matthew-6:3-4

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 6:1-34

Matthew 6:1 . Take heed that ye do not your alms before men. It is a dispute whether alms or righteousness be the true reading. The old copies had righteousness. Chrysostom in one place has righteousness, in another alms. Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, Break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Daniel 2:27. Righteousness is the sense, alms the gloss. The jews often described alms by the former term; and alms is allowed to be one branch of the... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Matthew 6:3

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: Ver. 3. But thou when thou doest thine alms ] The godly Christian must walk in a diverse way to a world of wicked people, as Noah did, a really reproving their darkness by his light, their pride by his lowliness, their vainglory by his modesty, their ostentation by his secret devotion; not only (planet-like) keeping a constant counter motion to the corrupt manners of the most, but also shining forth fair with a... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Matthew 6:4

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Ver. 4. Thy Father that seeth in secret ] And best accepteth of secret service. Song of Solomon 2:14 ; "O thou that art in the clefts of the rocks, let me see thy face, let me hear thy voice," &c. a He is all eye ( πανοφθαλμος ), he searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins, those most abstruse and remotest parts of the body, seats of lust: and as he is himself a Spirit, so he... read more

Samuel Bagster

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge - Matthew 6:3

let: Matthew 8:4, Matthew 9:30, Matthew 12:19, Mark 1:44, John 7:4 Reciprocal: Proverbs 21:14 - in secret Matthew 25:37 - when Acts 5:2 - laid 1 Timothy 5:25 - cannot read more

Samuel Bagster

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge - Matthew 6:4

seeth: Matthew 6:6, Matthew 6:18, Psalms 17:3, Psalms 44:21, Psalms 139:1-Leviticus :, Psalms 139:12, Jeremiah 17:10, Jeremiah 23:24, Hebrews 4:13, Revelation 2:23 reward: Matthew 10:42, Matthew 25:34-:, 1 Samuel 2:30, Luke 8:17, Luke 14:14, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Jude 1:24 Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 15:7 - your work Psalms 18:20 - rewarded Psalms 19:11 - keeping Psalms 112:9 - righteousness Proverbs 21:14 - in secret Matthew 5:12 - for great Matthew 10:41 - a righteous man's 2 Corinthians 8:21 -... read more

John Wesley

Wesley's Explanatory Notes - Matthew 6:3

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth — A proverbial expression for doing a thing secretly. Do it as secretly as is consistent, 1. With the doing it at all2. With the doing it in the most effectual manner. read more

Daniel Whedon

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:3

3. Left hand If it had perception. A striking symbol of secrecy. “The right hand,” says Mr. Roberts in his Oriental Illustrations, “always dispenses gifts because ‘it is more honourable than the other;’ the left hand, therefore, was to be unacquainted with the charities of the other; that is, there was to be no ostentation; to be perfect secrecy. The Hindoos say of things which are not to be revealed: ‘The left ear is not to hear that which went into the right, nor the right to be... read more