Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation… I. This, then, is the meaning of life: it is a probation. The real problem of every man's existence is his own character, what it is and how it shall issue. And to this end everything is probing him. Adversity is probing him; prosperity is probing him; and not only life in its generals, but life in every one of its details, is probing him: Every influence he feels, whether of the Holy Spirit, or of the angels, or of his fellow-men, or of demons, probes him. II. Observe now, that our heavenly Father, in His wise love, is sometimes pleased to subject us to unusual temptation, testing, probing. This is implied in the petition which His Son, our Lord, has taught us to offer: "Father, lead us not into temptation!" There is in this word "lead" a distinct, emphatic recognition of the Father's administration, or, as we say, providence. Our circumstances in life are not the result of chance on the one hand, or of fate on the other. Thus He led Abraham when He commanded him to offer up Isaac. It came to pass that God did tempt, i.e., try, prove, Abraham. And all this explains the prayer which our Lord bids us repeat: "Father, lead us not into temptation." It is the prayer of genuine humility and profoundest self-distrust. III. Observe now, that each one is to offer this prayer not only for himself, but also for the whole world. Human society is a brotherhood of peril; let it therefore also be a brotherhood of intercession and sympathy and mutual help. In drawing our meditation to a close, let me beseech you to keep away from temptation as well as to pray against being led into it. And yet our heavenly Father, for purposes of testing us, of revealing us to ourselves, of developing, fortifying, and perfecting our characters, of animating others by the example of our steadfastness, may deem it best not to grant the petition which His own Son has taught us: "Lead us not into temptation." "Prayer, meditation, temptation, make the theologian," said the great ; and, let us add, not the theologian only, but also the Christian. Nothing so buttresses character as a great victory over a great foe. (G. D. Boardman, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. |
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