Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament

⁸ But what is “in heaven and in earth,” or, “as in heaven so in earth?” The Angels do Your will; may we do it also. “Your will be done as in heaven so in earth.” The mind is heaven, the flesh is earth. When you say (if so be you do say it) with the Apostle, “With my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin;” the will of God is done in heaven, but not yet in earth. But when the flesh shall be in harmony with the mind, and “death shall be swallowed up in victory,” so that no carnal desires shall remain for the mind to be in conflict with, when strife in the earth shall have passed away, the war of the heart be over, and that be gone by which is spoken, “the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; so that you cannot do the things that you would;” when this war, I say, shall be over, and all concupiscence shall have been changed into charity, nothing shall remain in the body to oppose the spirit, nothing to be tamed, nothing to be bridled, nothing to be trodden down; but the whole shall go on through concord unto righteousness, and the will of God will be done in heaven and in earth. “Your will be done in heaven and in earth.” We wish for perfection, when we pray for this. “Your will be done as in heaven so in earth.” In the Church the spiritual are heaven, the carnal are earth. So then, “Your will be done as in heaven so in earth;” that as the spiritual do serve You, so the carnal being reformed may serve You also. “Your will be done as in heaven so in earth.” There is yet another very spiritual meaning of it. For we are admonished to pray for our enemies. The Church is heaven, the enemies of the Church are earth. What then is, “Your will be done as in heaven so in earth”? May our enemies believe, as we also believe in You! May they become friends, and end their enmities! They are earth, therefore are they against us; may they become heaven, and they will be with us.

9. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Now here it is manifest, that it is for ourselves we pray. When you say, “Hallowed be Your Name,” it requires explanation how it is that it is for yourself you pray, not for God. When you say, “Your will be done;” here again is there need of explanation, lest you think that you are wishing well to God in this prayer, that His will may be done, and not rather that you are praying for yourself. When you say, “Your kingdom come;” this again must be explained, lest you think that you are wishing well to God in this prayer that He may reign. But from this place and onwards to the end of the Prayer, it is plain that we are praying to God for our own selves. When you say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” you profess yourself to be God's beggar. But be not ashamed at this; how rich soever any man be on earth, he is still God's beggar. The beggar takes his stand before the rich man's house; but the rich man himself stands before the door of the great rich One. Petition is made to him, and he makes his petition. If he were not in need, he would not knock at the ears of God in prayer. And what does the rich man need? I am bold to say, the rich man needs even daily bread. For how is it that he has abundance of all things? Whence but because God has given it him? What should he have, if God withdrew His hand? Have not many laid down to sleep in wealth, and risen up in beggary? And that he does not want, is due to God's mercy, not to his own power.