Matthew 6:3

"Let not thy left hand know," saith He, "what thy right hand doeth." Here again His enigmatical meaning is not of the hands, but He hath put the thing hyperbolically. As thus: "If it can be," saith He, "for thyself not to know it, let this be the object of thine endeavor; that, if it were possible, it may be concealed from the very hands that minister." It is not, as some say, that we should hide it from wrong-headed men, for He hath here commanded that it should be concealed from all.

And therefore has the Lord said: "Judge not, that ye be not judged: for with what judgment ye shall judge, ye shall be judged." [Matthew 7:1-2] [The meaning is] not certainly that we should not find fault with sinners, nor that we should consent to those who act wickedly; but that we should not pronounce an unfair judgment on the dispensations of God, inasmuch as He has Himself made provision that all things shall turn out for good, in a way consistent with justice.

Consequently, he assigns the due and fitting manner, and afterward assigns the reason, at the words That thy alms may be in secret. He says, therefore: But when thou dost alms. This is expounded in many ways. For Chrysostom says that in the book of …

"But when thou givest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." Using hyperbole of language, the Lord said, "If it is possible, do not even be aware yourself that you are giving alms." Or, in another sense as well, the …

Self-conceit and self-complacency, and an adoring of our own shadow, are branches of pride, as dangerous as vain-glory and ostentation before men. We find those had their good works remembered to their honour, who had themselves forgotten them: When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst? What is the promise to those who are thus sincere and humble in their alms-giving.

it is a subtle sin; vain-glory insinuates itself into what we do ere we are aware.

Repaired 2026-08-10: was anchored 6:25-34; content is Henry on 6:1-4 (almsgiving). Original quote_text was a silent splice (dropped words mid-quote without ellipsis); respanned to a contiguous verbatim source span. Source digitization carries OCR artifacts around this passage.

Let not thy left hand know ... - This is a proverbial expression, signifying that the action should be done as secretly as possible. The Hebrews often attribute actions to members which properly belong to persons. The encouragement for performing our acts of charity in secret is that it will be pleasing to God; that he will see the act, however secret it may be, and will openly reward it. If the reward is not granted in this life, it will be in the life to come.

In this part of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives us instruction on two subjects: one is that of giving alms; the other is that of prayer. Both were subjects to which the Jews attached great importance; both in themselves deserve the serious attention of all professing Christians. Let us observe that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will give alms. He assumes as a matter of course that they will think it a solemn duty to give, according to their means, to relieve the wants of others.

In this part of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives us instruction on two subjects: one is that of giving alms; the other is that of prayer. Both were subjects to which the Jews attached great importance; both in themselves deserve the serious attention of all professing Christians. Let us observe that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will give alms. He assumes as a matter of course that they will think it a solemn duty to give, according to their means, to relieve the wants of others. The only point he handles is the manner in which the duty should be done. This is a weighty lesson: it condemns the selfish stinginess of many in the matter of giving money. How many are “rich towards themselves,” but poor towards God! How many never give a farthing to do good to the bodies and souls of men! And have such persons any right to be called Christians in their present state of mind? It may well be doubted. A giving Saviour should have giving disciples. Let us observe again that our Lord takes it for granted that all who call themselves his disciples will pray. He assumes this also as a matter of course: he only gives directions as to the best way of praying. This is another lesson which deserves to be continually remembered: it teaches plainly that prayerless people are not genuine Christians. It is not enough to join in the prayers of the congregation on Sundays, or attend the prayers of a family on week days: there must be private prayer also. Without this we may be outward members of Christ’s church, but we are not living members of Christ. But what are the rules laid down for our guidance about almsgiving and praying? They are few and simple; but they contain much matter for thought. In giving, everything like ostentation is to be abhorred and avoided. “When thou doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before thee.”

Let not thy left hand know - In many cases, works of charity must be hidden from even our nearest relatives, who, if they knew, would hinder us from doing what God has given us power and inclination to perform. We must go even farther; and conceal them as far as is possible from ourselves, by not thinking of them, or eyeing them with complacency. They are given to God, and should be hidden in Him.

Lastly, the most serious point about them is this: that the new miser is flattered for his meanness and the old one never was. It was never called self-denial in the old miser that he lived on bones. It is called self-denial in the new …