* Jesus’ Gethsemane experience illuminates the words of this petition (cf. Mt 2636-46, esp. v.34), The Saviour is here face to face with the bitterest trial of His life ; the attitude of the Jewish nation towards Him has come to be that of fixed and final rejection; the chosen people are ready to repudiate their Messiah with a violent death, and so to fail of fulfilling their Divine mission to the world (cf. Mt 2387.38), Jesus in the garden feels that He cannot endure this; He is in agony that God should seem to allow it, and prays that He may be spared this trial—that there may be some other outcome of the situa- tion; nevertheless, He has no other desire than that God’s will should be done. The prayer of Jesus was answered not by a removal of the trial, but by a Divine reassurance, and an impartation of strength for its endurance (cf. Lk 2243f, which gives an essentially correct idea, even if textually uncertain). One may also compare St. Paul’s experience when he three times prayed for the removal of his ‘thorn in the flesh’; God’s reply to him was, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee ; for power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Oo 128-9; cf. also 1 Co 1012).
t The objection to taking the rod rovzpod as a masculine (with Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Calvin, Erasmus, Bengel, Meyer, Olshausen, Ebrard, Fritzsche, Hanne, Gore, H. Holtzmann, Lightfoot, Thayer, Plummer, Chase, v. d. Goltz, Nestle, and the RV) does not lie in the fact that the phrase could not be so used, for there are a number of clear NT cases where 6 wovypos refers concretely to the devil (cf. Mt 1319. 38, Eph 616, 1Jn 218f 312 618); nor in the meaning of the col- location pierbus &xd viv0s, which is used of both persons (Ro 1591) and things (2 Ti 418); nor in an avoidance by Jesus of the current Jewish conception and terminology regarding the per- sonal devil (cf Mt 410 1227 1338f, Lic 1018, Jn 844), for, so far as we can discover, He did not give any new teaching on this point (cf. Wendt, Lehre Jesu, ii. 121-126). The objection liesrather in the thought of the petition itself, which cannot be, ‘Bring us not into trial, but deliver us from the devil,’ since this destroys all connexion between the two clauses, though the 4aa¢ demands a connexion ; nor, ‘Bring us not into the temptation of the devil, but deliver us from the devil,’ which is improbable tautology. So that some ancient and many modern scholars interpret the rou rovypod as a neuter (Augustine, Luther, Stier, Ewald, Keil, Nosgen, Tholuck, Alford, Burgon, Cook, M‘Clellan, Achelis, Ibbeken, B. Weiss, Taylor, and others). This neuter use of 76 xovnpoy to denote all moral and spiritual evil may be seen in Mt 587, Lk 645, Jn 1715, Ro 129, 2 Th 33, 1 Jn 519 (the RV is probably wrong in translating most of these as masculines); cf, also 2Ti418, On wovnpas -6v see Oremer, Bibl.-Theol. Worterbuch,7, in loc.; Achelis, Bergpredigt, pp. 286-289; letters in the Guardian by Lightfoot (Sept. 7, 14, 21) and Cook (May 21, Noy. 26) (Lightfoot’s letters appear in Fresh Revision of the English N.7.8, 1891, Appx. II.); Chase, Lord’s Prayer in the Horly Church (1891), pp. 85-167; Hatch, Essays in Biblical Greek (1889), pp. 77-82. Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers 2 (1897), pp. 37, 64, 128-130, 147-150, 191f., takes the rod rovnpot as refer- ring to the $17 x}, man’s evil nature (Gn 821 ‘the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth,’ cf. Ja 113-15); see also Porter, ‘The Yeger Ha-ra‘,’ in Yale Biblical and Semitic Studies (1901), pp. 93-156.
t On the NT usage of repeoucs, see Cremer, Bibl.- Theol. Worterbuch7, in loc. ; Tholuck, Bergrede>, pp. 394-401 [Eng. tr. pp. 357-862]; Achelis, Bergpredigt, pp. 280-284; Mayor, Comin. on James, 1892, pp. 175-183.
cause anxiety and apprehension ; so that men may well fear them and pray for deliverance from them. Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Mk 14°, cf. Ja 1). But, since God brings these trials for the indivi- dual’s good, He will never allow the tried person to fall into evil if he will commit himself wholly to God’s guidance and care through the experience (cf. 1 Co 10%, He 218 41%, Ja, 1242-1 P1st),
(5) The Lord’s Prayer is thus seen to be an epitome of Jesus’ teaching ; it contains the essen- tial ideas of God and human duty, expressed in the briefest, simplest, and most impressive words. The vital truths of the Gospel are presented in such a way that any and every man can grasp them, and can see them in their right perspective and relations.* Since the Prayer was intended for
universal use, its meaning must be readily in-.
telligible to all; it must be not intricate, but simple of interpretation. And the Lord’s Prayer is adapted to every kind of Christian use. It is de- signed for repetition as it stands, both in private and in public devotions. It is also a pattern prayer, after which all prayer to God should be modelled. Here we learn what things are to be prayed for, how God’s glory, Kingdom, and will take precedence of the individual’s affairs, and in what spirit all prayer is to be made. The religious practice of Jesus’ day too often re- garded the virtue of a prayer as consisting in its recital, and measured its value by its length or repetition (cf. Ac 19*4). The Gospel of Matthew (6%) has preserved in connexion with the Lord’s Prayer some words of Jesus which were directed against this abuse. Since God knows what things are necessary for men, He does not need to be informed of them; and since He is a loving Father who cares for His children, He does not have to be importuned to give His blessings. These facts do not make prayer useless; on the contrary, real prayer is possible only on the basis of them. God never wished the empty repetition of prayer formule, which is a waste of time and strength; and it was an entire misconception of Him that He had to be coaxed into goodwill towards men, or solicited to supply their needs. Prayer, in Jesus’ conception, is the loving, obedient and trustful communion of men with their Heavenly Father. It brings men comfort, joy, and peace ; it reassures and strengthens them in all their labours and experiences; it brings them to know only God’s will in their lives, and to seek only its full realiza- tion. As we learn to know God in the words and face of Christ, we pray more instead of less; prayer becomes a privilege instead of a duty. Indeed, to the true Christian, prayer is the atmo- sphere in which he lives. Instead of occasional periods or moments of prayer, the whole life be- comes a prayer, so that we walk and talk with God. Into this perfect communion with God the Lord’s Prayer leads us, voicing all our aspirations and petitions, when we come to appreciate its full significance. +}