world. It is tlie time when the Jews sliall be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, (Rom. xi. 25,) and a time that is above all things to be desired. It therefore fills a foremost place in the Lord's prayer. We ask that which is expressed in the words of the Burial service, " that it may please thee to hasten thy kingdom."
The fourth sentence is a petition concerning God's 10 ill : "thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." We here pray that God's laws may be obeyed by men as perfectly, readily, and unceasingly, as they are by angels in heaven. We ask that those who now obey not His laws, may be taught to obey them, and that those who do obey them, may obey them better. Our truest hap- piness is perfect submission to God's will, and it is the highest charity to pray that all mankind may know it, obey it, and submit to it.
The fifth sentence is a petition respecting our oivn daily tvcmts: " give us this day our daily bread." We are here taught to acknowledge our entire dependence on God, for the su23ply of our daily necessities. As Israel required daily manna, so we require daily " bread." We confess that we are poor, weak, wanting creatures, and beseech Him who is our Maker to take care of us. We ask for " bread," as the simplest of our wants, and in that word we include all that our bodies require.
The sixth sentence is a petition respecting our sins : " Forgive us our debts." We confess that we are sin- ners, and need daily grants of pardon and forgiveness. This is a j)art of the Lord's prayer which deserves especially to be remembered. It condemns all self-
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righteousness and self-justifying. We are instructed here to keep up a continual habit of confession at the throne of grace, and a continual habit of seeking mercy and remission. Let this never be forgotten. We need daily to " wash our feet." (John xiii. 10.)
The seventh sentence is a profession respecting otcr oivn feelings toiuards others : we ask our Father to " forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." This is the only profession in the whole prayer, and the only part on which our Lord comments and dwells, when He has concluded the prayer. The plain object of it is, to remind us that we must not expect our prayers for for- giveness to be heard, if we pray with malice and spite in our hearts towards others. To pray in such a frame of mind is mere formality and hypocrisy. It is even worse than hypocrisy. It is as much as saying, " Do not forgive me at all." Our prayer is nothing without charity. We must not expect to be forgiven, if we cannot forgive.
The eighth sentence is a petition respecting our iveak- ness : " lead us not into temj^tation." It teaches us that we are liable, at all times, to be led astray, and fall. It instructs us to confess our infirmity, and beseech God to hold us up, and not allow us to run into sin. We ask Him, who orders all things in heaven and earth, to restrain us from going into that which would injure our souls, and never to suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear. (1 Cor. x. 13.)
The ninth sentence is a petition respecting our dan- gers : ^' deliver us from evil." We are here taught to ask God to deliver us from the evil that is in the world,