SERMON VII.

MATTHEW vi. 11th.

Give us this day our daily Bread.

HIS is the only petition in the TLord's Prayer, which immediately relates to our temporal profperity, and the obtaining of such things as are neceffary to our being and wellbeing in this life. Many of the primitive Christians were of opinion, that the Bread which our Lord hear teaches us to pray for,

was

was not to be understood of any good things relating to the body, but of the Eucharistical Bread in the Lord's Supper, and of the fpiritual fuftenance thereby conveyed' to the foul by the increase of grace; and hence arose the cuftom of receiving that facrament every day.

The error of this opinion however is fufficiently evident, from a confideration of the time wherein our Saviour taught his difciples this prayer, and the time wherein he inftituted the facrament, the one in the very infancy of his miniftry, the other, not till the eve of his crucifixion; fo that during that interval, the Apostles, and all who made use of this prayer, must, in repeating this petition for their daily bread, have petitioned for they knew not what, and prayed without any effect upon the understanding and heart; a thing not supposable in any, much less in fuch a master as Chrift; whofe doctrines are all calculated for the edification of his difciples, and who cannot therefore be thought to have inserted in a form of prayer composed for their use, a petition which, for fome

length

length of time, could not poffibly be of any ufe to them at all.

Instead therefore of perplexing ourselves with vain fuppofitions, I shall embrace that plain and easy meaning, which is most free from all objections, and was most probably intended by our Lord, and received by his difciples; namely, that by Bread here we are to understand all the neceffaries, conveniencies, and comforts of this life, all that may be necessary for our fupport, and conduce to our refreshment..

Bread being the chief fupport of life, is, by a figure very common with all, but more especially with the Scripture writers, fet to denote all the other various things requisite for that purpose. By daily Bread here prayed for we are to understand fuch a portion of those good things as may be fufficient for the day being, which, confidering the weakness and mortality of our nature, is a great, nay and a greater continuance, than we can with. certainty promife ourselves in this life.

But

But though the term of our life may poffibly extend no farther than the present day, yet as it may, for any thing that we can tell, be lengthened out to many years, we are therefore taught to pray that this Bread may be given us this day, or, as faint Luke has it, day by day, a phrase, according to Hebrew writers, fignifying the whole term of our lives, that God would during our Being here, be it longer or shorter, fupply us with such things as are neceffary for our well being here, in fuch a manner, and in fuch proportions as he fhall see most conducive to our real benefit.

This is the true purport of the petition, and though spiritual good things are of the greatest moment, and confequently demand our chief concern, yet, let zeal without knowledge pretend what it will, temporal good things demand, and indeed deferve our reafon able attention.

It is abfolutely neceffary, that we should pray to the Author of our being for fuch

things

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things as are necessary to preserve it, for such things as reason and scripture make it our duty to feek, and which yet without his concurrence we should seek in vain; that we should pray in the words of our Lord, according to the fense now given of them, for our daily bread, and in the language of our church, ask those things which are requifite and neceffary, as well for the body as the foul.

This petition is calculated to breed in us a thorough persuasion of, and dependance upon the providence of God in general, and particularly as it relates to the supply of our wants. It naturally implies to us, that the fame God which at firft created, still governs and preferves the world, that no perfons are exempted from his jurisdiction, that the most minute occurrences of life are at his difpofal, that without his bleffing all our labours are ineffectual, and the wisest, most industrious, and careful man on earth, is not able without his concurrence to acquire even his daily bread.

This