Take heed that ye do not your alms before men Some copies read, “take heed that ye do not your righteousness” which is a very good reading: but then, by “righteousness”, is not meant righteousness, as comprehending all other righteous acts, as particularly alms, prayer, and fasting, hereafter…

Wherefore, when thou dost thine alms Christ proceeds to give some directions and cautions about giving of alms, that they might be done aright, and answer some valuable purposes for the glory of God, the good of others, and their own: do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the…

But when thou dost alms Do it so privately, and with so much secrecy, that, if it was possible, thou mightest not know it thyself, much less make it known to others: let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; acquaint not thy nearest and dearest friend with it; let not one that sits at…

That thine alms may be in secret May be done in secret, and be kept a secret. The allusion seems to be to the secret chamber, where money was brought privately for the relief of the poor.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, &c.] As the Scribes and Pharisees; whose posture in prayer, the places they chose to pray in, and the view they had therein, are particularly taken notice of: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the…

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet Or “chamber”, a secret place, fit for private retirement, meditation, and prayer. And when thou hast shut thy door; see some such like phrases in where they are used to express security, here secrecy.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions Saying the same things over and over again, as the Heathens do, as the worshippers of Baal, from morning till noon, .

Be not ye therefore like unto them . Do not be imitators of them, and follow their ways, who have only the dim light of nature to guide them; it would be shameful in you to do as they do, when you have a divine revelation for your direction; and especially, because your Father knoweth what things…

After this manner therefore pray ye That is, in such a concise and short way, without much speaking and vain repetitions; making use of such like words and expressions as the following: not that Christ meant to pin down his disciples to these express words, and no other; for this prayer is not a…

Thy kingdom come The form of expression used by the ancient Jews, relating to this article, before the coming of Christ, doubtless was, as it now stands in their prayers [[16]], (משיחך יבא) (מלכות) , “the kingdom of thy Messiah come”.

Give us this day our daily bread. ] The Arabic version reads it, “our bread for tomorrow”; and Jerom says, that in the Hebrew Gospel, used by the Nazarenes, he found the word (מחר) , which signifies “tomorrow”: but this reading and sense seem to be contradicted by Christ, were it not that it may be…

And forgive us our debts Nothing is more frequent in the Jewish writings than to call sins (חובי) , “debts”; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men.

And lead us not into temptation Such a petition as this is often to be observed in the prayers of the Jews [[0]], “(אל תביאני) , “do not lead me” neither into sin, nor into transgression and iniquity, (ולא לידי נסיון) , “nor into temptation”, or “into the hands of temptation”;” that is, into the…

For if ye forgive men their trespasses Christ here refers to the petition in which is enforced with this reason and argument, “as”, or “for”, so “we forgive our debtors”; which he repeats and explains: and the reason why he singles out this particularly is, because he knew the Jews were a people…

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…

Moreover when ye fast This is to be understood, not so much of their public stated fasts, and which were by divine appointment, as of their private fasts; which, with the Jews, were very frequent and numerous, and particularly every Monday and Thursday; see in which they affected great severity,…

But thou, when thou fastest Christ allows of fasting, but what is of a quite different kind from that of the Jews; which lay not in an outward abstinence from food, and other conveniences of life, and refreshments of nature; but in an abstinence from sin, in acknowledgment and confession of it; and…

That thou appear not unto men to fast Which is just the reverse of the hypocrites, the Scribes and Pharisees; and quite contrary to the customs of the Jews, who when they fasted, particularly on their noted fasts [[10]], “brought out the ark into the street of the city, and put burnt ashes upon it,…

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth Meaning either treasures that are of an earthly nature and kind, the more valuable and excellent things of the earth, worldly wealth and riches; or the things and places, in which these are laid up, as bags, chests, or coffers, barns and other…

But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven That is, either be concerned for, and seek after heavenly treasure, the riches of glory, the joys and glories of another world, which infinitely excel everything that is valuable on earth; and which can never be corrupted, or taken away: or rather, lay…

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ] This seems to be a proverbial expression, and contains in it another reason, dissuading from worldly mindedness; because of the danger the heart is in of being ensnared and ruined thereby: and the sense of it is, if your treasure is on…

The light of the body is the eye Or, the “candle of the body is the eye”; for the eye is that in the body, as a candle is in the house; by the light of it, the several members of the body perform their office; and what is said of the eye of the body, is transferred to the eye of the mind: if…

But if thine eye be evil If thou art of a sordid disposition, of an avaricious temper, if the sin of covetousness prevails over thee, thy whole body will be full of darkness: thy judgment will be so influenced by that sordid principle, that thou wilt not be able to discern what is agreeable to the…

No man can serve two masters Whose orders are directly contrary to one another: otherwise, if they were the same, or agreed, both might be served; but this is rarely the case, and seldom done. This is a proverbial expression, and is elsewhere used by Christ, .

Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, &c.] Since ye cannot serve both God and “mammon”, obey one, and neglect the other. Christ does not forbid labour to maintain, support, and preserve, this animal life; nor does he forbid all thought and care about it, but all anxious,…

Behold the fowls of the air Not such as are brought up in houses, but which fly abroad in the air, wild; and are not supported by their own, or any human care, but by the care of God: particularly mentions the “ravens”, referring probably to , and because they are very voracious creatures: and…

Which of you by taking thought As Christ argued before, from the unnecessariness of anxious thoughts and cares, about the provisions of life; so here, from the unprofitableness of them; it being impossible for a man, with all his care and thought, to add one cubit unto his stature, or “to his age”;…

And why take ye thought for raiment Having exposed the folly of an anxious and immoderate care and thought, for food to support and prolong life, our Lord proceeds to show the vanity of an over concern for raiment: consider the lilies of the field or “the flowers of the field”, as the Arabic…

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, &c.] This is a certain truth, to be affirmed in the strongest manner, and to be believed, that not only men and kings too in general; but even particularly Solomon, the richest and most magnificent of all the kings of Israel, whose…

Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field. &c.] These words are a conclusion from the former, and contain an argument from the lesser to the greater; that if God, for this is solely his work, so clothes the lilies, the flowers of the field, and whatever grows up out of the earth, in such a…

Therefore take no thought That is, for the morrow, as it is explained, for it is lawful to take proper care and thought for present food, drink, and raiment; but not to be anxiously concerned for futurity; saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be clothed? These…

For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, &c.] Or “the nations of the world”, as in . The Syriac reads it so here: the phrase, (אומות העולם) “the nations of the world”, is used of the Gentiles, in distinction from the Israelites, thousands of times in the Jewish writings; it would be endless…

But seek first the kingdom of God Meaning either the Gospel, and the ministration of it; in which sense this phrase is often used, see (Luke 4:43, Luke 9:2–60, Luke 16:16) and which is diligently to be sought after, and into; to be constantly attended on, and to be preferred to our necessary food,…

Take therefore no thought for the morrow Reference is had to . “Boast not of thyself tomorrow”: a man cannot promise or assure himself, that he shall have a morrow, and therefore it is great weakness and folly to be anxiously thoughtful about it.