LECTURE XXXII. Give us this Day our Daily Bread; And forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. THE three former of the six petitions of the Lord's Prayer express our earnest desires, that we, and all our fellow-creatures, may attain the great end of our creation; that is, may understand, receive, and practise, true religion, to God's honour and our own eternal happiness: after which we proceed, in the three last, to ask of him the means to this end; such supplies of our wants, as will be needful for the performance of our duties. And they are comprehended under three heads more: the relief of our temporal necessities, the forgiveness of our past sins, and the assistance of his grace against future temptations. The first of these blessings we request, by saying, Give us this day our daily bread. All the good things of life, and all our capacity of receiving support and comfort from them, proceed, as every thing doth, from God's free gift; and therefore depend, as every thing doth, on his free pleasure: for what he hath bestowed, he can, with just the same ease, at any time, take away. He hath placed things indeed in a régular, and what we call a natural, course and order. But this order is not only of his own appointing, but his own preserving too. He it is, that maketh his sun to rise; that giveth us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladnesst. Were he only thus kind to us all in general, it would certainly be our duty to acknowledge his kindness, and pray for the continuance of it. But we learn from Scripture further, that his providence extends, even in the minutest instances, to each of us in particular; and that not the smallest thing comes to pass, but by his appointment, or wise permission; that his continual superintendency may be ever exercised towards us for our good. know not indeed with certainty, in these matters, what will be good for us. But still, since he hath given us desires, inseparable from our frame, of enjoying life to its ordinary term; with a competent share of the several accommodations which contribute to make it agreeable; it must be lawful to express those desires to him in a proper manner. And this our Saviour directs us how to do, when he bids us petition for our daily bread. We The word bread, as it frequently signifies in Scripture all sorts of food, so it may very naturally signify, what it doth in this prayer, all sorts of things requisite in human life. This Agur meant, when he prayed that God would feed him with food (in the original it is bread) convenient for him §. And this we mean in common discourse, as often as we speak of persons getting their bread. But then it must by no means be extended beyond things requisite; those, without which we are unable either to subsist at all, * Matth. v. 45. Matth. x. 29, 30. Luke xii. 6, 7. + Acts xiv. 17. § Prov. xxx. 8. or however conveniently and comfortably. Not that desires of further advantages in the world are universally unlawful. But they are so apt to enlarge, and swell into extravagant and sinful passions; into schemes of luxury, or vanity, or covetousness; that we have usually much more need to restrain and check, than authorize them, by asking the accomplishment of them from God; lest we be guilty of what St. James condemns, asking amiss, that we may consume it upon our lusts*. It is therefore only for such a share of worldly good, as to a reasonable and moderate mind will appear sufficient, that our Saviour allows us here to pray; in the spirit which Agur, in the prayer just mentioned, expresses, Give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain t. For indeed, though the temptations of extreme poverty are very great; yet the tendency of wealth and ease and power, to sensuality and pride and forgetfulness of God, is so exceeding strong that a well-instructed and considerate mind would rather submit, than choose to be placed in a condition of abundance and eminence. For preserving the order, and conducting the affairs of the world, some must be in such stations; but let who are, look well to their ways; and let none of their inferiors envy them. It ought to be further observed here, that our blessed Lord hath not only confined us to pray for our bread, but our daily bread; to be given us, as we ask for it day by day: intending, doubtless, to make us remember and acknowledge, that our dependence on + Prov. xxx. 8, 9. * James iv. 3. God is continual, from one moment to another; that they, who have the most of this world, have it only during his pleasure; and are bound, both to ask, and receive, every day's enjoyment of it, as a new gift from him: while, at the same time, they who have least may be assured, that what he hath commanded them to pray for, he will ordinarily not fail to bestow upon them; by blessing their endeavours, if they are able to use endeavours; or by stirring up the charity of others towards them, if they are not. But as to those who can labour, industry is the method by which God hath thought fit to give them their bread; and, therefore, by which they ought to seek it. They have no title to it any other way; St. Paul having directed, that if any one will not work, neither should he eat*. Nor must they work only to supply their present necessities: but by diligence and frugality, lay up something, if possible, for future exigencies also: learning of the ant, which provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest +. So that applying for our daily bread to God, is far from excluding a proper care to use the appointed means of procuring it for ourselves. But if our care be a presumptuous one, and void of regard to the Disposer of all things; we provoke him to blast our fairest hopes. And if it be an anxious and distrustful one, we think injuriously of him to whom we pray; who can as easily give us the bread of to-morrow, as he gave us that of yesterday. Nay, if our worldly cares, though they do not disquiet our minds, yet engross them; if we carry our attention to this world so far as to forget the next; or imagine ourselves to be securer in stores, laid up for many years ‡, than in + Luke xii. 19. 2 Thess. iii. 10. + Prov. vi. 8. God's good providence; this also is very unsuitable to the spirit, both of our Lord's Prayer, and of his whole religion; which commands us to seek first the kindom of God and his righteousness*, and not to trust in uncertain riches, but in him, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy t. I shall only add two observations more, which have been made very justly on this petition: that since we ask our bread from God, we ought not to accept it from the devil; that is, to gain our subsistence by any unlawful means: and that, since we do not say, Give me my daily bread; but give us ours; we entreat God to supply the wants of others, as well as our own. Now the means which he hath provided for supplying the wants of the helpless poor, is the charity of the rich. And to pray him, that they may be relieved, and yet withhold from them what he hath designed for their relief, is just that piece of inconsistence or hypocrisy, which St. James so strongly exposes. If a brother, or sister, be naked, and destitute of daily food; and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and be ye filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit§? From our temporal wants, we proceed next to a much more important concern, our spiritual ones; and here we ask in the first place, what it is very fit we should, pardon and mercy. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. The forgiveness of sins having been already explained, under that article of the Creed, which relates to it; I shall only take notice at present of the argument, which we are directed to use in pleading for * Matth. vi. 33. + 1 Tim. vi. 17. James ii. 15, 16. |