9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our 2 Father 3 which art

1 Luke xii. 30. John xvi. 23-27. 2 Luke xi. 2-4 Rom. viii. 15.

he intended to condemn the practice of long prayers. His own supplications were remarkably short.

9-13. This passage contains the Lord's prayer, a composition unequalled for comprehensiveness and beauty. It is supposed that some of these petitions were taken from those in common use among the Jews. Indeed, some of them, are still to be found in jewish writings, but they did not exist in this beautiful combination. This prayer is given as a model. It is designed to express the manner in which we are to pray, evidently not the precise words or petitions which we are to use. The substance of the prayer is recorded by Luke, ch. xi. 2-4. It, however, varies from the form given in Matthew, showing that Christ intended not to prescribe this as a form of prayer to be used always, but to express the substance of our petitions, to specify to his disciples what petitions it would be proper to present to God. That he did not intend to prescribe this as a form to be invariably used, is farther evident from the fact, that there is no proof that either he or his disciples ever used exactly this form of prayer, but clear evidence that they prayed often in other language. See Matt. xxvi. 39-42, 44. Luke xxii. 42; John xvii. Acts i. 24.

9. Our Father. God is called a Father, 1. As he is the Creator and the great Parent of all; 2. The Preserver of the human family, and the Provider for their wants, ch. v. 45, vi. 32; 3. In a peculiar sense the Father of those who are adopted into his family, who put confidence in him, who are true followers of Christ, and made heirs of life. Rom. viii. 14-17.

Hallowed be thy name. The word hallowed means to render or pronounce holy. God's name is essentially holy; and the meaning of this petition is, Let thy name be celebrated, and venerated, and esteemed as holy, everywhere, and

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,7 as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily

bread.

8

4 Psa. cxv. 3. 5 Psa. cxi. 9; cxxxix. 20. 6 Ch. xvi. 28. Rev. xi. 15. 7 Psa. ciii. 20, 21. 6 Prov. xxx. 8. Isa. xxxiii. 16.

receive of all men proper honours. It is thus the expression of a wish or desire, on the part of the worshipper, that the name of God, or God himself, should be held everywhere in proper veneration.

10. Thy kingdom come. The word kingdom here means reign. Note, Matt. iii. 2. The petition is the expression of a wish that God may reign every where; that his laws may be obeyed; and especially that the gospel of Christ may be advanced in every land, till the world shall be filled with his glory. ¶ Thy will be done. The will of God is, that men should obey his law, and be holy. The word will, here, has reference to his law, and to what would be acceptable to him; that is, righteousness. To pray, then, that his will may be done on earth as in heaven, is to pray that his law, his revealed will, may be obeyed and loved. His law is perfectly obeyed in heaven, and his true children most ardently desire and pray that it may also be done on the earth.

The object of these three first petitions is, that God's name should be glorified, and his kingdom established; and by being placed first, we learn that his glory and kingdom are of more consequence than our wants, and that these should be first in our hearts and petitions before a throne of grace.*

11. Give us this day, &c. The word

The following clauses respecting this prayer are found in the writings of the Jews, and were, doubtless familiar in the time of Christ: "That prayer," says the Rabbins, "in which there is no mention made of the kingdom of heaven, is not a prayer." "What," say they, "is a short prayer? Ans. Do thy will in heaven, and give rest to the spirits fearing thee below." Give us this day, &c. The Jews had a prayer like this: "The necessities of thy people are many, and their knowledge small; so that they do not know how to make known their wants: let it be thy good pleasure to give to each one what is necesevil. The Jews prayed, "Be it thy good pleasary for his sustenance," &c. Deliver us from

sure to free us from an evil man, and an evil

12 And forgive us our debts,1 as we forgive our debtors.

1 Ch.xvili. 21-35. Luke vii. 40-48.

bread, here, denotes, doubtless, every thing necessary to sustain life. Deut. viii. 3. Matt. iv. 4. This petition implies our dependence on God for the supply of our wants. As we are dependent on him one day as much as another, it was evidently the intention of our Saviour that prayer should be offered every day. This is, moreover, expressed in the plural numher-give us. It is evidently, therefore, intended to be used by more than one, or by some community of people. No community or congregation can meet every day for worship but families. It is therefore evident that this prayer is a strong implied command for daily family prayer. It can nowhere else be used so as fully to come up to the meaning of the original intention; and nowhere else can it be breathed forth with so much propriety and beauty as from the lips of a father, the venerable priest of his household, and the pleader with God for those rich blessings which a parental bosom desires on his beloved offspring.

12. And forgive us our debts, &c. The word debts is here used figuratively. It does not mean literally that we are debtors to God, but that our sins have a resembiance to debts. Debtors are those who are bound to others for some claim in commercial transactions; for something which they have had, and for which they are bend to pay according to contract. Literally there can be no such transaction between God and us. It must be used figuratively. We have not met the claims f law. We have violated its obligations. We are exposed to its penalty. We are guity. And God only can forgive, in the me way, as none but a creditor can forgive a debtor. Debts, here, therefore, ean sins, or offences against God fences which none but God can forgive. The measure by which we may expect forgiveness is that which we use in reference to others. See Psa. xviii. 25, 26. crent; from evil affections, from an evil compaIn and neighbour, from Satan," &c. The rayers of the Jews were generally closed with a Guxolegy, or ascription of praise, not unlike this tathe Lord's prayer. The people, at the close the prayer, generally responded, "Amen!"

13 And lead us not into 2 temptation, but deliver us 3 from evil :

2 Ch. xxvi. 41. Luke xxii. 40, 46. John xvii. 15

Matt. xviii. 23-35. Mark xi. 25. Luke ix. 4. This is the invariable rule by which God dispenses pardon. He that comes before him unwilling to forgive, harbouring dark and revengeful thoughts, how can he expect that God will show him that mercy which he is unwilling to show to others? It is not, however, required that we should forgive debts in a pecuniary sense. To them we have a right, though they should not be pushed with an overbearing and oppressive spirit; not so as to sacrifice the feelings of mercy, in order to secure the claims of right. No man has a right to oppress; and when a debt cannot be paid, or when it would greatly distress a wife and children, a widow and an orphan; or when calamity has put it out of the power of an honest man to pay the debt, the spirit of Christianity requires that should be forgiven. To such cases this petition in the Lord's prayer doubtless extends. But it was probably intended to refer principally to injuries of character or person, which we have received from others. If we cannot from the heart forgive them, we have the assurance that God will never forgive us.

13. And lead us not into temptation. A petition similar to this is offered by David, Psa. cxli. 4: "Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works, with the workers of iniquity." God tempts no man. See Jas. i. 13. This phrase, then, must be used in the sense of permitting. Do not suffer us, or permit us, to be tempted to sin. In this it is implied that God has such control over us and the tempter, as to save us from it if we call upon him. The word temptation, however, see Note, ch. iv. 1, means sometimes trial, affliction, any thing that tests our virtue. If this be the meaning here, as it may be, then the import of the prayer is, Do not afflict or try us. Deliver us from evil. The original, in this place, has the article, deliver us from the evil, that is, as has been supposed, the evil one, or Satan. He is elsewhere called, by way of eminence, the evil one. Matt. xiii. 19. 1 John ii. 13, 14: iii. 12. Deliver us from his

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

11 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you :

Rev. v. 12, 13.

power, his snares, his arts, his temptations. He is supposed to be the great parent of evil, and to be delivered from him is to be safe. Or it may mean, deliver us from the various evils and trials which beset us, the heavy and oppressive calamities into which we are continually liable to fall. ¶ Thine is the kingdom. That is, thine is the reign or dominion. Thou hast control over all these things, and canst so order them as to answer these petitions. ¶ Thine is the power. Thou hast power to accomplish what we ask. We are weak, and cannot do it; but thou art almighty, and all things are possible with thee. ¶ Thine is the glory. That is, thine is the honour or praise. Not our honour, but thy glory, thy goodness, will be displayed in providing for our wants; thy power in defending us; thy praise in causing thy kingdom to spread through the earth.

This doxology, or ascription of praise, is connected with the prayer by the word for, to signify that all these things-the reign, power, and glory of God-will be manifested by granting these petitions. It is not because we are to be benefited, but that God's name and perfections may be manifested. His glory is, then, the first and principal thing which we are to seek when we approach him. We are to suffer our concerns to be sunk and lost sight of in the superior glory and honour of his name and dominion. We are to seek temporal and eternal life, chiefly because the honour of our Maker will be promoted, and his name be more illustriously displayed to his creatures. He is to be first, last, supreme, best, in our view; and all selfish and worldly views are to be absorbed in that one great desire of the soul that God may be all in all. Approaching him with these feelings, our prayers will be answered, our devotions will rise like incense, and the lifting up our hands will be like the evening sacrifice.

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.3

16¶ Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their

2 Ch. xviii. 21-35. Eph, iv. 31, 32. Jas. ii. 15,

It is

Amen. This is a word of Hebrew origin, from a verb signifying to be firm, secure, to be true and faithful. It is a word expressing consent or strong approbation, a word of strong asseveration. It means verily, certainly, so be it. probable that this word was used by the people in the synagogue to signify their assent to the prayer that was uttered by the minister. And to some extent, it was probably so used in the christian church. See 1 Cor. xiv. 16.

It may be proper to remark that this doxology, For thine is the kingdom, &c., is wanting in many manuscripts, and that its authenticity is doubtful.

14. If ye forgive. If ye pardon. Trespasses. Offences, faults. If ye forgive others when they offend or injure you.

This is constantly required in the Bible. Our Saviour says we should forgive even if the offence be committed seventy times seven times. Matt. xviii. 22. By this is meant that when a man asks forgiveness, we are cordially and for ever to pardon the offence; we are to declare our willingness to forgive him. If he does not ask forgiveness, yet we are still to treat him kindly; not to harbour malice; not to speak ill of him; to be ready to do him good; and be always prepared to declare him forgiven when he asks it.

16. Moreover, when thou fastest, &c. The word fast literally signifies to abstain from food and drink, whether from necessity or as a religious observance. It is, however, commonly applied in the Bible, to the latter. It is, then, an expression of grief or sorrow. Such is the constitution of the body, that in a time of grief and sorrow we are not disposed to eat, or we have no appetite. The grief of the soul is so absorbing as to destroy the natural appetites of the body. Men in deep affliction eat little, and often pine away and fall into sickness, because the body refuses, on account of the deep

faces, that they may appear unto mento fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

1 Isa. lviii. 3, 5.

sorrow of the mind, to discharge the functions of health. Fasting, then, is the natural expression of grief. It is not arbitrary; it is what every person in sorrow naturally does. This is the foundation of its being applied to religion as a sacred rite. It is because the soul, when oppressed and burdened by a sense of sin, is so filled with grief, that the body refuses food. It is, therefore, appropriated always to scenes of penitence, of godly sorrow, of suffering, and to those facts connected with religion that are fitted to produce grief, as the prevalence of iniquity or some dark impending calamity, or storm, or tempest, pestilence, plague, or famine. It is also used to humble us, to bring us to reflection, to direct the thoughts away from the comforts of this world to the bliss of a better. It is not acceptable except it be the real expression of sorrow, the natural effect of feeling that we are burdened with crime.

The Jews fasted often. They had four annual fasts: 1. In commemoration of the capture of Jerusalem, Jer. lii. 6-16. 2. Of the burning of the temple, Zech. vi. 3. 3. In memory of the death of Gedaliah, Jer. xli. 4. And, 4. In memory of the commencement of the attack on Jerusalem, Zech. viii. 19. In addition to these, they had a multitude of occasonal fasts. It was customary also, for the Pharisees to fast twice a week. Luke xviii. 12. Of a sad countenance. That is, sour, morose, assumed expressions of unfelt sorrow. They disfigure their faces. That is, they do not anoint and wash themselves as usual; they are uncombed, filthy, squalid, and haggard. It is said that they were often in the habit of throwing ashes on their heads and faces; and this mixing with their tears, would still farther disfigure their faces. So much pains will men take, and so much suffering will they undergo, and so much that is ridiculous will they assume, to impose on God and men. But they deceive neither. God sees through

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.

19 Lay not up for your

the flimsy veil. Human eyes can pierce a disguise so thin. Hypocrites overact their part. Not having the genuine principles of piety at heart, they know not its proper expression, and hence appear supremely contemptible and abominable. Never should men exhibit outwardly more than they feel; and never should they attempt to exhibit anything for the mere sake of ostentation.

17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint, &c. That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress. The Jews and all neighbouring nations were much in the habit of washing and anointing their bodies. This washing was performed at every meal; and where it could be effected, the head, and sometimes other parts of the body, were daily anointed with sweet or olive oil. In a warm climate, exposed to the great heat of the sun, this practice conduced much to health, preserved the skin smooth and tender, and afforded a most grateful sensation and odour. See Mark vi. 13; vii. 2, 3. John xii. 3. Jas. v. 14.

The meaning of this whole commandment is, when you regard it to be your duty to fast, do it as a thing expressing deep feeling, or sorrow for sin; not by assuming unfelt gravity and moroseness, but in your ordinary dress and appearance; not to attract attention, but as an expression of feeling towards God, and he will approve and reward it.

19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures, &c. Treasures, or wealth, among the ancients, consisted in clothes, or changes of raiment, as well as in gold, silver, gems, wine, lands, and oil. Wealth was an abundance of any thing that was held to be conducive to the ornament or comfort of life. As the easterns delighted much in display, in splendid equipage, and costly garments, their treasures in fact consisted much in beautiful and richly ornamented articles of apparel. See Gen. xiv. 22, where Joseph gave to

selves treasures upon 1 earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal :

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in 2 heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through

nor steal:

1 Prov. xxiii. 4. Luke xviii. 24, 25. Heb. xiii. 5. Isa. xxxiii. 6. Luke xii. 33, 34. 1 Tim. vi. 19.

his brethren changes of raiment. Josh. vii. 21, where Achan coveted and secreted a goodly Babylonish garment. See also Judg. xiv. 12. This fact will account for the use of the word moth. When we speak of wealth, we think at once of gold, and silver, and lands, and houses. When a Hebrew or an orientalist spoke of wealth, he thought first of what would make display; and included, as an essential part, splendid articles of dress. The moth is a small insect that finds its way to clothes and garments, and destroys them. The moth would destroy their apparel, the rust their silver and gold; thus all their treasure would waste away.

20. Lay up treasures in heaven. That is, have provision made for your eternal felicity. Do not exhaust your strength, and spend your days, in providing for the life here, but let your chief anxiety be to be prepared for eternity. There nothing corrupts, nothing terminates, no enemies plunder or destroy. To have treasure in heaven is to possess evidence that its purity and joys will be ours. It is to be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. The heart, or affections, will of course be fixed on the treasure. To regulate the heart, it is therefore important that the treasure, or object of attachment, should be right.

22, 23. The light of the body, &c. The sentiment stated in the preceding verses, the duty of fixing the affections on heavenly things, Jesus proceeds to illustrate by a reference to the eye. When the eye is directed singly and steadily towards an object, and is in health, or is single, every thing is clear and plain. If it vibrates, flies to different objects, is fixed on no one singly,

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 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!

Luke xi. 34, 36.

or is diseased, nothing is seen clearly. Every thing is dim and confused. The man, therefore, is unsteady. The eye regulates the motion of the body. To have an object distinctly in view, is necessary to correct and regulate action. Rope-dancers, in order to steady themselves, fix the eye on some object on the wall, and look steadily at that. If they should look down on the rope or the people, they would become dizzy and fall. A man crossing a stream on a log, if he will look across at some object steadily, will be in little danger. If he looks down on the dashing and rolling waters, he will become dizzy, and fall. So Jesus says, in order that the conduct may be right, it is important to fix the affections on heaven. Having the affections there, having the eye of faith single, steady, unwavering, all the conduct will be correspondent. ¶ Single. Steady, devoted to one object. Not confused, as persons' eyes are when they see double. Thy body shall be full of light. Your conduct will be regular and steady. All that is needful to direct the body is that the eye be fixed right. other light is required. So all that is needful to direct the soul and the conduct is, that the eye of faith be fixed on heaven, that the affections be there. ¶If, therefore, the light that is in thee, &c. The word light, here, signifies the mind, or principles of the soul. If this be dark, how great is that darkness! The meaning of this passage may be thus expressed: The light of the body, the guide and director, is the eye. know how calamitous it is when that light is irregular or extinguished, as when the eye is diseased or lost. So the light that is in us is the soul. If that soul is

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