A Paraphrase on the New Testament, Matthew · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
1. TAke heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be ſeen of them: otherwiſe you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
1. Be careful to avoid hypocriſie, and a proud deſire of praiſe in your works of Charity: You may do it when men ſee you; but not to be ſeen: If you take mens eſteem and praiſe for your reward, you forfeit and loſe God's heavenly reward.
2. Therefore when thou doſt 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 to you, They have their reward.
2. Make not oſtentation of your Charity, as Hypocrites: They ſhall have no better reward than the vain-glory which they chuſe: (Alas what a pitifull reward.)
3. But when thou doſt alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. 4. That thine alms may be in ſecret: And thy Father which ſeeth in ſecret, himſelf ſhall reward thee openly.
3, 4. But (tho your good works muſt ſhine before men to God's glory, yet) be ſo carefully afraid of all affectation of vain-glory to your ſelves, as purpoſely to conceal all, when nothing but your own praiſe requireth openneſs; yea, do not note it too much in your ſelves, to puff you up; and then as your hearts and lives are all known to God, he will openly reward them to the full.
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 to you, they have their reward.
5. So let not your Prayer be like the Hypocrites, all done in publick as on a Stage, to be ſeen of men: I tell you mens praiſe is all the reward they ſhall have.
N. Not but that publick Church-Prayer, and Family-prayer are as great duties as ſecret Prayer: But they muſt not be done for to be thought Religious, nor ſecret Prayer made open or neglected. 2. Standing is a lawfull praying geſture in it ſelf: But where Kneeling ſignifieth more reverence, it muſt be preferred in humbling duties.
6. But 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.
6. But do thou pray ſecretly where only God is witneſs of thy Prayers (and therefore approve to him thy ſecret deſires and heart, as well as thy words,) and believe that God will openly reward thee.
N. 1. Both publick and ſecret prayer are our duty. 2. Praying only before men is groſs hypocriſie: But all ſecret prayer will not prove ſincerity. 3. They that ſay, We muſt not ſerve God for reward, oppoſe Chriſt, and Scripture, and all Religion. It is not a reward in Commutative Juſtice as if we profited God: But in Fatherly love and juſtice, as pleaſing God through Chriſt, as Fathers reward good children and not bad ones.
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 you have need of before you ask him.
7. When you pray do not ſo repeat over the ſame words, or lengthen your Prayers with unmeet repetitions, as the Heathens do, that think canting over certain words, or ſpinning out Prayers to ſuch a length, is acceptable to God: or as if God were moved by terms or length. For God is your Father, and knows what you need before you ſpeak, and pityeth you according to your needs: And your Prayers are not to move and change him, but by exerciſing your own deſires, and faith and repentance and thankfulneſs, to make you fit to receive his further gifts.
9. After this manner therefore pray ye.
9. I will give a perfect directory for the matter and order of your deſires and prayers, and in words fit for your uſe, when you pray but ſummarily.
9, 10, &c. Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on 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, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
9, &c. We come not to thee as our unreconciled avenging Judge, but as to our merciful Father reconciled to us by Chriſt; The only God, whoſe Glory is eminently in Heaven, infinite in perfection of Being, and of Power, Knowledge and Goodneſs, our abſolute owner, our Supreme Ruler, and our moſt loving Father by Creation, Redemption and Regeneration, whoſe we are, and whom we muſt ſerve, and whom we muſt Love and Truſt; we are ſinful, needy, miſerable and unworthy, in our ſelves, but thy Children by Chriſt our Interceſſor, who is worthy; whoſe hearts are by deſire towards thee as our God, and to the good of others as our brethren, as well as by neceſſity to our own felicity: We know that as all things are Of Thee, and Through Thee, and To thee, ſo Thou art our Ultimate end: And therefore we firſt humbly beg that Thy Great, Wiſe, and Good and Holy name may be known, and ſhine forth and be glorified and holily regarded upon earth, and not blaſphemed or be unknown and diſregarded by Atheiſts, Infidels, or wicked hypocrites; nor the honour of men be ſet up againſt thee: But that the Nations of the earth, and all Societies and our own ſelves, may be wholly devoted and live to thy Glory.
And our next Petition is, that the world, or its Societies, or our own and our brethrens Souls, may not be given up to the wicked Tyrannical Kingdom of Satan, or men that are his Miniſters and governed by him, nor to the Wars, bloud and cruelty of ſuch: But that thy Divine Government, even the Kingdom of Meſſiah may come on Earth in that fulneſs as may deſtroy the Kingdom of Satan, that Faith, Love and Righteouſneſs may be the conſtitution of Societies and Souls; and the Reign of Grace may prepare us for Glory; which we ſpecially pray for.
And our third Petition is, that in this thy Kingdom, Societies and Souls, our own and others, may in diſpoſition be conformed to thy Governing Will, and in practice obey it, and in Faith, Hope and Love, with joyful Truſt expect the promiſed reward, and patiently ſubmit to thy Fatherly corrections and diſpoſals. And that in all theſe aforeſaid three requeſts, this Earth that is grown ſo near to Hell, may be made more like to them in heaven, who Know, Love, and Obey, and Glorifie thee, with Perfection, Unity and full delight.
And becauſe thou haſt made our natures ſuch as cannot but love our ſelves, and haſt bound us to ſeek our own and others welfare, and Grace preſuppoſeth Nature, and our Being is neceſſary firſt to our Well-being. Therefore our fourth Petition is, that thou wilt ſupport our natures, and maintain them by neceſſary food and ſuſtenance, and make us content with thy allowance, and ſave us from covetouſneſs and overmuch love to worldly fulneſs, proſperity and wealth, and cauſe us to ſubſerve thy providence by our wiſe and diligent labours, and not to forfeit thy maintenance by our ſelf confidence, idleneſs or vicious ſenſuality, nor turn our ſtrength to ſerve our ſinful luſt.
And knowing that Holineſs and Juſtice require the puniſhment of Sin, we next beſeech thee to look on us in Chriſt whom thy Love and Mercy ſent into the world to be a Sacrifice and Propitiation for ſin; whoſe perfect Righteouſneſs and Sacrifice have merited that pardon and grace, which he hath given in his Covenant, and proclaimed and offered to us all in the Goſpel: Forgive all the ſins of our former life, and the remaining corruption of our hearts, and the daily faults that we are guilty of in our ſtate of imperfection. And knowing that thou forgiveſt none but penitent believers; and bindeſt us to love and forgive others as ever we would be forgiven, we confeſs and lament our manifold ſins, of corrupt nature and practice, of ignorance and of knowledge, of negligence, raſhneſs and preſumptuous wilfulneſs; The remembrance of them is our grief and ſhame, we loath our ſelves for them, and earneſtly beg to be healed of them: we caſt our ſelves by believing Truſt (tho alas too weak) on Jeſus our Saviour his Merits and Interceſſion, and thy Love and Mercy and promiſes in him, deſiring henceforth to be roled by him and ſanctified by his Spirit and Grace; And we unfeignedly love and forgive all thoſe that have wronged us: we beſeech thee therefore charge not our ſins upon us, but acquit us from the everlaſting puniſhment, and all vindictive penalties in this life, on Soul or Body: And grant the ſame to all our brethren for whom we pray.
And becauſe if thou keep us not, we ſhall run on in guilt by new temptations, and loſe all that thou haſt given us: We laſtly beſeech thee, to ſave us from all dangerous temptations, either by Satans inward ſuggeſtions, or outward ſnares, by our own ill inclinations, or worldly al…urements, or by ſuch ſufferings as may be too ſtrong for our faith, hope and patience, or would ſuppreſs our holy love, and thankfulneſs and joyfull praiſe: And ſave us from Satan, from our ſelves, our enemies and our friends that would tempt us to any evil, and from the ſin and miſery and thy deſerved judgments, of which we are in danger. And fortifie us with thy confirming comforting ſpirit.
And we beg all theſe mercies of thee to this end, that we may employ them with all thy Saints, in joyful praiſes of thy bleſſed Kingdom and Government in Heaven and Earth, and in holy admiration of thy Power, and all perfections, and in glorifying thy Infinite Goodneſs and Bleſſedneſs, with the glorified Society for evermore. Theſe are the deſires of our Souls, and the requeſts of our lips, which we humbly, and earneſtly in Faith and Hope do preſent to thee our Heavenly Father, by the motion of thy Spirit, through Jeſus Chriſt, our Interceſſor, Lord and Saviour, Amen.
Note, Reader, So perfect is the Method of the Lords Prayer, that I had thought to have Anatomized it and ſet it before thee in a Scheme. But I now write for the leſs learned that cannot well comprehend accurateneſs: They that can may find it done already in my Latin Method of Theology; and the lower ſort may find ſuch a brief and plain Expoſition as ſuch are capable of, in my Family Catechiſm: And in both the controverſies hereabout reſolved.
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.
14. Leſt you ſhould think that no qualification for pardon and other gifts are neceſſary in you, I again repeat what ſelfiſh nature is loth to obſerve, that tho God be your heavenly Father, yet your love and forgiveneſs of your Brother is ſo neceſſary to his forgiving you, that without it you ſhall not be forgiven: For if you have not this in ſincerity, you are not God's children, and he is called your Heavenly Father but as offering you his grace: But if you have ſincere Love, with notable defects in your forgiving others, God will correct you as Children, and will not forgive you ſome ſharp chaſtiſements; but make you know that you muſt love others, if you will have the comfort of his love.
16. Moreover when ye faſt, be not as the hypocri…es of a ſad countenance; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to faſt: Verily I ſay to you, they have their reward.
16. Do not for to be thought godly ſeem to be more humbled than you are; nor ſhew that outwardly, which ſhould be a concealed ſecret faſt: ſuch hypocrites ſhall have no better reward, than the eſteem and praiſe of men which they thus ſeek.
17, 18. But thou when thou faſteſt, anoint thy head and waſh thy face, that thou appear not to men to faſt, but to thy Father which is in ſecret: And thy Father which ſeeth in ſecret, ſhall reward thee openly.
17, 18. But look thou for thine approbation and reward from God, and hide from the notice of the world thy private humiliations (tho publick humiliations of Churches and Nations, and for open wrongs, muſt be publickly ſhewn) and God will openly reward thee.
19. Lay not up for your ſelves treaſures upon earth, where moth and ruſt doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and ſteal.
19. Note, 1. By Treaſure is meant that which a man moſt loveth and truſteth to for his ſupply and comfort, and practically placeth his chief welfare in. 2. By laying up, is meant, over valuing, eagerly deſiring and ſeeking and caring for. That which ruſt, moths, and thieves can ſoon bereave you of, is unfit to be your beloved truſted treaſure.
20. But lay up for your ſelves treaſures in heaven, where neither moth nor ruſt doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and ſteal.
20. But by Faith place your happineſs in heaven and on that lay out your care and love and labour; and ſo uſe your wealth as God hath promiſed to reward in Heaven: For that treaſure is incorruptible, inviolable and everlaſting.
Note, That tho it be our God and Saviour that layeth up our treaſure in Heaven, and ſaveth us freely by Grace, yet it is we that are commanded to lay it up, and ſave our ſelves, ſubordinately, by faith, hope, love, and labour, which qualifie us as fit receivers of it.
21. For where your treaſure is, there will your heart be alſo.
21. And by this you may know whether you truly place your Treaſure in Heaven or on earth (Not by your ſpeculative opinion or words: for what Hypocrite will not ſay that Heaven is better than Earth?) But by the bent of your hearts: Your Love, Care, Truſt, and hope will be where your Treaſure is. That which you 1. highlieſt value practically, 2. and moſt deſire and chuſe, 3. and labour for, tho with the greateſt care and coſt, that's it that is indeed your Treaſure.
22. The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thy eye be ſingle, thy whole body ſhall be full of light: 23. But if thy 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?
22, 23. As the eye ſeeth not for it ſelf alone, but for the whole body, to guide its action; ſo thy underſtanding or practical judgment is that ſuperiour viſive faculty that muſt guide all thy love, and choice and life: If therefore thy judgment be ſound, and thou knoweſt the difference between laying up a treaſure in Heaven and on Earth, it will rightly guide all the actions of thy heart and life: but if thy judgment be blinded in this great affair, it will miſguide thy love, thy choice, and all the tenor of thy life: If thy judgment then be blind which muſt guide thee, what a miſerable erroneous wretch wilt thou be; and how diſmal will that errour prove.
24. No man can ſerve two maſters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will hold to the one and deſpiſe the other: ye cannot ſerve God and mammon.
24. And take heed of the ſelf deceit of Hypocrites, who flatter themſelves with the hope of having a treaſure both on Earth and in Heaven; reſolving to keep and prefer this world while they can keep it, and hope that Heaven will be a reſerve when they can keep the world no longer; and ſo they will be as Religious as will ſtand with their fleſhly wordly intereſt: But I tell you, no man can ſerve two ſuch contrary Maſters: He will love one better than the other, or obey and ſerve one to the neglect and injury of the other. You cannot love and ſerve God as God, and yet love and ſeek worldly wealth and proſperity, as your moſt beloved truſted treaſure. God will not ſtoop to the world: therefore the world muſt in your eſteem and choice, ſtoop to God, and be uſed for him.
25. Therefore I ſay to 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 rayment.
25. Therefore take this as my ſpecial warning, Wholly truſt God for life and all the concerns of life, and ſhew not your ſelfiſhneſs and worldly love, by be…ng diſtruſtfully anxious or ſollicitous, for meat, and drink, and cloaths: If you know not which way to get them, God knows which way to give them. Your Lives and Bodies are his gift, and in his power; and did he give you theſe, and cannot you truſt him for food and cloathing:
26. 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?
26. You ſee that God feedeth the many ſort of Fowls that make no ſtore-houſes or proviſion for time to come: And God that made you better than they, will not neglect you.
27. But which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his ſtature?
27. Study your duty and uſe juſt means while you truſt on God: But your ſelf-troubling diſtruſtful care and thoughtfulneſs, is but unprofitable ſelf-vexation. All your care cannot make you any taller of ſtature, nor keep your bodies from decay or death.
28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Conſider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they ſpin: 29. And yet I ſay to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of theſe. 30. Wherefore if God ſo cloath the graſs of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is caſt into the oven, ſhall he not much more cloath you, O ye of little faith?
28, 29, 30. And why do you diſtruſtfully care for cloathing? You ſee the Lilies of the field that neither ſow nor ſpin, have yet a more beautifull flower than Solomons moſt ſplendid Ornaments could match. And doth God ſo cloth theſe and other Plants with beauty, and ſweetneſs, and are you ſo diſtruſtfull and weak in Faith, as to fear that he will neglect you?
Note, That Chriſt here neither blameth Sowing, Spinning or other meet labour, nor would have it done imprudently and careleſly; much leſs doth he approve on a… idle ſlothful life on pretence of truſting God. Six days muſt we labour, and not eat the bread of idle…e Paul ſaith, He that will not work (when he can) … him not eat. Idleneſs corrupteth Body and Soul. Such Care as we muſt take to feed and cloath the Poor, ſuch at leaſt we may take for our ſelves: But,
31. Take no thought therefore, ſaying, what ſhall we eat? or what ſhall we drink? or wherewithall ſhall we be cloathed?
31. Therefore when you have done your duty, truſt God, and do not with murmuring or ſelf-troubling diſtruſtfully ſay, whence ſhall I have food and rayment?
32. For after all theſe things do the Gentiles ſeek: For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all theſe things.
32. This is the practice of the Heathens, who fear and complement their Idol Gods, but cannot truſt them for what they want, but by ſelf-truſting and ſelf-ſeeking are drowned in worldly love and care: But your Heavenly Father is far better acquainted with all your wants than you are, and doth not diſregard them.
33. But ſeek ye firſt the kingdom of God, and his righteouſneſs, and all theſe things ſhall be added unto you.
33. But I make this promiſe which you may boldly truſt; ſee that you ſeek firſt Gods Kingdom of grace and glory, and that Righteouſneſs, (Relative, habitual and actual) to which through Chriſt he hath promiſed acceptance and ſalvation, ſeek theſe I ſay before all worldly proſperity and fleſhly intereſt, with your chief and predominant Eſteem, Choice, and Endeavour; and then all bodily things ſhall be given in as additions to the greater bleſſings, ſo far as God ſeeth them fit for you, and you for them (for Godlineſs hath the promiſe of this life and of that to come.)
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow ſhall take thought for the things of it ſelf: ſufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
34. Therefore (Beg of God your daily bread in ſaith, and in the uſe of honeſt labour; but) take no diſtruſtfull troubling careful thoughts for the time to come; It will be care enough to morrow to take notice of to morrows wants, and to do to morrows work: Every day hath its own duty and difficulty, and ſufferings muſt be expected: Do not anticipate them, and take to day the trouble on your ſelf by care and fear, which belongs to the time to come: The burden and troubling part by ſuch ſufferings as you muſt expect, will come time enough, and a days ſenſe of the ſuffering, is enough for one days evil or burden. Preparatory notice of death and ſuffering is uſefull: but ſhould we foreknow all the particular ſufferings that are to come on us, it would but overwhelm us, by an untimely ſuffering every day by fear and care of all that which we ſhould ſuffer but by little tolerable parcels, while every day hath its own proportion.