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faithfulness,b diligence, zeal,d sincerity,e and constancy,f as the angels do in heaven.g

Q. 193. What do we pray for in the fourth petition ?

A. In the fourth petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread,h) acknowledging, that in Adam, and by our own sin, we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them ;i

Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee: behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.

b Isa. xxxviii. 3. And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight and Hezekiah wept sore.

c Psal. cxix. 4, 5. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

Rom. xii. 11. Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.

e Psal. cxix. 80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.

f Psal. cxix. 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.

g Isa. vi. 2, 3. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Psal. eiii. 20, 21. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure. Mat. xviii. 10. Take heed, that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 193. h Mat. vi. 11.

i Gen. ii. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Gen. iii. 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Rom. viii. 20, 21, 22. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope: Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain together until now. Jer. v. 25. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. Deut. xxviii. 15 to the end of the chapter. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store, &c.

and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us,k nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them ;m but prone to desire," get, and use them unlawfully :P we pray for ourselves and others, that both they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day in the use of lawful means, may, of his free gift, and as to his fatherly wisdom shall seem best, enjoy a competent portion of them ; and have the same continued and blessed unto us, in our holy and comfortable use of them, and contentment in

k Deut. viii. 3. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, (which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know,) that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

1 Gen. xxxii. 10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant.

m Deut. viii. 17, 18. And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

n Jer. vi. 13. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness: and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. Mark vii. 21, 22. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, des ceit.

o Hos. xii. 7. He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

P James iv. 3. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

q Gen. xliii. 12, 13, 14. And take double money in your hand: and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight. Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man. And God Almighty give you mercy before the man-Gen. xxviii. 20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on. Eph. iv. 28. Let him that stole, steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 2 Thes. iii. 11, 12. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies. Now them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. Phil. iv. 6. Be careful for nothing: but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

r 1 Tim. iv. 3, 4, 5. Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

them; and be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort.t

Q.194. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?

A. In the fifth petition, (which is, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,) acknowledging, that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and thereby become debtors to the justice of God; and that neither we, nor any other creature, can make the least satisfaction for that debt:w we pray for ourselves and others, that God of his free grace, would, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ apprehended and applied by faith, acquit us both from the guilt and punishment of sin, accept us in his Beloved,y continue his favour and grace to us, pardon our daily failings, and fill us with peace and joy, in giving

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s 1 Tim. vi. 6, 7, 8. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith

content.

t Prov. xxx. 8, 9. Remove far from me vanity and lies: 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 least I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

194. v Mat. vi. 12.

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w Rom. iii. 9 to 22. What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one, &c. That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, &c. Mat. xviii. 24, 25. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. Psal. cxxx. 3, 4. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities: O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

x Rom. iii. 24, 25, 26. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God: to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Heb. ix. 22. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

y Eph. i. 6, 7. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

z 2 Pet. i. 2. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

a Hos. xiv. 2. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord, say un

us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness ;b which we are the rather emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have this testimony in ourselves, that we from the heart forgive others their offences.c

Q. 195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A. In the sixth petition, (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,d) acknowledging, that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God, for divers holy and just ends, may so order things, that we may be assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations ;e that Satan,f the world, and the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside, and ensnare us;h and that we even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption,i weak

to him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Jer. xiv. 7. O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee.

b Rom. xv. 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace m believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Psal. li. 7, 8, 9, 10, 12. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken, may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins; and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: and uphold me with thy free Spirit.

c Luke xi. 4. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.-] -Mat. vi. 14, 15. For, if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Mat. xviii. 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

195. d Mat. vi. 13.

e 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

f 1 Chron. xxi. 1. And Satan stood up against Israel, and provokeď David to number Israel.

g Luke xxi. 34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you anawares. Mark iv. 19.And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

h James i. 14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

i Gal. v. 17. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

ness, and want of watchfulness,k are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose ourselves unto temptations,1 but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them;m and worthy to be left under the power of them :" we pray, that God k Mat. xxvi. 41. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

7 Mat. xxvi. 69 to 72. Now Peter sat without in the palace; and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Gal. ii. 11 to 14. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter-2 Chron. xviii. 3. And Ahab, king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and he will be with thee in the war. Compared with 2 Chron. xix. 2. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer, went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldst thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.

m Rom. vii. 23, 24. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death! 1 Chron. xxi. 1 to 4. And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab, and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab: wherefore Joab departed.-2 Chron. xvi. 7 to 10. And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopeans and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him into a prison house; for he was in a rage with him, because of this thing: And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

ʼn Psal. lxxxi. 11, 12. But my people would not hearken to my voice:

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