Give us this day our daily bread. Thou, O God, who hast appointed us to seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof, hast promised that if we do so, other things shall be added unto usa; and therefore having prayed for the sanctifying of thy name, the coming of thy kingdom, and the doing of thy will, we next pray, Father in heaven, give us this day, and day by day, our daily bread b.. Remove far from us vanity and lies; give us neither poverty nor riches; feed us with food convenient for us, lest we be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest we be poor and steal, and take the name of our God in vain c. Lord, we ask not for dainties, for they are deceitful meatd; nor do we pray that we may fare sumptuously every day, for we would not in our life time receive our good things e; but we pray for that bread which is necessary to strengthen man's heart g. We desire not to eat the bread of deceit h, nor to drink any stolen waters i, nor would we eat the bread of idleness k, but that if it be thy will we may eat the labour of our own hands, that with quietness we may work, and eat of our own bread m; and having food and raiment, give us to be therewith content n, and to say, we have all, and abound o. Bless, Lord, our substance, and accept the work of our hands p; and give us wherewithal to provide for our own, even for those of our own house q, and to leave an inheritance, as far as is just to our children's children r. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, prosper thou the work of our hands upon us, yea the work of our a Matt. vi. 33. Prov. xiii. 22. b Luke xi. 3.. c Prov. xxx. 8, 9. Psal. clv. 15. k Prov. xxxi. 27. n 1 Tim. vi. 8. q 1 Tim. v. 8. hands establish thou it a. Bless, Lord, our land with the precious things of the earth, and the fulness thereof; but above all, let us have the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush, even the blessing that was upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren b. But if the fig-tree should not blossom, and there should be no fruit in the vine; if the labour of the olive should fail, and the fields should yield no meat; if the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there should be no herd in the stall, yet let us have grace to rejoice in the Lord, and to joy in the God of our salvation c. Father, we ask not for bread for a great while to come, but that we may have this day our daily bread; for we would learn, and the Lord teach us not to take thought for the morrow, what we shall eat, or what we shall drink, or wherewithal we shall be clothed, but we cast the care upon thee, our heavenly Father, who knowest that we have need of all these things; who feedest the fowls of the air, though they sow not, neither do they reap, and wilt much more feed us d, who are of more value than many sparrows e. Nor do we pray for daily bread for ourselves only, but for others also. O satisfy thy poor with bread g: Let all that walk righteously and speak uprightly dwell on high; Let the place of their defence be the munition of rocks, let bread be given to them, and let their waters be sure h. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And, Lord, as duly as we pray every day for our daily bread, we pray for the forgiveness of our sins: For we are re all guilty before God, have all sinned, and have come short of the glory of God a. In many things we all offend every day b: who can tell how oft he offends c? If thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared d. God be merciful to us sinners. We have wasted our Lord's goods e, we have buried the talents we are entrusted with g, nor have we rendered again according to the benefit done unto us, and thus we came to be in debt h. The scripture has concluded us all under sini; we have done such things as are worthy of death k; things for which the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience l. Our debt is more than ten thousand talents. It is a great debt; and we have nothing to pay, so far are we from. being able to say, have patience with us, and we will pay thee all m. Justly therefore might our adversary deliver us to the judge, and the judge to the officer, to be cast into prison, the prison of hell, till we should pay the last farthing n. But blessed be God, there is a way found out of agreeing with our adversary; for if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins o. For his sake, we pray thee, blot out all our transgressions p, and enter not into judgment with us q. He is our suretyr, who restored that which he took not aways, that blessed days-man, who hath laid his hand upon us both t, through him, let us be reconciled unto God u, let the hand-writing which was against, which was contrary to us, be blot ted out, and taken out of the way, being nailed to the cross of Christ, that we may be quickened together with Christ, having all our trespasses forgiven us a. Be thou merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and our iniquities do thou remember no more b. And give us we pray thee, to receive the atonement c, to know that our sins are forgiven us d: Speak_peace to us e, and make us to hear joy and gladness g. Let the blood of Christ thy Son, cleanse us from all sin h, and purge our consciences from dead works, to serve the living Godi. And as an evidence that thou hast forgiven our sins we pray thee give us grace to forgive our enemies, to love them that hate us, and bless them that curse usk: for we acknowledge, that if we forgive not men their trespasses, neither will our Father forgive our trespasses : and therefore,, we forgive, Lord, we desire heartily to forgive m, if we have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave us n. Far be it from us to say, that we will recompense evil o, or that we should avenge ourselves p. But we pray that all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking may be put away from us, with all malice; and that we may be kind one to another, and tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake, we hope, hath forgiven us q. O make us merciful as our Father who is in heaven is merciful r, who hath promised that with the merciful he will show himself merciful s. · And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And, Lord, forasmuch as there is in us a bent to c Rom. v. 11. g Psalm li. 8. backslide from thee, so that when our sins are forgiven a, we are ready to return again to folly b, we pray that thou wilt not only forgive us our debts, but take care of us, that we may not offend any more c. Lord, lead us not into temptation. We know that no man can say when he is tempted, that he is tempted of God, for God tempteth not any man d; but we know that God is able to make all grace abound towards us e, and to keep us from falling, and present us faultless g. We therefore pray that thou wilt never give us up to our own heart's lust, to walk in our own counsels h, but restrain satan, that roaring lion that goes about seeking whom he may devour i; and grant that we may not be ignorant of his devices k. O let not satan have us to sift us as wheat; or however, let not our faith faill. Let not the messengers of satan be permitted to buffet us m; but if they be, let thy grace be sufficient for us, that where we are weak there we may be strong, and may be more than conquerors through him that loved us n. And, the God of peace tread satan under our feet, and do it shortly o. And since we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, let us be strong in his word, and in the power of his mightp. Lord grant that we may never enter into temptation q, but having prayed may set a watch r, and let thy wise and good providence so order all our affairs, and all events that are concerning us, that no temptation may take us, but such as is common to men, and that we may never be tempted above what we are able to discern, resist, and overcome through the grace of Gods. a Hos. xi. 7. d James i. 13. b Psal. lxxxv. 8. m 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9, 10. c Job xxxvi. 8. Jude 24. g 2 Cor. ii. 11. n Rom. viii. 37. q Matt.xxvi.41. |