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… This petition recognizes the fact that every man has his weakness and limitations, and that it is safer" for him to be surrounded with good influences than with evil influences; that character grows better in a congenial than in an uncongenial atmosphere. We must encounter evil, our daffy duty will bring us often face to face with it; but some paths are safer than others, some associations are less hostile to virtue than others; and the prayer is that God will lead us into those paths where the danger is least; that, so far as it is consistent with duty, His kind providence will keep us out of associations where our virtue will be assailed. To ask God that He will not lead us into such exposures is not to imply that He is likely to do this, and must be besought not to do it; it means, simply, lead us out of and away from temptation. The petition contains something like what the logicians call a negative pregnant, in which the negative of one thing implies the affirmation of the opposite. 1. The petition implies that God will lead us if we ask His guidance. 2. It also implies that if we will follow Him, He will lead us into safe places, and away from the snares that are set for our feet. 3. It expresses our desire to be kept, so far as may be without neglecting duty, from exposure to the allurements of vice and sin; to be surrounded with virtuous rather than with vicious influences. 4. It confesses our faith that God will so keep us if we put our trust in Him. (Washington Gladden, 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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