But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
4 sermons cite this verse
… I wanna read the context of what he's writing together in Matthew 6, verses one through 18. We'll start with verse one here. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your father in heaven. So, whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be applauded by people. But truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in synagogues on the street corner to be seen by people. But truly I tell you, they've received their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, that's our word, and pray to your father who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. …
“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.” 1. It has been the endeavour of Satan, from the beginning of the world, to put asunder what God hath joined together; to separate inward from outward religion; to set one of these at variance with the other. And herein he has met with no small success among those who were “ignorant of his devices.” Many, in all ages, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, have been strictly attached to the “righteousness of the law,” the performance of outward duties, but in the mean time wholly regardless of inward righteousness, “the righteousness which is of God by faith.” And many have run into the opposite extreme, disregarding all outward duties, perhaps even “speaking evil of the law, and judging the law,” so far as it enjoins the performance of them. …
but when the soul is obedient to the command of Christ and trusts in Him, it gives him joy and peace. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace"—and for a Christian not to have this fruit of the Spirit is to libel Christianity! When one's heart is sad, it is not always best to show it. "When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that you appear not unto men to fast." Even if you have some sorrow of heart, tell it not at once to your neighbor, who may have quite enough trouble of his own to bear without having yours added to it! Do, Christian, seek to get the comfort of which the Apostle here speaks. Is there ever a position into which you and I can be cast where there is no comfort for us in the Divine promises? There is, in God's Word, a key to open all the locks of trouble in Doubting Castle! If we will but turn over the sacred pages, we shall find there a promise exactly suited to our case. Do you lack comfort, Christian? How can you while there is a Mercy Seat to go to and One there whose ears are always open to hear your petition and to relieve your trouble? Do you lack comfort while you can pray? Surely it must be neglect of prayer that makes your burdens so heavy. How can you be without comfort while your Savior lives? If Jesus Christ still bears your name upon His heart, that should be enough for you! Is it not really a comfort to think that the Father, Himself, loves you? My Father, who is in Heaven, knows my needs—ought not that to cheer me? Midst darkest shades, if I feel that He is with me—yes, even in the Valley of the Shadow of Death—if His rod and His staff comfort me, what have I to fear? Yes, Christian Friends, you have abundant ground for comfort, so be not content unless you enjoy that comfort! May God, even your Father, put you and keep you in a comfortable frame of mind! …
to become a salaried preacher of the Gospel in order to deny its fundamental truths! He who does this is Judas Redivivus, Iscariot the second! God save us from all complicity with such practical falsehood and fraud! But when the child of God sees this and sees besides this, ritualism and latitudinarianism spreading on all sides, he feels a sympathy with Mordecai of whom we read that "when he perceived all that was done, he rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry." It were a happy omen if there were more of this—and especially if many could be found to imitate Daniel, who said, "I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." We should soon behold the dawn of better days if such ashes were commonly found upon saintly heads! Yes, the best of God's people must sometimes sit down among the ashes and cry, "Woe is me!" When the saints mourn, it will sometimes happen that they cannot help showing their sorrow—it is too great to be controlled or concealed. Usually a spiritual man tries to conceal his soul's distress and he has his Master's command for so doing, for Jesus said, "You, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that you appear not unto men to fast." In personal trouble we would rather bear our burden alone than load others with it and, therefore, we endeavor to maintain a cheerful manner even when our heart is sinking like a millstone in the flood. As to spiritual depressions, we cannot show these to men who know nothing about them—and in the presence of the ungodly we are dumb upon such topics. But there are sorrows which will have a tongue, concerning which we may even be bidden to speak, as says the Prophet, "O daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes." At such times we must express our inward grief and then the men of the world begin to ask, "What ails him?" and jeeringly cry, "He is crazy! Religion has turned his brain." Note that mourning young woman—her mother said only the other night, "What makes Jane so sorrowful?" She did not know that her girl was under a sense of sin. Your workmates asked you, my good Friend, the other morning, "What makes you so dull?" They did not comprehend that their vile language had helped to vex your heart, and had wounded you so that your heart was bleeding inwardly. As we have joys that worldlings cannot share, so have we sorrows which they cannot comprehend—and yet we are obliged, now and then, to let them see that we are cast down—even though this brings us new reproach! The ashes must sometimes be upon our head and we must cry, "They have heard that I sigh. All my enemies have heard of my trouble." Do not, therefore, beloved Friends, when you see a mournful Believer, condemn him, nor even depreciate him, for his sorrow may be a necessity of nature. Yes it may even be a direct result of his eminence in Divine Grace. He may, perhaps, love the souls of men more than you think. He may have a more tender sense of the sinfulness of sin than you have. And, perhaps, if you knew his family trials and if you knew the jealousy of his walk with God, or if you knew how the Lord has hidden His face from him, you would not wonder at his rueful countenance. You might even marvel that he was not more cast down and you might be ready to give him your pity and even your admiration, instead of your cold censure. Be sure of this, that some of the holiest of men have mourned as David did—"I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping." …