Matthew 6:13

And certainly, when the Son of God has faith's protection absolutely committed to Him, beseeching it of the Father, from whom He receives all power in heaven and on earth, how entirely out of the question is it that the devil should have the assailing of it in his own power! But in the prayer prescribed to us, when we say to our Father, "Lead us not into temptation " (now what greater temptation is there than persecution?), we acknowledge that that comes to pass by His will whom we beseech to exempt us from it.

Amen. The sign of the Lord's Prayer is: which the Eagle interprets faithfully: we, truly, can say.

As He had above put many high things into men's mouths, teaching them to call God their Father, to pray that His kingdom might come; so now He adds a lesson of humility, when He says, and lead us not into temptation. This is also connected with the foregoing. Thine is the kingdom has reference to Thy kingdom come, that none should therefore say, God has no kingdom on earth. The power, answers to Thy will be done, as in earth so in heaven, that none should say thereon that God cannot perform whatever He would. And the glory, answers to all that follows, in which God's glory is shown forth.

Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us to-day our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Thine is the power and the glory for ever. Thrice in the day thus pray.

(Tr. vii. 17.) Herein it is shown that the adversary can nothing avail against us, unless God first permit him; so that all our fear and devotion ought to be addressed to God. (ubi sup.) And in so praying we are cautioned of our own infirmity and weakness, lest any presumptuously exalt himself; that while a humble and submissive confession comes first, and all is referred to God, whatever we suppliantly apply for may by His gracious favour be supplied. (Tr. vii. 18.) After all these preceding petitions at the conclusion of the prayer comes a sentence, comprising shortly and collectively the whole of our petitions and desires. For there remains nothing beyond for us to ask for, after petition made for God's protection from evil; for that gained, we stand secure and safe against all things that the Devil and the world work against us. What fear hath he from this life, who has God through life for his guardian? (ubi sup.) We need not wonder, dearest brethren, that this is God's prayer, seeing how His instruction comprises all our petitioning, in one saving sentence. This had already been prophesied by Isaiah the Prophet, A short word will God make in the whole earth. (Is. 10:22.) For when our Lord Jesus Christ came unto all, and gathering together the learned alike and the unlearned, did to every sex and age set forth the precepts of salvation, He made a full compendium of His instructions, that the memory of the scholars might not labour in the heavenly discipline, but accept with readiness whatsoever was necessary into a simple faith.

25. Moreover, the Lord of necessity admonishes us to say in prayer, "And suffer us not to be led into temptation." In which words it is shown that the adversary can do nothing against us except God shall have previously permitted it; so that all our fear, and devotion, and obedience may be turned towards God, since in our temptations nothing is permitted to evil unless power is given from Him. This is proved by divine Scripture, which says, "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and besieged it; and the Lord delivered it into his hand."67 But power is given to evil against us according to our sins, as it is written, "Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to those who make a prey of Him? Did not the Lord, against whom they sinned, and would not walk in His ways, nor hear His law? and He has brought upon them the anger of His wrath."68 And again, when Solomon sinned, and departed from the Lord's commandments and ways, it is recorded, "And the Lord stirred up Satan against Solomon himself."69 26. […]

"And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from the evil one: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Here He teaches us plainly our own vileness, and quells our pride, instructing us to deprecate all conflicts, instead of rushing upon them. For so both our victory will be more glorious, and the devil's overthrow more to be derided. I mean, that as when we are dragged forth, we must stand nobly; so when we are not summoned, we should be quiet, and wait for the time of conflict; that we may show both freedom from vainglory, and nobleness of spirit. And He here calls the devil "the wicked one," commanding us to wage against him a war that knows no truce, and implying that he is not such by nature. For wickedness is not of those things that are from nature, but of them that are added by our own choice. And he is so called pre-eminently, by reason of the excess of his wickedness, and because he, in no respect injured by us, wages against us implacable war. Wherefore neither said He, "deliver us from the wicked ones," but, "from the wicked one;" instructing us in no case to entertain displeasure against our neighbors, for what wrongs soever we may suffer at their hands, but to transfer our enmity from these to him, as being himself the cause of all our wrongs. Having then made us anxious as before conflict, by putting us in mind of the enemy, and having cut away from us all our remissness; He again encourages and raises our spirits, by bringing to our remembrance the King under whom we are arrayed, and signifying Him to be more powerful than all. "For Thine," saith He, "is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." Doth it not then follow, that if His be the kingdom, we should fear no one, since there can be none to withstand, and divide the empire with him. […]

The third good is justice and good works, and temptation is contrary to this, because temptation hinders us from doing good. We pray, therefore, to have this evil taken away in the words: "Lead us not into temptation." The fourth good is all the necessaries …

"And lead us not into temptation." We humans are weak and therefore we should not throw ourselves into temptations. But when we have fallen into temptation, we should pray that we not be swallowed up by it. For he who has been led into the …

The removal of a harming evil is asked in the three last petitions: because every evil either has the character of the past, or the future, or the present; or otherwise, it has the character of the evil of fault, or of struggle, or of …

In the sixth petition, the repulsion of hostile fraud is sought through the gift of understanding, when he says: "And lead us not into temptation." In the seventh petition, the subjugation of carnal concupiscence is sought through the gift of wisdom, when he says: "But …

And lead us not into temptation. Here he sets forth another petition. Another reading has: "and do not bring us into"; and another: "and do not allow us," and this is the explanation of the former; for God tempts no one, although he permits one …

THE SIXTH PETITION: "And Lead Us Not Into Temptation." There are those who have sinned and desire forgiveness for their sins. They confess their sins and repent. Yet, they do not strive as much as they should in order that they may not fall into …

SEVENTH PETITION: "But Deliver Us from Evil. Amen." The Lord has already taught us to pray for forgiveness of our sins, and how to avoid temptations. In this petition, He teaches us to pray to be preserved from evil, and indeed from all evil in …

And lead us not into temptation,.... Such a petition as this is often to be observed in the prayers of the Jews (a), אל תביאני, "do not lead me" neither into sin, nor into transgression and iniquity, ולא לידי נסיון, "nor into temptation", or "into the hands of temptation";'' that is, into the power of it, so as to be overcome by it, and sink under it; in which sense the phrase is to be understood here.

For thine is the kingdom - The sovereign right of all things that are or ever were created: The power - the executive power, whereby thou governest all things in thy everlasting kingdom: And the glory - The praise due from every creature, for thy power, and all thy wondrous works, and the mightiness of thy kingdom, which endureth through all ages, even forever and ever.

And lead us not into temptation - That is, bring us not in to sore trial. Πειρασμον, which may be here rendered sore trial, comes from πειρω, to pierce through, as with a spear, or spit, used so by some of the best Greek writers. Several of the primitive fathers understood it something in this way; and have therefore added quam ferre non possimus, “which we cannot bear.” The word not only implies violent assaults from Satan, but also sorely afflictive circumstances, none of which we have, as yet, grace or fortitude sufficient to bear.

LOOKING over a book of addresses to young people the other day, I met with the outline of a discourse which struck me as being a perfect gem. I will give it to you. The text is the Lord's prayer and the exposition is divided into most instructive heads. "Our Father which are in Heaven"—a child away from home. "Hallowed be Your name"—a worshipper. "Your kingdom come"—a subject. "Your will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven"—a servant. "Give us this day our daily bread"—a beggar. "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"—a sinner.

For what can we desire which this does not carry with it? For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen--If any reliance is to be placed on external evidence, this doxology, we think, can hardly be considered part of the original text.

These verses are few in number, and soon read, but they are of immense importance. They contain that wonderful pattern of prayer with which the Lord Jesus has supplied his people, commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps no part of Scripture is so well known as this. Its words are familiar wherever Christianity is found. Thousands, and tens of thousands, who never saw a Bible or heard the pure Gospel are acquainted with the “Our Father,” or “Paternoster.”

These verses are few in number, and soon read, but they are of immense importance. They contain that wonderful pattern of prayer with which the Lord Jesus has supplied his people, commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps no part of Scripture is so well known as this. Its words are familiar wherever Christianity is found. Thousands, and tens of thousands, who never saw a Bible or heard the pure Gospel are acquainted with the “Our Father,” or “Paternoster.” Happy would it be for the world if this prayer was as well known in the spirit as it is in the letter. No part of Scripture is so full and so simple at the same time as this. It is the first prayer we learn to offer up when we are little children: here is its simplicity. It contains the germ of everything which the most advanced saint can desire: here is its fullness. The more we ponder every word it contains, the more we shall feel this prayer is of God. The Lord’s Prayer consists of ten parts or sentences. There is one declaration of the Being to whom we pray; there are three prayers respecting his name, his kingdom and his will; there are four prayers respecting our daily wants, our sins or weakness, and our dangers; there is one profession of our feeling towards others; there is one concluding ascription of praise. In all these parts we are taught to say “we” and “our.” We are to remember others as well as ourselves. On each of these parts a volume might be written. We must content ourselves at present with taking up sentence after sentence, and marking out the lessons which each sentence contains. The first sentence declares to whom we are to pray to: “Our Father which art in heaven.” We are not to pray to saints and angels, but to the everlasting Father, the Father of spirits, the Lord of heaven and earth. We call him Father in the lowest sense, as our Creator: as St.

Then there is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration—"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." We do not commence our spiritual career with this mission spirit. We begin with "Our Father." We go on to feel His Glory, and then the next natural desire is that others may behold His greatness, too, till we are ready to cry with the Psalmist, "Let the whole earth be filled with His Glory."

Then there is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration—"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." We do not commence our spiritual career with this mission spirit. We begin with "Our Father." We go on to feel His Glory, and then the next natural desire is that others may behold His greatness, too, till we are ready to cry with the Psalmist, "Let the whole earth be filled with His Glory." In the process of education, which this prayer so well describes, we find the man very early conscious of his dependence upon God. For as a dependent creature he cries, "Give us this day our daily bread." Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, therefore he entreats for mercy. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors," and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance, "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven is anxious not to offend again. The possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts," that is justification. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms. Now, it would not be the course of nature to begin a life of prayer with the supplication of this morning. This is a petition for men already pardoned, for those who know their adoption, for those who love the Lord and desire to see His kingdom come. Taught of the Spirit to know their pardon, adoption, and union to Jesus, they can cry, and they, alone—"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." I shall this morning, first of all, anticipate an objection. Then I shall venture upon an exposition.

LOOKING over a book of addresses to young people the other day, I met with the outline of a discourse which struck me as being a perfect gem. I will give it to you. The text is the Lord's prayer and the exposition is divided into most instructive heads. "Our Father which are in Heaven"—a child away from home. "Hallowed be Your name"—a worshipper. "Your kingdom come"—a subject. "Your will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven"—a servant. "Give us this day our daily bread"—a beggar. "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"—a sinner. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"— a sinner in danger of being a still greater sinner. The titles are, in every case, most appropriate and truthfully condense the petition. Now if you will remember the outline you will notice that the prayer is like a ladder. The petitions begin at the top and go downward. "Our Father which are in Heaven"—a child, a child of the heavenly Father. Now to be a child of God is the highest possible position of man. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." This is what Christ is—the Son of God—and "Our Father" is but a plural form of the very term which He uses in addressing God, for Jesus says, "Father." It is a very high, gracious, exalted position which, by faith, we dare to occupy when we intelligently say, "Our Father which are in Heaven." It is a step down to the next—"Hallowed be Your name." Here we have a worshipper adoring with lowly reverence the thrice holy God. A worshipper's place is a high one, but it attains not to the excellence of the child's position.

It is a foundation of the praying life: its introduction and its continuing basis. It is an enduring framework for all praying.