Bible Studies From The Daily Office Tuesday April 30, 2024

The Collect

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:

Psalm 61; 62
Leviticus 16:20–34

Gospel: Matthew 6:7–15

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.

Commentary**:**

Jesus knew, that the disciples would pray, indeed he knew that all of his followers, even until this very day, would pray. “You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray. For this shall every one that is godly pray.” (Henry)

Jesus also knew that he had to set an example, he had to establish a standard for his disciples—and us—to follow, so that we would pray in the correct manner. Although verses 5 and 6 are not included in the verses suggested by the lectionary for today’s study, 5 and 6, address the bad prayer habits of the Pharisees while 7 and 8 are critical of the habits of the Gentiles.

In reference to the Pharisees, Jesus said; “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.” (v. 5a) The Pharisees believed that religiosity, piety, was not in a personal relationship with God, but one’ religiosity was measured by his outward performance. Thus they would stand in public, be it in the synagogue or on a street corner, and make a big show of their petition(s) to the Father. They presumed the bigger the scene they made, the grander their religiosity would appear to God. According to Jesus, “They have their reward.” (v. 5b) the only reward they would receive, was that of the presumptions of man.

Verse 6, instructs us to pray in private, our Lord often sought out the privacy and seclusion offered in a garden. “ Instead of praying in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, enter into thy closet, into some place of privacy and retirement. Isaac went into the field (Gen. 24:63), Christ to a mountain, Peter to a housetop. No place amiss in point of ceremony, if it do but answer the end. Note, Secret prayer is to be performed in retirement, that we may be unobserved, and so may avoid ostentation; undisturbed, and so may avoid distraction; unheard, and so may use greater freedom; yet if the circumstances be such that we cannot possibly avoid being taken notice of, we must not therefore neglect the duty, lest the omission be a greater scandal than the observation of it.” (Henry)

“ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,” (v. 6a) “The specific ancient Greek word “closet” was used for a storeroom where treasures were kept. This reminds us that there are treasures waiting for us in our prayer closet. Jesus certainly did not prohibit public prayer, but our prayers should always be directed to God and not towards man. The idea is of a private place where we can impress no one except God.” (Guzik)

In verses 7 and 8 Jesus addressed the bad habits of those outside the faith, those religious practices other than Judaism—that which the disciples were familiar with—which in effect also established a foundation, a standard, for prayer in that which would become Christianity.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (v. 7) The story in 1 Kings 18:21-40 contains a general rebuke by Elijah of the people “for mixing the worship of God and the worship of Baal together. Not only some Israelites worshipped God and others Baal, but the same Israelites sometimes worshipped one and sometimes the other.” (Henry) In verse 26 we find an example of vain repetitious prayer by those presumed to be examples of “the heathen” Jesus was speaking of, they “...called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered.” (I kings 18:26b)

“In Acts 19:34 a mob in Ephesus shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for two hours. The true God isn’t impressed by the length or eloquence of our prayers, but the heart.” (Guzik)

“Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue. The eloquence of prayer consists in the fervency of desire, and the simplicity of faith.” (Clarke)

When we try to impress God (or worse, other people) with our many words, we deny that God is a loving, yet holy Father. Instead, we should follow the counsel of Ecclesiastes 5: “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.” (Ecc 5:1-3)

“The NIV translates the phrase vain repetitions as “keep on babbling.” That may be an accurate sense of the ancient Greek word battalogeo, which may be a word that sounds like “babbling” and has the sense of “blah-blah-blah.”” (Guzik)

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (v. 8) “"It need not be your way, for your Father in heaven knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him, and therefore there is no occasion for such abundance of words. It does not follow that therefore ye need not pray; for God requires you by prayer to own your need of him and dependence on him, and to please his promises; but therefore you are to open your case, and pour out your hearts before him, and then leave it with him."” (Henry)

“ We don’t pray to tell God things that He didn’t know before we told Him. We pray to commune with and appeal to a loving God who wants us to bring every need and worry before His throne.” (Guzik)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (v. 9)

“ So many were the corruptions that had crept into this duty of prayer among the Jews, that Christ saw it needful to give a new directory for prayer, to show his disciples what must ordinarily be the matter and method of their prayer, which he gives in words that may very well be used as a form; as the summary or contents of the several particulars of our prayers.” (Henry)

“After this manner ” “In contrast with ostentatious prayer or thoughtless prayer, Jesus gives his disciples a model. But it is only a model: ‘ After this manner [not what] therefore pray ye*.’*” (Carson)

“After this manner ” “We may use the Paternoster, but we are not bound to use it. It is not in turn to become a fetish. Reformers do not arise to break old fetters only in order to forge new ones.” (Bruce)

“Not that we are tied up to the use of this form only, or of this always, as if this were necessary to the consecrating of our other prayers; we are here bid to pray after this manner, with these words, or to this effect.” (Henry)

“Our Father which art in heaven” Jesus begins his lesson on how to pray, by suggesting an introduction—to the disciples (who were Jews)—that was controversial: “It was very unusual for the Jews of that day to call God “Father” because it was considered too intimate.” (Guzik) As Christians we use the phrase “Our Father” in recogntion of who we pray too, using a privileged title that demonstrates a privileged relationship.

“The preface, Our Father who art in heaven. Before we come to our business, there must be a solemn address to him with whom our business lies; Our Father. Intimating, that we must pray, not only alone and for ourselves, but with and for others; for we are members one of another, and are called into fellowship with each other.” (Henry)

“This is a prayer focused on community; Jesus said “Our Father” and not “My Father.” “The whole prayer is social. The singular pronoun is absent. Man enters the presence of the Father, and then prays as one of the great family.” (Morgan)

“By locating God above all, acknowledging the name of God as holy, privileging God’s kingdom and will, and petitioning for the gifts of daily bread, forgiveness, mercy to those in our debt, and deliverance from trial and the wicked, the prayer of Matthew 6 provides a remarkably streamlined, but robust and clear outline for what prayers ought to include. It is also scaffolding to unlock the architecture of later verses. ” (Liu)

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (v. 10)

“Jesus wanted us to pray with the desire that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no disobedience and no obstacles to God’s will; on earth there is disobedience and at least apparent obstacles to His will. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will want to see His will done as freely on earth as it is in heaven.” (Guzik)

“Thy kingdom come*.” “This petition has plainly a reference to the doctrine which Christ preached at this time, which John Baptist had preached before, and which he afterwards sent his apostles out to preach—the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of your Father who is in heaven, the kingdom of the Messiah, this is at hand, pray that it may come.*” (Henry)

“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”“We pray that God's kingdom being come, we and others may be brought into obedience to all the laws and ordinances of it. By this let it appear that Christ's kingdom is come, let God's will be done; and by this let is appear that it is come as a kingdom of heaven, let it introduce a heaven upon earth.” (Henry)

“Matthew’s story knows that the world is not as it should be, that murderous power holds the throne, and that there is a real need (not just a pious inclination) to ask that God’s dominion come and that God’s will actually be done, for once” (Swanson)

“The prayer calls for the coming of God’s kingdom and will on earth. In other words, ‘May things on earth be as they ought to be, just like they are in heaven: characterized by your benevolent will and just kingdom.’” (Simpson)

“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (vs. 11-12)

“Give us this day our daily bread.” “We might be reminded of another time when God provided a bread-like substance each day for God’s people. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, God provided them manna daily (Exodus 16). The people could not store up extra for themselves because the manna would spoil. But there it was, every day. And it was readily available to all the people. No one had to earn it. No one had to pay for it. It was there, and it was enough. ” (Simpson)

“Give us this day our daily bread.” “Because our natural being is necessary to our spiritual well-being in this world, therefore, after the things of God's glory, kingdom, and will, we pray for the necessary supports and comforts of this present life, which are the gifts of God, and must be asked of him. Every word here has a lesson in it: (1.) We ask for bread; that teaches us sobriety and temperance; we ask for bread, not dainties, not superfluities; that which is wholesome, though it be not nice. (2.) We ask for our bread; that teaches us honesty and industry: we do not ask for the bread out of other people's mouths, not the bread of deceit (Prov. 20:17), not the brad of idleness (Prov. 31:27), but the bread honestly gotten. (3.) We ask for our daily bread; which teaches us not to take thought for the morrow (v. 34), but constantly to depend upon divine Providence, as those that live from hand to mouth. (4.) We beg of God to give it us, not sell it us, nor lend it us, but give it. The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread, (5.) We pray, "Give it to us; not to me only, but to others in common with me." This teaches us charity, and a compassionate concern for the poor and needy. It intimates also, that we ought to pray with our families; we and our households eat together, and therefore ought to pray together. ” (Henry)

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” “ Jesus’ prayer asks for release from debts, presuming that “we also have forgiven our debtors.” Richard Swanson, in his Working Preacher commentary on Matthew 6:7–21, points out that Jesus’ words acknowledge “that the world is a web of debt and obligation.” Swanson describes the systems of tribute-debt for Jews under Hellenistic rule that marginalized ordinary people by pushing them off their land. He also writes about the ways systems of debt (and debt release!) affect people of all walks of life ” (Simpson)

“Our sins are our debts; there is a debt of duty, which, as creatures, we owe to our Creator; we do not pray to be discharged from that, but upon the non-payment of that there arises a debt of punishment; in default of obedience to the will of God, we become obnoxious to the wrath of God; and for not observing the precept of the law, we stand obliged to the penalty. A debtor is liable to process, so are we; a malefactor is a debtor to the law, so are we.” (Henry)

“Sin is represented here under the notion of a debt, and as our sins are many, they are called here debts. God made man that he might live to his glory, and gave him a law to walk by; and if, when he does any thing that tends not to glorify God, he contracts a debt with Divine Justice.” (Clarke)

“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.” (v. 13)

“And lead us not into temptation,” “ Having prayed that the guilt of sin may be removed, we pray, as it is fit, that we may never return again to folly, that we may not be tempted to it. It is not as if God tempted any to sin; but, "Lord, do not let Satan loose upon us; chain up that roaring lion, for he is subtle and spiteful; Lord, do not leave us to ourselves (Ps. 19:13), for we are very weak; Lord, do not lay stumbling-blocks and snares before us, nor put us into circumstances that may be an occasion of falling." Temptations are to be prayed against, both because of the discomfort and trouble of them, and because of the danger we are in of being overcome by them, and the guilt and grief that then follow. ” (Henry)

“Temptation literally means a test, not always a solicitation to do evil. God has promised to keep us from any testing that is greater than what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).” (Guzik)

“God, while he does not ‘tempt’ men to do evil (James 1:13), does allow his children to pass through periods of testing. But disciples, aware of their weakness, should not desire such testing, and should pray to be spared exposure to such situations in which they are vulnerable.” (France)

“but deliver us from evil:” “Lord, deliver us from the evil of the world, the corruption that is in the world through lust; from the evil of every condition in the world; from the evil of death; from the sting of death, which is sin: deliver us from ourselves, from our own evil hearts: deliver us from evil men, that they may not be a snare to us, nor we a prey to them. ” (Henry)

“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.” (vs. 14-15)

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” “Forgiveness is required for those who have been forgiven. We are not given the luxury of holding on to our bitterness towards other people.” (Guzik)

“Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offence against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own.” (Stott)

“Not as if this were the only condition required; there must be repentance and faith, and new obedience; but as where other graces are in truth, there will be this, so this will be a good evidence of the sincerity of our other graces. He that relents toward his brother, thereby shows that he repents toward his God. Those which in the prayer are called debts, are here called trespasses, debts of injury, wrongs done to us in our bodies, goods, or reputation: trespasses is an extenuating term for offences, paraptoµmata—stumbles, slips, falls.” (Henry)

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” “Jesus has much more to say about forgiveness (Matthew 9:2-6, 18:21-35, and Luke 17:3-4). Here, the emphasis is on the imperative of forgiveness; on the fact that it is not an option.” (Guzik)

“But if you forgive not those that have injured you, that is a bad sign you have not the other requisite conditions, but are altogether unqualified for pardon: and therefore your Father, whom you call Father, and who, as a father, offers you his grace upon reasonable terms, will nevertheless not forgive you. And if other grace be sincere, and yet you be defective greatly in forgiving, you cannot expect the comfort of your pardon, but to have your spirit brought down by some affliction or other to comply with this duty." Note, Those who would have found mercy with God must show mercy to their brethren; no can we expect that he should stretch out the hands of his favour to us, unless we lift up to him pure hands, without wrath, 1 Tim. 2:8. If we pray in anger, we have reason to fear God will answer in anger. It has been said, Prayers made in wrath are written in gall. What reason is it that God should forgive us the talents we are indebted to him, if we forgive not our brethren the pence they are indebted to us? Christ came into the world as the great Peace-Maker, and not only to reconcile us to God, but one to another, and in this we must comply with him. It is great presumption and of dangerous consequence, for any to make a light matter of that which Christ here lays such a stress upon. Men's passions shall not frustrate God's word.” (Henry)

Benediction

Jesus called us to be the salt and light of the world, so as to make his kingdom a reality among us and to bring it to those around us by our words and deeds. The way to do this is to live as he lived: for others, in love and service. Almighty God, we ask you to continue to bless us and prepare us for this task. We ask these things in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Our Father knew exactly what He was doing when He created us. He made us enough alike to love each other, but enough different that we would need to unite our strengths and stewardships to create a whole.

--Sheri L. Dew

Announcements:

For the time being the Daily Office will not be daily, but bi-weekly. Two to three hours daily are required to put together these studies and to publish them on nearly fifty platforms across the ‘net, such a schedule has cut in the time allotted for other pursuits, such as prayer, study of God’s Word, and other obligations, both of spiritual concerns as well as worldly. I humbly beg your indulgence, and forgiveness.

Bible Studies From The Daily Office, is an outreach ministry designed to encourage the viewer to read one Old Testament or Epistle, a Psalm, and a Gospel selection everyday. Following each Gospel reading is a commentary designed to help the reader understand the traditional meaning of God’s Holy Word.