The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 334

professions of piety; the showy religion that imposes en men is an abomination in the sight of God. He looks for fruit in deeds of useful service. All else is but a mass of worthless leaves. 2. Wnat is worthless must be destroyed. The fruitless Jerusalem was dest-royed. Barren Churches have been swept away from Asia Minor and North Africa; barren Churches will be swept from other parts of Christendom in the future. Fruitless souls will be cast out of the garden of the Lord.-W. F._ A. Ver. 22.-11.e boundless possibi?ities ojp,·ayer. Read literally, this is a very difficult verse. We cannot see how it is verified in experience. We should be horrified at its exact and verbal fulfilment, because this would be handing over the control of the universe to the praying m,1 rtal. The coachman would not put the reins in the hands of his infant son, however much the child begged for them; yet the disaster which would follow such an action would be nothing in comparison with the unspeakable cab.mities which would visit the universe if we, in our bliudness, our ignorance, our folly, could have done for us whatever we chose to wish for, and that merely for the asking. We may indeed be thankful that no such fearful power has been entrusted to us. But then how are we to interpret the very clear and emphatic words of.._our Lord? I. lT IS FAITH THAT GIVES EFFICIENCY TO PRAYER. Many prnyers are absolutely ,oid and useless because they are not borne upon the wings of faith. They grovel in the earth-mists of unbelief, and never see the light of God's presence. The connection of the verses seems to imply that it was his faith that gave Christ power to bring its doom to the barren fig tree (ver. 21). It is reasonable to suppose that God will give mnny things to those who trust him, which he will deny to people who will not rely upon him. At all events, the setting forth of faith as a condition of the prayer that is to be answered shows that it is absolutely useless to practise an experiment with prayer by testing its efficacy in order to dispel doubt. The purpose of the experiment, and the grounds on which it is made, presuppose the absence of an essential condition of 6uccessful prayer. Therefore, if prayer is heard, as Christ tells us it is, such an experi- ment is foredoomed to failure. We want grounds for faith, but we cannot find them here; or rather we cannot have our first grounds here. The response to prayer will doubtless confirm and strengthen the faith which prompted the prayer. But there ill.U.St be this prior faith. IL THE Pll.AYER OF FAITH HAS BOID-'DLESS EFFICACY. We get slight answers to prayer because we have little faith. Yet we cannot expect to have just what we choose to ask for, even though we ask in faith. No; but observe: 1. Faith is not confidence in 01M' own prayer, but tr'/1,St in Christ. Now, when we trust him we are led near to him, we begin to understand him, we learn to think as he thinks and to desire whe.t he <lesires. Thus faith brings us into sympathy with Christ. But our foolish desires a.re quite un-Christlike. We shall no longer cherish them when he is by our side. Thus faith chastens prayer, purges it, elevates it, and brings it into harmony with the will of God. The prayer of faith will be such a prayer that Gcd can hear, just in proportion as the faith is e. spiritual power that unites us _with God.. 2. Tf!e prayer of faith w,,7l certainly be answered, though not neceuarily in the way in which we eg;pect. Jesus promised to those who lost lands and friends for the gospel's sake, more lands and friends (eh. xiL 29), and his disciples did not receive a literal fulfilment of this promise. But they had a good equivalent. The prayer of faith is answered in God's large, wise way-answered to the full, but by the gift of what he sees best, and not always of what we happen to name.-W. F. A. Vere. 23-27.-Question met by question. Perhaps we shall best gather up ~he lessons of this incident if we look first at the form it assumed, then a.t the underlymg substance. I Tm: FORM. 1. The question of the ruler,. (1) An insulting question. What right had they thus to challenge On~ before. whom they should have bowed in h.umble adoration? Technically, they were m the right m so far as they acted as ~ard1ans of the Law and religion of Israel. Yet they had proved themselves false to their tru_st by their permission of the desecration of the temple, aud by the too common hypocn~y of their religion. Some people put the same question to-day without o shadow of the claim of the Jewillh leacle1"11. 'l'he hWIIAn intellect has a right to search for truth; we oH, xxr. 1-46.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 339