1._Beware _In this passage, Christ exhorts his people to devote themselves sincerely to good works; that is, to endeavor, with simplicity, to do what is right before God, and not to make a parade before men. (424) A very necessary admonition; for in all virtues the entrance of ambition is to be drea... [ Continue Reading ]
2._When thou doest alms _He expressly reproves a long established custom, in which the desire of fame might not only be perceived by the eye, but felt by the hands. In places where streets or roads met, and in public situations, where large assemblies were wont to be held, they distributed alms to t... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Let not thy left hand know _By this expression he means, that we ought to be satisfied with having God for our only witness, and to be so earnestly desirous to obey him, that we shall not be carried away by any vanity. It frequently happens, that men sacrifice to themselves rather than to God. Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
4._That thy alms may be in secret _This statement appears to be opposed to many passages of Scripture, in which we are commanded to edify the brethren by good examples. But if we attend to the design of Christ, we must not give a more extensive meaning to the words. (427) He commands his disciples t... [ Continue Reading ]
5._When thou shalt pray _He now gives the same instruction as to _prayer, _which he had formerly given as to _alms. _It is a gross and shameful profanation of the name of God, when hypocritcs, in order to obtain glory from men, pray in public, or at least make a pretense of praying. But, as hypocris... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Use not vain repetitions _He reproves another fault in prayer, a multiplicity of words. There are two words used, but in the same sense: for βαττολογία is “a superfluous and affected repetition,” and πολυλογία is “unmeaning talk.” Christ reproves the folly of those who, with the view of persuadin... [ Continue Reading ]
8._For your Father knoweth _This single remedy is sufficient for removing and destroying the superstition which is here condemned. For whence comes this folly of thinking that great advantage is gained, when men weary God by a multiplicity of words, but because they imagine that he is like a mortal... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:9_Do ye therefore pray thus _Instead of this Luke says, _when ye pray, say_: though Christ does not enjoin his people to pray in a prepared form of words, (431) but only points out what ought to be the object of all our wishes and prayers. He embraces, therefore, in six petitions what we a... [ Continue Reading ]
10._May thy kingdom come _Though the Greek verb ( ἐλθέτω) is simple, yet if, instead of _May thy kingdom come, _we read, as it was rendered in the old translation, _May thy kingdom arrive, _(435) the meaning will remain unchanged. We must first attend to the definition of the _kingdom _of God. He is... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Give us today our daily bread _Of the form of prayer which Christ has prescribed to us this may be called, as I have said, the Second Table. I have adopted this mode of dividing it for the sake of instruction. (437) The precepts which relate to the proper manner of worshipping God are contained... [ Continue Reading ]
12._And forgive us our debts _Here it may be proper that we should be reminded of what I said a little before, that Christ, in arranging the prayers of his people, did not consider which was first or second in order. It is written, that our prayers are as it were a wall which hinders our approach to... [ Continue Reading ]
13._And lead us not into temptation _Some people have split this petition into two. This is wrong: for the nature of the subject makes it manifest, that it is one and the same petition. The connection of the words also shows it: for the word _but, _which is placed between, connects the two clauses t... [ Continue Reading ]
Here Christ only explains the reason why that condition was added, _Forgive us, as we forgive _The reason is, that God will not be ready to hear us, unless we also show ourselves ready to grant forgiveness to those who have offended us. If we are not harder than iron, this exhortation ought to softe... [ Continue Reading ]
He again returns to the former doctrine: for, having begun to rebuke vain ostentation in alms and prayer, he laid down, before proceeding farther, the rule for praying in a right manner. The same injunction is now given to his disciples about _fasting, _which he had formerly given about _prayers _an... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:19._Lay not up. _This deadly plague reigns everywhere throughout the world. Men are grown mad with an insatiable desire of gain. Christ charges them with folly, in collecting wealth with great care, and then giving up their happiness to _moths _and to _rust, _or exposing it as a prey to th... [ Continue Reading ]
20._But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven _They are said to do so, who, instead of entangling themselves in the snares of this world, make it their care and their business to meditate on the heavenly life. In Luke’s narrative, no mention is made of the contrast between _laying up treasures o... [ Continue Reading ]
21._Where your treasure shall be _By this statement Christ proves that they are unhappy men who have their treasures laid up on the earth: because their happiness is uncertain and of short duration. Covetous men cannot be prevented from breathing in their hearts a wish for heaven: but Christ lays do... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:22._The light of the body is the eye _We must bear in mind, as I have already hinted, that what we find here are detached sentences, and not a continued discourse. The substance of the present statement is, that men go wrong through carelessness, because they do not keep their eye fixed, a... [ Continue Reading ]
23._If the light which is in thee be darkness _Light signifies that small portion of reason, which continues to exist in men since the fall of Adam: and _darkness _signifies gross and brutal affections. The meaning is, we ought not to wonder, if men wallow so disgracefully, like beasts, in the filth... [ Continue Reading ]
24._No man can serve two masters _Christ returns to the former doctrine, the object of which was to withdraw his disciples from covetousness. He had formerly said, that the heart of man is bound and fixed upon its tr_easure; _and he now gives warning, that the hearts of those who are devoted to rich... [ Continue Reading ]
Throughout the whole of this discourse, Christ reproves that _excessive _anxiety, with which men torment themselves, about food and clothing, and, at the same time, applies a remedy for curing this disease. When he forbids them to be _anxious, _this is not to be taken literally, as if he intended to... [ Continue Reading ]
26._Look at the fowls of the air _This is the remedy I spoke of, for teaching us to rely on the providence of God: for of all cares, which go beyond bounds, unbelief is the mother. The only cure for covetousness is to embrace the promises of God, by which he assures us that he will take care of us.... [ Continue Reading ]
27._Which of you by anxious care, etc ? _Here our Lord condemns another fault, which is almost always connected with immoderate anxiety about food: and that is, when a mortal man, claiming more than he has a right to do, does not hesitate, in sacrilegious hardihood, to go beyond his limits. “O Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
29._Not even Solomon in all his glory _This means, that the kindness of God, which is gloriously displayed in herbs and flowers, exceeds all that men can accomplish by their wealth or power, or in any other way. Believers ought to be convinced that, though all means fail, they will want nothing that... [ Continue Reading ]
This has the same object with the former doctrine. Believers ought to rely on God’s fatherly care, to expect that he will bestow upon them whatever they feel to be necessary, and not to torment themselves by unnecessary anxiety. He forbids them to be _anxious, _or, as Luke has it, to _seek, _that i... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:32._For all those things the Gentiles seek _This is a reproof of the gross ignorance, in which all such anxieties originate. For how comes it, that unbelievers never remain in a state of tranquillity, but because they imagine that God is unemployed, or asleep, in heaven, or, at least, that... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:33._But rather seek first the kingdom of God _This is another argument for restraining excessive anxiety about food. It argues a gross and indolent neglect of the soul, and of the heavenly life. Christ reminds us that there is the greatest inconsistency in men, who are born to a better lif... [ Continue Reading ]