DISCOURSE: 1311 DIRECTIONS RESPECTING ALMS-DEEDS Matthew 6:1. _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 syna... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1312 DIRECTIONS RESPECTING PRAYER Matthew 6:5. _And when thou prayest, thou shall 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... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1313 HALLOWING GOD’S NAME Matthew 6:9. _After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name_. IT is of the utmost importance to every human being, to know how he shall approach his God with acceptance. Hence some even of the heathen philosophers ende... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1314 THE LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:10. _Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven_. HIGHLY as the Lord’s Prayer is esteemed amongst us, and frequently as it is used, there is scarcely any part of Scripture less considered: we are contented with repeating the words, w... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1315 THE LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:11. _Give us this day our daily bread_. IN those petitions which relate to the glory of God, that occurs first which is the most comprehensive and the most important: in these which relate to the welfare of man, a different order is observed. The comforta... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1316 THE LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:12. _And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors_. THE petitions of men to the Supreme Being will be presented in a different order, according to the general state of their minds, or according to the particular circumstances in which they are plac... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1317 THE LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:13. _And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil_. THE obtaining of pardon would satisfy a person who was merely alarmed by the terrors of hell: but a truly regenerate person will desire deliverance from sin as much as from hell itself. He... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1319 A FORGIVING SPIRIT NECESSARY TO OUR ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD Matthew 6:14. _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_. THE different petitions of the Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1320 DIRECTIONS RESPECTING FASTING Matthew 6:16. _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,... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1321 LAYING UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN Matthew 6:19. _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 where thieves do not... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1322 THE SINGLE EYE Matthew 6:22. _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... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1323 THE SERVICES OF GOD AND MAMMON INCONSISTENT Matthew 6:24. _No man can serve two masters: for either he will hale the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon_. THE dictates of pure and undefiled religion are so r... [ Continue Reading ]
DISCOURSE: 1324 AGAINST CAREFULNESS 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? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,... [ Continue Reading ]