Matthew 6

Matthew 6:1-18

Chapter 13 Alms, Prayers, and Fasting “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. (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. (3) But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (4) That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (7) But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (8) Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (14) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (16) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (17) But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (18) That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:1-18 Matthew 6 is a continuation of our Redeemer’s Sermon on the Mount. In chapter 5 our Lord taught us that while the Pharisees were very good at avoiding outward deeds of lawlessness and wickedness, they understood nothing of heart-sins or of righteousness. He taught us that it is not enough that we avoid evil acts, we must also avoid evil attitudes. — “The Lord looketh on the heart.” In this chapter our Savior teaches us that while the Pharisees were very meticulous in observing their outward acts of worship, to be seen and applauded by men, they did not worship God. In all their religion, there was no heart worship. It was all an outward show. They convinced themselves that it was real; but their religion was, nonetheless, nothing but an outward show. He is teaching us the necessity of heart-worship, the necessity of doing what we do from an inward principle of grace, for the glory of God. In these verses (1-18), our Lord Jesus Christ is warning us to be aware of and studiously avoid hypocrisy in all acts of worship and service in the name of God. Hypocrisy is the leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of outward religion. If it reigns in us, it will ruin us. So we are warned to beware of it. Hypocrisy is religion that is only skin deep. It is a religion of words and works, but not of grace, heart, and spirit. Hypocrisy is a form of godliness, an outward show of religion, without the life and power of God in the soul. Specifically, our Master calls our attention to three areas of religious activity that are easily perverted into mere acts of religious showmanship, three areas of religious service where hypocrisy shows itself – the giving of alms, the matter of prayer, and the practice of fasting. Alms, prayer, and fasting were prominent areas of religious activity among the Jews of our Lord’s day. In fact, wherever men practice religion of any kind, it is most natural to make these three things matters of prominence. Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity Protestant as well as Catholic, all religions encourage alms, prayers, and fasting. Man naturally associates these things with religion. By these three things, it is assumed that we serve God with our whole being. In the giving of alms we serve him with our estates, in prayer with our souls, and in fasting with our bodies. While encouraging the practice of outward piety, in this chapter, our Lord gives us a much needed and commonly ignored warning: — In all our acts of worship, devotion, and service to God, we must avoid seeking to be seen of men and seek only to be seen of and to glorify the Lord God. Alms In Matthew 6:1-4 our Lord talks about alms, the giving of alms. — “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. 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 shall reward thee openly.” All that is said here may be applied to giving in the house of God and giving in support of the gospel ministry. But that is not what is primarily intended. Almsgiving is charity giving. It is giving to the poor. Without question, this kind of giving is prescribed by the law of God written upon the hearts of all men by nature, the law given by the pen of Moses, and by the grace of God experienced in the soul. Wherever grace and righteousness is established in the heart, charity flows generously from the hand (Psalms 112:5; Psalms 112:9).

That which is given to the poor is said by God to be their due (Proverbs 3:27-28). Almsgiving is the essence of what James describes as the practice of pure, undefiled religion (James 1:27). Those who profess to be the followers of Christ should, above all other people, be charitable, generous, giving people. Give to the poor. Give to the cause of Christ. Give to the church of God.

And give to the servants of God. In all our giving, let us give as unto the Lord. A giving God is worthy of a giving people (2 Corinthians 8:7-9). I make this promise to you, as you exercise generosity for the glory of Christ and the good of your fellowmen — You will never impoverish yourself by generosity! Do not give by the force of legal constraint. And do not give from a spirit of covetousness, hoping to get more. But God will never allow a generous soul to lack the means to be generous (Proverbs 3:9-10; Proverbs 11:24-25; Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 28:27; Malachi 3:10-12; Luke 6:38; Philippians 4:19).

Let every child of God give according to his own means, “as God hath prospered him” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Two words of warning: (1.) Do not be stingy, but generous (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). (2.) Do not do anything in a public show (Matthew 6:1-4). Be as quiet and unobservable as possible in giving. Never tell anyone how much you give, or even that you give alms to those in need. Alms-giving, when done with an eye to God’s glory and from a principle of real love for others, is the gift of the heart. Therefore, it seeks neither applause nor direction from men. “What flows from God,” wrote Robert Hawker, “will tend to God. Jesus is then in all, and a respect to him is the aim of all.” Prayer In Matthew 6:5-15, the Lord Jesus Gives us very simple, but very needful, instructions about prayer. — “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Our Savior here assumes that all Christians pray. As soon as Saul of Tarsus was converted, we read, “Behold, he prayeth.” All who are godly, all who are born of God pray (Psalms 32:6). I do not say, “They say their prayers.” Saul of Tarsus did that all his life. There is a huge difference between saying a prayer and praying! Yet the Word of God does declare that every regenerate soul prays. “You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe,” wrote Matthew Henry, “as a living Christian that does not pray.” In these verses, our Lord does not teach his people to pray. There is no need for that. He teaches us how not to pray and how to pray. In Matthew 6:5-6, he says, Do not pray to be seen of men. Do not use a posture in prayer that causes people to look at you or calls attention to yourself. In public places, other than places of public worship, we are not to engage in public prayer. Prayer is between you and God. As much as possible, let your prayers be unobserved and unheard by men. Do not use vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7). That prohibition extends to all memorized prayers, pious sounds and voice tones, religious jargon, and “Hail Marys.” It even includes the mere repetition of the words contained in these verses. This is a prohibition against much speaking in prayer, too. God does not need to be informed or argued with, but acknowledged, sought and honored. The prophets of Baal put on a show when they cried aloud to their deaf god. The servant of God simply uttered the desire of his heart (1 Kings 18:36-37). That is what prayer is. True prayer is an act of faith. Place, position, and posture are meaningless. Words are really insignificant. Prayer is the acknowledgment of God as my Father with the confidence that he knows and will supply all my needs. In prayer, the believer simply and confidently seeks the glory of God (Matthew 6:9), the increase of God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:10), the will of God (Matthew 6:10), daily provision (Matthew 6:11), daily mercy (Matthew 6:12), daily preservation (Matthew 6:13), and the praise of God (Matthew 6:13). Let men talk all they will about prayer, unless our prayers arise from sincere hearts of faith and love, they amount to nothing but meaningless noise, sounding brass and tinkling cymbals,. That is what the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 6:14-15. Prayer Meetings What about prayer meetings? When our Lord tells us that we are to enter into our closets to pray to our Father, is he forbidding public prayer meetings? Of course, the answer to that question is “No.” We read, in Acts 1:14, that the saints in the early church “all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” When our Lord says, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret,” he is simply telling us that true prayer is intensely private, between us and our Father. In the passage before us (Matthew 6:5-15), our Lord is principally talking about the private prayers of individuals. Yet, what he says certainly has application to the public prayers of God’s saints in the house of worship. After the ascension, the Apostles of our Lord met together with their wives, with Mary, and with the other brethren, continuing “with one accord in prayer and supplication.” Then, at the appointed time and according to the promise of God, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the infant church on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 1:14 is often referred to as an example of and basis for what is called “prayer meetings,” meetings particularly for the purpose of praying, especially with reference to revival. Generally, these are not public worship services, but meetings of the “spiritually elite,” usually men, in which one man after another leads the others in “prayer.” In some cases all join in audibly, making it a time of senseless confusion. The hope is that many men praying together can twist the arm of the omnipotent God and get him to send revival. Is that what took place in the early church? Not likely. Acts 1:14 speaks of the church meeting in public worship. They “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women.” The women also prayed and made supplication, but certainly not audibly (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). I am occasionally asked, “Why don’t you have prayer meetings in your church?” My answer is, “We have prayer meetings at least three times every week. All our worship services are prayer meetings.” Our men meet in my office before every service for Scripture reading and prayer. The public reading of Holy Scripture and prayer are also a central part of all our worship services. I encourage the men who read and lead us in prayer to read a brief passage, with little or no comment. Then the man appointed to do so leads the rest of us in prayer. But we do not have the kind of prayer meetings that are common in most conservative churches, because I see no basis for them in Scripture and see no value in them. In fact, I see them as detriments, rather than helps. Most of what goes on in the religious world is nothing but the practice of sentimentalism, designed and intended to make people feel religious and spiritual. People who call, asking to be put on our “prayer list,” are shocked when I tell them “We don’t have a prayer list.” I do not want to be put on anyone’s prayer list. I want to be remembered before the throne of grace as God enables his people to pray. Churches advertise “prayer lines,” as though we could get in contact with God by a dial-up connection. Such tom-foolery is as absurd and perverse as anything I can imagine. I would rather have a dial-up wife than have a dial-up god!

Others start “prayer chains.” There is no more power in a prayer chain than there is in one of those chain letters ladies get from superstitious friends. We often get letters with an “urgent prayer request.” But we are not going to get God almighty to do what we want him to do by trying to twist his arm! And multitudes engage in “group prayers,” or what is called “prayer meetings.” Groups cannot twist God’s arm any better than an individual can. Anything commonly practiced and promoted by the whole religious world ought to be marked with a skull and cross bones. It is nothing but poison to our souls. I said that those things called “prayer meetings” are real detriments rather than helps, because they tend to much evil. Those who join in the group are looked upon (and, if the truth be told, usually look upon themselves) as the spiritually elite of the church, considering others less spiritual. And such meetings are looked upon as forerunners to revival. After all, all the histories of revival tell us that before revival came, men (and usually women) had great prayer meetings in which they worked themselves up into a frenzy, calling it God’s work. Frankly, I am not impressed by most of what has been called revival in church history. That which is commonly called revival appears to me to be more demonic than heavenly. Most would call the events recorded in 1 Kings 18:26; 1 Kings 18:28-29 revival, if they were to occur today, and the word Jesus were used instead of Baal. But true revival came in Matthew 6:39. When God works his wonders in the midst of his people, he does not cause a fleshly, charismatic show of emotional frenzy. Rather, he causes sinners to be awed before him in worship, bowing before the throne of his sovereign majesty (read Isaiah 6, Joel 2 and Acts 2). Whatever revival is, it is not a spasmodic fit of religion, with only temporary results. Rather, it is Christ seizing the hearts of men and women by his omnipotent grace. I do not want to discourage prayer. Let us pray more, not less! But we ought to take this matter of prayer, speaking to God, seriously (Ecclesiastes 5:2). I am desperately afraid of being pretentious before God! Too often when I speak to God my words are too many and my thought too few. Rather than getting people worked up in “prayer meetings” I offer this suggestion to pastors and churches. — Let us, like the church in Acts 1:14, continue “with one accord in prayer and supplication,” worshipping God. As we meet together in God’s house, with his people, in our Savior’s name, let our hearts be focused on worshipping our God, pouring out our hearts to him in prayer and supplications, as we preach and hear the blessed gospel of his free, saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by the preaching of the gospel that Christ is honored, his people are edified, and sinners are converted. It is by this means, not religious excitement, that God is pleased to pour out upon his church his Spirit and his grace. In his day (the 18th century), Robert Hawker lamented, “How little understood by the great mass of what the world calls worshippers!” How much more might we make the same lamentation today! The Pattern Look more closely at the pattern of prayer by which our Savior teaches us to how we are to pray. — “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13). The Lord Jehovah, our great God, in the three persons of the blessed trinity, is our Father. Our Savior said, as he was leaving this world, once his work of redemption was finished, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17). As we adore him on his throne in heaven, we pray that his name may be “hallowed” (sanctified and honored) on earth as it is in heaven. We desire that all his elect be saved, that his kingdom of grace be established on earth among all his redeemed, as his kingdom of glory is and will be established heavenly glory to all eternity. The bread for which we seek a daily supply, is not simply the bread of the body that perishes, but the bread of the soul that endures to life everlasting, the Lord Jesus himself, “the living Bread which came down from heaven…He that eateth of this Bread shall live forever” (John 6:51; John 6:58). The cry of hungry souls is, “Lord, evermore give us this bread” (John 6:34). We need and feed upon his blood and his obedience daily, as sinners in constant need of pardon by his blood and righteousness by his obedience as our Surety. As we delight to forgive the trespasses of others against us, so we seek forgiveness from our God by the merits of Christ continually. Because he alone can keep us in the hour of temptation, our Savior here teaches us to pray that our Father will keep us from the evil one who goes about “as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). In the last part of Mat 6:13, our Lord teaches us to ascribe all the glory and praise to God alone; and every heaven-born soul delights to do so. — “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11:35). With the last word of Mat 6:13, our Savior puts his name to the prayer, saying, “Amen.” Had he not done so, our amen would be nothing. Every time we pronounce that blessed word, it should be done with the greatest reverence and with an eye of faith toward Christ. To say “Amen” is not simply saying, as is commonly thought, “so be it.” “Amen” is not us giving our confirmation to what has been spoken. Rather, it is calling upon and worshipping the Lord Jesus who is “the Amen” (Revelation 3:14) by one of his great names, to confirm what has been said. To quote Hawker again, “We should feel the striking nature of the expression, if at the end of sermons, or prayers, or in any other part of our ordinances, we were solemnly to close all with saying ‘Jesus.’ But yet in fact we do this when we say ‘Amen.’ For this is as truly the name of the Lord Jesus as any other. May the Lord give both to Writer and Reader a right understanding in all things!” In Matthew 6:1-5, our Savior declares, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” These two verses have caused great confusion to some; but there is no reason for the confusion. It is utterly heretical to imagine, as many do, that our Lord here conditions our forgiveness by his blood and his free grace upon our forgiving of others. Our pardon and acceptance with God is entirely on Christ’s account. Our forgiveness of others is a blessed result and evidence of our own experience of forgiveness by God’s boundless, free grace. It is a sweet token of the love of Christ ruling our hearts when we are enabled of God to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven” us (Ephesians 4:32). Fasting Now, look at Matthew 6:16-18 – “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Here our Savior gives a word of instruction about fasting. Though religious people today talk a good bit about fasting, the Word of God says very little about it. Fasting is the occasional abstinence from food. It is subjecting the desires of the body and the needs of the body to the burden of the heart and the longings of the spirit in prayer. Our Lord is not giving us instructions about the value of insignificance of medical or dietary, but spiritual, religious fasting. What is fasting? What does the Word of God teach about fasting? Should we fast today? If so, how? Let’s hear what of our Lord Jesus Christ says in his Word about the matter. Fasting is an occasional abstinence from food and carnal pleasures. It is subjecting the needs and desires of the body to the burden of the heart and longings of the spirit in prayer. We read of many in the Word of God who fasted in prayer when greatly concerned about a specific matter (David, when his child was dying; Daniel, when he sought the mind of the Lord; Esther, before going in to Ahasueras; the Lord Jesus, before he was tempted; and the church at Antioch, when they ordained Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel). Yet, there is no direct command given in the Word of God requiring anyone to fast or teaching us that we should fast. It is left to each believer to decide whether he will fast, when, and for how long. This is a matter about which no man should sit in judgment over another. There are some poor people in this world who never have enough to eat. It would be utter cruelty to require them to fast. Sickly people, whose frames must be sustained by a very strict diet, would be acting foolishly if they fasted. If you choose to fast, you may do so freely. And, if you choose not to fast, you may do so freely. The only thing our Lord requires is that no one is to know, but you and the Lord, whether you fast or do not fast. If you fast, “do not appear unto men to fast.” That is the only rule given in the Word of God about fasting.

Having said that, I am confident that our Lord intends for us to understand that fasting is not really a matter of depriving ourselves of physical food and pleasure. He does not condemn fasting, but he reproves all outward, Pharisaic and hypocritical displays of mortification and self-denial. All outward displays of “godliness,” “devotion,” and “spirituality” are but displays of corrupt hearts. The Pharisees attempted to cast reproach upon our Lord and his disciples, when they asked our Savior, “Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?” (Luke 5:33). The mere abstinence from food is not a fasting of the soul before God. — “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). — “Meat commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse” (1 Corinthians 8:8). It is an astonishing indication of the pride and corruption of our sinful hearts and vile nature that inclines us (as is so constantly the case) to substitute physical acts in the place of real vital godliness and heart worship. This inclination is strong among all the fallen sons and daughters of Adam because that which we do gratifies the flesh. Our proud flesh will bring anything to God but Christ, trust anything but Christ, and find consolation and hope in anything but Christ. To trust the person, work, and finished salvation of the Lord Jesus none will ever do, except those who are taught of God the Holy Spirit and made willing to do so by the power of his grace. All outward shows of “godliness,” devotion,” and “spirituality” the Spirit of God declares, are nothing but “a show of wisdom in will, worship, and humility, and neglecting the body” (Colossians 2:23). Instead of directing us to Christ, they lead us away from him into everlasting ruin (Colossians 2:16-23). Do nothing in the worship and service of God to be seen of and applauded by men. Yes, we are to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. But we are never to do anything that others my see and applaud us! Our Lord Jesus, in this weighty, instructive passage teaches us that we are never to attempt to do anything to show people our faith in him, our love for him, or our devotion to him. Rather, we are to simply walk before God in faith, devotion, and love. The hypocrite is one who lets his light so shine before men that they cannot see what is going on backstage!

The Lord God cares nothing about how much money we give, how long we pray or how often, and whether we fast. He is interested in only one thing. — “The Lord looketh on the heart!” When God looks on the heart, he looks for faith in and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not accept us, and he will not accept anything we give to or do for him, no matter how costly, no matter how zealous we are, unless we are washed in the blood of his dear Son, robed in his righteousness, and sanctified by his Spirit (1 Peter 2:7). Sinners cannot be accepted by the holy Lord God upon any grounds, for any reason, other than the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot give anything to God, worship him in prayer, or fast before him until we are in Christ by faith, until we are born again by his almighty grace. The real test of Christianity is not what we do for God, but what God in Christ has done for us.

Matthew 6:9-15

Chapter 14 “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:9-15) Volumes have been written about prayer. In fact, many volumes have been written about these few, brief words of instruction, which our Savior gave about prayer. I suppose that there are more of those silly “how to” books on prayer than on any other subject. But I fear they do more harm than good. Yet, I know that there is need for clear, biblical instruction about prayer. Every believer feels like our Lord’s disciples at times, when they cried, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In this passage our blessed Savior does just that. He teaches us how to pray. Still, when I take it upon myself to say or write anything on the subject of prayer, I do so with great reluctance because I fully and shamefully acknowledge that I know so little about the subject. My own prayers are so sinful that they are matters of constant repentance before my God. What hypocrisy there is in my petitions, when there should be utter honesty! What arrogant seeking of my own will, when there should be complete submission to my God’s will! What vain repetitions I make, when there should be nothing but the cries of a broken heart! How little I feel the sins I confess! How little I sense my deep need for the mercies I seek! I often say my prayers, but do I ever pray? Or do the wishes of my flesh dictate the words I say? I might as well kneel down and worship gods of stone, As offer to the living God a prayer of words alone! How I long for the “Spirit of grace and supplication” to teach me how to pray as I ought! “After this manner therefore, pray ye.” First, it must be stated clearly that this is not, as it is commonly called, “The Lord’s Prayer.” Our Lord Jesus did not, should not have, and could not have prayed for divine forgiveness! John 17 might properly be called “The Lord’s Prayer,” though really that is a mistake. John 17 records just one of the many prayers uttered by our blessed Savior while he walked on this earth. And this is not a prayer to be memorized and recited. Never do we find the disciples reciting this prayer. In fact, the only other reference made to it is in Luke 11. And Luke studiously avoids giving us an exact replica of it. There is nothing spiritual or worshipful in the mere repetition of words. Rather, this is a word of instruction about how we are to pray and for what we are to pray. Here our Lord Jesus, knowing that we do not know what to pray for as we ought, helps our infirmities by showing us what we are to pray for and how to do it. In these few, short statements our Lord teaches us all the vital aspects of prayer. Our prayers should be simple, sincere, sagacious, spiritual, and short, avoiding everything like pretense, formality, and show. When our Master says, “After this manner therefore, pray ye,” he is telling us to pray like this, and proceeds to teach us to pray without the use of vain repetitions, but in brief, simple expressions, according to the pattern given in the few words that follow. He does not tell us to use the words he here uses, but the pattern he here gives. In prayer believers simply spread before God, our heavenly Father, the great desires and needs of their hearts, trusting him to fulfil those desires and meet those needs by his grace for the glory of his name. What are the great desires of the believer’s heart? What are the great needs we have, which cause us to wait in utter helplessness before God. Let’s look at this model prayer, by which our Lord teaches us how to pray, line by line. “Our Father, which art in heaven.” We are not to pray to saints or angels, but to God our Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of glory, who is in heaven. Our God and Father is the God and Father of all men as their Creator (Acts 17:28). Because he is the God and Father of all men by creation, it is proper for all men to praise him and pray to him. We must never forbid anyone to pray, or in any way discourage anyone. Rather, we ought to encourage all men to pray. Many quote John 9:31, where it is written, “We know that God heareth not the prayer of sinners,” pointing to it as a reason why we ought not teach our children and others to pray. In doing so I fear they reveal their true character. The men who made that statement in John 9:31 were self-righteous Pharisees (John 9:16). The fact is, God never hears the prayers of anyone except sinners. The God of Glory is the Father of all men as their Creator; but he is the God and Father of his elect in a very distinct and very special sense, by grace. Our Lord Jesus Christ made peace through the blood of his cross and reconciled “all things unto himself; whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:20-22). We are the children of God by adoption, by election, by redemption, by reconciliation, by regeneration, and by faith. We call God our Father by “the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, it is right for you to call God almighty your Father, and to come to him as such in prayer. — “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). We pray to God in heaven as our Father. What a great privilege! And there is something especially sweet about that little word “our.” When we pray collectively in our public worship services or anytime two believers pray together, we pray as the children of God. Nothing unites hearts like mutual prayer. How can two be divided who together call the God of all grace, “Our Father”? We are to call upon God as our Father in heaven, both expressing our reverence for him and our complete liberty to speak to him, as sons would speak to their father on earth. We ought to always approach our great and glorious God, our Father in heaven, with complete confidence and freedom. Oh, that he might, by his blessed Spirit, teach us to do so! The fact that he is here described as “our Father which art in heaven,” may well be intended to teach us that we are to set our hearts on things above, not on things on the earth. This earth is not our homeland. Heaven is. Let us set our hearts upon it. “Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24). “Hallowed be thy name.” The name of God represents all his attributes by which he reveals himself to us. His name represents his Being, all that he is! When we say, “Hallowed be thy name,” we are simply praying, like the Lord Jesus did, “Father, glorify thy name” (John 12:28). The word “hallowed” simply means “sanctified.” God created the world for his glory (Revelation 4:11; Proverbs 16:4). All providence tends toward his glory (Romans 11:36). God’s object in saving sinners is his glory (Psalms 106:8). The object of Christ in his death was, above all else, the glory of God (John 12:28). And it is the heart desire of every believer, above all else, that God’s name be honored, magnified, and glorified (Psalms 35:27; Psalms 40:16; Psalms 70:4; 1 Peter 4:11). Therefore, this is set before us as the first thing we are to seek in prayer. We pray as children to a Father, and we pray as brothers and sisters in Christ to “Our Father.” “Our Father” is a family term. The words, “which art in heaven”, suggest our Father’s majesty and the reverence with which we are to approach him. The God of Glory is “our Father,” though he is “in heaven.” And though he is “in heaven,” he is “our Father.” His name is ever to be treated with reverence. Indeed, all that concerns him is to be treated with reverence. His Word, his gospel, his church, and his ordinances should always be regarded with the utmost awe! Let us walk humbly before him, seeking his honor in all things and above all things, praying, “Hallowed be thy name,” as we hallow it ourselves. Our heart’s highest wish is for God’s honor, dominion, and glory.“Thy kingdom come.” Our first concern is and must be the glory of God himself. Our second concern is for the kingdom of God. We seek in all our prayers that the Lord God will be pleased to establish and enlarge his church and kingdom in this world (Psalms 122:6-7). To pray “thy kingdom come” is simply to pray, “Lord, save your people, establish your kingdom in this world.” Our concern is for the kingdom of God, his sheep, his people, his elect, and his church. We pray for the kingdom of grace to be filled (Romans 11:26). We pray for the kingdom of glory to be established (2 Peter 3:13). Our hearts ought not be consumed with care for the kingdoms of this world, but with concern for the kingdom of God. Our Lord Jesus here teaches us to ever seek the mighty operations of his grace in the hearts of sinners, causing them to be willing servants to him in the day of his power (Psalms 110:3), subduing the hearts of chosen, redeemed sinners before him in willing, loyal obedience. We long for the coming of Christ our King. Until he comes we pray to our Father, “Thy kingdom come.” “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Prayer is not us trying to get God to do our will. Rather it is a voluntary leaving of our will to his will. “Our truest happiness.” Wrote J.C. Ryle, “is perfect submission to God’s will.” We want to obey God’s revealed will. We want all men everywhere to surrender to and obey God’s revealed will. But here, our Lord is teaching us to sincerely and heartily surrender everything to and earnestly desire that God’s will be done in this world exactly as it is in heaven, knowing that it is (Ephesians 1:11). Our Lord teaches us always to pray, “Thy will be done.” No matter what our circumstances are, no matter what we think needs to be done, no matter how much we think we want something, wisdom and faith bows to the throne of God and says, “Thy will be done.” We are so sinful and ignorant that we simply do not know, we never know, what is best. Our Father does. Let us, therefore, gladly bow our will to his will. — “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). “Who knoweth what is good for man in this life?” (Ecclesiastes 6:12) — “We know not what we should pray for as we ought.” — Do we really believe that? Generally, going by what they say, people think they know exactly what to pray for. Yet, the Book says, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought.” What a flesh-humbling declaration! — “We know not what we should pray for as we ought.” — “If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14). But to ask something which is not according to God’s will is not praying, but presuming. We have reason, then, to cry with the disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). And this is how he teaches us to pray, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” In all that we have seen thus far, the concern of true prayer is altogether spiritual. Our Lord Jesus teaches us to pray for the glory of God, the people of God, and the will of God. He teaches us to submit all things to those things! “Give us this day our daily bread.” What an instructive word this is! J. C. Ryle wrote, “We are here taught to acknowledge our entire dependence on God, for the supply of our daily necessities. As Israel required daily manna, so we require daily ‘bread.’ We confess that we are poor, weak, needy creatures, and beseech him who is our Maker to take care of us. We ask for ‘bread,’ as the simplest of our needs, and in that word we include all that our bodies require.” We are to seek God’s providential supplies for ourselves and our brethren – “Give us.” We seek our daily food as a gift from God knowing, that if we have bread to eat, we are fed by the hand of God. Here we are taught to seek no more than is needful for us. ¾ “Bread,” not gold, just bread. And we are taught to seek no more than our daily provision of bread, “Give us this day,” or as Luke phrases it, “day by day our bread.” It is no less spiritual to look to our Father in heaven for the daily provision of our daily needs than it is to pray, “Hallowed be thy name.” Faith looks to the hand of God for all things, and seeks only that which it is the will of God, for the glory of God, and needed by us. Yet, as we saw in the previous chapter, just as we look to God to provide the needs of our bodies, we must also look to him to give us daily bread for our souls. That bread is Christ. He is truly the Bread we need, the Bread upon which we must feed day by day. Yet, we are such sinful wretches that we cannot feed upon this Bread from heave, except the Father give us our Bread. Only he can cause our souls to hunger for Christ; and only he can satisfy our hungry souls. — “Lord, evermore give us this bread” (John 6:34). “Forgive us our debts.” We must especially remember this. Our Lord here teaches us to constantly acknowledge our sinfulness, and to constantly seek forgiveness through his blood. We are to confess our sins continually, not in the ear of an earthly priest, or in the ear of a counsellor, or in the ear of a preacher, but in the ear of our Father in heaven, seeking forgiveness by the merit of our great High Priest, who is in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. — “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our sins are here described as debts, which we have incurred. They have made us debtors to God, who demands of us both righteousness and satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ fully paid our debt. He brought in righteousness for us by his obedience in life. And he satisfied divine justice for us by his obedience in death, putting away or debts forever by the sacrifice of himself. Our great God, holy and just, freely forgives our debts through the merits of Christ. He has forgiven them; and he forgives them. He forgave our debts before they were ever incurred, in eternity, accepting us in Christ our Surety (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:3-6). He forgave our debts when Christ, by his blood, washed them away at Calvary (Hebrews 9:12). And he is faithful and just to forgive us our debts, our sins, day by day and moment by moment, as we confess them before his throne of grace. We constantly need forgiveness because we constantly sin; and we constantly have it through the infinite, perpetual merit of Christ’s blood. No, our confession of sin does not, in any way, cause God to forgive our sin. Yet, as we confess sin, he speaks forgiveness in our souls through Jesus Christ the righteous One, our blessed Substitute, who is “the propitiation for our sins.” We must never forget the next part of this sentence. – “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” This is the only part of this prayer that our Lord expands and explains. He does so because this is the part we are most apt to overlook. The explanation is given in Matthew 6:14-15. — “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Our Lord here teaches us that if we are unforgiving, we are yet unforgiven. If we are not gracious, it is because we have not yet experienced grace. C. H. Spurgeon wrote… “This yoke is easy. This burden is light. It may be a blessing to be wronged, since it affords us an opportunity of judging whether we are indeed the recipients of the pardon that comes from the throne of God. Very sweet it is to pass by other men’s offences against ourselves; for thus we learn how sweet it is to the Lord to pardon us.”Ephesians 4:32 to Ephesians 5:2 contains one of the sweetest and most important admonitions given to the children of God in this world. May God the Holy Spirit, whose words these are, give us grace to heed them. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Without forgiveness, forbearance, and brotherly love our prayers are nothing but noise, the hollow echoes of empty hearts! If we cannot forgive, we have not been forgiven. “Lead us not into temptation.” As long as we are in this world, we are liable to temptation. As long as we are in this body of flesh, we may be drawn away of our own lust, enticed by our own nature, tempted and overcome by the snare of Satan. Here our Savior says, “You need to be constantly aware of your weakness and Satan’s strength. You need to be constantly aware of your helplessness, so that you will constantly look to me for help.” Prayer, in its essence, is the conscious spreading out of my helplessness before God! Wise people seek to avoid danger. And we ask God who rules all things to keep us from the danger of temptation. May he who orders our steps order them away from temptation. “Deliver us from evil.” Let us ever pray that our God will graciously deliver us from all the evil present in the world. — The evil that is in the world. — Satan, the evil one, who seeks to destroy our souls. — All the evil that is the result of sin. — And the greatest evil there is in the world, the evil that is in our hearts! Blessed be his name, our God will deliver us from evil (Jude 1:24-25). He will deliver us from every evil temptation we face in this world (1 Corinthians 10:13), giving us grace sufficient in the time of trial. He will deliver us from sin and all the evil of this world in the moment we drop our robe of flesh (John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:1-9). And he will deliver us from all the evil consequences of sin in resurrection glory at the last day (Ephesians 5:25-27). — “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.”Here our Savior teaches us that all prayer is to be an ascription of praise to God – “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” All the kingdoms of the world belong to God. All power belongs to God. And all glory belongs to God alone. These are the words David used to ascribe praise to our Father in heaven, by which he “Hallowed” his holy name. — “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). What an encouragement this is for us to walk before our God in confident faith, trusting him in all things and for all things! What an encouragement to prayer! He who is our Father in heaven, the God of all grace, omnipotent and omniscient, ever wise and ever-good, will hallow his own great name, save all his elect, perform all his will, give us our daily bread, forgive all our sins, preserve us from all harm by our temptations, support us in them, deliver us from them, and deliver us from all evil. Should he fail to do all that is implied in these words of instruction about prayer, how could his name be hallowed, sanctified, and glorified? “Amen” “Amen” is a word of assent, expressing confident faith. It means, “so be it,” or “so it shall be.” John Gill wrote, “This word being retained, and kept the same in all languages, signifies the unity of the spirit, and faith in prayer, in all the saints, in all ages.” And, as we have seen before, “Amen” is one of our Savior’s names. When our Lord Jesus teaches us to pray, “after this manner”, he is teaching us to pray in his name. To use the word “Amen” when we pray, if we pray as we ought, in the spirit and with understanding, is to pray in Christ’s name. When we gather to worship with God’s saints, we are to gather in Christ’s name. If we do so, we are assured of his presence (Matthew 18:20). And if we pray in his name, we are assured that we have what we desire of God. — “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14). — “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23). — “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15). But what is it to worship and pray in Christ’s name? It is not simply tacking the word “Amen,” or the words “in Jesus’ name” onto the end of our prayers, as if they were magical words like “abracadabra.” It is coming to God, as needy sinners, trusting the merits of Christ’s blood, righteousness, and mediation alone for acceptance with him. To pray in Christ’s name is to come to God in faith, trusting Christ, bowing before his throne, bowing to his will, and seeking his glory. If, when we pray, we truly bow to and seek the will of God, we have what we desire of him. God will do his will! Contrary to popular opinion, prayer is not a mighty instrument for getting God to do our will, but a mighty instrument by which God performs his will in this world. As A. W. Pink put it, “To ask in the name of Christ is to set aside our own will and bow to the perfect will of God.” To pray in Christ’s name and according to the will of God is to want what God wills for his glory. Prayer is not, as so many vainly imagine, a blank check made out to us, waiting for us to fill in the amount. Prayer is the cry of broken spirits to our Father in heaven, saying, “Thy will be done.” — “Lord, teach us to pray.” I bend my knees and bow my head, And shut my eyes to all without; But still my heart, so cold and dead, Is full of sin and fear and doubt. I say the words I ought to say, Confess my sin, and long for Thee; But still, I fear, I seldom pray: Teach me to pray, O Lord, teach me. Cause me to know Your grace and power, Spirit of God, awake my heart, Within my soul create a prayer: Give me, O Lord, a fervent heart. Here at Your throne of grace I lie, Trusting the merits of Your Son; “Father, Abba, Father,” I cry, And hope that I am heaven born. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” These things, with earnest heart, I say: My only hope is in Your Son: But still, I ask, “Teach me to pray.”

Matthew 6:19-34

Chapter 15 A Cure for Care “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:19-34) Many years ago, I heard Pastor Henry Mahan make several statements in a message he preached. As I sat in the congregation, listening to the message, I could easily have been convinced that he was preaching to no one but me. Like barbed arrows, these five statements pierced my heart. I wrote them down because I hope never to forget them. “We have entirely too many fears for a people to whom the Lord has said, ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’” Why can’t we believe God? Has he not proven himself faithful to us? David heard God’s promise and believed him. His faith in Christ quietened his fears. He said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” “We have far too many doubts and fears concerning God’s mercy, love, and grace for a people to whom the Lord has said, ‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.’” I know that some who read these lines have trouble in this area. And I acknowledge my own shameful, baseless, sinful doubts. But I will not excuse them! On what grounds dare we call into question the mercy, love, and grace of our God? We have absolutely no reason to entertain the slightest shade of doubt! Did he not promise?

Will he not perform it? “God is not a man that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19). Mr. Spurgeon reasoned like this, “The Scripture says, ‘He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life!’ I believe the Son of God. I have life!” Why should we ever question that? Paul didn’t (2 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Believing God, he raised these four challenges confidently: “If God be for us, who can be against us?…Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?…Who is he that condemneth?…Who shall separate us from the love of God?” (Romans 8:31-39) I refuse to doubt God’s love because of something I have thought, or said, or done. His love is free and unconditional! I refuse to question his grace because of my sin. While I acknowledge the abundance of my sin, I will rejoice in the superabundance of God’s free grace in Christ. I am not going to be suspicious of his mercy because I do not deserve his mercy. Mercy is for the undeserving! “We spend entirely too much time grumbling and complaining about our trials and troubles for a people to whom the Lord has said, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’” We should not be surprised when troubles come. We ought to expect them. Every ounce of gold that has been perfected and made valuable has been refined by fire. Every diamond that sparkles with beauty has been broken out of the earth, cut by sharp blows, and polished by rough rubbing. God has chosen us in the furnace of affliction (Isaiah 48:10). He will break, and cut, and polish his jewels. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12). Trouble is not strange. For the believer, the absence of trouble is strange! “We have entirely too much attachment to this world and to this present life for a people who are looking for a city whose Builder and Maker is God (Hebrews 11:8-10).” “We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). The sooner, the better! We know that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” We have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Believers are people who long to be with Christ. Yet, it is so difficult for us to turn loose of this world and this present existence. I cannot explain that.

I just know it’s so. And I know that the only way for us to be delivered from these carnal principles, the only way we will ever be saved from our fears, concerns, doubts, grumblings, and attachment to this world is to find something better. Our religious works will be dropped like a hot potato if we ever see and get hold of Christ’s finished work. Our boasted “good deeds” will be of no value if we are ever allowed and made to see what Christ has done for sinners by his incarnation (2 Corinthians 8:9), his obedience to God as our Representative (Philippians 2:5-7), and his accomplished redemption in his death as our Substitute (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our “righteousnesses” will appear to us as they really are, “filthy rags,” when we behold the righteousness of God in Christ. Our “goodness” will wither and die when God shows us his goodness, grace, and glory in Christ (Isa. 6:16). Find me a sinner who has seen Christ, and I will show you a sinner who has quit arguing about his goodness, debating over his worthiness, and fussing about the power of his will! Our fears, doubts, grumblings, and complaints against our little trials, against God purpose and his providence will disappear in proportion to the faith we have in his promises (Isaiah 43:1-5; Isaiah 46:4). The more I believe God, the less I will live in fear. The less I believe God, the more I will live in fear. “We have far too much anxiety, care, and fear, far too much concern for earthly, material things for a people to whom the Lord has said, ‘Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things’” (Matthew 6:32). It is written, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Why should I fret when my God has promised to provide? Why should I concern myself about that which God has promised to do? Those five, heart-piercing statements are the very matters addressed in our Redeemer’s message to us in Matthew 6:19-34. If we seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, if we truly seek the will of God, the glory of God, and the kingdom of God in Christ, we have no reason to concern ourselves with earthly things. WorldlinessThe passage before us begins with a warning against worldliness. One of the greatest dangers we face is worldliness. It is one of Satan’s most cleverly disguised snares. It seems an innocent thing to pay close attention to business and seek happiness and prosperity in this world, so long as we avoid open sins of immorality. Yet, our Lord warns us that worldliness is the rock on which many a man has made shipwreck of his soul. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (vv.19-21). Worldliness is the love of this world (1 John 2:15). Worldliness is conformity to the principles, aspirations, and behavior of unregenerate men. “Worldliness is a spirit, an atmosphere, an influence permeating the whole of life and human society, and it needs to be guarded against constantly and strenuously.” Griffith Thomas The only way to lay up treasure in heaven is to trust Christ. He is our Treasure! Where your treasure is, there will your heart be (Colossians 3:1-3). Learn, ask God to teach you, to look upon everything constantly in the light of eternity. Value nothing here more than you will value it when you have to leave it. Beware of worldliness (Matthew 13:21-22). J.C. Ryle wrote, “Open transgression of God’s law slays its thousands, but worldliness its tens of thousands.” “There is no surer evidence of an unconverted state,” wrote Joseph Alleine, “than to have the things of the world uppermost in our aim, love, and estimation.”Light or Darkness Next, our Savior warns us against light that is darkness and the folly of a divided heart. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:22-24) “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” — There are multitudes who have light that is nothing but darkness. The light they have is nothing but an acquired head-knowledge of sacred things, without the experience of grace. It is knowledge that puffs up, having no influence upon the heart. Like the devils, they have a clear apprehension of some of the great truths of Holy Scripture, but no love for them.

That is the kind of knowledge Balaam possessed. Few men have understood the things Balaam stated in Numbers 23 so clearly as he did (Numbers 23:8-10; Numbers 23:19-24). His eyes were opened (Numbers 24:3-4), but not his heart. He knew who the Lord God is, but did not know him. He knew many great things about him, but not him. He knew much about God’s grace, but had no experience of grace.

There was no love created in his heart for the God he professed to serve. Though he possessed great knowledge about God, he hired himself out to curse the people of God. While our Savior walked upon the earth, the devils gave the same testimony concerning him as Balaam gave. — “We know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God (Luke 4:33-34). Yet, they are devils still, devils with the full knowledge and conviction that our Lord Jesus Christ is himself the eternal God! That is just the condition our Lord is describing. What a terrible condition it is! That knowledge men may acquire, be it ever so great, that is nothing but factual knowledge, never reaching the heart, knowledge without grace, void of life, is great darkness, indeed! In this world it is blinding. In the world to come it will be utter darkness and everlasting torment. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” — Where such darkness rules, the heart is always divided. It is impossible to serve Christ and the world at the same time. The ark of God and Dagon cannot stand in the same house. Christ must be King in our hearts, ruling over us, so that his will, his glory, his kingdom receives the devotion and commitment of our hearts. Unless our lives are so ordered, everything is confusion. — “Thy whole body shall be full of darkness!” Let us be people of one thing, having our eyes fixed on one thing; and let that one thing be the one thing needful, the Lord Jesus Christ! Decisive consecration to Christ is the secret of happiness for any believer. God help us to be a people of one thing (Psalms 27:4; Luke 10:42; John 9:25; Philippians 3:13; Colossians 3:1-3). Jesus is the one thing needful, O our precious Lord and Savior! Ever true and ever faithful, We’ll sing His praise forever. In Him a boundless fulness dwells Of grace to all His chosen, And like a flooding river swells To weary sinners broken. What mercy from His bosom flows To every true believer! He put away the countless woes Of us poor, needy sinners. Oh, blessed are His saints, indeed, Christ Jesus is our Savior! And everything that we can need Is ours in Him forever! “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Cure for CareOur Lord knows our hearts. He knows how quickly we turn off warnings against worldliness and how easily we excuse our pursuit of earthly things. Knowing our hearts, our Lord here nips in the bud every excuse we might offer for these things in Matthew 6:25-34. Here is a cure for our earthly cares. First, our Savior tells us in Matthew 6:25 that we ought never be possessed of an overly anxious spirit. — “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Four times in these verses he says, “Take no thought.” Prudent provision and care about earthly responsibilities is right. We are to work and provide for our families. But greed, worry, and tormenting care over earthly things is wrong. To cure us of care and teach us to trust him, the Lord Jesus here reminds us of God’s providential care of everything he has created. He sends us to the birds of the air for instruction. — “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” In Matthew 6:27 he reminds us of the utter uselessness of worry, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” Then, in Matthew 6:28-30 he sends us to the fields to observe the flowers to rebuke our unbelief. — “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” In Matthew 6:31-32 our blessed Savior tells us that any failure to implicitly trust our heavenly Father is utterly shameful. — “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” In Matthew 6:33 he gives us a great, precious promise. — “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11). — “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).In Matthew 6:34 our Savior seals up his instruction on this subject with a universally known and acknowledged fact, saying, “Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.” Why carry trouble before it comes? Attend to today’s business and leave tomorrow’s worries to tomorrow’s troubles.

If tomorrow comes, the Lord will be with you. If he sends trouble, he will give you grace sufficient. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Any attempt to explain the wondrous things here declared by our Lord would be, at least on my part, utter folly. They are too sweet and delightful to need comment. Rather, let them be rolled over in our hearts, praying that God the Holy Spirit will effectually seal them to our hearts. Contemplate with joy the eternal love of God in Christ to our souls. All that is contained in creation, providence, redemption, grace, and glory to come are countless tokens of that love and goodness! Loved in Christ with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), chosen in Christ by immutable grace, blessed in Christ with all blessings of grace and salvation from eternity, accepted in Christ from everlasting (Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9), preserved in Christ and called (Jude 1:1).

Surely, his goodness to us in time, in every work of providence, cannot be doubted. His compassions never fail. His faithfulness is indescribably great. His mercies are new every morning. Yes, “the Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him” (Lamentations 3:22-25). He who redeemed us with his precious blood will never forget to take care of us.

May he give us grace to leave all our concerns with him and be anxious only to be found in his kingdom, robed in his righteousness, and accepted as one with him. Let us take no thought for tomorrow, knowing that “whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).