Matthew 6: The Sermon on the Mount: Seek the Kingdom (2)

Pray Psalm 63.1, 2.
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Sing Psalm 63.1, 2.
(Nun Danken: Now Thank We All Our God)
O God, You are my God, and earnestly I seek You!
My soul thirsts and my flesh in weariness now greets You!
Thus I would see Your face, with glory and pow’r arrayed,
in this Your holy place – Your beauty here displayed.

Read Matthew 6.16-21; meditate on verses 19-21.

Prepare.
1. What does Jesus mean by “treasures on earth”?

2. What kind of treasures should we “lay up”?

Meditate.
We would expect that a lifestyle devoted to inside-out righteousness, a way of life that gives priority to the soul of man and Kingdom of God, would make material interests of strictly secondary concern. This is Jesus’ teaching here, and it will be His teaching throughout His earthly ministry.

The word translated “lay up” is, in the Greek, θησαυρίζετε, thesaurizete. Do you see the word thesaurus there? A thesaurus is a treasure-trove of synonyms, a resource helping us to learn a variety of ever-more precise ways of saying something. Jesus says we should not “treasure up” things that, by their very nature, perish with the using, or even without using them. Material things have a relatively short shelf-life, when compared with the eternity that stretches before us. When we treasure these above all, we devote our vision, attention, efforts, and energy to accumulating a trove of material things, because we think this is where happiness and security lie.

But of course, these things for which we accumulate material wealth do not come from such wealth. Happiness – blessedness – is found within the Kingdom of God, under the rule of King Jesus, and in the power of His Word and Spirit. The security of our souls comes from hearing and obeying the Word of the Lord. Within the Kingdom of God, treasures of true and spiritual life are available to us – righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus counsels us to treasure-up these, and to make them our constant objective and delight.

But we will only do this when it is our heart’s desire to gain the life God has in store for us in Jesus. Is this where your heart is? Look around at the way you use your time, the things that occupy your mind, the stuff that gets your heart beating rapidly, and that you long to possess. What do these say about the treasure you are seeking to lay up for yourself? If they’re not the treasure of spiritual things, it may be that you’ve never truly seen the great value of these. Turn to Jesus, and consider Him (Heb. 3.1; 12.3); He will show you beauty, goodness, and truth that never fades, and can never be exhausted in this life or the next. They who are truly righteous seek the treasures of heaven to enrich their earthly lives.

Reflect.
1. What is involved in “laying up” treasures in heaven?

2. Why are heavenly treasures more to be desired than earthly ones?

3. How can believers help one another to set their hearts and minds on the treasures of heaven?

If someone does something with the intent of gaining earthly profit, that one’s heart is upon the earth. How can a heart be clean while it is wallowing in the mud? On the other hand, if it be fastened upon heaven it will be clean, for whatever is heavenly is unpolluted. Augustine (354-430), Sermon on the Mount 2.13.44

Teach me to treasure heavenly treasures, O Lord, so that I…

Pray 63.3-11.
At the top of the list of heavenly treasures is the steadfast love of the Lord. Seek to know it more and more every day, and give God thanks and praise for the riches He has laid up for your soul.

Sing Psalm 63.3-11.
Psalm 63.3-11 (Nun Danken: Now Thank We All Our God)
Your steadfast love, O Lord, than life is better to me.
So I will praise Your Name, and bless You, Lord, most truly.
My soul is richly blest; to You my hands I raise,
and open now my mouth to offer joyful praise.

By night, Lord, fill my mind with pleasant meditation;
for You have been my help as ‘neath Your wings I station.
My soul clings, Lord, to You; I rest in Your Right Hand.
May all who seek my life in Your displeasure stand.

Unto the sword’s strong pow’r let our foes be delivered!
Pursue them to devour their mortal lives forever!
In God will we rejoice and glory in His grace;
but all who live by lies shall perish from His face.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).