Matthew 6:15

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. BUT IF YE FORGIVE NOT ... See the note at . Having concluded His supplementary directions on the subject of Prayer with this divine Pattern, our Lord now returns to the subject of Unostentatiousness in our deeds of righteousness, in order to give one more illustration of it, in the matter of Fasting....

9-15 Christ saw it needful to show his disciples what must commonly be the matter and method of their prayer. Not that we are tied up to the use of this only, or of this always; yet, without doubt, it is very good to use it. It has much in a little; and it is used acceptably no further than it is used with understanding, and without being needlessly repeated. The petitions are six; the first three relate more expressly to God and his honour, the last three to our own concerns, both temporal and spiritual. This prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and that all other things shall be added. After the things of God's glory, kingdom, and will, we pray for the needful supports and comforts of this present life. Every word here has a lesson in it. We ask for bread; that teaches us sobriety and temperance: and we ask only for bread; not for what we do not ne...

Verse Matthew 6:15. _BUT IF YE FORGIVE NOT_] He who does not awake at the sound of so loud a voice, is not _asleep_ but _dead_. A _vindictive_ man excludes himself from all hope of eternal life, and himself seals his own damnation. _TRESPASSES_] παραπτωματα, from παρα and πιπτω, _to fall_ _off_. What a remarkable difference there is between this word and οφειληματα, _debts_, in Matthew 6:12! Men's sins against _us_ are only their _stumblings_, or _fallings off_ from the duties they owe us; but our's are _debts_ to God's justice, which we can never discharge. It can be no great difficulty to forgive those, especially when we consider that in many respects we have failed as much, in certain duties which we owed to others

FOR IF YE FORGIVE MEN THEIR TRESPASSES - If ye forgive others when they offend or injure you. YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU - This is constantly required in the Bible. See the notes at Matthew 6:12. Our Saviour says we should forgive even if the offence be committed seventy times seven times, Matthew 18:22. By this is meant, that when a man asks forgiveness, we are cordially and forever to pardon the offence; we are to declare our willingness to forgive him. If he does not ask forgiveness, yet we are still to treat him kindly; not to harbor malice, not to speak ill of him, to be ready to do him good, and be always prepared to declare him forgiven when he asks it, and if we are not ready and willing to forgive him; we are

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 6:1 _The_ _relation of our Lord and his disciples to the religion of the day _(_continued_);_ vide _Matthew 5:17, note. (_b_) Our Lord turns from cases which could be directly deduced from the Law to those which belonged only to recognized religious duty. Of these he instances three: alms (Matthew 5:2), prayer (Matthew 5:5, Matthew 5:9), fasting (Matthew 5:16). It is, indeed, true

BUT IF YOU FORGIVE NOT MEN THEIR TRESPASSES,.... On the other hand, where men are not of a forgiving temper to their fellow creatures and fellow Christians, how can they expect forgiveness at the hands of God? or what sense of pardoning grace can there be upon their minds? Had they any right apprehensions of the grace and goodness of God, in the forgiveness of their sins, this would influence their minds, and engage their hearts to forgive such who have offended them: wherefore, where this is wanting, it may be concluded of, and said to such persons, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES. It is a plain case, that your Father has not given you a true sense of the pardon of your sins, nor can you be certain that he will; nor have you any reason to expect it, when you are so cruel and revengeful to others. There is a considerable emphasis lies upon the word "men", to which "heav...

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._ The motive which leads a man to give, will form the true estimate of what he does. If he gives to be seen of men then when he is seen of men he has the reward he sought for, and he will never have any other. Let us never do our alms before men, to be seen of them. Matthew 6:2. 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 sha

MATTHEW 6:15 avnqrw,poij {C} It is problematic whether an original reading ta. paraptw,mata auvtw/n was omitted by copyists as unnecessary, in view of the presence of the same words in ver. Matthew 6:14 and ta. paraptw,mata u`mw/n later in ver. Matthew 6:15, or whether the words were introduced in the interests of producing a balanced, liturgical style. The Committee judged that, in view of the absence of the words from the parallel statement added in some witnesses after...

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The Better Righteousness.(Matthew 6:1 .) 2. Kept in the World; Single-eyed; Trusting God.(Matthew 6:19 .)_ Our Lord said: “For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 5:20). This righteousness He had taught in His confirmation and expansion of the law, but now He speaks of something higher still. He makes known the motive of this true righteousness, which the heir of the kingdom is not alone to possess but also to practice. The motive is in all to act in the presence of the Father. The first eighteen verses of the sixth chapter shows this in a threefold relation. First, in rel

THE FULFILLED LAW IN RELATION TO THE LIFE OF THE PHARISEES. Mt. only, though the digression on Prayer (Matthew 6:7) has parallels in Lk. MATTHEW 6:1 is a general warning; three aspects of the mechanical righteousness that is done are given in detail in the following verses. Beneath the apparent contrast with Matthew 5:16 is an underlying unity. MATTHEW 6:2. ALMSGIVING. This practice was not enjoined in the Law; it was a work of supererogation earning special merit (Tob_12:9; Tob_14:11). Trumpets were sounded at public fastings in time of drought; services were held in the streets (_cf._...