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Matthew 6

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1 Take heed not to do your alms before men to be seen of them, otherwise ye have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens.

2 When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But thou, when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does;

4 so that thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render [it] to thee.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets so that they should appear to men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But *thou*, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render [it] to thee.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as those who are of the nations: for they think they shall be heard through their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like them, for your Father knows of what things ye have need before ye beg [anything] of him.

9 Thus therefore pray *ye*: Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified,

10 let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth;

11 give us to-day our needed bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,

13 and lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil.

14 For if ye forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father also will forgive you [yours],

15 but if ye do not forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive your offences.

16 And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But *thou*, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,

18 so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render [it] to thee.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust spoils, and where thieves dig through and steal;

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust spoils, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal;

21 for where thy treasure is, there will be also thy heart.

22 The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light:

23 but if thine eye be wicked, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!

24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 For this cause I say unto you, Do not be careful about your life, what ye should eat and what ye should drink; nor for your body what ye should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment?

26 Look at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are *ye* not much more excellent than they?

27 But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?

28 And why are ye careful about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin;

29 but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

30 But if God so clothe the herbage of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into [the] oven, will he not much rather you, O [ye] of little faith?

31 Be not therefore careful, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on?

32 for all these things the nations seek after; for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Be not careful therefore for the morrow, for the morrow shall be careful about itself. Sufficient to the day [is] its own evil.

   

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True Christian Religion # 440

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440. However, thinking about going to heaven, and good needing to be done for this reason, is not regarding reward as one's aim and attributing merit to deeds, for so too do those think who love the neighbour as themselves, and God above all things. For they think this, trusting in the Lord's words, that their reward will be great in the heavens (Matthew 5:11-12; 6:1; 10:41-42; Luke 6:23, 35; 14:12-14; John 4:36); that those who have done good deeds will possess as their inheritance the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34); and that each person will be repaid according to his deeds (Matthew 16:27; John 5:29; Revelation 14:13; 20:12-13; Jeremiah 25:14; 32:19; Hosea 4:9; Zechariah 1:6; and elsewhere). These people do not trust in getting a reward by their merit, but believe it is promised them by grace. Their reward is the pleasure of doing good to the neighbour. The angels in heaven enjoy this pleasure, and it is a spiritual pleasure, which is everlasting and immeasurably exceeds any natural pleasure. Those who enjoy that pleasure are unwilling to listen to talk of merit, for they like to act, and that is what makes them feel pleased. They are saddened if they think that their actions are done for the sake of being repaid. They are like those who do good to their friends for friendship's sake, to their brother for brotherhood's sake, to their wife and children for their wife's and children's sakes, to their country for their country's sake, so that they act from friendship and love. When they do a kindness, they also say and convince others that it is not for themselves but for others.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.