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Talking to the Father! A HANDBOOK ON PRAYER Copyright
by John L. Chopores BOOKS USED- AHD-AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY ASP-THE ART OF SUCCESSFUL PRAYING
(by. GORDON LINDSAY.) BULLINGER-A CRITICAL LEXICON AND
CONCORDANCE TO THE ENGLISH AND GREEK NEW TESTAMENT (BY. Ethelbert W.
Bullinger.) CWSNT-THE COMPLETE WORD STUDY NEW
TESTAMENT (by. Zodhiates) EMB-THE Complete Works OF E. M.
BOUNDS.
PICK-DICTIONARY OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT WORDS FOR ENGLISH READERS (BY. AARON PICK.) IYPPT-INCREASE YOUR PRAYER POWER
TENFOLD (BY. GORDON LINDSAY.) NBD-NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY PCW-PRAYING TO CHANGE THE WORLD
(BY. GORDON LINDSAY.) PTMM-PRAYER THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS!
(BY.GORDON LINDSAY.) PF-PRAYER AND FASTING (BY.GORDON
LINDSAY.) VINE-AN EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT WORDS (W.E. VINE.) HBD-Harper’s Bible DICTIONARY Some word Studies-
pray (prł) v. prayed, pray·ing, prays. --intr. 1. To utter or address a
prayer or prayers to God, a god, or another object of worship. 2. To make a fervent
request or an entreaty. --tr. 1. To utter or say a prayer or prayers to; address by prayer. 2. To ask (someone)
imploringly; beseech. Now often used elliptically for I pray you to
introduce a request or an entreaty. 3. To make a devout or earnest request for. 4. To move or bring by
prayer or entreaty. Prayer- prayer, the act of petitioning, praising, giving thanks, or
confessing to God; it is expressed by several different words in both the ot and the nt. Prayer can be individual or corporate, audible or silent.
It is conditioned by the biblical understanding of God as a personal being who
hears the prayers of his people (1 Kings 9:3; Pss. 34:15; 65:2; Matt. 7:11; 1
John 5:15) In the ot: The
earliest instances of prayer in the ot
are conversations between persons and God. Such conversations take place
between God and Adam (Gen. 3:9-12), Abraham (Gen. 15:1-6), and Moses (Exod.
3:1-4:17). It is said that God spoke to Moses ‘face to face, as a man speaks to
his friend’ (Exod. 33:11). Kings (1 Sam. 23:2-4; 1 Kings 3:5-14) and prophets
(1 Sam. 3:4-9; Isa. 6:1-13; Jer. 1:4-19) are portrayed as conversation partners
with God (frequently the divine presence is by way of visions or dreams). The forms of prayer in the ot include petitions for guidance,
requests for divine help, intercessions, praise and thanksgiving, and
confession…. As in the ot, the
prayers of the nt are of several
kinds. Paul frequently gives thanks for the faith and witness of those to whom
he writes (Rom. 1:8-9; 1 Cor. 1:4; Phil. 1:3-5), and worship regularly includes
prayers of thanksgiving (1 Cor. 14:16-17) and praise (Acts 2:47). Prayers are
to be offered for daily needs (Matt. 6:11; 7:11; Phil. 4:6) and for the healing
of the sick (James 5:13-16). Intercessions are made by Paul for his
congregations (Rom. 15:13; Phil. 1:9-11), and he asks for their intercessions
(Rom. 15:30-32; 2 Cor. 1:11; 1 Thess. 5:25). Intercessions are to be made for
all persons, including rulers, that a peaceable life may be enjoyed by all (1
Tim. 2:1-2). There are prayers for forgiveness (Luke 18:13; cf. Matt. 6:12) and
guidance (Acts 1:24-25; 6:6; 13:2-3). Christ and the Spirit take on
special roles in the prayers of the nt.
Prayers are offered directly to Christ (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 1:2), although not
frequently.[HBD]. In the Bible prayer is worship that
includes all the attitudes of the human spirit in its approach to God. The
Christian worships God when he adores, confesses, praises and supplicates him
in prayer. This highest activity of which the human spirit is capable may also
be thought of as communion with God, so long as due emphasis is laid upon
divine initiative. A man prays because God has already touched his spirit.
Prayer in the Bible is not a ‘natural response’ (see Jn. 4:24). ‘That which is
born of the flesh is flesh.‘ Consequently, the Lord does not ‘hear’ every
prayer (Is. 1:15; 29:13). The biblical doctrine of prayer emphasizes the
character of God, the necessity of a man’s being in saving or covenant relation
with him, and his entering fully into all the privileges and obligations of
that relation with God.[NBD]. AMEN. Heb. Őameµn, ‘surely’, from a root meaning ‘to be firm, steady,
trustworthy’; cf. ŐemuĆnaĆ, ‘faithfulness,
Őemet_,
‘truth’.[NBD]. “There are cases where the people
used it to express their assent to a law and their willingness to submit to the
penalty attached to the breach of it, Deut. 27:15, cp. Neh. 5:13. It is also
used to express acquiescence in another’s prayer, 1 Kings 1:36, where it is
defined as ‘(let) God say so too,’ or in another’s thanksgiving, 1 Chron.
16:36, whether by an individual, Jer. 11:5, or by the congregation, Psa.
106:48.[1]… “The individual also said ‘Amen’ to
express his ‘let it be so’ in response to the Divine ‘thus it shall be,’ Rev.
22:20. Frequently the speaker adds ‘Amen’ to his own prayers and doxologies, as
is the case at Eph. 3:21, e.g. “The Lord Jesus often used ‘Amen,’
translated ‘verily,’ to introduce new revelations of the mind of God. In John’s
Gospel it is always repeated, ‘Amen, Amen,’ but not elsewhere. Luke does not
use it at all, but where Matthew, 16:28, and Mark, 9:1, have ‘Amen,’ Luke has
‘of a truth;’ thus by varying the translation of what the Lord said, Luke
throws light on His meaning.”* See Verily.[2] A.
Amen in the OT and Judaism. The OT uses
the term in relation to both individuals and the community 1. to confirm the
acceptance of tasks whose performance depends on God’s will (1 Kgs. 1:36), 2.
to confirm the application of divine threats or curses (Num. 5:22), and 3. to
attest the praise of God in response to doxology (1 Chr. 16:36). In every case
acknowledgment of what is valid or binding is implied. In Judaism Amen is
widely used, e.g., in response to praises, to the Aaronic blessing of Num.
6:24ff., to vows, and to prayers. It denotes concurrence, or in the case of a
vow commitment, or at the end of one’s own prayer the hope for its fulfilment.
The LXX mostly renders the Hebrew term by geŒnoito, which retains the idea of
validity but weakens that of commitment to a claim. B. ameŒn in the NT and Early
Christianity. The NT mostly takes over the Hebrew as it stands and uses it
in three ways. 1.
As an acclamation in worship, it signifies response (Rev. 5:14; cf. Justin Apology
65.3; Did. 10.6). 2.
At the conclusion of prayers and doxologies (e.g., Gal. 1:5; Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim.
1:17; 1 Clem. 20.12 for doxologies, 1 Clem. 45.8; Mart. Pol. 14.3 for prayers),
it expresses the priority of prayer and doxology. Along the same lines it can
occur at the end of a prophecy (Rev. 1:7) or book (Gal. 6:18; Rev. 22:20). It
can also be put at the beginning of a doxology, especially where a transition
is made (Rev. 19:4). In Rev. 1:7 it is set close to the divine Yes, but Rev.
22:20 shows that it is the church’s answer to the divine Yes, which is here the
basis of the eschatological petition. The sense in 2 Cor. 1:20 is the same, for
God’s Yes in Christ is the firm foundation for the Amen of the community.
Christ himself as the true witness can be called “the Amen” in his own response
to the divine Yes that is declared in him (Rev. 3:14). 3.
When Jesus places Amen before his own sayings, both in the Synoptics and
(liturgically doubled) in John, the point is to stress the truth and validity
of the sayings by his own acknowledgment of them. The sayings vary in content
but all relate to the history of the kingdom of God as this is bound up with
his own person, so that in the Amen we have all Christology in a nutshell.
Acknowledging his word, Jesus affirms it in his life and thus makes it a claim
on others. [H. Schlier, I, 335-38] améŒantos ® miaéŒnoµ[3] amen { am-ane’} of Hebrew origin 543; TDNT - 1:335,53; particle
indeclinable AV - verily 101, amen 51; 152 GK - 297 { ajmhvn } 1) firm 1a) metaph.
faithful 2) verily, amen 2a) at the
beginning of a discourse - surely, truly, of a truth 2b) at the end -
so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled. It was a custom, which passed over
from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or
discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and
thus made the substance of what was uttered their own. The word “amen” is a most remarkable
word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New
Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that
it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in
human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost identical -- to
the Hebrew word for “believe” (amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean “sure”
or “truly”, an expression of absolute trust and confidence. -- HMM[4] erotao, to interrogate, to ask, implying familiarity,if
not equality; hence, never used of our prayers to God, while it is used of
Christ's prayers to the Father,(John xiv.16;xvi.26;xvii.9,15,20; and compare
the two in John xvi.23, and 1 John v.16.) What prayer is- Prayer
is seven things it is- 1. Prayer as communion. Fellowship with God, is opening the heart to God. 2. Prayer as Submission. “Submission always involves the will, it does not
dismiss the will. …submission means getting into line with the Divine mind. …
submission in not merely the suppression of desire, but it is the bringing of
desire into line with the Divine will and if needs be changing desire.” [TT.]. 3. Prayer as Petition. “… the objectively efficacy of prayer- that is, that prayer has the
power to change things objectively, not merely to have an influence upon us
inwardly; prayer brings answers outside of ourselves … [TT.]. Petitioual prayer
needs communion and submission. It comes out of a heart-fellowship with God.
And should be in line with God’s will for the World and us. It is an act of
faith. 4. Prayer as Co-operation. “Co-operation is the motive,… it is the glory of
prayer. The motive of prayer is co-operation with God.” [TT.]. 5. Prayer as Conflict or Warfare. 6. Prayer as Education and training. “Education has to do with obtaining knowledge.
Training has to do with moral worth in practical expression.” [TT.]. 7. Prayer as Worship. 1. Come in faith. 2. Come in holiness 3. Come in with responsibility. John Calvin’s four laws of
prayer- 1.”Let
the first rule of right prayer then be, to have our heart and mind framed as
becomes those who are entering into converse with God. This we shall
accomplish in regard to the mind, if, laying aside carnal thoughts and cares
which might interfere with the
direct and pure contemplation of God, it not only be wholly intent on prayer,
but also, as far as possible, be born and raised above itself. …What I say is,
that all foreign and extraneous cares must be dispelled by which the mind might
be driven to and fro in vague suspense, be drawn down from heaven, and kept
groveling on the earth.” a. First, let every one in professing to
pray turn thither all his thoughts and feelings, and be not (as is usual)
distracted by wandering thoughts; because nothing is more contrary to the
reverence due to God than that levity which bespeaks a mind too much given to
license and devoid of fear. 2.
“Another
rule of prayer is, that in asking we must always truly feel our wants, and
seriously considering that we need all the things which we ask, accompany the
prayer with a sincere, nay, ardent desire of obtaining them. One
of the requisites of legitimate prayer is repentance. Hence the common declaration of Scripture,
that God does not listen to the wicked; that their prayers, as well as their
sacrifices, are an abomination to him. For it is right that those who seal up
their hearts should find the ears of God closed against them, that those who,
by their hard-heartedness, provoke his severity should find him inflexible. In
Isaiah he thus threatens: “When ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your
hands are full of blood,” (Isaiah 1:15). In like manner, in Jeremiah, “Though
they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them,” (Jeremiah 11:7, 8, 11),
because he regards it as the highest insult for the wicked to boast of his
covenant while profaning his sacred name by their whole lives. Hence he
complains in Isaiah: “This people draw near to me with their mouth, and with
their lips do honor me; but have removed their heart far from men,” (Isaiah
29:13). 3. The
third rule to be added is: that he who comes into the presence of God to pray
must divest himself of all vainglorious thoughts, lay aside all idea of worth;
in short, discard all self-confidence, humbly giving God the whole glory, lest
by arrogating any thing, however little, to himself, vain pride cause him to
turn away his face. 4. The fourth rule of
prayer is, that notwithstanding of our being thus abased and truly humbled, we
should be animated to pray with the sure hope of succeeding. | Nine elements which are essential to
true prayer 1. Adoration 2.
Confession 3.
Restitution 4.
Thanksgiving 5.
Forgiveness 6.
Unity 7.
Faith 8.
Petition 9.
Submission "A comprehensive view of the
subject will show that there are nine elements which are essential to true
prayer. The first is Adoration; we cannot meet God on a level at the start. We
must approach Him as One far beyond our reach or sight. The next is Confession;
sin must be put out of the way. We cannot have any communion with God while
there is any transgression between us. If there stands some wrong you have done
a man, you cannot expect that man’s favor until you go to him and confess the
fault. Restitution is another; we have to make good the wrong, wherever
possible. Thanksgiving is the next; we must be thankful for what God has done
for us already. Then comes Forgiveness, and then Unity; and then for prayer,
such as these things produce, there must be Faith. Thus influenced, we shall be
ready to offer direct Petition. We hear a good deal of praying that is just
exhorting, and if you did not see the man’s eyes closed, you would suppose he
was preaching. Then, much that is called prayer is simply finding fault. There
needs to be more petition in our prayers. After all these, there must come Submission.
While praying, we must be ready to accept the will of God. We shall consider
these nine elements in detail, closing our inquiries by giving incidents illustrative
of the certainty of our receiving, under such conditions, Answers to Prayer…
This has been defined as
the act of rendering Divine honor, including in it reverence, esteem and love.
It literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth, “to kiss the hand;” in
Eastern countries this is one of the great marks of respect and submission. The
importance of coming before God in this spirit is great, therefore it is so
often impressed upon us in the Word of God…. CONFESSION. Another element in true
prayer is Confession. I do not want Christian friends to think that I am
talking to the unsaved. I think we, as Christians, have a good many sins to
confess. If you go back to the
Scripture records, you will find that the men who lived nearest to God, and had
most power with Him, were those who confessed their sins and failures. Daniel,
as we have seen, confessed his sins and those of his people. Yet there is
nothing recorded against Daniel. He was one of the best men then on the face of
the earth, yet was his confession of sin one of the deepest and most humble on
record. Brooks, referring to Daniel’s confession, says: “In these words you
have seven circumstances that Daniel useth in confessing of his and the
people’s sins; and all to heighten and aggravate them. First, ‘We have sinned;’
secondly, ‘We have committed iniquity;’ thirdly, ‘We have done wickedly;
fourthly, ‘We have rebelled against thee;’ fifthly, ‘We have departed from Thy
precepts;’ sixthly, ‘We have not hearkened unto Thy servants;’ seventhly, ‘Nor
our princes, nor all the people of the land.’ These seven aggravations which
Daniel reckons up in his confession are worthy our most serious consideration.” RESTITUTION. A third element of
successful prayer is RESTITUTION. If I have at any time taken what does not
belong to me, and am not willing to make restitution, my prayers will not go
very far toward heaven…. THANKSGIVING. The next thing I would
mention as an element of prayer is THANKSGIVING. We ought to be more thankful
for what we get from God…. And they rose early in the morning, and
went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehosaphat
stood and said, ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in
the Lord your God, so shall ye be established believe His prophets, so shall ye
prosper;’ and when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto
the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out
before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever,’
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the
children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir which were come against Judah; and they
were smitten.” FORGIVENESS. The next thing is perhaps
the most difficult of all to deal with — FORGIVENESS. I believe this is keeping
more people from having power with God than any other thing — they are not
willing to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness…. Now let us come to the part I want to
dwell upon: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass
against us.” This is the only part of the prayer that Christ explained. “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.”… UNITY. The next thing we need to
have, if we would get our prayers answered, is — UNITY. If we do not love one
another we certainly shall not have much power with God in Prayer. One of the
saddest things in the present day is the division in God’s Church. You notice
that when the power of God came upon the early church, it was when they were
all of one accord…. We ought to endure much and sacrifice
much, rather than permit discord and division to prevail in our hearts. Martin
Luther says: “When two goats meet upon a narrow bridge over deep water, how do
they behave? Neither of them can turn back again, neither can pass the other,
because the bridge is too narrow; if they should thrust one another they might
both fall into the water and be drowned. Nature, then, has taught them that if
the one lays himself down and permits the other to go over him, both remain unhurt.
Even so people should rather endure to be trod upon than to fall into debate
and discord one with another.”… There are diversities of gifts — that
is clearly taught — but there is one Spirit. If we have all been redeemed with
the same blood, we ought to see eye to eye in spiritual things. Paul writes:
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are
differences of administrations, but the same Lord.” FAITH. Another element is FAITH.
It is as important for us to know how to pray as it is to know how to work. We
are not told that Jesus ever taught His disciples how to preach, but He taught
them how to pray. He wanted them to have power with God; then He knew they
would have power with man. In James we read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God... and it shall be given him; but let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering.” So faith is the golden key that unlocks the treasures of heaven…. The Syrophenician woman did the same
thing — “Lord help me!” It was a short prayer, but it went right to the heart
of the Son of God. He tried her faith, however. He said: “It is not meet to
take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs.” She replied: “True, Lord; yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” “O woman, great
is thy faith!” What a eulogy He paid to her! Her story will never be forgotten
as long as the church is on the earth. He honored her faith, and gave her all
she asked for. Everyone can say, “Lord, help me!” We all need help. As
Christians, we need more grace, more love, more purity of life, more
righteousness? Then let us make this prayer today. I want God to help me to
preach better and to live better, to be more like the Son of God. The golden
chains of faith link us right to the throne of God, and the grace of heaven
flows down into our souls. PETITION. The next element in prayer
that I notice is PETITION. How often we go to prayer meetings without really
asking for anything! Our prayers go all round the world, without anything
definite being asked for. We do not expect anything. Many people would be
greatly surprised if God did answer their prayers…. Then the highest type of Christian is
the one who has got clear beyond asking and seeking, and keeps knocking till
the answer comes. If we knock, God has promised to open the door and grant our
request. It may be years before the answer comes; He may keep us knocking; but
He has promised that the answer will come. SUBMISSION. Another essential element
in prayer is SUBMISSION. All true prayer must be offered in full submission to
God.”" [D. L. MOODY.]. Why we should make prayer a part of our life! 1. "THAT YOU MAY HAVE A
SUCCESSFUL LIFE What is the true mark of a successful life?
Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, testified that the riches and material
gains in this world, as well as earthly attainments and achievements are only
"vanity" that in the end cause "vexation of the
spirit"." [PCW. PAGE. 10.]. cf. ECC 1:14 I have seen all the works
that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is {vanity} and vexation of
spirit. (KJV) ECC 4:6 Better {is} an handful
{with} quietness, than both the hands full {with} travail and vexation of
spirit. (KJV) "True success must therefore lie in
securing the rewards of that world which exists beyond the grave. " [PCW.
PAGE. 10.]. cf. (Matthew 6:19-21 KJV) (19) Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal: (21) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
REV 12:12 Therefore rejoice, {ye}
heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (KJV) (Revelation 9:2-6 KJV) (2) And he opened the bottomless
pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great
furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the
pit. (3) And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them
was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. (4) And it
was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither
any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the
seal of God in their foreheads. (5) And to them it was given that they
should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five
months: and their torment {was} as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh
a man. (6) And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. (Revelation 16:13-14 KJV) (13) And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs {come} out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth
of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (14) For they are the
spirits of devils, working miracles, {which} go forth unto the kings of
the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great
day of God Almighty. 1TI 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (KJV) 3. TO HELP SECURE THE SALVATION OF
OUR LOVED ONES MAT 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord
of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (KJV)
MAT 6:13 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. (KJV) PSA 34:7 The angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (KJV)
(Luke 22:41-43 KJV) (41) And he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, (42) Saying, Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done. (43) And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening
him. PRO 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all
thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (KJV)
(Philippians 4:18-19 KJV) (18) But I have all, and abound: I
am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things {which were sent} from you,
an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. (19)
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus.
(Matthew 9:37-10:1 KJV) (37) Then saith he unto his
disciples, The harvest truly {is} plenteous, but the labourers {are} few; (38)
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers
into his harvest. (Matthew 10) (1) And when he had called unto
{him} his twelve disciples, he gave them power {against} unclean spirits, to
cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Your prayer should begin with
repentance (Luke 18:9-14 KJV) (9) And he spake this parable unto
certain which [5]trusted
in themselves that they were righteous, and [6]despised
others: (10) Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a
Pharisee, and the other a publican. (11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men
{are}, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (12) I
fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. (13)
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as {his} eyes
unto heaven, but [7]smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (14) I
tell you, this man went down to his house justified {rather} than the other:
for every one that [8]exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Because of, the way they thought about
themselves and other people, they became "fixed" in their thinking! "despised others" is in the present
tense, in the Greek, the present tense expresses continuous or repeated action.
They were repeatedly treating other people as contemptible! "These
words of Jesus are tremendously significant. Jesus was calling our attention
[to] that class of persons who consider themselves righteous and despise
others. He used the parable to show that all men are sinners and that the
prayer of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner," is the one
that all should pray before they pray another. ...Men may come to the Father
only through Christ. When certain of the Jews rejected Jesus, He told them
plainly that God was not their Father. He said, "If God were your Father,
ye would love me ...Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:42,44). ... God
will never take second place in our lives. We must recive Him first before we
ask for His blessings. True prayer begins when we desire God in our lives more
than anything else. "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall
go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye
shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:12-13)." [ASP.
PAGES. 7-8.]. We
must realize that sin can stop us from seeing clearly what we should pray for
and how to do it effectly! cf. MAT 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the
mote out of thy brother's eye. (KJV) We need to repent of our sin and
then we will be able to pray more effectly! Also, praying in tongues can help!
cf.ROM 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (KJV) Making restitution (Matthew 5:23-24 KJV) (23) Therefore if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee; (24) Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (Luke 19:8-9 KJV) (8) And Zacchaeus stood, and said
unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I
have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore {him}
fourfold. (9) And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this
house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. cf. with. EXO 22:1 If a man shall steal an
ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for
an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. (KJV) You should forgive, when you
pray (Mark 11:23-26 KJV) (23) For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
(24) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive {them}, and ye shall have {them}. (25) And when ye stand
praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father
also which is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses. (26) But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father
which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
HEB 11:6 But without faith {it is}
impossible to please {him}: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and {that} he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (KJV) Successful and true prayer, puts God
first!!! MAT 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy
[9]will
be done in earth, as {it is} in heaven. (KJV) LUK 2:49 And he said unto them, How
is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
(KJV)
MAR 11:24 Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
{them}, and ye shall have {them}. (KJV) LUK 11:5 And he said unto them,
Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say
unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; (KJV) Make sure that you are praying in the will
of God MAT 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done in earth, as {it is} in heaven. (KJV) LUK 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou
be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done. (KJV) (1John 5:14-15 KJV) (14) And this is the confidence
that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing introduces the matter of
forgiveness which at first sight seems another subject altogether. But it does
have a connection, a direct relation, to getting our prayers answered. We are told that we should not expect the
forgiveness of God until we forgive our fellow men. For it is in the
consciousness of having forgiven our brother that we find the faith that
reaches out to claim the promise. People
sometimes say they forgive, but it is a forgiveness with strings attached. A
reluctant half-hearted forgiveness is really no forgiveness at all. But how can
we truly learn to forgive? It is in our realization of God's forgiveness of
us." [ASP. PAGE. 10.] Not
giving honour to a
person, can hinder your prayers 1PE 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands,
dwell with {them} according to knowledge, [10]giving
[11]honour
unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the
grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (KJV)
Having a regular time of prayer,
each day is importance ACT 1:14 These all continued
with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. (KJV) ACT 3:1 Now Peter and John went up
together into the temple at the hour of prayer, {being} the ninth
{hour}. (KJV) (Acts 2:41-42 KJV) (41) Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same day there were added {unto them} about
three thousand souls. (42) And they continued stedfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. DAN 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing
was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed,
and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (KJV) We should that we are praying to the God who is with and see's
us! (Matthew 6:5-6 KJV) (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 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. 1CO 3:10 ... But let every man take
heed how he buildeth thereupon. (KJV) [1] Power of confession (Daniel 9:3-11 KJV) (3) And I set my face unto the Lord
God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and
ashes: (4) And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said,
O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that
love him, and to them that keep his commandments; (5) We have sinned, and have
committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by
departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: (6) Neither have we hearkened
unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our
princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. (7) O Lord,
righteousness {belongeth} unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this
day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all
Israel, {that are} near, and {that are} far off, through all the countries
whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have
trespassed against thee. (8) O Lord, to us {belongeth} confusion of face, to
our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against
thee. (9) To the Lord our God {belong} mercies and forgivenesses, though we
have rebelled against him; (10) Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord
our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the
prophets. (11) Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing,
that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and
the oath that {is} written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we
have sinned against him. DAN 9:20 And whiles I {was}
...praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,... before
the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; (KJV) The
reason for his confession of the sin of the whole nation, is because the
prophecy he was reading, had to do with
the whole nation of Israel cf. DAN 9:2 In the first year of his
reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of
the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years
in the desolations of Jerusalem. (KJV) After confession comes Revelation cf. DAN 9:23 At the beginning of thy
supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew {thee}; for
thou {art} greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the
vision. (KJV) REV 1:2 Who bare[1] record of the
word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he
saw. (KJV) [1] martureo, "to be a
witness, to bear witness, i.e. to attest anything that one knows, and
therefore to state with a certain degree of authority, usually for something,
and hence, to confirm or prove" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 629.] REV 1:9 I John, who also am your
brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for
the[1] testimony of Jesus Christ. (KJV) [1] martuoion,
"witness, testimony as borne; the declaration which confirms or makes
know any thing" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 767.] Be eager to do the will of God Jesus,
who always had His prayers answered, was eager to do the will of God the
Father! cf. LUK 12:50 But I have a baptism to
be baptized with; and how am I [13]straitened
till it be accomplished! (KJV) Should a prayer be long or
short? "The prayer our Lord taught his
disciples is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. I think that the Lord’s prayer,
more properly, is that in the seventeenth of John. That is the longest prayer
on record that Jesus made. You can read it slowly and carefully in about four
or five minutes. I think we may learn a lesson here. Our Master’s prayers were
short when offered in public; when He was alone with God that was a different
thing, and He could spend the whole night in communion with His Father. My
experience is that those who pray most in their closets generally make short
prayers in public. Long prayers are too often not prayers at all, and they
weary the people. How short the publican’s prayer was: “God be merciful to me a
sinner!” The Syrophenician woman’s was shorter still: “Lord help me!” She went
right to the mark, and she got what she wanted. The prayer of the thief on the
cross was a short one: “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom!”
Peter’s prayer was, “Lord, save me, or I perish!” So, if you go through the
Scriptures, you will find that the prayers that brought immediate answers were generally
brief. Let our prayers be to the point, just telling God what we want. …Christ’s last prayer on the Cross was
a short one: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” I believe
that prayer was answered. We find that right there in front of the Cross, a
Roman centurion was converted. It was probably in answer to the Savior’s
prayer. The conversion of the thief, I believe, was in answer to that prayer of
our blessed Lord. Saul of Tarsus may have heard it, and the words may have
followed him as he traveled to Damascus; so that when the Lord spoke to him on
the way, he may have recognized the voice. One thing we do know; that on the
day of Pentecost some of the enemies of the Lord were converted. Surely that
was in answer to the prayer, “Father, forgive them!" [D. L. Moody.]. Is prayer, helpful to the mind? "“Since I began,” said Dr. Payson
when a student. “to beg God’s blessing on my studies, I have done more in one
week than in the whole year before.” Luther, when most pressed with work, said,
“I have so much to do that I cannot get on without three hours a day praying.”
And not only do theologians think and speak highly of prayer; men of all ranks
and positions in life have felt the same. General Havelock rose at four
o’clock, if the hour for marching was six, rather than lose the precious
privilege of communion with God before setting out. Sir Matthew Hale says: “If
I omit praying and reading God’s Word in the morning, nothing goes well all
day.”" [D. L. MOODY.]. Abiding in Christ and prayer JOH 15:7 If ye [i]abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye [ii]will,
and it shall be done unto you. (KJV) "With
every promise in the Bible there are conditions. The promises and the
conditions are inseparable. We can ask what we will, and it shall be done only
if we abide in Christ and His words abide in us. The law of the kingdom is,
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). God
always hears Christ, and if we abide in Christ He will always hear us. ...Faith
in God is one thing. Obedience is another. The two are tied together. There is a school of thought today that
speaks much about faith but little about obedience. Faith is considered a means
of achieving spiritual power in the same way that man harnesses the forces of
nature. But faith apart from obedience to God can only wither and die.
"Faith without works is dead."" [ASP. PAGE. 17-18.] This
verse can read, “you should ask what you to take delight in, have pleasure in
and it shall be done for you”. See note on Greek word for “will”. Why we pray in the name of Jesus 1. Because, the name of Jesus is given to us, for power
and fellowship with God. 2. Because, Jesus is the way to God the Father. Cf. Rev.
3: ; Heb. 3. Because, Jesus said that we would do great works in
His name! Cf. 4. Because, Jesus is our Advocate and Mediator with God the
Father. Cf. 1 Jn. “But
since no man is worthy to come forward in his own name, and appear in the
presence of God, our heavenly Father, to relieve us at once from fear and
shame, with which all must feel oppressed, 8 has given us his Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, to be our Advocate and Mediator, that under his guidance we may
approach securely, confiding that with him for our Intercessor nothing which we
ask in his name will be denied to us, as there is nothing which the Father can
deny to him, (1 Timothy 2:5), (1 John 2:1); see sec. 36, 37). To this it is
necessary to refer all that we have previously taught concerning faith;
because, as the promise gives us Christ as our Mediator, so, unless our hope of
obtaining what we ask is founded on him, it deprives us of the privilege of
prayer.” [Calvin]. Prayer
to Jesus Christ Himself Acts
7:59 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 1
Corinthians 1:2 2 Unto the church of God which is
at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord, both theirs and ours: Faith and prayer HEB 11:6 But without faith {it is}
impossible to [14]please
{him}: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and {that} he
is a [15]rewarder
of [16]them
that diligently seek him. (KJV) MAR 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If
thou canst believe, all things {are} possible to him that believeth.
(KJV) JAM 5:15 And the prayer of faith
shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him. (KJV) Visualize the answer MAR 11:24 Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye[1] [17]receive
{them}, and ye shall have {them}. (KJV)
I believe that Jesus is saying, "when you pray, believe that you
are receiving as you pray". [See footnote on Greek word for,
"receive"]. "Man
alone,as the masterpiece of God's creation, possesses the ability to pray and
to visualize the answer to his prayers. ...Man has been given this remarkable
ability which is denied the lower creation. " [ASP. PAGE. 24.] “Faith does the impossible because it
brings God to undertake for us, and nothing is impossible with God. How great —
without qualification or limitation — is the power of faith!… “Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them.” We should ponder well that
statement — “Believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Here is
described a faith which realizes, which appropriates, which takes. Such faith
is a consciousness of the Divine, an experienced communion, a realized
certainty…. When Jesus was looking
forward to Peter’s denial, and cautioning him against it, He said unto His
disciple: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
hath desired to have you, to sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fall not.” Our Lord was declaring a
central truth; it was Peter’s faith He was seeking to guard; for well He knew
that when faith is broken down, the foundations of spiritual life give way, and
the entire structure of religious experience
falls. It was Peter’s faith which needed guarding. Hence Christ’s solicitude
for the welfare of His disciple’s soul and His determination to fortify Peter’s
faith by His own all-prevailing prayer. In his Second
Epistle, Peter has this idea in mind when speaking of growth in grace as a
measure of safety in the Christian life, and as implying fruitfulness. “And besides this,” he
declares, “giving diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness.” Of this additioning
process, faith was the starting-point — the basis of the other graces of the
Spirit. Faith was the foundation on which other things were to be built. Peter
does not enjoin his readers to add to works or gifts or virtues but to faith.
Much depends on starting right in this business of growing in grace. There is a
Divine order, of which Peter was aware; and so he goes on to declare that we
are to give diligence to making our calling and election sure, which election
is rendered certain adding to faith which, in turn, is done [among other
things] by constant, earnest praying….”The faith which creates powerful praying is the faith which
centers itself on a powerful Person. Faith in Christ’s ability to do and to do
greatly, is the faith which prays greatly. Thus the leper lay hold upon the
power of Christ. “Lord, if Thou wilt,” he cried, “Thou canst make me clean.” In
this instance, we are shown how faith centered in Christ’s ability to do, and
how it secured the healing power. It was concerning this very
point, that Jesus questioned the blind men who came to Him for healing: “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” He asks.
“They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According
to your faith be it unto you. It was to inspire
faith in His ability to do that Jesus left behind Him, that last, great
statement, which, in the final analysis, is a ringing challenge to faith. “All
power,” He declared, “is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Moreover: such faith acts. Like the man
who was born blind, it goes to wash in the pool of Siloam when told to wash.
Like Peter on Gennesaret it casts the net where Jesus commands, instantly,
without question or doubt. Such faith takes away the stone from the grave of
Lazarus promptly. A praying faith keeps the commandments of God and does those
things which are well pleasing in His sight. It asks, “Lord, what wilt Thou
have me to do?” and answers quickly, “Speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth.” Obedience
helps faith, and faith, in turn, helps obedience. To do God’s will is essential
to true faith, and faith is necessary to implicit obedience. Yet faith is
called upon, and that right often to wait in patience before God, and is
prepared for God’s seeming delays in answering prayer. Faith does not grow
disheartened because prayer is not immediately honored; it takes God at His
Word, and lets Him take what time He chooses in fulfilling His purposes, and in
carrying on His work. There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting
for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions — knows there will be delays
in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing, in the which,
it is privileged to show its mettle, and the stern stuff of which it is made. …GENUINE, authentic faith must be
definite and free of doubt. Not simply general in character; not a mere belief
in the being, goodness and power of God, but a faith which believes that the
things which “he saith, shall come to pass.” As the faith is specific, so the
answer likewise will be definite: “He shall have whatsoever he saith.” Faith deals with God, and is conscious
of God. It deals with the Lord Jesus Christ and sees in Him a Savior; it deals
with God’s Word, and lays hold of the truth; it deals with the Spirit of God,
and is energized and inspired by its holy fire. God is the great objective of
faith; for faith rests its whole weight on His Word. Faith is not an aimless
act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His promises. Just as
love and hope have always an objective so, also, has faith. Faith is not
believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in Him, trusting His
Word. …Faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints. Faith,
too, is humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees,
or lie in the dust. It is the one great condition of prayer; the lack of it
lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered
praying. …Doubt and fear are the twin foes of
faith. Sometimes, they actually usurp the place of faith, and although we pray,
it is a restless, disquieted prayer that we offer, uneasy and often
complaining. Peter failed to walk on Gennesaret because he permitted the waves
to break over him and swamp the power of his faith. Taking his eyes from the
Lord and regarding the water all about him, he began to sink and had to cry for
succor — “Lord, save, or I perish!” Doubts should never be cherished, nor fears
harbored. Let none cherish the delusion that he is a martyr to fear and doubt.
It is no credit to any man’s mental capacity to cherish doubt of God, and no
comfort can possibly derive from such a thought. Our eyes should be taken off
self, removed from our own weakness and allowed to rest implicitly upon God’s
strength. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence
of reward.” A simple, confiding faith, living day by day, and casting its burden on the Lord, each hour of the day, will
dissipate fear, drive away misgiving and deliver from doubt: “Be careful for nothing, but
in everything, by supplication and prayer, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God.” That is the Divine cure
for all fear, anxiety, and undue concern of soul, all of which are closely akin
to doubt and unbelief. This is the Divine prescription for securing the peace
which passeth all understanding, and keeps the heart and mind in quietness and
peace. All of us need to mark well
and heed the caution given in Hebrews: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” We need, also, to guard
against unbelief as we would against an enemy. Faith needs to be cultivated. We
need to keep on praying, “Lord, increase our faith,” for faith is susceptible
of increase. Paul’s tribute to the Thessalonians was, that their faith grew
exceedingly. Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is
nourished by sore trials. “That the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glow at the appearing of
Jesus Christ.” …Prayer is absolutely dependent upon faith.
Virtually, it has no existence apart from it, and accomplishes nothing unless
it be its inseparable companion. Faith makes prayer effectual, and in a certain
important sense, must precede it. “For he that cometh to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him.” Before prayer ever starts
toward God; before its petition is preferred, before its requests are made
known — faith must have gone on ahead; must have asserted its belief in the
existence of God; must have given its assent to the gracious truth that “God is
a rewarder of those that diligently seek His face.” …Faith makes prayer strong, and gives it patience to wait on
God. Faith believes that God is a rewarder. No truth is more clearly revealed
in the Scriptures than this, while none is more encouraging. Even the closet
has its promised reward, “He that seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly,”
while the most insignificant service rendered to a disciple in the name of the
Lord, surely receives its reward. And to this precious truth faith gives its
hearty assent. …“Without
faith, it is impossible to please Him.” James puts this truth very
plainly. “If any of you lack wisdom,”
he says, “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For
he that wavereth (or doubteth) is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind
and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord.” Doubting is always put
under the ban, because it stands as a foe to faith and hinders effectual
praying. In the First Epistle to Timothy Paul gives us an invaluable truth
relative to the conditions of successful praying, which he thus lays down: “I
will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath
and doubting.””[Bounds]. Prayer and trust It was then that Jesus said
to them, “Have faith in God.” “For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast
into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” …Trust, in an historical fact or in a
mere record may be a very passive thing, but trust in a person vitalizes the
quality, fructifies it, informs it with love. The trust which informs prayer
centers in a Person. Trust goes even further than this. The
trust which inspires our prayer must be not only trust in the Person of God,
and of Christ, but in their ability and willingness to grant the thing prayed
for. It is not only, “Trust, ye, in the Lord,” but, also, “for in the Lord
Jehovah, is everlasting strength.” …How we need to pray, “Lord, increase
our faith,” until doubt be gone, and implicit trust claims the promised
blessings, as its very own.”[Bounds]. PRAYER AND DESIRE “DESIRE is not merely a simple wish; it is a deep seated
craving; an intense longing, for attainment…. Desire is an inward longing for
something of which we are not possessed, of which we stand in need — something
which God has promised, and which may be secured by an earnest supplication of
His throne of grace. Spiritual desire, carried
to a higher degree, is the evidence of the new birth. It is born in the renewed
soul: “As newborn babes, desire
the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” The absence of this holy
desire in the heart is presumptive proof, either of a decline in spiritual
ecstasy, or, that the new birth has never taken place. “Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” … expressed. David did not yearn for everything;
nor did he allow his desires to spread out everywhere and hit nothing. Here is
the way his desires ran and found expression: “One thing have I desired of
the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His
temple.” It is this singleness of
desire, this definiteness of yearning, which counts in praying, and which
drives prayer directly to core and center of supply. … Without desire, there is no burden of soul, no sense of
need, no ardency, no vision, no strength, no glow of faith.” [Bounds.]. PRAYER AND IMPORTUNITY “It is the ability to hold on, press
on, and wait. … the pressing of our desires upon God
with urgency and perseverance; the praying with that tenacity and tension which
neither relaxes nor ceases until its plea is heard, and its cause is won. … Jacob, wrestling all night with the
angel, gives significant emphasis to the power of a dogged perseverance in
praying, and shows how, in things spiritual, importunity succeeds, just as
effectively as it does in matters relating to time and sense. … Moses prayed forty days and forty
nights, seeking to stay the wrath of God against Israel, and his example and
success are a stimulus to present-day faith in its darkest hour. Elijah
repeated and urged his prayer seven times ere the raincloud appeared above the
horizon, heralding the success of his prayer and the victory of his faith. On
one occasion Daniel though faint and weak, pressed his case three weeks, ere
the answer and the blessing came. … We have the same teaching emphasized
in the incident of the Syrophenician woman, who came to Jesus on behalf of her
daughter. Here, importunity is demonstrated, not as a stark impertinence, but
as with the persuasive habiliments of humility, sincerity, and fervency. We are
given a glimpse of a woman’s clinging faith, a woman’s bitter grief, and a
woman’s spiritual insight. The Master went over into that Sidonian country in
order that this truth might be mirrored for all time — there is no plea so
efficacious as importunate prayer, and none to which God surrenders Himself so
fully and so freely. The importunity of this distressed
mother, won her the victory, and materialized her request. Yet instead of being
an offense to the Savior, it drew from Him a word of wonder, and glad surprise.
“O woman, great is thy faith! Be it unto thee, even as thou wilt.”” [Bounds.].
PSA 100:2 Serve the Lord with
gladness: come before his presence with singing. (KJV) (2Chronicles 20:21-22 KJV) (21) And when he had consulted with
the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise
the [18]beauty
of [19]holiness,
as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy
{endureth} for ever. (22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the
Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which
were come against Judah; and they were smitten. But,
this is singing, that praises the "beauty of holiness", and there is
a great "beauty" in holiness!
PSA 100:4 Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, {and} into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, {and}
bless his name. (KJV) HEB 13:15 By him therefore let us
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the [20]fruit
of {our} lips giving thanks to his name. (KJV) "In all our prayers we must praise
God, and join hallelujahs with all our hosannas. These are the spiritual
sacrifices we must offer up daily, and upon particular occasions." [JOHN
WESLEY.]. Joy and prayer (Deuteronomy 28:47-48 KJV) (47) Because thou servedst not the
Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all {things}; (48) Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which
the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness,
and in want of all {things}: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck,
until he have destroyed thee.(John 14:13-14 KJV) (13) And whatsoever ye shall ask
in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
(14) If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do {it}. Power in the name of Jesus so, Ask in the
name of Jesus (John 14:13-14 KJV) (13) And whatsoever ye shall ask
in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
(14) If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do {it}. (John 16:23-24 KJV) (23) And in that day ye shall ask
me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in
my name, he will give {it} you. (24) Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my
name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:26-27 KJV) (26) At that day ye shall ask in
my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: (27)
For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed
that I came out from God. (Matthew 28:18-19 KJV) (18) And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: "In
praying in the name of Jesus, we are acting as His representative." [ASP.
PAGE. 23.] Have love for others (1John 3:18-22 KJV) (18) My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (19)
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before
him. (20) For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and
knoweth all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, {then} have we
confidence toward God. (22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him,
because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his
sight. Praying in the
Spirit (1Corinthians 14:14-15 KJV) (14) For if I pray in an {unknown}
tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. (15) What is it
then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:
I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Fasting and prayer MAT 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting. (KJV) Acts 9:9,11-12 9 And he was three days without
sight, and neither did eat nor drink. … 11 And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the
house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 12
And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his
hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Some
people who used it- 1. The children of Israel cf.
Judges 20:26 26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people,
went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the
LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings before the LORD. 2. Jehoshaphat the king cf. 2 Chr. 20:3-4 3 And
Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast
throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to
ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the
LORD. 3. Elijah the prophet cf. 1 kings 19:6-7 6 And
he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of
water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7 And
the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said,
Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. 4. The people of Nineveh cf. Jonah 3:5-10 5 So the people of Nineveh believed
God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them
even to the least of them. 6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh,
and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him
with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be
proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his
nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let
them not feed, nor drink water: 8 But let man and beast be covered
with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from
his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who
can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that
we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from
their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do
unto them; and he did it not. 5. Esther cf. Esther 4:16 16 Go, gather
together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and
neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast
likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law:
and if I perish, I perish. 6. Ezra cf. Ezra 8:21-23
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava,
that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for
us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22 For I was
ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us
against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The
hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his
wrath is against all them that forsake him. 23 So we fasted and
besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us. 7. Daniel cf. Dan. 9:3 3 And I set my face
unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and
sackcloth, and ashes: 8. Anna the Prophetess cf. Lu. 2:37 37 And she
was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the
temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 9. Jesus Himself cf. Lu. 4:1-2 1 And Jesus being full of the Holy
Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2
Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat
nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 10.
Paul cf. Acts 9:9 9
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 11.
Cornelius cf. Acts
10:30-31 30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until
this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood
before me in bright clothing, 31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is
heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. 12.
Others cf. Acts
13:1-3 1 Now there were in
the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered
to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for
the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted
and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Exorcism and prayer MAT 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting. (KJV) Prayer to avoid evil MAT 6:13 And [iv]lead
us not into temptation, but [v]deliver
us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for
ever. Amen. (KJV) One
of the things that this verse may be saying is, “Draw us closer to You, so we
do not go into evil!” See note, on Greek word. MAT 26:41 [21]Watch
and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed {is}
willing, but the flesh {is} weak. (KJV) Luke
22:40 40
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray
that ye enter not into temptation. The King James Version, 1769. 90.70 eijsevrcomaid; euJrivskwd: to
begin to experience an event or state - ‘to begin to experience, to come into
an experience, to attain.’ eijsevrcomaid ň
proseuvcesqe mh; eijselqei'n eij" peirasmovn ‘pray that you will not begin to experience
temptation’ or ‘…trial’ Lk 22.40; kalovn
ejstivn se kullo;n eijselqei'n eij" th;n zwh;n h] ta;" duvo cei'ra"
e[conta ajpelqei'n eij" th;n gevennan ‘it
is better for you to come to experience (true) life with one hand than to keep
two hands and end up in Gehenna’ Mk 9.43. euJrivskwd ň
euJrhvsete ajnavpausin tai'" yucai'" uJmw'n ‘you will begin to experience rest for yourselves’ Mt
11.29; aijwnivan luvtrwsin
euJravmeno" ‘he attained eternal
salvation’ or ‘…deliverance’ He 9.12; o}"
eu|ren cavrin ejnwvpion tou' qeou' ‘who
attained favor in the sight of God’ or ‘on whom God looked with favor’ Ac 7.46. Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene
A., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, 1988, 1989. Praying in agreement (Matthew 18:18-20 KJV) (18) Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye
shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (19) Again I say unto you, That
if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. (20) For where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.
ACT 4:24 And when they heard that,
they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou {art}
God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
(KJV) (Acts 12:5-7 KJV) (5) Peter therefore was kept in
prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (6)
And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door
kept the prison. (7) And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon {him}, and a
light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up,
saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from {his} hands. ACT 12:10 When they were past the
first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the
city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and
passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. (KJV) However, many great prayers, have been made by
a single person, and God did answer! Moses
(Exodus 32:9-14 KJV) (9) And the Lord said unto Moses, I
have seen this people, and, behold, it {is} a stiffnecked people: (10) Now
therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. (11) And Moses besought
the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy
people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great
power, and with a mighty hand? (12) Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and
say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent
of this evil against thy people. (13) Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy
servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken
of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit {it} for ever. (14) And the
Lord[1] [22]repented
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. Joshua (Joshua 10:12-13 KJV) (12) Then spake Joshua to the
Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children
of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon
Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. (13) And the sun stood still,
and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their
enemies. {Is} not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in
the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. Hezekiah ISA 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah,
Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer,
I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. (KJV) Peter ACT 9:40 But Peter put them all
forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning {him} to the body said,
Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat
up.(KJV) PHI 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. (ASV) (Philippians 4:6-8 KJV) (6) Be[1] [23]careful
for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. (8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
{are} honest, whatsoever things {are} just, whatsoever things {are} pure,
whatsoever things {are} lovely, whatsoever things {are} of good report; if
{there be} any virtue, and if {there be} any praise, think on these things. PHI 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but
in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God. (KJV) (Psalms 50:14-15 KJV) (14) Offer unto God
thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: (15)
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt
glorify me. PSA 95:2 Let us come before his
presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with
psalms. (KJV) PSA 100:4 Enter into his gates with
[vi]thanksgiving,
{and} into his courts with praise: be [vii]thankful
unto him, {and} [viii]bless
his name. (KJV) Part
of the meaning of the Hebrew word for “thanksgiving” is to “confess”. So we are
to confess good things about God! PSA 116:17 I will offer to thee the
sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. (KJV)
PSA 100:4 Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, {and} into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, {and}
bless his name. (KJV) You will notice that a person enters into God's gates
with thanksgiving. And after that, into God's courts with praise!
You should keep at it! DAN 9:3 And I set my face
unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer ...(KJV) Can prayer ever be an
abomination? 9 He that [ix]turneth
away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
(KJV) Hindrances to prayer 1. Wrong relationship between
husbands and wives. cf. 1PE 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands,
dwell with {them} according to knowledge, [x]giving
honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of
the grace of life; that your prayers be not [xi]hindered.
(KJV) 2. Wrongs not righted, debts not
paid, and Brothers Unreconciled. cf. (Matthew 5:23-24 KJV) (23) Therefore if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and there [xii]rememberest
that thy brother hath ought against thee; (24) Leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way; first be [xiii]reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. LUK 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood, and
said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and
if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore {him}
fourfold. (KJV)
(Malachi 2:13-16 KJV) (13) And this have ye done again,
covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out,
insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth {it}
with good will at your hand. (14) Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath
been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou
hast dealt treacherously: yet {is} she thy companion, and the wife of thy
covenant. (15) And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit.
And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to
your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
(16) For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting
away: for {one} covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of
hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
MAT 6:12 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors. (KJV) (Matthew 6:14-15 KJV) (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. 5. Hatred cf. (1John 3:18-22 KJV) (18) My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (19)
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before
him. (20) For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and
knoweth all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, {then}
have we confidence toward God. (22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of
him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in
his sight. 1JO 3:15 Whosoever hateth his
brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding
in him. (KJV)
ISA 59:2 But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid {his} face
from you, that he will not hear. (KJV) PSA 66:18 If I regard iniquity in
my heart, the Lord will not hear {me}: (KJV) 1PE 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord
{are} over the righteous, and his ears {are open} unto their prayers: but the
face of the Lord {is} against them that do evil. (KJV) 7. Lust. cf. JAM 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume {it} upon your lusts. (KJV) 8. Praying for the wrong reason(s).
cf. JAM 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because
ye ask amiss, that ye may consume {it} upon your lusts. (KJV) 9. Not praying in faith. cf. (James 1:6-8 KJV) (6) But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with
the wind and [24]tossed.
(7) For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord. (8) A double minded man {is} unstable in all his ways.
9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing
the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
(KJV) Sometimes, not praying, can be a sin! 1SA 12:23 Moreover as for me, God
forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you:
but I will teach you the good and the right way: (KJV) 1TH 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
(KJV) LUK 18:1 And he spake a parable
unto them {to this end}, that men ought always to pray, and not to
faint; (KJV) EPH 6:18 Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints; (KJV) Praying unceasingly (Acts 12:3-5 KJV) (3) And because he saw it[1] [25]pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of
unleavened bread.) (4) And when he had apprehended him, he put {him} in prison,
and delivered {him} to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending
after Easter to bring him forth to the people. (5) Peter therefore was kept in
prison: but prayer was [26]made
[27]without
ceasing of the church [28]unto
God for him.
The Greek word for "without ceasing" is "ektenes"
which means "stretched out, extended; hence, earnest, intent,
fervent" BULLINGER. PAGE.140.], "eager, earnest, lit.
"strained""[B.A.G. PAGE.245.]. In the KJV N.T. it is tranlated
"without ceasing", and "fervent".
"unto", Greek, pros, "towards, in the direction
of. ... with Acc., towards, of literal and mental direction, in
reference to, order to, with a view to, as an end, (marking the ultimate
purpose)" BULLINGER. PAGE. 836.].
God wants to trust, and talk to Him daily! We
need to obey God daily! LUK 9:23 And he said to {them} all,
If any {man} will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me. (KJV) ACT 17:11 These were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness
of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were
so. (KJV) It
is good to have real Christian fellowship, daily! (Acts 2:46-47 KJV) (46) And they, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat
their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (47) Praising God, and having
favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved. 2CO 11:28 Beside those things that
are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches. (KJV) HEB 3:13 But exhort one another daily,
while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin. (KJV) Jesus
would teach daily, so should we! (Matthew 7:7-8 KJV) (7) [32]Ask,
and it shall be given you; [33]seek,
and ye shall find; [34] knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (8)
For every one that [35]asketh
[36]receiveth;
and he that [37]seeketh
[38]findeth;
and to him that [39]knocketh
it shall be [40]opened.
What
our Lord Jesus, is saying here is, "do not give-up, if you keep on
"asking, seeking, and knocking", what you seek (in the will of God),
will come to you! Through the Bible, on Prayer Ge 20:17
So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and
his maidservants; and they bare children. Ge 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs
of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. Reasons why prayer was answered- I. BECAUSE FAITH WAS MAINTAINED
NOTWITHSTANDING PAST FAILURES. II. BECAUSE THE OBJECTS OF IT WERE DISPOSED TO
RECEIVE THE BLESSING. The hindrances to the gracious effects of prayer lie in
man’s rebellious heart. There must be a
Godward direction imparted to souls which are to be blest. God meets those who
are looking towards Him. Abimelech and his household had this receptivity. III.
BECAUSE GOD DELIGHTS TO PUT HONOUR UPON HIS SERVANTS. God had entered into
covenant with Abraham.” [T. H. Leale.]. “In two respects the wonderful favour of
God towards Abraham was apparent; first, that, with outstretched hand, He
avenged the injury done to him, and secondly, that, through Abraham’s prayer,
He became pacified towards the house of Abimelech.” [CALVIN.]. “Verse 17. So Abraham prayed— This was the prime office of the aybn nabi; see Genesis 20:7.” [A. CLARKE,]. “and he shall pray for
thee, and thou shalt live; it being one part of the business of a prophet to
pray for others, and make intercession for them, especially in any distress or
trouble, see #Jer 27:18. Prophets were praying persons, had usually a great
gift in prayer, and great power with God, and prevailed with him for the good
of others; and such an one was Abraham; and it is here intimated, that upon the
restoration of his wife to him, as he was familiar with God, and had an
interest with him, he would make use of it, and pray for Abimelech, that
whatsoever offence he had been guilty of to God or men, it might be forgiven,
and that he might be healed of the disease with which he was smitten, and so
recover of it, and live in health and happiness: and if thou restore [her]
not, know thou, that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine: if
he proceeded to take her to be his wife, and defile her, he is strongly assured
that he should die, death being the punishment for adultery before the law of
Moses, see #Ge 38:24; and not only he, but all his family, especially such who
had been, or would be accessory to this affair, and even all who might he
justly punished of God for other sins they had committed; and Abimelech being
punished, both in his own person, and in his servants and subjects, the greater
his punishment was, the greater abhorrence and detestation was shown to the sin
he would be guilty of, to deter him from which this threatening is given out.”
[JOHN GILL.]. Gen. 25:21 “Verse 21. Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife— Isaac and Rebekah had now lived nineteen years
together without having a child; for he was forty years old when he married
Rebekah, Genesis 25:20, and he was threescore years of age when Jacob and Esau
were born, Genesis 25:26. Hence it is evident they had lived nineteen years
together without having a child. The form of the original in
this place is worthy of notice: Isaac entreated Jehovah, wtŤa jknl lenochach ishto, directly, purposely, especially, for his wife.
Ainsworth thinks the words imply their praying together for this thing; and the
rabbins say that “Isaac and Rebekah went on purpose to Mount Moriah, where he
had been bound, and prayed together there that they might have a son.” God was
pleased to exercise the faith of Isaac previous to the birth of Jacob, as he
had exercised that of Abraham previous to his own birth.” [A. CLARKE,]. “Ver. 21. And Isaac
entreated the Lord for his wife, &c.] Was very earnest and constant in his
supplications for her, as the word signifies, as is observed by Jarchi; or,
"before his wife" {a}, she being present, and joining with him in his
prayers: … putting the Lord in mind
of the promise he there made of the multiplication of Abraham's seed, #Ge
22:17,18: and the Lord was entreated of him; he granted
him his request; for, though God has purposed and promised to do many things
for his people, yet he will be sought unto by them to do them for them: and Rebekah his wife conceived; two sons at
once, as it follows.” [JOHN GILL.]. Ge 32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me,
and the mother with the children. “Ver. 11. Deliver me, I
pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, &c.] For
though his brother, it was his brother Esau, that had formerly vowed revenge
upon him, and had determined to kill him, #Ge 27:41, and he knew not but that
he was still of the same mind; and now having an opportunity, and in his power
to do it, being accompanied with four hundred men, he feared he would attempt
it; and therefore entreats the Lord, who was greater than he, to deliver him
from falling into his hands, and being destroyed by him: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite
me, [and] the mother with the children; for whom Jacob seems to be more
concerned than for himself; the phrase denotes the utter destruction of his family,
and the cruelty and inhumanity that would be exercised therein; which shows
what an opinion he had of his brother, and of his savage disposition.” [JOHN
GILL.]. Psa 4:1-5. 1 ¶ <<To the
chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.>> Hear me when I call, O
God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have
mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my
glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him
that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your
own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and
put your trust in the LORD. “Ver. 1. This is another instance of David's common
habit of pleading past mercies as a ground for present favour. Here he reviews his Ebenezers and takes
comfort from them. It is not to be
imagined that he who has helped us in six troubles will leave us in the
seventh. God does nothing by halves, and he will never cease to help us until
we cease to need. The manna shall fall
every morning until we cross the Jordan. Observe, that David speaks first to God
and then to men. Surely we should all
speak the more boldly to men if we had more constant converse with God. He who dares to face his Maker will not
tremble before the sons of men. The name by which the
Lord is here addressed, God of my righteousness, deserves notice,
since it is not used in any other part of Scripture. It means, Thou art the author, the witness,
the maintainer, the judge, and the rewarder of my righteousness; to thee I
appeal from the calumnies and harsh judgments of men. Herein is wisdom, let us imitate it and
always take our suit, not to the petty courts of human opinion, but into the
superior court, the King's Bench of heaven. …hear my prayer, and
bring thy servant out of his troubles.
The best of men need mercy as truly as the worst of men. All the deliverances of saints, as well as
the pardons of sinners, are the free gifts of heavenly grace.” [SPUR “Ver. 1. Hear me when I
call, etc. Faith is a good orator and a
noble disputer in a strait; it can reason from God's readiness to hear:
"Hear me when I call, O God."
And from the everlasting righteousness given to the man in the
justification of his person: O God of my righteousness. And from God's constant justice in defending
the righteousness of his servant's cause: "O God of my
righteousness." And from both
present distresses and those that are by past, wherein he hath been, and from
by gone mercies received: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. And from God's grace, which is able to answer
all objections from the man's unworthiness or ill deserving: Have mercy upon
me, and hear my prayer.” David Dickson, 1653. “Verse 1. Hear
me when I call — No man has a right to expect God to
hear him if he do not call. Indeed, how shall he be heard if he speak not?
There are multitudes who expect the blessings of God as confidently as if they
had prayed for them most fervently; and yet such people pray not at all!” [A.
CLARKE.]. Psa 5:1 ¶ <<To
the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.>> Give ear to my
words, O LORD, consider my meditation. “Ver. 1. There are two sorts of prayers -- those
expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent
meditations. Words are not the essence
but the garments of prayer. Moses at the
Red Sea cried to God, though he said nothing.
Yet the use of language may prevent distraction of mind, may assist the
powers of the soul, and may excite devotion.
David, we observe, uses both modes of prayer, and craves for the one a
hearing, and for the other a consideration. What an expressive word!” [SPUR “Psa 5: 1-2. Observe the order and force of the words, my
cry, the voice of my prayer; and also, give ear, consider, hearken. These
expressions all evince the urgency and energy of David's feelings and
petitions. First we have, "give
ear;" that is, hear me. But it is
of little service for the words to be heard, unless the "cry," or the
roaring, or the meditation, be considered.
As if he had said, in a common way of expression, I speak with deep
anxiety and concern, but with a failing utterance; and I cannot express myself,
nor make myself understood as I wish. Do
thou, therefore, understand from my feelings more than I am able to express in
words. And, therefore, I add my
"cry;" that what I cannot express in words for thee to hear, I may by
my "cry" signify to thine understanding. And when thou hast
understood me, then, O Lord, Hearken unto the voice of my prayer, and despise
not what thou hast thus heard and understood.
We are not, however, to understand that hearing, understanding, and
hearkening, are all different acts in God, in the same way as they are in us;
but that our feelings towards God are to be thus varied and increased; that is,
that we are first to desire to be heard, and then, that our prayers which are
heard may be understood; and then, that being understood, they may be hearkened
unto, that is, not disregarded.” Martin Luther. Ps 5:2 Hearken unto the
voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. “My King, and my God. Observe carefully these little pronouns,
"my King, and my God." They
are the pith and marrow of the plea.
Here is a grand argument why God should answer prayer -- because he is
our King and our God. We are not aliens
to him: he is the King of our country.
Kings are expected to hear the appeals of their own people. We are not strangers to him; we are his
worshippers, and he is our God: ours by covenant, by promise, by oath, by
blood.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 2. Hearken unto the voice
of my cry, &c.] Which seems to intend more than groans or words, even a
loud outcry, as of a person in great distress; such as the strong crying of
Christ, in the days of his flesh, when on the cross, forsaken by God, deserted
by his friends, and surrounded by his enemies, #Heb 5:7; and such, in some
measure, was the case of David. The arguments used by him, that the Lord would
hearken to him, are as follow: and the first is taken from his interest in the
Lord, and his relation to him, my King and my God; the Lord was David's King
in a civil sense; though David was a king over others, yet the Lord, who is the
King of kings, was King over him, and he owned him to be so; he was set upon
the throne by him, had his kingdom from him, and was accountable to him: and he
was his King in a natural sense, the kingdom of nature and providence belonging
to him, as he was his Creator, preserver, protector, and defender; and in a
spiritual sense, he being delivered from the dominion of other lords, sin,
Satan, and the world, and brought to a subjection to him by his Spirit and
grace; and so to own him as his King and Lawgiver, as well as his Saviour. And
he was his God; not in a general way, as he is the God of the spirits of all
flesh living; nor merely in the peculiar way in which he was the God of the
people of Israel; but in a most special manner, as being his , covenant God and
Father in Christ. He was his God, not only as the God of nature and providence,
but as the God of all grace; who had distinguished him by special and spiritual
blessings and favours; and whom David loved, believed in, and worshipped as his
God. And this his interest in him, and relation to him, he uses with great
pertinence and propriety, as an argument that he might be heard by him; since
the Lord was his King, and he his subject; the Lord was his God, and he one of
his people; the Lord was his father, and he a child of his; and therefore
entreats and hopes to be heard; see #Isa 63:15,16. His next argument is taken
from his resolution to pray to him, and to continue to do so: for unto thee
will I pray; and only to thee: not to the gods of the Heathen, to idols, the
works of men's hands, who can neither hear nor save: and to thee always;
suggesting, that he would never leave off praying till he was heard; he would
give him no rest, day nor night, until he received an answer.” [JOHN GILL.]. “Verse 2. Hearken
unto the voice of my cry — We may easily find
the process through which David’s mind was now passing: 1. We have seen from
the preceding Psalm that he lay down in a very happy frame of mind, and that he
had enjoyed profound repose. 2. As soon as he awakes in the morning, his heart,
having a right direction, resumes its work. 3. He meditates on God’s goodness;
and on his own happy state, though pursued by enemies, and only safe as long as
God preserved him by an almighty hand and especial providence. 4. This shows
him the need he has of the continual protection of the Most High; and therefore
he begins to form his meditation and the desires of his heart into words, to
which he entreats the Lord to give ear. 5. As he was accustomed to have answers
to his prayers, he feels the necessity of being importunate! and therefore
lifts up his voice. 6. Seeing the workers of iniquity, liars, and blood-thirsty
men strong to accomplish their own purposes in the destruction of the godly, he
becomes greatly in earnest, and cries unto the Lord: “Hearken unto the voice of
my cry.” 7. He knows that, in order to have a right answer, he must have a
proper disposition of mind. He feels his subjection to the supreme authority of
the Most High, and is ready to do his will and obey his laws; therefore he
prays to God as his lying: “Hearken, my King and my God.” I have not only taken
thee for my GOD, to
save, defend, and make me happy; but I have taken thee for my KING, to govern, direct, and rule over me. 8. Knowing the
necessity and success of prayer, he purposes to continue in the spirit and
practice of it: “Unto thee will I pray.” R. S. Jarchi gives this a pretty and
pious turn: “When I have power to pray, and to ask for the things I need, then,
O Lord, give ear to my words; but when I have no power to plead with thee, and
fear seizes on my heart, then, O Lord, consider my meditation!”” [A. CLARKE.]. Ps 6:9 The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD
will receive my prayer. “Ver. 9. The Lord hath heard my
supplication. The Holy Spirit had wrought into the Psalmist's mind the
confidence that his prayer was heard.
This is frequently the privilege of the saints. Praying the prayer of faith, they are often
infallibly assured that they have prevailed with God. We read of Luther that, having on one
occasion wrestled hard with God in prayer, he came leaping out of his closet
crying, "Vicimus, vicimus;" that is, "We have conquered, we have
prevailed with God." Assured
confidence is no idle dream, for when the Holy Ghost bestows it upon us, we
know its reality, and could not doubt it, even though all men should deride our
boldness.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 9. The Lord hath heard my
supplication, etc. The psalmist three times expresses his confidence of his
prayers being heard and received, which may be either in reference to his
having prayed so many times for help, as the apostle Paul did (#2Co 12:8); and
as Christ his antitype did (#Mt 26:39,42,44); or to express the certainty of
it, the strength of his faith in it, and the exuberance of his joy on account
of it.” John Gill, D.D., 1697-1771. Ps 17:1 ¶ <<A Prayer of
David.>> Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my
prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. “Ver. 1. Hear... attend... give
ear. This petition repeated thrice, indicates a great power of feeling and many
tears; because the craft of the ungodly, in truth, grieves and afflicts the
spiritual man more than their power and violence, for we can get a knowledge of
open force and violence, and, when we see the danger, can in some way guard
against it. Martin Luther. “Ver. 1. That goeth not out of
feigned lips. There are such things as "feigned lips;" a contraction
between the heart and the tongue, a clamour in the voice and scoffing in the
soul, a crying to God, "Thou art my father, the guide of my youth;"
and yet speaking and doing evil to the utmost of our power (#Jer 3:4-5), as if
God could be imposed upon by fawning pretences, and, like old Isaac, take Jacob
for Esau, and be cozened by the smell of his garments; ... This is an unworthy
conceit of God, to fancy that we can satisfy for inward sins, and avert
approaching judgments by external offerings, by a loud voice, with a false
heart, as if God (like children), would be pleased with the glittering of an
empty shell, or the rattling of stones, the chinking of money, a mere voice,
and crying without inward frames and intentions of service.” Stephen Charnock. “Ver. 1. Not out of feigned lips.
Not only a righteous cause, but a righteous prayer are urged as motives why God
should hear. Calvin remarks on the
importance of joining prayer to the testimony of a good conscience, lest we
defraud God of his honour by not committing all judgments to him.” J. J.
Stewart Perowne. “Verse 1. Hear the right — Attend to the justice of my cause, qdx hwhy Yehovah tsedek, righteous
Jehovah. “O righteous Jehovah, attend unto my cry.” Goeth not out of
feigned lips. — My supplication is sincere:
and the desire of my heart accompanies the words of my lips.” [A. CLARKE.]. Ps 32:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray
unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great
waters they shall not come nigh unto him. “Ver. 6. The floods of great
waters. The afflictions of the faithful are likened to waters. Fire and water have no mercy, we say. But of the two water is the worst. For any fire may be quenched with water; but
the force of water, if it begins to be violent, cannot by any power of man, be
resisted. But these our tribulations
which are waters are "many waters." Our common proverb is,
"Seldom comes sorrow alone:" but as waters come rolling and waving
many together, so the miseries of this life.” Thomas Playfere. “Ver. 6. Floods of great
waters. Unfamiliar with the sudden
flooding of thirsty water courses, we seldom comprehend the full force of the
most striking images in the Old and New Testaments.” W.J. Conybeare, and J.S. Howson, in "Life and
Epistles of St. Paul." “Verse
6. For this shall every one that is
godly — Because thou art merciful; because
thou hast shown mercy to all who have truly turned to thee, and believed in
thee; every one who fears thee, and hears of this, shall pray unto thee in an
acceptable time, when thou mayest be found; in the time of finding. When the
heart is softened and the conscience alarmed, that is a time of finding. God is
ever ready; men are not so. Who can pray with a hard heart and a dark mind?
While you feel relentings, pray. Surely in the floods — In violent trials, afflictions, and temptations; when the
rains descend, the winds blow, and the floods beat against that godly man who
prays and trusts in God; “they shall not come nigh him,” so as to weaken his
confidence or destroy his soul. His house is founded on a rock.” [Adam
CLARKE.]. Ps 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my
clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer
returned into mine own bosom. “And my prayer returned into mine
own bosom. Prayer is never lost: if it
bless not those for whom intercession is made, it shall bless the intercessors.
Clouds do not always descend in showers upon the same spot from which the
vapours ascended, but they come down somewhere; and even so do supplications in
some place or other yield their showers of mercy. If our dove find no rest for the sole of her
foot among our enemies, it shall fly into our bosoms and bring an olive branch
of peace in its mouth. How sharp is the
contrast all through this Psalm between the righteous and his enemies! We must be earnest to keep the line of
demarcation broad and clear.” [SPURGEON.]. “and my prayer returned into mine
own bosom; that is, he prayed privately and heartily for them, as for himself;
he was constant in it, his heart was in it, and he took delight in it, and he
was heard and answered; unless the sense should be, that his prayer was
slighted by them, and so returned back to himself, as a present despised is
returned; but however it was not without its effect, the good for which he
prayed for them was returned by the Lord unto him.” [JOHN GILL.]. “My
prayer returned into mine own bosom. —
Though from the wayward and profligate life they led, they did not profit by my
prayers, yet God did not permit me to pray in vain. They were like alms given
to the miserable for God’s sake, who takes care to return to the merciful man
tenfold into his bosom. The bosom is not only the place where the Asiatics
carry their purses, but also where they carry any thing that is given to them.”
A. CLARKE.]. Ps 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my
cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and
a sojourner, as all my fathers were. “
Ver. 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Drown not my pleadings with the sound of thy strokes. Thou hast heard the clamour of my sins, Lord;
hear the laments of my prayers. And give
ear unto my cry. Here is an advance in
intensity: a cry is more vehement, pathetic, and impassioned, than a
prayer. The main thing was to have the
Lord's ear and heart. Hold not thy peace
at my tears. This is a yet higher degree
of importunate pleading. Who can
withstand tears, which are the irresistible weapons of weakness? How often women, children, beggars, and
sinners, have betaken themselves to tears as their last resort, and therewith
have won the desire of their hearts!” [SPURGEON.]. “Verse
12. Hear my prayer — Therefore, O Lord, show that mercy upon me which I so much
need, and without which I must perish everlastingly. I am a stranger with thee — I have not made this earth my home; I have not trusted in
any arm but thine. Though I have sinned, I have never denied thee, and never
cast thy words behind my back. I knew that here I had no continuing city. Like
my fathers, I looked for a city that has permanent foundations, in a better
state of being.” A. CLARKE.]. Ps 42:8 Yet the LORD will command his
lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with
me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. “ [and] my prayer unto the God
of my life: natural, spiritual, and eternal; being the author, giver, and
preserver of each; and this is no inconsiderable mercy, to have such a God to
pray unto in a time of distress; as well as in a time of salvation, to go to,
and make known requests with thanksgiving; which seems to be intended here,
since it is joined with a song. Prayer and praise go together, the object of
which are not lifeless idols, that cannot save; but the living God, who is a
God hearing and answering prayer, and does not despise the prayer of the
destitute.” [JOHN GILL.]. “And my prayer unto the God of
my life. Prayer is yoked with
praise. He who is the living God, is the
God of our life, from him we derive it, with him in prayer and praise we spend
it, to him we devote it, in him we shall prefect it. To be assured that our sighs and songs shall
both have free access to our glorious Lord is to have reason for hope in the
most deplorable condition.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 8. And my prayer unto the
God of my life. Here may be seen that
David's religion was a religion of prayer after deliverance, as well as
before. The selfish who cry out in
trouble will have done with their prayers, when the trouble is over. With David it was the very reverse. Deliverance from trouble would strengthen his
confidence in God, embolden his addresses to him, and furnish him with new
arguments ... There is great need of prayer after deliverance; for the time of
deliverance is often a time of temptation; the soul being elated, and thrown
off its guard. At such seasons much of
the joy that is felt may be merely natural, as David's would probably be when
rescued from that corroding care which injures the body as well as distresses
the soul. There is danger of mistaking;
of supposing it to be all spiritual, and hence of imagining the soul to be in a
higher state of grace than it really is, and so, of being imperceptibly drawn
into a state of false security. There is
then especial need of that prayer.
"Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." And with some peculiarly, who being of a
sanguine constitution of mind, are in times of enjoyment, soon puffed up and
brought into danger.” Henry March. “Ver. 8. (last clause). Your song and your prayer must be directed to
God as the God of your life. You do not
own him as God, except you own and adore him as your all sufficient good, and
that "fulness which filleth all in all." You detract from the glory of his Godhead, if
you attribute not this to him; and if, accordingly, as one that cannot live
without him, you do not seek union with him, and join yourself to him, and then
rejoice and solace yourself in that blessed conjunction.” John Howe. “Ver. 8. The God of my
life. There is a threefold life whereof
we partake, and God is the God of each unto us.
First, the life of nature; secondly, the life of grace; thirdly, the
life of glory.” T. Horton. “Verse 8. The
Lord will command — Every day the Lord will give an
especial commission to his loving-kindness to visit me. During the night I
shall sing of his mercy and goodness; and alternately mingle my singing with
prayer for a continuance of his mercy, and for power to make the best use of
these visitations.” [A. CLARKE.]. Ps 54:2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words
of my mouth. “Ver. 2. Hear my prayer, O God. This has ever been the defence of
saints. As long as God hath an open ear
we cannot be shut up in trouble. All
other weapons may be useless, but all prayer is evermore available. No enemy can spike this gun. Give ear to the words of my mouth. Vocal prayer helps the supplicant, and we
keep our minds more fully awake when we can use our tongues as well as our
hearts. But what is prayer if God hear
not? It is all one whether we babble nonsense or plead arguments if our God
grant us not a hearing. When his case
had become dangerous, David could not afford to pray out of mere custom, he
must succeed in his pleadings, or become the prey of his adversary.”
[SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 2. Hear my prayer, O God,
&c.] The psalmist first puts up his petitions, and then desires to be
heard; his distress, and the fervency of his spirit, not suffering him to
observe order;” [JOHN GILL.]. Ps 55:1 ¶ <<To the chief
Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David.>> Give ear to my
prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Ps 55:. 2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my
complaint, and make a noise; “note well that it is never the
bare act of prayer which satisfies the godly, they crave an audience with
heaven, and an answer from the throne, and nothing less will content them.”
[SPURGEON.]. “Verse 1. Give ear to my prayer — The frequency of such petitions shows the great earnestness of
David’s soul. If God did not hear and help, he knew he could not succeed
elsewhere; therefore he continues to knock at the gate of God’s mercy. Verse 2. I mourn in my complaint — yjyŤb besichi, in my sighing; a strong guttural sound,
expressive of the natural accents of sorrow. And make a noise — I am in a tumult-I am strongly agitated.” [A.
CLARKE.]. Ps 61:1 ¶ <<To the chief
Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.>> Hear my cry, O God; [xiv]attend
unto my prayer. “Pharisees may rest in their
prayers; true believers are eager for an answer to them: ritualists may be
satisfied when they have, "said or sung" their litanies and collects,
but living children of God will never rest till their supplications have
entered the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth. …Attend unto my prayer. Give it
thy consideration, and such an answer as thy wisdom sees fit.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 1. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my
prayer. Aquinas saith that some read the
words thus, Intende ad cantica mea, attend unto my songs -- and so the words
may be safely read, from the Hebrew word hgr ranah, which signifies to shout or
shrill out for joy -- to note that the prayers of the saints are like pleasant
songs and delightful ditties in the ears of God. No mirth, no music, can be so pleasing to us
as the prayers of the saints are pleasing to God. #So 2:14 Ps 141:2.” Thomas
Brooks. Ps 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher
than I. “No spot is too dreary, no
condition too deplorable; whether it be the world's end or life's end, prayer
is equally available. …I will cry. It was a wise resolution, for had he ceased
to pray he would have become the victim of despair; there is an end to a man
when he makes an end to prayer. Observe
that David never dreamed of seeking any other God; he did not imagine the
dominion of Jehovah to be local: he was at the end of the promised land, but he
knew himself to be still in the territory of the Great King; to him only does
he address his petitions.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 2. Higher.
A hiding place must be locus
exelsissimus. Your low houses are soon scaled.
Jesus Christ is a high place; he is as high as heaven. He is the Jacob's ladder that reacheth from
earth to heaven. #Ge 28:12. He is too high for men, too high for devils;
no creature can scale these high walls.” Ralph Robinson (1614-1655), in "Christ
All and in All." Ps 65:2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall
all flesh come. “Ver. 2. O thou that hearest prayer. This is thy name, thy nature, thy glory. God not only has heard, but is now hearing
prayer, and always must hear prayer, since he is an immutable being and never
changes in his attributes. What a delightful
title for the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Every right and sincere prayer is as surely
heard as it is offered. Here the
psalmist brings in the personal pronoun thou… Unto thee shall all flesh come.
…Flesh they are, and therefore weak; frail and sinful, they need to pray; and
thou art such a God as they need, for thou art touched with compassion, and
dost condescend to hear the cries of poor flesh and blood.” [SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 2. O thou that hearest prayer, etc. This is one of his titles of honour, he is a
God that hears prayer; and it is as truly ascribed to him as mercy or justice.”
David Clarkson. “Ver. 2. O thou that hearest prayer. Observe 1. That
God is called the hearer of prayers, since he hears, without distinction of persons,
the prayers of every one poured forth with piety, not only of the Jews, but
also of the Gentiles; as in #Ac 10:34-35... It follows, therefore, as a
necessary consequence, that all flesh should come to him. 2. To
come to God, is not indeed simply tantamount to saying, to draw near to God, to
adore, call upon, and worship him, but to come to Zion for the purpose of
adoring God; for it was just now said, that God must be praised in Zion, and to
this the phrase, to come to God, must be referred. On this account also la is not used, but d[, whose proper force is right up
to God, or to the place of the habitation of God to render adoration to God.”
Hermann Venema. “Ver. 2. All flesh.
By flesh is meant man in his weakness and need.” J. J. Stewart Perowne. “But God's people need not lay
it aside on that score. Our text bears
two things with respect to that matter. 1. A
comfortable title ascribed to God, with the unanimous consent of all the sons
of Zion, who are all praying persons: O thou that hearest prayer. He speaks to God in Zion, or Zion's God, that
is in New Testament language, to God in Christ.
An absolute God thundereth on sinners from Sinai, there can be no
comfortable intercourse betwixt God and them, by the law: but in Zion, from the
mercyseat, in Christ, he is the hearer of prayer; they give in their
supplications, and he graciously hears them.
Such faith of it they have, that praise waits there for the prayer
hearing God. 2. The
effect of the savour of this title of God, spread abroad in the world: Unto
thee shall all flesh come: not only Jews, but Gentiles. The poor Gentiles who have long in vain
implored the aid of their idols, hearing and believing that God is the hearer
of prayer, will flock to him, and present their petitions. They will throng in about his door, where by
the gospel they understand beggars are so well served. They will come in even unto thee, Hebrew.
They will come in even to thy seat, thy throne of grace, even unto thyself
through the Mediator... That God is the hearer of prayer, and will hear the
prayers of his people, is evident from these considerations: First.
The supernatural instinct of praying that is found in all that are born
of God, #Ga 4:6. It is as natural for
them to fall a praying when the grace of God has touched their hearts, as for
children when they are born into the world to cry, or to desire the
breasts. #Zec 12:10, compared with #Ac
9:11, where in the account that is given of Paul, at his conversion, it is
particularly noticed, "Behold, he prayeth." Hence the whole saving change on a soul comes
under the character of this instinct.
#Jer 3:4,19. Secondly.
The intercession of Christ, #Ro 8:34.
It is a great part of the work of Christ's intercession to present the
prayers of his people before his Father, #Re 8:4, to take their causes in hand,
contained in their supplications. #1Jo
2:1. Thirdly.
The promises of the covenant, whereby God's faithfulness is impawned for
the hearing of prayer, as #Mt 7:7: see also #Isa 65:24. Fourthly.
The many encouragements given in the Word to the people of God, to come
with their cases unto the Lord by prayer.
He invites them to his throne of grace with their petitions for supply
of their needs. #So 2:14. He sends afflictions to press them to come.
#Ho 5:15. He gives them ground of hope
of success, #Ps 50:15, whatever extremity their case is brought to. #Isa 41:17.
He shows them that however long he may delay their trial, yet praying
and not fainting shall be successful at length.
#Lu 18:8. Fifthly.
The gracious nature of God, with the endearing relations he stands in to
his people. #Ex 22:27. He wants not power and ability to fulfil the
holy desires of his people; he is gracious, and will withhold no good from them
that they really need. He has the bowels
of a father to pity them, the bowels of a mother to her sucking child. He has a most tender sympathy with them in
all their afflictions, the touches on them are as on the apple of his eye; and
he never refuses them a request, but for their good. #Ro 8:28. Sixthly.
The experiences which the saints of all ages have had of the answer of
prayer. The faith of it brings them to
God at conversion, as the text intimates: and they that believe cannot be
disappointed. Lastly. The present ease and relief that prayer
sometimes gives to the saints, while yet the full answer of prayer is not
come. #Ps 138:3.” Thomas Boston
(1676-1732). Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord
will not hear me: “ Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart. If, having seen it to be there, I continue to
gaze upon it without aversion; if I cherish it, have a side glance of love
toward it, excuse it, and palliate it; The Lord will not hear me. How can he?
Can I desire him to connive at my sin, and accept me while I wilfully
cling to any evil way? Nothing hinders
prayer like iniquity harboured in the breast; as with Cain, so with us, sin
lieth at the door, and blocks the passage. If thou listen to the devil, God
will not listen to thee. If you refuse
to hear God's commands, he will surely refuse to hear thy prayers. An imperfect petition God will hear for
Christ's sake, but not one which is wilfully miswritten by a traitor's hand.”
[SPURGEON.]. “Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord
will not hear me. The very supposition
that "if he regarded iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not hear
him," implies the possibility that such may be the state even of
believers; and there is abundant reason to fear that it is in this way their
prayers are so often hindered, and their supplications so frequently remain
unanswered. Nor is it difficult to
conceive how believers may be chargeable with regarding iniquity in their
heart, even amidst all the solemnity of coming into the immediate presence of
God, and directly addressing him in the language of prayer and
supplication. It is possible that they
may put themselves into such a situation, in a state of mind but little fitted
for engaging in that holy exercise; the world, in one form or another, may for
the time have the ascendancy in their hearts; and there may have been so much
formality in their confessions, and so much indifference in their
supplications, that when the exercise is over, they could not honestly declare
that they really meant what they acknowledged, or seriously desired what they
prayed for.” Robert Gordon, D.D., 1825. “Ver. 18. Whence is it that a man's regarding or loving
sin in his heart hinders his prayers from acceptance with God?” I.
Because he cannot pray by the
Spirit. II.
As long as a man has sin in his
heart, he cannot pray in faith. III.
Because, with sin in our
hearts, we cannot pray with fervency. Ps 66:19 But verily God hath heard me;
he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. “Ver. 19. But verily God hath heard me. Sure sign this that the petitioner was no
secret lover of sin. The answer to his
prayer was a fresh assurance that his heart was sincere before the Lord. See how sure the psalmist is that he has been
heard; it is with him no hope, surmise, or fancy, but he seals it with a
verily. Facts are blessed things when
they reveal both God's heart as loving, and our own heart as sincere. He hath attended to the voice of my
prayer. He gave his mind to consider my
cries, interpreted them, accepted them, and replied to them; and therein proved
his grace and also my uprightness of heart. Love of sin is a plague spot, a
condemning mark, a killing sign, but those prayers, which evidently live and
prevail with God, most clearly arise from a heart which is free from dalliance
with evil. Let the reader see to it,
that his inmost soul be rid of all alliance with iniquity, all toleration of
secret lust, or hidden wrong.” [SPURGEON.]. Ps 66:20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned
away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. “ Ver. 20.
The mercy of God. I. In permitting prayer. II. In inclining to prayer. III. In hearing prayer. [SPURGEON.]. Ps 69:13 ¶ But as for me, my
prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the
multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. “Ver. 13. But as for me, my
prayer is unto thee, O Lord. He turned
to Jehovah in prayer as being the most natural thing for the godly to do in
their distress. To whom should a child
turn but to his father. … In an acceptable time. …There is to each of us an accepted time, and
woe to us if we suffer it to glide away unimproved. God's time must be our time, or it will come
to pass that, when time closes, we shall look in vain for space for
repentance. Our Lord's prayers were well
timed, and always met with acceptance.” Ps 72:15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given
of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and
daily shall he be praised. “Ver. 15. Prayer also shall be made for him
continually; and daily shall he be praised.
In all conquered countries, two things marked the subjection of the
people: 1.
Their money was stamped with the name of the conqueror. 2. They
were obliged to pray for him in their acts of public worship.” [ Adam Clarke.]. Ps 72:20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are
ended. “Ver. 20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are
ended. (Compared with) Psalm 86, title, A prayer of David. How can the prayers of David be said to be
ended, when more begin? Answer: The end
David had in making the Psalms, prayers, and praises, is one thing; but to make
a final end of praying is another. Many
several opinions have been given to reconcile this. Some that here end the prayers he made for
Solomon. Some that here end the prayers
he made in the days of his affliction.
Some that here end the praises that he made, not the prayers, turning
the word tepillahs into tehillahs. Some
that here end David's, the rest that follow are Asaph's. Some that this Psalm was the last, the rest
posthumes, found after his death. Some
think it is spoken as the phrase is in #Job 31:40: "The words of Job are
ended;" and yet he had some words after this, but not so many. But the soundest resolution is this: -- Here
ends the prayers of David the son of Jesse; that is, here they are
perfected. If any ask hereafter what or
where lies the end that all these Psalms were made for? tell them here it lies
in this Psalm, and, therefore, placed in the midst of all; as the centre in
midst of a circle, all the lines meet here, and all the Psalms determine here;
for it is only a prophetical treatise of the kingdom of Christ drawn out to the
life, and it is dedicated to Solomon, because here is wisdom; other men had
other ends, it may be, but the son of Jesse had no other end in the world but
to set out Christ's kingdom in making of his Psalms. William Streat, in
"The Dividing of the Hoof."
1654. Ps 80:4 O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be
angry against the prayer of thy people? “ow long wilt thou be angry
against the prayer of thy people? which must be put up in a wrong manner, in a
very cold and lukewarm way, without faith and love, and with wrath and
doubting; or otherwise God is not angry with, nor sets himself against the
prayer of his people; nor does he despise, but is highly delighted with it: or
how long wilt thou be angry with thy people, and continue the tokens of thy
displeasure, though they pray, and keep praying, unto thee? it is in the Hebrew
text, "how long wilt thou smoke {m} at the prayer of thy people?"
that is, cause thine anger to smoke at it; in which it is thought there is an
allusion to the smoke of the incense, to which prayer is compared; see #Ps
141:2 Re 8:3,4, and denotes the acceptance of it with God through the mediation
of Christ; but here his displicency at it, not being offered up through him,
and by faith in him; such were the prayers of the Pharisees, #Mt 6:5,7 23:14. {m} tns[ "fumabis",” [JOHN GILL.]. “Ver. 4. "Angry against
the prayer of thy people." There
may be infirmities enough in our very prayers to make them unacceptable. As if they be Exanimes, without life and
soul; when the heart knows not what the tongue utters. Or Perfunctoriae, for God will have none of
those prayers that come out of feigned lips.
Or Tentativae, for they that will petere tentando, tempt God in prayer,
shall go without. Or Fluctuantes, of a
wild and wandering discourse, ranging up and down, which the Apostle calls
"beating the air," as huntsmen beat the bushes, and as Saul sought
his father's asses. Such prayers will
not stumble upon the kingdom of heaven.
Or if they be Preproperae, run over in haste, as some use to chop up
their prayers, and think long till they have done. But they that pray in such haste shall be heard
at leisure. Or sine fiducia; the
faithless man had as good hold his peace as pray; he may babble, but prays not;
he prays ineffectually, and receives not.
He may lift up his hands, but he does not lift up his heart. Only the prayer of the righteous availeth,
and only the believer is righteous. But
the formal devotion of a faithless man is not worth the crust of bread which he
asks. Or sine humilitate, so the
pharisee's prayer was not truly supplicatio, but superlatio. A presumptuous prayer profanes the name of
God instead of adoring it. All, or any,
of these defects may mar the success of our prayers.” Thomas Adams. Ps 84:8 ¶ O LORD God of hosts,
hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. “#8-12 In all our addresses to
God, we must desire that he would look on Christ, his Anointed One, and accept
us for his sake: we must look to Him with faith, and then God will with favour
look upon the face of the Anointed: we, without him, dare not show our faces.
The psalmist pleads love to God's ordinances. Let us account one day in God's
courts better than a thousand spent elsewhere; and deem the meanest place in
his service preferable to the highest earthly preferment.” [matthew Hen.]. “Give ear, O God of Jacob. Though Jehovah of hosts, thou art also the
covenant God of solitary pleaders like Jacob; regard thou, then, my plaintive
supplication.” [SPUR “Ver. 8. There are two distinct thoughts of great
practical value to the Christian, in this short prayer. There is the sense of divine majesty, and the
consciousness of divine relationship. As Lord of hosts, he is almighty in
power; as the God of Jacob, he is infinite in mercy and goodness to his
people.” Things New and Old. Ps 86:1 ¶ <<A Prayer of
David.>> Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. “TITLE. -- A Prayer of David. We
have here one of the five psalms entitled Tephillahs or prayers. This psalm
consists of praise as well as prayer, but it is in all parts so directly
addressed to God that it is most fitly called "a prayer." A prayer is
none the less but all the more a prayer because veins of praise run through it.
This psalm would seem to have been specially known as David's prayer; even as
the ninetieth is "the prayer of Moses." David composed it, and no
doubt often expressed himself in similar language; both the matter and the wording
are suitable to his varied circumstances and expressive of the different
characteristics of his mind.” [SPUR “Title. -- The prophet David has
penned two psalms, which he has eminently appropriated to himself as his own:
the one is styled David's prayer, though many other psalms are prayers -- it is
#Ps 86:1-17; the other David's praise, #Ps 145:1-21. The first his tephilla,
the latter his tehilla; in each of these he makes a solemn rehearsal of the
very words of Moses, in #Ex 34:6-7. In
#Ps 86:1-17 he brings them in as they were a support unto his faith in his
distresses from sins and miseries, to which use he puts them, #Ps 86:3-4
6-7. And again, #Ps 86:16-17, he makes a
plea of these words by way of prayer. In #Ps 145:1-21, he brings them in as they
are an elogium or celebration of the glorious nature and excellencies of God,
to excite the sons of men to love and praise him.” --Thomas Goodwin. 1 ¶ <<A Prayer of
David.>> Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. “Ver. 1. Bow down thine ear, O
Lord, hear me. In condescension to my littleness, and in pity to my weakness,
"bow down thine ear, O Lord." When our prayers are lowly by reason of
our humility, or feeble by reason of our sickness, or without wing by reason of
our despondency, the Lord will bow down to them, the infinitely exalted Jehovah
will have respect unto them. Faith, when she has the loftiest name of God on
her tongue, and calls him Jehovah, yet dares to ask from him the most tender
and condescending acts of love. Great as
he is he loves his children to be bold with him. For I am poor and needy -- doubly a son of
poverty, because, first, poor and without supply for my needs, and next needy,
and so full of wants, though unable to supply them. Our distress is a forcible reason for our
being heard by the Lord God, merciful, and gracious, for misery is ever the
master argument with mercy. Such
reasoning as this would never be adopted by a proud man, and when we hear it
repeated in the public congregation by those great ones of the earth who count
the peasantry to be little better than the earth they tread upon, it sounds
like a mockery of the Most High. Of all despicable sinners those are the worst
who use the language of spiritual poverty while they think themselves to be
rich and increased in goods.” [SPUR “ Ver. 1-4. Poor, holy, trusteth, I cry. The
petitioner is first described as poor, then holy, next trusting, after that
crying, finally, lifted up to God. And each epithet has its fitting verb; bow
down to the poor, preserve the holy, save the trusting, be merciful to him who
cries, rejoice the lifted up. It is the
whole gamut of love from the Incarnation to the Ascension; it tells us that
Christ's humiliation will be our glory and joy.” --Neale and Littledale's Commentary. 2
Preserve my soul; for
I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. “O thou, my
God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee; both temporally and spiritually:
the arguments are taken from covenant interest in God, which is a strong one;
from relation to him as a servant, not by nature only, but by grace; and from
his trust and confidence in him; all which, as well as the petition, agree with
Christ; see #Ps 22:1,8,10,20,21 Isa 42:1.” [JOHN GILL.]. “Ver. 2.
Preserve my soul. Let my life be safe from my enemies, and my spiritual nature
be secure from their temptations. He feels himself unsafe except he be covered
by the divine protection. For I am holy. I am set apart for holy uses,
therefore do not let thine enemies commit a sacrilege by injuring or defiling
me: I am clear of the crimes laid to my charge, and in that sense innocent;
therefore, I beseech thee, do not allow me to suffer from unjust charges: and I
am inoffensive, meek, and gentle towards others, therefore deal mercifully with
me as I have dealt with my fellow men. Any of these renderings may explain the
text, perhaps all together will expound it best. It is not self righteous in
good men to plead their innocence as a reason for escaping from the results of
sins wrongfully ascribed to them; penitents do not bedaub themselves with mire
for the love of it, or make themselves out to be worse than they are out of
compliment to heaven. No, the humblest saint is not a fool, and he is as well
aware of the matters wherein he is clear as of those wherein he must cry
"peccavi." To plead guilty to offences we have never committed is as
great a lie as the denial of our real faults. O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth
in thee. Lest any man should suppose that David trusted in his own holiness he
immediately declared his trust in the Lord, and begged to be saved as one who
was not holy in the sense of being perfect, but was even yet in need of the
very clements of salvation. How sweet is
that title, "my God", when joined to the other, "thy
servant"; and how sweet is the hope that on this ground we shall be saved;
seeing that our God is not like the Amalekitish master who left his poor sick
servant to perish. Note how David's poor I am (or rather the I repeated without
the am) appeals to the great I AM with that sacred boldness engendered by the
necessity which breaks through stone walls, aided by the faith which removes
mountains.” [SPUR “Ver 2.
Holy. The word has been variously translated: -- Godly, De Muis, Ainsworth and
others; charitable, or beneficent, Piscator; merciful or tenderhearted,
Mariana; diligently or earnestly compassionate, Vatablus; meek, Calvin; a
beloved one, Version of American Bible Union; one whom thou lovest, Perowne; a
devoted or dedicated man, --Weiss. Ver. 2. For I am Holy. Some have objected to
David's pleading his own good character; but if he did not go beyond the truth,
and the occasion called for it, there was nothing wrong in his so doing. Job,
David, Peter, John and Paul all did it, #Job 27:5 Ps 116:16 #Joh 21:15-17 Re
1:10 1Co 9:1. Nor is it presumptuous to ask God to show mercy to us for we show
it to others; or to forgive us for we forgive others, #Mt 5:7 6:14-15”
--William S. Plumer. Ver. 2. I am
holy ... thy servant which trusteth in thee. They that are holy, yet must not
trust in themselves, or in their own righteousness, but only in God and his
grace. --Matthew Henry. Ver. 2. Save thy servant that trusteth in
thee. When God saves his servant, he saves what belongs to himself; and, when
he saves him that trusts in him, he shows himself to be just and faithful, in
carrying out what he promised.” –Bellarmine. Ver. 2-5.
The aspirations after holiness which are found in this Psalm, coupled with its
earnest invocation of mercy from the God with whom there is forgiveness, render
it peculiarly applicable to those whose daily access is to a throne of needed
grace. Christians know that while their standing is the blameless perfection of
the Lord their righteouness, they are in many things offenders still. Nor do we
ever fully prove the preciousness of Jesus as our portion, except we are drawn
to him by that Spirit which reveals to us a nakedness and poverty within
ourselves, which his blessed fulness can alone redress. There is a consciousness of personal
sanctification through faith (#Ps 86:2) associated with an acutely sensitive
perception of intrinsic worthlessness, such as only finds relief in the
remembrance of unaltered grace (#Ps 86:5), which, to the exercised spirit of
one really growing in the knowledge of God, will address itself with an
especial acceptance. --Arthur Pridham. 3
Be merciful unto me, O
Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. For I cry unto thee daily. Is
there not a promise that importunity shall prevail? May we not, then, plead our
importunity as an argument with God? He who prays every day, and all the day,
for so the word may mean, may rest assured that the Lord will hear him in the
day of his need. If we cried sometimes to man, or other false confidences, we
might expect to be referred to them in the hour of our calamity, but if in all
former times we have looked to the Lord alone, we may be sure that he will not
desert us now. See how David pleaded, first that he was poor and needy, next
that he was the Lord's set apart one, then that he was God's servant and had
learned to trust in the Lord, and lastly that he had been taught to pray daily;
surely these are such holy pleadings as any tried believer may employ when
wrestling with a prayer hearing God, and with such weapons the most trembling
suppliant may hope to win the day. [SPUR Ver. 3. Be merciful unto me. Lest any should
by the former words, ("I am holy",) suspect him to be a merit monger,
he beggeth mercy with instancy and constancy of request. --John Trapp. Ver. 3. I cry unto thee daily. A great
difference between saints and sinners in prayer is that sinners who pray at
all, pray only when they are in trouble, whereas saints cry daily unto God.
Compare #Job 27:10. --William S. Plumer. 4
Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my
soul. Thought and desire are the wings
of love; for he that loves is borne on to, and abides in, what he loves, by
thinking constantly on, and longing for, the object of his love. Whoever truly, and from his heart, loves God,
by thinking on him and longing for him lifts up his soul to God; while, on the
contrary, whoever loves the earth, by thinking on and coveting the things of
the earth, lets his soul down to its level. --Bellarmine. Ver. 4. Unto thee, Lord, do I lift
my soul. If thou hadst corn in thy rooms below, thou wouldest take it up
higher, lest it should grow rotten.
Wouldest thou remove thy corn, and dost thou suffer thy heart to rot on
the earth? Thou wouldest take thy corn up higher: lift up thy heart to
heaven. And how can I, dost thou say?
What ropes are needed? What machines?
What ladders? Thy affections are the steps; thy will the way. By loving
thou mountest, by neglect thou descendest. Standing on the earth thou art in
heaven, if thou lovest God. For the heart is not so raised as the body is
raised: the body to be lifted up changes its place: the heart to be lifted up
changes its will. --Augstine. Ver. 4. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift my soul,
intimates that he had brought himself to the Lord as a living sacrifice, even
as the heave offering in the tabernacle -- to show that it belonged to God and
to his altar, and, that man had no part in it -- was lifted up by the hands of
the priests. --Benjamin Weiss. Psa 86: 5 For
thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and [xv]plenteous
in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. “Ver. 5. For thou, Lord, art good,
and ready to forgive. Good at giving and forgiving; supplying us with his good,
and removing our evil. Here was the great reason why the Psalmist looked to the
Lord alone for his joy, because every joy creating attribute is to be found in
perfection in Jehovah alone. Some men
who would be considered good are so self exultingly indignant at the injuries
done them by others, that they cannot forgive; but we may rest assured that the
better a being is, the more willing he is to forgive, and the best and highest
of all is ever ready to blot out the transgressions of his creatures. And plenteous in mercy unto all
them that call upon thee. God does not dispense his mercy from a slender store
which perchance may be so impoverished as to give out altogether, but out of a
cornucopiae he pours forth the infinite riches of his mercy: his goodness flows
forth in abounding streams towards those who pray and in adoring worship make
mention of his name. David seems to have stood in the cleft of the rock with
Moses, and to have heard the name of the Lord proclaimed even as the great
lawgiver did, for in two places in this psalm he almost quotes verbatim the
passage in #Ex 34:6 -- "The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."” [SPUR Ver. 5. Ready to forgive. …Whereas
most men, though they will forgive, yet they are not ready to forgive, they are
hardly brought to it, though they do it at last. But God is "ready to
forgive"; he hath, as it were, pardons ready drawn (as a man who would be
ready to do a business, he will have such writings as concern the passing of it
ready); there is nothing to do but to put in the date and the name; yea indeed,
the date and the name are put in from all eternity. Thus the Scripture speaks
to show how forward God is to do good; he needs not set his heart to it; his
heart is ever in the exactest fitness. --Joseph Caryl. 6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the [xvi]voice
of my supplications. “Attend to the voice of my
supplications. Here are repetitions, but not vain repetitions. When a child cries it repeats the same note,
but it is equally in earnest every time, and so was it with the suppliant here.
Note the expression, "the voice of my supplications", as if they were
not all voice but were partly made up of inarticulate noise, yet amid much that
was superfluous there really was a distinct voice, an inner meaning, a living
sense which was the heart's intention.
This he would have the Lord sift out from the chaff, and hear amid the
mingled din. May our prayers never be voiceless; may the soul's intent always
give them a live core of meaning.” [SPUR 7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou
wilt answer me. “there are some particular times
or days of trouble; which trouble arises from different causes; sometimes from
themselves, their corruptions, the weakness of their grace, and the poor
performance of their duties; sometimes from others; from the persecutions of
the men of the world; from the wicked lives of profane sinners, and especially
professors of religion, and from the spread of false doctrine; sometimes from
Satan and his temptations; and sometimes from the more immediate hand of God in
afflictions, and from the hidings of his face: these troubles do not last
always; they are but for a day, for a particular time; and such a season is a
fit one for prayer, and the Lord invites and encourages his people to call upon
him in prayer when this is the case, #Ps 50:15. Christ had his times of
trouble, in which he called upon his divine Father, #Joh 11:33,41 12:27 for thou wilt answer me; which the idols of
the Gentiles could not do; Baal could not answer his priests, #1Ki 18:26, this the
psalmist concluded, both from the promise of God, #Ps 50:15, and from his
frequent experience, #Ps 138:3, a very encouraging reason or argument this to
call on the Lord: Christ was always heard and answered, #Joh 11:41,42. ” [JOHN
GILL.]. 8¶ Among the gods
there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy
works. Ver. 8-10. -- There are two kinds
of doubt which are wont in the hour of temptation to assail the soul: the doubt
as to God's willingness, and the doubt as to God's power to succour. The first
of these the Psalmist has already put from him; he now shows that he has
overcome the second. God is able as well as willing to help, …--J.J.S. Perowne. 9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship
before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. Ver. 9. All nations whom thou hast
made, and these include all mankind, since they all come of the first Adam --
thy creature” [SPUR 10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God
alone. Ver. 10. For thou art great. He
had before said, "thou art good"; it is a grand thing when greatness
and goodness are united; it is only in the Divine Being that either of them
exists absolutely, and essentially.” [SPUR “Ver. 10. For thou art great, &c.] In his nature, and the perfections of it; in his power, wisdom, truth, faithfulness, love, grace, and mercy; and in all his persons; the Father is great, greater than all; the Son is the great God, and our Saviour; and the Spirit, which is in his people, is greater than he that is in the world: and doest wondrous things; in nature and
providence; such as the forming of all things out of nothing; upholding all
things by the word of his power; the formation of man, soul and body, and the
union of both; and the constant government of the world; and more especially in
grace, as the provision in the covenant in eternity, the mission of Christ in
time, the conversion of a sinner, and bringing him to eternal glory: thou art God alone; to the exclusion of all
such who are not gods by nature; but not to the exclusion of the Son and
Spirit, who are, with the Father, the one God, #1Jo 5:7.” [JOHN GILL.]. 11 Teach me
thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. Ver. 11. Teach me thy way: I will
walk in thy truth: unite my heart. Here is the "Via, Veritas, Vita"
of the Gospel (#Joh 14:6). "Via
tua, Veritas tua, Vita tua, Christus." Christ is our Way, Truth, and Life,
because he is Man united to God, and is one substance with the Father.
--Christopher Wordsworth. Ver. 11. Teach. The common version
of the verb here is too vague, as it fails to bring out the peculiar
suitableness of the term to express the kind of teaching here specifically
meant. The original meaning of the Hebrew word is to point out or mark the way.
--J.A. Alexander. Ver. 11. I will walk in thy truth.
Walking, in the Scripture, takes in the whole of our conversation or conduct:
and to walk in anything, intends a fulness of it. For a man to walk in pride,
is something more than to be proud: it says, that pride is his way, his
element; that he is wholly under the influence of it. --William Jay. Ver. 11. Unite my heart to fear
thy name. The end which he desired to secure was that he might truly fear God,
or properly reverence and honour him; the means which he saw to be necessary
for this was that his "heart" might be "united" in this one
great object; that is, that his heart might be single in its views and
purposes; that there might be no distracting purposes; that one great aim might
be always before him. The word rendered unite -- dxy, yahhad -- occurs as a
verb only in three places. In #Ge 49:6 it is rendered united: "Unto their
assembly, mine honour, be not thou united." In #Isa 14:20 it is translated
joined: "Thou shalt not be joined unto them." The adverb -- dxy
ya-hhad -- occurs often, and is rendered together, #Ge 13:6 22:6,8,19 36:7; et
soepe. The idea is that of union, or
conjunction; of being together; of constituting one; and this is accomplished
in the heart when there is one great ruling object before the mind which
nothing is allowed to interfere with. It
may be added, that there is no more appropriate prayer which a man can offer
than that his heart may have such unity of purpose, and that nothing may be
allowed to interfere with that one supreme purpose. --Albert Barnes. Ver. 11. Unite my heart, etc.
Sincerity drives but one design, and that is to please and enjoy God; and what
can more establish and fix the soul in the hour of temptation than this? The
reason why the hypocrite is unstable in all his ways, is given us by the
apostle: he is "a double minded man", a man of two souls in one body;
…--John Flavel. Ver. 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord,
&c.] The methods of thy grace, which thou hast taken, and dost take, in the
salvation of men, in the contrivance, impetration, and application of it; or
the way which thou hast marked out for thy people to walk in, the way of thy
commandments: each of these the psalmist had knowledge of before; but he
desires to be more and more instructed therein, as every good man does; see #Ps
25:4,5 Isa 2:3. unite my heart to fear thy name;
there must be an heart given to man to fear the Lord; for the fear of the Lord
is not naturally in their hearts, or before their eyes; and they should have,
not a divided and distracted heart, an heart divided between God and the world,
between the fear of God and the fear of man; but a heart united to the Lord,
that cleaves to him, and him only; a single and a sincere heart; a heart that
has a single view to his glory, and a sincere affection for him; and such a
heart the Lord has promised to give to his people, in order to fear him, #Jer
32:39.” [JOHN GILL.]. 12
I will praise
thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for
evermore. "This is the second time in
the psalm that David calls the Lord "my God", the first time he was
in an agony of prayer (#Ps 86:2), and now he is in an ecstacy of praise. If anything can make a man pray and praise,
it is the knowledge into that the Lord is his God. And I will glorify thy name for
evermore, eternity gratitude will prolong its praise. God has never done
blessing us, let us never have done blessing him. As he ever gives us grace,
let us ever render to him the glory of it.
" [SPUR "Ver. 12. I will praise thee,
O Lord my God, with all my heart, &c.] And under that consideration, that
he was his God, and which itself is sufficient matter of praise;" [JOHN
GILL.]. 13 For great is thy
mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14 O God, the proud are
risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul;
and have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord,
art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in
mercy and truth. 16 O turn unto me, and
have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of
thine handmaid. 17 Shew me a token for
good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD,
hast holpen me, and comforted me. Ps 88:2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine
ear unto my cry; Ver. 2. Incline thine ear, etc. It
is necessary that God should incline his ear unto our prayer, else it would be
in vain to come before Him. The prodigal did not venture to present his prayer
before the father ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him. For then he said,
#Lu 15:21, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight",
etc ... and so he obtained mercy. Esther did not present her prayer to
Ahasuerus before he descended from his throne and inclined himself to her. #Es
5:2, etc. --Le Blanc. “Ver. 2. Let my prayer come before
thee, &c.] Not before men, as hypocrites desire, but before the Lord…”
[JOHN GILL.]. Ps 88:13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in
the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. “Ver. 13. But
unto thee have I cried, O Lord, &c.] Formerly, and had been heard,
answered, and relieved, and which was an encouragement to cry again to him in
his distress; …and in the
morning shall my prayer prevent thee; not before the Lord is awake, and can
hear; for he neither slumbers nor sleeps, and he always hears: but the meaning
is, that he would pray before he entered upon another business; this should be
the first thing in the morning he would do, and this he would do before others
did, or he himself used to do; before the usual time of morning prayer;
signifying, he would pray to him very early, which is expressive of his
vehemency, fervency, and importunity and earnestness, and what a sense he had
of his case, and of his need of divine help: so Christ rose early in the
morning, a great while before day, to pray, #Mr 1:35. See Gill on "Ps
5:4"...” [JOHN GILL.]. “Verse 13. Shall
my prayer prevent thee. — It shall get before
thee; I will not wait till the accustomed time to offer my morning sacrifice, I
shall call on thee long before others come to offer their devotions.” [ADAM
CLARKE.]. Ps 90:1 ¶
<<A Prayer of Moses the man of God.>> Lord, thou hast been our [xvii]dwelling
place in all generations. Title. A prayer
of Moses. Moses may be considered as the first composer of sacred hymns.
--Samuel Burder. “Ver. 1. Lord,
thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, &c.] Even when they
had no certain dwelling place in the world; so their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, dwelt in tabernacles in the land of promise, as in a strange land;
and their posterity for many years served under great affliction and oppression
in a land that was not theirs; and now they were dwelling in tents in the
wilderness, and removing from place to place; but as the Lord had been in every
age, so he now was the dwelling place of those that trusted in him; being that
to them as an habitation is to man, in whom they had provision, protection,
rest, and safety;” [JOHN GILL.]. Ver. 1. Our
dwelling place. God created the earth for beasts to inhabit, the sea for
fishes, the air for fowls, and heaven for angels and stars, so that man hath no
place to dwell and abide in but God alone. --Giovanni della Mirandola Pico,
1463-1494. Ps 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his
courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! “ Ver. 4. Enter into
his gates with thanksgiving. To the occurrence of the word thanksgiving in this
place the Psalm probably owes its title. In all our public service the
rendering of thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which
filled the whole house with smoke. Expiatory sacrifices are ended, but those of
gratitude will never be out of date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we
must be givers of thanks. Mercy permits us to enter his gates; let us praise
that mercy. What better subjcct for our thoughts in God's own house than the
Lord of the house. And into his courts with praise. Into whatever
court of the Lord you may enter, let your admission be the subject of praise:
thanks be to God, the innermost court is now open to believers, and we enter
into that which is within the veil; it is incumbent upon us that we acknowledge
the high privilege by our songs. Be thankful unto him. Let the praise be in
your heart as well as on your tongue, and let it all be for him to whom it all
belongs. And bless his name. He blessed you, bless him
in return; bless his name, his character, his person. Whatever he does, be sure
that you bless him for it; bless him when he takes away as well as when he
gives; bless him as long as you live, under all circumstances; bless him in all
his attributes, from whatever point of view you consider him.” [SPUR Ps 102:1 ¶ <<A
Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint
before the LORD.>> Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. “<A prayer of the
afflicted, when he is [xviii]overwhelmed, and
poureth out his complaint before the Lord>>;… Ver. 1-2. This language is the language of
godly sorrow, of faith, of tribulation, and of anxious hope: of faith, for the
devout suppliant lifts up his heart and voice to heaven, "as seeing him
who is invisible," (#Heb 11:27) and entreats him to hear his prayer and
listen to his crying: of tribulation, for he describes himself as enduring
affliction, and unwilling to lose the countenance of the Lord in his time of
his trouble: of anxious hope, for he seems to expect, in the midst of his
groaning, that his prayers, like those of Cornelius, will "go up for a
memorial before God" who will hear him, "and that right soon."
Charles Oxenden, in "Sermons on the Seven Penitential Psalms," 1838. er. 1-2. Note, David sent his
prayer as a sacred ambassador to God.
Now there are four things requisite to make an embassy prosperous. The
ambassador must be regarded with favourable eye: he must be heard with a ready
ear: he must speedily return when his demands are conceded. These four things
David as a suppliant asks from God his King. Le Blanc. Ps 102:17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and not despise their prayer. Ver. 17. He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, &c.] Of the destitute of human help and
support, protection and defence; as the church in the wilderness; of the
"poor", as the Syriac and Arabic versions, both in spirit and in
purse; of the "humble", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin: the word
{c} signifies a low shrub or plant; it is rendered, the heath in the
wilderness,” [JOHN GILL.]. “And not despise their
prayer. When great kings are building their palaces it is not reasonable to
expect them to turn aside and listen to every beggar who pleads with them, yet
when the Lord builds up Zion, and appears in his robes of glory, he makes a
point of listening to every petition of the poor and needy. He will not treat
their pleas with contempt; he will incline his ear to hear, his heart to
consider, and his hand to help.” [SPUR Ver. 17. He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, etc. The persons are here called "the
destitute." The Hebrew word which is here translated "destitute"
doth properly signify myrica, a low shrub, humiles myrica, low shrubs that grow
in wildernesses, some think they were juniper shrubs, some a kind of wild
tamaris, but a base wild shrub that grew nowhere but in a desolate forlorn
place; and sometimes the word in the text is used to signify the deserts of
Arabia, the sandy desert place of Arabia, which was a miserable wilderness. Now
when this word is applied to men, it always means such as were forsaken men,
despised men; such men as are stripped of all that is comfortable to them:
either they never had children, or else their children are taken away from them,
and all comforts banished, and themselves left utterly forlorn, like the barren
heath ih a desolate howling wilderness. These are the people of whom my text
speaks, that the Lord will regard the prayer of "the destitute;" and
this was now the state of the Church of God when they offered up this prayer,
and yet by faith did foretell that God would grant such a glorious answer... This is also a lesson
of singular comfort to every afflicted soul, to assure them their prayers and
supplications are tenderly regarded before God. …thou hast a faithful promise from him to be rewarded: he will
regard the prayer of the destitute. Stephen Marshall, in a Sermon entitled
"The Strong Helper," 1645. Ps 109:4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give
myself unto prayer. Ver. 4. (first clause).
None prove worse enemies than those that have received the greatest kindnesses,
when once they turn unkind. As the sharpest vinegar is made of the purest wine,
and pleasant meats turn to the bitterest humours in the stomach; so the highest
love bestowed upon friends, being ill digested or corrupt, turns to the most
unfriendly hatred, proximorum odia sunt acerrima. --Abraham Wright. “Ver. 4. For my love
they are my adversaries; that's an ill requital; but how did David requite
them? We may take his own word for it; he tells us how, "But I give myself
unto prayer"; yea, he seemed a man wholly given unto prayer. The elegant
conciseness of the Hebrew is, "But I prayer"” [SPUR Doubtless he prayed and
prayed much for himself; he prayed also for them. We may understand these
words, "I give myself unto prayer", two ways. First I pray against
their plots and evil dealings with me (prayer was David's best strength always
against his enemies), yet that was not all.
But, secondly, "I give myself unto prayer", that the Lord
would pardon their sin, and turn their hearts, when they are doing me mischief;
or, though they have done me mischief, I am wishing them the best good. David (in another place) showed what a spirit
of charity he was clothed with, when no reproof could hinder him from praying
for others, #Ps 141:5. --Joseph Caryl. Ver. 4. The translator
of the Syriac version has inserted in #Ps 109:4 [Arabic] "and I have
prayed for them", as if he had copied them from the words of our Lord in
#Mt 5:44, where in the Syriac version of the New Testament we have exactly the
same construction. It is in keeping with the inscription of the Psalm, which
applies it directly to Christ. It would seem as if the Translator understood
this verse of the crucifixion and of the Redeemer's prayer for his murderers,
or as if the only way to understand the elliptical language of the Psalmist was
from the teaching and example of our Lord. --E.T. Gibson, of Crayford. “But I give myself unto
prayer; or "I am a man of prayer" {y}; as Aben Ezra and Kimchi supply
it;” [JOHN GILL.]. {y} hlpt ynaw "et ego vir orationis",
Pagninus, Gejerus. Ver. 4. A Christian is
all over prayer: he prays at rising, at lying down, and as he walks: like a
prime favourite at court, who has the key to the privy stairs, and can wake his
prince by night. --Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740-1778. Ps 109:7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin! “And let his prayer
become sin, let it be fruitless and in vain; and so far from being heard, let
it he treated as an abomination; let it be considered as an aggravation of his
crime, as Haman's was, #Est 7:7,8, let his prayer being without faith in the
blood of Christ, be reckoned sinful, as it was; let his cries, and tears, and
repentance issue in desperation, and that in sin, as it did in destroying
himself, #Mt 27:5.” [JOHN GILL.]. Ver. 7. Let his prayer
become sin. As the clamours of a condemned malefactor, not only find no
acceptance, but are looked upon as an affront to the court. The prayers of the
wicked now become sin, because soured with the leaven of hypocrisy and malice;
and so they will in the great day, because then it will be too late to cry,
"Lord, Lord, open unto us." --Matthew Henry. Ver. 7. Let his prayer
become sin. Kimchi in his annotations thus explains these words: i.e.,
"let it be without effect, so that he does not get what he asks for; let
him not hit the mark at which he aims": for ajx sometimes has the meaning
to miss. --Wolfgang Musculus. Ver. 7. Let his prayer become
sin. The prayer of the hypocrite is sin formally, and it is sin in the effect,
that is, instead of getting any good by it, he gets hurt, and the Lord instead
of helping him because he prays, punishes him because of the sinfulness of his
prayers. Thus his prayer becomes sin to him, because he receives no more
respect from God when he prays than when he sins. And sin doth not only mingle
with his prayer (as it doth with the prayers of the holiest), but his prayer is
nothing else but a mixture or mingle mangle (as we speak) of many sins.
--Joseph Caryl. Ver. 7-19. These and
the following verses, although they contain terrible imprecations, will become
less dreadful if we understand them as spoken concerning men pertinaciously cleaving
to their vices, against whom only has God threatened punishments; not against
those who repent with all their heart, and become thoroughly changed in life.
--John Le Clerc. Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as
incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. “Ver. 2. Let my prayer
be set forth before thee [as] incense, &c.] Which was offered every morning
on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, #Ex 30:1,7,8 Lu
1:10; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer;” [JOHN
GILL.]. Ver. 2. Let my prayer
be set forth before thee [as] incense, &c.] Which was offered every morning
on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, #Ex 30:1,7,8 Lu
1:10; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer; which
being offered on the altar Christ, which sanctifies every gift, and by him the
High Priest; through whom every sacrifice is acceptable unto God; and through
whose blood and righteousness, and the sweet incense of his mediation and
intercession, it becomes fragrant and a sweet odour to the Lord; and being
directed to him, it goes upwards, is regarded by him, and continues before him
as sweet incense; which is what the psalmist prays for; see #Mal 1:11 Re 8:3,4; [and] the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice; the burnt sacrifice of the evening, according to Ben Melech,
the lamb slain every evening; or else the minchah, as the word is; the meat, or
rather the bread offering made of fine flour, with oil and frankincense on it,
which went along with the former, #Ex 29:38-41; and so the Targum, ``as the sweet gift offered in the evening.'' This only is mentioned, as being put for both
the morning and the evening sacrifice; or because the incense was offered in
the morning, from which it is distinguished: or it may be, as Kimchi thinks,
this psalm was composed in the evening; and so the inscription in the Syriac
version is, ``a psalm of David, when he meditated the
evening service.'' Or because this was the last sacrifice of the
day; there was no other after it, as Aben Ezra observes; and the most
acceptable; to which may be added, that this was the hour for prayer, #Ac 3:1
10:3. Wherefore "lifting up of [the] hands" was a prayer gesture, and
a very ancient one both among Jews and Gentiles {x}; Aristotle {y} says, all
men, when we pray, lift up our hands to heaven; and it is put for that itself,
#1Ti 2:8; and is desired to be, like that, acceptable unto God; as it is when
the heart is lifted up with the hands, and prayer is made in the name and faith
of Christ. {x} Vid. Barthii Animadv. in Claudian. ad
Rufin. l. 2. v. 205. {y} De Mundo, c. 6. Vid. Plutarch. in Vita
Camilli. "Sustulit ad sidera palmas", Virgil. Aeneid. 2. so Ovid.
Fasti, l. 3.” [JOHN GILL.]. “Ver. 2. Let my prayer
be set forth before thee as incense. As incense is carefully prepared, kindled
with holy fire, and devoutly presented unto God, so let my prayer be.” [JOHN
GILL.]. Ver. 2. Let my prayer
be set forth before thee. Margin, directed. The Hebrew word means to fit; to
establish; to make firm. The Psalmist
desires that his prayer should not be like that which is feeble, languishing, easily
dissipated; but that it should be like that which is firm and secure. --Albert
Barnes. Ver. 2. Let my prayer
be set forth before thee as incense. Literally, Let my prayer, incense, be set
in order before Thee, -- implying that prayer was in the reality what incense
was in the symbol ... Passing to New Testament Scripture, though still only to
that portion which refers to Old Testament times, we are told of the people
without being engaged in player, while Zacharias was offering incense within
the Sanctuary (#Lu 1:10); they were in spirit going along with the priestly
service. And in the book of Revelation the prayers of saints are once and again
identified with the offering of incense on the golden altar before the throne.
#Re 5:8 8:3-4. --Patrick Fairbairn, in "The Typology of Scripture." Ver. 2. Set forth.
Prayer is knowing work, believing work, thinking work, searching work, humbling
work, and nothing worth if heart and hand do not join in it. --Thomas Adam,
1701-1784. Ver. 2. As incense.
That in general by incense prayer is signified, the Scripture expressly
testifieth. And there is a fourfold resemblance between them: 1. In that it was
beaten and pounded before it was used. So doth acceptable prayer proceed from a
broken and contrite heart: #Ps 51:17. 2. It was of no use until fire was put
under it, and that taken from the altar. Nor is that prayer of any virtue or
efficacy which is no[ kindled by the fire from above, the Holy Spirit of God,
which we have from our altar, Christ Jesus.
3. It naturally ascended upwards towards heaven, as all offerings in the
Hebrew are called twl[, "ascensions", uprisings. And this is the
design of prayer, to ascend unto the throne of God: "I will direct unto
thee, and will look up"; that is, pray: #Ps 5:3. 1. It yielded a sweet savour; which was one end of it in
temple services, wherein there was so much burning of flesh and blood. So doth
prayer yield a sweet savour unto God; a savour of rest, wherein he is well
pleased. --John Owen. 2. Ver. 2. In the gorgeous ceremonial worship of the Hebrews,
none of the senses were excluded from taking part in the service ... The sense
of smell occupied, perhaps, the most prominent place; for the acceptance of the
worship was always indicated by a symbol borrowed from this sense: "The
Lord smelled a sweet savour." The prayer of the people ascended as
incense, and the lifting up of their hands as the evening sacrifice. The
offering of incense formed the essential part of the religious service. The
altar of incense occupied one of the most conspicuous and honoured positions in
the tabernacle and temple ... On this altar a censer full of incense poured
forth its fragrant clouds every morning and evening; and yearly, as the day of
atonement came round, when the high priest entered the holy of holies, he
filled a censer with live coals from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt
offerings, and bore it into the sanctuary, where lie threw upon the burning
coals the "sweet incense beaten small", which lie had brought in his
hand. Without this smoking censer lie was forbidden, on pain of death, to enter
into the awful shrine of Jehovah.
Notwithstanding the washing of his flesh, and the linen garments with
which he was clothed, tie dare not enter the holiest of all with the blood of
atonement, unless he could personally shelter himself under a cloud of incense. 3. … It has been supposed by some writers that incense was
invented for the purpose of concealing or neutralizing the noxious effluvia
caused by the number of beasts slaughtered every day in the sanctuary. Other
writers have attached a mystical import to it, and believed that it was a
symbol of the breath of the world arising in praise to the Creator, the four
ingredients of which it was composed representing the four elements. While a
third class, looking upon the tabernacle as the palace of God, the theocratic
King of Israel, and the ark of the covenant as his throne, regarded the incense
as merely corresponding to the perfume so lavishly employed about the person
and appointments of an Oriental monarch. It may doubtless have been intended
primarily to serve these purposes and convey these meanings, but it derived its
chief importance in connection with the ceremonial observances of the Mosaic
ritual from the fact of its being the great symbol of prayer. It was offered at
the time when the people were in the posture and act of devotion; and their
prayers were supposed to be presented to God by the priest, and to ascend to
him in the smoke and odour of that fragrant offering. Scripture is full of allusions to it,
understood in this beautiful symbolical sense.
Acceptable, prevailing prayer was a sweet smelling savour to the Lord;
and prayer that was unlawful, or hypocritical, or unprofitable, was rejected
with disgust by the organ of smell. … The altar of incense
stood in the closest connection with the altar of burnt offerings. The blood of
the sin offering was sprinkled on the horns of both on the great day of annual
atonement. Morning and evening, as soon as the sacrifice was offered, the
censer poured forth its fragrant contents, so that the perpetual incense within
ascended simultaneously with the perpetual burnt offering outside. Without the live coals from off the
sacrificial altar, the sacred incense could not be kindled; and without the
incense previously filling the holy place, the blood of atonement from the
altar of burnt offering could not be sprinkled on the mercy seat. Beautiful and
expressive type of the perfect sacrifice and the all prevailing intercession of
Jesus -- of intercession founded upon atonement, of atonement preceded and
followed by intercession! Beautiful and expressive type, too, of the prayers of
believers kindled by the altar fire of Christ's sacrifice, and perfumed by his
merits! --Hugh Macmillan, in "The Ministry of Nature", 1871. Ps 141:5 ¶ Let the
righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it
shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my
prayer also shall be in their calamities. “#5-10 We should be
ready to welcome the rebuke of our heavenly Father, and also the reproof of our
brethren. It shall not break my head, if it may but help to break my heart: we
must show that we take it kindly.” [MATTHEW HENRY.]. Ver. 5. Let the
righteous smite me, The word slh is seldom used in Scripture but to signify a
severe stroke which shakes the subject smitten, and causeth it to tremble; see
#Pr 23:35 1Sa 14:16 #Ps 74:6; and it is used for the stroke of the hammer on
the anvil in fashioning of the iron (#Isa 41:7). Wherefore the word dsx following may be taken
adverbially, as a lenitive of that severity which this word imports: "Let
him smite me, but" leniter, benigne, misericorditer, "gently, kindly,
friendly, mercifully": and so some translations read the words, "Let
the righteous smite me friendly, or kindly." --John Owen. Ps 142:1 ¶
<<Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.>> I cried
unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my
supplication. Title. He calls this
prayer Maschil, "a psalm of instruction", because of the good lessons
he had himself learned in the cave, learned on his knees, and so learned that
he desired to teach others. --Matthew Henry. “There can be no
situation so distressing or dangerous, in which faith will not get comfort from
God by prayer. We are apt to show our troubles too much to ourselves, poring
upon them, which does us no service; whereas, by showing them to God, we might
cast the cares upon him who careth for us, and thereby ease ourselves. Nor
should we allow any complaint to ourselves or others, which we cannot make to
God.” [MATTHEW HENRY.]. Ps 143:1 ¶ <<A
Psalm of David.>> Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications:
in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. #1-6 We have no
righteousness of our own to plead, therefore must plead God's righteousness,
and the word of promise which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in.
[MATTHEW HENRY.]. Ver. 1. Hear my prayer.
... give ear to my supplications... answer me. He doth here three times repeat
his camest desire to be heard, as in fifth psalm four times he doubles and
ingeminateth this same suit to be heard. ...
When he doubles his request of hearing, he would have God hear with both
his ears, that is, most attentively and readily: so instant is a mind that he
desireth the prayer he putteth up to be remembered, as was said the angel to
the centurion: "Thy prayer and almsdeeds are come up God": #Ac 10:4.
--Archibald Symson. Pr 15:8 ¶ The sacrifice
of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the
upright is his delight. “Ver. 8. The sacrifice
of the wicked [is] an abomination to the Lord, &c.] Even those sacrifices
which were of divine appointment under the former dispensation, when offered by
wicked men, without faith in Christ, without any sense of sin, repentance for
it, and reformation from it; when these were used as a cloak for sin, under
which they sheltered and satisfied themselves, and went on in sin; when they brought
them "with a wicked mind", as in #Pr 21:27; when either what they
brought were not according to the law, the lame and the blind; or were not
their own, but robbery for burnt sacrifice; or supposing that these would atone
for their sins of themselves; when either of these, or all this, was the case,
it was an abomination to the Lord; see #Isa 1:11-15 61:8 66:3.” [JOHN GILL.]. “Verse 8. The
sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination —
Even the most sedulous attendance on the ordinances of God, and performance of
the ceremonies of religion, is an abomination to the Lord, if the heart be not
right with him, and the observance do not flow from a principle of pure
devotion. No religious acts will do in place of holiness to the Lord. The prayer of the upright is his
delight. — What a motive to be upright; and
what a motive to the upright to pray! But who is the upright? The man who is
weary of sin, and sincerely desires the salvation of God; as well as he who has
already received a measure of that salvation. Hence it is said in the next
verse, “He loveth him that followeth after righteousness.”” [ADAM CLARKE.]. Pr 15:29 ¶ The LORD is
far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. “Verse 29. The
Lord is far from the wicked — He is
neither near to hear, nor near to help.” [ADAM CLARKE.]. Pr 28:9 ¶ He that
turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination. “Verse 9. He
that turneth away his ear from hearing the law — Many suppose, if they do not know their duty, they shall
not be accountable for their transgressions; and therefore avoid every thing
that is calculated to enlighten them. They will not read the Bible, lest they
should know the will of Good; and they will not attend Divine ordinances for
the same reason. But this pretense will avail them nothing; as he that might
have known his master’s will, but would not, shall be treated as he shall be
who did know it, and disobeyed it. Even the prayers of such a person as this
are reputed sin before God.” [ADAM CLARKE.]. Isa 26:16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they
poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Isa 37:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the
words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach
the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard:
wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. Isa 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD,
the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:
behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be
called an house of prayer for all people. Jer 7:16 ¶ Therefore
pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither
make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. “Verse 16. Therefore
pray not thou for this people— They
have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and they must become examples of
my justice. How terrible must the state of that place be, where God refuses to
pour out the spirit of supplication on his ministers and people in its behalf!”
[ADAM CLARKE.]. Jer 11:14 Therefore pray not thou for this people,
neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in
the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. La 3:8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my
prayer. La 3:44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our
prayer should not pass through. Da 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek
by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: “Verse 3. I
set my face-to
seek by prayer— He found that the time of the
promised deliverance could not be at any great distance; and as he saw nothing
that indicated a speedy termination of their oppressive captivity, he was very
much afflicted, and earnestly besought God to put a speedy end to it; and how
earnestly he seeks, his own words show. He prayed, he supplicated, he fasted,
he put sackcloth upon his body, and he put ashes upon his head. He uses that
kind of prayer prescribed by Solomon in his prayer at the dedication of the
temple. See 1 Kings 8:47, 48.” [ADAM CLARKE.]. Da 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of
thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy
sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. Da 9:21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer,
even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. “Verse 21. The man Gabriel— Or the angel Gabriel, who had appeared to me
as a man. Ťya ish is the same here as person-the person
Gabriel. Being caused to fly swiftly— God hears with delight such earnest, humble, urgent
prayers; and sends the speediest answer. Gabriel himself was ordered on this
occasion to make more than usual speed.” [ADAM CLARKE.]. Jon 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered
the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. Hab 3:1 ¶ A prayer of Habakkuk
the prophet upon Shigionoth. “which sense is
favoured by the Targum, ``a prayer which Habakkuk the prophet prayed,
when it was revealed unto him concerning the length (of time) which (God) gave
to the wicked; that, if they would return to the law with a perfect heart, they
should be forgiven all the sins which they had committed before him as
ignorance:'' but there does not appear throughout the whole
prayer one single petition for the pardon of any sin at all.” [JOHN GILL.].
“Prayer also is taken for
granted. No man can be in the kingdom of heaven who does not pray. Those around our Lord knew
what he meant when he alluded to the hypocrites; for they
had often Been the proud sectary standing in public places repeating his prayers,
and very likely they had hitherto felt bound to hold such in repute for
superior sanctity. By our Lord’s words these hypocrites are
unmasked, and made to seem what they really are. Our King was wonderfully
plain-spoken, and called both things and persons by their right names. These
religionists were not seekers of God, but seekers after popularity; men who
twisted even devotion into a means for self aggrandizement. They chose places
and times which would render their saying of prayers conspicuous. The synagogues and the corners of the
streets suited them admirably; for
their aim was “that they may be
seen of men.” They were seen. They had
what they sought for. This was their reward, and the whole of it.” [Spurgeon.]. Before men— “Our Lord does not forbid public alms-giving,
fasting, and prayer, but simply censures those vain and hypocritical persons
who do these things publicly that they may be seen of men, and receive from
them the reputation of saints, etc…. Thou shalt not
be as the hypocrites— upokritai. From upo under, and krinomai to be judged, thought:
properly a stage-player, who acts under a mask, personating a character
different from his own; a counterfeit, a dissembler; one who would be thought
to be different from what he really is. A person who wishes to be taken for a
follower of God, but who has nothing of religion except the outside. Love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets— The Jewish phylacterical prayers were long,
and the canonical hours obliged them to repeat these prayers wherever they
happened to be; and the Pharisees, who were full of vain glory, contrived to be
overtaken in the streets by the canonical hour, that they might be seen by the
people, and applauded for their great and conscientious piety. See Lightfoot.
As they had no piety but that which was outward, they endeavored to let it
fully appear, that they might make the most of it among the people. It would
not have answered their end to kneel before God, for then they might have been
unnoticed by men; and consequently have lost that reward which they had in
view: viz. the esteem and applause of the multitude…. Verse 6. But thou, when thou prayest— This is a very impressive and emphatic
address. But THOU! whosoever thou art, Jew, Pharisee, Christian-enter into thy
closet. Prayer is the most secret intercourse of the soul with God, and as it
were the conversation of one heart with another. The world is too profane and
treacherous to be of the secret. We must shut the door against it: endeavor to forget
it, with all the affairs which busy and amuse it. Prayer requires retirement,
at least of the heart; for this may be fitly termed the closet in the house of
God, which house the body of every real Christian
is, 1 Corinthians 3:16. Reward thee openly.— What goodness is there equal to this of God to give, not only
what we ask, and more than we ask, but to reward even prayer itself! How great
advantage is it to serve a prince who places prayers in the number of services,
and reckons to his subjects’ account, even their trust and confidence in
begging all things of him!
Verse 7. Use not vain
repetitions— mh battologhshte, Suidas explains this word well: “polulogia, much speaking, from one
Battus, who made very prolix hymns, in which the same idea frequently
recurred.” 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. In the
preceding verses we may see three faults, which our Lord commands us to avoid
in prayer:-1st. HYPOCRISY. Be not as the hypocrites.
Matthew 6:5. 2ndly. DISSIPATION. Enter into thy
closet. Matthew 6:6. 3rdly. MUCH SPEAKING, or UNMEANING
REPETITION, Be not like the heathens. Matthew 6:7.”
[A. Clark.]. “{In the synagogues and in the corners of the streets} (|en tais sunagôgais kai en tais gôniais tôn plateiôn|). These were the usual places of prayer (synagogues) and the street corners where crowds stopped for business or talk. If the hour of prayer overtook a Pharisee here, he would strike his attitude of prayer like a modern Moslem that men might see that he was pious.” [ROBERTSON WORD PICTURES]. “Ver. 5. And when thou
prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, &c.] As the Scribes and
Pharisees; whose posture in prayer, the places they chose to pray in, and the
view they had therein, are particularly taken notice of: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. It
was their usual custom to pray "standing"; nay, it is established by
their canons. ``There are eight things, (says Maimonides
{u},) that a man that prays ought to take heed to do; and the first he mentions
is "standing"; for, says he, no man may pray dmy[m ala, "but
standing"; if he is sitting in a ship, or in a cart, if he can stand, he
must stand; if not, he may sit in his place and pray.'' Several hints of this custom there are in the
Misna {w}. ``On their fast days they used to bring out
the ark into the streets-- hlptb wdm[, "and they stood in prayer", or
praying; and caused an old man to go down before the ark, who was used to
recite prayers, and he said them.'' Again {x}, ``whoever hlptb dmw[, "stood
praying", and remembered that any uncleanness attended him, he might not
break off, but he might shorten.'' Yea, standing itself is interpreted of
praying; for it is said {y}, ``and Abraham rose up early in the morning to
the place, where he stood, hdym[b ala hlpt !yaw, "and there is no prayer
but standing";'' though sometimes they prayed sitting, as David
did, #2Sa 7:18 so it is said of R. Jose, and R. Eleazar, that ylcw wbty,
"they sat and prayed", and afterwards rose up and went on their way
{z}. So it was likewise customary to go to the synagogues, and there pray; and
indeed they were places built and appointed for this purpose. ``Wherever there were ten Israelites, a house
ought to be provided, in which they may go to prayer at every time of prayer;
and this place is called a synagogue {a}.'' Hence some have thought, that not such places
are here designed, but any assembly, or concourse of people
gathered together upon any occasion; but such an interpretation will find no
place, when the following things are observed. ``For ever let a man go, morning and evening,
to the synagogue; for no prayer is heard at any time, but in the synagogue; and
everyone that hath a synagogue in his city, and does not pray in it with the
congregation, is called a bad neighbour {b}.'' Again {c}, ``he that prays in the house of the Lord, is
as if he offered up a pure offering.'' Now, partly on account of the publicness of
the place, and partly because they thought their prayers were only heard there,
therefore they chose to pray in the synagogues; and also in the corners of the streets, where two streets
met, and they might be the more easily seen. This was also a common thing to
pray in the streets: ``says R. Jochanan, I saw R. Jannai stand and
pray in the streets of Tzippore {d}.'' And a little after, it is
said of another, that he stood and prayed ayjrsab, "in the streets";
though such places were not reckoned holy, as the synagogues were. ``The street of a city, (says Maimonides {e},)
although the people pray in it at fasts and stations, because that there is a
great collection of people, and the synagogues cannot hold them, has no
holiness in it, because it is accidental, and not appointed for prayer.'' Wherefore streets were only used in case of
necessity, or by such of the Pharisees, who chose to be seen of men. A reason
is given for this practice in another place {f}, where it is asked, ``why do they go out to the streets, i.e. on
their fast days? to show that we are reckoned as if we were carried captive
before thee: says Joshua ben Levi, because they prayed in "secret",
and were not answered; therefore they went without, wmsrptyw, "that they
might be made public".'' Now let it be observed, that neither the
posture, nor places of prayer, are condemned by our Lord, but their view in all
to be seen of men; and a
considerable emphasis lies upon the word "love"; they loved
"standing" in prayer, rather than any other posture, because they
could be better seen; and they loved to be in the synagogues and streets,
rather than in their closets; they liked public better than private prayer,
because it gained them applause among men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward;
they gain their point; they have what they seek for; and this is all they will
have. {u} Hilch. Tephilla. c. 5. sect. 1, 2. {w} Misn. Taanith, c. 2. sect. 1, 2. {x} Misn. Beracot, c. 3. sect. 5. {y} Zohar in Lev. fol. 47. 1. T. Bab. Beracot,
fol. 26. 2. {z} Zohar in Exod. fol. 4. 4. {a} Maimon. Hilch. Tephilla, c. 11. 1. {b} lb. c. 8. sect. 1. T. Bab. Beracot, fol.
8. 1. & Piske Tosephot Beracot, c. 1. art. 7. {c} T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 8. 4. {d} Ib. fol. 8. 3. & 9. 1. {e} Hilch. Tephilla, c. 11. sect. 21. Vid.
Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Megilla, c. 3. sect. 1. {f} T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 65. 1.” [JOHN
GILL.]. Matthew
6:5-15 5 “And
when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be
seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. “Verse 5. And when thou prayest— otan proseuch. proseuch,, prayer, is compounded of prov with, and euch a vow, because to pray
right, a man binds himself to God, as by a vow, to live to his glory, if he
will grant him his grace, etc. eucomai signifies to pour out
prayers or vows, from eu well, and cew, I pour out; probably alluding to the offerings
or libations which were poured out before, or on the altar. A proper idea of
prayer is, a pouring out of the soul unto God, as a free-will offering,
solemnly and eternally dedicated to him, accompanied
with the most earnest desire that it may know, love, and serve him alone. He
that comes thus to God will ever be heard and blessed. Prayer is the language
of dependence; he who prays not, is endeavoring to live independently of God:
this was the first curse, and continues to be the great curse of mankind. In
the beginning, Satan said, Eat this fruit; ye shall then be as God; i.e. ye
shall be independent: the man hearkened to his voice, sin entered into the
world, and notwithstanding the full manifestation of the deception, the ruinous
system is still pursued; man will, if possible, live independently of God;
hence he either prays not at all, or uses the language without the spirit of
prayer. Thou shalt not
be as the hypocrites— upokritai. From upo under, and krinomai to be judged, thought:
properly a stage-player, who acts under a mask, personating a character
different from his own; a counterfeit, a dissembler; one who would be thought
to be different from what he really is. A person who wishes to be taken for a
follower of God, but who has nothing of religion except the outside. Love to pray
standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets— The Jewish phylacterical prayers were long,
and the canonical hours obliged them to repeat these prayers wherever they
happened to be; and the Pharisees, who were full of vain glory, contrived to be
overtaken in the streets by the canonical hour, that they might be seen by the
people, and applauded for their great and conscientious piety. ” [ADAM CLARKE.]. 6 “But you, when you pray, go
into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is
in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly. “The
admonition to pray in secret has been used as an argument against praying in
public. But Jesus prayed publicly (John 11:41-42). The thing He was condemning
throughout this section was making a display of one’s piety in order to win the
praise of man. {THE WESLEY BIBLE COMMENTARY Page 37.]. 7 “And
when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they
think that they will be heard for their many words.8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the
things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 “In
this manner, therefore, pray: 1 Our Father in
heaven, "IN
WHAT SENSE IS GOD A FATHER? (1)
By
creation; it is he that has made us:‘We are also his offspring.’ Acts 17:28.
‘Have we not all one Father?’ Malachi 2:10. Has not one God created
us? But there is little comfort in this; for God is Father in the same way
to the devils by creation; but he that made them will not save them. (2)
God is a
Father by election, having chosen a certain number to be his children,
upon whom he will entail heaven. ‘He has chosen us in him.’ Ephesians
1:4. (3)
God is a
Father by special grace. He consecrates the elect by his Spirit, and
infuses a supernatural principle of holiness, therefore they are said to be
‘born of God.’ 1 John 3:9. Such only as are sanctified can say, ‘Our Father
which art in heaven.’ What
is the difference between God being the Father of Christ, and the Father
of the elect? He is the
Father of Christ in a more glorious and transcendent manner. Christ has
the primogeniture; he is the eldest Son, a Son by eternal generation;
‘I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.’
Proverbs 8:23. ‘Who shall declare his generation?’ Isaiah 53:8. Christ is a
Son to the Father, as he is of the same nature with the Father, having all
the incommunicable properties of the Godhead belonging to him; but we are
sons of God by adoption and grace, ‘That we might receive the adoption of
sons. Galatians 4:5. … WHAT IS THAT WHICH MAKES GOD OUR
FATHER? Faith. ‘Ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.’ Galatians 3:26. An unbeliever
may call God his Creator, and his Judge, but not his Father.
Faith legitimises us, and makes us of the blood-royal of heaven. ‘Ye are the
children of God by faith.’ Baptism makes us church members, but faith
makes us children. Without faith the devil can show as good a coat of
arms as we can. HOW DOES
FAITH MAKE GOD TO BE OUR FATHER? As it is a
uniting grace. By faith we have coalition and union with Christ, and so the
kindred comes in; being united to Christ, the natural Son, we become
adopted sons. God is the Father of Christ; faith makes us Christ’s brethren,
and so God comes to be our Father. Hebrews 2:11. WHEREIN
DOES IT APPEAR THAT GOD IS THE BEST FATHER? (1)
In that he
is most ancient. ‘The Ancient of days did sit.’ Daniel 7:9. A figurative
representation of God, who was before all time, which may cause
veneration. (2)
God is the
best Father, because he is perfect. ‘Your Father which is in heaven
is perfect;’ he is perfectly good. Matthew 5:48. Earthly fathers are subject
to infirmities; Elias, though a prophet, ‘was a man subject to like passions’
(James 5:17); but God is perfectly good. All the perfection we can
arrive at in this life is sincerity. We may resemble God a little, but not equal
him; he is infinitely perfect. (3)
God is the
best Father in respect of wisdom. ‘The only wise God.’ 1 Timothy
1:17. … (4) He is the best Father,
because the most loving. ‘God is love.’ 1 John 4:16. … (5) He is the best Father,
for riches. He has land enough to give to all his children;
he has unsearchable riches. Ephesians 3:8. He gives the hidden manna,
the tree of life, rivers of joy. He has treasures that cannot be exhausted,
gates of pearl, pleasures that cannot be ended. If earthly fathers should
be ever giving, they would have nothing left to give; but God is ever giving
to his children, and yet has not the less. … (6) God is the best Father,
because he can reform his children. … (7) God is the best Father,
because he never dies. ‘Who only has immortality.’
1 Timothy 6:16. Earthly fathers die, and their children are exposed
to many injuries, but God lives for ever. ‘I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.’ Revelation
1:8. God’s
crown has no successors." [WAT [xix]Hallowed be Your name. " The first petition is: ‘Hallowed
be thy name.’ In the Latin it is, sanctificetur nomen tuum, ‘Sanctified
be thy name.’ … It is to
be preferred before life. We pray,
‘Hallowed be thy name,’ before we pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ … ‘Hallowed
be thy name.’ To admire
God’s name is not enough; we may admire a conqueror; but when we
say, ‘Hallowed be thy name,’ we set God’s name above every name, and
not only admire him, but adore him; and this is proper to the Deity only.
For the further explanation, I shall propound three questions. I.
What is meant by God’s name? [1]
His
essence. ‘The name of the God of Jacob defend thee’ (Psalm 20:1);
that is, the God of Jacob defend thee. [2]
Anything by
which he may be known. As a man is known by his name;
so by his attributes of wisdom, power, holiness, and goodness, God
is known as by his name. II.
What is
meant by hallowing God’s name? To
hallow, is a communi separare, to set apart a thing from the common use,
to some sacred end. … III. When may we be said to
hallow and sanctify God’s name? [1]
When we
profess his name. … [2] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we have a high appreciation and
esteem of him, and set him highest in our thoughts. The Hebrew word to
honor, signifies to esteem precious: … [3] We hallow and sanctify
his name when we trust in it. ‘We have trusted in
his holy name.’ Psalm 33:21. … [4] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we never make mention of it but
with the highest reverence. His name is sacred, and it must not be spoken
of but with veneration. … [5] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we love his name. ‘Let them that
love thy name be joyful.’ Psalm 5:11. … [6] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we give him a holy and spiritual
worship. … [7] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we hallow his day. ‘Hallow ye
the sabbath day.’ Jeremiah 17:22. … [8] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we ascribe the honor of all we
do to him. ‘Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.’ Psalm 96:8. … [9] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name by obeying him. How does a son more
honor his father than by obedience? ‘I delight to do thy will, O my God.’
Psalm 40:8. … [10] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we lift up his name in our praises. … ‘Let my mouth be filled
with thy praise and with
thy honor all the day.’ Psalm 71:8. ‘Blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever.’ Revelation
5:13. … [11] We hallow and sanctify
God’s name when we sympathise with him; when
we grieve when his name suffers." [WAT 10 Your
kingdom come. " What kingdom then is
meant when we say, ‘Thy kingdom come’? Positively
a twofold kingdom is meant. (1)
The kingdom
of grace, which God exercises in the consciences of his people.
This is regnum Dei micron. God’s lesser kingdom. When we pray, ‘Thy
kingdom come,’ we pray that the kingdom of grace may be set up in our
hearts and increased. (2)
We pray
also, that the kingdom of glory may hasten, and that we may, in
God’s good time be translated into it. … implied is ‘ Thy kingdom come,’ is
that we pray against the
devil’s kingdom; that his kingdom may be demolished in the world. His
kingdom stands in opposition to Christ’s kingdom; and when we pray,
‘Thy kingdom come,’ we pray against Satan’s kingdom. Satan’s
empire is
very large. Most kingdoms in the world pay tribute to him. His kingdom has
two qualifications or characters: [1]
It is
regnum nequitiae:a kingdom of impiety. [2]
It is
regnum servitutis:a kingdom of slavery." [WAT Your will be done On earth as it
is in heaven. "‘Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven.’ Matthew 6:10 WE
COME NEXT TO THE THIRD PETITION, ‘THY
WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. This
petition consists of two parts:the matter, ‘Doing God’s will;’ and the manner,
‘As it is in heaven.’ WHAT
IS MEANT BY THE WILL OF GOD? There
is a twofold will. (1)
Voluntas
decreti, God’s secret will, or ‘the will of his decree’. We pray not
that God’s secret will may be done by us. This secret will cannot be known,
it is locked up in God’s own breast, and neither man nor angel has a
key to open it. (2)
Voluntas
revelata, God’s ‘revealed will.’ This will is written in the book
of Scripture, which is a declaration of God’s will, and discovers what he
would have us do in order to our salvation. …WHY
IS THE DOING GOD’S WILL REQUISITE? (1)
Out of
equity. God may justly claim a right to our obedience. He is our founder,
and we have our being from him; and it is but just that we should do
his will at whose word we were created. God is our benefactor. It is but just
that, if he gives us our allowance, we should give him our allegiance. (2)
The great
design of God in the word is to make us doers of his will. …(3) By doing the will of
God, we evidence sincerity. As Christ said in another
sense, ‘The works that I do, bear witness of me.’ John 10:25. It is not
all our golden words, if we could speak like angels, but our works, our doing
of God’s will which bears witness of our sincerity. …(4) Doing God’s will
propagates the gospel. …(5) By doing God’s will, we
show our love to Christ. ‘He that has my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.’ John 14:21. …(6) To do God’s will is for
our benefit. It promotes our own self-interest. …‘And now, Israeli what
does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to
fear the Lord thy God, to keep the commandments of the Lord, which
I command thee this day for thy good?’ Deuteronomy 10:13. …(7) To do God’s will is our
honor. A person thinks it an honor to have a king
speak to him to do a thing. The angels count it their highest honor in heaven
to do God’s will. …, to serve God is to reign.[Watson]. 11 Give
us this day our daily bread. In this
petition there are two things observable - the order, and the matter. I. First, we pray, ‘Hallowed be thy
name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done,’
before we pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ God’s glory ought to
weigh down all before it; it must be preferred before our dearest concerns.
Christ preferred his Father’s glory before his own as he was man. ‘I
honor my Father, I seek not mine own glory.’ John 8:49, 50. …(1) Do we prefer God’s
glory before our own credit? …The apostles rejoiced ‘that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name;’ that
they were graced so far as to be disgraced for Christ. Acts 5:41. (2)
Do we
prefer God’s glory before our relations? Relations are dear, they are
of our own flesh and bones; but God’s glory must be dearer. ‘If
any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, he
cannot be my disciple.’ Luke 14:26. …(3) We must prefer God’s
glory before estate. …If
it come to this, I cannot keep my place
of profit, but God’s glory will be eclipsed, I must rather suffer in my estate
than God’s glory should suffer. Hebrews 10:34. (4)
We must
prefer God’s glory before our life. ‘They loved not their lives unto
the death.’ Revelation 12:2. …II. The second thing in the
petition is, the matter of it. ‘Give us this day our
daily bread.’ The sum of this petition is, that God would give us such a
competency in outward things as he sees most excellent for us. …Let me explain the words, ‘Give us
this day our daily bread.’ The good things of this life are the gifts of God; he
is the donor of all our blessings. ‘Give us.’ Not faith only, but food is the
gift of God; not daily grace only is from God, but ‘daily bread;’ every good
thing comes from God. ‘Every good gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights.’ James 1:17. Wisdom is the gift of God. ‘His
God does instruct him to discretion.’ Isaiah 28:26. Riches are the gift of God.
‘I will give thee riches.’ 2 Chronicles 1:12. Peace is the gift of God. ‘He
maketh peace in thy borders.’ Psalm 147:14. Health, which is the cream
of life, is the gift of God. ‘I will restore health unto thee.’ Jeremiah
30:17. Rain is the gift of God. ‘Who giveth rain upon the earth.’ Job 5:10.
All comes from God; he makes the corn to grow, and the herbs to
flourish. (1)
See our own
poverty and indigence. We all live upon alms and upon free
gifts - ‘Give us this day.’ All we have is from the hand of God’s royal bounty;
we have nothing but what he gives us out of his storehouse; we cannot
have one bit of bread but from God. The devil persuaded our first parents,
that by disobeying God, they should ‘be as gods;’ but we may now
see what goodly gods we are, that we have not a bit of bread to put in our
mouths unless God give it us. Genesis 3:5. That is a humbling consideration,
(2)
Is all a
gift? …If everything be
a gift, we do not deserve it, we are not fit for this alms. And
must we go to God for every mercy? (3)
If all be a
gift, then it is not a debt, and we cannot say to God as that creditor
who said, ‘Pay me that thou owest.’ Matthew 18:28. Who can make
God a debtor, or do any act that is obliging and meritorious? Whatever
we receive from God is a gift; we can give nothing to him but what
he has given to us. ‘All things come of thee, and of thine own have we
given thee.’ 1 Chronicles 29:14. David and his people offered to the building of
God’s house gold and silver, but they offered nothing but what God had
given them. ‘Of thine own have we given thee.’ … …(4) If all be a gift, then
take notice of God’s goodness. …Observe three things in his giving: …[1] He is not weary of
giving; …[2] He delights in giving.
‘He delighteth in mercy.’ Micah 7:18. …[3] God gives to his very
enemies. …(5) If all be a gift, see
the odious ingratitude of men who sin against their giver!
God feeds them, and they fight against him; he gives them bread, and they
give him affronts. How unworthy is this! …(6) If God gives us all, let
his giving excite us to thanksgiving. …All
our gifts come from God, and to him must all our praises return. We are
apt to burn incense to our own drag, to attribute all we have to our own
second causes. Habakkuk 1:16. [1]
Our own
skill and industry. God is the giver; he gives daily bread. Psalm
136:25; he gives riches. ‘It is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.’
Deuteronomy 8:18. Or [2],
We often
ascribe the praise to second causes and forget God. …God gives us daily bread, let us
give him daily praise. Thankfulness to our donor is
the best policy; there is nothing lost by it. To be thankful for one mercy is
the way to have more. [2] SECONDLY, US. ‘GIVE US.’ Why
do we pray in the plural, ‘Give us’? Why is it not said, give me? To
show that we are to have a public spirit in prayer. We must not only pray
for ourselves, but others. [3] THE THIRD WORD IN THE
PETITION IS ‘THIS DAY.’ WE
PRAY NOT GIVE US BREAD FOR A MONTH OR
A YEAR, BUT A DAY. ‘GIVE US THIS DAY.’ Is
it not lawful to lay up for the future? Does not the apostle say, that he who
provides not for his family, ‘is worse than an infidel’? 1 Timothy 5:8. True,
it is lawful to lay up for posterity; but our Savior has taught us to pray,
‘Give us this day our bread,’ for two reasons: (1) That we should not have
anxious care for the future. … (2)
Our Savior
will have us pray, ‘Give us bread this day,’ to teach us to live
every day as if it were our last. … [4] THE FOURTH THING IN THE
PETITION IS, ‘OUR BREAD.’ Why
is it called ‘Our bread,’ when it is not ours, but God’s? (1)
We must
understand it in a qualified sense; it is our bread, being gotten by
honest industry. … (2)
It is
called our bread by virtue of our title to it. There is a twofold title to
bread. [1]
A spiritual
title. In and by Christ we have a right to the creature, and
may call it ‘our bread.’ As we are believers we have the best title to
earthly things, we hold all in capite [in chief]. ‘All things are yours;’ by
what title? ‘ye are Christ’s.’ 1 Corinthians 3:23. [2]
A civil
title, which the law confers on us. To deny men a civil right to
their possessions, and make all common, opens the door to anarchy and
confusion. … [5] THE FIFTH AND LAST THING
IN THIS PETITION IS, THE
THING WE PRAY FOR, ‘DAILY BREAD.’ What
is meant by bread?… Learn to be
contented with the allowance God gives. If we have bread and a
competence of outward things, let us rest satisfied. We pray but for bread,
‘Give us our daily bread;’ we do not pray for superfluities, nor for quails or venison,
but for bread which may support life. …Covetousness
is not only in getting riches unjustly, but in loving them
inordinately, which is a key that opens the door to all sin. It causes (1)
Theft.
Achan’s covetous humor made him steal the wedge of gold which
cleft asunder his soul from God. Joshua 7:21. (2)
It causes
treason. What made Judas betray Christ? It was the thirty pieces
of silver. Matthew 26:15. (3)
It produces
murder. It was the inordinate love of the vineyard that made
Ahab conspire Naboth’s death. I Kings 21:13. (4)
It is the
root of perjury. Men shall be covetous; and it follows, truce-breakers.
2 Timothy 3:23. Love of silver will make men take a fall
- oath, and break a just oath. (5)
It is the
spring of apostasy. ‘Demas has forsaken me, having loved this
present world.’ 2 Timothy 4:10. He not only forsook Paul’s company,
but his doctrine. Demas afterwards became a priest in an idol-temple,
according to Dorotheus. (6)
Covetousness
will make men idolaters. ‘Covetousness which is idolatry.’
Colossians 3:5. Though the covetous man will not worship graven
images in the church, yet he will worship the graven image in his
coin. (7)
Covetousness
makes men give themselves to the devil. Pope Sylvester
II sold his soul to the devil for a popedom. Covetous persons
forget the prayer, ‘Give us daily bread.’ They are not content with
that which may satisfy nature, but are insatiable in their desire. O let
us take heed of this dry dropsy! ‘Be content with such things as ye have.’
Hebrews 13:5. Natura parvo dimittitur [Nature is satisfied with little].
Seneca. [WAT 12 And
forgive us our debts, As we forgive our
debtors. I
shall notice [1]
That in
this prayer there is but one petition for the body, ‘Give us our
daily bread,’ but two petitions for the soul, ‘Forgive us our trespasses,
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ …I. The first thing is the
term given to sin; it is a debt. That which is here called
a debt is called sin. ‘Forgive us our sins.’ Luke 11:4. So, then, sin is a
debt, and every sinner is a debtor. Sin is compared to a debt of ten thousand
talents. Matthew 18:24. WHY
IS SIN CALLED A DEBT? Because
it fitly resembles it. (1)
A debt
arises upon non- payment of money, or the not paying that which
is one’s due. We owe to God exact obedience, and not paying what is
due, we are in debt. (2)
In case of
non-payment, the debtor goes to prison; so, by our sin, we become
guilty, and are exposed to God’s curse of damnation." …IN
WHAT SENSE IS SIN THE WORST DEBT? (1)
Because we
have nothing to pay. If we could pay the debt, what need to
pray, ‘forgive us’? …(2) Sin is the worst debt,
because it is against an infinite majesty. An offense
against the person of a king, is crimen laesae majestatis [the crime of
high treason], it enhances and aggravates the crime. Sin wrongs God, and so
is an infinite offense. …(3) Sin is the worst debt,
because it is not a single, but a multiplied debt. Forgive
us ‘our debts;’ we have debt upon debt. ‘Innumerable evils have compassed
me about.’ Psalm 40:12. …(4) Sin is the worst debt;
because it is an inexcusable debt in two respects; [1]
There is no
denying the debt. Other debts men may deny. If the money
be not paid before witnesses, or if the creditor lose the bond, the
debtor may say he owes him nothing; but there is no denying the debt
of sin. If we say we have no sin, God can prove the debt. ‘I will set
[thy sins] in order before thine eyes.’ Psalm 50:21. …[2] There is no shifting off
the debt. …(3) Sin is the worst debt,
because it carries men, in case of non-payment, to
a worse prison than any upon earth, even to a fiery prison; and the sinner
is laid in worse chains, chains of darkness, where he is bound under wrath
for ever. [Watson]. 12
And
do not lead us into temptation, ‘And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ Matthew 6:13 This
petition consists of two parts. First, Deprecatory, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’
Secondly, Petitionary, ‘But deliver us from evil.’ I.
‘Lead us
not into temptation.’ Does God lead into temptation? God tempts
no man to sin. ‘Let
no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:for God cannot
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.’ James
1:13. He
permits sin, but does not promote it. He who is an encourager of holiness
cannot be a pattern of sin. God does not tempt to that to which he
has an antipathy. What king will tempt his subjects to break laws which
he himself has established? …Consider
Satan’s subtlety in tempting. The Greek word to tempt, signifies
to deceive. Satan, in tempting, uses many subtle policies to deceive.
We read of the depths of Satan (Revelation 2:24), of his devices
and stratagems (2 Corinthians 2:11), of his snares and darts. He
is called a lion for his cruelty, and an old serpent for his subtlety. He
has several sorts of subtlety in tempting. 1ST SUBTLETY. — He observes the natural
temper and constitution. …2ND SUBTLETY. — He chooses the fittest
season to tempt in. …There are several
seasons he tempts in. 1st season.
He tempts us in our first initiation and entrance into religion, when we
have newly given up our names to Christ. …2nd
season. The devil tempts when he finds us unemployed. 3rd season.
When a person is reduced to outward wants and straits, the devil
tempts him. When Christ has fasted forty days, and is hungry, the devil comes
and tempts him with the glory of the world. Matthew 4:8. …4th
season. Satan tempts after an ordinance. …5th
season. Satan tempts after some discoveries of God’s love. …6th
season. Satan tempts when he sees us weakest. 3RD SUBTLETY. — Satan, in tempting,
baits his hook with religion. 4TH SUBTLETY. — Satan tempts to sin
gradually. 5TH SUBTLETY. — Satan’s policy is to
hand over temptations to us by those
whom we least suspect. [WAL But deliver us from
the evil one. THE
USES REMAIN. Use
1. See in
what continual danger we are. Satan is an exquisite artist, a deep
headpiece, he lies in ambush to ensnare; he is the tempter, it is his delight
to make the saints sin; and he is subtle in tempting, he has ways and
methods to deceive. (1)
He brings a
saint into sin, by making him confide in his habitual graces. He
makes him believe he has such a stock of grace as will secure him against
all temptations. Thus he deceived Peter, he made him trust in his grace;
he had such a cable of faith and strong tacklings, that though the winds
of temptation blew ever so fierce, he could weather the point. ‘Though
all men forsake thee, yet will not I;’ as if he had more grace than all
the apostles. … (2)
Satan
tempts to sin by the baits and allurements of the world. Faenus pecuniae
funus animae [The gain of money is the ruin of the soul]. One of Christ’s
own apostles was caught with a silver bait. Those whom the devil cannot
debauch with vice, he will corrupt with money. ‘All these things will
I give thee,’ was his last temptation. Matthew 4:9. Achan was deluded
by a wedge of gold. … (3)
Satan
tempts to sin, sub specie boni, under a mask and show of good; his
temptations seem gracious motions. … (4)
Satan
tempts to the sin to which a man’s heart is naturally most inclinable.
… WHAT
MEANS SHOULD BE USED, THAT SATAN’S TEMPTATIONS
MAY NOT PREVAIL AGAINST US? (1)
Avoid
solitariness. It is no wisdom, in fighting with an enemy, to give him
the advantage of the ground. We give Satan advantage of the ground when
we are alone. Eve was foiled in the absence of her husband. A virgin is
not so soon set upon in company. ‘Two are better than one.’ Ecclesiastes
4:9. Get into the communion of saints, for that is a good remedy
against temptation. (2)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, beware of the predominance
of melancholy, which is atra bilis, a black humor seated chiefly
in the brain. Melancholy disturbs reason and exposes to temptation.
… (3)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, study sobriety. ‘Be sober,
because your adversary walketh about.’ 1 Peter 5:8. Sober-mindedness consists
in the moderate use of earthly things:an immoderate desire
of these things often brings men into the snare of the devil. ‘They that
will be rich fall into a snare.’ 1 Timothy 6:9. He who loves riches inordinately,
will purchase them unjustly. Ahab would swim to Naboth’s vineyard
in blood. He who is drunk with the love of the world, is never free
from temptation. He will pull down his soul to build up an estate. … (4)
Be always
upon your guard, watch against Satan’s wiles and subtleties. ‘Be
vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about.’ 1 Peter 5:8. A
Christian must excubias agere, keep watch and ward; he must see where Satan
labors to make a breach, see what grace he most strikes at, or what sin
he most tempts to. ‘I say unto all, Watch.’ Mark 13:37. Watch all the senses,
the eye, the ear, the touch; for Satan can creep in by these. Oh, how
needful is the spiritual watch! Shall Satan be watchful, and we drowsy?
Does he watch to devour us, and shall not we watch to save ourselves?
Let us see what sin our heart most naturally inclines to, and watch
against it. (5) Beware of idleness.
Satan sows most of his seed in fallow ground. … (6) Make known thy case to
some godly friend. … (7)
Make use of
the word. This the apostle calls the ‘sword of the Spirit,’ a
fit weapon with which to fight against the tempter. Ephesians 6:17. This ‘sword
of the Spirit’ is gladius anceps, a two-edged sword:it wounds carnal
lust and it wounds Satan. He who travels a road where there is robbing
will be sure to ride with his sword; we are travelling to heaven, and in
this road there is a thief who always besets us in every place where we go. (8)
Let us be
careful of our own hearts, that they do not decoy us into sin. The
apostle says, ‘A man is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.’ James
1:14. … (9)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, flee the ‘occasions of sin.’
Occasions of sin have great force to awaken lust within. He that would
keep himself free from infection will not come near an infected house;
so if you would be sober, avoid drunken company. When Joseph was
enticed by his mistress, he shunned the occasion; the text says, ‘He hearkened
not unto her to be with her.’ Genesis 39:10. … (10)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, make use of faith. ‘Above
all taking the shield of faith.’ Ephesians 6:19. Faith wards off Satan’s
fiery darts, that they do not hurt. ‘Whom resist, stedfast in the faith.’
1 Peter 5:9. … (11)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, be much in prayer. Such
as walk in infectious places, carry antidotes about them:prayer is the best
antidote against temptation. When the apostle had exhorted, to ‘put on
the whole armor of God,’ he adds, ‘Praying with all prayer.’ Ephesians 6:11,
18. … (12)
If you
would not be overcome by temptation, be humble in your own eyes.
… (13)
If you
would not be foiled by temptation, do not enter into a dispute with
Satan. When Eve began to argue the case with the serpent, the serpent
was too hard for her; the devil, by his logic, disputed her out of paradise.
Satan can mince sin, make it small, and garnish it over, and make it
look like virtue. He is too subtle a sophister for us to hold an argument with
him. Dispute not, but fight. If you enter into a parley with him, you give
him half the victory. (14)
If we would
not be overcome by Satan, we must put on Christian fortitude.
We must expect an enemy who is either shooting darts, or laying snares,
therefore let us be armed with courage. ‘Deal courageously, and the Lord
shall be with the good.’ 2 Chronicles 19:11. … (15)
If we would
not be overcome by temptation, let us call in the help of others.
If a house be on fire, would you not call in help? Satan tempts, that he
may rob you of your soul; acquaint some friends with your case, and beg
for their counsel and prayers. Who knows but Satan may be cast out by
the joint prayers of others? In case of temptation, how exceeding hopeful
is the communion of saints! (16)
If we would
not be overcome by temptation, let us make use of all the encouragements
we can. If Satan be a roaring lion, Christ is the lion of the tribe
of Judah. If Satan tempts, Christ prays. If Satan be a serpent to sting, Christ
is a brazen serpent to heal. If the conflict be hard, look to the crown.
James 1:12. For Yours is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15
“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses. NKJVThe Lord’s prayer (as indeed
every prayer) is a letter sent from earth to heaven. Here is the inscription of
the letter, the person to whom it is directed, our Father; the where, in
heaven; the contents of it in several errands of request; the close, for
thine is the kingdom; the seal, Amen; and if you will, the date too,
this day. Henry, Matthew, Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Bible,
1991. "the Lord’s prayer is the pattern of
our prayer. As God
prescribed Moses a pattern of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9), so Christ has here
prescribed us a pattern of prayer. ‘After this manner pray ye,’ etc. The
meaning is, let this be the rule and model according to which you frame your
prayers. Ad hanc regulam preces nostras exigere necesse est [We ought
to examine our prayers by this rule]. Calvin. Not that we are tied to the
words of the Lord’s prayer. Christ says not, ‘After these words, pray
ye;’ but ‘After this manner:’ that is, let all your petitions agree and
symbolise with the things contained in the Lord’s prayer;…The matter of it is admirable, 1.
For its
comprehensiveness. It is short and pithy, Multum in parvo, a
great deal said in a few words. It requires most art to draw the two globes
curiously in a little map. This short prayer is a system or body of
divinity. 2.
For its
clearness. It is plain and intelligible to every capacity. Clearness
is the grace of speech. 3.
For its
completeness. It contains the chief things that we have to ask, or God has to
bestow.…There is a double benefit arising from framing our
petitions suitably to this prayer. Hereby error in prayer is prevented. It is
not easy to write wrong after this copy; we cannot easily err when we have our
pattern before us. Hereby mercies requested are obtained; for the apostle
assures us that God will hear us when we pray ‘according
to his will.’ 1 John 5:14. And sure we pray according to his will when we pray according to the pattern he has set us." [Thomas Watson.]. … The Prayer may be divided into three
sections. First is the address: Our Father who art in heaven. The
first part suggests familiarity; the second demands reverence. … The second section consists of
three petitions. The first petition is not one for personal needs, but rather
an act of worship- Hallowed be thy name.
… The second petition, Thy kingdom come, enjoins us to be
more concerned about the prosperity of the kingdom than about our personal
interests. … Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in
earth. … It takes in all relationships of life- domestic, community,
national, international; economic, religious, social- as well as one’s own
thoughts, words, and deeds. … The third section likewise
includes three petitions. But these, unlike the previous three, are concerned
with personal needs. The first is: Give us this day our daily bread. … God is interested in our physical as well
as spiritual welfare. The second petition, forgive us our debts, has
attached to it the very significant condition: as we also have forgiven
our debtors. … Man owes God complete obedience. … The third petition is: bring us not
into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. {THE WESLEY BIBLE COMMENTARY Page 37.]. "WHAT IS THAT WHICH MAKES GOD OUR FATHER? Faith. ‘Ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.’ Galatians 3:26. An
unbeliever may call God his Creator, and his Judge, but not his Father.
Faith legitimizes us, and makes us of the blood-royal of heaven. ‘Ye are the
children of God by faith.’ Baptism makes us church members, but faith
makes us children." [Thomas Watson]. 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. (6.) We pray that God would give us this day;
which teaches us to renew the desire of our souls toward God, as the wants of
our bodies are renewed; as duly as the day comes, we must pray to our heavenly
Father, and reckon we could as well go a day without meat, as without prayer. Henry, Matthew, Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Bible,
1991. ” Which art in heaven—This
phrase in the Scriptures seems used to express: 1st. His OMNIPRESENCE. The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. 1 Kings 8:27:
that is, Thou fillest immensity. 2dly. His MAJESTY
and DOMINION over
his creatures. Art thou not God in heaven, and rulest thou not over all the
kingdoms of the heathen? 2 Chronicles 20:6. 3dly. His POWER
and MIGHT. Art
thou not God in heaven, and in thy hand is there not power and might, so that
no creature is able to withstand thee! 2 Chronicles 20:6. Our God is in heaven,
and hath done whatsoever he pleased. Psalm 115:3. 4thly. His OMNISCIENCE. The Lord’s throne is in heaven, his eyes behold, his
eye-lids try the children of men. Psalm 11:4. The Lord looketh down from
heaven, he beholdeth all the sons of men. Psalm 33:13-15. 5thly. His infinite PURITY
and HOLINESS.
Look down from thy holy habitation, etc. Deuteronomy 26:15. Thou art the high
and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. Isaiah 57:15.”
[ADAM C {After this manner therefore pray ye}
(|houtôs oun proseuchesthe humeis|). "You" expressed in contrast with
"the Gentiles." It should be called "The Model Prayer"
rather than "The Lord's Prayer." "Thus" pray as he gives
them a model. He himself did not use it as a liturgy (cf. #Joh 17:1). There is no evidence that Jesus meant it for
liturgical use by others. In #Lu 11:2-4 practically the same prayer though
briefer is given at a later time by Jesus to the apostles in response to a
request that he teach them how to pray. [ROB. WORD PIC.]. “Our Father. The use of the plural,
throughout the prayer, instead of changing to the singular, s is done in v. 2,6,17,
evidently presents this as a specimen of social rather than secret
prayer; and so, involves prayer for each other, and not for ourselves alone. … In heaven. God, who is everywhere
present, … making [H]his special abode… in heaven. “{Hallowed be thy name} (|hagiasthętô to
onoma sou|). In the Greek the verb comes first as in the petitions in verse
#10. They are all aorist imperatives, punctiliar action expressing urgency.”
[ROB. WORD PIC.]. … In earth as it is in heaven. As
in heaven, so on earth, gives the other of the Greek and makes a
difference in the emphasis.” [“COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW” by
John A. BROADUS.]. “We pray as children to a
Father, and we pray as brothers, for we say, “Our Father.” “Our Father” is a familiar name, but the words “which art in heaven” suggest the reverence due unto him. “Thy kingdom come.” We
desire for the supreme will to be done in earth, with a cheerful, constant, universal obedience like that of
“heaven.” We would have the Lord’s will carried out, not only by the great
physical forces which never fail to be obedient to God, but by lovingly active
spirits; by men, once rebellious, but graciously renewed. Oh, Oh, that all who say this prayer
may display on earth the holy alacrity of obedience which is seen in the happy,
hearty, united, and unquestioning service of perfect saints and angels before
the throng. Give us this
day our daily bread. We pray for providential
supplies for ourselves and others — “Give us.” We ask for our food as a
gift — Give us.” We request no more than bread, or food needful for us. Our
petition concerns the day, and asks only for a daily supply; bread enough for this day. We ask not for bread which
belongs to others, but only for that which is honestly our own, — “our daily bread.” It is the prayer of a lowly and contented
mind, of one who is so sanctified that he waits upon God even about his daily
food, and of one who lovingly links others with himself in his sympathy and
prayer. And forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors. No prayer of mortal men
could be complete without confession of sin. Prayer which does not seek for
pardon will fail, as the Pharisee’s prayer did. Let proud men boast as they
please, those who are in Christ’s kingdom will always pray, “Forgive us our debts.” Our Lord knew that we should always have
debts to own, and therefore would always need to cry, “Forgive! This pardon we can only obtain as we freely
pass over the offenses of others against ourselves: “as we forgive our debtors.”” [SPUR “ {Our debts} (|ta
opheilęmata hęmôn|). Luke (#Lu 11:4) has "sins" (|hamartias|). In the
ancient Greek |opheilęma| is common for actual legal debts as in #Ro 4:4, but
here it is used of moral and spiritual debts to God. " [ROB. WORD PIC.]. “Verse 13. And lead us not into temptation— That is, bring us not in to sore trial. peirasmon, which may be here
rendered sore trial, comes from peirw, to pierce through, as with a spear, or spit,
used so by some of the best Greek writers. Several of the primitive fathers
understood it something in this way; and have therefore added quam ferre non
possimus, “which we cannot bear.” The word not only implies violent assaults
from Satan, but also sorely afflictive circumstances, none of which we have, as
yet, grace or fortitude sufficient to bear. Bring us not in, or lead us not in.
This is a mere Hebraism: God is said to do a thing which he only permits or
suffers to be done. The process of temptation is often as
follows: 1st. A simple evil thought. 2ndly. A strong imagination, or impression
made on the imagination, by the thing to which we are tempted. 3dly. Delight in
viewing it. 4thly. Consent of the will to perform it. Thus lust is conceived,
sin is finished, and death brought forth. James 1:15. See also on Matthew 4:1.
A man may be tempted without entering into the temptation: entering into it
implies giving way, closing in with, and embracing it. For ever and
ever.— eiv touv aiwnav, to the
for evers. Well expressed by our common translation-ever in our ancient use of
the word taking in the whole duration of time; the second ever, the whole of
eternity. May thy name have the glory both in this world, and in that which is
to come! The original word aiwn comes from aei always, and wn being, or existence. Amen.— This word is Hebrew, ma , and signifies faithful or true.” [ADAM
CLARKE.]. Mt 17:21
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Mt 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Mt 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive. Mt 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation. Mr 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come
forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Mr 11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not
written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye
have made it a den of thieves. Mat 24:20 But [41]pray
ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: "pray
ye", is continuous or repeated action, in the Greek. So, He is saying,
"be repeatedly praying". “Verse 20. But pray ye that your flight be not
in the winter— For the hardness of the season,
the badness of the roads, the shortness of the days, and the length of the
nights, will all be great impediments to your flight. Rabbi Tanchum observes,
“that the favor of God was particularly manifested in the destruction of the
first temple, in not obliging the Jews to go out in the winter, but in the
summer.” See the place in Lightfoot. Neither on the
Sabbath-day— That you may not raise
the indignation of the Jews by travelling on that day, and so suffer that death
out of the city which you had endeavored to escape from within. Besides, on the
Sabbath-days the Jews not only kept within doors, but the gates of all the
cities and towns in every place were kept shut and barred; so that their flight
should be on a Sabbath, they could not expect admission into any place of
security in the land.” [A. CLARKE.]. Lu 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not,
Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a
son, and thou shalt call his name John. Lu 6:12 ¶ And it came to
pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all
night in prayer to God.
(Luke 11:5-8 KJV) (5) And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a [xx]friend,
and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend,[2] [xxi]lend
me three loaves; (6) For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I
have nothing to set before him? (7) And he from within shall answer and say, [xxii]Trouble
me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise
and give thee. (8) I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,
because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give
him as many as he needeth. “Verse 6. In his journey is come— Or, perhaps more literally, A friend of mine
is come to me out of his way, ex odou, which renders the case more urgent-a friend of
mine, benighted, belated, and who has lost his way, is come unto me. This was a
strong reason why he should have prompt relief. Verse 7. My children are with me in bed— … However, we may conceive that he had his
little children, ta paidia, in bed with him; and this heightened the
difficulty of yielding to his neighbor’s request. … Verse 9. And (or, therefore) I say unto you, Ask—… favors
are only prized and esteemed in proportion to the sense men have of their
necessity and importance.” [A. CLARKE.].
(1) And he spake a parable unto
them {to this end}, that men [xxiii]ought
always to pray, and not to faint; (2) Saying, There was in a city a judge,
which feared not God, neither regarded man: (3) And there was a widow in that
city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. (4) And he
would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not
God, nor regard man; (5) Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (6) And the Lord said, Hear
what the unjust judge saith. (7) And shall not God avenge his own elect,
which [xxiv]cry
day and night unto him, though he [xxv]bear
long with them? (8) I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he [xxvi]find
faith on the earth? “Verse 2. A judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man— It is no wonder that our Lord calls this
person an unrighteous judge, Luke 18:6. No person is worthy to be put in the
sacred office of a judge who does not deeply fear God, and tenderly respect his
fellow creatures. Because this person feared not God, he paid no attention to
the calls of justice; and because he respected not man, he was unmoved at the
complaint of the widow. Even among the heathens this was the character of a man
totally abandoned to all evil. So Dion Cassius says of Vitellius, that he
neither regarded gods nor men-oute twn anqrwpwn,
oute twn qewn efrontizen. Verse 3. Avenge me of mine adversary.— The original, ekdikhson me apo tou antidikou mou, had better be translated, Do me justice
against, or vindicate me from, my adversary. If the woman had come to get
revenge, as our common translation intimates, I think our blessed Lord would never have permitted her to have the honor of a place
in the sacred records. She desired to have justice, and that only; and by her
importunity she got that which the unrighteous judge had no inclination to
give, but merely for his own ease. Verse 4. He said within himself— How many actions which appear good have neither the love of God,
nor that of our neighbor, but only self-love of the basest kind, for their
principle and motive! Verse 5. She weary me.— Ćupwpiazh me, Stun me. A metaphor taken from boxers, who
bruise each other, and by beating each other about the face blacken the eyes.
See 1 Corinthians 9:27. Verse
6. Hear what the
unjust judge saith.— Our
blessed Lord intimates that we should reason thus with ourselves: “If a person
of such an infamous character as this judge was could yield to the pressing and
continual solicitations of a poor widow, for whom he felt nothing but contempt,
how much more ready must God be, who is infinitely good and merciful, and who
loves his creatures in the tenderest manner, to give his utmost salvation to
all them who diligently seek it!” … Which cry day and night unto him, etc.— This is a genuine characteristic of the true
elect or disciples of Christ. They feel they have neither light, power, nor
goodness, but as they receive them from him; and, as he is the desire of their
soul, they incessantly seek that they may be upheld and saved by him. Though he bear
long with them?— … The reason which our Lord gives for the
success of his chosen, is, 1. They cry unto him day and night. 2. HE
is compassionate towards THEM. In consequence of the first, they might expect justice
even from an unrighteous judge; and, in consequence of the second, they are
sure of salvation, because they ask it from that God who is towards them a
Father of eternal love and compassion. There was little reason to expect
justice from the unrighteous judge. 1. Because he was unrighteous; and 2.
Because he had no respect for man: no, not even for a poor desolate widow. But
there is all the reason under heaven to expect mercy from God: 1. Because he is
righteous, and he has promised it; and 2. Because he is compassionate towards
his creatures; being ever prone to give more than the most enlarged heart can
request of him. … Verse 8. He will avenge them speedily.— Or, He will do them justice speedily-en tacei, instantly, in a trice. 1.
Because he has promised it; and 2. Because he is inclined to do it. When the Son of
man cometh— To require the produce of
the seed of the kingdom sown among this people. Shall he find
faith on the earth?— Or
rather, Shall he find fidelity in this land? Shall he find that the soil has
brought forth a harvest proportioned to the culture bestowed on it?” [A.
CLARKE.]. 1PE 1:22 Seeing ye have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto [xxvii]unfeigned
love of the brethren, {see that ye} love one another with a pure heart [xxviii]fervently:
(KJV) “Then Jesus answered and
said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How
long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil,
and he departed out of him and the child was cured from that very hour. And
when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could
not we cast him out? And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing
but by prayer and fasting.” Wherein lay the difficulty
with these men? They had been lax in cultivating their faith by prayer and, as
a consequence, their trust utterly failed.” [Bounds.]. Lu 19:46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is
the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. Lu 22:45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come
to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, John 17 Ac 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren. Ac 3:1 ¶ Now Peter and John
went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth
[hour]. Ac 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to
prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Ac 10:31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and
thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Ac 12:5 ¶ Peter therefore
was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God
for him. Ac 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by
a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto
the women which resorted [thither]. Ac 16:16 ¶ And it came to
pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: Ro 10:1 ¶ Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except [it be]
with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and
come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. 2 Cor. 1:11. “11. Ye also helping together by prayer for
us, that for the gift (bestowed) upon us by
the means of many persons, thanks may be given
by many on our behalf. Intercessory prayer has
great power, otherwise Paul would not so often solicit it on his own behalf,
and enjoin the duty on his readers. His confidence in his safety for the future
was not founded simply on the experience of God’s past mercy, but also on the
prayers of Christians in his behalf. God will yet deliver me, he says, you also helping together by prayer. That is, provided you join your prayers with
those of others for my safety.” [C. Hodge.]. “You also; suggests that others are doing the same. That from many, etc.: purpose to be
attained by rescue in answer to these many prayers. ‘From many’ upturned
‘faces’ of those who have prayed for Paul’s deliverance and whose prayer has
been answered, will praise be given to God. Faces: a graphic picture of men in
prayer looking up to God. Gift-of-grace: Romans 1:11. Paul will
be rescued by the undeserved favor of God, ‘by means of’ the ‘many’ of whose
prayers his rescue is the answer. Consequently, ‘from many’ upturned ‘faces’ of
those who have prayed, will ‘thanks be given on behalf of’ Paul. “God will save
us because you are praying for us. and He makes our deliverance conditional on
your prayers in order that the favor shown to a few men may call forth
gratitude and thanks from many by whose prayers this favor has been obtained.”
This is a courteous acknowledgement that the Corinthian Christians are praying
for Paul, that their prayers have power with God, and that his deliverance will
evoke their praise to God. It is also a covert request for their prayers. Cp.
Romans 15:30; Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3; Philippians 1:19; 2 Thessalonians
3:2. All this is the more appropriate because of the reproof in the First
Epistle.” [BEET.]. 2Co 9:14 And by their prayer for you, which long after
you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Eph. 1:16. “Ver.
16. Do not cease giving thanks: cp.
Philippians 1:3; Colossians 1:3, 9; Romans 1:8, 9. Paul’s constant attitude of
mind, since he heard about his readers, has been thankfulness to God for them.
For he knew that their faithfulness was God’s work and gift.” [BEET.]. Eph. 6:18-19. “Ver.
18. With or ‘by-means-of’: using prayer
as a means of obtaining blessing. Prayer and supplication: as in
Philippians 4:6. In ‘every’ way they must approach God in ‘prayer,’ and must make
‘petition’ for definite benefits. In every season: same words in similar
connection in Luke 21:36. In the Spirit: prayers prompted by Him.
So Romans 8:15, ‘in whom we cry, Abba, Father. And watching for, etc.: a second
participial clause, adding further details. Watching: as in Colossians 4:2; 1
Corinthians 16:13. For successful prayer, we must keep wide awake, i.e. with
our faculties in full exercise. And this must be accompanied by unlimited
‘perseverance:’ cognate to a word in Colossians 4:2; Romans 12:12. This
suggests that for a continual exercise of our faculties in prayer every kind of
sustained effort is needful, and bids us make the effort. Petition: as above. Our watchfulness
must be accompanied both by sustained effort and by definite request for
definite blessing. Touching all the saints: cp. Ephesians
5:3. It is best to understand the first participial clause in this verse as
referring to prayer in general; and the second as going on to speak
specifically of prayer for our fellow-Christians. Ver. 19. And on my behalf: a particular request for prayer, added
to the foregoing more general request. That to me may be given, etc.: purpose
and contents of the desired prayer. It expounds ‘on my behalf.’ Utterance, or ‘word’: as in 1
Corinthians 1:5. In opening my mouth, or ‘when I open my
mouth’: same phrase in 2 Corinthians 6:11. Boldness: unreserved speech, as in 2
Corinthians 3:12. Paul asks his readers to pray that whenever he begins to
speak God will give him something to say, in order that with unreserved speech
he may ‘make known the Gospel.’ The mystery of the Gospel: the secret,
known only by those to whom God reveals it, which belongs to the good news
announced by Christ. See under 1 Corinthians 3:4. Cp. Colossians 4:3, ‘to speak
the mystery of Christ.’” [BEET.]. “V. 19. The importance which the
apostle attributed to intercessory prayer and his faith in its efficacy are
evident from the frequency with which he enjoins the duty, and from the
earnestness with which he solicits such prayers in his own behalf. What the
apostle wishes the Ephesians to pray for, was not any temporal blessing, not
even his deliverance from bonds, that he might be at liberty more freely to
preach the Gospel, but that God would enable him to
preach with the freedom and boldness with which he ought to preach: , i[na moi doqh|~ lo>gov ejn ajnoi>xei tou~ sto>mato>v mou, ejn
parrhsi>a| gnwri>sai, ktl. Our translators have paraphrased this clause thus, that utterance may be given me, that I
may open my mouth boldly to make known, etc. The literal translation is, that utterance may be given me in
opening my mouth, with boldness to make known, etc. What Paul desired was divine assistance in preaching. He
begs his reader to pray i[na moi doqh|~ lo>gov, that the power of speech, or freedom of utterance, might be given
to him, when he opened his mouth. Paul says, 2 Corinthians 11:6, that he was ijdiw>thv tw|~ lo>gw|, rude in speech. The word lo>gov itself has at times the
metonymical sense here given to it, and therefore ejn ajnoi>xei tou~ sto>mato>v is most naturally taken
without emphasis as equivalent to, when I open my mouth, i.e. when called upon to speak. Calvin and many others lay the
principal stress on those words, and make with opening of the mouth equivalent to with open mouth, pleno ore et intrepida lingua, as Calvin expresses it. Os
opertum cupit, quod erumpet in liquidam et firmam confessionem. Ore enim
semiclauso proferuntur ambigua et perplexa responsa. This, however is to
anticipate what is expressed by ejn parrhsi>a|
gnwri>sai. Others connect both ejn ajnoi>xei tou~ sto>mato>v and ejn parrhsi>a| with gnwri>sai, ‘to
make known with the opening of the mouth, with boldness the mystery,’ etc. This
is the construction which our translators seemed to have assumed. But this is
very unnatural, from the position of the words and relation of the clauses. Parrhsi>a| (pa~n rJh~siv) the speaking out all freespokenness. Here the dative with ejn may be taken adverbially, freely, boldly; keeping nothing back, but making an open,
undisguised declaration of the Gospel. This includes, however, the idea of
frankness and boldness of spirit, of which this unrestrained declaration of the
truth is the expression. Musth>rion tou~
eujaggeli>ou, mystery of the Gospel; the Gospel itself is the mystery, or divine
revelation. It is that system of truth which had been kept secret with God, but
which is now revealed unto our glory; 1 Corinthians 2:7.” [C. HODGE.]. Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints; Php 1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all
making request with joy, Php 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my
salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. Col 4:2 ¶ Continue in prayer, and
watch in the same with thanksgiving; 1Ti 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and
prayer. Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be
forgiven him. Jas 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much. 1Pe 4:7 ¶ But the end of all things
is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. NOTES
AND COMMENDS ON GREAT MEN/WOMEN OF PRAYER! SEVEN
SEVEN ELEMENTS OF OLD TESTAMENT PRAYER: 1. The promise. cf. GEN 15:1
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying,
Fear not, Abram: I {am} thy shield, {and} thy exceeding great reward. (KJV) 2. The petition. cf.
GEN 15:2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house {is} this Eliezer of Damascus? (KJV) 3. Faith. cf.ROM 4:3
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him
for righteousness. (KJV) 4. Opposition. cf. (Genesis
15:11-12 KJV) (11) And when the fowls came down
upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. (12) And when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon
him. cf. with MAT 13:4 And when he sowed, some {seeds} fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up: (KJV) MAT 13:19 When any one heareth the
word of the kingdom, and understandeth {it} not, then cometh the wicked {one},
and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received
seed by the way side. (KJV) JOH 10:10 The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have {it} more abundantly. (KJV) 5. Delay in the answer. cf.
GEN 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land {that is} not theirs,
and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (KJV) 6. Miraculous intervention.
cf. GEN 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was
dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those
pieces. (KJV) 7. Fulfillment. cf. GEN
15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great
river, the river Euphrates: (KJV) Praying for the sick, in the Old
Testament First
prayer for healing mentioned in the Bible cf. GEN 20:17 So Abraham prayed
unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and
they bare {children}. (KJV) Second
prayer for healing mentioned in the Bible cf. (Numbers 12:13-15 KJV) (13) And Moses cried unto the Lord,
saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. (14) And the Lord said unto Moses,
If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?
let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be
received in {again}. (15) And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and
the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in {again}. The
prayer for the healing of those bitten by the fiery serpents cf. NUM 21:5 And the people spake
against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to
die in the wilderness? for {there is} no bread, neither {is there any} water;
and our soul loatheth this light bread. (KJV) NUM 21:6 And the Lord sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel
died. (KJV) NUM 21:7 Therefore the people came
to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and
against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And
Moses prayed for the people. (KJV) "God answered the petition of Moses, but
in so doing He used a symbol so that the Children of Israel in that day as well
as all generations to come, would come to know the ture significance of Divine
healing. This symbol or type of Christ, for such it was, was of such a nature
that no one would have ever selected it, except God Himself. It was that of a
brazen serpent! " And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee
a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every
one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." NUM 21:8 That the brazen serpent should be a type of
Christ is no doubt a puzzle to many. Yet Christ, Himself, accepted the type of
the serpent as applying to Him. He said: "
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of
man be lifted up:" Jn. 3:14 And Paul explains it in II Corinthians 5:21,
where he declares that God " Made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew
no sin." Christ was made a curse even as the serpent was cursed, that we
looking upon Him might be delivered from the curse, of both sin and sickness.
In the symbol of healing by the serpent we see Divine healing tied right into
the atonement." [PCW. Page. 104.].
The
Lord's prayer and Jesus, Himself! Some Things That Jesus Taught us to pray for! 1. "God be merciful to
a sinner!" cf. (Luke 18:13-14 KJV) (13) And the publican, standing
afar off, would not lift up so much as {his} eyes unto heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (14) I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified {rather} than the other: for every
one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. This
is the first prayer for all people! cf. LUK 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise[1] [42]perish.
(KJV) One
way of saying this, is, "if you do not turn from your own (and, old)
ways, you will be utterly and finally ruined and destroyed".
LUK 11:13 If ye then, being [43]evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall {your}
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (KJV)
LUK 22:32 But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith [44]fail
not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (KJV) 4. Pray for those who use
you. cf. LUK 6:28 Bless them that curse you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you. (KJV)
LUK 10:2 Therefore said he unto
them, The harvest truly {is} great, but the labourers {are} few: pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest, that [45]he
would send forth labourers into his harvest. (KJV)
MAR 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest
ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly {is} ready, but the flesh {is} weak.
(KJV)
MAT 26:39 And he went a little
further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
{wilt}. (KJV)
LUK 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and
pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that
shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (KJV) 9. If, you are on earth, during the "great
tribulation", pray that that the weather will be good, when you have to
flee! cf. Mat 24:20 But pray ye that
your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: —A— ABRAHAM, 20 —B— Books on prayer, 1 —L— love, 11 —N— name of Jesus, 10 not praying , can be a sin, 16 —P— power in unified prayer, 13 Pray Greek words for, 1, 18 Hebrew words for, 1 prayer and Exorcism, 12 Faith, 11 Fasting, 12 Jesus, 22 joy, 10 Praise, 10 repentance, 3 Singing, 9 Hindrances to, 15 men of, 20 OLD TESTAMENT SEVEN ELEMENTS OF, 20 through the Bible on, 25 to avoid evil, 12 Praying in agreement, 12 unceasingly, 17 —R— recognize God, 7 Restitution and prayer, 5 —T— thanksgiving prayer with, 14 —V— Visualize the answer, 11 —W— Why we should pray, 2 word studies English, 1 [1]Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1981. [2]Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1981. [3]Kittel, Gerhard, and Friedrich, Gerhard, Editors, The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume, 1985. [4]Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, 1995. [5]] peitho, "intrans., to suffer one's self to be persuaded or convinced; to be persuaded in favour of any one, to yield assent to, obey him or trust him; to be convinced of, to have an assurance concerning, to confide or trust to" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 823.]. perfect participle active, the "perfect participle stresses the state brought about by the finished results of the action" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 855.]. Because of, the way they thought about themselves and other people, they became "fixed" in their thinking! [6]ezoutheneo, "to set at nought, treat as contemptible"[BULLINGER. PAGE. 219.]. present active participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 855.]. They were repeatedly treating other people as contemptible! [7]tuto, "to beat, strike, smite, strictly with a stick, or with repeated strokes" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 710.].imperfect tense, "refers to continuous or linear action in past time" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 853.]. [8] hupsoo, "to raise high, elevate, lift up, (spoken of the brazen serpent, and of Jesus on the cross.) Metaph. to elevate, i.e. to dignity, ect., to exalt" BULLINGER. PAGE. 264.]. present active participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 855.]. "These words of Jesus are tremendously significant. [9]2307 thelema {thel'-ay-mah} from the prolonged form of
2309; TDNT - 3:52,318; n n AV - will 62, desire 1,
pleasure 1; 64 1) what one wishes or has
determined shall be done 1a) of the purpose of God to bless mankind
through Christ 1b) of what God wishes to be done by us 1b1) commands, precepts 2) will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure [10]5723
Tense - Present See
5774 Voice - Active See 5784 Mood -
Participle See 5796 Count - 2549 The Greek participle
corresponds for the most part to the English participle,
reflecting "-ing" or "-ed" being suffixed to the basic verb
form. The participle can be used either like a verb or a noun,
as in English, and thus is often termed a "verbal
noun." [11]5092 time {tee-may'} from
5099; TDNT - 8:169,1181; n f AV
- honour 35, price 8, sum 1, precious 1; 43 1)
a valuing by which the price is fixed 1a) of the price itself 1b) of the price paid or received for a
person or thing bought or sold 2)
honour which belongs or is shown to one 2a) of the honour which one has by reason of
rank and state of office which he holds 2b) deference, reverence [12]aiteo,
"to ask for something, require, demand, (expressive of a
petition from an inferior to a superior.)" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 218.]. [13] sunecho, "to hold togeter, press to gether. Here, pass., to be pressed, pressed together" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 740.], "fig. to compel, perplex, affict, preoccupy" [STRONG'S #4912.]. present indicative middle, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" [CWSNT. PAGE.857.]. The Amp. has, "urged-impelled, constrained". [14] euaresteo, "to please well" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 588.] [15]misthapodotes, "a payer in full of wages; hence, requiter, rewarder" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 646.] [16]"them that diligently seek" in the Greek, present active participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 855.]. That is those who continuity seek God! [17]lambano, "to take, take hold of, apprehend, to take or receive from another; to take what is given hence, receive, pointing to an objective reception"[BULLINGER. PAGE. 626.], "in many instances lambano suggests a self-prompted taking" [VINE. PAGE. 511.]. present indicative active, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. I believe that Jesus is saying, "when you pray, believe that you are receiving as you pray". [18]01927 hadarah {had-aw-raw'} from
01926; TWOT - 477c; n f AV
- beauty 4, honour 1; 5 1)
adornment, glory 1a) holy adornment (of public worship) 1b) glory (of the king) [19]06944 qodesh {ko'-desh} from 06942; TWOT - 1990a; n m AV - holy 262, sanctuary 68,
(holy, hallowed,...) things 52, most 44, holiness 30, dedicated 5, hallowed 3,
consecrated 1, misc 3; 468 1) apartness, holiness,
sacredness, separateness 1a) apartness, sacredness, holiness 1a1) of God 1a2) of places 1a3) of things 1b) set-apartness, separateness [20]2590 karpos {kar-pos'} probably
from the base of 726; TDNT - 3:614,416; n m AV
- fruit 66; 66 1)
fruit 1a) the fruit of the trees, vines, of the
fields 1b) the fruit of one's loins, i.e. his
progeny, his posterity 2)
that which originates or comes from something, an effect, result 2a) work, act, deed 2b) advantage, profit, utility 2c) praises, which are presented to God as a
thank offering 2d) to gather fruit (i.e. a reaped harvest)
into life eternal (as into a granary), is used in fig.
discourse of those who by their labours have fitted souls to obtain eternal life [21]1127 gregoreuo {gray-gor-yoo'-o} from 1453; TDNT - 2:338,195; v AV - watch 21, wake 1, be
vigilant 1; 23 1) to watch 2) metaph. give strict
attention to, be cautious, active 2a) to take heed lest through remission and
indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one [22]Nokham,
"to be pleased, changed in purpose" PICK. PAGE.370.] [23]merimnao, "to be anxious about, to have anxious or distracting care" BULLINGER. PAGE. 134.], present imperative active, the present imperative active may indicate "a command to to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.] [24]4494 rhipizo {hrip-id'-zo} from
a derivative of 4496 (meaning a fan or bellows);; v AV
- toss 1; 1 1)
to raise a breeze, put air in motion, whether for the sake of kindling a fire or cooling one's self 1a) to blow up a fire 1b) to fan, i.e. cool with a fan 2)
to toss to and fro, to agitate 2a) of the wind 2b) of persons whose mind wavers in
uncertainty between hope and fear, between doing and not doing a thing [25]present indicative active, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.] [26]ginomai, "to begin to be, i.e. to come into existence, or into any state, as implying orgin either from natural causes or through special agency; hence, to become, come to pass" BULLINGER. PAGE. 473.]. present passive/middle participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 855.] [27]The Greek word for "without ceasing" is "ektenes" which means "stretched out, extended; hence, earnest, intent, fervent" BULLINGER. PAGE.140.], "eager, earnest, lit. "strained""[B.A.G. PAGE.245.]. In the KJV N.T. it is tranlated "without ceasing", and "fervent". [28]pros, "towards, in the direction of. ... with Acc., towards, of literal and mental direction, in reference to, order to, with a view to, as an end, (marking the ultimate purpose)" BULLINGER. PAGE. 836.]. [29]poieo, "to make, i.e. to form, produce, to bring about, cause, spoken of any external act as manifested in the production of something tangible and obvious to the senses, and referring to completed action." [BULLINGER. PAGE.474.]. present indicative middle, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [30]pantote, always, ever, constantly (from ...pas, all, and ...tote, there)" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 47.] [31] proseuche, "speaking out to, prayer towards" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 595.] (euche, with pros, towards,prefixed). [32]present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [33]present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [34]present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [35] present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [36] present indicative active, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [37] present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [38] present indicative active, the "present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [39] present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [40]future passive, the "Passive Voice represents the subject as receiving the action of the verb" [CWSNT. PAGE. 855.]. [41]present imperative active, "it may indicate a command to do something in the future which involves continuous or repeated action" CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [42]apollumi, "to destroy, cause to perish. ... to be utterly and finally ruined and destroyed, to be lost, brought to nought, put to death" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 581.]. [43]4190 poneros {pon-ay-ros'} from
a derivative of 4192; TDNT - 6:546,912; adj AV
- evil 51, wicked 10, wicked one 6, evil things 2, misc 7; 76 1)
full of labours, annoyances, hardships 1a) pressed and harassed by labours 1b) bringing toils, annoyances, perils; of a
time full of peril to Christian faith and
steadfastness; causing pain and trouble 2)
bad, of a bad nature or condition 2a) in a physical sense: diseased or blind 2b) in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad ++++ The
word is used in the nominative case in Mt. 6:13. This usually denotes
a title in the Greek. Hence Christ is saying, deliver us from "The Evil", and is probably referring to Satan. [44]1587 ekleipo {ek-li'-po} from 1537 and 3007;; v AV - fail 3; 3 1) fail 1a) to leave out, omit, pass by 1b) to leave, quit 2) to fail 2a) to leave off, cease, stop 2b) of the failing or eclipse of the light of the sun and the moon [45]1544 ekballo {ek-bal'-lo} from 1537 and 906; TDNT -
1:527,91; v AV - cast out 45, cast 11,
bring forth 3, pull out 3, send forth 3, misc 17; 82 1) to cast out, drive out, to
send out 1a) with notion of violence 1a1) to drive out (cast out) 1a2) to cast out 1a2a) of the world, i.e. be
deprived of the power and influence he exercises in the
world 1a2b) a thing: excrement from the
belly into the sink 1a3) to expel a person from a society:
to banish from a family 1a4) to compel one to depart; to bid one
depart, in stern though not violent language 1a5) so employed that the rapid motion
of the one going is transferred to the one sending
forth 1a51) to command or cause one to
depart in haste 1a6) to draw out with force, tear out 1a7) with implication of force
overcoming opposite force 1a7a) to cause a thing to move
straight on its intended goal 1a8) to reject with contempt, to cast
off or away 1b) without the notion of violence 1b1) to draw out, extract, one thing
inserted in another 1b2) to bring out of, to draw or bring
forth 1b3) to except, to leave out, i.e. not
receive 1b4) to lead one forth or away somewhere
with a force which he cannot resist [i] 3306 meno {men'-o} a root word; TDNT - 4:574,581; v AV - abide 61, remain 16, dwell 15, continue 11, tarry 9, endure 3, misc 5; 120 1) to remain, abide 1a) in reference to place 1a1) to sojourn, tarry 1a2) not to depart 1a2a) to continue to be present 1a2b) to be held, kept, continually 1b) in reference to time 1b1) to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure 1b1a) of persons, to survive, live 1c) in reference to state or condition 1c1) to remain as one, not to become another or different 2) to wait for, await one [ii] 2309 thelo {thel'-o} or ethelo {eth-el'-o} in certain tenses theleo {thel-eh'-o} and etheleo {eth-el-eh'-o} which are otherwise obsolete apparently strengthened from the alternate form of 138; TDNT - 3:44,318; v AV - will/would 159, will/would have 16, desire 13, desirous 3, list 3, to will 2, misc 4; 210 1) to will, have in mind, intend 1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose 1b) to desire, to wish 1c) to love 1c1) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing 1d) to take delight in, have pleasure [iii] 769 astheneia {as-then'-i-ah} from 772; TDNT - 1:490,83; n f AV - infirmity 17, weakness 5, disease 1, sickness 1, 24 1) want of strength, weakness, infirmity 1a) of the body 1a1) its native weakness and frailty 1a2) feebleness of health or sickness 1b) of the soul 1b1) want of strength and capacity requisite 1b1a) to understand a thing 1b1b) to do things great and glorious 1b1c) to restrain corrupt desires 1b1d) to bear trials and troubles [iv] 1519 eis {ice} a primary preposition; TDNT - 2:420,211; prep AV - into 573, to 281, unto 207, for 140, in 138, on 58, toward 29, against 26, misc 321; 1773 1) into, unto, to, towards, for, among Wigram's frequency count is 1770 not 1773. ++++ "For" (as used in Acts 2:38 "for the forgiveness...") could have two meanings. If you saw a poster saying "Jesse James wanted for robbery", "for" could mean Jesse is wanted so he can commit a robbery, or is wanted because he has committed a robbery. The later sense is the correct one. So too in this passage, the word "for" signifies an action in the past. Otherwise, it would violate the entire tenor of the NT teaching on salvation by grace and not by works. [v] 4506 rhoumai {rhoo'-om-ahee} middle voice of an obsolete verb, akin to 4482 (through the idea of a current, cf 4511); TDNT - 6:998,988; v AV - deliver 17, Deliverer 1; 18 1) to draw to one's self, to rescue, to deliver 2) the deliverer So, one of the things that this verse may be saying is, “Draw us closer to You, so we do not go into evil!” [vi] 08426 towdah {to-daw'} from 03034; TWOT - 847b; n f AV - thanksgiving 18, praise 6, thanks 3, thank offerings 3, confession 2; 32 1) confession, praise, thanksgiving 1a) give praise to God 1b) thanksgiving in songs of liturgical worship, hymn of praise 1c) thanksgiving choir or procession or line or company 1d) thank-offering, sacrifice of thanksgiving 1e) confession [vii] 03034 yadah {yaw-daw'} a primitive root; used only as denominative from 03027; TWOT - 847; v AV - praise 53, give thanks 32, confess 16, thank 5, make confession 2, thanksgiving 2, cast 1, cast out 1, shoot 1, thankful 1; 114 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to give thanks,, laud, praise 1c2) to confess, confess (the name of God) [viii] 08840 Piel a) Piel usually expresses an "intensive" or "intentional" action. Qal Piel he broke he broke to pieces, he smashed he sent he sent away, he expelled b) Sometimes the Piel introduces a new meaning to the Qal form. he counted he recounted, he told he completed he paid, he compensated he learned he taught c) Piel expresses a "repeated" or "extended" action. he jumped he skipped, he hopped d) Some intransitive verbs in Qal become transitive in Piel. to be strong to strengthen, to fortify to become great to make great [ix]
1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to cause to
turn aside, cause to depart, remove, take away, put away, depose 1c2) to put aside, leave undone, retract, reject, abolish Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, 1995. [xi] 5745 Tense - Present See 5774 Voice - Passive See 5786 Mood - Infinitive See 5795 Count - 105 “That you prayers be not continually hindered.” [xii] 5686 Tense - Aorist See 5777 Voice - Passive See 5786 Mood - Subjunctive See 5792 Count - 219 5792 Mood - Subjunctive The subjunctive mood is the mood of possibility and potentiality. The action described may or may not occur, depending upon circumstances. Conditional sentences of the third class ("ean" + the subjunctive) are all of this type, as well as many commands following conditional purpose clauses, such as those beginning with "hina." 5786 Voice - Passive The passive voice represents the subject as being the recipient of the action. E.g., in the sentence, "The boy was hit by the ball," the boy receives the action. [xiii] 5649 Tense - Second Aorist See 5780 Voice - Passive See 5786 Mood - Imperative See 5794 Count - 9 5794 Mood - Imperative The imperative mood corresponds to the English imperative, and expresses a command to the hearer to perform a certain action by the order and authority of the one commanding. Thus, Jesus' phrase, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mk.1:15) is not at all an "invitation," but an absolute command requiring full obedience on the part of all hearers. 1259 diallasso {dee-al-las'-so} from 1223 and 236; TDNT - 1:253,40; v AV - reconcile 1; 1 1) to change 2) to change the mind of anyone, to reconcile 3) to be reconciled, to renew friendship with one [xiv] 07181 qashab {kaw-shab'} a primitive root; TWOT - 2084; v AV - hearken 27, attend 10, heed 3, hear 2, incline 1, marked 1, regarded 1, mark well 1; 46 1) to hear, be attentive, heed, incline (of ears), attend (of ears), hearken, pay attention, listen … 1b) (Hiphil) to pay attention, give attention [xv] rab {rab} contracted from 07231; TWOT - 2099a,2099b AV - many 190, great 118, much 36, captain 24, more 12, long 10, enough 9, multitude 7, mighty 5, greater 4, greatly 3, misc 40; 458 adj 1) much, many, great 1a) much 1b) many 1c) abounding in 1d) more numerous than 1e) abundant, enough 1f) great 1g) strong 1h) greater than adv 1i) much, exceedingly n m [xvi] RSV has “cry”. Ver 6. Supplications ytwnwxt, deprecations. The Psalmist forms a peculiar Hebrew word, feminine plural, not found elsewhere, to convey more impressively the idea of suppliant weakness. --A.R. Fausset. qowl {kole} or qol {kole} from an unused root meaning to call aloud; TWOT - 1998a,2028b; n m AV - voice 383, noise 49, sound 39, thunder 10, proclamation + 05674 4, send out + 05414 2, thunderings 2, fame 1, misc 16; 506 1) voice, sound, noise 1a) voice 1b) sound (of instrument) 2) lightness, frivolity [xvii] w[m maon; but instead of this several MSS. have zw[m maoz, “place of defense,” or “refuge,” which is the reading of the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. Ever since thy covenant with Abraham thou hast been the Resting-place, Refuge, and Defence of thy people Israel. Thy mercy has been lengthened out from generation to generation. [adam clarke]. [xviii] as the word {f} signifies, with shame and sorrow for it; almost overset with, and ready to faint and sink under, afflictions, which like waves and billows roll over him; and at the same time is attended with much darkness and unbelieving frames of soul: "and poureth out his complaint before the Lord"; [JOHN GILL.]. [xix] Hallowed— agiasqhtw. agiazw? from a negative, and gh, the earth, a thing
separated from the earth, or from earthly purposes and employments. [ADAM
CLARKE.]. hallow hagiazoµ ( , (37)), to make holy (from hagios, holy), signifies (a) to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing the opposite of koinos, common; it is translated “Hallowed,” with reference to the Name of God the Father in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2. See Sanctify. [Vine.]. [xix] psilos, loved, beloved, dear. Soon came to be used as subst. like Lat. amicus, a loved one, a friend"[BULLINGER. PAGE. 308.] [xx] psilos, loved, beloved, dear. Soon came to be used as subst. like Lat. amicus, a loved one, a friend"[BULLINGER. PAGE. 308.] [xxi] kichremi, "(from ...chrao) to furnish what is needful" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 449.] [xxii] kopos,"a beating, ( as of the breast); hence, wailing; also, the being beat out, wearness,... [parecho], to hold out, present, offer, offer trouble, give trouble" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 821.]. present imperative active, the "present imperative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement" [CWSNT. PAGE. 857.]. [xxiii] dei, "it needs, there is need of something that is absent or wanting; it is necessary from the nature of the case, one must; it is right and proper, one ought" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 561.]. articular infinitive with pros, "usually denotes purpose" [CWSNT. PAGE. 852.]. [xxiv] Boao, "to cry aloud, to shout" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 196.], "to halloo, i.e. shout (for help or in a tumultuous way)" [STRONG'S # 994.].present active participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 855.]. [xxv] makrothumeo, "to suffer long, to endure or wait patiently, hence, to delay" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 84.], ""to be long-tempered" (makros, "long," and thumos, "temper")" [VINE. PAGE. 53.].present active participle, the "present participle expresses continuous or repeated action" [CWSNT. PAGE. 855.]. [xxvi] heurisko, to find, as without seeking, meet with, light upon. Also, to find as by search, hence, to find out, discover" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 286.] [xxvii] anupokritos, "without dissimulation, not playing a part" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 831.] [xxviii] ektenos, "intently, earnestly" [BULLINGER. PAGE. 282.], "denotes "strained, stretched" (ek, "out," teino, "to stretch"); hence, metaphorically, "fervent,"" [VINE. PAGE 233.].
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