Chapter XI.
38. The sevenfold number of these petitions also seems to me to correspond to that sevenfold number out of which the whole sermon before us has had its rise.338
| 338 Lange draws a comparison between the petitions and the Beatitudes similar to that which follows.
|
For if it is the
fear of
God through which the
poor in spirit are
blessed, inasmuch as theirs is the
kingdom of
heaven; let us ask that the name of
God may be
hallowed among men through that “
fear which is
clean, enduring for ever.”
339
If it is
piety through which the
meek are
blessed, inasmuch as they shall
inherit the
earth; let us ask that His
kingdom may come, whether it be over ourselves, that we may become
meek, and not
resist Him, or whether it be from
heaven to
earth in the splendour of the
Lord’s
advent, in which we shall
rejoice, and shall be
praised, when He says, “Come, ye
blessed of my
Father,
inherit340
| 340 Accipite; Vulgate, possidete.
|
the
kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation341
| 341 Origine, Vulgate, constitutione.
|
of the
world.”
342
For “in the
Lord,” says the
prophet, “shall my
soul be
praised; the
meek shall hear thereof, and be
glad.”
343
If it is
knowledge through which those who
mourn are
blessed, inasmuch as they shall be
comforted; let us
pray that His will may be done as in
heaven so in
earth, because when the body, which is as it were the
earth, shall agree in a final and complete
peace with the
soul, which is as it were
heaven, we shall not
mourn: for there is no other mourning belonging to this present time, except when these
contend against each other, and compel us to say, “I see another
law in my
members, warring against the
law of my
mind;” and to testify our
grief with tearful voice, “O
wretched344
| 344 Miser; Vulgate, infelix.
|
man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this
death?”
345
If it is fortitude through which those are
blessed who
hunger and
thirst after
righteousness, inasmuch as they shall be filled; let us
pray that our
daily bread may be given to us to-day, by which, supported and sustained, we may be able to reach that most
abundant fulness. If it is
prudence through which the merciful are
blessed, inasmuch as they shall obtain
mercy; let us
forgive their
debts to our
debtors, and let us
pray that ours may be
forgiven to us. If it is
understanding through which the pure in
heart are
blessed, inasmuch as they shall see
God; let us
pray not to be led into
temptation, lest we should have a double
heart, in not seeking after a single good, to which we may refer all our actings, but at the same time pursuing things temporal and earthly. For
temptations arising from those things which seem to men burdensome and calamitous, have no
power over us, if those other
temptations have no
power which
befall us through the enticements of
such things as men
count good and cause for rejoicing. If it is
wisdom through which the
peacemakers are
blessed, inasmuch as they shall be called the
children of
God;
346
let us
pray that we may be freed from
evil, for that very
freedom will make us free,
i.e. sons of
God, so that we may
cry in the spirit of
adoption, “
Abba,
Father.”
347
| 347 Rom. viii. 15 and Gal. iv. 6.
|
39. Nor are we indeed carelessly to pass by the circumstance, that of all those sentences in which the Lord has taught us to pray, He has judged that that one is chiefly to be commended which has reference to the forgiveness of sins: in which He would have us to be merciful, because it is the only wisdom for escaping misery. For in no other sentence do we pray in such a way that we, as it were, enter into a compact with God: for we say, “Forgive us, as we
also forgive.” And if we lie in that compact, the whole prayer is fruitless. For He speaks thus: “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.”
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
