tempts us in order to lead us into the actual | in James i. 2. "My brethren, count it all commission of sin. It was thus that he joy when ye fall into divers temptations?" tempted Judas to betray, and Peter to deny To this we reply, that the apostle here his master. In order to effect his purposes alludes to the believer when actually in the in this way, he has many wiles and devices trial, and which he finds by experience to and stratagems at command. He lurks, like be the means of doing him good, and which a serpent, under pleasures and amusements he therefore rejoices on account of: whereas of every kind. He tempts by appealing in this petition the believer prays beforeeither to sinless and holy desires, or to sin- hand, from a sense of his weakness, not to ful and unholy ones, as circumstances and be led into trial. We may pray against opportunities may suggest. Thus in tempt- trials and tribulations before they occur, but ing Adam, he appealed to pure and holy when we are visited by them, and find ourprinciples, but he did so with the same de- selves gaining the victory over them by the sign as when he tempted Ananias and grace and strength of Christ, then may we Sapphira to lead to actual sin. In the count it all joy, and even glory in our trisense in which we are now speaking of bulations; knowing that tribulation worketh temptation, we should notice, too, that it patience; and patience experience, and exmay have its source in the man himself, in perience hope, Rom. v. 3. 4. the evil nature which is in him, and which remains in the regenerate child of God, and which wars and lusteth against those better principles which the Spirit of God implants in the heart, Rom. vii. 17, 18, 23; Gal. v. 17; James i. 14, 15. It may also arise from the allurements and attractions of the world. And, indeed, we may notice here, that there are several temptations to which we are often unavoidably exposed; but it is no sin that we should be thus liable to temptations, for in such cases, if we do not yield to them, we are only passive; sin consists in our actively or voluntarily submitting to temptation.

that

We should here carefully observe that God never tempts us in the second sense in which we have explained the word. It would be utterly abhorrent from the holiness of his nature to tempt any man in order to lead him to the commission of sin. "Let no man," therefore, "say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man," James i. 13. Still the petition, though addressed to God, may refer to this kind of temptation: it may be a prayer He would so regulate the circumstances of our life, and so protect and guard us by his providential care, that we may not be brought But why should we offer this prayer to into situations in which we might be temptGod" Lead us not into temptation?" Weed by our own lusts, or by the influence of answer, because no temptation of any kind our fellow-creatures, or by the devil, to the can occur except in consistency with the commission of sin. providence and permission of God. It is God who appoints for his people their trials. This prayer, therefore, implies a desire upon our part, that he would so regulate our circumstances, that we may not be brought into too severe a state of trial, or one in which we might be likely to fall into sin, but that he would give us such aid by his Holy Spirit as will strengthen us, and enable us successfully to resist temptation. Thus the Apostle when writing to the church at Corinth says "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it," 1 Cor. x. 13. But how is this petition to be reconciled with what the Apostle James says

Let all the children of God attend to the important practical instruction which is implied in the subject of this petition. Let them learn to keep from temptation, in both senses: from the temptation that tries, because they are weak; and from the temptation that leads to sin, because they are so liable to fall into sin. If ever the Christian voluntarily goes into the way of temptation to sin, he shows a complacency in sin, and is a kind of accessory before the fact. We should never go, unnecessarily, into the way of danger: and in order that we may not do so, we should not merely inquire, whether such a line of conduct be actually sinful, or whether such a place may be decidedly improper, but we should ask whether it may be dangerous, or not. For there are many things which are not sinful in themselves,

sin.

but which may almost inevitably lead to | Let us consider what is meant by "evil" in this passage. This word has received two explanations. If we consider the original-ro Tovrgoũ—as in the masculine gender, as some commentators do, we may translate it" the evil one," by which we are to understand THE DEVIL, as in Matth. xiii. 19, where i wongòs, without a substantive, is rendered "the wicked one," and as in 1 John ii. 13, and iii. 12. The devil is evil in his nature, in his designs, and in all that he does. He is the author and original of all moral corruption, the enemy of God and of his people, who is continually going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. His strength is vastly superior to ours, but is inferior to the strength and power of Christ. Though Satan is "the strong man armed," our blessed Saviour is "stronger than he," Luke xi. 21, 22, and therefore, although we cannot overcome him, yet Christ can bruise him under our feet. And it is the MAN Christ Jesus that shall obtain this victory. The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, Gen. iii. 15. He that vanquished man, shall by man be vanquished: and he that triumphed over our weak and fallen humanity shall, himself, be led in triumph bound to the chariotwheels of him who is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, when he shall ride prosperously after having subdued the foes of his people!

And let those who, by the dispensation of God's providence, are involved in trials that are calculated to prove the strength of their faith and love, and of their confidence in the loving-kindness of God, seek to realize the full benefit of such tribulations. The trials and afflictions of this present life are intended to convince us of the necessity of watchfulness and prayer, to give us an experimental knowledge of our own weakness, to afford us an opportunity of rejoicing in the strength of Christ, to lead us to seek for a resource in that grace which he confers through the indwelling agency of his Holy Spirit, and to impart firmness and vigour to all the virtues of the Christian character. They have the effect, too, of casting a dark cloud over present scenes, so as to cause the light which shines from the blessedness that awaits us to appear more bright and attractive, and thus they serve to fix our affections on things above, and to lead us, in the anticipation of their enjoyment, to exclaim-"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." Let all then receive those trials which may, at any time, be assigned to them by the providence of God not in a spirit of despondency, but of cheerfulness-not in a spirit of fretfulness, but of gratitude-not in a spirit of gloom, but of joy; for though no affliction "for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

from evil :

This word "evil" is also explained upon the principle of considering the originalongo-as in the neuter gender, so that the petition refers, according to this view of it, to everything which is evil: to sin, which defiles and pollutes the soul: to sor...but deliver us row and suffering, which are the effects of

This is the last petition in the Lord's Prayer. It follows well after a prayer for the forgiveness of our sins, for we should not only seek for exemption from the suffering that sin leads to, but we should also seek to be delivered from the dominion of sin in every sense. This petition is expressed in very general language; for the evils to which we are liable are so many, that we could not enumerate them in detail, and God, to whom this prayer is addressed, knows better than we do, what are the evils to which we are exposed, before we refer to them.

sin: to death, which is the wages of sin: and to future suffering, which is the inevitable consequence of unpardoned sin. But amongst these SIN is the greatest of all evils, for it leads to every other evil, and it is only in consequence of our committing sin that Satan can do us any injury.

But how are we to be delivered from evil? We answer at once, that we never can be delivered by our own unaided power. When we pray to God for deliverance, we show our belief that He is the only Being who can keep us and protect us from evil. We are utterly weak and powerless in ourselves, and of this we cannot have too deep and strong a conviction. How could we

stand, in our own strength, before the power | It is a suitable conclusion to this divine of Satan, when David and Peter yielded to prayer, whether we consider it as an achis assaults!

There is one remark more which we desire to make upon this Doxology. When compared with the commencement of this prayer, it shows us how it is that God is presented to us in the gospel. He is not exhibited, in the first instance, as a God of power and dominion and glory, such a representation might discourage, if not terrify and alarm us,- but he is presented to us, at first, as a "Father," and so much of his glory is exhibited to us as is necessary to give us humility and confidence; and then we are afterwards led on to a full contemplation of the majesty of his person, and the greatness of his kingdom. Yes! it is as children that we are first invited to come to God, and to look up to him as to our Father-to fall before him with filial confidence in his paternal love, and thus to expect to receive from him those blessings which are necessary for our happiness both in this world and in the next.

subjects of that kingdom, look to him for to his part in the public services of God's protection and support. By saying. sanctuary. "thine is the power," we recognise God as invested with an omnipotence which nothing can resist, by which alone our wants can be supplied and our enemies subdued, and thus we testify to our belief that he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, Eph. iii. 20. By saying thine is the glory," we ascribe to God the possession of all possible excellencies. Of these we can have no conception, except so far as we see them displayed in creation, which declares the glory of God, and in the person of Christ, who is the visible representation of the invisible God, who has already appeared to manifest his mercy and his grace, and who will appear again to manifest his glory and his power. We also confess by this, that the glory that shall result from the accomplishment of all to which this prayer refers, shall belong exclusively to God, and therefore, we thus plead that in granting his people those mercies which they ask for, he is promoting his own glory. By saying" for ever," we confess our belief in the eternity of God-a subject far too amazing for any finite intellect to comprehend, and in speaking of which the inspired writers seem at a loss for words, Psalm xc. 2; cii. 25-27, but by referring to which, we acknowledge that praise is due to God throughout eternity, and we imply a desire that we may be permitted to join with the Church of the redeemed in celebrating his glory in his eternal kingdom.

Thus have we endeavoured, though feebly, to unfold the spiritual treasures of this divine and inimitable prayer-a prayer which was one of the first gifts of Christ to his Church, and which should ever be employed by his believing people to give expression to their desires, until prayer shall be lost in praise, and until its petitions shall be converted by the glorified child of God into anthems of everlasting gratitude to the Father of all his mercies.

The Sermon on the Mount resumed.

14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you :

This prayer concludes with a remarkable word, often used-God only knows how often in sincerity and truth-" AMEN." It is a Hebrew word, expressive of solemn, earnest, and deliberate assent to what went before, in the utterance of which all the devotional feelings of the heart should be brought to a point and climax, and by which 15. But if ye forgive not men the soul affixes a seal to the petitions that their trespasses, neither will your have been presented unto God. It may also be understood as a response on the part heavenly Father forgive your tres

of all who engage in the sacred exercise of passes.
social prayer. It was usual in the primitive
Church for every one who was present to
utter this word aloud, in order to denote
their cordial assent to everything which
had been spoken. St. Jerome mentions that
the sound, when this occurred, was like
thunder. It is much to be desired that
every member of the Church would attend

Here Christ selects out of the prayer which he had just given, the petition-forgive us our debts," in order to explain and enforce the precept which it implies, and the condition that is annexed to it" as we forgive our debtors." When we call this a condition, we should not use the word in the

sense of a stipulation or compact, upon our fulfilment of which, God agrees, upon His part, to forgive us. Whatever stipulations in this sense were necessary for our redemption were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But we may use the word as implying that there is an inseparable connection between our forgiving others and God's forgiving us; as those who expect the pardon of their offences through the redemp

tion that is in Christ, whilst they refuse to exercise a spirit of forgiveness towards others, are manifesting the strongest evidence that they are destitute of the grace of God, and are hypocrites of the most reckless description.

unto men to fast.

unto

Verily
Verily I say

you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18. 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.

Our Saviour, having applied the general admonition contained in the first verse to the case of alms-giving and prayer, now proceeds to apply it to the case of fasting. Each of these stands as the representative of a particular class of actions which the Christian performs. Alms-giving is a duty, prayer a privilege, and fasting an advantage. By fasting, according to the original, is to be understood a total abstinence from

food for a given time. It has been practised in all ages, and among all nations, in times of mourning, sorrow, and affliction. The Jews had many public and private fasts; to the latter of which our Saviour here alludes.

The doctrine contained in this petition is so important, that Christ presents it to our minds in a double form-1st, as a promise, in verse 14; and 2dly, as a threatening, in verse 15. And thus our hopes and our fears are enlisted on the side of holiness. There is a remarkable difference between the expression "debts" in the prayer, and "trespasses" in the explanation. The latter word literally signifies fallings off, or deviations, and is of much milder signification than the former. This difference gives force to the Saviour's argument, as if he had said "If ye forgive not men their slight offences towards you, you cannot expect Him to pardon It is here assumed by Christ that his even the slightest offences you have commit- people should fast; and, indeed, the benefit of ted against Him." There is no duty from fasting may be inferred from many passages which our natural dispositions so much re- in the New Testament; Acts xiii. 2, 3; coil as the forgiveness of injuries; we feel xiv. 23; 1 Cor. vii. 5. The Christian must as if we were defrauding ourselves in ex- exercise discipline over his animal nature, ercising mercy towards an offending bro- he must keep under the body, and bring it ther; and at the same time there is no bless- into subjection; 1 Cor. ix. 27. Every exing which we so earnestly desire for our-pedient, in short, which is not sinful, may be selves. It is the Saviour's object, by the agency of his Spirit, to make us as ready to extend forgiveness, as to receive itas willing to remit the hundred pence which is due to us, as to ask the remission of the ten thousand talents which we owe to God. Let us attend to this when we ask the forgiveness of our sins in our petitions at a throne of grace, for if we neglect it our prayers become indirect imprecations against ourselves.

employed for promoting spirituality,-for subduing the passions, and making the spiritual to predominate over the carnal. Fastings are, as it were, the nails with which the believer should crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts: they are antidotes against the enticements of sensual temptations, and, when combined with prayer, the abstinence of the body may facilitate the nourishment and growth of the soul. It is even well that we should feel our physical weakness, for in it we have a 16. Moreover when ye fast, be type and emblem of our spiritual infirmities; not, as the hypocrites, of a sad and when we experience the intensity of countenance; for they disfigure ter understand what is meant by "hungernatural hunger and thirst, we can then bettheir faces, that they may appearing and thirsting after righteousness."