SERMON ON THE MOUNT, CONTINUED.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of
them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in
heaven. Therefore when thou doest _thine_ alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I
say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth
in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
_are_: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and
in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
_do_: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After
this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as _it is_ in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad
countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but
unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine
eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If
therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
_is_ that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and
mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the
body than raiment. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than
they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do
they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if
God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to
morrow is cast into the oven, _shall he_ not much more
_clothe_ you, O ye of little faith.
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore
no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day _is_ the
evil thereof.