is fallen man that even when his food is assured (for the present, at any rate) he must perforce harass himself over the matter of clothes-not merely for warmth and comfort, but for display, to gratify a peacock vanity. This gives as much concern to the rich as worrying about food does to the poor. Then, “consider the lilies of the field”; they are indeed clothed with loveliness, yet how fleeting it is, and the oven awaits them! Does your ambition rise no higher than to be like unto them, and to share their fate? Oh, heed that word, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

But let us pass on to another thought. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin.” Here the Saviour teaches us that the irrational creatures of the field do in their kind yield more obedience unto God than man does, that we are more rebellious than they are. Isaiah called heaven and earth to hear his rebuke of the Jews for their ingratitude (Isaiah 1:2). Another prophet, when rebuking Jeroboam for his idolatry, cried, “O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord” (1 Kings 13:2). When Jeremiah condemned the king of Judah, he exclaimed, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:29), while Ezekiel was bidden to prophesy to the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 6:3). All of these go to show that if these insensible creatures were endowed with the intelligence with which man is, they would be more obedient to the will of their Creator than he is.

Again, in bidding us take the herbs of the field for our schoolmaster Christ would signify that though we have these creatures before us daily, beholding and using them, yet partly through our blindness and ignorance and partly through neglect and inattention we do not discern in them what we should, nor learn from them those valuable lessons which they are fitted to teach us. “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead: so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Thus the Lord Jesus here gave a check to our dullness and neglect in meditating upon the products of God’s hand. And if we are so slow to learn these things which are necessary to our temporal welfare, how shall we do in those things which concern our eternal salvation!

But what must we learn in the lilies? “How they grow.” Like all the works of God this too is wonderful and should provoke our admiration. In the winter season they lie dead in the earth, as though they were not. They are covered with frost and snow: yet in the springtime they spring up with stalks, leaves and flowers of such delicacy and loveliness as surpasses the glory of Solomon in all his royalty. And whence comes this? Is it of themselves or from man? Neither, for it is “field” or “wild " lilies our Lord speaks of.

Whence then? From the original fiat of creation, uttered by God when He made these creatures, saying, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed” (Genesis 1:11). From that ever-operative word of the Almighty Creator comes the earth to have power and virtue to bear the beautiful lilies and every other herb. And the same God who by the Word of His power gives being to the lilies of the field has uttered a Word of providence that if we trust Him, using lawful means moderately, we shall have raiment sufficient and everything else that is needful to this life.

“They toil not, neither do they spin.” Here the Saviour bids us take note of how free from care the lilies are. They expend no labour in order to earn their clothing, as we have to do. This is proof that God Himself directly provides for them and decks them out so attractively. And how forcibly does that fact press upon us the duty of contentment, relying upon God’s gracious providence without distracting care. Not only have we title to Divine providence certainly not inferior to that possessed by the herbs of the field, but God has allowed unto us for our raiment the use of means which they lack. Though no man under the pretence of relying on God’s providence may live idly, neglecting the ordinary lawful means to procure things honest and needful, yet Christ here gives assurance to all who trust in Him and serve Him that even though all means should fail them He will provide things needful for them. If through sickness, injury or old age we can no longer toil and spin, God will not suffer us to lack sufficient clothing.

“And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). In those words Christ rebukes that folly of the vain which moves so many to make an idol of personal adornment. Before we endeavour to show the force of our Lord’s remark in this verse it should be pointed out that in making mention of the splendor of Solomon’s royal apparel He did not condemn the same-had that been His object, instead of mentioning the “glory” of Solomon, Christ had termed it his “vain show” or “ostentatious folly.” Though the Word of God reprehends pride and superfluities in attire, yet it allows unto princes and persons of high office the use of gorgeous and costly raiment. When Joseph was advanced unto state dignity he refused not to be arrayed in “garments of fine linen” and to have “a ring on his hand and a chain of gold about his neck” (Genesis 41:42); nor did the apostle reprove Agrippa and Bernice because they came to hear him ‘in great pomp” (Acts 25:23).

How senseless it is to be conceited over fine attire and to be so solicitous about our personal appearance, for when we have done everything in our power to make ourselves gay and attractive, yet we come far short of the flowers of the field in their glorious array. What cloth or silk is as white as the lily, what purple can equal the violet, what scarlet or crimson is comparable with roses and other flowers of that color? The arts of the workman may indeed do much, yet they cannot equal the beauties of nature. If then we cannot vie with the herbs of the field which we trample under our feet and cast into the oven, why should we be puffed up with any showiness in our dress? All worldly pomp is but vain, for in glory and beauty it is inferior to that of the flowers, yet what is more frail and transitory than the posies of the field!

Alas, so great is the depravity and perversity of man that he turns into an occasion of feeding his vanity and of self-display what ought to be a ground of humiliation and self-abasement. If we duly considered the proper and principal end of apparel, we should rather be humbled and abased when we put it on, than pleased with our gaudy attire. Clothing for the body is to cover the shame of nakedness which sin brought upon us. It was not ever thus, for of our first parents before the Fall it is written, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). Raiment then is a covering of our shame, the ensign of our sin, and we have no better reason to be proud of our apparel than the criminal has of his handcuffs or the lunatic of his straitjacket, for as they are badges of wrongdoing or insanity so apparel is but the badge of our sin.

“Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” The array of Solomon must indeed have been magnificent. Possessed of illimitable wealth, owner of a fleet of ships which brought to him the products of many foreign countries, nothing was lacking to make his court one of outstanding splendor and pomp. No doubt on state occasions he appeared in the richest and most imposing of clothes, yet deck himself out as finely as he might, he came far short of the beauty of the lilies. Rightly did Matthew Henry point out, “Let us therefore be more ambitious of the wisdom of Solomon in which he was outdone by none-wisdom to do our duty in our place-than the glory of Solomon in which he was outdone by the lilies. Knowledge and grace are the perfection of man, not beauty, much less fine clothes.” To which we would add, let us seek to be “clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5) rather than lust after peacock feathers.

Matthew 6:29

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 35

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:28-29

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“And why take ye thought for raiment?” (Matthew 6:28). In those words Christ returns to the commandment which He had given in Matthew 6:25 : “Therefore I say unto you, Take no [anxious] thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” In the verse we have now arrived at our Lord restricts His remarks to the matter of “raiment,” while in Matthew 6:31 He again takes up the subject of food and drink. “Why take ye [anxious] thought for raiment?” though in the form of a question-to stir up our conscience-has the force of a prohibition, and therefore is a repeating of the former precept. This is very solemn and humbling, for it shows how unresponsive we are to the voice of God: we have to be told again and again what we must do and what we must avoid. There is so much self-will, so much in us which is opposed to God, that a single order from Him is not sufficient. What vile and intractable creatures we are, still are, even if regenerate.

Observe, then, the method followed by the supreme Teacher of the Church and the manner in which He propounded heavenly doctrine. He not only propounded it, and then urged it by strong and forcible reasons, but He proceeded to repeat it, and urge it by piecemeal. Whenever He had a weighty truth in hand, because fallen man is unwilling to receive and practice it, Christ, in addition to propounding and confirming it, took it up in detail, pressing it upon us again and again, that thereby it might the better find place in our hearts and be the more effectual in bringing forth obedience in our lives. Herein our blessed Redeemer has left an example to be followed by all who teach God’s Word to others: not only unto ministers, but unto parents. “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children” (Deuteronomy 6:7): the margin gives “whet” or “sharpen” for “teach diligently,” the Hebrew word referring to the sharpening of a dull tool or sword-that so it may more deeply enter into the heart.

“And why take ye [anxious] thought for raiment?” All care for apparel is not here forbidden. There is a lawful and godly concern, whereby we may labour honestly and in a sober manner for such clothing as is meet for the station of life which Divine providence has allotted us: such as is needful to the health and comfort of our bodies. That which is here prohibited is a carnal and inordinate care for clothing, which arises either from distrust and fear of want or from pride and discontentedness with such apparel as is meet and necessary. It is the latter which is one of the crying sins of our age, when there is such a lusting after strange and costly garments, when such vast sums are wasted annually upon outward adornment, when there is such a making of a “god” out of fashion, when maids covet the finery of their mistresses and when their mistresses waste so much time on the attiring of their bodies which ought to be spent upon more profitable duties. Well may all such seriously face the question, “Why take ye [such] thought for raiment?”

And why, we may well ask, has the pulpit for so long maintained a criminal silence, instead of condemning this flagrant sin? It is not one which only a few are guilty of, but is common to all classes and ages. Preachers were not ignorant that many in their own congregations were spending money they could ill afford in order to “keep up with the latest styles”-styles often imported from countries whose morals are notoriously corrupt. Why, then, has not the pulpit denounced such vanity and extravagance? Was it the fear of man, of becoming unpopular, which restrained them? Was it the sight of their own wives and daughters in silk stockings, fur coats and expensive hats which hindered them?

Alas, only too often the minister’s family, instead of setting an example of sobriety, frugality and modesty, has given a lead to the community in worldliness and wastefulness. The churches have failed lamentably in this matter as in many others.

It may be that some preachers who read this article will be ready to say, We have something better to do than give our attention to such things, a far more important message to deliver than one relating to the covering worn by the body. But such a rejoinder will not satisfy God, who requires His servants to declare all His counsel and to keep back nothing which is profitable. If the Scriptures be read attentively it will be found that they have not a little to say upon the subject of clothing, from the aprons of fig leaves made by our first parents to the mother of harlots “arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” of Revelation 17:4. Has not the Most High said, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 22:5)? No wonder His wrath is upon us when our streets are becoming filled with empty-headed women wearing trousers. No wonder so many church houses are being destroyed when their pulpits have so long been unfaithful!

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin” (Matthew 6:28). The scope of these words is wider than appears at first glance. As “raiment” must be taken to include all that is used for the adorning as well as covering of the body, so we are to learn from the “lilies” that which corrects every form of sin we may commit in connection with apparel, not only in distrusting God to supply us with what we need, but also our displeasing Him by setting our affections upon such trifles, by following the evil fashions of the world, or by disregarding 1-us prohibitions. In sending us to learn of the flowers of the field Christ would humble our proud hearts, for notwithstanding our intelligence there are many important and valuable lessons to be learned even from these lowly and irrational creatures if only we have ears to hear what they have to say unto us.

“Consider the lilies of the field.” This is brought in here to correct that inordinate care and that immoderate lusting which men and women have concerning raiment. It seems to us that part of the force of our Lord’s design here has been generally missed, and this through failure to perceive the significance of His following remarks. “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you?” (Matthew 6:30). Thus: though the lily be such a lovely flower, nevertheless it is but “the grass of the field.” Notwithstanding its beauty and delicacy, it belongs to the same order and stands upon the same level as the common grass, which withers and dies and is used (in oriental countries, where there is no coal) for fuel. What ground or occasion then has the lily to be proud and vain? None whatever: it is exceedingly frail, it belongs to a very lowly order of creation, its loveliness quickly vanishes, its destiny is but the oven.

In what has just been pointed out we may discover a forceful reason why we should not be unduly concerned about either our appearance or our raiment. There are some who are given gracefulness of body and comeliness of feature, which, like the lilies, are much admired by those who behold them. Nevertheless such people need to be reminded that they come only of the common stock, that they are of the same constitution and subject to the same experiences as their less favored fellows. Physical beauty is but skin deep, and the fairest countenance loses its bloom in a few short years at most: the ravages of disease and the effects of sorrow dim the brightest eye and mar the roundest cheek, and wrinkles will soon crease what before was so attractive. “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1 Peter 1:24), and the grave is the “oven” to which the handsomest equally with the ugliest are hastening.

In view of the brevity of life and fleetingness of physical charm, how groundless and foolish is pride over a handsome body! That beauty upon which we need to fix our hearts and unto which we should devote our energies is “the beauty of holiness” (1 Chronicles 16:29), for it is a beauty that fadeth not away, is not transient and disappointing, is not destroyed in the grave, but endureth for ever. And what is the beauty of holiness? It is the opposite of the hideousness of sin, which is likeness unto the Devil. The beauty of holiness consists in a conformity unto Him of whom it is said, “how great is His goodness! and how great is His beauty! (Zechariah 9:17). This is not creature beauty, but Divine beauty, yet it is imparted to God’s elect, for “the King’s daughter is all glorious within” (Psalms 45:13). Oh, how we need to pray, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psalms 90:17), then shall we be admired by the holy angels.

Not only does the evanescent beauty of the lily rebuke those who are proud of their physical comeliness, but it condemns all who make an idol of costly or showy apparel. Alas, such a sorry wretch is fallen man that even when his food is assured (for the present, at any rate) he must perforce harass himself over the matter of clothes-not merely for warmth and comfort, but for display, to gratify a peacock vanity. This gives as much concern to the rich as worrying about food does to the poor. Then, “consider the lilies of the field”; they are indeed clothed with loveliness, yet how fleeting it is, and the oven awaits them! Does your ambition rise no higher than to be like unto them, and to share their fate? Oh, heed that word, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

But let us pass on to another thought. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin.” Here the Saviour teaches us that the irrational creatures of the field do in their kind yield more obedience unto God than man does, that we are more rebellious than they are. Isaiah called heaven and earth to hear his rebuke of the Jews for their ingratitude (Isaiah 1:2). Another prophet, when rebuking Jeroboam for his idolatry, cried, “O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord” (1 Kings 13:2). When Jeremiah condemned the king of Judah, he exclaimed, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:29), while Ezekiel was bidden to prophesy to the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 6:3). All of these go to show that if these insensible creatures were endowed with the intelligence with which man is, they would be more obedient to the will of their Creator than he is.

Again, in bidding us take the herbs of the field for our schoolmaster Christ would signify that though we have these creatures before us daily, beholding and using them, yet partly through our blindness and ignorance and partly through neglect and inattention we do not discern in them what we should, nor learn from them those valuable lessons which they are fitted to teach us. “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead: so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Thus the Lord Jesus here gave a check to our dullness and neglect in meditating upon the products of God’s hand. And if we are so slow to learn these things which are necessary to our temporal welfare, how shall we do in those things which concern our eternal salvation!

But what must we learn in the lilies? “How they grow.” Like all the works of God this too is wonderful and should provoke our admiration. In the winter season they lie dead in the earth, as though they were not. They are covered with frost and snow: yet in the springtime they spring up with stalks, leaves and flowers of such delicacy and loveliness as surpasses the glory of Solomon in all his royalty. And whence comes this? Is it of themselves or from man? Neither, for it is “field” or “wild " lilies our Lord speaks of.

Whence then? From the original fiat of creation, uttered by God when He made these creatures, saying, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed” (Genesis 1:11). From that ever-operative word of the Almighty Creator comes the earth to have power and virtue to bear the beautiful lilies and every other herb. And the same God who by the Word of His power gives being to the lilies of the field has uttered a Word of providence that if we trust Him, using lawful means moderately, we shall have raiment sufficient and everything else that is needful to this life.

“They toil not, neither do they spin.” Here the Saviour bids us take note of how free from care the lilies are. They expend no labour in order to earn their clothing, as we have to do. This is proof that God Himself directly provides for them and decks them out so attractively. And how forcibly does that fact press upon us the duty of contentment, relying upon God’s gracious providence without distracting care. Not only have we title to Divine providence certainly not inferior to that possessed by the herbs of the field, but God has allowed unto us for our raiment the use of means which they lack. Though no man under the pretence of relying on God’s providence may live idly, neglecting the ordinary lawful means to procure things honest and needful, yet Christ here gives assurance to all who trust in Him and serve Him that even though all means should fail them He will provide things needful for them. If through sickness, injury or old age we can no longer toil and spin, God will not suffer us to lack sufficient clothing.

“And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). In those words Christ rebukes that folly of the vain which moves so many to make an idol of personal adornment. Before we endeavour to show the force of our Lord’s remark in this verse it should be pointed out that in making mention of the splendor of Solomon’s royal apparel He did not condemn the same-had that been His object, instead of mentioning the “glory” of Solomon, Christ had termed it his “vain show” or “ostentatious folly.” Though the Word of God reprehends pride and superfluities in attire, yet it allows unto princes and persons of high office the use of gorgeous and costly raiment. When Joseph was advanced unto state dignity he refused not to be arrayed in “garments of fine linen” and to have “a ring on his hand and a chain of gold about his neck” (Genesis 41:42); nor did the apostle reprove Agrippa and Bernice because they came to hear him ‘in great pomp” (Acts 25:23).

How senseless it is to be conceited over fine attire and to be so solicitous about our personal appearance, for when we have done everything in our power to make ourselves gay and attractive, yet we come far short of the flowers of the field in their glorious array. What cloth or silk is as white as the lily, what purple can equal the violet, what scarlet or crimson is comparable with roses and other flowers of that color? The arts of the workman may indeed do much, yet they cannot equal the beauties of nature. If then we cannot vie with the herbs of the field which we trample under our feet and cast into the oven, why should we be puffed up with any showiness in our dress? All worldly pomp is but vain, for in glory and beauty it is inferior to that of the flowers, yet what is more frail and transitory than the posies of the field!

Alas, so great is the depravity and perversity of man that he turns into an occasion of feeding his vanity and of self-display what ought to be a ground of humiliation and self-abasement. If we duly considered the proper and principal end of apparel, we should rather be humbled and abased when we put it on, than pleased with our gaudy attire. Clothing for the body is to cover the shame of nakedness which sin brought upon us. It was not ever thus, for of our first parents before the Fall it is written, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). Raiment then is a covering of our shame, the ensign of our sin, and we have no better reason to be proud of our apparel than the criminal has of his handcuffs or the lunatic of his straitjacket, for as they are badges of wrongdoing or insanity so apparel is but the badge of our sin.

“Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” The array of Solomon must indeed have been magnificent. Possessed of illimitable wealth, owner of a fleet of ships which brought to him the products of many foreign countries, nothing was lacking to make his court one of outstanding splendor and pomp. No doubt on state occasions he appeared in the richest and most imposing of clothes, yet deck himself out as finely as he might, he came far short of the beauty of the lilies. Rightly did Matthew Henry point out, “Let us therefore be more ambitious of the wisdom of Solomon in which he was outdone by none-wisdom to do our duty in our place-than the glory of Solomon in which he was outdone by the lilies. Knowledge and grace are the perfection of man, not beauty, much less fine clothes.” To which we would add, let us seek to be “clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5) rather than lust after peacock feathers.

Matthew 6:30

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 36

ANXIETY

“AND why take ye thought for raiment?” (Matthew 6:28). As we pointed out in our last, though in the form of a question-to stir up our minds and search our hearts-these words of Christ are an express prohibition. That prohibition is twofold: against inordinate care and against immoderate desire. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin” (Matthew 6:28). Here Christ bids us learn of the uncultivated flower that which rebukes our sinful distrust on the one hand and which reveals the folly of our lusting after an elaborate wardrobe on the other. The first of these lessons is inculcated by the fact that they put forth no labour in order to earn their raiment: if then God graciously provides for them, much more will He do so for those who faithfully use the means He has appointed that we may obtain things honest and needful. The second lesson is expressed in, “And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). How foolish then to be vainglorious of our apparel when, after all our trouble and expense, it is less beautiful than that of the flowers.

“And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Wherein lies the point of contrast? Was it merely that the lily is clothed with a robe of more delicate texture and of greater beauty than any man-made fabric? We believe there is something else, something more important for our hearts, a deeper truth adumbrated therein. All of Solomon’s stately glory was but artificial, put on from without, whereas the adornment of the flower comes from within: theirs is no foreign drapery, but an essential part of themselves, namely a development and result of what they really are. So should it be, so must it be, with the Christian. That life and light which God has communicated to his heart silently but surely illumines his mind, sanctifies his affections, and brings forth the fruits of righteousness. At the resurrection that Divine life in the soul shall break through the body and envelop the whole person with splendor: “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

Ah, my reader, it is a very profitable exercise to “Consider the lilies of the field.” A spiritual meditation thereon cannot but be most instructive, for they are the handiwork of Him who is “wonderful in counsel, excellent in working.” If we “consider” and take to heart “how they grow,” we shall perceive that which will both humble and encourage us. Their growth is gradual: first the blade, then the bud, then the flower. Their growth is one of increasing loveliness. Is ours? Are we gradually becoming more Christlike: more meek and lowly, more gentle and unselfish? Are we really going from “strength to strength” (Psalms 84:7) and being changed into the same image [of the Lord] from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18)?

Their growth consists in an increasing development and display of the life with which God has endowed them. Are we so growing: making more and more manifest the principle of grace which the Holy Spirit has communicated to our hearts, “showing forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light”?

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). Here is further instruction to be derived from the flowers of the field, namely the frailty and brevity of their life. If this be duly taken to heart by us, it will correct that carnal lusting after fine clothes. Why should we set our affections upon a lavish wardrobe, be proud of our raiment, or make the putting on of apparel our “adornment,” when after all we cannot compete with the flowers of the field? Such childish vanity appears still worse when we remind ourselves of the evanescence of such displays. The beauty of the flowers lasts hut a few short hours, for tomorrow they are withered and cast with other rubbish into the oven. And our sojourn upon earth is only for a very short span at most: then why be so proud of our clothes, which quickly lose their gloss and shape, soon wear out, and we ourselves cast into the grave?

Not only is a lusting after showy apparel here rebuked, but also anxiety about supplies of necessary clothing. In the opening “wherefore” of Matthew 6:30 Christ applies His argument unto His disciples and hearers. He enforces His prohibition in Matthew 6:28 by a contrast drawn between men and herbs of the field. The pre-eminence of man over them consists in these things: first, the herbs were made for man’s use and not man for them-besides other uses, they serve to act as fuel. Second, the herbs of the field exist today, tomorrow they are not, for being consumed they cease to be. Far otherwise is it with man, for even though his body be reduced to ashes, yet his being is not destroyed by reason of his immortal soul, which though it had a beginning yet never shall have an end. Herein he far excels them: their life arises from the matter whereof they consist and so vanishes with it, but the soul of man is a different substance from his body and perishes not when his body dies.

The vast difference between man and all the lower orders of creatures is clearly intimated by God in connection with their respective creations: God commanded the earth to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind” (Genesis 1:11). But when He created man, though He made his body from the dust of the earth, yet his spirit and soul were immediately from his Creator, who “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). This preeminence of man Christ insisted on when reproving the skeptical and materialistic Sadducees, for He pointed out that God is “the God of Abraham,” whose body had returned to its native dust long before, yet said that “God is not the God of the dead [that is, of those who had no being at all], but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). Now this superiority of man strongly enforces his duty to depend upon God’s care and providence without distracting anxiety, for if the Creator provides such glorious array for the mere herb, surely He will not suffer the nobler creature of His hand to go naked. This is the very conclusion which Christ here draws.

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). Let us observe, first, how the Saviour here gave God His proper place and honour: He did not ascribe the loveliness of the lily to an impersonal “nature” or the outworking of the law of its being, but expressly attributed it unto its Maker-“all the excellencies of the creature flow from God, the Fount and Spring of them” (Matthew Henry). Second, weigh well the “much more.” If Jehovah-Jireh supplies such lovely array for so short-lived and comparatively useless creatures as the herbage of the field, most certainly He will not suffer any of His own dear children to lack any good thing. Then how plainly is it their duty to cast all their care upon Him, knowing that He cares for them (1 Peter 5:7). We have a more excellent being than they: we are made for eternity, they for but a few days; we are taken into a closer and dearer relationship to God-His beloved people. Third, ponder well our Lord’s rebuke, “O ye of little faith,” which reveals what is at the bottom of our inordinate care-distrust.

“O ye of little faith.” Those whom our Lord here chided were His own disciples, and that for which He reproved them was not a total lack of faith, but for the small measure of it, their distrust being more powerful than their confidence in God’s providence. Herein we may see how one Christian differs from another (and how the experience of the same believer varies at different times), for there are some who, like Abraham, are so strong in faith that they rely wholly on God’s promise, nothing doubting when appearances are entirely against them (Romans 4:20). But there are others with a faith so weak, so mingled with doubts, that they are like those disciples at this time. But however weak such faith may be, however excuseless and reprovable, yet the faith itself is a true and saving one, as appears plainly in their case, for in Matthew 6:26 Christ acknowledged these fearing disciples to be God’s children by calling Him their “heavenly Father.”

Let us pause for a moment and point out that such weakness of faith in no wise jeopardizes our salvation, or that because we have more unbelief than faith our unbelief will have more force to condemn than our faith to save. Not so, for we are not saved because of our faith, though we cannot be saved without it. It is not the degree or strength of faith which renders it efficacious, but the clinging to the right Object. Faith saves (instrumentally) when it lays hold of the mercy of God in Christ, and weak faith may do that just as truly, though not with such assurance and comfort, as a strong faith. The doubting and weakness which is in a “little faith” does not damn us if we bewail it and use the means for strengthening faith. None of God’s children have a perfect faith, and few of them attain unto the full assurance which Abraham reached. To those of little faith we would say, though thy distrust is a burden and grief to thee, comfort thyself with the blessed fad that Christ will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax (Isaiah 42:3).

The reason why Christ chided His disciples for the littleness of their faith was because they distrusted God for raiment. They were to be blamed for this, for their heavenly Father’s care of the least of His creatures should have taught them better. Herein we may see one of the properties of saving faith. It not only lays hold of the mercy of God for the pardon of sin and everlasting life in Christ, but it also relies on His promises for temporal blessings in this life. Does not the greater include the less? If God gives Christ to him who believes, shall He not also with Him freely give him all things (Romans 8:32)?

All the promises of God are “Yea, and. . . Amen in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20), whether they respect eternal life or temporal life. Therefore the same faith which says God will pardon my sins and save my soul for Christ’s sake will also trust Him to provide me with food and raiment while I am left here below.

Noah’s heart laid hold of the Divine promise of his preservation in the ark by the same faith whereby he was made “heir of the righteousness” (Hebrews 11:7). So too Abraham by the same faith whereby he was justified believed God’s promise that he should have a son in his old age (Romans 4:18). Let this point then be duly observed and the order remembered wherein faith lays hold of the Divine promises. It first apprehends God’s mercy in Christ and then His providential care for us. This is so obvious and simple that it should need no laboring. As the Christian expects to be saved by faith after death, so he must live by faith in this world: if we rely on God’s mercy for our souls, we will also depend upon Him providing for our body, for how shall we cast ourselves upon God’s grace for heaven if we cannot depend upon His goodness for food and raiment while He leaves us here upon earth?

It is at this point that we should make trial of our faith: what sort it is, true or false; and the degree of it, whether it be weak or strong. Christ here plainly intimates that the more distracted we are by worldly cares the less is our belief in and reliance upon God, for distrustful anxiety over temporal things issues from unbelief in Divine providence. Thus it follows that the less we trust God for temporal things, the less do we really believe in His eternal mercies, for the selfsame faith lays hold on both. If we truly depend on God for bodily blessings in the sober use of lawful means, then we shall rest upon Him for the salvation of our souls. Such trial can scarcely be made in prosperity, when we have abundance, but if in the day of adversity we rely upon God then is our faith genuine; but if instead we imagine that we shall starve, and hesitate not to steal in order to supply our wants, then we have great reason to suspect that our faith is spurious.

“Therefore take no [anxious] thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed” (Matthew 6:31). Here Christ repeats the commandment which He had given against distrustful care in Matthew 6:25. The reasons for this repetition are these. First, to set an edge upon the commandment that so it may more sharply and deeply enter into our hearts, as we pointed Out before. Second, to further His disciples in the exercise of faith, for by this repetition Christ gives them occasion to meditate and think upon this duty the more frequently, whereby their faith must needs be much confirmed. It is most important that we should recognize and understand that, in order to obtain or strengthen faith in our hearts, we are not to be mere passive patients, either in the reception or development of it. Increase of faith comes not from God to us as visions did to the prophets in a dream in the night, or as the print of the seal is set into the wax, but He works this grace in His people in the use of ordinary means.

There are some professing Christians who assume the attitude that they have no responsibility in this matter: that since faith is a supernatural principle, a Divine gift, it lies entirely outside their power and province to do anything in order to obtain an increase thereof. Such fatalistic listlessness, such senseless inertia, are neither honoring to God nor helpful to themselves. Muscles unused become flabby: faculties never exercised soon lose the strength which they had. The way to get more faith is to put to work the measure which we already have and to use the means God has appointed. Our duty is to read daily God’s Word, to meditate thereon, to strive and lay the Divine promises on our hearts, to urge our souls to believe, to strive and fight against doubting and distrust, to give ourselves to earnest prayer for the working of God’s Spirit within us.

Concerning Christ’s commandment against distrustful care, we sought to show (when considering Matthew 6:25) how far our duty extends in the matter of securing the things needful for this life, and where it must stay. It is to extend itself unto the diligent use of lawful ordinary means to procure things needful, and there stay. There are two dangers against which we need to be constantly on our guard: atheism on the one hand and fanaticism on the other. We are so prone to fly to extremes that much care is needed in order to strike the happy medium. While diligently using means, they are not to be relied upon to the exclusion of God: His appointment therein is to be recognized and His blessing upon them definitely and humbly sought, for no means will avail us anything except the Lord is pleased to prosper them. The most industrious labours of the farmer will produce no crop unless God sends sunshine and rain, and the most assiduous study of Scripture profits not the soul unless the Holy Spirit sanctifies it unto us.

On the other side, there must be no disdaining of means under the pretence of more fully trusting the Lord. Indolence is disobedience. Scripture says, “if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The farmer who prays and expects God to give him a good harvest though he has neither ploughed nor sown his fields is guilty of the wildest fanaticism. The able-bodied person who is out of employment, and lazily sits down pleading the Divine promises to supply his need instead of going forth to seek work, is tempting God and not trusting Him. When he is ill, it is both the duty and the privilege of the Christian to spread his case before the great Physician, yet if he scorns to use the helps and remedies which Divine providence sets before him, he acts presumptuously and not in faith. The parent who fails to train and teach his child as the Word enjoins, counting on Divine election to save him, is making an evil use of that precious Truth.

Our duty in regard to the obtaining of temporal supplies is fully discharged when we have diligently put forth honest endeavors, used all lawful means, and humbly sought God’s blessing thereon. Self-effort is then to give place to the exercise of faith, trustfully waiting upon Divine providence to prosper our endeavors. It is corroding care and distrustful anxiety that distracts the heart which Christ here forbids, and which is a spiritual disease infecting the souls of the vast majority of our fellows. How far the reader may be affected by this evil can be ascertained by sincerely testing himself at these points: What is it which often breaks in upon your rest so that you cannot sleep peacefully? What is it that first comes into your mind when you awake? What principally engages your thoughts throughout the day?

What is it over which you take the greatest pains and which gives you most delight when you are successful? If it be the things of this world, then distrustful care infests your soul and must be striven against.

In closing let us observe how Christ here describes this unlawful anxiety by the effects it produces in distrustful persons. That there may be no mistaking this God-dishonoring and soul-paralyzing disease, the great Physician has plainly described its symptoms. It causes its victims to ask, “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” These are the very complaints they make when losses are encountered, adversities befall them, supplies are apparently cut off. When those whose confidence and reliance are not in the living God lose their job, or their investments miscarry, or they are stricken with a disease which incapacitates their body, they at once cry out, What will become of us? How shall we exist? It is this which Christ is here rebuking: those unbelieving utterances (for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh!) which denote we have no faith in God’s goodness and distrust His care of us. The Christian must fight against such evil thoughts and murmuring complaints, laying fresh hold on the Divine promises and assuring himself that the “Lord will provide.

Matthew 6:31

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 36

ANXIETY

“AND why take ye thought for raiment?” (Matthew 6:28). As we pointed out in our last, though in the form of a question-to stir up our minds and search our hearts-these words of Christ are an express prohibition. That prohibition is twofold: against inordinate care and against immoderate desire. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin” (Matthew 6:28). Here Christ bids us learn of the uncultivated flower that which rebukes our sinful distrust on the one hand and which reveals the folly of our lusting after an elaborate wardrobe on the other. The first of these lessons is inculcated by the fact that they put forth no labour in order to earn their raiment: if then God graciously provides for them, much more will He do so for those who faithfully use the means He has appointed that we may obtain things honest and needful. The second lesson is expressed in, “And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). How foolish then to be vainglorious of our apparel when, after all our trouble and expense, it is less beautiful than that of the flowers.

“And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Wherein lies the point of contrast? Was it merely that the lily is clothed with a robe of more delicate texture and of greater beauty than any man-made fabric? We believe there is something else, something more important for our hearts, a deeper truth adumbrated therein. All of Solomon’s stately glory was but artificial, put on from without, whereas the adornment of the flower comes from within: theirs is no foreign drapery, but an essential part of themselves, namely a development and result of what they really are. So should it be, so must it be, with the Christian. That life and light which God has communicated to his heart silently but surely illumines his mind, sanctifies his affections, and brings forth the fruits of righteousness. At the resurrection that Divine life in the soul shall break through the body and envelop the whole person with splendor: “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

Ah, my reader, it is a very profitable exercise to “Consider the lilies of the field.” A spiritual meditation thereon cannot but be most instructive, for they are the handiwork of Him who is “wonderful in counsel, excellent in working.” If we “consider” and take to heart “how they grow,” we shall perceive that which will both humble and encourage us. Their growth is gradual: first the blade, then the bud, then the flower. Their growth is one of increasing loveliness. Is ours? Are we gradually becoming more Christlike: more meek and lowly, more gentle and unselfish? Are we really going from “strength to strength” (Psalms 84:7) and being changed into the same image [of the Lord] from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18)?

Their growth consists in an increasing development and display of the life with which God has endowed them. Are we so growing: making more and more manifest the principle of grace which the Holy Spirit has communicated to our hearts, “showing forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light”?

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). Here is further instruction to be derived from the flowers of the field, namely the frailty and brevity of their life. If this be duly taken to heart by us, it will correct that carnal lusting after fine clothes. Why should we set our affections upon a lavish wardrobe, be proud of our raiment, or make the putting on of apparel our “adornment,” when after all we cannot compete with the flowers of the field? Such childish vanity appears still worse when we remind ourselves of the evanescence of such displays. The beauty of the flowers lasts hut a few short hours, for tomorrow they are withered and cast with other rubbish into the oven. And our sojourn upon earth is only for a very short span at most: then why be so proud of our clothes, which quickly lose their gloss and shape, soon wear out, and we ourselves cast into the grave?

Not only is a lusting after showy apparel here rebuked, but also anxiety about supplies of necessary clothing. In the opening “wherefore” of Matthew 6:30 Christ applies His argument unto His disciples and hearers. He enforces His prohibition in Matthew 6:28 by a contrast drawn between men and herbs of the field. The pre-eminence of man over them consists in these things: first, the herbs were made for man’s use and not man for them-besides other uses, they serve to act as fuel. Second, the herbs of the field exist today, tomorrow they are not, for being consumed they cease to be. Far otherwise is it with man, for even though his body be reduced to ashes, yet his being is not destroyed by reason of his immortal soul, which though it had a beginning yet never shall have an end. Herein he far excels them: their life arises from the matter whereof they consist and so vanishes with it, but the soul of man is a different substance from his body and perishes not when his body dies.

The vast difference between man and all the lower orders of creatures is clearly intimated by God in connection with their respective creations: God commanded the earth to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind” (Genesis 1:11). But when He created man, though He made his body from the dust of the earth, yet his spirit and soul were immediately from his Creator, who “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). This preeminence of man Christ insisted on when reproving the skeptical and materialistic Sadducees, for He pointed out that God is “the God of Abraham,” whose body had returned to its native dust long before, yet said that “God is not the God of the dead [that is, of those who had no being at all], but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). Now this superiority of man strongly enforces his duty to depend upon God’s care and providence without distracting anxiety, for if the Creator provides such glorious array for the mere herb, surely He will not suffer the nobler creature of His hand to go naked. This is the very conclusion which Christ here draws.

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). Let us observe, first, how the Saviour here gave God His proper place and honour: He did not ascribe the loveliness of the lily to an impersonal “nature” or the outworking of the law of its being, but expressly attributed it unto its Maker-“all the excellencies of the creature flow from God, the Fount and Spring of them” (Matthew Henry). Second, weigh well the “much more.” If Jehovah-Jireh supplies such lovely array for so short-lived and comparatively useless creatures as the herbage of the field, most certainly He will not suffer any of His own dear children to lack any good thing. Then how plainly is it their duty to cast all their care upon Him, knowing that He cares for them (1 Peter 5:7). We have a more excellent being than they: we are made for eternity, they for but a few days; we are taken into a closer and dearer relationship to God-His beloved people. Third, ponder well our Lord’s rebuke, “O ye of little faith,” which reveals what is at the bottom of our inordinate care-distrust.

“O ye of little faith.” Those whom our Lord here chided were His own disciples, and that for which He reproved them was not a total lack of faith, but for the small measure of it, their distrust being more powerful than their confidence in God’s providence. Herein we may see how one Christian differs from another (and how the experience of the same believer varies at different times), for there are some who, like Abraham, are so strong in faith that they rely wholly on God’s promise, nothing doubting when appearances are entirely against them (Romans 4:20). But there are others with a faith so weak, so mingled with doubts, that they are like those disciples at this time. But however weak such faith may be, however excuseless and reprovable, yet the faith itself is a true and saving one, as appears plainly in their case, for in Matthew 6:26 Christ acknowledged these fearing disciples to be God’s children by calling Him their “heavenly Father.”

Let us pause for a moment and point out that such weakness of faith in no wise jeopardizes our salvation, or that because we have more unbelief than faith our unbelief will have more force to condemn than our faith to save. Not so, for we are not saved because of our faith, though we cannot be saved without it. It is not the degree or strength of faith which renders it efficacious, but the clinging to the right Object. Faith saves (instrumentally) when it lays hold of the mercy of God in Christ, and weak faith may do that just as truly, though not with such assurance and comfort, as a strong faith. The doubting and weakness which is in a “little faith” does not damn us if we bewail it and use the means for strengthening faith. None of God’s children have a perfect faith, and few of them attain unto the full assurance which Abraham reached. To those of little faith we would say, though thy distrust is a burden and grief to thee, comfort thyself with the blessed fad that Christ will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax (Isaiah 42:3).

The reason why Christ chided His disciples for the littleness of their faith was because they distrusted God for raiment. They were to be blamed for this, for their heavenly Father’s care of the least of His creatures should have taught them better. Herein we may see one of the properties of saving faith. It not only lays hold of the mercy of God for the pardon of sin and everlasting life in Christ, but it also relies on His promises for temporal blessings in this life. Does not the greater include the less? If God gives Christ to him who believes, shall He not also with Him freely give him all things (Romans 8:32)?

All the promises of God are “Yea, and. . . Amen in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20), whether they respect eternal life or temporal life. Therefore the same faith which says God will pardon my sins and save my soul for Christ’s sake will also trust Him to provide me with food and raiment while I am left here below.

Noah’s heart laid hold of the Divine promise of his preservation in the ark by the same faith whereby he was made “heir of the righteousness” (Hebrews 11:7). So too Abraham by the same faith whereby he was justified believed God’s promise that he should have a son in his old age (Romans 4:18). Let this point then be duly observed and the order remembered wherein faith lays hold of the Divine promises. It first apprehends God’s mercy in Christ and then His providential care for us. This is so obvious and simple that it should need no laboring. As the Christian expects to be saved by faith after death, so he must live by faith in this world: if we rely on God’s mercy for our souls, we will also depend upon Him providing for our body, for how shall we cast ourselves upon God’s grace for heaven if we cannot depend upon His goodness for food and raiment while He leaves us here upon earth?

It is at this point that we should make trial of our faith: what sort it is, true or false; and the degree of it, whether it be weak or strong. Christ here plainly intimates that the more distracted we are by worldly cares the less is our belief in and reliance upon God, for distrustful anxiety over temporal things issues from unbelief in Divine providence. Thus it follows that the less we trust God for temporal things, the less do we really believe in His eternal mercies, for the selfsame faith lays hold on both. If we truly depend on God for bodily blessings in the sober use of lawful means, then we shall rest upon Him for the salvation of our souls. Such trial can scarcely be made in prosperity, when we have abundance, but if in the day of adversity we rely upon God then is our faith genuine; but if instead we imagine that we shall starve, and hesitate not to steal in order to supply our wants, then we have great reason to suspect that our faith is spurious.

“Therefore take no [anxious] thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed” (Matthew 6:31). Here Christ repeats the commandment which He had given against distrustful care in Matthew 6:25. The reasons for this repetition are these. First, to set an edge upon the commandment that so it may more sharply and deeply enter into our hearts, as we pointed Out before. Second, to further His disciples in the exercise of faith, for by this repetition Christ gives them occasion to meditate and think upon this duty the more frequently, whereby their faith must needs be much confirmed. It is most important that we should recognize and understand that, in order to obtain or strengthen faith in our hearts, we are not to be mere passive patients, either in the reception or development of it. Increase of faith comes not from God to us as visions did to the prophets in a dream in the night, or as the print of the seal is set into the wax, but He works this grace in His people in the use of ordinary means.

There are some professing Christians who assume the attitude that they have no responsibility in this matter: that since faith is a supernatural principle, a Divine gift, it lies entirely outside their power and province to do anything in order to obtain an increase thereof. Such fatalistic listlessness, such senseless inertia, are neither honoring to God nor helpful to themselves. Muscles unused become flabby: faculties never exercised soon lose the strength which they had. The way to get more faith is to put to work the measure which we already have and to use the means God has appointed. Our duty is to read daily God’s Word, to meditate thereon, to strive and lay the Divine promises on our hearts, to urge our souls to believe, to strive and fight against doubting and distrust, to give ourselves to earnest prayer for the working of God’s Spirit within us.

Concerning Christ’s commandment against distrustful care, we sought to show (when considering Matthew 6:25) how far our duty extends in the matter of securing the things needful for this life, and where it must stay. It is to extend itself unto the diligent use of lawful ordinary means to procure things needful, and there stay. There are two dangers against which we need to be constantly on our guard: atheism on the one hand and fanaticism on the other. We are so prone to fly to extremes that much care is needed in order to strike the happy medium. While diligently using means, they are not to be relied upon to the exclusion of God: His appointment therein is to be recognized and His blessing upon them definitely and humbly sought, for no means will avail us anything except the Lord is pleased to prosper them. The most industrious labours of the farmer will produce no crop unless God sends sunshine and rain, and the most assiduous study of Scripture profits not the soul unless the Holy Spirit sanctifies it unto us.

On the other side, there must be no disdaining of means under the pretence of more fully trusting the Lord. Indolence is disobedience. Scripture says, “if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The farmer who prays and expects God to give him a good harvest though he has neither ploughed nor sown his fields is guilty of the wildest fanaticism. The able-bodied person who is out of employment, and lazily sits down pleading the Divine promises to supply his need instead of going forth to seek work, is tempting God and not trusting Him. When he is ill, it is both the duty and the privilege of the Christian to spread his case before the great Physician, yet if he scorns to use the helps and remedies which Divine providence sets before him, he acts presumptuously and not in faith. The parent who fails to train and teach his child as the Word enjoins, counting on Divine election to save him, is making an evil use of that precious Truth.

Our duty in regard to the obtaining of temporal supplies is fully discharged when we have diligently put forth honest endeavors, used all lawful means, and humbly sought God’s blessing thereon. Self-effort is then to give place to the exercise of faith, trustfully waiting upon Divine providence to prosper our endeavors. It is corroding care and distrustful anxiety that distracts the heart which Christ here forbids, and which is a spiritual disease infecting the souls of the vast majority of our fellows. How far the reader may be affected by this evil can be ascertained by sincerely testing himself at these points: What is it which often breaks in upon your rest so that you cannot sleep peacefully? What is it that first comes into your mind when you awake? What principally engages your thoughts throughout the day?

What is it over which you take the greatest pains and which gives you most delight when you are successful? If it be the things of this world, then distrustful care infests your soul and must be striven against.

In closing let us observe how Christ here describes this unlawful anxiety by the effects it produces in distrustful persons. That there may be no mistaking this God-dishonoring and soul-paralyzing disease, the great Physician has plainly described its symptoms. It causes its victims to ask, “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” These are the very complaints they make when losses are encountered, adversities befall them, supplies are apparently cut off. When those whose confidence and reliance are not in the living God lose their job, or their investments miscarry, or they are stricken with a disease which incapacitates their body, they at once cry out, What will become of us? How shall we exist? It is this which Christ is here rebuking: those unbelieving utterances (for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh!) which denote we have no faith in God’s goodness and distrust His care of us. The Christian must fight against such evil thoughts and murmuring complaints, laying fresh hold on the Divine promises and assuring himself that the “Lord will provide.

Matthew 6:32

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 37

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:32-34

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall he added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Let us summarize the verses which have already been before us in that section of our Lord’s Address which is completed at the end of Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:19-24 Christ forbade the practice of covetousness, and in what follows He struck at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust and excessive care for the things of this life. First, He tells us that such worry is needless: the bounty of God assuring supplies (Matthew 6:25). Creation is a pledge of our preservation: He who gives life will maintain it, He who provides a body will not deny it food and raiment. Second, He shows us that such worry is senseless: the providence of God unto inferior creatures evidencing it (Matthew 6:26). If God provides for the fowls of the air, will He suffer His own children to starve?

Third, He proves it is useless: the impotency of man demonstrating it (Matthew 6:27). Since no anxiety or industry of ours can increase our stature, much less can worrying improve our earthly estate. Fourth, He announces it is faithless (Matthew 6:28-30). Since God clothes the herbs of the field, will He suffer His dear people to lack suitable covering?

None but the Divine Physician could have opened up so impressively the hideous nature of this disease. In that Divine diagnosis we are given to behold the excuselessness and the heinousness of this sin which is so prevalent among professing Christians. Distressing ourselves over the obtaining of future supplies, carking care in connection with securing the necessities of temporal life, so far from being a trivial infirmity which we need not take seriously to heart, is a sin of the deepest dye which should humble us into the dust before God. Worrying over tomorrow’s food and clothing is needless, useless, senseless, faithless, and therefore it is utterly excuseless. Then surely we should make conscience of it, confess it contritely before God, and seek from Him grace to mortify it. That which was spoken by Christ on the Mount is addressed unto us today: Oh, that we may be given ears to hear and hearts to improve the same.

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (v. 32). In these words our Lord advances two additional reasons why His people should not be unduly solicitous about temporal supplies. First, because such anxieties are heathenish. This will appear more evident to the ordinary reader when we point out that the Greek word which is here rendered “Gentiles” is translated “heathen” in Acts 4:25; Galatians 1:16, etc. At the time Christ made this statement the “Gentiles” were without any written revelation from God and were in complete spiritual darkness. In consequence, they had the most erroneous ideas of the Divine character and government.

Many of them believed that all things were fixed by a blind and inexorable fate, while others went to an opposite extreme, supposing that nothing was predetermined, but that everything was left to capricious chance. Such are the philosophizings of man’s much-vaunted reason when unillumined by the Spirit of Truth.

The concepts which the “Gentiles” formed of their “gods” were such that they could have no trust in them. So far from regarding their “gods” as beings of benevolence, who regarded their devotees with compassion, they were looked upon as objects of dread, whose favour could only be purchased by the most costly of offerings (appropriated by the priests) and whose ire had to be placated by human sacrifices. Of a future life beyond this vale of tears the heathen had but the vaguest and gloomiest ideas. Consequently this world meant everything to them, and therefore their whole thought was directed and their energy devoted to the obtaining of its necessities and comforts, making such their chief good. Their ambition rose no higher than to eat and drink, to have a sufficiency of material things and make merry therewith. And those of them who possessed little of this world-and only a very small number had much-were weighed down with worry as to how soon their slender resources might completely fail them.

“For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” It should be pointed out that the word in the original whereby Christ described the behavior of the heathen is more emphatic than our translation intimates, denoting that they “set themselves to seek” or “seek with all their might.” This is a detail of some importance, for the mere or simple seeking of things necessary for our welfare is a duty, but when we give ourselves wholly to the quest thereof it is a sin, for it proceeds from distrust of God. And this was precisely the case of the Gentiles at that time: they were without the knowledge of the true God, had not His Word and were ignorant of His providences. How vastly and how radically different is the case of the Christian: God is revealed to him in Christ, a written revelation from Him is in his hands assuring him of the supply of all his need. How shameful then, how wicked, for a child of God to come down to the level of the heathen, as he does when carking care possesses his heart.

The force of our Lord’s argument (that it is an argument or dissuasive is clear from its opening “for”) will probably be apparent if we paraphrase it thus: because on all these things do wordlings set their hearts-in the parallel passage it reads “For all these things do the nations of the world seek after” (Luke 12:30). How utterly unworthy for a Christian to be regulated by a mode of thinking and acting such as governs the godless, to descend to the level of the unregenerate. Yet, alas, how many of those now bearing the name of ‘Christ do this very thing. How grossly materialistic is this twentieth century. How close is the resemblance between what men call “Christian civilization” and the conditions which obtained in the degenerate empires of ancient Greece and Rome. Human nature is the same in every age, the same the world over, and will inevitably remain so except where the Holy Spirit is pleased to work in His transforming power.

“Solicitude for the future is at bottom worldly-mindedness. The heathen tendency in us all leads to an over-estimate of material good, and it is a question of circumstances whether that shall show itself in heaping up earthly treasures, or in anxious care. They are the same plant, only the one is growing in the tropics of sunny prosperity, and the other in the arctic zone of chill penury. The one is the sin of the worldly-minded rich man, and the other is the sin of the worldly-minded poor man. The character is the same turned inside out! And therefore, the words ‘ye cannot serve God and mammon’ stand in this chapter in the center, between our Lord’s warning against laying up treasures on earth, and His warnings against being full of cares for earth.

He would show us thereby that these two apparently opposite states of mind in reality spring from one root, and are equally, though differently, ‘serving mammon.’ We do not sufficiently reflect upon that” (A. MacLaren).

There are some who seek to excuse their anxiety and worrying by saying it is the result of temperament or circumstances. Even so, that does not lessen their sin. Divine grace teaches its possessor to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts (Titus 2:12) and lifts him above circumstances (Phi 4:11). The fact is that those who do not trust in God’s goodness and count not upon His faithfulness to supply all their need are pagans, no matter what may be their profession. Pagans believe not in Divine providence, and so rely upon the means, trusting wholly in their own efforts and endeavors, and so make themselves their own god. The real reason why empty professors are so anxious about the things of this life and so troubled over future supplies is that their hearts are earthbound and their desires heathenish. A worldling is one whose anxieties and joys are both confined within the narrow sphere of the material and the visible- take that from him, and he has nothing left.

Observe now the ground on which this argument or dissuasive rests. Real Christians have the true God for their God which the heathen have not, and therefore they must differ from them in their behavior. God clothed the grass of the field (Matthew 6:30)-yea, with a verdure and beauty exceeding that of Solomon’s royal robes-“therefore take no [anxiousl thought, saying [unbelievingly and petulantly], What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek,” and ye must not be like unto them. In all things the children of God should differ from the heathen. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” said Christ (John 17:14), and as He evidenced His separation from and unlikeness to it, so must we. “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Sons of the King of heaven are not to conduct themselves like the Devil’s beggars.

“For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32). Here is still another reason, the most powerful of all, for delivering believers from distressing fears and God dishonoring anxieties about future supplies. “Your heavenly Father” is set over against the inanimate and impotent “gods” of the heathen: His knowledge or tender solicitude, against their ignorance and lack of concern. The poor pagans might well say, If we are not wholly taken up with seeking after the necessities and comforts of this life, then pray who will provide them? But it is far otherwise with the Christian. The One who made heaven and earth sustains to him the relation of a heavenly Father: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psalms 103:13). He knows what I have need of, and will not deny it to me. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). The believer need trouble himself no further than soberly to use all lawful means, calmly and confidently counting on God to bless the same: God will provide what is needful for him and therefore he need not vex his mind about it.

Let it be duly noted that Christ here repeats the note which He had struck in Matthew 6:26 : “your heavenly Father feedeth them.” If He provides for such inferior creatures as the fowls of the air, will He suffer the members of His own family to want? He is their Creator and so bountifully supplies their need; but He is the Christian’s Father and will not forget His own child. Here is double armor against the arrows of anxiety: the intimate relation which the great God sustains to His people, and the assurance that His knowledge of them is equal to His love for them. The children of this world are indeed tormented with anxiety as to how tomorrow’s supplies will be obtained, nor is it at all strange that they should be bowed down with such cares, for they have no heavenly Father to whose infinite love and faithfulnes3 they may commit themselves. Consequently in this argument Christ is putting His disciples to the proof, as to whether or not the relation which God sustains to them be actual and counts for anything, or whether it be mere theory and lip profession.

All distrustful anxiety concerning the supplies of things needful proceeds on the assumption that God either does not know our wants or that He cares not for us, which is precisely the attitude of the worldling. But with the Christian it is very different. He has the realization that “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). He is assured from Holy Writ of God’s special providence over him, taking notice of his case whatever it may be and making all things work together for his good. From this assurance he must learn to practice contentment: depending upon God by simple faith and trustfully leaving himself and all his interests in His gracious hands. This contentment or acquiescence in the Divine will is to be practiced in sickness as well as in health, under trials as well as blessings, in adversity as in prosperity, realizing that whatever may be our circumstances they are according to the good pleasure of our heavenly Father, who is infinite in power and wisdom.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). In these words Christ makes known the great counter-agent unto and remedy for covetousness. As in the previous verses He had been striking at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust of God and excessive care for the things of this life, so here He reveals the effectual specific: that is, making the things of God our paramount concern. It is of no use only to tell men that they ought to trust, that the birds of the air might teach them to trust, that the flowers of the field might preach resignation and confidence to them. It is no use to attempt to scold them into trust, by telling them that distrust is heathenish. You must fill the heart with supreme and transcendent desire after the one supreme object; and then there will be no room and leisure left for the anxious care after the lesser.

Have inwrought into your being, Christian man, the opposite of that heathen over-regard for earthly things” (A. Maclaren).

The renowned Thomas Chalmers was the author of that impressive expression “The impulsive power of a new affection.” God and the world, Christ and Belial, cannot possess the soul of the same person: when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart the love of the world is cast out: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Man is constituted that he cannot be devoted to two different and diverse objects at one and the same time: it is utterly impossible for him to serve two masters-God and mammon. Let his affections be set upon things above and they will be detached from things below: the more real and blessed (by the exercise of faith) become the former, the less attractive will appear the latter, and the less hold will they have. The best way to get a child to drop a filthy or dangerous object is to offer it another one more satisfying. If the horse cannot be induced to trot, turn its face homewards and it will quickly improve its speed.

Having by one argument after another dissuaded His disciples from distrustful care, Christ now shows unto them what that care is which ought always to possess their hearts: to wit, care of the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Three questions at once suggest themselves to us. First, what is denoted by those particular terms? Second, what is imported and included in our “seeking” after the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Third, what is meant and included by the word “first”? Most of the commentators regard " the kingdom of God and His righteousness” as a comprehensive expression for Divine things in general. Thus Matthew Henry says, “It is the sum and substance of our whole duty.” Thomas Scott gives, “The blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom, the righteousness in which His objects are justified, the grace by which they are sanctified and the good works in which they are to walk.” To us it appears that such definitions are too brief and too vague to convey any distinct concepts to the mind, and therefore we shall endeavour to examine them more closely.

Among dispensationalists the grossest conceptions have obtained concerning “the kingdom”: they have literalized what is figurative and carnalized what is spiritual. Strictly speaking the Greek word basileia has reference to sovereignty rather than to territory, to dominion than a geographical sphere. The “kingdom of God” signifies the rule of God and therefore, in its widest latitude, takes in the entire universe, for the Ruler of heaven and earth governs all creatures and things: angels and demons, men elect and reprobate, animals and fishes, planets and the elements. “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). And again, “The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalms 103:19). Rightly did one of the Puritans affirm, “There is no such monarch as God is, for largeness of empire, for absoluteness of power, and sublimity of His throne.” By some this aspect of it has been designated “the Kingdom of Providence.”

In its more contracted sense “the kingdom of God” has reference to a certain order and estate of men, namely those who profess to be in subjection unto the rule of God, who avow their allegiance to Him. As the “kingdom” of Satan (Matthew 12:26) is found wherever we meet with those in whom the prince of the power of the air “now worketh” (Ephesians 2:2), so the kingdom of God exists wherever there be those in whose hearts He reigns. This aspect of it is denominated “the kingdom of grace.” As such it is to be considered two ways: as externally administered, and as internally received. Its external administration consists of the ordinances and means of grace and the outward profession men make thereunto-hence in the parables of the kingdom Christ pictures tares as well as wheat, bad fish as well as good being included therein. When He said to the Jews, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43) Christ had reference to the external privileges of the means of grace. As internally received the kingdom of God consists in Divine grace ruling in the hearts of His elect, so that they are brought to submit themselves unto the obedience of Christ. It is this aspect of the kingdom which is in view in Matthew 6:33.

Chapter 38

“BUT seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The heathen set their hearts upon material necessities and comforts: be not ye like unto them, says Christ-let a nobler, more essential and infinitely more satisfying object engage your attention and energies. If God be given His proper place in your hearts and lives you will not be the losers even in this world, yea, only thus will you be able to form a true estimate of the things of time and sense. Ah, my reader, it is failure to make Him our portion which renders us troubled about many things. Where there is the blessed realization that God is for us at e is all-sufficient, a spirit of contentment and rest floods the soul. Nothing but the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit will cast out dark and dismal forebodings. Where faith is in exercise and there is conscious communion with God, anxiety cannot cast us down.

By the “kingdom of God” is here meant a state or condition of men in this life, a state whereby they enjoy through Christ the favour of God and a title to everlasting felicity and glory. It is thus designated because God rules in them as a king rules in his kingdom. The words “and His righteousness” are added by way of explanation, that we may know for ourselves when we have obtained this grand object: God’s kingdom stands in righteousness, as it is written, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink [material things]; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). Now by “the righteousness of God” we are to understand two things: an imputed righteousness and an imparted righteousness, one which is placed to our account or credit and one which is communicated to our souls. The former or imputed righteousness is that perfect obedience which Christ rendered to the Law of God, which is legally reckoned to each one who believes in Him. As it is written, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe,” and again, “If by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22; Romans 5:17). Therefore may the Christian exclaim, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

And how is anyone to know when the perfect obedience of Christ has been made over to him, so that he stands justified before God, the Law no longer able to prefer a single charge against him? Answer, by that which ever accompanies it: imputed righteousness is made known by imparted righteousness. Justification is never separated from sanctification, both arising out of regeneration. All who are justified by Christ’s obedience are sanctified by the Holy Spirit that henceforth they may walk in good works. “That ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The reference is to the new birth, whereby a new nature or principle is supernaturally communicated to the soul, a principle whose character and element is righteousness and true holiness in contrast with the character and element of the corrupt principle or flesh, which is sin and wickedness. This “new man” which is created (by God) in righteousness, believers are exhorted to “put on,” that is make evident, display before the world-let it appear you are the children of God by your character and conduct. Therefore do we read, “every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

Now this kingdom and righteousness of God Christ here calls upon men to “seek,” and as we pointed out in the previous verse the word is a very emphatic one, signifying to “set ourselves to seek” or “seek with all our might.” We all know how worldlings seek after the things of time and sense: not reluctantly but heartily, not perfunctorily but earnestly, not spasmodically but constantly, not carelessly but diligently. In such a manner and in such a spirit are the things pertaining to our eternal welfare to be sought. God has nowhere promised that those who seek Him indolently and indifferently shall find Him: rather has He declared, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). So that there might be no misunderstanding of His meaning, Christ added, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” by which He meant seek it chiefly, principally, above all other things in this world. Let your paramount concern be to enter into that estate whereby ye may enjoy God’s favour through Christ-justified by His obedience and sanctified by His Spirit.

From this command of Christ’s it is evident that by nature we are all of us outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His favour, otherwise we should not be bidden to seek them. We were in fact, during our unregeneracy, under the power of Satan and in his kingdom of darkness. The Devil is called “the prince of this world” (John 12:31) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), because all the world are his vassals, yielding him homage in the works of sin, and therefore is he also designated “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) And how justly has this misery come upon men: seeing they refuse to yield submission to the sceptre of God, they are righteously left to the power of the Devil, to be made his slaves and drudges. That the unregenerate are outside the kingdom of God is very plain from the course of their lives, for to the Almighty they say, “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14).

But now the important question arises, How shall those who are by nature outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His righteousness seek an entrance into the one and an interest in the other? To this a threefold answer may be returned. First, we must go to the place where the kingdom of God is to be found. Second, we must then enter into it. Third, we must wait for the full possession of it. For the first: this kingdom of God is not to be found everywhere, but only where God is pleased to manifest and reveal the same unto the sons of men.

It is made known in the Holy Scriptures, and therefore are they called “the word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19), and hence it is to the Volume of Inspiration we must turn, humbly seeking instruction from the Holy Spirit. But since it has pleased God to call and equip His own servants to expound His Word we should frequent the assemblies of His saints (where such are to be found), for it is there (in normal times) the evangel of His salvation is proclaimed, and the evangel is termed “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23 and cf. Acts 28:31).

Second, when we have found this kingdom, that is when it has been clearly revealed to us as set forth in the Word of Truth- whether through the instrumentality of preachers or not-we must seek to enter into it. It is not sufficient for us to be where it is or have it presented to our view, for Christ said to the Pharisees, “the kingdom is come upon you” (Luke 11:20), yet He declared of them, ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). Now it is to be pointed out that none can enter God’s kingdom of themselves without the special work of the Holy Spirit. This is plain from those words of Christ’s, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Since conversion (a right-about-face, the heart and life being turned from the world unto God) is a fruit or consequence of regeneration, we must first be born of the Spirit. “Except a man he horn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This is rarely insisted upon today, yea, the very reverse is inculcated, for sinners are given to suppose that salvation lies wholly within their own power, that they can turn unto God whenever they are pleased to do so.

Now regeneration is a renewal of the soul, a rectifying of its faculties, a work of grace is then begun and continued throughout the whole process of sanctification, which is consummated in glory. At conversion, which follows upon and may be termed the reflex action of regeneration, the image of Satan in sin and corruption was thrown down (not expelled, still less annihilated) and the image of God renewed in the soul, in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. At conversion the proud heart of man is humbled, so that instead of continuing to conduct himself as a “god”-independent and self-sufficient-he becomes as “a little child”-tractable, teachable, meek and lowly. In conversion we renounce our own lordship and submit, voluntarily and gladly, to the rule of God, subjecting ourselves to His holy will. In conversion we repudiate the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness, and put our trust in the perfect obedience and blood of Christ. Thus, experimentally, we enter into the favour and kingdom of God and an interest in His righteousness is obtained by repentance and faith, by forsaking sin and the world, taking upon us the yoke of Christ and learning of Him, endeavoring to follow the example He has left us.

Third, we must then wait for the full fruition or possession of it. In the preceding article we pointed out the distinction which exists between the Divine kingdom of providence and the kingdom of grace: the former taking in the entire universe, the latter being internally received by the elect only, in whose hearts and lives God rules by His Spirit. We must now call attention to the difference between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, the latter consisting of two degrees. The kingdom of grace is entered the moment a soul is born again, the kingdom of glory is entered by the believer upon his removal to heaven at the moment of death. It was to this aspect of it the apostle referred when he said, “the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). Heaven is the upper compartment of the kingdom of grace, for it is there Christ reigns supreme in the spirits of just men made perfect-perfectly freed from sin, and admitted into the clear and open vision of God, though their bodies remain in the grave awaiting their redemption.

But the believer’s entrance into heaven at the moment of death-blessed, unspeakably blessed moment!-is but the kingdom of glory begun. It is not the ideal and ultimate state, for not only does he lack his glorified body, but the Church is not yet complete, Christ is still waiting until His enemies be made His footstool, waiting to see of the full travail of His soul. When the morning of the resurrection breaks, that “morning without clouds,” the last enemy shall be destroyed, mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and Christ shall “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phi 3:21). Then shall the Redeemer say unto all His redeemed, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). It is to this final phase of the kingdom that the following refers: “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: . . .For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).

In the meantime he who has entered the kingdom of grace is left in this world, that he may be a monument of God’s sovereign mercy, that he may give evidence of the transforming power of Divine grace, that he may bring forth the fruits of regeneration. He is still left in the enemy’s country, surrounded by those who seek his destruction and carrying a traitor within his own breast. He needs therefore to walk with the utmost caution and circumspection, availing himself of all appointed means of grace. He must spare no pains to keep faith and a good conscience, walking in righteousness and true holiness before God, and in the practice of love, uprightness and mercy toward his fellows. When the question is asked, “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?"-that is, Who shall enter heaven?-the inspired answer is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:2). Herein we testify that we have entered the kingdom of grace, which stands in “righteousness, and are on our way to the kingdom of glory.

It now remains for us to say a few words on “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This means, let the things of God and your own eternal interests have the chief place in your thoughts and desires, making the glory of God and your own spiritual blessing your paramount concern. It is not that we are required to seek them solely and exclusively to the neglect of temporal duties and responsibilities, but that we must put first things first, and not suffer them to be crowded out by matters of far less importance. Seek them first in time, for the Divine promise is, “those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). Seek them first each day, for only as holy happiness be our quest are we fitted to bear bodily trials and afflictions. And after you have, by repentance and faith, by complete surrender to the authority of God, entered His kingdom of grace and righteousness, continue to seek for the evidence of your regeneration, endeavour after closer conformity to the image of Christ and the example He has left us, and strive after more fruitfulness. Seek after an enlargement of His kingdom, by praying for God’s blessing on His Word, that He will raise up and thrust forth more laborers into His vineyard, and seek to encourage and help your fellow citizens in that kingdom.

We turn now to look at the reason by which Christ enforces his command: “and all these things shall be added unto you.” Here is a grand and glorious promise. In the previous verses our Lord had used one argument after another to show the needlessness and folly of carking care, calling attention to a variety of facts and drawing from them irrefutable conclusions to evidence the sin of distrusting God. But here He makes a plain and positive declaration, assuring us that if we be truly concerned about God’s interests He will take care of ours, that if the Divine glory be our principal aim we shall not be the losers temporally. If God be leading us to heaven, He certainly will not deny us such things as bodily sustenance and raiment. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11): where He gives “grace and glory” He will not withhold the good things of this life. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

“And all these things shall be added unto you.” This phrase is very significant in the original. It is taken from a custom which obtained between buyers and sellers when things were sold by measure: the seller adding an extra quantity or over-plus so as to ensure good weight and please his customer. Even so the Lord promises to those who truly seek His kingdom and righteousness that, besides the happy fruition thereof, He will (as it were) throw in for nothing, add for good measure, all the material things needful to this life. We read that “the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household” (2 Samuel 6:11): how much more will He bless those who receive His Spirit to rule in their hearts! It may be asked, Why then are any of God’s children reduced to destitution? Sometimes to correct them for their sins; sometimes to exercise their faith in the trial of patience. All promises of temporal blessings must always be understood with this qualification: so far as God sees that such bestowments will be for His glory and our highest good.

But let it not be forgotten that the above guarantee is given only to those who meet its stipulation. Which, then, are we seeking first: earthly or heavenly things, the things of self or of God, making good in this world or making sure of an entrance into heaven? “It is startling to see the tide of worldliness rising fast among Christians almost everywhere, with a corresponding ebb in the desire for spiritual prosperity: on all hands there are abounding symptoms of spiritual decay, which it is to be feared will be followed by increasing ambition for fleshly advantage. Our Master’s question may well ring in our ears and consciences today: ‘What do ye more than others?’ Not what know ye more than others? We may pride ourselves on knowing the things of God, which the poor worldling cannot possibly perceive, but if we spend all our energies, crowd our minds, engage our affections, and tax our wits for present worldly advantage, do not the men of this world the same? If we content ourselves with just the Lord’s Day observances and meetings, do not religious worldlings the same? If we do not bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in a godly walk, in a faithful testimony, and devoted service, what do we more than others?

The most convincing book to the worldling is our manner of living, but if, withal, we are as hard in our dealing, as keen for selfish gains, as inconsiderate for others’ rights in our bargains, as shrewd and tricky in running our business as the most wide-awake worldling, he will not believe the book, for its author is a living contradiction” (E. Venn, 1901).

In view of what Christ said in Matthew 6:33 we may perceive the mad course which is followed by the vast majority of our fellow men, for they either utterly neglect or only half-heartedly set their affection on the things of God, principally addicting themselves to the things of this life. They take little or no serious thought for the eternal state of their souls, but spend their time and strength in providing for their bodies, which is to grasp at the shadow and ignore the substance. That verse also teaches the Christian with what mind or spirit he should seek temporal blessings, namely with the same honesty and prayerfulness wherewith he seeks the kingdom of God, for they are but appurtenances thereunto and depend upon it, and therefore with an upright heart we must only use lawful means moderately for the getting of them. So also this verse instructs us in the right end whereunto we must use temporal mercies, namely for the furtherance of ourselves and others towards the kingdom of God. Since temporal blessings are dependent on God’s kingdom, we must learn contentment in all temporal losses: God’s favour remains though worldly goods be gone.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). By “tomorrow” is here meant the future. In the second half of this verse Christ answers a question which might be evoked by His prohibition in the first: if we must not look forward anxiously, how will it fare with us in the time to come? First, you may be wasting your last hours on earth in fretting over a morrow you may never see! But second, if you are preserved unto the morrow it will bring with it tomorrow’s God, and He has promised (1 Corinthians 10:13)!

Third, what good can your worrying do? It does not empty tomorrow of its trials, but it empties today of its strength and comfort; it does not enable you to escape future trouble, but it unfits you to cope with it when it does come. Fourth, instead of anticipating future evil, discharge present duty-in the spirit of Phi 4:6-7. Cross not your bridges before you come to them, but cheerfully shoulder the burden of today and trustfully leave the future to God.

Matthew 6:33

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 37

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:32-34

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall he added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Let us summarize the verses which have already been before us in that section of our Lord’s Address which is completed at the end of Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:19-24 Christ forbade the practice of covetousness, and in what follows He struck at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust and excessive care for the things of this life. First, He tells us that such worry is needless: the bounty of God assuring supplies (Matthew 6:25). Creation is a pledge of our preservation: He who gives life will maintain it, He who provides a body will not deny it food and raiment. Second, He shows us that such worry is senseless: the providence of God unto inferior creatures evidencing it (Matthew 6:26). If God provides for the fowls of the air, will He suffer His own children to starve?

Third, He proves it is useless: the impotency of man demonstrating it (Matthew 6:27). Since no anxiety or industry of ours can increase our stature, much less can worrying improve our earthly estate. Fourth, He announces it is faithless (Matthew 6:28-30). Since God clothes the herbs of the field, will He suffer His dear people to lack suitable covering?

None but the Divine Physician could have opened up so impressively the hideous nature of this disease. In that Divine diagnosis we are given to behold the excuselessness and the heinousness of this sin which is so prevalent among professing Christians. Distressing ourselves over the obtaining of future supplies, carking care in connection with securing the necessities of temporal life, so far from being a trivial infirmity which we need not take seriously to heart, is a sin of the deepest dye which should humble us into the dust before God. Worrying over tomorrow’s food and clothing is needless, useless, senseless, faithless, and therefore it is utterly excuseless. Then surely we should make conscience of it, confess it contritely before God, and seek from Him grace to mortify it. That which was spoken by Christ on the Mount is addressed unto us today: Oh, that we may be given ears to hear and hearts to improve the same.

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (v. 32). In these words our Lord advances two additional reasons why His people should not be unduly solicitous about temporal supplies. First, because such anxieties are heathenish. This will appear more evident to the ordinary reader when we point out that the Greek word which is here rendered “Gentiles” is translated “heathen” in Acts 4:25; Galatians 1:16, etc. At the time Christ made this statement the “Gentiles” were without any written revelation from God and were in complete spiritual darkness. In consequence, they had the most erroneous ideas of the Divine character and government.

Many of them believed that all things were fixed by a blind and inexorable fate, while others went to an opposite extreme, supposing that nothing was predetermined, but that everything was left to capricious chance. Such are the philosophizings of man’s much-vaunted reason when unillumined by the Spirit of Truth.

The concepts which the “Gentiles” formed of their “gods” were such that they could have no trust in them. So far from regarding their “gods” as beings of benevolence, who regarded their devotees with compassion, they were looked upon as objects of dread, whose favour could only be purchased by the most costly of offerings (appropriated by the priests) and whose ire had to be placated by human sacrifices. Of a future life beyond this vale of tears the heathen had but the vaguest and gloomiest ideas. Consequently this world meant everything to them, and therefore their whole thought was directed and their energy devoted to the obtaining of its necessities and comforts, making such their chief good. Their ambition rose no higher than to eat and drink, to have a sufficiency of material things and make merry therewith. And those of them who possessed little of this world-and only a very small number had much-were weighed down with worry as to how soon their slender resources might completely fail them.

“For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” It should be pointed out that the word in the original whereby Christ described the behavior of the heathen is more emphatic than our translation intimates, denoting that they “set themselves to seek” or “seek with all their might.” This is a detail of some importance, for the mere or simple seeking of things necessary for our welfare is a duty, but when we give ourselves wholly to the quest thereof it is a sin, for it proceeds from distrust of God. And this was precisely the case of the Gentiles at that time: they were without the knowledge of the true God, had not His Word and were ignorant of His providences. How vastly and how radically different is the case of the Christian: God is revealed to him in Christ, a written revelation from Him is in his hands assuring him of the supply of all his need. How shameful then, how wicked, for a child of God to come down to the level of the heathen, as he does when carking care possesses his heart.

The force of our Lord’s argument (that it is an argument or dissuasive is clear from its opening “for”) will probably be apparent if we paraphrase it thus: because on all these things do wordlings set their hearts-in the parallel passage it reads “For all these things do the nations of the world seek after” (Luke 12:30). How utterly unworthy for a Christian to be regulated by a mode of thinking and acting such as governs the godless, to descend to the level of the unregenerate. Yet, alas, how many of those now bearing the name of ‘Christ do this very thing. How grossly materialistic is this twentieth century. How close is the resemblance between what men call “Christian civilization” and the conditions which obtained in the degenerate empires of ancient Greece and Rome. Human nature is the same in every age, the same the world over, and will inevitably remain so except where the Holy Spirit is pleased to work in His transforming power.

“Solicitude for the future is at bottom worldly-mindedness. The heathen tendency in us all leads to an over-estimate of material good, and it is a question of circumstances whether that shall show itself in heaping up earthly treasures, or in anxious care. They are the same plant, only the one is growing in the tropics of sunny prosperity, and the other in the arctic zone of chill penury. The one is the sin of the worldly-minded rich man, and the other is the sin of the worldly-minded poor man. The character is the same turned inside out! And therefore, the words ‘ye cannot serve God and mammon’ stand in this chapter in the center, between our Lord’s warning against laying up treasures on earth, and His warnings against being full of cares for earth.

He would show us thereby that these two apparently opposite states of mind in reality spring from one root, and are equally, though differently, ‘serving mammon.’ We do not sufficiently reflect upon that” (A. MacLaren).

There are some who seek to excuse their anxiety and worrying by saying it is the result of temperament or circumstances. Even so, that does not lessen their sin. Divine grace teaches its possessor to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts (Titus 2:12) and lifts him above circumstances (Phi 4:11). The fact is that those who do not trust in God’s goodness and count not upon His faithfulness to supply all their need are pagans, no matter what may be their profession. Pagans believe not in Divine providence, and so rely upon the means, trusting wholly in their own efforts and endeavors, and so make themselves their own god. The real reason why empty professors are so anxious about the things of this life and so troubled over future supplies is that their hearts are earthbound and their desires heathenish. A worldling is one whose anxieties and joys are both confined within the narrow sphere of the material and the visible- take that from him, and he has nothing left.

Observe now the ground on which this argument or dissuasive rests. Real Christians have the true God for their God which the heathen have not, and therefore they must differ from them in their behavior. God clothed the grass of the field (Matthew 6:30)-yea, with a verdure and beauty exceeding that of Solomon’s royal robes-“therefore take no [anxiousl thought, saying [unbelievingly and petulantly], What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek,” and ye must not be like unto them. In all things the children of God should differ from the heathen. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” said Christ (John 17:14), and as He evidenced His separation from and unlikeness to it, so must we. “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Sons of the King of heaven are not to conduct themselves like the Devil’s beggars.

“For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32). Here is still another reason, the most powerful of all, for delivering believers from distressing fears and God dishonoring anxieties about future supplies. “Your heavenly Father” is set over against the inanimate and impotent “gods” of the heathen: His knowledge or tender solicitude, against their ignorance and lack of concern. The poor pagans might well say, If we are not wholly taken up with seeking after the necessities and comforts of this life, then pray who will provide them? But it is far otherwise with the Christian. The One who made heaven and earth sustains to him the relation of a heavenly Father: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psalms 103:13). He knows what I have need of, and will not deny it to me. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). The believer need trouble himself no further than soberly to use all lawful means, calmly and confidently counting on God to bless the same: God will provide what is needful for him and therefore he need not vex his mind about it.

Let it be duly noted that Christ here repeats the note which He had struck in Matthew 6:26 : “your heavenly Father feedeth them.” If He provides for such inferior creatures as the fowls of the air, will He suffer the members of His own family to want? He is their Creator and so bountifully supplies their need; but He is the Christian’s Father and will not forget His own child. Here is double armor against the arrows of anxiety: the intimate relation which the great God sustains to His people, and the assurance that His knowledge of them is equal to His love for them. The children of this world are indeed tormented with anxiety as to how tomorrow’s supplies will be obtained, nor is it at all strange that they should be bowed down with such cares, for they have no heavenly Father to whose infinite love and faithfulnes3 they may commit themselves. Consequently in this argument Christ is putting His disciples to the proof, as to whether or not the relation which God sustains to them be actual and counts for anything, or whether it be mere theory and lip profession.

All distrustful anxiety concerning the supplies of things needful proceeds on the assumption that God either does not know our wants or that He cares not for us, which is precisely the attitude of the worldling. But with the Christian it is very different. He has the realization that “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). He is assured from Holy Writ of God’s special providence over him, taking notice of his case whatever it may be and making all things work together for his good. From this assurance he must learn to practice contentment: depending upon God by simple faith and trustfully leaving himself and all his interests in His gracious hands. This contentment or acquiescence in the Divine will is to be practiced in sickness as well as in health, under trials as well as blessings, in adversity as in prosperity, realizing that whatever may be our circumstances they are according to the good pleasure of our heavenly Father, who is infinite in power and wisdom.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). In these words Christ makes known the great counter-agent unto and remedy for covetousness. As in the previous verses He had been striking at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust of God and excessive care for the things of this life, so here He reveals the effectual specific: that is, making the things of God our paramount concern. It is of no use only to tell men that they ought to trust, that the birds of the air might teach them to trust, that the flowers of the field might preach resignation and confidence to them. It is no use to attempt to scold them into trust, by telling them that distrust is heathenish. You must fill the heart with supreme and transcendent desire after the one supreme object; and then there will be no room and leisure left for the anxious care after the lesser.

Have inwrought into your being, Christian man, the opposite of that heathen over-regard for earthly things” (A. Maclaren).

The renowned Thomas Chalmers was the author of that impressive expression “The impulsive power of a new affection.” God and the world, Christ and Belial, cannot possess the soul of the same person: when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart the love of the world is cast out: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Man is constituted that he cannot be devoted to two different and diverse objects at one and the same time: it is utterly impossible for him to serve two masters-God and mammon. Let his affections be set upon things above and they will be detached from things below: the more real and blessed (by the exercise of faith) become the former, the less attractive will appear the latter, and the less hold will they have. The best way to get a child to drop a filthy or dangerous object is to offer it another one more satisfying. If the horse cannot be induced to trot, turn its face homewards and it will quickly improve its speed.

Having by one argument after another dissuaded His disciples from distrustful care, Christ now shows unto them what that care is which ought always to possess their hearts: to wit, care of the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Three questions at once suggest themselves to us. First, what is denoted by those particular terms? Second, what is imported and included in our “seeking” after the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Third, what is meant and included by the word “first”? Most of the commentators regard " the kingdom of God and His righteousness” as a comprehensive expression for Divine things in general. Thus Matthew Henry says, “It is the sum and substance of our whole duty.” Thomas Scott gives, “The blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom, the righteousness in which His objects are justified, the grace by which they are sanctified and the good works in which they are to walk.” To us it appears that such definitions are too brief and too vague to convey any distinct concepts to the mind, and therefore we shall endeavour to examine them more closely.

Among dispensationalists the grossest conceptions have obtained concerning “the kingdom”: they have literalized what is figurative and carnalized what is spiritual. Strictly speaking the Greek word basileia has reference to sovereignty rather than to territory, to dominion than a geographical sphere. The “kingdom of God” signifies the rule of God and therefore, in its widest latitude, takes in the entire universe, for the Ruler of heaven and earth governs all creatures and things: angels and demons, men elect and reprobate, animals and fishes, planets and the elements. “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). And again, “The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalms 103:19). Rightly did one of the Puritans affirm, “There is no such monarch as God is, for largeness of empire, for absoluteness of power, and sublimity of His throne.” By some this aspect of it has been designated “the Kingdom of Providence.”

In its more contracted sense “the kingdom of God” has reference to a certain order and estate of men, namely those who profess to be in subjection unto the rule of God, who avow their allegiance to Him. As the “kingdom” of Satan (Matthew 12:26) is found wherever we meet with those in whom the prince of the power of the air “now worketh” (Ephesians 2:2), so the kingdom of God exists wherever there be those in whose hearts He reigns. This aspect of it is denominated “the kingdom of grace.” As such it is to be considered two ways: as externally administered, and as internally received. Its external administration consists of the ordinances and means of grace and the outward profession men make thereunto-hence in the parables of the kingdom Christ pictures tares as well as wheat, bad fish as well as good being included therein. When He said to the Jews, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43) Christ had reference to the external privileges of the means of grace. As internally received the kingdom of God consists in Divine grace ruling in the hearts of His elect, so that they are brought to submit themselves unto the obedience of Christ. It is this aspect of the kingdom which is in view in Matthew 6:33.

Chapter 38

“BUT seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The heathen set their hearts upon material necessities and comforts: be not ye like unto them, says Christ-let a nobler, more essential and infinitely more satisfying object engage your attention and energies. If God be given His proper place in your hearts and lives you will not be the losers even in this world, yea, only thus will you be able to form a true estimate of the things of time and sense. Ah, my reader, it is failure to make Him our portion which renders us troubled about many things. Where there is the blessed realization that God is for us at e is all-sufficient, a spirit of contentment and rest floods the soul. Nothing but the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit will cast out dark and dismal forebodings. Where faith is in exercise and there is conscious communion with God, anxiety cannot cast us down.

By the “kingdom of God” is here meant a state or condition of men in this life, a state whereby they enjoy through Christ the favour of God and a title to everlasting felicity and glory. It is thus designated because God rules in them as a king rules in his kingdom. The words “and His righteousness” are added by way of explanation, that we may know for ourselves when we have obtained this grand object: God’s kingdom stands in righteousness, as it is written, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink [material things]; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). Now by “the righteousness of God” we are to understand two things: an imputed righteousness and an imparted righteousness, one which is placed to our account or credit and one which is communicated to our souls. The former or imputed righteousness is that perfect obedience which Christ rendered to the Law of God, which is legally reckoned to each one who believes in Him. As it is written, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe,” and again, “If by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22; Romans 5:17). Therefore may the Christian exclaim, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

And how is anyone to know when the perfect obedience of Christ has been made over to him, so that he stands justified before God, the Law no longer able to prefer a single charge against him? Answer, by that which ever accompanies it: imputed righteousness is made known by imparted righteousness. Justification is never separated from sanctification, both arising out of regeneration. All who are justified by Christ’s obedience are sanctified by the Holy Spirit that henceforth they may walk in good works. “That ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The reference is to the new birth, whereby a new nature or principle is supernaturally communicated to the soul, a principle whose character and element is righteousness and true holiness in contrast with the character and element of the corrupt principle or flesh, which is sin and wickedness. This “new man” which is created (by God) in righteousness, believers are exhorted to “put on,” that is make evident, display before the world-let it appear you are the children of God by your character and conduct. Therefore do we read, “every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

Now this kingdom and righteousness of God Christ here calls upon men to “seek,” and as we pointed out in the previous verse the word is a very emphatic one, signifying to “set ourselves to seek” or “seek with all our might.” We all know how worldlings seek after the things of time and sense: not reluctantly but heartily, not perfunctorily but earnestly, not spasmodically but constantly, not carelessly but diligently. In such a manner and in such a spirit are the things pertaining to our eternal welfare to be sought. God has nowhere promised that those who seek Him indolently and indifferently shall find Him: rather has He declared, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). So that there might be no misunderstanding of His meaning, Christ added, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” by which He meant seek it chiefly, principally, above all other things in this world. Let your paramount concern be to enter into that estate whereby ye may enjoy God’s favour through Christ-justified by His obedience and sanctified by His Spirit.

From this command of Christ’s it is evident that by nature we are all of us outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His favour, otherwise we should not be bidden to seek them. We were in fact, during our unregeneracy, under the power of Satan and in his kingdom of darkness. The Devil is called “the prince of this world” (John 12:31) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), because all the world are his vassals, yielding him homage in the works of sin, and therefore is he also designated “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) And how justly has this misery come upon men: seeing they refuse to yield submission to the sceptre of God, they are righteously left to the power of the Devil, to be made his slaves and drudges. That the unregenerate are outside the kingdom of God is very plain from the course of their lives, for to the Almighty they say, “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14).

But now the important question arises, How shall those who are by nature outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His righteousness seek an entrance into the one and an interest in the other? To this a threefold answer may be returned. First, we must go to the place where the kingdom of God is to be found. Second, we must then enter into it. Third, we must wait for the full possession of it. For the first: this kingdom of God is not to be found everywhere, but only where God is pleased to manifest and reveal the same unto the sons of men.

It is made known in the Holy Scriptures, and therefore are they called “the word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19), and hence it is to the Volume of Inspiration we must turn, humbly seeking instruction from the Holy Spirit. But since it has pleased God to call and equip His own servants to expound His Word we should frequent the assemblies of His saints (where such are to be found), for it is there (in normal times) the evangel of His salvation is proclaimed, and the evangel is termed “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23 and cf. Acts 28:31).

Second, when we have found this kingdom, that is when it has been clearly revealed to us as set forth in the Word of Truth- whether through the instrumentality of preachers or not-we must seek to enter into it. It is not sufficient for us to be where it is or have it presented to our view, for Christ said to the Pharisees, “the kingdom is come upon you” (Luke 11:20), yet He declared of them, ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). Now it is to be pointed out that none can enter God’s kingdom of themselves without the special work of the Holy Spirit. This is plain from those words of Christ’s, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Since conversion (a right-about-face, the heart and life being turned from the world unto God) is a fruit or consequence of regeneration, we must first be born of the Spirit. “Except a man he horn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This is rarely insisted upon today, yea, the very reverse is inculcated, for sinners are given to suppose that salvation lies wholly within their own power, that they can turn unto God whenever they are pleased to do so.

Now regeneration is a renewal of the soul, a rectifying of its faculties, a work of grace is then begun and continued throughout the whole process of sanctification, which is consummated in glory. At conversion, which follows upon and may be termed the reflex action of regeneration, the image of Satan in sin and corruption was thrown down (not expelled, still less annihilated) and the image of God renewed in the soul, in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. At conversion the proud heart of man is humbled, so that instead of continuing to conduct himself as a “god”-independent and self-sufficient-he becomes as “a little child”-tractable, teachable, meek and lowly. In conversion we renounce our own lordship and submit, voluntarily and gladly, to the rule of God, subjecting ourselves to His holy will. In conversion we repudiate the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness, and put our trust in the perfect obedience and blood of Christ. Thus, experimentally, we enter into the favour and kingdom of God and an interest in His righteousness is obtained by repentance and faith, by forsaking sin and the world, taking upon us the yoke of Christ and learning of Him, endeavoring to follow the example He has left us.

Third, we must then wait for the full fruition or possession of it. In the preceding article we pointed out the distinction which exists between the Divine kingdom of providence and the kingdom of grace: the former taking in the entire universe, the latter being internally received by the elect only, in whose hearts and lives God rules by His Spirit. We must now call attention to the difference between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, the latter consisting of two degrees. The kingdom of grace is entered the moment a soul is born again, the kingdom of glory is entered by the believer upon his removal to heaven at the moment of death. It was to this aspect of it the apostle referred when he said, “the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). Heaven is the upper compartment of the kingdom of grace, for it is there Christ reigns supreme in the spirits of just men made perfect-perfectly freed from sin, and admitted into the clear and open vision of God, though their bodies remain in the grave awaiting their redemption.

But the believer’s entrance into heaven at the moment of death-blessed, unspeakably blessed moment!-is but the kingdom of glory begun. It is not the ideal and ultimate state, for not only does he lack his glorified body, but the Church is not yet complete, Christ is still waiting until His enemies be made His footstool, waiting to see of the full travail of His soul. When the morning of the resurrection breaks, that “morning without clouds,” the last enemy shall be destroyed, mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and Christ shall “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phi 3:21). Then shall the Redeemer say unto all His redeemed, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). It is to this final phase of the kingdom that the following refers: “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: . . .For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).

In the meantime he who has entered the kingdom of grace is left in this world, that he may be a monument of God’s sovereign mercy, that he may give evidence of the transforming power of Divine grace, that he may bring forth the fruits of regeneration. He is still left in the enemy’s country, surrounded by those who seek his destruction and carrying a traitor within his own breast. He needs therefore to walk with the utmost caution and circumspection, availing himself of all appointed means of grace. He must spare no pains to keep faith and a good conscience, walking in righteousness and true holiness before God, and in the practice of love, uprightness and mercy toward his fellows. When the question is asked, “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?"-that is, Who shall enter heaven?-the inspired answer is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:2). Herein we testify that we have entered the kingdom of grace, which stands in “righteousness, and are on our way to the kingdom of glory.

It now remains for us to say a few words on “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This means, let the things of God and your own eternal interests have the chief place in your thoughts and desires, making the glory of God and your own spiritual blessing your paramount concern. It is not that we are required to seek them solely and exclusively to the neglect of temporal duties and responsibilities, but that we must put first things first, and not suffer them to be crowded out by matters of far less importance. Seek them first in time, for the Divine promise is, “those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). Seek them first each day, for only as holy happiness be our quest are we fitted to bear bodily trials and afflictions. And after you have, by repentance and faith, by complete surrender to the authority of God, entered His kingdom of grace and righteousness, continue to seek for the evidence of your regeneration, endeavour after closer conformity to the image of Christ and the example He has left us, and strive after more fruitfulness. Seek after an enlargement of His kingdom, by praying for God’s blessing on His Word, that He will raise up and thrust forth more laborers into His vineyard, and seek to encourage and help your fellow citizens in that kingdom.

We turn now to look at the reason by which Christ enforces his command: “and all these things shall be added unto you.” Here is a grand and glorious promise. In the previous verses our Lord had used one argument after another to show the needlessness and folly of carking care, calling attention to a variety of facts and drawing from them irrefutable conclusions to evidence the sin of distrusting God. But here He makes a plain and positive declaration, assuring us that if we be truly concerned about God’s interests He will take care of ours, that if the Divine glory be our principal aim we shall not be the losers temporally. If God be leading us to heaven, He certainly will not deny us such things as bodily sustenance and raiment. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11): where He gives “grace and glory” He will not withhold the good things of this life. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

“And all these things shall be added unto you.” This phrase is very significant in the original. It is taken from a custom which obtained between buyers and sellers when things were sold by measure: the seller adding an extra quantity or over-plus so as to ensure good weight and please his customer. Even so the Lord promises to those who truly seek His kingdom and righteousness that, besides the happy fruition thereof, He will (as it were) throw in for nothing, add for good measure, all the material things needful to this life. We read that “the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household” (2 Samuel 6:11): how much more will He bless those who receive His Spirit to rule in their hearts! It may be asked, Why then are any of God’s children reduced to destitution? Sometimes to correct them for their sins; sometimes to exercise their faith in the trial of patience. All promises of temporal blessings must always be understood with this qualification: so far as God sees that such bestowments will be for His glory and our highest good.

But let it not be forgotten that the above guarantee is given only to those who meet its stipulation. Which, then, are we seeking first: earthly or heavenly things, the things of self or of God, making good in this world or making sure of an entrance into heaven? “It is startling to see the tide of worldliness rising fast among Christians almost everywhere, with a corresponding ebb in the desire for spiritual prosperity: on all hands there are abounding symptoms of spiritual decay, which it is to be feared will be followed by increasing ambition for fleshly advantage. Our Master’s question may well ring in our ears and consciences today: ‘What do ye more than others?’ Not what know ye more than others? We may pride ourselves on knowing the things of God, which the poor worldling cannot possibly perceive, but if we spend all our energies, crowd our minds, engage our affections, and tax our wits for present worldly advantage, do not the men of this world the same? If we content ourselves with just the Lord’s Day observances and meetings, do not religious worldlings the same? If we do not bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in a godly walk, in a faithful testimony, and devoted service, what do we more than others?

The most convincing book to the worldling is our manner of living, but if, withal, we are as hard in our dealing, as keen for selfish gains, as inconsiderate for others’ rights in our bargains, as shrewd and tricky in running our business as the most wide-awake worldling, he will not believe the book, for its author is a living contradiction” (E. Venn, 1901).

In view of what Christ said in Matthew 6:33 we may perceive the mad course which is followed by the vast majority of our fellow men, for they either utterly neglect or only half-heartedly set their affection on the things of God, principally addicting themselves to the things of this life. They take little or no serious thought for the eternal state of their souls, but spend their time and strength in providing for their bodies, which is to grasp at the shadow and ignore the substance. That verse also teaches the Christian with what mind or spirit he should seek temporal blessings, namely with the same honesty and prayerfulness wherewith he seeks the kingdom of God, for they are but appurtenances thereunto and depend upon it, and therefore with an upright heart we must only use lawful means moderately for the getting of them. So also this verse instructs us in the right end whereunto we must use temporal mercies, namely for the furtherance of ourselves and others towards the kingdom of God. Since temporal blessings are dependent on God’s kingdom, we must learn contentment in all temporal losses: God’s favour remains though worldly goods be gone.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). By “tomorrow” is here meant the future. In the second half of this verse Christ answers a question which might be evoked by His prohibition in the first: if we must not look forward anxiously, how will it fare with us in the time to come? First, you may be wasting your last hours on earth in fretting over a morrow you may never see! But second, if you are preserved unto the morrow it will bring with it tomorrow’s God, and He has promised (1 Corinthians 10:13)!

Third, what good can your worrying do? It does not empty tomorrow of its trials, but it empties today of its strength and comfort; it does not enable you to escape future trouble, but it unfits you to cope with it when it does come. Fourth, instead of anticipating future evil, discharge present duty-in the spirit of Phi 4:6-7. Cross not your bridges before you come to them, but cheerfully shoulder the burden of today and trustfully leave the future to God.

Matthew 6:34

An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 37

ANXIETY

Matthew 6:32-34

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall he added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Let us summarize the verses which have already been before us in that section of our Lord’s Address which is completed at the end of Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:19-24 Christ forbade the practice of covetousness, and in what follows He struck at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust and excessive care for the things of this life. First, He tells us that such worry is needless: the bounty of God assuring supplies (Matthew 6:25). Creation is a pledge of our preservation: He who gives life will maintain it, He who provides a body will not deny it food and raiment. Second, He shows us that such worry is senseless: the providence of God unto inferior creatures evidencing it (Matthew 6:26). If God provides for the fowls of the air, will He suffer His own children to starve?

Third, He proves it is useless: the impotency of man demonstrating it (Matthew 6:27). Since no anxiety or industry of ours can increase our stature, much less can worrying improve our earthly estate. Fourth, He announces it is faithless (Matthew 6:28-30). Since God clothes the herbs of the field, will He suffer His dear people to lack suitable covering?

None but the Divine Physician could have opened up so impressively the hideous nature of this disease. In that Divine diagnosis we are given to behold the excuselessness and the heinousness of this sin which is so prevalent among professing Christians. Distressing ourselves over the obtaining of future supplies, carking care in connection with securing the necessities of temporal life, so far from being a trivial infirmity which we need not take seriously to heart, is a sin of the deepest dye which should humble us into the dust before God. Worrying over tomorrow’s food and clothing is needless, useless, senseless, faithless, and therefore it is utterly excuseless. Then surely we should make conscience of it, confess it contritely before God, and seek from Him grace to mortify it. That which was spoken by Christ on the Mount is addressed unto us today: Oh, that we may be given ears to hear and hearts to improve the same.

“(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (v. 32). In these words our Lord advances two additional reasons why His people should not be unduly solicitous about temporal supplies. First, because such anxieties are heathenish. This will appear more evident to the ordinary reader when we point out that the Greek word which is here rendered “Gentiles” is translated “heathen” in Acts 4:25; Galatians 1:16, etc. At the time Christ made this statement the “Gentiles” were without any written revelation from God and were in complete spiritual darkness. In consequence, they had the most erroneous ideas of the Divine character and government.

Many of them believed that all things were fixed by a blind and inexorable fate, while others went to an opposite extreme, supposing that nothing was predetermined, but that everything was left to capricious chance. Such are the philosophizings of man’s much-vaunted reason when unillumined by the Spirit of Truth.

The concepts which the “Gentiles” formed of their “gods” were such that they could have no trust in them. So far from regarding their “gods” as beings of benevolence, who regarded their devotees with compassion, they were looked upon as objects of dread, whose favour could only be purchased by the most costly of offerings (appropriated by the priests) and whose ire had to be placated by human sacrifices. Of a future life beyond this vale of tears the heathen had but the vaguest and gloomiest ideas. Consequently this world meant everything to them, and therefore their whole thought was directed and their energy devoted to the obtaining of its necessities and comforts, making such their chief good. Their ambition rose no higher than to eat and drink, to have a sufficiency of material things and make merry therewith. And those of them who possessed little of this world-and only a very small number had much-were weighed down with worry as to how soon their slender resources might completely fail them.

“For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” It should be pointed out that the word in the original whereby Christ described the behavior of the heathen is more emphatic than our translation intimates, denoting that they “set themselves to seek” or “seek with all their might.” This is a detail of some importance, for the mere or simple seeking of things necessary for our welfare is a duty, but when we give ourselves wholly to the quest thereof it is a sin, for it proceeds from distrust of God. And this was precisely the case of the Gentiles at that time: they were without the knowledge of the true God, had not His Word and were ignorant of His providences. How vastly and how radically different is the case of the Christian: God is revealed to him in Christ, a written revelation from Him is in his hands assuring him of the supply of all his need. How shameful then, how wicked, for a child of God to come down to the level of the heathen, as he does when carking care possesses his heart.

The force of our Lord’s argument (that it is an argument or dissuasive is clear from its opening “for”) will probably be apparent if we paraphrase it thus: because on all these things do wordlings set their hearts-in the parallel passage it reads “For all these things do the nations of the world seek after” (Luke 12:30). How utterly unworthy for a Christian to be regulated by a mode of thinking and acting such as governs the godless, to descend to the level of the unregenerate. Yet, alas, how many of those now bearing the name of ‘Christ do this very thing. How grossly materialistic is this twentieth century. How close is the resemblance between what men call “Christian civilization” and the conditions which obtained in the degenerate empires of ancient Greece and Rome. Human nature is the same in every age, the same the world over, and will inevitably remain so except where the Holy Spirit is pleased to work in His transforming power.

“Solicitude for the future is at bottom worldly-mindedness. The heathen tendency in us all leads to an over-estimate of material good, and it is a question of circumstances whether that shall show itself in heaping up earthly treasures, or in anxious care. They are the same plant, only the one is growing in the tropics of sunny prosperity, and the other in the arctic zone of chill penury. The one is the sin of the worldly-minded rich man, and the other is the sin of the worldly-minded poor man. The character is the same turned inside out! And therefore, the words ‘ye cannot serve God and mammon’ stand in this chapter in the center, between our Lord’s warning against laying up treasures on earth, and His warnings against being full of cares for earth.

He would show us thereby that these two apparently opposite states of mind in reality spring from one root, and are equally, though differently, ‘serving mammon.’ We do not sufficiently reflect upon that” (A. MacLaren).

There are some who seek to excuse their anxiety and worrying by saying it is the result of temperament or circumstances. Even so, that does not lessen their sin. Divine grace teaches its possessor to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts (Titus 2:12) and lifts him above circumstances (Phi 4:11). The fact is that those who do not trust in God’s goodness and count not upon His faithfulness to supply all their need are pagans, no matter what may be their profession. Pagans believe not in Divine providence, and so rely upon the means, trusting wholly in their own efforts and endeavors, and so make themselves their own god. The real reason why empty professors are so anxious about the things of this life and so troubled over future supplies is that their hearts are earthbound and their desires heathenish. A worldling is one whose anxieties and joys are both confined within the narrow sphere of the material and the visible- take that from him, and he has nothing left.

Observe now the ground on which this argument or dissuasive rests. Real Christians have the true God for their God which the heathen have not, and therefore they must differ from them in their behavior. God clothed the grass of the field (Matthew 6:30)-yea, with a verdure and beauty exceeding that of Solomon’s royal robes-“therefore take no [anxiousl thought, saying [unbelievingly and petulantly], What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek,” and ye must not be like unto them. In all things the children of God should differ from the heathen. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” said Christ (John 17:14), and as He evidenced His separation from and unlikeness to it, so must we. “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Sons of the King of heaven are not to conduct themselves like the Devil’s beggars.

“For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32). Here is still another reason, the most powerful of all, for delivering believers from distressing fears and God dishonoring anxieties about future supplies. “Your heavenly Father” is set over against the inanimate and impotent “gods” of the heathen: His knowledge or tender solicitude, against their ignorance and lack of concern. The poor pagans might well say, If we are not wholly taken up with seeking after the necessities and comforts of this life, then pray who will provide them? But it is far otherwise with the Christian. The One who made heaven and earth sustains to him the relation of a heavenly Father: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psalms 103:13). He knows what I have need of, and will not deny it to me. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). The believer need trouble himself no further than soberly to use all lawful means, calmly and confidently counting on God to bless the same: God will provide what is needful for him and therefore he need not vex his mind about it.

Let it be duly noted that Christ here repeats the note which He had struck in Matthew 6:26 : “your heavenly Father feedeth them.” If He provides for such inferior creatures as the fowls of the air, will He suffer the members of His own family to want? He is their Creator and so bountifully supplies their need; but He is the Christian’s Father and will not forget His own child. Here is double armor against the arrows of anxiety: the intimate relation which the great God sustains to His people, and the assurance that His knowledge of them is equal to His love for them. The children of this world are indeed tormented with anxiety as to how tomorrow’s supplies will be obtained, nor is it at all strange that they should be bowed down with such cares, for they have no heavenly Father to whose infinite love and faithfulnes3 they may commit themselves. Consequently in this argument Christ is putting His disciples to the proof, as to whether or not the relation which God sustains to them be actual and counts for anything, or whether it be mere theory and lip profession.

All distrustful anxiety concerning the supplies of things needful proceeds on the assumption that God either does not know our wants or that He cares not for us, which is precisely the attitude of the worldling. But with the Christian it is very different. He has the realization that “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). He is assured from Holy Writ of God’s special providence over him, taking notice of his case whatever it may be and making all things work together for his good. From this assurance he must learn to practice contentment: depending upon God by simple faith and trustfully leaving himself and all his interests in His gracious hands. This contentment or acquiescence in the Divine will is to be practiced in sickness as well as in health, under trials as well as blessings, in adversity as in prosperity, realizing that whatever may be our circumstances they are according to the good pleasure of our heavenly Father, who is infinite in power and wisdom.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). In these words Christ makes known the great counter-agent unto and remedy for covetousness. As in the previous verses He had been striking at the root from which that sin proceeds, namely distrust of God and excessive care for the things of this life, so here He reveals the effectual specific: that is, making the things of God our paramount concern. It is of no use only to tell men that they ought to trust, that the birds of the air might teach them to trust, that the flowers of the field might preach resignation and confidence to them. It is no use to attempt to scold them into trust, by telling them that distrust is heathenish. You must fill the heart with supreme and transcendent desire after the one supreme object; and then there will be no room and leisure left for the anxious care after the lesser.

Have inwrought into your being, Christian man, the opposite of that heathen over-regard for earthly things” (A. Maclaren).

The renowned Thomas Chalmers was the author of that impressive expression “The impulsive power of a new affection.” God and the world, Christ and Belial, cannot possess the soul of the same person: when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart the love of the world is cast out: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Man is constituted that he cannot be devoted to two different and diverse objects at one and the same time: it is utterly impossible for him to serve two masters-God and mammon. Let his affections be set upon things above and they will be detached from things below: the more real and blessed (by the exercise of faith) become the former, the less attractive will appear the latter, and the less hold will they have. The best way to get a child to drop a filthy or dangerous object is to offer it another one more satisfying. If the horse cannot be induced to trot, turn its face homewards and it will quickly improve its speed.

Having by one argument after another dissuaded His disciples from distrustful care, Christ now shows unto them what that care is which ought always to possess their hearts: to wit, care of the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Three questions at once suggest themselves to us. First, what is denoted by those particular terms? Second, what is imported and included in our “seeking” after the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Third, what is meant and included by the word “first”? Most of the commentators regard " the kingdom of God and His righteousness” as a comprehensive expression for Divine things in general. Thus Matthew Henry says, “It is the sum and substance of our whole duty.” Thomas Scott gives, “The blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom, the righteousness in which His objects are justified, the grace by which they are sanctified and the good works in which they are to walk.” To us it appears that such definitions are too brief and too vague to convey any distinct concepts to the mind, and therefore we shall endeavour to examine them more closely.

Among dispensationalists the grossest conceptions have obtained concerning “the kingdom”: they have literalized what is figurative and carnalized what is spiritual. Strictly speaking the Greek word basileia has reference to sovereignty rather than to territory, to dominion than a geographical sphere. The “kingdom of God” signifies the rule of God and therefore, in its widest latitude, takes in the entire universe, for the Ruler of heaven and earth governs all creatures and things: angels and demons, men elect and reprobate, animals and fishes, planets and the elements. “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). And again, “The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalms 103:19). Rightly did one of the Puritans affirm, “There is no such monarch as God is, for largeness of empire, for absoluteness of power, and sublimity of His throne.” By some this aspect of it has been designated “the Kingdom of Providence.”

In its more contracted sense “the kingdom of God” has reference to a certain order and estate of men, namely those who profess to be in subjection unto the rule of God, who avow their allegiance to Him. As the “kingdom” of Satan (Matthew 12:26) is found wherever we meet with those in whom the prince of the power of the air “now worketh” (Ephesians 2:2), so the kingdom of God exists wherever there be those in whose hearts He reigns. This aspect of it is denominated “the kingdom of grace.” As such it is to be considered two ways: as externally administered, and as internally received. Its external administration consists of the ordinances and means of grace and the outward profession men make thereunto-hence in the parables of the kingdom Christ pictures tares as well as wheat, bad fish as well as good being included therein. When He said to the Jews, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43) Christ had reference to the external privileges of the means of grace. As internally received the kingdom of God consists in Divine grace ruling in the hearts of His elect, so that they are brought to submit themselves unto the obedience of Christ. It is this aspect of the kingdom which is in view in Matthew 6:33.

Chapter 38

“BUT seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The heathen set their hearts upon material necessities and comforts: be not ye like unto them, says Christ-let a nobler, more essential and infinitely more satisfying object engage your attention and energies. If God be given His proper place in your hearts and lives you will not be the losers even in this world, yea, only thus will you be able to form a true estimate of the things of time and sense. Ah, my reader, it is failure to make Him our portion which renders us troubled about many things. Where there is the blessed realization that God is for us at e is all-sufficient, a spirit of contentment and rest floods the soul. Nothing but the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit will cast out dark and dismal forebodings. Where faith is in exercise and there is conscious communion with God, anxiety cannot cast us down.

By the “kingdom of God” is here meant a state or condition of men in this life, a state whereby they enjoy through Christ the favour of God and a title to everlasting felicity and glory. It is thus designated because God rules in them as a king rules in his kingdom. The words “and His righteousness” are added by way of explanation, that we may know for ourselves when we have obtained this grand object: God’s kingdom stands in righteousness, as it is written, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink [material things]; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). Now by “the righteousness of God” we are to understand two things: an imputed righteousness and an imparted righteousness, one which is placed to our account or credit and one which is communicated to our souls. The former or imputed righteousness is that perfect obedience which Christ rendered to the Law of God, which is legally reckoned to each one who believes in Him. As it is written, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe,” and again, “If by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22; Romans 5:17). Therefore may the Christian exclaim, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

And how is anyone to know when the perfect obedience of Christ has been made over to him, so that he stands justified before God, the Law no longer able to prefer a single charge against him? Answer, by that which ever accompanies it: imputed righteousness is made known by imparted righteousness. Justification is never separated from sanctification, both arising out of regeneration. All who are justified by Christ’s obedience are sanctified by the Holy Spirit that henceforth they may walk in good works. “That ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The reference is to the new birth, whereby a new nature or principle is supernaturally communicated to the soul, a principle whose character and element is righteousness and true holiness in contrast with the character and element of the corrupt principle or flesh, which is sin and wickedness. This “new man” which is created (by God) in righteousness, believers are exhorted to “put on,” that is make evident, display before the world-let it appear you are the children of God by your character and conduct. Therefore do we read, “every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

Now this kingdom and righteousness of God Christ here calls upon men to “seek,” and as we pointed out in the previous verse the word is a very emphatic one, signifying to “set ourselves to seek” or “seek with all our might.” We all know how worldlings seek after the things of time and sense: not reluctantly but heartily, not perfunctorily but earnestly, not spasmodically but constantly, not carelessly but diligently. In such a manner and in such a spirit are the things pertaining to our eternal welfare to be sought. God has nowhere promised that those who seek Him indolently and indifferently shall find Him: rather has He declared, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). So that there might be no misunderstanding of His meaning, Christ added, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” by which He meant seek it chiefly, principally, above all other things in this world. Let your paramount concern be to enter into that estate whereby ye may enjoy God’s favour through Christ-justified by His obedience and sanctified by His Spirit.

From this command of Christ’s it is evident that by nature we are all of us outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His favour, otherwise we should not be bidden to seek them. We were in fact, during our unregeneracy, under the power of Satan and in his kingdom of darkness. The Devil is called “the prince of this world” (John 12:31) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), because all the world are his vassals, yielding him homage in the works of sin, and therefore is he also designated “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) And how justly has this misery come upon men: seeing they refuse to yield submission to the sceptre of God, they are righteously left to the power of the Devil, to be made his slaves and drudges. That the unregenerate are outside the kingdom of God is very plain from the course of their lives, for to the Almighty they say, “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14).

But now the important question arises, How shall those who are by nature outside of God’s kingdom and destitute of His righteousness seek an entrance into the one and an interest in the other? To this a threefold answer may be returned. First, we must go to the place where the kingdom of God is to be found. Second, we must then enter into it. Third, we must wait for the full possession of it. For the first: this kingdom of God is not to be found everywhere, but only where God is pleased to manifest and reveal the same unto the sons of men.

It is made known in the Holy Scriptures, and therefore are they called “the word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19), and hence it is to the Volume of Inspiration we must turn, humbly seeking instruction from the Holy Spirit. But since it has pleased God to call and equip His own servants to expound His Word we should frequent the assemblies of His saints (where such are to be found), for it is there (in normal times) the evangel of His salvation is proclaimed, and the evangel is termed “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23 and cf. Acts 28:31).

Second, when we have found this kingdom, that is when it has been clearly revealed to us as set forth in the Word of Truth- whether through the instrumentality of preachers or not-we must seek to enter into it. It is not sufficient for us to be where it is or have it presented to our view, for Christ said to the Pharisees, “the kingdom is come upon you” (Luke 11:20), yet He declared of them, ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). Now it is to be pointed out that none can enter God’s kingdom of themselves without the special work of the Holy Spirit. This is plain from those words of Christ’s, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Since conversion (a right-about-face, the heart and life being turned from the world unto God) is a fruit or consequence of regeneration, we must first be born of the Spirit. “Except a man he horn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This is rarely insisted upon today, yea, the very reverse is inculcated, for sinners are given to suppose that salvation lies wholly within their own power, that they can turn unto God whenever they are pleased to do so.

Now regeneration is a renewal of the soul, a rectifying of its faculties, a work of grace is then begun and continued throughout the whole process of sanctification, which is consummated in glory. At conversion, which follows upon and may be termed the reflex action of regeneration, the image of Satan in sin and corruption was thrown down (not expelled, still less annihilated) and the image of God renewed in the soul, in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. At conversion the proud heart of man is humbled, so that instead of continuing to conduct himself as a “god”-independent and self-sufficient-he becomes as “a little child”-tractable, teachable, meek and lowly. In conversion we renounce our own lordship and submit, voluntarily and gladly, to the rule of God, subjecting ourselves to His holy will. In conversion we repudiate the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness, and put our trust in the perfect obedience and blood of Christ. Thus, experimentally, we enter into the favour and kingdom of God and an interest in His righteousness is obtained by repentance and faith, by forsaking sin and the world, taking upon us the yoke of Christ and learning of Him, endeavoring to follow the example He has left us.

Third, we must then wait for the full fruition or possession of it. In the preceding article we pointed out the distinction which exists between the Divine kingdom of providence and the kingdom of grace: the former taking in the entire universe, the latter being internally received by the elect only, in whose hearts and lives God rules by His Spirit. We must now call attention to the difference between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, the latter consisting of two degrees. The kingdom of grace is entered the moment a soul is born again, the kingdom of glory is entered by the believer upon his removal to heaven at the moment of death. It was to this aspect of it the apostle referred when he said, “the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). Heaven is the upper compartment of the kingdom of grace, for it is there Christ reigns supreme in the spirits of just men made perfect-perfectly freed from sin, and admitted into the clear and open vision of God, though their bodies remain in the grave awaiting their redemption.

But the believer’s entrance into heaven at the moment of death-blessed, unspeakably blessed moment!-is but the kingdom of glory begun. It is not the ideal and ultimate state, for not only does he lack his glorified body, but the Church is not yet complete, Christ is still waiting until His enemies be made His footstool, waiting to see of the full travail of His soul. When the morning of the resurrection breaks, that “morning without clouds,” the last enemy shall be destroyed, mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and Christ shall “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phi 3:21). Then shall the Redeemer say unto all His redeemed, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). It is to this final phase of the kingdom that the following refers: “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: . . .For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).

In the meantime he who has entered the kingdom of grace is left in this world, that he may be a monument of God’s sovereign mercy, that he may give evidence of the transforming power of Divine grace, that he may bring forth the fruits of regeneration. He is still left in the enemy’s country, surrounded by those who seek his destruction and carrying a traitor within his own breast. He needs therefore to walk with the utmost caution and circumspection, availing himself of all appointed means of grace. He must spare no pains to keep faith and a good conscience, walking in righteousness and true holiness before God, and in the practice of love, uprightness and mercy toward his fellows. When the question is asked, “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?"-that is, Who shall enter heaven?-the inspired answer is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:2). Herein we testify that we have entered the kingdom of grace, which stands in “righteousness, and are on our way to the kingdom of glory.

It now remains for us to say a few words on “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This means, let the things of God and your own eternal interests have the chief place in your thoughts and desires, making the glory of God and your own spiritual blessing your paramount concern. It is not that we are required to seek them solely and exclusively to the neglect of temporal duties and responsibilities, but that we must put first things first, and not suffer them to be crowded out by matters of far less importance. Seek them first in time, for the Divine promise is, “those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). Seek them first each day, for only as holy happiness be our quest are we fitted to bear bodily trials and afflictions. And after you have, by repentance and faith, by complete surrender to the authority of God, entered His kingdom of grace and righteousness, continue to seek for the evidence of your regeneration, endeavour after closer conformity to the image of Christ and the example He has left us, and strive after more fruitfulness. Seek after an enlargement of His kingdom, by praying for God’s blessing on His Word, that He will raise up and thrust forth more laborers into His vineyard, and seek to encourage and help your fellow citizens in that kingdom.

We turn now to look at the reason by which Christ enforces his command: “and all these things shall be added unto you.” Here is a grand and glorious promise. In the previous verses our Lord had used one argument after another to show the needlessness and folly of carking care, calling attention to a variety of facts and drawing from them irrefutable conclusions to evidence the sin of distrusting God. But here He makes a plain and positive declaration, assuring us that if we be truly concerned about God’s interests He will take care of ours, that if the Divine glory be our principal aim we shall not be the losers temporally. If God be leading us to heaven, He certainly will not deny us such things as bodily sustenance and raiment. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11): where He gives “grace and glory” He will not withhold the good things of this life. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

“And all these things shall be added unto you.” This phrase is very significant in the original. It is taken from a custom which obtained between buyers and sellers when things were sold by measure: the seller adding an extra quantity or over-plus so as to ensure good weight and please his customer. Even so the Lord promises to those who truly seek His kingdom and righteousness that, besides the happy fruition thereof, He will (as it were) throw in for nothing, add for good measure, all the material things needful to this life. We read that “the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household” (2 Samuel 6:11): how much more will He bless those who receive His Spirit to rule in their hearts! It may be asked, Why then are any of God’s children reduced to destitution? Sometimes to correct them for their sins; sometimes to exercise their faith in the trial of patience. All promises of temporal blessings must always be understood with this qualification: so far as God sees that such bestowments will be for His glory and our highest good.

But let it not be forgotten that the above guarantee is given only to those who meet its stipulation. Which, then, are we seeking first: earthly or heavenly things, the things of self or of God, making good in this world or making sure of an entrance into heaven? “It is startling to see the tide of worldliness rising fast among Christians almost everywhere, with a corresponding ebb in the desire for spiritual prosperity: on all hands there are abounding symptoms of spiritual decay, which it is to be feared will be followed by increasing ambition for fleshly advantage. Our Master’s question may well ring in our ears and consciences today: ‘What do ye more than others?’ Not what know ye more than others? We may pride ourselves on knowing the things of God, which the poor worldling cannot possibly perceive, but if we spend all our energies, crowd our minds, engage our affections, and tax our wits for present worldly advantage, do not the men of this world the same? If we content ourselves with just the Lord’s Day observances and meetings, do not religious worldlings the same? If we do not bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in a godly walk, in a faithful testimony, and devoted service, what do we more than others?

The most convincing book to the worldling is our manner of living, but if, withal, we are as hard in our dealing, as keen for selfish gains, as inconsiderate for others’ rights in our bargains, as shrewd and tricky in running our business as the most wide-awake worldling, he will not believe the book, for its author is a living contradiction” (E. Venn, 1901).

In view of what Christ said in Matthew 6:33 we may perceive the mad course which is followed by the vast majority of our fellow men, for they either utterly neglect or only half-heartedly set their affection on the things of God, principally addicting themselves to the things of this life. They take little or no serious thought for the eternal state of their souls, but spend their time and strength in providing for their bodies, which is to grasp at the shadow and ignore the substance. That verse also teaches the Christian with what mind or spirit he should seek temporal blessings, namely with the same honesty and prayerfulness wherewith he seeks the kingdom of God, for they are but appurtenances thereunto and depend upon it, and therefore with an upright heart we must only use lawful means moderately for the getting of them. So also this verse instructs us in the right end whereunto we must use temporal mercies, namely for the furtherance of ourselves and others towards the kingdom of God. Since temporal blessings are dependent on God’s kingdom, we must learn contentment in all temporal losses: God’s favour remains though worldly goods be gone.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). By “tomorrow” is here meant the future. In the second half of this verse Christ answers a question which might be evoked by His prohibition in the first: if we must not look forward anxiously, how will it fare with us in the time to come? First, you may be wasting your last hours on earth in fretting over a morrow you may never see! But second, if you are preserved unto the morrow it will bring with it tomorrow’s God, and He has promised (1 Corinthians 10:13)!

Third, what good can your worrying do? It does not empty tomorrow of its trials, but it empties today of its strength and comfort; it does not enable you to escape future trouble, but it unfits you to cope with it when it does come. Fourth, instead of anticipating future evil, discharge present duty-in the spirit of Phi 4:6-7. Cross not your bridges before you come to them, but cheerfully shoulder the burden of today and trustfully leave the future to God.