“God loveth thee, but not thy sin;
He would thou shouldst be pure and clean;
That which defileth, cast away;
Thy steps direct in wisdom’s way.
Give him thy heart and soul and be
His own, because God loveth thee.”
In this petition we come to the first sad note in the Lord’ Prayer. The first three petitions, it has been said, angels and saints in heaven could offer. The fourth could have been used in Eden, for in innocency our first parents received their daily bread from God. But the fifth is only for sinners of our fallen race. It is a cry out of the depths; a cry however, which every mortal needs to make. Not to make it is to stay in one’s sins. The path of penitence is the only path that leads toward the gates of heaven.
The word “and” in this petition is suggestive and important. We need food, and we pray to our Father, asking him to give us what we need day by day. But though the wants of our body are supplied most abundantly, we should still perish forever if that were all we received from heaven. God’s most bountiful gifts are not enough; with these we must obtain also God’s mercy. The prayer which pleads “Father, give,” must cry also “Father, forgive.” It is an essential link, therefore, which binds together as in one the two petitions, “Give us the day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts.” We must never rend them apart, but must always offer them in the same breath.
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