The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. II. Various Expositions of, and Exercises upon the Lord's Prayer.
CHAPTER II.
VARIOUS EXPOSITIONS OF, AND EXERCISES UPON, THE LORD’S PRAYER.
The form, and model, and sum of all prayers is the Lord’s Prayer, which is to be the more highly esteemed, in proportion to the many excellences in which it surpasses all others.
First of all, in authority and in dignity; for it was composed by Christ himself, and came forth from his sacred mouth.
Secondly, it recommends itself by being short and easy, yet abounding in meanings, and mysteries, so wonderfully and perfectly disposed, as to comprehend whatever can be lawfully asked of God.
Besides, it is peculiarly efficacious in easily exciting the mercy of God, and disposing him favourably towards the suppliant. For how can our heavenly Father refuse to listen to those whom he sees coming to supplicate him, prepared with the precepts and words of his beloved Son, our Mediator and Advocate? Lastly, it briefly, but clearly, expresses all the parts, terms, and conditions of good prayer; so that when earnestly and attentively said, it forcibly arouses and keeps in exercise the spirit of devotion.
As, then, this prayer, which was delivered to the Apostles from the mouth of our Saviour Christ, ought to be highly regarded by Christians, and is so frequently and familiarly used by ecclesiastics in the Divine office, I have subjoined a few points out of St. Thomas and others for its exposition, from occasional reflection upon which may possibly arise a greater relish and profit from the frequent repetition of the same prayer.
For, in fact, the reason why we but too seldom relish the taste of this, as well as of other spiritual things, is because we are commonly occupied with the outer shell, but seldom or never penetrate to the kernel within.
Our Father, who art in Heaven.
This is the preface of the Lord's Prayer , which aims at captivating God's good-will , and on disposing the suppliant to love and fear, the most suitable affections for prayer.
For if he is a Father, is he not worthy of love? But what kind of love? for our love to him should be measured by the extent of his goodness.
But what is the extent of oar Eternal Father’s goodness? God is in himself supremely happy, he is the creator of heaven and earth, our Lord and King, and yet he desires to be, and to be esteemed, our Father; and he delights for us in turn, vile worms of the earth and miserable sinners as we are, unworthy to be called his servants, to be, and to be called, his sons. Oh, what love hath the Father bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and be, the sons of God! Oh, immeasurable goodness of the Father! But where is the equal love of the sons?
Consider, too, what fear is due to this Father, who is seated on the throne of his majesty in heaven, yet is everywhere present, beholding severally each secret thing, and governs at once all things in heaven and earth? Great in very truth is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and of his power and greatness there is no end. The cherubim and seraphim stand trembling before him.
See, then, with what love and confidence, and yet with what humility and reverence, you ought to compose your mind when you come to pray.
Next come seven petitions, in which we partly pray for blessings, and partly entreat to be delivered from evils. For, as by prayer we make known our desires, so in the Lord's Prayer we ask for those things which we may lawfully desire. Now that which is the first object of desire is the chief good, the last end. We ask next for the means which are proper for obtaining this end. And lastly , for the removal of those obstacles which stand in the way of our obtaining it.
Lastly , the chief good, and our final end, is God, whose glory we desire for its own sake, and from the sole motive of pure love, in saying,
Hallowed be thy name.
That is to say, May thy name, which is most holy and glorious in itself, be also thus esteemed by all. May it be acknowledged by true faith, praised by steadfast hope, and worshipped by pure love. Not that our aid is needed for thy name to be holy; but because it is holy and glorious, and therefore the source and form of all holiness, let the holiness of our conduct declare it so. Let all our actions and behaviour be so framed, that they who see our conversation and the works that we do, may glorify thee, our Father in heaven.
Let this be fixed in our heart, frequent in our mouth, and acceptable in our work: HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
Here is a most easy exercise of purity of intention, to be practised frequently during the day.
After this primary desire, the next is that of the glory of God relatively to ourselves, that we may enjoy it as our highest good. And this affection takes its birth from the love of God, since by it we love ourselves in God; thence we pray,
Thy kingdom come.
We ask this, O Lord, because we are here strangers and exiles from our country, shut out from the most sweet presence of our dear Father, and overloaded with the heavy yoke of the prince of this world. Make us to pant after thee in heaven with our whole heart. Permit us not to love the world or the things that are in the world, but to have a taste for and to seek the things that are above. But when the end of our pilgrimage here is come, make us to despise with a calm and joyful mind this kingdom of the world and all its pomps, and seek the kingdom that is above with an ardent desire; that so we may find with joy that inheritance which has been prepared for us from the beginning of the world, where thou wilt grant us to enjoy thee, and with thee eternal glory for ever.
Now to obtain the Supreme Good, we have need of some other goods besides, as means and props. Of these, obedience to the commands of God is the chief. For he who does not his will, is not fit for the kingdom of God; and he who keeps not the commandments, merits not to enter into life. But without his aid who commands us, how shall we be able to keep them? Hence we rightly pray.
Thy will be done.
For thou, O Lord, knowest that, because the flesh is weak, prone to evil, and wars against the spirit, our spirit, though ready, finds not how to do thy will. For the body, which is corrupted, weighs down the mind, so that from his youth man’s senses are almost always more violently inclined to evil than to good. And hence it is that we often know not what to pray for, or how to pray, or what is best for us. But thou knowest this most perfectly, because thou knowest all things. Make us, therefore, to know what thou wouldest have us to do, and so direct our wills by thy efficarious grace according to the good pleasure of thy will, that we may both will what thou wiliest, and perform cheerfully what thou commandest. Give us grace to DO WHAT THOU COMMANDEST, AND COMMAND WHAT THOU PLEASEST.
But that a man may more promptly perform the commands of God, it is also necessary that he should not be altogether destitute of the goods and provisions of this present life. For we are subject to various ills and necessities as long as we bear this mortal body. Therefore we make the petition.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Wilt thou, that is, who openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature; who feedest the young ravens, and neglectest not the birds of the air, but tenderly watchest over and feedest them — wilt thou abandon to want man, whom thou hast created to thine own image, and by thy most precious blood hast made an heir of heaven? We ask not what may serve to luxury and pleasure, but for food and the supply of our necessities, that we may not be drawn away from thy service by the cares and anxieties of the world. And that we may have strength to serve thee both in mind and body, feed our souls also with the food of thy word. And above all, strengthen us in the wilderness of this life with the heavenly bread of Angels, that we faint not in the way we are travelling to thee, until we feast with thee in thy kingdom.
Here, then, we have the order, the end, and the Author, of the temporal blessings we are to seek.
In the following petitions we pray for the removal of the evils, or hindrances, which impede the attainment of the end. They are chiefly three.
First, the commission of sin; for since in many things we all offend, we ought humbly and frequently to implore the forgiveness of our sins. But it is in vain for him to ask mercy of the Lord, who will not, when he might, show mercy to his neighbour. Bearing this in mind, we rightly use this form of prayer.
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.
In many things, alas, we all daily offend. Lord, we perish, unless, according to thy great mercy, thou preserve us. But we know, too, that if a man treasures up anger against his neighbour, in vain he seeks succour from thee. I pardon, therefore, from my heart all my enemies, and, out of my love for thee, I am ready to do good to those who hate me, or who have ever injured me. I am sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that I have offended thee. O Lord, be merciful to my sins.
This is a most easy and excellent method of making frequently an act of contrition.
Another hindrance is temptation, which urges us to sin, and hinders us from following the Divine will . Hence one who is freed from past sins, both dreads and seeks to avoid those which are future. But who can fly from them without the help of God? Therefore, from the knowledge we have of our own weakness, and of the power of so many enemies, to whom our life is always exposed, we Pray,
And lead us not into temptation.
We acknowledge, O Lord, that without thee we can do nothing, and that all our sufficiency is of thee; let not, then, thy grace desert us, nor permit us to be driven back, and beaten down by any temptation of the world, the flesh, or the devil. Thou seest our frailty, and the great power and craft of those who tempt thy creatures, so dearly redeemed. We doubt not, that all things are brought about by the loving counsel of thy providence; and that not to suffer, but to be conquered by temptation, is evil. Suffer us not, then, O Lord, to be tempted beyond what we are able, lest perchance we fail under the temptation; but help us to overcome it. Let but thy grace prosper us, and the victory will be easy.
Another hindrance is the punishment we often meet with when freed from guilt. The many adversities of this life, as famine, wars, diseases, loss of property, reputation, life, sometimes affects severely even pious minds. So that we have cause finally to pray.
But deliver us from evil.
That which our feelings incline us to think evil, is not so in reality, and in itself, unless it is made so through our fault. For from thee, O Lord, proceed all things, whether life or death, honour or poverty; how, then, can they be evil, when they proceed from the Highest Good? These, however, become evil, not unfrequently, through our fault, that is to say, through our impatience, cowardice, and mistrust. Strengthen us, then, with thy grace and comfort, and make all things work together for good to those that love thee. Here cut and burn me, as a physician the patient who draws his last hope of life from these remedies, however severe. Here correct and chastise me, as a father the son for whom the inheritance is reserved. Nay more, prove, and try, and purify me, as a refiner the gold which is proved in the fire. Refine and harden me, as a potter the vessel destined, not to de- st ruction, but to honour, that so I may be a vessel of glory unto eternal life.
With these, and similar meditations, the Lord's Prayer must he seasoned from, time to time; otherwise, what wonder if by many it is often uttered with the lips, but seldom relished in the heart!n
A MEDITATION ON THE LORD’S PRAYER.
Collected from the Epistles of St. Paul.
Our Father, who art in heaven.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who hast predestinated us to the adoption of children through Jesus Christ; who alone hast immortality, and inhabitest light inaccessible; with joy we give thanks to thee, who hast made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light; for we have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but we have received the spirit of the adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. For the Spirit himself gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and join theirs with Christ.
i. Hallowed he thy name.
Grant that we may be followers of thee as most dear children; that we may walk as children of the light in all goodness, and justice, and truth, proving what is well-pleasing to thee, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; that thy name may not, through us, be blasphemed among the Gentiles. Let our conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, that we maybe blameless, and thy sincere children, without reproof; and in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, like lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to thy glory in the day of Christ; that we may walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing him; being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Grant that, whether we eat, or drink, or whatever else we do, we may do all to thy glory.
2. Thy kingdom come.
Since flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God, for this cause we bow our knees to thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou wouldst grant us, according to the riches of thy glory, to be strengthened by thy spirit with might unto the inward man; that Christ may dwell by faith in our hearts, and that sin may not reign in our mortal body. For thou hast delivered us from the power of darkness, and hast translated us into the kingdom of the Son of thy love. For we know, if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For while we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord; therefore, we have a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ.
For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
3. Thy will he done.
For it is thou, O Lord, who workest in us both to will and to accomplish, according to thy good will. Make us, therefore, to be filled with the knowledge of thy will in all wisdom, and spiritual understanding, that we may walk worthy of thee, in all things pleasing thee. For this is thy will, our sanctification.
Let us not be conformed to this world, but reformed in the newness of our mind, that we may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God, for our will to good is too weak of itself. For we are not sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, rs of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. Give us thy grace, that we may accomplish the same from our heart, as do thy ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation.
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out. Having, then, food and clothing, with these let us be content.
Let our manners, then, be without covetousness, being contented with such things as we have. For thou hast said, I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee; so that we may confidently say, The Lord is my helper. Thou art near,
O Lord. Let us be nothing solicitous, but, every where and in all things instructed, let us know how to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer need. But, above all, let us exercise ourselves unto godliness, which is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
Grant to us not to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in thee the living God, who givest us abundantly all things to enjoy; to do good, to be rich in good works, to give easily, to communicate to others, to lay up in store for ourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal life.
Thou art able, O God, to make all grace abound in us, that, having all sufficiency in all things, we may abound to every good work. Thou who ministerest seed to the sower, shalt also give bread to eat.6
5. And forgive us our trespasses.
Since in our flesh dwells not that which is good, so that the good which we will we do not, but the evil which we will not that we do, therefore, by sin reigning in our mortal body, we have obeyed the lusts thereof. Alas, how often have we yielded our members as instruments of iniquity unto sin, and have despised the riches of thy goodness, and patience, and long-suffering, not regarding that thy benignity leads us to penance; but, according to our hardness and impenitent heart, we have treasured up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of thy just judgment, who wilt render to every man according to his works.
But let thy mercy, O most gracious Father, come upon us; and, showing us the riches of thy glory, make us vessels of thy mercy, prepared unto thy glory;5 and where sin abounded, let grace more abound.
Behold, we forbear threatenings to others, that we may have thee our Lord propitious to us in heaven. Put thou also on us, as thine elect, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience, that we may be kind to one another, compassionate, and forgiving one another, even as thou in Christ hast forgiven us; to no man rendering evil for evil; but, if it be possible, as much as is in us, having peace with all men; not revenging ourselves, but giving place unto wrath, leaving vengeance to thee; and that we may not be overcome by evil, but may overcome evil by good. Make us to follow after the things that are of peace, and keep the things that are of edification one towards another.
6. And lead us not into temptation.
Mindful of our weakness, we pray thee, most tender Father, that no temptation may take hold on us, but such as is human, lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtilty, so our minds should be corrupted, and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. Thou, O God, art faithful, and wilt not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able; but wilt make also, with temptation, issue, that we may be able to bear it.
7. But deliver us from evil.
Finally, strengthen us, and keep us from evil;l crush Satan under our feet speedily, that we may not be overreached by him, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Grant that we may put on thy armour, that we may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil, and to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Put on us the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. Let us not trust in ourselves, but in thee, O God.6 And therefore we are confident of this very thing, that thou who hast begun a good work in us, wilt perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ. We believe thee to be faithful who hast promised. For all thy promises are, It is, and, Amen.
THE LORD’s PRAYER, ARRANGED IN CONNECTION WITH A COURSE OF PIOUS THOUGHTS PROPER FOR MEDITATION.
From Ludovicus de Ponte, Lessius, and others.
Our Father.
By a multiplicity of rights and of titles, Father.
1. By title of creation,
whereby he made us to his
own image.
2. Of adoption, through the grace, whereby he made us his heirs, and joint-heirs of his only-begotten Son. Oh, how justly we call him Father, who is so many times ready to receive us, when we sin, into the same favour as before, that he may at length admit us also to the glory, which is the inheritance of the sons of God! Dearly bought, indeed, was this relationship of Father by the Son of who only secured. it for us by the death of the cross, and with the price of his blood.
3. He is Father by his providence, in sustaining the body with so many creatures given us for food and medicine ; and in so lovingly providing for the soul by so many aids of grace and salvation ; so that, on this single account, he alone truly deserves to be called Father. Therefore he says, Call none your Father upon earth ; for One is your Father, who is in heaven. And rightly, for my father and my mother have forsaken me ; (since without God, what assistance can they afford to my soul, or even to my body?) but the Lord hath taken me up ; he never forsakes us but when we forsake him.
4. By discipline and correction. For a father reproves and chastises the son whom he loves.
5. He is Father by his indulgence and love. As a father has compassion on his children, so has the Lord compassion on them that fear him. So, then, if he is a Father, I am indeed a son. Oh, how great a dignity is this! Itis but just, then, that I should render him the duty of a true son, by love, obedience, and respect. How base would it be, if I, who have been thus promoted from the bondage of so vile a slavery, should become degenerate, and offend so good a Father !
He would have us, moreover, begin our prayer to him with this address, to assure us of obtaining what we ask, in approaching God as a Father; and because he glories in this name of Father, he delights in being so addressed. Let us, then, approach him with the affection of sons, endeavour to please him in all things, and ask those things which it becomes such a Father to give.
Our,
We say our, not my Father, 1st. Because, though he has one Son only by nature, he would have as many sons as possible by adoption, both angels and men; and this in such a way, that each may rejoice as much in the gift of sonship as if he had no fellow. For the gifts of Ged are not lessened by being communicated to many.
2d. Although he is not only generally the Father of all, but also of each particularly, he would, nevertheless, be called our Father, to remind us of brotherly charity, without distinction of rank, dignity, or age; to love one another as brothers, and to pray for all in common, despising none. So speaks Malachias. Have we not all one Father ? Has not one God created us? Why, then, does every one of us despise his brother ? Yet nothing for bids me at times, as my affection may lead me, thus to address God in private, because I am with as full light his adopted son, as if I were the only one.
Who art in heaven.
Although God is in every place, we name heaven in particular,
1st. To excite in ourselves a reverence for his Majesty, which resides in heaven as its throne.
2d. To raise our minds to heaven, where is the home and the inheritance of the sons of God;
3d. That we may understand that here we are exiles and pilgrims, and that we ought to live in such a way that our conversation may be in heaven.
4th. To remind myself, thither to raise my eyes and my heart, from whence only help shall come to me.
Again, heaven, and the peculiar seat of God, are those holy souls that are raised above the earth, in which God dwells by grace, and specially illuminates them with the light of his knowledge.
So far the introduction; now follow the petitions.
1. Hallowed be thy name.
Be thou esteemed, as thou art, holy, pure, just, true, and good. God holds nothing so high as to be esteemed and proclaimed holy. Hence he so often says, Be holy, because I am holy. Hence he was angry with Moses and Aaron, because they had not sanctified him at the waters of contradiction before the children of Israel. Again, the only song of the blessed is, Holy, holy, holy,
2. He says not, thy power, or thy majesty, but thy name; to comprehend in one all that is named by us which belongs to God, as being all holy, and to be celebrated accordingly. For he is named almighty, wise, creator, and so forth.
3. He says, thy name; for it is thy name only which is holy in itself, whence comes the drop of which the just partake. Therefore not our, but thy . To the king eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever; but to us confusion of face. Why, then, do we so anxiously seek our own glory, and a great name, who ought rather to desire to be unknown and despised?
4. He says, hallowed be, simply, with no restriction to particular persons, because we should wish this done by every creature of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; nor to a particular time, because it is right that the name of the Lord should be praised throughout all time.
5. Again, the name of God is hallowed when men believe what he reveals, hope for what he promises, do what he commands, worship him as he has taught, love him with their whole heart, and attest their love by their works; that they who see our good deeds may glorify their Father who is in heaven. It is a prayer worthy of a true and virtuous son, to desire nothing before or beyond the glory of his father, and to prefer his honour to all things. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth, now, and for ever.
II. Thy kingdom come.
Yet he reigns in heaven and in earth, in the sea, and every where; all things, whether they will or not, serve him, and under his dominion are all things. We pray, therefore,
1. For that kingdom, by which he now reigns in the just by grace, who are in all things subject to him.
2. For that by which he reigns in the blessed by glory. This last will come to us if we continue to the end in the former.
3. And therefore he says, thy kingdom come, as if of its own accord. And indeed all long for this last kingdom; but not for the first, because that is connected with hardship. For justice is acquired and preserved by mortification of the flesh, and by restraint of the concupiscence which reigns in our members.
4. That kingdom, which shall be consummated and made perfect, when God shall be all in all, in the resurrection of the dead, which the souls of the blessed expect.
5. Thy kingdom, not the kingdom of the world, which the children of this world seek after, and which consists in nothing but perishable goods, endless cares, and numberless dangers; much less the kingdom of sin, the utter overthrow of which 1 long for. It is for sons to sigh continually for their country, and, in preference to all other things, to seek their paternal inheritance. Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged. I desired to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after
thee, O God. III. Thy will he done on earth as it is in heaven.
1. Thy will alone is ever good, and just, and perfect, in all things. To the know* ledge of this he gently leads us by counsel, by precept, and by inspiration, as well as by the commands of those who are set over us in God’s name. To do this will it is enough for us that God wills and enjoins what we are to perform, so that if I obey him, and keep his commandments, I shall merit life, 'but if otherwise, death.
2. Not my will, which is perverse, but thine . Nor yet the flesh's, which is contrary to the spirit; nor the worlds, which is vain; nor the devil's, which is malignant; but thy will only, which is the rule of uprightness. For what is thy will but our sanctification? Since thou requires t nothing of us but what is for our benefit; not thine, for thou needest not our goods.
3. As the will of God is done by the angels in heaven, where there is no rebellion of a perverse will, so also may it be done on earth, perfectly, promptly, speedily, courageously, lovingly, and readily; where to resist thy will is to be unwilling to be led on sweetly with the cords of love, that is, of a man; but to prefer to be driven like a beast of burden by the force of thy power, or to be dragged by the chains of thy justice. Teach me, O Lord, to do thy will; for thou art my God . Behold, O Lord, I am thy servant. Lord, what wilt
thou have me to dot Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.
IV. Give us this day our daily bread.
1. The bread of grace and of the word of God. For man does not live by bread alone, but his soul also has need of sustenance. For, as the life of man is twofold, so is the food or bread twofold, whereby he is sustained.
2. Chiefly, and principally, the living bread, which came down from heaven, the supersubstantial bread of the Eucharist, which strengthens the heart of man, and confirms his spirit.
3. Corporal bread, which is necessary for sustaining life; for which, however, he would not have us solicitous, or over anxious, since he bids us look for it from the divine blessing.
4. Our, not my, because it is common, and to be shared among our brethren, who all acknowledge the same God and Father of all; who would have his gifts supply the necessity, not of one, or of a few, but of all.
5. Daily: if meant of spiritual food, not that which is the portion of the few singularly beloved, of which I count myself unworthy, but that com mon, and, as it were, necessary portion, without which we cannot live. If of bodily food, not that which abounds for the supply of luxury and merriment, nor to be laid up for many years, but for our daily use and necessity.
6. Give us; for we must pray for all as our brethren, even although they hate us. Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you . And if thou see thine enemy hungry, feed him.
7. This day, because he would have us ask every day, and be always dependent on his providence. He also calls us off from an unnecessary anxiety for to-morrow, after the example of the manna which, of old, was given day by day. The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord. Give thou them food in due season. Open thy hand, and fill with blessing every living creature .
V. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
1. Many are the debts we owe to God: in many things we offend all, both by evil done, and by good left undone, which we ought to have done. Unless God of his mercy forgive, who can endure? If he will deal with us in the rigour of justice, who will answer one of a thousand? So that our only refuge is his mercy.
2. But this will fail us, if we do not forgive our neighbours their offences, which are small, however compared with our debt of ten thousand talents, which we owe to God. Yet such is the goodness of God, that he is ready to forgive ten thousand, if we remit the thousand.
3. But see and beware. He will forgive as thou forgivest, and this conditional clause thou addest to thy prayer. If thou forgivest grudgingly, slowly, insincerely, and imperfectly, expect and fear to receive the same measure from God. He merely pronounces sentence against himself, who asks for his debts to be forgiven him, while he does not forgive his own debtors, and that from his heart. If thou wilt mark iniquities, O Lord, Lord, who shall endure it?
VI. And lead us not into temptation.
We do not pray not to be tempted, because it is often good for us to be so, and God therefore wisely permits it. But we pray not to yield to temptation, and also that he may not suffer us to be tempted, when he sees that we shall give way. Temptation is often the occasion and ground for the exercise of virtue; but it belongs to God so to moderate temptation, and to help our weakness, that we may not be tempted above that we are able, but may come off unhurt. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart, and see if there is in me the way of iniquity, and lead me in the eternal way .
VII. But deliver us from evil.
From evils of every kind. As the Church prays in the Mass: Deliver us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all evils, past, present, and to come; that is, temporal and eternal, both of soul and body.
Secondly, from the evil one; that is, the malignant spirit; that he may have no power of exercising his envy and malice upon us.
Not only those things which influence the soul are here reckoned as evils; but those also which so affect the body, the fortune, and the character, that evil and injury may be feared from them also to the soul. Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Enlighten mine eyes, that I may never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him.
VIII. Amen. So be it, so be it.
This should be pronounced with fervent desire. For the Lord hath heard the desire of the poor. Likewise with great confidence, as asking those things which he has enjoined us to pray for. As St. John says: This is our confidence which we have towards God, that, whatsoever we shall ask according to his will, he heareth us, and we know that we have the petitions which we request of him.