Which seeth in secret - We should ever remember that the eye of the Lord is upon us, and that he sees not only the act, but also every motive that led to it.

Shall reward thee openly - Will give thee the fullest proofs of his acceptance of thy work of faith, and labor of love, by increasing that substance which, for his sake, thou sharest with the poor; and will manifest his approbation in thy own heart, by the witness of his Spirit.

That thine alms may be in secret,.... May be done in secret, and be kept a secret. The allusion seems to be to the secret chamber, where money was brought privately for the relief of the poor.

"There were two chambers in the sanctuary, the one was , "the chamber of secrets", and the other the chamber of vessels: the chamber of secrets was that into which pious persons put "in secret", and the poor children of good men were maintained out of it privately (q).''

The Jews say many things in favour of doing alms privately.

"Greater, (say they (r),) is he that gives alms in secret, than Moses our master.''

They tell us (s), that

"R. Jannai seeing a certain man give Zuz (a piece of money) to a poor man publicly, said unto him, it would have been better, if thou hadst not have given him anything, than to have given him in this manner.''

This was the practice of the ancient religious Jews, to give their alms privately; but the Scribes and Pharisees had brought that practice into disuse, and which our Lord labours to restore; adding, for encouragement,

and thy Father, which seeth in secret; beholds all secret actions, and knows the secret springs of actions,

himself shall reward thee openly; in the great day of account, before angels and men, when all secret things shall be brought to light, and every good man have praise of God. This duty, of giving alms to the poor, is mentioned by Christ before prayer to God; it may be for this reason, because it was usual to give alms before prayer.

"The great, or famous men, among the wise men, used to give a Prutah (a small piece of money) to a poor man before every prayer, and after that they prayed; as it is said, "I shall behold thy face in righteousness" (t).''

(q) Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 6. Mainnon. Hilch. Eracin, c. 2. sect. 12. (r) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 9. 2.((s) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 5. 1.((t) Maimon. Hilch. Mattanot Anayin, c. 10. sect. 15.

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

6:4 That thine alms may be in secret. It is not concealment that is required, so much as to avoid ostentation.

Openly. Literally, in the open place, in the last day, when every secret thing is made manifest.

4. That thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly-The word "Himself" appears to be an unauthorized addition to the text, which the sense no doubt suggested. (See 1Ti 5:25; Ro 2:16; 1Co 4:5).

Prayer (Mt 6:5, 6).

6:1-4 Our Lord next warned against hypocrisy and outward show in religious duties. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving alms. Take heed of it. It is a subtle sin; and vain-glory creeps into what we do, before we are aware. But the duty is not the less necessary and excellent for being abused by hypocrites to serve their pride. The doom Christ passes, at first may seem a promise, but it is their reward; not the reward God promises to those who do good, but the reward hypocrites promise themselves, and a poor reward it is; they did it to be seen of men, and they are seen of men. When we take least notice of our good deeds ourselves, God takes most notice of them. He will reward thee; not as a master who gives his servant what he earns, and no more, but as a Father who gives abundantly to his son that serves him.