181 Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre , while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day . 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked , behold , three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth , 3 and said , "My Lord , if now I have found favor in Your sight , please do not pass your servant by. 4 "Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet , and rest yourselves under the tree ; 5 and I will bring a piece of bread , that you may refresh yourselves ; after that you may go on, since e e you have visited your servant ." And they said , "So do , as you have said ." 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah , and said , "Quickly , prepare three measures of fine flour e , knead it and make bread cakes ." 7 Abraham also ran to the herd , and took a tender and choice calf e and gave it to the servant , and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf e which he had prepared , and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate .
9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife ?" And he said , "There , in the tent ." 10 He said , " I will surely return to you at this time next year ; and behold , Sarah your wife will have a son ." And Sarah was listening at the tent door , which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old , advanced in age ; Sarah was past childbearing e . 12 Sarah laughed to herself , saying , " After I have become old , shall I have pleasure , my lord being old also?" 13 And the Lord said to Abraham , "Why did Sarah laugh , saying , 'Shall I indeed e bear a child, when I am so old ?' 14 " Is anything too difficult for the Lord ? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year , and Sarah will have a son ." 15 Sarah denied it however, saying , "I did not laugh "; for she was afraid . And He said , "No , but you did laugh ."
16 Then the men rose up from there , and looked down toward e Sodom ; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 The Lord said , "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do , 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation , and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed ? 19 "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice , so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him." 20 And the Lord said , " The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great , and their sin is exceedingly grave . 21 "I will go down now , and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry , which has come to Me; and if not, I will know ." 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom , while Abraham was still standing before the Lord .
23 Abraham came near and said , " Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked ? 24 "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city ; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing , to slay the righteous with the wicked , so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly ?" 26 So the Lord said , " If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city , then I will spare the whole place on their account ." 27 And Abraham replied , "Now behold , I have ventured to speak to the Lord , although I am but dust and ashes . 28 "Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five , will You destroy the whole city because of five ?" And He said , "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five e there ." 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said , "Suppose forty are found there ?" And He said , "I will not do it on account of the forty ." 30 Then he said , "Oh may the Lord not be angry , and I shall speak ; suppose thirty are found there ?" And He said , "I will not do it if I find thirty there ." 31 And he said , "Now behold , I have ventured to speak to the Lord ; suppose twenty are found there ?" And He said , "I will not destroy it on account of the twenty ." 32 Then he said , " Oh may the Lord not be angry , and I shall speak only this once ; suppose ten are found there ?" And He said , "I will not destroy it on account of the ten ." 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed , and Abraham returned to his place .
191 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom . When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground . 2 And he said , "Now behold , my lords , please turn aside into your servant's house , and spend the night , and wash your feet ; then you may rise early and go on your way ." They said however, "No , but we shall spend the night in the square ." 3 Yet he urged them strongly , so they turned aside to him and entered his house ; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread , and they ate .
4 Before they lay down , the men of the city , the men of Sodom , surrounded the house , both young and old , all the people from every quarter ; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, " Where are the men who came to you tonight ? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway , and shut the door behind him, 7 and said , "Please , my brothers , do not act wickedly . 8 "Now behold , I have two daughters who have not had relations with man ; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever e you like e ; only do nothing e to these men , inasmuch e e as they have come under the shelter of my roof ." 9 But they said , "Stand aside ." Furthermore, they said , "This one came in as an alien , and already he is acting like a judge ; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door . 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door . 11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness , both small and great , so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway .
12 Then the two men said to Lot , "Whom else have you here ? A son-in-law , and your sons , and your daughters , and whomever e you have in the city , bring them out of the place ; 13 for we are about to destroy this place , because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it." 14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law , who were to marry his daughters , and said , "Up, get out of this place , for the Lord will destroy the city ." But he appeared e to his sons-in-law to be jesting .
15 When morning dawned , the angels urged Lot , saying , "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here , or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city ." 16 But he hesitated . So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters , for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside e the city . 17 When they had brought them outside , one said , " Escape for your life ! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley ; escape to the mountains , or you will be swept away ." 18 But Lot said to them, "Oh no , my lords ! 19 "Now behold , your servant has found favor in your sight , and you have magnified your lovingkindness , which you have shown me by saving my life ; but I cannot e escape to the mountains , for the disaster will overtake me and I will die ; 20 now behold , this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small . Please , let me escape there (is it not small ?) that my life may be saved ." 21 He said to him, "Behold , I grant you this request also , not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken . 22 "Hurry , escape there , for I cannot e do anything until you arrive there ." Therefore e the name of the town was called Zoar . 23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar .
24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven , 25 and He overthrew those cities , and all the valley , and all the inhabitants of the cities , and what grew on the ground .
26 But his wife , from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt .
27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where e he had stood before the Lord ; 28 and he looked down toward e Sodom and Gomorrah , and toward e all the land of the valley , and he saw , and behold , the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace . 29 Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley , that God remembered Abraham , and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow , when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived .
30 Lot went up from Zoar , and stayed in the mountains , and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar ; and he stayed in a cave , he and his two daughters . 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger , "Our father is old , and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth . 32 "Come , let us make our father drink wine , and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father ." 33 So they made their father drink wine that night , and the firstborn went in and lay with her father ; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose . 34 On the following day , the firstborn said to the younger , "Behold , I lay last night with my father ; let us make him drink wine tonight also ; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father ." 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also , and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose . 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father . 37 The firstborn bore a son , and called his name Moab ; he is the father of the Moabites to this day . 38 As for the younger , she also bore a son , and called his name Ben-ammi ; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day .
61 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven . 2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets , so that they may be honored by men . Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full . 3 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing , 4 so that your giving will be in secret ; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 "When you pray , you are not to be like the hypocrites ; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men . Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full . 6 "But you, when you pray , go into your inner room , close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret , and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you are praying , do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words . 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 " Pray , then , in this way : 'Our Father who is in heaven , Hallowed be Your name . 10 ' Your kingdom come . Your will be done , On earth as it is in heaven . 11 ' Give us this day our daily bread . 12 'And forgive us our debts , as we also have forgiven our debtors . 13 'And do not lead us into temptation , but deliver us from evil . [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever . Amen .'] 14 " For if you forgive others for their transgressions , your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive others , then your Father will not forgive your transgressions .
16 " Whenever you fast , do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting . Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full . 17 "But you, when you fast , anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men , but by your Father who is in secret ; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
(Read Matthew 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.
(Read Matthew 6:5-8)
It is taken for granted that all who are disciples of Christ pray. You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray. If prayerless, then graceless. The Scribes and Pharisees were guilty of two great faults in prayer, vain-glory and vain repetitions. "Verily they have their reward;" if in so great a matter as is between us and God, when we are at prayer, we can look to so poor a thing as the praise of men, it is just that it should be all our reward. Yet there is not a secret, sudden breathing after God, but he observes it. It is called a reward, but it is of grace, not of debt; what merit can there be in begging? If he does not give his people what they ask, it is because he knows they do not need it, and that it is not for their good. So far is God from being wrought upon by the length or words of our prayers, that the most powerful intercessions are those which are made with groanings that cannot be uttered. Let us well study what is shown of the frame of mind in which our prayers should be offered, and learn daily from Christ how to pray.
(Read Matthew 6:9-15)
Christ saw it needful to show his disciples what must commonly be the matter and method of their prayer. Not that we are tied up to the use of this only, or of this always; yet, without doubt, it is very good to use it. It has much in a little; and it is used acceptably no further than it is used with understanding, and without being needlessly repeated. The petitions are six; the first three relate more expressly to God and his honour, the last three to our own concerns, both temporal and spiritual. This prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and that all other things shall be added. After the things of God's glory, kingdom, and will, we pray for the needful supports and comforts of this present life. Every word here has a lesson in it. We ask for bread; that teaches us sobriety and temperance: and we ask only for bread; not for what we do not need. We ask for our bread; that teaches us honesty and industry: we do not ask for the bread of others, nor the bread of deceit, Proverbs 31:27, but the bread honestly gotten. We ask for our daily bread; which teaches us constantly to depend upon Divine Providence. We beg of God to give it us; not sell it us, nor lend it us, but give it. The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread. We pray, Give it to us. This teaches us a compassion for the poor. Also that we ought to pray with our families. We pray that God would give it us this day; which teaches us to renew the desires of our souls toward God, as the wants of our bodies are renewed. As the day comes we must pray to our heavenly Father, and reckon we could as well go a day without food, as without prayer. We are taught to hate and dread sin while we hope for mercy, to distrust ourselves, to rely on the providence and grace of God to keep us from it, to be prepared to resist the tempter, and not to become tempters of others. Here is a promise, If you forgive, your heavenly Father will also forgive. We must forgive, as we hope to be forgiven. Those who desire to find mercy with God, must show mercy to their brethren. Christ came into the world as the great Peace-maker, not only to reconcile us to God, but one to another.
(Read Matthew 6:16-18)
Religious fasting is a duty required of the disciples of Christ, but it is not so much a duty itself, as a means to dispose us for other duties. Fasting is the humbling of the soul, Psalm 35:13; that is the inside of the duty; let that, therefore, be thy principal care, and as to the outside of it, covet not to let it be seen. God sees in secret, and will reward openly.
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