Matthew 6: The Sermon on the Mount: Inner Life (28)
Pray Psalm 15.1, 2.
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart…
Sing Psalm 15.1, 2.
Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
LORD, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.
All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.
Read and meditate on Matthew 6.1-15.
What lesson about prayer have you learned?
Prepare.
1. How important is prayer to life in the Kingdom of God?
2. How did Jesus regard public shows of one’s “righteousness”?
Meditate.
The righteous lifestyle, which is the Kingdom way of life, is nurtured from the inside-out. We must always keep in mind that righteousness comes from God and is for God and His glory. Those who parade their righteousness, making a show of their generosity or spirituality, rob God of His glory, and themselves of the joy of serving in God’s Name; thus, they defeat the real purpose of righteousness.
We cultivate the righteous life in communion with God, both in our good works, done for His glory, and in our times of prayer. As we praise God and devote ourselves to Him and His Kingdom, He will provide for and sustain us in the life of righteousness. He empowers us to forgive those who have transgressed against us and to channel His grace to others, for this glorifies Him.
All superficiality of religion is excluded from the life of righteousness. By focusing on developing righteousness from within, in the Presence of God and for the glory of God, we will become more like our Lord Jesus Christ and our heavenly Father. We cannot make ourselves righteous, and we must not try to persuade others of how righteous we are. Come to the Father through Jesus His Son. Give Him the glory for all that He brings forth of righteousness in your life.
By nurturing a life of prayer, the mercy and grace of righteousness will grow in us and flow out through us in every aspect of our lives, to the glory of God the Father (1 Cor. 10.31).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Do your charitable deeds in secret (Matt. 6.3).
Do your praying in a quiet and secret place (Matt. 6.6).
God will reward you. But He may reward you in secret.
For the word “openly”, to describe our trophy, gold, or first place ribbon reward used in the NKJV (Matt. 6.4, 6), is omitted in earliest texts.
With our generation, and those following, encouraging a blasting of gospel information and much good-working on behalf of everything that moves, we were discomfited over our parents’ generation who would proclaim: “My faith is a private matter.” We were all sent out to save them; and their words of privacy were met with skepticism.
But God tends toward their point of view:
He wants us to have a relationship with Him.
He wants us to know and love Him.
He wants us to obey His every Word.
He wants us to be holy and righteous.
He does not want us to toot our horns of religiosity.
He does not want us to parade ourselves.
He does not want us to be rude.
He wants us to calm down.
He wants us to hear His still small voice.
He wants us to be still and know that He is God.
“Be of good courage, and
let us be strong for our people and
for the cities of our God. And
may the LORD do what is good in His sight” (2 Sam. 10.12).
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“Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done…” (Matt. 6.10).
Be still. Be quiet. Be humble. Be holy. Be His.
“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
His Kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,
He does according to His will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth” (Dan. 4.34, 35).
He can do this without us. But He chooses to use us. In His way—graciously (1 Cor. 13).
To God be the glory, great things he has done!
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the lifegate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father thro’ Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done!
(Fanny J. Crosby, 1875)
Reflect.
1. In what ways are you tempted to “parade” your faith? How do you deal with that temptation?
2. What “reward” does the Lord have in store for us when we serve Him humbly and without ostentation or expectation?
3. How will you serve the Lord in humble anonymity today?
This is a fitting conclusion to good counsel, not merely calling us to pray but also showing us how, not merely calling us to give alms but also showing the right spirit for doing so. The instruction is to cleanse the heart. Nothing cleanses the heart but the undivided and single-minded striving after eternal life from the pure love of wisdom alone. Augustine (354-430), Sermon on the Mount 2.3.11
Pray Psalm 15.2-5.
Seek the Lord for the day ahead. How will you grow in righteousness? Whom will you serve? How will your communion with the Lord improve?
Sing Psalm 15.2-5.
Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
Let truth from every heart proceed, and slander disappear:
Thus shall we know God’s grace indeed and feel His Presence near.
No evil to your neighbor speak, nor turn against your friend:
Thus shall you know the end you seek—God’s Presence without end.
Let every sinner be despised; but those who fear the LORD
Shall honor have before our eyes, according to God’s Word.
All they who keep their word in faith, though suffering may ensue,
shall know the favor of God’s grace, His Presence ever true.
No greed and no injustice shall they do who seek the LORD;
But on His mercy ever call and stand upon His Word.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column looks at people in ministry. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
