thither, as if they were under a pious impulse which would not admit delay, but really it was to make themselves to be taken notice of. There, where two streets met, they were not only within view of both, but every passenger turning close upon them would observe them, and hear what they said.
(2.) The posture they used in prayer; they prayed standing; this is a lawful and proper posture for prayer, (Mark 11. 25. When ye stand praying,) but kneeling being the more humble and reverent gesture, Luke 22. 41. Acts 7. 60. Eph. 3. 14. their standing seemed to savour of pride and confidence in themselves, (Luke 18. 11.) The Pharisee stood and prayed.
(3.) Their pride in choosing those public places, which is expressed in two things: [1.] They love to pray there. They did not love prayer for its own sake, but they loved it when it gave them an opportunity of making themselves noticed. Circumstances may be such, that our good deeds must needs be done openly, so as to fall under the observation of others, and be commended by them; but the sin and danger is when we love it, and are pleased with it, because it feeds the proud humour. [2.] It is that they may be seen of men; not that God might accept them, but that men might admire and applaud them; and that they might easily get the estates of widows and orphans into their hands; (who would not trust such devout, praying men?) and that, when they had them, they might devour them without being suspected; (ch. 23. 14.) and effectually carry on their public designs to enslave the people.
(4.) The product of all this, they have their reward; they have all the recompense they must ever expect from God for their service, and a poor recompense it is. What will it avail us to have the good word of our fellow-servants, if our Master do not say, Well done. But if in so great a transaction as is between us and God, when we are at prayer, we can take in so poor a consideration as the praise of men is, it is just that that should be all our reward. They did it to be seen of men, and they are so; and much good may it do them. Note, Those that would approve themselves to God by their integrity in their religion, must have no regard to the praise of men; it is not to men that we pray, nor from them that we expect an answer; they are not to be our judges, they are dust and ashes like ourselves, and therefore we must not have our eye to them: what passes between God and our own souls must be out of sight. In our synagogue-worship, we must avoid every thing that tends to make our personal devotion remarkable, as they that caused their voice to be heard on high, Isa. 54. 8. Public places are not proper for private, solemn prayer.
2. What is the will of Jesus Christ in opposition to this. Humility and sincerity are the two great lessons that Christ teaches us; Thou, when thou prayest, do so and so; (v. 6.) thou in particular by thyself, and for thyself. Personal prayer is here supposed to be the duty and practice of all Christ's disciples. Observe,
(1.) The directions here given about it.
[1.] Instead of praying in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, enter into thy closet, into some place of privacy and retirement. Isaac went into the field, (Gen. 24. 63.) Christ to a mountain, Peter to the house-top. No place amiss in point of ceremony, if it do but answer the end. Note, Secret prayer is to be performed in retirement, that we may be unobserved, and so may avoid ostentation; undisturbed, and so may avoid distraction; unheard, and so may use the greater freedom; yet if the circumstances be such that we cannot possibly avoid being taken notice of, we must not therefore neglect the duty, lest the omission be a greater scandal than the observation of it.
[2.] Instead of doing it to be seen of men, pray to thy Father which is in secret; to me, even to me, Zech. 7. 5, 6. The Pharisees prayed rather to men than to God; whatever was the form of their prayer, the scope of it was to beg the applause of men, and court their favours. "Well, do thou pray to God, and let that be enough for thee. Pray to him as a Father, as thy Father, ready to hear and answer, graciously inclined to pity, help, and succour thee. Pray to thy Father which is in secret." Note, In secret prayer we must have an eye to God, as present in all places; he is there in thy closet when no one else is there; there especially nigh to thee in what thou callest upon him for. By secret prayer we give God the glory of his universal presence, (Acts 17. 24.) and may take to ourselves the comfort of it.
(2.) The encouragements here given us to it.
[1.] Thy Father seeth in secret; his eye is upon thee to accept thee, when the eye of no man is upon thee to applaud thee; under the fig-tree I saw thee, said Christ to Nathaniel, John 1. 48. He saw Paul at prayer in such a street, at such a house, Acts 9. 11. There is not a secret, sudden breathing after God, but he observes it.
[2.] He will reward thee openly; they have their reward that do it openly, and thou shalt not lose thine for thy doing it in secret. It is called a reward, but it is of grace, not of debt; what merit can there be in begging? The reward will be open; they shall not only have it, but have it honourably: the open reward is that which hypocrites are fond of, but they have not patience to stay for it; it is that which the sincere are dead to, and they shall have it over and above. Sometimes secret prayers are rewarded openly in this world by signal answers to them, which manifest God's praying people in the consciences of their adversaries; however, at the great day there will be an open reward, when all praying people shall appear in glory with the great Intercessor. The Pharisees had their reward before all the town, and it was a mere flash and shadow; true christians shall have theirs before all the world, angels and men, and it shall be a weight of glory.
II. We must not use vain repetitions in prayer, v. 7, 8. Though the life of prayer lies in lifting up the soul and pouring out the heart, yet there is some interest which words have in prayer, especially in joint prayer; for in that, words are necessary, and it should seem that our Saviour speaks here especially of that; for before he said, when thou prayest, here, when ye pray; and the Lord's prayer which follows is a joint prayer, and in that, he that is the mouth of others is most tempted to an ostentation of language and expression, against which we are here warned; use not vain repetitions, either alone or with others; the Pharisees affected this, they made long prayers, (ch. 22. 14.) all their care was to make them long. Now observe,
1. What the fault is that is here reproved and condemned; it is making a mere lip-labour of the duty of prayer, the service of the tongue, when it is not the service of the soul. This is expressed here by two words, βαττολογία, πολυλογία. (1.) Vain repetitions. Tautology, battology, idle babbling over the same words again and again to no purpose, like Battus, sub illis montibus erant, erant sub montibus illis; like that imitation of the wordiness of a fool, Eccl. 10. 14. A man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell? Which is indecent and nauseous in any discourse, much more in speaking to God. It is not all repetition in prayer that is here condemned, but vain repetitions. Christ himself prayed, saying the same words, (ch. 26. 44.) out of a more than ordinary fervour and zeal, Luke 22. 44. So Daniel, ch. 9. 18, 19. And there is a very elegant repetition of the same words,
