Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Matthew Capítulo 6

Matthew 6:1. Take heed that ye do not your alms— Your righteousness. Our translators have put alms in the text; but doubting, upon good grounds, whether that was the true reading, they have for alms put in the margin righteousness, that is to say, justice, as it stands in the Vulgate; a reading supported with great authority from manuscripts, and commentaries of ancient fathers upon the place. However, if this were a mere verbal criticism, it would less deserve to be insisted upon: but it seems much better, and more agreeable to the sense of the Evangelist, that instead of alms we read justice; for the proper reward, not only of alms, but of every other virtue, will be forfeited, if a desire of worldly applause be our motive to the practice of them; and therefore this first verse seems to be a general caution against vain-glory in our good works, which are here summed up as usual in the comprehensive name of righteousness or justice: this general caution our Lord applies in the sequel to the three principal branches into which that justice is divided; namely, first, justice to our neighbour, by acts of kindness and beneficence; for merely not to hurt him, when we can do him good, is not doing him justice: secondly, justice to God by devotion; and thirdly, justice to ourselves by mortification, Matthew 6:16., &c. which three branches of justice our Lord here treats of severally. With this view Beza, who was for restoring δικαιοσυνην, justice, into the Greek text, makes the same remark; as does also St. Austin, who found justitia in his copy. This verse therefore may be considered as a general introduction to what follows. The doctrine and precepts of the disciples,—the righteousness which they preached, was to excel the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees in the manner set forth in the preceding chapter. Our Lord goes on to speak of the righteousness which the Jewish teachers practiced, or pretended to practise; shewing that his disciples ought to excel them in that respect also. The particulars which he mentions, though few, are of great importance; namely, alms-giving, prayer, fasting, heavenly-mindedness, walking with God, and cheerful resignation. The present chapter contains four parts; first, the right intention and manner in giving alms, Matthew 6:1-4.; secondly, the right intention, manner, form, and pre-requisites of prayer, Matthew 6:5-15.; thirdly, the right intention and manner of fasting, Matthew 6:16-18.; fourthly, the necessity of a pure intention in all things, unmixed either with a desire of riches, or worldly care and fear of want, Matthew 6:19-34. This first verse is a general caution against vain-glory in any of our good works. Our Saviour does not forbid us to do works of this kind publicly; for on some occasions that cannot be avoided; but to do them publicly, with a view and design to be seen of men, and to be applauded for them. See Heylin, Wetstein, Bengelius, and Olearius.

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Matthew 6:2. When thou doest thine alms— When you do good offices. Heylin. The term ελεημοσυνη, which we render alms, has a much larger signification, and imports all acts of kindness by which we can benefit others. In all these our Lord warns us against ostentation, and the desire of applause; and not only that we should not seek the praise of others upon such occasions, but also cautiously abstain from all vain-glorious reflections upon the good that we have done; which advice he couches in those emphatical words,

Let not your left hand know what your right hand doeth. The phrase of sounding a trumpet before them, is generally thought to be only a figurative expression, to represent their doing it in a noisy ostentatious way, as it is certain that "to do a thing with the sound of the trumpet," is sometimes used proverbially to express a public ostentation. However, it seems not improbable, that as the Jews were wont to assemble the people by the sound of a trumpet, (Joel 2:15.) persons who affected the reputation of being extremely charitable, might sound a trumpet when they distributed their alms, on pretence, no doubt, of gathering the poor to receive them, while their real intention was to proclaim their own good works, and to receive glory of men. See Beza, and Elsner.

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Matthew 6:3. Let not thy left hand know— This is a kind of proverbial expression, which may be explained to this effect: "Let no one, no, not even your most intimate acquaintance, know what you do; be ignorant of it yourselves, or forget it immediately as far as possible." It is said that the poors' chest stood on the right hand as they entered the synagogues; to which circumstance some suppose the words to all

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Matthew 6:5. And when thou prayest— Our Lord is here treating of private prayer; for which reason his rules must not be extended to public devotion. The Jews of old observed stated hours of prayer: the Scripture mentions three of them; first, the third hour, answering to our nine o'clock, when the morning sacrifice was offered: secondly, the sixth hour; answering to our twelve o'clock. At this hour we find Peter praying on the house-top, Acts 10:9.; thirdly, the ninth hour, answering to our three o'clock in the afternoon; at which time the apostles Peter and John are said to have gone up to the temple, Acts 3:1. The three are mentioned together, Psalms 55:17. See also Daniel 6:10; Daniel 6:13. At these hours, therefore, the hypocrites took care to be in some public meeting or other, (for so the original word συναγωγαις may be understood,) perhaps in the market-place, or in some court of justice, or in a corner where two streets met, and where there was a concourse of passengers to behold their devotions; which they performed before all present, with a vanity extremely offensive to the great Being whom they pretended to worship. This was the affectation here blamed in the Jews as most abominable to God.

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Matthew 6:6. Enter into thy closet— That is, "perform thy private devotions without noise or shew; by which it will appear, that thou art influenced by a true sense of duty." The word ταμιειον, closet, signifies any retired part of the house, any secret or separate place; and Mr. Blair piously conjectures, that Christ might use a word of such latitude, that none might omit secret prayer, for want of so convenient an apartment as they could wish to retire into. Duly to perform the great duty of private prayer, we must withdraw from the world not only our persons, but our thoughts too; we must shut out all worldly cares and considerations, as if we and God were alone in nature. Some of the fathers teach us, that our Lord here alludes not only to the closet, but to the heart: and indeed all duties, unaccompanied with integrity of heart, are utterly unavailing. "The heart," says St. Ambrose, "is a retiring-place, always private, always at hand, and ready to receive you:" indeed a mind long practised in piety can easily recollect itself in every place, and maintain devotion in the midst of a crowd. Thou when thou prayest enter into thy closet, and there enter into thyself by devout recollection; for the bodilyretirement avails nothing, but inasmuch as it serves to promote the mental; which is a disposition essentially necessary to prayer, and sometimes difficult to beginners, by reason of the contrary habit which their minds have contracted, by living ever abroad, and being dissipated among sensible objects; but a sincere endeavour will soon be accompanied by greater aid from the grace of God, if we faithfully bear in mind the fundamental truth in which our Lord here instructs us; namely, that the Almighty God is with us in our secret retirement. Pray to thy Father who is in secret,—is there present with thee. God, we know, is in all places; but his spiritual nature lies beyond the reach of bodily senses. When, therefore, you are retired from the world, and have shut the door of your closet, and of your heart too, as close as possible by devout recollection, turn all your attention to God, present with you, and present in you, and humble yourselves before him with a full assurance of faith, of actual faith I mean, that you are in his presence; and believe me,—for this is a truth of the utmost consequence,—that as the faith of the diseased woman, who touched our Saviour's clothes, drew forth a miraculous power to heal her infirmity, so this faith, wherewith we approach God in and through Christ in prayer, will infallibly draw forth the Divine co-operation to our endeavours. He is a living God, and a gracious God through Christ, and his spirit will unite with ours to help our infirmities, and enable us to offer up such prayers as will find acceptance at the throne of grace. Such is the preparation or disposition with which we should address ourselves to God in prayer. The following words instruct us in what is farther requisite for the right performance of it.

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Matthew 6:7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions— The original word βαττολογησητε, is derived from one Battus, who was a great babbler. (see Ovid's Metamorph. 2. ver. 688.); and signifying "to use a vain multiplicity and repetition of words." See Mintert, Beza, and Hammond. The word is very applicable to the devotions of the Heathens. See 1 Kings 18:26. Acts 19:34. The vain repetition which Christ here forbids his disciples to use in their prayers, is plainly such as proceeded from an opinion that they were to be heard for their much speaking, after the manner of those Heathens: this opinion implying a denial either of the power, or the knowledge, or goodness of him whom we worship, is highly injurious to him; and therefore repetitions in prayer flowing from it, are culpable; but repetitions proceeding from a deep sense of our wants, and which express a vehement desire of the divine grace, Jesus by no means prohibits; for he himself made use of such repetitions in his agony, when he prayed three several times with exceeding vehemence; yet, as St. Matthew remarks, using still the same words: and indeed nothing is more beneficial, than to persevere as long as possible in the same act of desire, and to renew it again and again with fresh zeal and intenseness. This is what our Lord both taught and practised. But to repeat words without intending, or meaning them, is certainly a vain repetition; and therefore we must be extremely careful in our prayers to mean what we say, and to say only what we mean from the very bottom of our hearts. The vain and heedless repetitions, which we are here warned against, are a most dangerous, yet very common error, which has long been the reproach of Christendom, and is the principal cause why so many, even of those who still profess religion, are a disgrace to it: and how is it possible they should be otherwise, while they want the reality of all true religion, an inward devotion? See Heylin.

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Matthew 6:8. Be not ye therefore like unto them— This argument would be forcible against all prayer in general, if prayer were considered only as a means of making our wants known to God; whereas it is no more than an act of obedience to our heavenly Father, who has commanded us to pray to him, chap. Mat 7:7 and made it a condition of his favours; an expression of our trust in him, and dependence on his goodness, whereby we acknowledge, that all the benefits we receive come from him, and that we must apply to him for the attainment of them. "These words, says Dr. Heylin, are highlyinstructive, and may serve to give us a solid and practical knowledge of the true nature of prayer." The proper end of prayer is not to inform God of our wants; omniscient as he is, he cannot be informed: the only thing wanting is a fit disposition on our part to receive his grace; and the proper office of prayer is, through the merit of Christ and the grace of his Spirit, to produce such a disposition in us, as to render us proper subjects for pardoning and sanctifying grace to work in; or, in other words, to remove the obstacles which we ourselves put to his goodness. Now the principal obstacles are, worldly-mindedness and self-love; whereby our desires cleave to earthly goods and corrupt selfish interests:but in prayer we suspend these desires, our heart being through grace turned so God only; and by whatever means we attain such a holy posture of mind, they are the proper means of true devotion. As long as our minds are attentive to God only, by whatever sentiment that attention is maintained, so long we pray. When such attention flags, we must renew it by passing on to some other consideration proper to keep our heart attached to God through Christ, and open to receive his pardoning or sanctifying communications.

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Matthew 6:9. After this manner, therefore, pray ye— The Lord Jesus Christ gives his disciples a form of prayer, as was usually done by the Jewish masters; John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray, Luke 11:1. It is to be observed, that this prayer is almost wholly taken out of the Jewish liturgies, and from them so well adapted by our Lord, as to contain all things which can be requested of God, with an acknowledgment of his divine Majesty, and of our dependence. The word ye here is emphatical; thus pray YE, in opposition to the heathen, who used vain repetitions in their prayers. He who best knew what we ought to pray for, and how we ought to pray, what matter of desire, what manner of address would most please himself, and would best become us, has here dictated to us a most perfect and universal form of prayer, comprehending all our real wants, expressing all our lawful desires; a complete directory, and full exercise of all our devotions. Yet it does not follow, that we are to use only the words of this prayer in our address to God; for in the Acts and Epistles, we find the Apostles praying in terms different from this form. But the meaning of these words, thus, or after this manner pray ye, is, that we are to frame our prayers according to this model, both with respect to matter, manner, and style; short, close, full. This prayer consists of three parts; the preface, the petition, and the conclusion. 1. The preface,—Our Father, which art in heaven,—lays a general foundation for prayer; comprising what we must first know of God, before we can pray in confidence of being heard. It likewise points out to us that faith and humility, and love of God and man, with which we are to approach God in prayer. 1. If they be called fathers, who beget children, and bring them up, the Almighty God has the best right to that title from every creature, and particularly from men, being the Father of their spirits (Hebrews 12:9.), the maker of their bodies, and the continual preserver of both. Nor is this all; he is our Father in a yet higher sense, as he regenerates and restores his image upon our minds; so that, partaking of his nature, we become his children, and can with holy boldness name him by the title of that relation. In the former sense, God is the father of all his creatures; but in the latter, he is the father only of such as are regenerated by his grace. Of all the magnificent titles invented by philosophers or poets in honour of their gods, there is none which conveys so grand and lovely an idea, as this simple name of father. Being used by mankind in general, it marks directly the essential character of the true God; namely, that he is the first cause of all things, or the Author of their being; and at the same time conveys a strong idea of the tender love which he bears tohis creatures, whom he nourishes with an affection, and protects with a watchfulness, infinitely superior to that of any earthly parent whatsoever. But the name father, besides teaching us that we owe our being to God, and pointing out his goodness and mercy in upholding us, expresses also his power to give us the things that we ask, none of which can be more difficult than creation. Farther, we are taught to give the great God the title of father, that our sense of the tender relation in which he stands to us through Jesus Christ may be confirmed; our faith in his power and goodness strengthened; our hope of obtaining what we ask in prayer cherished; and our desire of obeying and imitating him quickened; for even natural reason teaches, that it is disgraceful for children to degenerate from their parents, and that they cannot commit a greater crime, than to disobey the just commands of an indulgent father. 2. Again, we are directed to call him our Father, in the plural number, and that even in secret prayer; to put us in mind, that we are all brethren, the children of one common parent, and that we ought to love one another with pure hearts fervently; praying not for ourselves only, but for others; that God may give them likewise daily bread, the forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation. 3. The words, which art in heaven, do not confine God's presence to heaven, for he exists everywhere; but they contain a comprehensive, though short, description of the divine greatness. They express God's majesty, dominion, and power; and distinguish him from those whom we call our fathers on earth, and from false gods, who are not in heaven, the region of bliss and happiness; where God, who is essentially present through all the universe, gives more especial manifestations of his presence to such of his creatures as he has exalted to share with him in his eternal felicity.

II. 1. Hallowed be thy name— This is commonly esteemed the first of the petitions in the Lord's prayer. Wetstein, however, and several others, are of opinion that these words, as well as those in the next verse, are not to be considered as petitions so much as acts of adoration, and acknowledgments of the power and majesty of God; and accordingly they begin the petitions at the 11th verse. But I apprehend, says Dr. Heylin, in nearly these words, (and with him the greater part agree,) that this passage directly tends to our sanctification, and that we are as much personally concerned in this, as in the following petitions; for, in order to our sanctification, our notions and opinions in respect to all essential doctrines and experimental truths must first be rectified by the divine light, because our notions are in a great measure the rule of our actions; we are solicitous or indifferent about things, not according to their intrinsic merit, but according to the notions or opinions which we have conceived of them, as desirable, or of no moment; so that a change of heart and manners must ever begin in change of opinions,—in a knowledge of our fallen state, of our great Remedy, and the manner of applying it through faith. Again, before a man is truly penitent, his notions of worldly goods are lively and animated, as of things highly desirable; but his notion of God is a faint and insipid idea, as of somewhat remote, and which he cares not to be concerned with. The thoughts of wealth and glory and pleasure move his heart strongly; but the thoughtof God lies dormant in him, as a barren or disagreeable speculation. What we want, therefore, is a due and worthy notion of God; I mean a high and lively and affecting sense of him; such as may have its proper ascendant in our minds; such as may rule in our hearts, and make us behave towards him in a manner suitable to his dignity: and this I take to be the drift of these words, hallowed be thy name; for the name of God signifies, that idea or notion whereby we conceive him in our minds (see Psalms 76:1.Proverbs 18:10; Proverbs 18:10.); and to hallow or sanctify a thing, signifies to give it that distinction and preference which religion confirms: for, as things excelling upon a worldly account are honourable, so things excelling upon a religious account are called holy; and therefore, in these words hallowed be thy name, we pray, that the conception or thought of God should be so exalted in us, that all our thoughts may fall down before it, and be brought in subjection to it; that the names of grandeur, and riches, and voluptuous joy, may sink beneath the name of the Lord our God; may fade, and lessen, and vanish in his presence. This is hallowing the name of God, and treating it with the reverence that it deserves: this is the end ofall religion, and therefore first proposed in this divine prayer: the following petitions relate to the means of attaining it. Such is Dr. Heylin's interpretation. It may be proper, however, for the satisfaction of the reader, to give that which is more generally received. Now the name of God is generally understood as a Hebraism for God himself, his attributes and works; and to sanctify a thing, is to entertain the highest notion of it, as true and great and good; and by our words and actions to testify that belief. See 1 Peter 3:15.Isaiah 8:13; Isaiah 8:13. In this view, the meaning of the petition is, "May thy existence be universally believed; thy perfections loved and imitated; thy works admired, thy providence reverenced and confided in: may we and all men so think of the Divine Majesty, and of his attributes and works, and may we and they so express our veneration of God, that his glory may be manifested everywhere, to the utter destructionoftheworship of idols and devils!" See Erasmus, Barrow, Macknight, &c.

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Matthew 6:10. Thy kingdom come— 2. The kingdom of God being universal and everlasting (Psalms 145:13.), these words cannot be understoodof it; but of the kingdom of the Messiah, which is also called The kingdom of God, ch. Matthew 3:2. There are in the coming of this kingdom several steps to be observed:—The resurrection of Jesus Christ, his ascension, and the sending down of the Holy Ghost, were the beginnings of it. Acts 2:32; Acts 2:36. The preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles extended it beyond the bounds of Judaea, especially when, after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter extirpation of the ceremonial law, the earthly kingdom of Judaea, over which God in a peculiar sense presided, entirely ceased, and the Gospel came to be preached over the known world. This kingdom has ever since enlarged its bounds, as the Gospel has been by degrees, received in the world, and will continue to enlarge itself, till our adorable Redeemer has put all enemies under his feet. What we desire or pray for in this second petition is, the advancement and progress of the Gospel; obedience to the faith or doctrine of Christ, and his appearance in glory. See 2 Timothy 4:8. Romans 8:19; Romans 8:39. Revelation 17:18. It may be paraphrased thus: "May thy kingdom of grace come quickly, and swallow up all the kingdoms of the earth; may all mankind, receiving thee, O Christ, for their king, and truly believing in thy name, be filled with righteousness and peace and joy; with holiness and happiness, till they are removed hence into thy kingdom of glory, there to reign with thee for ever and ever."

Thy will be done in earth, &c.— 3. In this third petition we pray not that God may do his own will, as Dr. Whitby observes, nor that the will of his providence may be done upon us; neither do we pray that we may become equal to the angels in perfection, or that God may compel us to do his will; but that, in consequence of the coming of his kingdom, or the establishment of the Gospel in the world, men may be enabled to imitate the angels, by giving such a sincere, universal, and constant obedience to the divine commands, as the present state of human nature will admit of. This is the most humble, as well as the most prudent wish, that it is possible for the creature to express; because it implies that the Supreme Being will do nothing but what is for the interest of his creatures, who simply and wholly depend upon him; and that he knows better than they what is for their real good. Dr. Heylin joins the two petitions of this verse together; because, says he, they have a mutual dependence, and may best serve to explain each other. The latter, wherein we pray that we may do the will of God on earth, as the angels do it in heaven, might seem a strange, or perhaps presumptuous, certainly an impossible request, had we not been first taught to say, Thy kingdom come. If the kingdom of God comes; that is to say, if God vouchsafes to govern us, he will subdue all our enemies under our feet; a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of his kingdom. It will bring every thought into subjection; it will animate and govern our souls, as our souls do our bodies, and make us do his will on earth as the angels do it in heaven.

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Matthew 6:11. Give us this day our daily bread— 4. The word επιουσιον rendered daily in our version, is nowhere else to be found; neither in the LXX, nor in any Greek author, nor in any place of the New Testament, except in this part of the Lord's Prayer. Commentators differ much in their interpretation of it. That in Etymol. Magna, seems as just as any: 'Επιουσιος,— 'Ο επι τη ουσια ημων αρμοζων: "that which is sufficient to our life;" and so Theophylact explains it: "What will strengthen us from day to day, for serving God with cheerfulness and vigour." Bread, accordingto the Hebrew idiom, signifies all the provisions of the table. See Gen 18:5 and inthe present petition it signifies raiment also, with convenient habitation, and every thing necessary to life. See Agur's Petition, Proverbs 30:8. Since then we are not allowed to ask provision for rioting and luxury, but only for the necessaries of life, and that not for many years, but from day to day, the petition forbids anxious cares about futurity, and teaches us how moderate our desires of worldly things should be; and whereas not the poor only (whose industry all acknowledge must be favoured by the concurrence of Providence, to render it successful), but the rich also, are enjoined to pray for their bread day by day. This is on account of the great instability of human affairs, which renders the possession of wealth absolutely precarious; and because, without the divine blessing, even the abundance of the rich is not of itself sufficient to keep them alive, far less to make them happy. This petition contains a most excellent lesson, says Dr. Doddridge, to teach us, on the one hand, moderation in our desires; and, on the other, a humble dependence on divine Providence for the most necessary supplies, be our possessions or our abilities ever so great. But this petition seems to include something farther; and accordingly Erasmus, Heylin, and many others, understand it, after the Fathers, in a spiritual sense also. Bread, says Heylin, here signifies all things needful for our maintenance; the maintenance of the whole man, both body and soul; for each of these have their proper sustenance; to one belongs the natural bread, to the other the spiritual, and both are included in this petition: the natural bread means all things needful for the assistance of the body; the spiritual bread, the grace of Christ, which must also be our daily bread for the maintenance and growth of our souls in holiness. The petition, therefore, may be paraphrased: "Give us, O Father; for we claim nothing of right, but only of thy free mercy;—this day; for we take no solicitous thought for the morrow;—our daily bread; all things needful for our souls and bodies; not only the meat that perisheth, but thy grace; the food which endureth to everlasting life."

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Matthew 6:12. And forgive us our debts, &c.— 5. We may observe, that this is the only petition in this prayer upon which our Lord enlarges, and indeed it is a petition of the greater consequence, and the more to be attended to by us, as we ourselves ask that which is the greatest of all things from God, even the pardon of our sins, upon a conditionvoluntarilyurged.It is hardly possible to imagine a more effectual expedient to promote the forgiveness of injuries, than thisof making it a part of our daily prayer, to ask such pardon of God, as we give to our offending brother; for in this circumstance every malicious purpose against him would turn the petition into an imprecation, by which we should as it were bind down the wrath and vengeance of God upon ourselves. (See on Matthew 6:14-15.) The earth and the fulness thereof being the Lord's, he has a right to govern the world, and to support his government by punishing all who presume to transgress his laws. The suffering of punishment therefore is a debt which sinners owe to the divine justice. So that when we ask God in prayer to forgive our debts, we beg that he would, through the infinite merit of Christ, mercifully be pleased to remit the punishment of our sins, particularly the pains of hell; and that, laying aside his displeasure, he would graciously receive us into favour, and bless us with eternal life. In this petition, therefore, we confess our sins,and testify the sense we have of our demerit, than which nothing can be more proper in our address to God. The reason is, humility and a sense of our own unworthiness, when we ask favours of God, whether spiritual or temporal, tend to make the goodness of God in bestowing them on us appear the greater; not to mention that these dispositions are absolutely necessary to make us capable of being pardoned. The expression used in this petition is very remarkable,—forgive us, as we forgive: we are allowed to ask from God only such forgiveness as we grant to others. In the mean time, when we beg forgiveness of God, like that which we grant to men, we must beware of setting our forgiveness on an equality with God's: the most perfect forgiveness which men are capable of exercising towards men falls infinitely short of the divine forgiveness necessary to repenting sinners. Besides, God himself has taken notice of the difference, Hosea 11:8-9.: because I am God, and not man, &c. We only beg that the Divine forgiveness may resemble ours in its reality. See the note on ch. Matthew 5:44., Macknight, and Olearius.

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Matthew 6:13. And lead us not into temptation— And do not bring us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Doddridge. Abandon us not to temptation. Campbell. This might be translated, "And lead us not into temptation, but so as to deliver us from the evil; either by removing the temptation itself when it proves too hard for us, or by mitigating its force, or by increasing our strength to resist it, as God shall see most for his glory." The correction of the translation here proposed is built upon this argument,—that to pray for an absolute freedom from all solicitation or temptation to sin, is to seek a deliverance from the common lot of humanity; because trials and temptations are wisely appointed by God for the exercise and improvement of holiness and virtue in good men, and that others may be encouraged by the constancy and patience which they shew in affliction. Hence, instead of praying to be absolutely delivered from them, we are taught to rejoice, when, by divine appointment, we fall into temptations or trials. This petition teaches us to preserve a sense of our own inability to repel and overcome the solicitations of the world, and of the necessity of constant aid from above, both to regulate our passions, and to conquer the difficulties of a religious life. See Macknight. The petition, however, may be well understood agreeably to the common version of it,—Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us; for, as God is the only Potentate, the sole Governor of the world, so that nothing can possibly fall out but by his allowance or permission, it is upon that account not unusual, in the style of Scripture, to impute all things to him. Thus he is said to have sent Joseph into Egypt to preserve his life, though in fact his brethren, out of envy, had sold him thither. See Genesis 45:5-8. Job 1:21. And it is in this sense that God is said to lead into temptation, or expose to temptation; becauseall temptations come by his permission. The general intent, therefore, of these words, lead us not, &c. is, that, with just distrust of ourselves, and a humble sense of our weakness, we should deprecate such trials as may endanger our grace. But as some trials, that is, temptations, are necessary and inevitable, it is therefore added, but deliver us from evil. The Jews were wont to beg of God in their prayers, "That he would not deliver them into the hand of temptation;" whereby they did not desire that he would keep them from falling into temptation, but that he would not give them up to it, or suffer them to yield thereto. And indeed, to enter into temptation, ch. Mat 26:41 is to be overcome by it. After all, God never suffers us to be tempted above what we are able. See James 1:13., compared with 1 Corinthians 10:13. We may remark in conclusion ofthese petitions, and as a proof of the perfection of this prayer, that the principal desire of a Christian's heart being the glory of God, ver, 9, 10., and all that he wants for himself or his brethren being the daily bread of soul and body, or the support of life, animal and spiritual; pardon of sin, and deliverance from sin, and from the power of the devil, Matthew 6:11-13., there is nothing beside for which a Christian can wish: therefore this prayer comprehends all his desires. Eternal life is the certain consequence, or rather the completion of holiness. See Beausobre and Lenfant, Heylin, &c.

For thine is the kingdom, &c.— III. These words contain the doxology or conclusion of the Lord's prayer. The Jews used it in their liturgies; and they derived that use most probably from 1 Chronicles 29:11. Bishop Hopkins, Mr. Blair, and other excellent writers, have well observed, that it admirably suits and enforces every petition. This doxology may be paraphrased thus: "Because the government of the universe is thine for ever, and thou alone possessest the power of creating and upholding all things; and because theglory of infinite perfections remains eternally with thee; therefore all men ought to hallow thy name, submit themselves to thy government, and perform thy will:in a humble sense of their dependence should they seek from thee the supply of their wants, the pardon of their sins, and the kind protection of thy grace and providence." For ever and ever is, in the Greek, εις τους αιωνας words which express the idea of a proper eternity, though often used for a finite duration, whether past or to come. They are always to be understood, both in the Hebrew and the Greek, according to the nature and circumstances of the things to which they are applied; and consequently in this place, where kingdom, power, and glory are ascribed to God for ever, they signify absolute eternity; eternity without beginning or end. The word amen is of Hebrew original, and frequently retained by the Evangelists. St. Luke has sometimes rendered it by a word signifying yes, and at other times truly. See Luke 9:27. When it is a sign of wishing, it then signifies so be it, as the LXX have rendered it; and when added to the conclusion of our prayers, it is intended to express the sincerity and earnestness with which we desire the blessing we ask, with some cheerfulness of hope as to the success of our petitions. See the note on Deuteronomy 27:15. It is observable that, though the doxology is three-fold, as well as the petitions, and directed to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, distinctly, yet is the whole fully applicable to every person, and to the ever-blessed and undivided Trinity. See Macknight, Doddridge, and Heylin.

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Matthew 6:16. Moreover, when ye fast, &c.— Our Lord goes on to apply the general advice, before given, to private fasting as well as to private prayer. The Greek word σκυθρωπος properly denotes a fretful and angry countenance; but here it signifies a "face disfigured with mortification and fasting." The LXX have used the same word, Gen 40:7 to express a sad countenance. See also Proverbs 15:13. This word, as well as 'Υποκριται, hypocrites, refers to the theatre, and to those actors and dissemblers there, who put on every countenance to serve their purpose. The word αφανιζουσι, rendered they disfigure, signifies to cause to disappear, or vanish, or to destroy; and is the same word which has been rendered, in the 19th and 20th verses, corrupt. These hypocritical actors wonderfully affected the fame of extraordinary holiness. Hence they assumed very austere countenances in their fasts; they put on the appearance and dress of mourners, and induced a kind of paleness, at least as much as they could, over their countenance. In short, they made their natural face to disappear, as much as possible; putting on an artificial one, as the players of old were wont to put on their masks. See Fortuita Sacra, p. 14. Our Saviour refers here more particularly to the private and voluntary fasting of the Pharisees: they fasted on Mondays and Thursdays; but those who would be thought more devout than the rest, fasted besides on Tuesdays and Fridays, and abstained from all kind of food till sun-setting. There can be no doubt that our Saviour speaks here of private fasting only; because, when public sins and calamities are to be mourned for, it ought to be performed in the most public manner. Doddridge renders this, When you keep a fast, be not like the hypocrites, putting on a dismal air; for they deform their countenances, that, &c.

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Matthew 6:24. No man can serve, &c.—mammon— Mammon is a Syriac word for riches, which our Lord beautifully represents as a person whom the folly of men had deified. It is well known that the Greeks had a fictitious god of wealth; but I cannot find, says Dr. Doddridge, that he was ever worshipped in Syria under the name of Mammon. According to some, mammon, derived from אמן, amen, signifies whatever oneis apt to confide in: and because men put their trust generally in external advantages, such as riches, authority, honour, power, &c. the word mammon is used to denote every thing of that kind, and particularly riches, by way of eminence

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Matthew 6:25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought, &c.— Be not solicitous [and so wherever it occurs]. Is not the life more than food? The Greek μεριμνατε, imports such anxietyas causes an intestine strife, by contrary reasonings with opposite hopes and fears. This is so strictly the sense of the original, that a word of the same derivation is used by our Lord, where he says, a kingdom divided against itself, μερισθεισα, cannot stand, ch. Matthew 12:25. So that this precept only forbids that perplexity and distraction of thought which are inconsistent with the single right intention, and interrupts our resignation to the divine will. St. Luke, in the parallel place, has made use of the Greek word μετεωριζω, ch. Mat 12:29 which signifies to have a wavering and doubtful mind, disquieted and tossed about with mistrust and fear. See Mintert on the word. In this view there is no need to say, with Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Clarke, and some others, that our Lord only addresses this to his Apostles, who were to cast themselves on an extraordinary Providence, without any ways concerning themselves for their support. Mr. Blair has well proved the contrary at large, in his appendix to his fourth Sermon, vol. 1: p. 55, &c. and it is easy to observe, that the arguments urged by our Lord contain nothing peculiar to their case, but are built on considerations applicable to all Christians. Compare Php 4:6 and 1Pe 5:7 as also Luk 22:35-36 and Act 20:34 whence it appears, that the Apostles themselves were not entirely to neglect a prudent care for their own subsistence, in dependence on miraculous provisions. Our Saviour, attentive to his main argument, proceeds in these verses to shew, that all the reasons by which worldly-mindedness is usually justified or palliated are entirely overthrown, by considering the power, perfection, and extent of the PROVIDENCE of God. This grand subject he handles in a manner suitable to its dignity, by proposing a few simple and obvious instances, wherein the provision which God has made for the least and weakest of his creatures shines forth illustriously, and forces on the mind the strongest conviction of that wise fatherly care, which our gracious God takes of all the works of his hands. From what they were at that instant beholding, the birds of the air, the lilies, the grass of the field, he led even the most illiterate of his hearers to form a more elevated and extensive notion of the divine government than the philosophers attained to; who, though they allowed in the general that the world was ruled by God, had but confused conceptions of his providence, which many of them denied to respect every individual creature and action. OurDivine Prophet taught, that the great Father Almighty has every single being in his hand, and that all things are absolutely subjected to his will. This notion of Providence affords a solid ground, with constant dependence also on divine grace, for supporting that rational trust in God, which is one of the highest and best acts of the human mind, and furnishes us at all times with one of the strongest motives to holiness and virtue.

Far be it from me to widen the narrow ways prescribed in the Gospel! but to make them narrower than the literal sense imports, will render them quite unpassable. It is the glorious privilege even of men engaged in business and the tumult of the world (as the best Christians sometimes are), to be delivered from all entanglements of mind in respect to their secular interests, and from all anxiety and disquietude about future events, even where their reputation, or their fortune, or perhaps both, are at stake. This privilege every Christian is bound to look for,and may expect from the almighty grace of God; but it is to be obtained by the means alone of faith and habitual devotion. On the contrary, to say absolutely, Take no thought, is a misrepresentation of our Lord's doctrine: all his intention here was, to teach the Christian graces and virtues in the most radical manner, by extirpating the remotest tendency to the contraryvices. As under the sixth commandment, which prohibitsmurder, he forbids an angry word or malicious thought; so here, to preserve us from worldly-mindedness, he forbids all painfully solicitous care even for the necessaries of life; and he enforces his prohibition with such cogent arguments, as must convince all who piously attend to them. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? "He who hath given us the greater, will he deny us the less? He who gave us our being, will he refuse what is necessary for the support of it? If is as absurd as ungrateful to distrust a benefactor, whose goodness we have already so largely experienced, and who takes upon himself the care to provide for us. Consider the birds of the air; they sow not, &c.—are ye not of greater value than they? Are ye not the children of God? And when ye see him make so plentiful a provision for his inferior creatures, can you suspect that he will leave you, his children, destitute of necessary subsistence?" See more on Mat 6:34 and the note on Psalms 94:19.

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Matthew 6:27. Which of you, by taking thought, &c.— Who of you, by his solicitude, can prolong his life one hour? A version strictly literal would be, can add any length to his age; for the Greek word ηλικια signifies both age and stature, and is to be rendered by either, as the occasion requires. Our translators, have rendered it by age, John 9:21; Joh 9:23 and Hebrews 11:11. The Greek word Πηχυς indeed commonly means a cubit; but it is not unfrequent to transfer the measures of space to express those of time, as Psalms 39:5. Thou hast made my days as it were a span long. Dr. Hammond upon the place shews, that cubit has been used in the same manner. Thus far we have seen what senses the terms are capable of: what their proper sense is here, we must gather from the context. At Mat 6:25 our Lord dissuades from anxiety about food and clothing; food for the life (ψιχη in the original, that is, soul, or animal life), and clothing for the body. He then treats of these separately. The words under consideration conclude whathe said concerning the maintenance of life, to which stature is not applicable, but age. What he adds concerning the body begins at the next verse. Besides, he was speaking to adult persons, who probably had no solicitude about their stature, and certainly had no imagination that such solicitude could make them grow a foot and a half taller, but a care for the maintenance of life is the common care of all men, and apt to run into excess, where it is not moderated by religion. See Luk 12:25 and Heylin.

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Matthew 6:30. If God so clothe—oven, &c.— The original word αμφιεννυσιν, which we render clothe, Dr. Doddridge well observes, expresses properly the putting on a complete dress, which surrounds the body on all sides, and is used with peculiar beautyfor that elegant yet strong external membrane, which, like the skin in the human body, at once adorns the tender structure of the vegetable, and likewise guards it from the injuries of the weather. Every microscope with which a flower is viewed, affords a lively comment on this text. Dr. Doddridge and others render the original word κλιβανον by still, instead of oven; but the author of the Observations strongly opposes this interpretation, and informs us, that myrtle, rosemary, and other plants, with withered stalks of herbs and flowers, are made use of in Barbary and other parts of the East, to heat their ovens as well as bagnios; which, says he, gives us a clear comment on the present passage. The grass of the field here apparently is to be understood to include the lilies of which our Lord had been speaking, consequently herbs in general. Critics have remarked this large sense of the Greek word χορτος : nor can it with any shew of reason be pretended that our Lord is speaking of the morrow in the rigid sense of the word, but of a little time after. "Behold, then, says our Lord, these lilies and fine flowers of the field! yet beautiful and magnificent as they appear one day, they are in a manner the next thrown into the oven; their dried stalks are, with the dried stalks of other plants, employed in heating the ovens of the villages around us; and will not God much more clothe you, who are my disciples?" His sentiment here plainly is, that if God covers with so much glory things of no farther value than to serve the meanest uses, will he not then take care of his servants, who are so precious in his eyes, and designed for such important services in the world? Consequently he cannot be supposed as speaking of precious flowers, distilled either for medicinal purposes, or to make rich perfumes, but of those of which men make no higher use than they do of cow-dung and stubble. See Observations, p. 142 and the note on 1Sa 2:8 and Lamentations 4:5. Our Saviour adds, O ye of little faith! which is the first place where faith occurs in the New Testament. This was a term in the Jewish as well as the Christian Theology. The root is aman, nutrivit, he nourished; from which comes Amen, veritas, truth; and Emunah, fides, faith; as it were "the reception of truth, for the nurture of the soul." So we say in English, nurture for good instruction. Nor is this a fanciful application, but most consonant to the whole tenor of Scripture style in both Testaments, where the experimental and practical truths of religion are continually expressed by the various species of nourishment, as wellmeat as drink, in all the different forms they are used for bodily sustenance. Maimonides, in his explanation of the word achal, comedit, to eat up, shews, "that it is most frequently applied to express the reception of wisdom and doctrine, and universally all information of the mind, whereby it [the mind] is maintained for growth to the perfection of its nature, as the body is maintained by the food proper for its nourishment. Thus Isaiah, Leviticus 1:0. &c., inviting men to attend to his doctrine, says, Come ye, buy and eat," &c. And after quoting two passages from the Proverbs, where the same word is used, he says, "Wherever eating and drinking are spoken of in that book, wisdom or the law of God is always to be understood as the mental food." And hence it may be inferred that the Hebrew term for faith (according to the derivation before mentioned) may denote the proper disposition given to man by the grace of God for receiving and digesting the great truths of religion. Buxtorff in his Talmud, that is to say, Lexicon, explains emunah, faith, by religion; and indeed faith frequently includes piety, or godliness. Thus the Jews understood the word in our Saviour's time; and in this sense doubtless he used it, when he reproached them with neglecting faith, which he names a weightier matter of their own law, ch. Mat 23:23 and the phrase that he used, O ye of little faith! was then common among the Jews, as is evident from many passages of the Talmud. To conclude; the term mammon, that is, riches, has, as we have observed on Mat 6:24 the same derivation with the original word for faith, or amen, and for the same reason, namely, because men are so apt to confide in riches, as a true and stable fund on which to build their happiness. When the Divine Being holds that place in our minds which worldly wealth has in the minds of covetous men, then indeed we have faith in him. See Dr. Heylin, p. 132 who,insomefollowingdissertations,finelyandfullyillustrates this definition. But we shall also give other definitions and views of faith in the course of our Commentary.

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Matthew 6:32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek— It was the general character of the heathens, that they neither prayed to their gods, nor laboured themselves for any other blessings than the temporal ones here mentioned; as all their prayers and hymns to their deities abundantly prove, and as we learn in particular from the 10th satire of Juvenal; and this because they were in a great measure ignorant of God's providence and goodness, had erred fundamentally in their notions of religion, and had no certain hope of a future state. See Ephesians 2:2. We may observe that there is a noble antithesis in this verse. Christ sets God's knowledge of our wants in opposition to the anxiety of the heathens about having them supplied; to intimate that the one is much more effectual for that purpose than the other. See 1 Kings 18:27. Macknight and Wetstein.

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Matthew 6:33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, &c.— That is, true religion; the advantages of the kingdom of God; righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom 14:17 the treasures mentioned in Matthew 6:20. Compare 1 Kings 3:11-12. And his righteousness, that is to say, the image of God and all the fruits thereof, springingfromtheinfinitemeritofChrist,thefountainofallrighteousness,asillustrated by the Lord Jesus Christ, and not as understood by the Pharisees. See ch. Matthew 5:6. Dr. Sykes, here, by righteousness understands the Messiah; the righteous branch, who was to rule in righteousness, and in whose days the righteous were to flourish. See Sykes on Christianity, p. 35. But the former interpretation seems most agreeable to the context. The meaning of the original word προστεθησεται is, shall be added over and above; than which expression nothing could have been more proper; for these temporal blessings are by no means essential to the stipulations of the covenant of grace, but are entirely to be referred to the divine good pleasure, to add or withhold as God shall see fit. The goods of this world ought not to be looked upon by Christians as trueand essential advantages. They should make a good use of them, if God thinks proper to bless them therewith, 1Ti 4:8 but if not, their duty is, to be satisfied with their own portion, whatever it is, being possessed of spiritual goods, and hoping for those that are eternal. Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 11:13; Hebrews 11:16-17.

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