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Against divorcement

Аппо DOMINI 31.

r Luke 16. 18.

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shall put away his wife, let him give | at all; neither by heaven; for it is
her a writing of divorcement:
God's throne :

32 But I say unto you, That 'who- 35 Nor by the earth; for it is
1 Cor. 7. 10. soever shall put away his wife, saving his footstool: neither by Jerusa-
for the cause of fornication, causeth lem; for it is the city of the great
her to commit adultery: and whoso- King.
ever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.

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33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Exod. 20.7. Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but Deut. 5. 11. shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

Lev. 19. 12.

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His words are, not as before, "it hath been said to them of old,” but only "it hath been said;" to note that this was not a precept given by Moses to divorce their wives, but only a permission in some cases. See Matt. xix. 8. Dr. Whitby. Among the Jews and heathens, but more particularly among the latter, the power of divorce was carried to a great extent, and exercised with the most capricious and wanton cruelty. It was full time for a stop to be put to these increasing barbarities; and it was a task worthy of the Son of God Himself, to stand up as the Defender and Protector of the most weak and helpless part of our species. Accordingly He here declares, in the most positive terms, that the only legitimate cause of divorce is adultery; and this has, by the experience of ages, been found to be a most wise and salutary provision, no less conducive to the happiness than to the virtue of the species. Bp. Porteus.

34.- Swear not at all;] That is, Swear not at all in common conversation; invoke not the name of God upon light occasions; but let your conversation be always so sincere and true, that your affirmation may be received as an oath. Dr. S. Clarke. Although this expression seems general and absolute, we must nevertheless understand it with some restriction. Our Saviour forbids, first, the swearing by created things; secondly, the profane and rash use of oaths, such as the Jews were accustomed to employ, without necessity, from mere habit, or, what was worse, from a design to deceive. It appears from other passages of Scripture, that, on some occasions, oaths were not only lawful but necessary. See Exod. xxii. 11; Ps. cx. 4; Rom. ix. 1; 2 Cor. i. 23; xi. 31; Gal. i. 20; Heb. vi. 16; Rev. x. 6. Beausobre. It is plain, that if the prohibition, "Swear not at all," were understood absolutely, the good of society would be much affected; as, in important matters, there would be wanting the strongest human assurance and the best human testimony, which derive their greatest force from a solemn appeal to God; and, therefore, our Lord restrains His command to ordinary discourse, (ver. 37,) and opposes it to the unnecessary and ensnaring oaths and vows, then so frequent amongst the Jews. Abp. Newcome.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

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37 But let your communication t James 5. 12. be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

38 Ye have heard that it hath

risees especially, taught that the guilt of perjury was not incurred when a falsehood was attested by an oath of this kind. Hence, our Saviour's words being spoken to persons who well understood the doctrines and practices of their countrymen in this matter, enjoined that they should not swear by the creatures of God in any of those cases in which it was unlawful to swear by the Almighty Himself, that is, in their usual communications with each other. For, it seems, the Jews themselves were not in those days arrived at that insolence, which, it is dreadful to think, is too frequent with Christians, of profaning the name of the most high God, by calling upon Him, on every trivial occasion, to bear witness to what they say. Dr. Clagett.

37.- let your communication be, &c.] Your common discourse must be free from oaths of any kind; for oaths are only to be used when they are required by lawful authority. Bp. Mann.

"Let your communication be, Yea, yea," &c. As if He had said, This is the rule I would have you constantly to observe in your commerce and dealing with men, and in your whole conversation: When you have occasion to affirm a thing affirm it steadily without an oath: when you have occasion to deny a thing, say it is not so, without an oath: when you have occasion to promise that you will do a thing, or will not do it, promise, but do not swear; and when you have promised, be sure you be as good as your word. always your yea be yea, and your nay nay," as St. James expresseth it, Jam. v. 12; that is, let your words and your deeds agree together. Abp. Sharp.

Let

-cometh of evil.] It proceeds from an evil mind, produces an evil custom, is of an evil example, and tends to an evil end. Bp. Beveridge.

Truth and fidelity are the great bases on which all society is founded; and without which there could be no peace, no security, no right or property in the world. Whatsoever therefore is apt to undermine these, as perjury directly does, and as common swearing naturally tends to do, ought to be avoided and discouraged by all who either love their own welfare, or have any regard to the publick good. Abp. Wake.

-neither by heaven; &c.] Our Saviour's design 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, &c.] There in these words cannot be better understood than by are two opposite descriptions of character, under which considering what those corrupt principles were con- mankind may generally be classed. The one possesses cerning swearing, which had crept in among the Jews. vigour, firmness, resolution, is daring and active, quick And, first, as their own authors tell us, it was generally in its sensibilities, jealous of its fame, inflexible in its held among them that they ought not to swear by the purpose, violent in its resentments: the other, meek, name of God in light and trivial cases, but they believed yielding, complying, forgiving; not prompt to act, but it was no sin to swear upon any occasion by a creature willing to suffer; silent and gentle under rudeness and that was a remarkable object of God's favour and pro-insult; suing for reconciliation where others would devidence, as by heaven, or by the earth, or by Jerusalem, mand satisfaction. The former of these characters is, or by their head, which are the instances here noted by and ever has been, the favourite of the world. It is the our Saviour. Secondly, some of them, and the Pha-character of great men. There is a dignity in it, which

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universally commands respect. The latter is apt to be deemed poor-spirited, tame, and abject. Yet so it has happened, that with the Founder of Christianity this latter is the subject of His commendation, His precepts, His example; and that the former is so in no part of its composition. This is the character designed in the following passage, ver. 38-44. The morality contained in this is no commonplace, but is truly original. Now it is certainly true, however contrary it may be to popular opinion, that the meek and yielding character possesses most of true worth, both as being most difficult to be acquired and sustained, and as contributing most to the happiness of social life; for, if this disposition were universal, the world would be a society of friends; and, if the disposition be only partial, as is the case in the world; if a few be actuated by it, amongst a multitude who are not, in whatever degree it does prevail, in the same proportion it prevents and terminates quarrels, the great disturbers of human happiness, and the great sources of human misery, as far as happiness and misery depend upon man. Archdeacon Paley.

an eye for an eye, &c.] By a perversion of their law the Jews had conceived that private revenge was permitted. Among the ancient heathens, private revenge was indulged without scruple and without mercy. It was to check this furious ungovernable passion, so universally prevalent, that our Saviour delivers the precepts which follow. Bp. Porteus.

to love our enemies.

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42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of 31. thee turn not thou away.

a

43 Ye have heard that it hath y Deut. 15.8. been said, z Thou shalt love thy z Lev. 19. 18. neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love a Luke 6. 27. your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite- b Luke 23.34. fully use you, and persecute you;

b

Acts 7. 60.

at ver. 39-41,) though they appear in the form of specifick precepts, are intended to be descriptive of disposition and character. A specifick compliance with the precepts would be of little value; but the disposition which they inculcate is of the highest. He, who should content himself with waiting for the occasion, and with literally observing the rule when the occasion offered, would do nothing, or worse than nothing: but he who considers the character and disposition which is hereby inculcated, and places that disposition before him as the model to which he should bring his own, takes perhaps the best possible method of improving the benevolence, and of calming and rectifying the vices, of his temper. Archdeacon Paley.

40.- coat, cloke] The word, rendered coat, means the inner garment or tunick, over which the Jews and other nations threw an outer garment or cloak, when they went abroad, or were not at work. Bp. Pearce.

41.-compel thee to go a mile,] This sort of compulsion was used by the officers of the publick magistrates, especially by such as were couriers, who for expedition seized and made use of the horses, carriages, and sometimes the persons, of those with whom they met, as they had occasion. Bp. Pearce.

43.—and hate thine enemy.] The words are not in the law of Moses; indeed that law expressly commands the love of strangers and of our enemies, in the highest degree, Lev. xix. 18, 34. Our Saviour therefore is, in this passage, not correcting or altering the moral precepts of the law, but opposing the corrupt interpretations of the scribes and Pharisees. Dr. Whitby.

39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil:] No one can imagine that this injunction, and those of the same kind which follow, are to be understood strictly and literally; that we are to submit, without the least 44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies,] By the opposition, to every injury and insult that is offered us, command "to love our enemies," we are required to and are absolutely precluded from every degree of self- have always a favourable disposition of mind towards preservation and self-defence. Common sense, as well them, which will incline us to be just and charitable in as common utility, require that we should consider the our dealings with them; to abstain from all revenge, to particular instances of behaviour under the instances exert a ready forgiveness, to pray for them, to do them here specified, as proverbial and figurative expressions, good offices when it lies in our power. Dr. Jortin. intended to convey a general precept, and to describe It has been objected to this command, that it is extrathat peculiar temper and disposition which the Gospel vagant and impracticable, and that it is impossible for requires; that patience, gentleness, mildness, modera- any man to bring himself to entertain any real love for tion, and forbearance under injuries and affronts, which his enemies. But this objection supposes that we are is best calculated to preserve the peace of our own to love our enemies in the same manner and degree, minds, as well as that of the world at large; which and with the same cordiality and ardour of affection, as tends to soften resentment and turn away wrath; and we do our relations and friends. Our Lord however without which, on one side or the other, provocations is not so severe a taskmaster as to require this at our must be endless, and enmities eternal. Bp. Porteus. It hands. There are different degrees of love, as of every is incidental to our Saviour's mode of instruction, which other human affection, and these degrees are to be duly proceeds not by proof, but upon authority, not by dis- proportioned to the different objects of our regard. quisition, but by precept, that the rules will be conceived There is one degree due to our relations, another to in absolute terms, leaving the application, and the dis-our friends and benefactors, another to strangers, anotinctions that attend it, to the reason of the hearer. It is likewise to be expected that they will be delivered in terms by so much the more forcible and energetick, as they have to encounter natural or general propensities. It is further to be remarked, that many of the strong instances which appear in our Lord's sermon, (as here

ther to our enemies. Bp. Porteus.

-bless them that curse you, &c.] That is, do not retaliate on your enemy; do not return his execrations, his injuries and persecutions with similar treatment; do not turn upon him his own weapons, but endeavour to subdue him with weapons of a celestial temper, with

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31.

Of almsgiving.

45 That ye may be the children of as your Father which is in heaven is
your Father which is in heaven: for perfect.
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust.

© Luke 6, 32. 46 For if ye love them which
love you, what reward have ye? do
not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren
only, what do ye more than others?
do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even

kindness and compassion. Bp. Porteus. The Jewish law had commanded them to love their neighbours, meaning their brethren, and those of their own nation; but our Saviour, by commanding us to love our enemies, has, in the most emphatical manner possible, commanded us to love all men. And to secure the sincerity of our charity towards our enemies, we are required to express it by our hearty prayers to God in their behalf; to God, before whom it is impious and dangerous to dissemble, and from whom we can expect no mercy for ourselves if with feigned lips we beg it of Him for others. Abp. Tillotson.

CHAP. VI.

1 Christ continueth his sermon in the mount,
speaking of alms, 5 prayer, 14 forgiving our
brethren, 16 fasting, 19 where our treasure
is to be laid up, 24 of serving God, and
mammon: 25 exhorteth not to be careful for
worldly things: 33 but to seek God's king.
dom.

TA

AKE heed that ye do not your
alms before men, to be seen of

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others. But the Divine nature is infinitely above any real injury or suffering: God can never stand in need of pity or forgiveness; and yet, of His own mere goodness, without any interest or design, how slow is He to anger, how ready to forgive! Abp. Tillotson.

46.-the publicans] These were the collectors, and some of them perhaps farmers of the customs and other taxes, which the Roman emperors exacted from the Jewish nation. They were all, or some of them at least, Jews; for Matthew was a publican, chap. ix. 9, and, in the next verse here, the Jews seem to be spoken of as their brethren. But, because the Jews in Many wise moralists have represented the desire of general considered the exaction of these customs and revenge as a mark of a noble mind, and the accomplish-taxes as an oppression of their nation, they conceived a ment of it as one of the chief felicities of life. But how much more magnanimous, how much more beneficial to mankind, is forgiveness! It is more magnanimous, because all the generous and exalted feelings of the human mind are requisite to the practice of it; for these alone can enable us to bear the Wrongs and insults of wickedness and folly with patience, and to look down on the perpetrators of them with pity rather than indignation; these alone can teach us, that such are but a part of those sufferings allotted to us in this state of probation, and to know that to overcome evil with good is the most glorious of all victories; it is the most beneficial, because this amiable conduct alone can put an end to an eternal succession of injuries and retaliations; for every retaliation becomes a new injury, and requires another act of revenge for satisfaction. S. Jenyns.

45. That ye may be the children &c.] Raise your virtue and goodness above the common rate of men; at it be so universal as to approach to an imitation of God, who bestows the benefit of His sun and rain on the unjust and wicked, as well as on the just and good. Dr. S. Clarke. God bestows the blessings of His common providence even upon those who are guilty of the greatest provocations against Him. This quality of goodness is a prime excellency and perfection of the Divine nature; and who would not be ambitious to be like the best and most perfect of beings? But with what peculiar force should the example of God operate upon us! Our offences against Him are more and greater than any man ever was or could be guilty of towards us; besides, there are many considerations which ought to restrain us from severity towards our fellow creatures, which can have no place with God. We may justly fear that the consequences of our revenge may return upon ourselves, and that it may come to our own case to stand in need of mercy and forgiveness from others, and therefore, out of necessary caution and prudence, we should take heed not to set any bad example in this kind, lest it should recoil upon ourselves. We, who stand in need so much of forgiveness ourselves, ought in all reason to be easy to forgive

very bad opinion of these publicans, as instrumental in that oppression, and perhaps as adding to it by their behaviour, Luke iii. 13; and on this account they always spake of them as sinners. See chap. ix. 11, &c. Bp. Pearce. They were held infamous among the Jews, because they dealt and conversed much with the Gentiles by the necessity of their trade, and also because, hiring the tributes at a price, they were in habits of raising gain to themselves by severe exactions on the people. Dr. Hammond.

47.-if ye salute your brethren] The Jews were so haughty and uncharitable, that they would not even bestow a salutation on a Gentile or a Samaritan, but only on their brethren. Grotius.

48. Be ye therefore perfect, &c.] Remember that it is your highest perfection and glory to resemble your heavenly Father, as much as you possibly can, in acts of goodness and mercy. Bp. Mann. In your conduct towards your enemies, approach as near as you can to that perfection of mercy which your heavenly Father manifests towards His enemies, towards the evil and the unjust, on whom He makes His sun to rise, as well as on the righteous and the just. Bp. Porteus.

It is the extent principally of the Divine mercy and compassion, discernible in His works, which our Lord here presses. Your Father, He says, is bountiful to the evil as well as the good: go ye therefore and do likewise, and learn from hence to love your enemies as well as your friends, to do good to those who hate you as well as to those who love you. He here recommends not only the temper of mercy which is natural to the Deity, but also that extensive exercise of it, that perfection of goodness, which shone forth in all His works. Bp. Sherlock.

Chap. VI. ver. 1. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, &c.] In the passages which follow, we have strong and repeated cautions to avoid all shew and ostentation in the performance of our religious duties, instanced in the acts of giving alms, of praying, and of fasting. Here is a marked disapprobation of every thing that looks like parade, vain-glory, insin

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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

cerity, or hypocrisy in the discharge of our Christian duties. We here see in the clearest light the spirit and temper of the Christian religion, which is modest, silent, retired, quiet, unobtrusive, shunning the observation and the applause of men, and looking only to the approbation of Him who sees every thought of our hearts, and every secret motive of our actions. We have here established, as the grand principle for every disciple of Christ, that, in every part of his moral and religious conduct, he is to have no other object in view than the favour of God. Bp. Porteus.

how to pray.

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.

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7 But when ye pray, use not vain brepetitions, as the heathen do: for b Ecclus. 7. 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

Bp. Porteus.

6. But thou, when thou prayest, &c.] It should be well observed, that it is of private prayer only that our Lord is here speaking; and the hypocrites whom He condemns were those ostentatious Jews, who performed those devotions, which ought to have been confined to the closet, in the synagogues, and even the publick streets, that they might be noticed and applauded for their extraordinary piety and sanctity. His expressions cannot possibly be considered as implying a disapprobation of publick devotion in places of publick worship; for we find, in various parts of Scripture, publick worWe are not to suppose that, in this or any other pas-ship enjoined as a duty of the highest importance. sage, the pursuit of fame is stated as a vice; it is only said, that an action to be virtuous must be independent of any such motive. We should observe also, that it is not publicity, but ostentation, that is prohibited; not the mode, but the motive of the action which is regulated. A good man will prefer that mode, as well as those objects of his beneficence, by which he can produce the greatest effect; and the view of this purpose may dictate sometimes the publication, sometimes the concealment, of his action. Either the one or the other may be the mode of the action, according as the end to be promoted by it seems to require. But from the motive of the action, the reputation which is to arise from it, and the fruits and advantage of that reputation to ourselves, must be shut out; or, in whatever proportion they are not so, in that proportion the action fails of being virtuous. Archdeacon Paley.

2.-do not sound a trumpet.] This is a figurative way of speaking, to express ostentation and a desire of having their alms seen and commended. Bp. Pearce.

-They have their reward.] The applause of men shall be their only reward, and they must expect no other from God. Dr. S. Clarke.

3.-let not thy left hand know, &c.] A proverbial expression, implying that in almsgiving all unnecessary disclosure should be avoided.

We are by no means to infer from hence, that we are on no occasion to give our alms in publick. In some cases, publicity is so far from being culpable, that it is necessary, useful, and laudable. Bp. Porteus. See Archdeacon Paley's note on ver. 1.

5.-pray standing.] It was customary for the Jews to pray standing. See Mark xi. 25; Luke xviii. 11, 13. Yet on their more solemn days of fasting, they were wont to kneel, and even prostrate themselves before the Lord. Dr. Whitby.

7.-use not vain repetitions,] The sense here is variously rendered; Use not much speaking, vain and unseasonable speaking. The words seem to condemn prayers lengthened out upon the supposition that we shall be heard for much speaking; they shew that long and earnest entreaties to God are unavailing while we continue in sin, and they recommend that, in our customary addresses to God, we should use words as comprehensive, general, and free from needless repetitions as we can. Dr. Whitby. He tells His disciples that they ought not to lay their wants before God in a superperfluous abundance of words, nor hope to extort His favour by such absurd methods. Dr. Jortin.

——as the heathen do:] Thus, in one place of the Greek poet Eschylus, near a hundred verses are filled with a repetition of the same invocations of the gods. So, 1 Kings xviii. 26, the priests of Baal called from morning till noon. The Ephesians, Acts xix. 34, repeated, "Great is Diana," for the space of two hours. Dr. Hammond.

8.-for your Father knoweth &c.] Since this is given as the reason why we should not imitate the heathen in using vain repetitions, it implies on what accounts the heathens used to do so; that is, as questioning His omniscience, and therefore speaking thus for the purpose of imparting to Him what He did not know, or inculcating what He was unwilling immediately to attend to, or of suggesting again what He had forgotten. Dr. Whitby.

9. After this manner therefore pray ye:] The Lord's Prayer stands unrivalled in every circumstance that constitutes the perfection of prayer, and the excellence of that species of composition. It is concise, it is perspicuous, it is solemn, it is comprehensive; it is adapted to all ranks, conditions, and classes of men; it fixes our

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thoughts on a few great important points, and impresses on our minds a deep sense of the goodness and the greatness of that Almighty Being to whom it is addressed. It begins with acknowledging Him to be our most gracious and merciful Father; it begs that His name may be every where reverenced, that His religion may spread over the earth, and that His will may be obeyed by men with the same ardour, and alacrity, and constancy, that it is by the angels in heaven. It next entreats the supply of all our essential wants, both temporal and spiritual; a sufficiency of those things that are absolutely necessary for our subsistence; the forgiveness of our transgressions, on condition that we forgive our brethren; and, finally, support under the temptations that assault our virtue, and deliverance from the various evils and calamities that every where surround us; expressing at the same time the utmost trust and confidence in the power of God, to grant whatever He sees it expedient and proper for His creatures to receive. Bp. Porteus.

The Lord's Prayer, for a succession of solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention on a few great points, for suitableness to every condition, for sufficiency, for conciseness without obscurity, for the weight and real importance of its petitions, is without an equal or a rival. Archdeacon Paley.

Of all the applications to the Supreme Being which are extant, and are of a general nature, not receiving an additional force from the uncommon or moving circumstances of those who made them, this now before us, the prayer of our Lord, is undoubtedly the best; being at once the most rational and the most devout. It would have been so esteemed by all judges, if the name of its author had never been known to us; so that, whether we consider the preaching or the prayer of our Redeemer, the observation is equally just, that never man spake like this man." John vii. 46. Dr. Ogden.

This prayer is called the Lord's Prayer, because it was taught us by our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray unto God the Father. It consists of three general parts: the introduction, "Our Father which art in heaven;" the petitions; and the doxology or conclusion with praises to God. Abp. Wake, Oxford Catechism.

Our Father] God is the Father of the universe; all nature owes its being and support to Him. He bears a nearer degree of the same relation to all spiritual beings, endowed with intelligence and capable of virtue; who have received a greater portion of His kindness and care, and shew or may shew a stronger resemblance of their Divine Parent. Of man, in particular, it is said, that he was created in the image of God; and he is styled His son. A good man may with still better hopes make use of this endearing appellation, and a good Christian above all. He is born again, from above, by the operation of the same Divine Spirit, by which the eternal Word was incarnate, and became the Redeemer of men: and he is made an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ. By Him he is taught and authorized, as he is prompted by that Spirit, to lay claim to the relation, and by it to address his applications to the Maker of all things. Dr. Ogden.

Our Father which art in heaven,] By the words "our Father" we express not only the absolute authority, but the unspeakable goodness of God; and by the

how to pray.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

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

Anno DOMINI 31.

words, "which art in heaven," we acknowledge His glory and power. God is our Father, as having created us in common with all other beings: in a stricter sense, the Father of us rational creatures, as having created us in His own image and likeness, also as exercising a fatherly care and providence over us; and in a more peculiar sense the Father of Christians, as having united them by faith unto His Son our "head," 1 Cor. xi. 3, and made us His children by adoption, "heirs of Himself, and joint-heirs with Christ," Rom. viii. 17. We address Him as being "in heaven," not as if His spiritual essence could cease to be every where present, but because the Scriptures represent Him as manifesting the more visible tokens of His inexpressible Majesty in heaven, which is His "throne" and "tabernacle," Ps. xi. 4; Heb. viii. 1, 2; where He receives the homage of His holy angels, and issues forth His commands for the government of the world. Abp. Secker. By saying, "our Father," and not "my Father," we are taught to pray in brotherly charity for others, as well as for ourselves. Oxford Catechism.

- Hallowed be thy name.] The "name" of God means here God Himself, His person and attributes; and to hallow His name signifies to think of Him as a holy being, and to behave towards Him accordingly. By this petition therefore we beg of God that His glorious name and our holy profession be not blasphemed, but glorified by ourselves and others, in thought, word, and deed. Abp. Secker, Oxford Catechism.

10. Thy kingdom come.] By the coming of God's kingdom is meant the establishment of His spiritual kingdom where it is not received, and the enlargement of it where it is received. Oxford Catechism. In this petition therefore we especially pray that all men may more clearly know, and more worthily obey, the true and only God; that to this end the borders of His church may be enlarged, and the dominion of sin and Satan destroyed; and also that His eternal kingdom may be enlarged, the fulness of His saints be accomplished, and the blessed time come when all shall be translated into His heavenly kingdom. Abp. Wake.

-Thy will be done &c.] As God declares His will to us by the dispensations of His providence, and by His revealed word, so with respect to both these we are here taught to pray, that we may all continue His obedient and constant servants, seriously considering His commandments and the ways of His providence, discerning what it is that He would have us do or suffer, improving His blessings to the glory of His name, and patiently enduring whatever He may call upon us to suffer for His sake. And that we may thus do the will of God, as the angels in heaven do, with all readiness, cheerfulness, constancy, and delight. Abp. Wake.

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11.-this day] In St. Luke xi. 3, “day by day.”

our daily bread.] The word here translated daily" occurs not in any Greek author. It seems, from its derivation, either to mean "of the day approaching," whether the present day, or the morrow; "for the future," the remainder of our lives, whether long or short; or else "that which is sufficient, suited for our subsistence." Under the name of "bread" is undoubtedly comprehended all that is necessary for sustaining human nature; meat, drink, and clothing. Drs. Hammond and Whitby.

We present this petition to God, not to exclude our

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