Chapter II.
5. “Therefore, when thou doest thine alms,” says He, “do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory251
| 251 Glorificantur; Vulgate honorificentur. The sounding of trumpet is referred by some to an alleged custom of the parties themselves calling the poor together by a trumpet, or even to the noise of the coins on the trumpet-shaped chests in the temple. Better, it is figurative of “self-laudation and display” (Meyer, Alford, Lange, etc.).
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of men.” Do not, says He, desire to become known in the same way as the
hypocrites. Now it is manifest that
hypocrites have not that in their
heart also which they hold forth before the
eyes of men. For
hypocrites are pretenders, as it were setters forth of other characters, just as in the plays of the
theatre. For he who acts the part of Agamemnon in tragedy, for example, or of any other person belonging to the history or legend which is acted, is not really the person
himself, but personates him, and is called a
hypocrite. In like manner, in the
Church, or in any phase of human
life, whoever wishes to seem what he is not is a
hypocrite. For he pretends, but does not show himself, to be a
righteous man; because he places the whole fruit [of his acting] in the
praise of men, which even pretenders may receive, while they
deceive those to whom they seem good, and are
praised by them. But such do not receive a
reward from
God the Searcher of the
heart, unless it
be the
punishment of their
deceit: from men, however, says He, “They have received their
reward;” and most righteously will it be said to them, Depart from me, ye workers of
deceit; ye had my name, but ye did not my works. Hence they have received their
reward, who do their
alms for no other reason than that they may have
glory of men; not if they have
glory of men, but if they do them for the express purpose of having this
glory, as has been discussed above. For the
praise of men ought not
to be sought by him who acts rightly, but ought to follow him who acts rightly, so that they may
profit who can also
imitate what they
praise, not that he whom they
praise may think that they are profiting him anything.
6. “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” If you should understand unbelievers to be meant by the left hand, then it will seem to be no fault to wish to please believers; while nevertheless we are altogether prohibited from placing the fruit and end of our good deed in the praise of any men whatever. But as regards this point, that those who have been pleased with your good deeds should imitate you, we are to act
before the eyes not only of believers, but also of unbelievers, so that by our good works, which are to be praised, they may honour God, and may come to salvation. But if you should be of opinion that the left hand means an enemy, so that your enemy is not to know when you do alms, why did the Lord Himself, when His enemies the Jews were standing round, mercifully heal men? why did the Apostle Peter, by healing the lame man whom he pitied at the gate Beautiful, bring also the wrath of the enemy
upon himself, and upon the other disciples of Christ?252
Then, further, if it is necessary that the
enemy should not know when we do our
alms, how shall we do with the
enemy himself so as to fulfil that
precept, “If thine
enemy be hungry, give him
bread to eat; and if he be
thirsty, give him
water to drink”?
253
7. A third opinion is wont to be held by carnal people, so absurd and ridiculous, that I would not mention it had I not found that not a few are entangled in that error, who say that by the expression left hand a wife is meant; so that, inasmuch as in family affairs women are wont to be more tenacious of money, it is to be kept hid from them when their husbands compassionately spend anything upon the needy, for fear of domestic quarrels. As if, forsooth, men alone were
Christians, and this precept were not addressed to women also! From what left hand, then, is a woman enjoined to conceal her deed of mercy? Is a husband also the left hand of his wife? A statement most absurd. Or if any one thinks that they are left hands to each other; if any part of the family property be expended by the one party in such a way as to be contrary to the will of the other party, such a marriage will not be a Christian one; but whichever of them should choose to do alms
according to the command of God, whomsoever he should find opposed, would inevitably be an enemy to the command of God, and therefore reckoned among unbelievers,—the command with respect to such parties being, that a believing husband should win his wife, and a believing wife her husband, by their good conversation and conduct; and therefore they ought not to conceal their good works from each other, by which they are to be mutually attracted, so that the one may be able to attract the other
to communion in the Christian faith. Nor are thefts to be perpetrated in order that God may be rendered propitious. But if anything is to be concealed as long as the infirmity of the other party is unable to bear with equanimity what nevertheless is not done unjustly and unlawfully; yet, that the left hand is not meant in such a sense on the present occasion, readily appears from a consideration of the whole section, whereby it will at the same time be discovered what He calls the left
hand.
8. “Take heed,” says He, “that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Here He has mentioned righteousness generally, then He follows it up in detail. For a deed which is done in the way of alms is a certain part of righteousness, and therefore He connects the two by saying, “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.” In this there is a reference to what He says before, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.” But what follows, “Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward,” refers to that other statement which He has made above, “Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Then follows, “But when thou doest alms.” When He says, “But thou,” what else
does He mean but, Not in the same manner as they? What, then, does He bid me do? “But when thou doest alms,” says He, “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” Hence those other parties so act, that their left hand knoweth what their right hand doeth. What, therefore, is blamed in them, this thou art forbidden to do. But this is what is blamed in them, that they act in such a way as to seek the praises of men. And therefore the left hand seems to have no more suitable
meaning than just this delight in praise. But the right hand means the intention of fulfilling the divine commands. When, therefore, with the consciousness of him who does alms is mixed up the desire of man’s praise, the left hand becomes conscious of the work of the right hand: “Let not, therefore, thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;”254
| 254 “With complete modesty; secret, noiseless giving” (Chrysostom). No reference to a counting of the money by the left hand (Paulus, De Wette). Luther’s comment is quaint and characteristic: “When thou givest alms with thy right hand, take heed that thou dost not seek with the left to take more, but put it behind thy back.” Trench pronounces this discussion concerning the meaning of the left hand “laborious, and, as I cannot but think,
unnecessary;” but it is ingenious and interesting.
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i.e. Let there not be mixed up in thy consciousness the desire of man’s
praise, when in doing
alms thou art striving to fulfil a
divine command.
9. “That thine alms may be in secret.”255
| 255 Pii lucent et tamen latent (Bengel).
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What else is meant by “in
secret,” but just in a good conscience, which cannot be shown to human
eyes, nor
revealed by words? since, indeed, the mass of men tell many
lies. And therefore, if the right
hand acts inwardly in
secret, all outward things, which are visible and temporal,
belong to the left
hand. Let thine
alms, therefore, be in thine own consciousness, where many do
alms by their good intention, even if they have no
money or anything else which is to be
bestowed on one who is needy. But many give
alms outwardly, and not inwardly, who either from
ambition, or for the sake of some temporal object, wish to appear merciful, in whom the left
hand only is to be reckoned as working. Others again hold, as it were, a middle place between the two; so that, with a design which is directed
Godward, they do their
alms, and yet there insinuates itself into this excellent wish also some desire after
praise, or after a perishable and
temporal object of some sort or other. But our
Lord much more strongly prohibits the left
hand alone being at
work in us, when He even forbids its being mixed up with the works of the right
hand: that is to say, that we are not only to
beware of doing
alms from the desire of temporal objects alone; but that in this
work we are not even to have regard to
God in such a way as that there should be mingled up or united therewith the grasping after outward
advantages. For the
question under
discussion is the cleansing of the
heart, which, unless it be single, will not be
clean. But how will it be single, if it serves two masters, and does not
purge its vision by the striving after
eternal things alone, but
clouds it by the
love of
mortal and perishable things as well? “Let thine
alms,” therefore, “be in
secret; and thy
256
Father, who seeth in
secret, shall
reward thee.” Altogether most righteously and most truly. For if you expect a
reward from Him who is the only Searcher of the conscience, let conscience itself suffice thee for meriting a
reward. Many
Latin copies have it thus, “And thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly;” but because we have not found the word “openly” in the Greek copies, which are earlier,
257
| 257 It is wanting in the Sinaitic, B, D, etc., mss., as also in the Vulgate copies.
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we have not thought that anything was to be said about it.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
