11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, 1 Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
(1) A form of true prayer.
11:3 Give us a day by day our daily bread.
(a) That is, as much as is needed for us this day, by which
we are not prevented from having an honest care for the
maintenance of our lives; but that complaining care,
which kills a number of men, is cut off and restrained.
11:52 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;
(2) We must pray with faith.
11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,
because he is his friend, yet because of his b
importunity he will rise and give him as many as he
needeth.
(b) Literally, "impudence": but that impudency which is
spoken of here is not to be found fault with, but is
very commendable before God, for he is well pleased by
such importunity.
11:153 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through
Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
(3) An example of horrible blindness, and such as cannot be
healed, when the power of God is blasphemed by an evil
conscience and pretended malice.
11:174 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;
and a house [divided] against a house falleth.
(4) The true way to know the true Christ from the false is
this, that the true Christ has no harmony or agreement with
Satan: and once we know him it is left for us to
acknowledge him.
11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his
kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils c
through Beelzebub.
(c) By the name and power of Beelzebub.
11:20 But if I with the d finger of God cast out devils, no
doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
(d) That is, by the power of God: so it says in
)Geneva "Ex 8:19").
11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his e palace, his goods
are in peace:
(e) The word properly signifies an open and empty room in
front of a house, and so in translation is taken for
noblemen's houses.
11:235 He that is not with me is against me: and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth.
(5) Against indifferent men, and such as love to have a
compromise, who seek means to reconcile Christ and Satan
together.
11:246 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding
none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came
out.
(6) He that does not continue, but is in a worse case, than he
that never began.
11:277 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a
certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said
unto him, Blessed [is] the womb that bare thee, and the
paps which thou hast sucked.
(7) Christ does not seek praise for himself, but in our
salvation.
11:339 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth [it] in
a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a
candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
(9) Our minds are therefore lightened with the knowledge of
God, that we should give light unto others, and therefore
our main labour ought to be to pray for that light.
11:3710 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to
dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
(10) The service of God consists not in outward cleanliness
and planned rites or ceremonies, but in the spiritual
righteousness of the heart and charity.
11:41 But rather give alms f of such things as ye have; and,
behold, all things are clean unto you.
(f) That is, according to your ability: as one would say,
instead of your extortion which hindered you so that
you could not eat cleanly, use charity, and in
accordance with your ability be good to the poor, and
in this way will that which is within the platter be
sanctified even though the platter is unwashed.
11:4211 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye g tithe mint
and rue and h all manner of herbs, and pass over i
judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone.
(11) It is the characteristic of hypocrites to stand firmly for
little trifles and to let greater matters pass.
(g) You decide by God's law that the tenth part is due to
be paid.
(h) Of all types of herbs, some as Augustine expounds it
in his Enchiridion to Laurence, chap. 99, where he
shows in like manner how that place of Paul,
(God "will have all men to be saved"), (1Ti 2:4),
is to be expounded after the same manner.
(i) That is to say, that which is right and reasonable to
do, for this word "judgment" contains the commandments
of the second table, and the other words, "the love of
God", contain the commandments of the first.
11:4312 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost
seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
(12) Hypocrisy and ambition are commonly joined together.
11:4413 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk
over [them] are not aware [of them].
(13) Hypocrites deceive men with an outward show.
11:4514 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him,
Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
(14) Hypocrites are very severe against other men, but think
that all things are lawful for themselves.
11:4715 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the
prophets, and your fathers killed them.
(15) Hypocrites honour those saints when they are dead whom
they persecute most cruelly when they are alive.
11:48 Truly k ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your
fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their
sepulchres.
(k) When you persecute God's servants like mad men, even
as your fathers did, though you try and cover it with
a pretence of godliness, yet nonetheless, by
beautifying the sepulchres of the prophets, what else
are you doing but glorying in your father's cruelty,
and setting up monuments (as it were) in glory and
triumph of it?
11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them
prophets and apostles, and [some] of them they shall slay
and l persecute:
(l) They will so vex them and trouble them, that at length
they will banish them.
11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was m shed
from the foundation of the world, may be required of this
generation;
(m) That you may be called to give an account for it, yea,
and be punished for the shedding of that blood of the
prophets.
11:5216 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have n taken away the
key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them
that were entering in ye hindered.
(16) Those who ought to be the door keepers of the Church have
for a long time mainly hindered the people from entering
into the knowledge of God.
(n) You have hidden and taken away, so that it cannot be
found anywhere.
11:5317 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes
and the Pharisees began to urge [him] vehemently, and to
o provoke him to speak of many things:
(17) The more the world is reprehended, the worse it is, and
yet we must not betray the truth.
(o) They proposed many questions to him, to draw something
out of his mouth which they might traitorously find
fault with.
