Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 6 · Verse 4
vers. 4.
That thine Almes may be secret, and thy father that seeth in secret, he will reward thee openly.
Here is the reason whereby Christ enforceth the former commandement; and it hath two parts: the first is drawne from a speciall propertie in God, to see in secret: the second is frō his bounty, in rewarding openly.
For the first: the words are thus in the originall, and thy father which is a seer in secret: for the word there vsed signifieth a discerning seer: whereby Christ would teach vsus, that God sees and beholds things thatGod the secret seer. no man can see, euen the secret thoughts and desires of mans heart.
Hence we must learne three things: I. to examine our selues strictlyVse. 1. not onelyonly of our grosse & open sinnes, which all the world may see; but also of our most inward and hidden corruptions, and when we cannot see them, yet we must suspect our selues of our secret wants: for though men know them not, no nor we our selues, yet God the secret seer beholdeth them. II. Neuer to hide our sinnes within our selues, but freely2 to lay them open before God to our owne shame, yea to confesse our vnknowne sinnes: we must not like Adam, sew fig-leaues together to couer our nakednes, or flie from God thinking to hide our selues from his sight: for he discerneth in secret. III. To be carefull not only to doe3 good works, but also to doe them in an holy manner, frō good groūds, and to a right end: for God seeth secrets, and will not be shifted off with false shewes. aPsal. …9. 1…8.Dauid saith, I hauehave kept thy precepts and thy testimonies, because all my waies are before thee. And the rather must we be mooued hereunto, because God knowing what is in mans heart, doth oftētimes prooue men with temptations, that he may discouer the guile of their hearts: & therfore that we may escape the iudgements of God due vntounto hypocrisie, we must labour to doe all good duties in singlenes of heart.
The second reason drawne frō Gods bountie vntounto thē that in singlenes of heart doe good works, is in these words; he will reward thee openly: wherin he preuenteth this obiectiō, which some of his hearers might make against his former precept. If I may not do good works to be seen of men, then shall I loose my labour: Christ answereth: Not so: for God the father will reward thee openly, if thou doe goods from a single heart, onelyonly respecting the praise and honour of God in mans good. If it be asked, how this can stand with that saying of Christ, Ioh. 5. 21. that the father iudgeth no man, but hath committed all iudgement vntounto the sonne: I answer, that in regard of deliberation, of authoritie & consent, the last iudgement shalbe executed by the whole Trinitie: but yet in regard of immediate execution, the father iudgeth not, but Christ onelyonly: for he alone giueth the sentence both of absolution and condemnation.
Of pr…se.This second reason teacheth vsus sundrie things concerning praise. 1First, that God himselfe is the sole author of true praise: Paul bThe A…t…o… … …. Cor. 10. ….saith, he which praiseth himselfe is not allowed, but he whome the Lord praiseth: where he compareth the world to a Theater, wherein men are Actors, and men and Angels be spectators; but God alone is the Iudge, who giueth praise and good name to eueryevery one that deserueth it, not onelyonly in this life, but in the world to come: in regard whereof, we must endeauour our selues so to doe all our good works, that God himselfe may approoue thereof; to seeke the praise of men, is a fond thing, seeing that not man, but God, is the author of true praise: yea, this must teach vsus not to depend vponupon man for praise and commendation for the good things we do, but vponupon God himselfe, from whom all true praise commeth.
Secondly, that God as he is a father, is the sole author of true praise, 2The ground.for Christ saith, your father will reward you. Now God is our father, onelyonly in Christ, and therefore our vnion with Christ is the ground of all true praise: He is a true Israelite (saith bRom. 2. 29▪Paul) which is one within, and the circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. This then discouereth the errour of the world, in seeking after praise and reputation; for some seeke it in the comlines of their bodie, some in apparell, and some in learning, &c. but all these are wrong meanes; the right way to get true praise, is to be in Christ, & to hauehave an humble and sanctified heart, set purposely to keepe Gods commandement: Psal. 119. 22. Dauid praied God to remooue from him shame and contempt, because he kept Gods testimoneis: as though the keeping of Gods commandements, had beene the onelyonly meanes to auoyd contempt, and to procure true praise and fame.
Thirdly, that the life to come is the onelyonly time of true praise, for Christ3 here saith, he shall reward thee openly: that is, in the last day: 1. Corin.The time. 4. 5. When the Lord shall come, then shall eueryevery one hauehave praise of God. This must teach vsus, not to care for the contempt of the world, which followeth our profession, so that our conuersation bee godly; but to rest patiently contented, because it is the lot and portion of Gods children, and our sins deserues greater reproach, alwaies remembring, that the time of our praise is yet to come. Yea, hence we must learne, not to aime at our owne praise, in the things of this life, but wholly to seeke the glorie of God in all things; for if we seeke his glorie now, the time will come when he will glorifie vsus.
Fourthly, that the praise that God shall giuegive his children in the ende4 of the world, shall be op…n and manifest, before all men, and all angels, both good & bad, when they shall stand to be iudged by Iesus Christ: & this is true praise which shall neuer hauehave ende, whereunto the praise of men is not comparable; we count highly of applause and reputation with earthly princes, and all▪ men honour him whom the Prince commends; how much more then shall they be aduanced, whom God himselfe shall vouchsafe to praise and commend?