Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Luke
Book: Luke
Chapter: 11
Overview:
The disciples taught to pray.
(1-4) Christ encourages being
Earnest in
Prayer.
(5-13) Christ casts out a
Devil, The
Blasphemy of the
Pharisees.
(14-26) True happiness.
(27,28)
Christ reproves the Jews.
(29-36) He reproves the
Pharisees.
(37-54)
1-4 "
Lord, teach us to pray," is a good
Prayer, and a very
needful one, for
Jesus Christ only can teach us,
By his
Word and
Spirit, how to pray.
Lord, teach me what it is to pray;
Lord,
stir up and quicken me to the duty;
Lord, direct me what to pray
for; teach me what I should say.
Christ taught them a
Prayer,
much the same that he had given before in his sermon upon the
Mount. There are some differences in the words of the
Lord's
Prayer in
Matthew and in
Luke, but they are of
No moment. Let us
in our requests, both for others and for ourselves, come to our
heavenly
Father, confiding in his power and
Goodness.
5-13 Christ encourages fervency and constancy in
Prayer. We
must come for what we need, as a
Man does to his neighbour or
friend, who is kind to him. We must come for
Bread; for that
which is needful. If
God does not answer our prayers speedily,
yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to
pray for; we must ask for the Holy
Spirit, not only as necessary
in order to our praying
Well, but as all spiritual blessings are
included in that one. For
By the influences of the Holy
Spirit
we are brought to know
God and ourselves, to repent, believe in,
and
Love Christ, and
So are made comfortable in this world, and
meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenly
Father is more ready to bestow
On every one that asks for them,
than an indulgent parent is to give
Food to a hungry
Child. And
this is the advantage of the
Prayer of
Faith, that it quiets and
establishes the
Heart in
God.
14-26 Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the
destroying of their power. The
Heart of every unconverted sinner
is the
Devil's
Palace, where he dwells, and where he rules.
There is a kind of peace in the
Heart of an unconverted soul,
while the
Devil, as a strong
Man armed, keeps it. The sinner is
secure, has
No doubt concerning the
Goodness of his state, nor
any dread of the
Judgment to come. But observe the wonderful
change made in
Conversion. The
Conversion of a soul to
God, is
Christ's victory over the
Devil and his power in that soul,
restoring the soul to its liberty, and recovering his own
interest in it and power over it. All the endowments of mind of
body are now employed for
Christ. Here is the condition of a
Hypocrite. The
House is swept from common sins,
By a forced
Confession, as
Pharaoh's;
By a feigned contrition, as
Ahab's; or
By a partial reformation, as Herod's. The
House is swept, but it
is not washed; the
Heart is not made holy. Sweeping takes off
only the loose dirt, while the
Sin that besets the sinner, the
beloved
Sin, is untouched. The
House is garnished with common
Gifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true
Grace; it is
all
Paint and varnish, not real nor lasting. It was never given
up to
Christ, nor dwelt in
By the
Spirit. Let us take heed of
resting in that which a
Man may have, and yet come short of
Heaven. The wicked spirits enter in without any difficulty; they
are welcomed, and they
Dwell there; there they work, there they
rule. From such an awful state let all earnestly pray to be
delivered.
27,28 While the
Scribes and
Pharisees despised and blasphemed
the discourses of our
Lord Jesus, this good
Woman admired them,
and the
Wisdom and power with which he spake.
Christ led the
Woman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege
to hear the
Word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that
is, blessed of the
Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and
keep to it as their way and rule.
29-36 Christ promised that there should be one sign more given,
even the sign of
Jonah the
Prophet; which in
Matthew is
explained, as meaning the
Resurrection of Christ; and he warned
them to improve this sign. But though
Christ himself were the
constant preacher in any
Congregation, and worked miracles daily
among them, yet unless his
Grace humbled their hearts, they
would not profit
By his
Word. Let us not desire more evidence
and
Fuller teaching than the
Lord is pleased to afford us. We
should pray without ceasing that our hearts and understandings
may be opened, that we may profit
By the
Light we enjoy. And
especially take heed that the
Light which is in us be not
Darkness; for if our leading principles be wrong, our
Judgment
and practice must become more
So.
37-54 We should all look to our hearts, that they may be
cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great
things of the
Law and of the
Gospel, we must not neglect the
smallest matter
God has appointed. When any wait to catch
something out of our mouths, that they may ensnare us, O
Lord,
give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil
purposes. Furnish us with such
Meekness and patience that we may
Glory in reproaches, for
Christ's sake, and that thy Holy
Spirit
may
Rest upon us.