Sermon on the Mount It is instructive to find the Sermon on the Mount following close upon the works of mercy which would open men's hearts to receive the Saviour's words. It is a discourse about the changed life or _Metanoia_, showing its conditions; and about the Kingdom or _Basileia_, showing it... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 6:1-4. Almsgiving (2) The Kingdom of Heaven exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees in regard to (_a_) Almsgiving, 1 4 1. _alms_ The best MSS. have "righteousness;" the two words were nearly synonymous with the Jews, partly because the poor had a right to share in the produce of the lan... [ Continue Reading ]
_do not sound a trumpet before thee_ The chests for alms in the Court of the Women, where the temple-treasury was placed, were called "trumpets" from their shape. Possibly the words of the text contain an allusion to these alms-chests. See Edersheim's _Temple in the time of our Lord_, ch. ii. p. 26.... [ Continue Reading ]
_when thou doest alms_ Observe that the singular number is used throughout these instructions on the subject of almsgiving and prayer, and in these only. These duties are essentially personal and individual. The teaching of the Talmud commends secrecy in almsgiving in such sayings as "he that doeth... [ Continue Reading ]
_himself_ God, not man, will reward.... [ Continue Reading ]
(_b_) Prayer, Matthew 6:5-15. 5. _pray standing_ The posture of standing was as closely associated with prayer as that of sitting was with teaching.... [ Continue Reading ]
_closet_ A private oratory or place of prayer. These were usually in the upper part of the house. The Greek word in the original is translated (1) "Secret Chambers," ch. Matthew 24:26; (2) "Storehouse," Luke 12:24. _pray to thy Father which is in secret_ Christ was the first to enjoin clearly secre... [ Continue Reading ]
_use not vain repetitions_ It is not the length of time spent in prayer or the fervent or reasonable repetition of forms of prayer that is forbidden, but the mechanical repetition of set words, and the belief that the efficacy of prayer consists in such repetition. The word itself lit. means TO STAM... [ Continue Reading ]
_for your Father knoweth … before ye ask him_ Our Father knows our wants, still we are bound to express them. Why? because this is a proof of our faith and dependence upon God, which are the conditions of success in prayer.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Our Father_ It is of the essence of Christian prayer that God should be addressed as a Father to whose love we appeal, not as a God whose anger we appease. The analogy removes nearly all the real difficulties on the subject of prayer. A wise earthly father does not grant _all_requests, but all whic... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord's Prayer St Luke 11:2-4, where the prayer is found in a different connection, and is given by our Lord in answer to a request from the disciples to teach them to pray, "even as John taught his disciples." The text of St Luke as it stands in E. V. has probably been supplemented by additions... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy kingdom come_ See note ch. Matthew 3:2. Lightfoot quotes an axiom from the Jewish Schools, "that prayer wherein there is not mention of the Kingdom of God is not a prayer.... [ Continue Reading ]
_this day_ In Luke, "day by day." _our daily bread_ The Greek word translated "daily" occurs only in the Lord's Prayer here and Luke 11:3, it is not found in any classical author. The rendering of the E. V. "daily" as nearly as possible represents the probable force of the word, which is strictly ... [ Continue Reading ]
_debts_ Sins are debts, shortcomings in the service due to God. _forgive_ The aorist should be read in the Greek text. The force would then be that an act of forgiveness on man's part is past before he prays to receive forgiveness. Cp. ch. Matthew 5:23-24, also the parable of the unforgiving servan... [ Continue Reading ]
_lead us not into temptation_ The statement of James, James 1:2, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations," is not really contradictory. The Christian character is strengthened and purified by temptation, but no one can think of temptation without dread. _deliver_ Lit. DRAW TO THYSELF... [ Continue Reading ]
(_c_) Fasting, 16 18. 16. Fasting, in itself a natural result of grief, as anyone who has witnessed deep sorrow knows, easily degenerates into a form without reality. _disfigure_ Either (1) make unseen, "veil," or (2) cause to disappear, so "destroy," "mar," by leaving the face unwashen. The same... [ Continue Reading ]
(_d_) Earthly possessions and daily cares, 19 34. 19. _treasures upon earth_ Love of amassing wealth has been characteristic of the Jews in all ages. _moth and rust_ Oriental wealth consisted to a great extent in stores of linen, embroidered garments, &c., which were handed down and left as heir-l... [ Continue Reading ]
_where your treasure is_ The words gain point if we think of the hoards buried in the _earth_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The light_ Rather, LAMP, or CANDLE as it is translated ch. Matthew 5:15. The eye is not itself the light, but contains the light; it is the "lamp" or candle of the body, the light-conveying principle. If the eye or lamp is single, it admits the influx of the pure light only; if an eye be evil, i. e... [ Continue Reading ]
_the light that is in thee_ Here the Greek word is correctly rendered "light." If the light admitted to the body be distorted and obscured by the diseased medium, how great will be the darkness!... [ Continue Reading ]
Another illustration of the singleness of the Christian character, "the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3), drawn from the relation of master and slave. _serve two masters_ Strictly, BE A SLAVE TO TWO MASTERS. The absolute subjection of the slave must be considered. The interests of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore_ i. e. because this double service is impossible there must be no distraction of thought. _Take no thought_ "Do not be anxious," which was the meaning of "take no thought," when the E. V. was made. The same word occurs Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing." Cp. 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting... [ Continue Reading ]
The parallel passage (Luke 12:22-31) follows immediately the parable of the "Rich Fool.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fowls_ Old English for birds; cp. "Smale fowles maken melodie That slepen all the night with open yhe." Chaucer. There is no argument here against forethought or labour. In one sense "trusting to providence" is idleness and a sin. God has appointed labour as the means whereby man provides for hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_can add one cubit unto his stature_ As the word translated "stature" also=duration of life, the meaning may be "add a cubit to his life." Comp. Psalms 39:6 (P. B.), "Thou hast made my days as it were a span long." This rendering falls in better with the connection. With all his anxiety man cannot a... [ Continue Reading ]
_for raiment_ The birds are an example of God's care in providing food, the flowers of His care in providing apparel. _the lilies of the field_ identified by Dr Thomson (_Land and Book_, p. 256), with a species of lily found in the neighbourhood of Hûlêh. He speaks of having met with "this incompar... [ Continue Reading ]
_was not arrayed_ Rather, ARRAYED NOT HIMSELF. The middle voice has a special force. Though he arrayed himself, the lilies, who trusted to God for their array, are more beautiful than he.... [ Continue Reading ]
_which to day is_ Rather, THOUGH IT IS TO-DAY. _cast into the oven_ The Jewish oven was a vessel narrower at the top than at the bottom, made of baked clay. Sometimes the fuel was placed within, and the cakes laid against the sides. Sometimes the oven was heated by a fire kindled beneath or around... [ Continue Reading ]
_take no thought_ See Matthew 6:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Gentiles seek_ Seek with eagerness. A compound verb. The simple verb is used below in the next verse. For the aims of the heathen world read Juvenal _Sat._x., or Johnson's imitation of it "The Vanity of Human Wishes.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself_ The morrow shall have its own anxieties; sufficient for the day is its own distracting evil or distress. This seems to be the force of the Greek word for "evil." See Schleusner sub voc.... [ Continue Reading ]