  The Lord’s Prayer alone is an evidence of the truth of Christianity,—so admirably is that prayer accommodated to all our wants.—Lord Wellington. THY AND US.The two divisions of the Lord’s Prayer—the former relating to the glory of God, the latter to the wants of man—appear very evident on a slight transposition of the personal pronouns:— Thy name be hallowed. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, &c. Us give this day our daily bread. Us forgive our debts, &c. Us lead not into temptation. Us deliver from evil. SPIRIT OF THE LORD’S PRAYER.The spirit of the Lord’s Prayer is beautiful. This form of petition breathes:— A filial spirit—Father. A catholic spirit—Our Father. A reverential spirit—Hallowed be Thy name. A missionary spirit—Thy kingdom come. An obedient spirit—Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. A dependent spirit—Give us this day our daily bread. A forgiving spirit—And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. A cautious spirit—And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A confidential and adoring spirit—For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. GOTHIC VERSION.Ulphilas, who lived between the years 310 and 388, was bishop of the Western Goths, and translated the greater part of the Scriptures into the Gothic language. The following is his rendering of the Lord’s Prayer:— METRICAL VERSIONS.Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come: thy will be done the same In earth and heaven. Give us daily bread; Forgive our sins as others we forgive. Into temptation let us not be led; Deliver us from evil while we live. For kingdom, power, and glory must remain For ever and for ever thine: Amen. Here the sixty-six words of the original, according to the authorized translation of St. Matthew’s version, are reduced to fifty-nine, though the latter is fully implied in all points except two. “This day” is omitted; but, if anything, the Greek is slightly approached, for ?p???s??? refers rather to to-morrow than to to-day. The antithesis in “But deliver us” does not appear: if the word deliver be sacrificed, we may read, “But keep us safe.” The subjoined metrical version of the Prayer is at least two and a half centuries old, and was written for adaptation to music in public worship:— Our Father which in heaven art, All hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, On earth thy will be done, Even as the same in heaven is. Give us, O Lord, our daily bread this day: As we forgive our debtors, So forgive our debts, we pray. Into temptation lead us not, From evil make us free: The kingdom, power, and glory thine, Both now and ever be. The Prayer is commended for its authorship, its efficacy, its perfection, the order of its parts, its brevity, and its necessity. Our Heavenly Father, hear our prayer: Thy name be hallowed everywhere; Thy kingdom come; on earth, thy will, E’en as in heaven, let all fulfill; Give this day’s bread, that we may live; Forgive our sins as we forgive; Help us temptation to withstand; From evil shield us by Thy hand; Now and forever, unto Thee, The kingdom, power, and glory be. Amen. THE PRAYER ILLUSTRATED.
ACROSTICAL PARAPHRASE.Our Lord and King, Who reign’st enthroned on high, Father of Light! mysterious Deity! Who art the great I AM, the last, the first, Art righteous, holy, merciful, and just. In realms of glory, scenes where angels sing, Heaven is the dwelling-place of God our King. Hallowed Thy name, which doth all names transcend, Be Thou adored, our great Almighty Friend; Thy glory shines beyond creation’s bound; Name us ’mong those Thy choicest gifts surround. Thy kingdom towers beyond Thy starry skies; Kingdom Satanic falls, but Thine shall rise. Come let Thine empire, O Thou Holy One, Thy great and everlasting will be done. Will God make known his will, his power display? Be it the work of mortals to obey. Done is the great, the wondrous work of love; On Calvary’s cross he died, but reigns above; Earth bears the record in Thy holy word. As heaven adores Thy love, let earth, O Lord; It shines transcendent in the eternal skies, Is praised in heaven—for man, the Saviour dies. Heaven shouts with joy, and saints his love proclaim Give us, O Lord, our food, nor cease to give Us needful food on which our souls may live! This be our boon to-day and days to come, Day without end in our eternal home. Our needy souls supply from day to day; Daily assist and aid us when we pray; Bread though we ask, yet, Lord, Thy blessings lend. And make us grateful when Thy gifts descend. Forgive our sins, which in destruction place Us, the vile rebels of a rebel race; Our follies, faults, and trespasses forgive, Debts which we ne’er can pay, nor Thou receive. As we, O Lord, our neighbor’s faults o’erlook, We beg Thou ’d’st blot ours from Thy memory’s book. Forgive our enemies, extend Thy grace Our souls to save, e’en Adam’s guilty race. Debtors to Thee in gratitude and love, And in that duty paid by saints above, Lead us from sin, and in thy mercy raise Us from the tempter and his hellish ways. Not in our own, but in His name who bled, Into Thine ear we pour our every need. Temptation’s fatal charm help us to shun, But may we conquer through Thy conquering Son; Deliver us from all that can annoy Us in this world, and may our souls destroy. From all calamities that man betide, Evil and death, O turn our feet aside,— For we are mortal worms, and cleave to clay,— Thine ’tis to rule, and mortals to obey. Is not thy mercy, Lord, forever free? The whole creation knows no God but Thee. Kingdom and empire in Thy presence fall; The King eternal reigns the King of all. Power is Thine—to Thee be glory given, And be thy name adored by earth and heaven. The praise of saints and angels is Thy own; Glory to Thee, the Everlasting One. Forever be Thy holy name adored. AMEN! Hosannah! blessed be the Lord. TRIFLING OF BIBLE COMMENTATORS.Dr. Gill, in his Expository, seriously tells us that the word ABBA read backwards or forwards being the same, may teach us that God is the father of his people in adversity as well as in prosperity. THE PRAYER ECHOED.If any be distressed, and fain would gather Some comfort, let him haste unto Our Father. For we of hope and help are quite bereaven Except Thou succor us Who art in heaven. Thou showest mercy, therefore for the same We praise Thee, singing, Hallowed be Thy name. Of all our miseries cast up the sum; Show us thy joys, and let Thy kingdom come. We mortal are, and alter from our birth; Thou constant art; Thy will be done on earth. Thou madest the earth, as well as planets seven, Thy name be blessed here As ’tis in heaven. Nothing we have to use, or debts to pay, Except Thou give it us. Give us this day Wherewith to clothe us, wherewith to be fed, For without Thee we want Our daily bread. We want, but want no faults, for no day passes But we do sin. Forgive us our trespasses. No man from sinning ever free did live Forgive us, Lord, our sins, As we forgive. If we repent our faults, Thou ne’er disdain’st us; We pardon them That trespass against us; Forgive us that is past, a new path tread us; Direct us always in Thy faith, And lead us— Us, Thine own people and Thy chosen nation, Into all truth, but Not into temptation. Thou that of all good graces art the Giver, Suffer us not to wander, But deliver Us from the fierce assaults of world and devil And flesh; so shalt Thou free us From all evil. To these petitions let both church and laymen With one consent of heart and voice, say, Amen. THE PRAYER IN AN ACROSTIC.In the following curious composition the initial capitals spell, “My boast is in the glorious Cross of Christ.” The words in italics, when read from top to bottom and bottom to top, form the Lord’s Prayer complete:— Make known the Gospel truths, Our Father King; Yield up thy grace, dear Father from above; Bless us with hearts which feelingly can sing, “Our life thou art for ever, God of Love!” Assuage our grief in love for Christ, we pray, Since the bright prince of Heaven and glory died, Took all our sins and hallowed the display, Infinite be-ing—first man, and then the crucified. Stupendous God! thy grace and power make known; In Jesus’ name let all the world rejoice. Now all the world thy heavenly kingdom own, The blessed kingdom for thy saints the choice. How vile to come to thee is all our cry, Enemies to thy self and all that’s thine, Graceless our will, we live for vanity, Lending to sin our be-ing, evil in our design. O God, thy will be done from earth to Heaven; Reclining on the Gospel let us live, In earth from sin deliver-ed and forgiven, Oh! as thyself but teach us to forgive. Unless it’s power temptation doth destroy, Sure is our fall into the depths of woe, Carnal in mind, we’ve not a glimpse of joy Raised against Heaven; in us no hope can flow. O give us grace and lead us on thy way; Shine on us with thy love and give us peace; Self and this sin that rise against us slay; Oh! grant each day our trespass-es may cease. Forgive our evil deeds that oft we do; Convince us daily of them to our shame; Help us with heavenly bread, forgive us, too, Recurrent lusts, and we’ll adore thy name. In thy forgive-ness we as saints can die, Since for us and our trespasses so high, Thy son, our Saviour, bled on Calvary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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