Chapter 4
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another man and we could express some wish in his regard; or as if it would hurt Him if we did not express the wish.
Certainly it is right that God should be blessed in all places and at all times because it is every man's duty to be ever mindful of His benefits, but this wish takes the form of a benediction. (3) Moreover, when is the name of God not holy and blessed in itself, when of itself it makes others holy? To Him the attending hosts of angels cease not to say:
'Holy, holy, holy!'5 Therefore, we, too—the future comrades of the angels, if we earn this reward—become familiar even while here on this earth with that heavenly cry of praise to God and the duty of our future glory.
(4) So much for the glory we give to God. Over and above that, there is reference to our own petition when we say:
'Hallowed be thy name.' We are asking that it be sanctified in us who are in Him, as well as in all other men for whom the grace of God is still waiting. In this, too, we obey the precept by praying for all men, even our enemies. And thus, by an ellipsis, we say, not: 'May Thy name be hallowed among us,' but, we say: 'Among all men.'
Chapter 4 (1) Next, we add this phrase: 'Thy will be done in heaven and on earth.' Not that anyone could prevent the fulfillment of God's will and we should pray that His will be successfully accomplished, but we pray that in everything His will may be done. For, by a figure of speech, under the symbol of flesh and spirit we represent heaven and earth. (2) But, even if 5 Isa. 6.3; Apoc. 4.8. An allusion to the beginning of the Preface and the Sanctus of the Mass.
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this is to be understood literally, the sense of the petition is the same, namely, that the will of God be done in us on earth, in order that it may be done [by us] also in heaven. Now, what does God will but that we walk according to His teaching?
We ask, therefore, that He grant us the substance and riches of His will, for our salvation both in heaven and on earth, since the sum total of His will is the salvation of those whom
He has adopted as His children.
(3) This is the will of God which our Lord accomplished by His teaching, His works, and His sufferings. For, if He
Himself said that He did not His own will, but the will of His Father,1 without a doubt what He did was the will of His
Father, to which we are now summoned as to a model, that we, too, may teach and work and suffer even unto death.
That we may accomplish this there is need of God's will.2
(4) Likewise, when we say: 'Thy will be done,' we thereby wish well to ourselves because there is no evil in God's will, even if some adversity be inflicted upon one according to his deserts.
(5) Now, by this phrase we forearm ourselves for patient endurance since our Lord, too, willed to point out in His own flesh under the intensity of His Passion the weakness of the flesh. 'Father,' He said, 'remove this cup from Me,' and then, after reflection, He added: 'Yet not my will but thine be done.'3 He Himself was the will and power of the Father, yet He surrendered Himself to the will of His Father to indicate the patient endurance which is rightly due.
1 John 6.38.
2 I.e., God's gracious assistance.
3 Luke 22.42.
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Chapter 5 (1) The phrase, 'Thy kingdom come,' also refers to the same end as 'Thy will be done,' namely, [May Thy kingdom come] in ourselves. For, when does God not reign, 'in whose hand is the heart of every king'?1 But, whatever we wish for ourselves, we direct our hope toward Him, and we attribute' to Him what we expect from Him. Well, then, if the realiza tion of our Lord's kingdom has reference to the will of God and to our uncertain condition, how is it that some ask for an extension of time, as it were, for this world, since the kingdom of God—for the coming of which we pray—tends toward the consummation of the world? Our hope is that we may sooner reign, and not be slaves any longer. (2) Even if it were not prescribed to ask in prayer for the coming of His kingdom, we would, of our own accord, have expressed this desire in our eagerness to embrace the object of our hope. (3) With indignation the souls of the martyrs beneath the altar cry aloud to the Lord: 'How long, O Lord, dost thou refrain from avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'2
For, at least from the end of the world vengeance for them is ordained. (4) Indeed, as quickly as possible, O Lord, may
Thy kingdom come! This is the prayer of Christians; this shall bring shame to the heathens; this shall bring joy to the angels; it is for the coming of this kingdom that we are harassed now, or rather, it is for this coming that we pray.
1 Prov. 21.1.
2 Apoc. 6.10.
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Chapter 6 (1) With what exquisite choice has divine Wisdom ar ranged the order of this prayer that, after the matters which pertain to heaven—that is, after the name of God, the will of God, and the kingdom of God—it should make a place for a petition for our earthly needs, too! For our Lord has taught us: 'Seek first the kingdom, and then these things shall be given you besides.'1 (2) However, we should rather under stand 'Give us this day our daily bread' in a spiritual sense.
For Christ is 'our bread,' because Christ is Life and the Life is Bread. 'I am,' said He, 'the bread of life.'2 And shortly before: 'The bread is the word of the living God who hath come down from heaven.'3 Then, because His Body is considered to be in the bread: 'This is my body.'4 Therefore, when we ask for our daily bread, we are asking to live forever in Christ and to be inseparably united with His Body.
(3) But, since there is admitted also an interpretation of this phrase according to the flesh, it cannot be devoid of religious sense and spiritual instruction. Christ commands that we ask for bread, which, for the faithful, is the only thing necessary, for the pagans seek all other things. Thus, too,
He impresses His teaching by examples and He instructs by parables, saying, for example: 'Does a father take bread from his children and cast it to the dogs?'5 And again: 'If his son asks him for a loaf, will he hand him a stone?'6 He indicates what children expect from their father. That caller, too, who 1 Matt. 6.33; Luke 12.31.
2 John 6.35.
3 Ibid. 6.33.
4 Matt. 26.26; Mark 14.22; Luke 22.19.
5 Matt. 15.26; Mark 7.27.
6 Matt. 7.9; Luke 11.11.
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knocked upon the door in the night was asking for bread.7
(4) Moreover, He has rightly added: 'Give us this day' in view of what He had previously said: 'Do not be anxious about tomorrow, what you shall eat.'8 To this idea He also referred in the parable of that man who, when his crops were plentiful, laid plans for an addition to his barns and a longrange program of security—though he was destined to die that very night.9
Chapter 7 (1) Having considered God's generosity, we pray next for His indulgence. For, of what benefit is food if, in reality, we are bent on it like a bull on his victim?1 Our Lord knew that He alone was without sin.2 Therefore, He taught us to say in prayer: 'Forgive us our trespasses.' A prayer for pardon is an acknowledgment of sin, since one who asks for pardon con fesses his guilt.3 Thus, too, repentance is shown to be accept able to God, because God wills this rather than the death of the sinner.4
(2) Now, in Scripture, 'debt' is used figuratively to mean sin, because of this analogy: When a man owes something to a judge and payment is exacted from him, he does not escape the just demand unless excused from the payment of the debt,
7 Luke 11.5.
8 Matt. 6.34.
9 Luke 12.16-21.
1 I.e., consider it our only end.
2 Cf. John 8.46.
3 By exomologesis Tertullian means, according to the definition given in De paenitentia 12, the exterior act of penitence, whereas here and in Ch. 9.2 there predominates the etymological meaning of 'confession.'
4 Ezech. 33.11.
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just as the master forgave the debt to that servant. Now, this is the point of the whole parable: Just as the servant was freed by his lord, but failed in turn to be merciful to his debtor and therefore, when brought before his lord, was handed over to the torturer until he paid the last penny,5 that is, the least and last of his faults, [Christ] intended by this parable to get us, also, to forgive our debtors. (3) This is expressed elsewhere under this aspect of prayer; 'Forgive,' He said, 'and you shall be forgiven.'6 And when Peter asked if one should forgive his brother seven times, our Lord said, 'Rather, seventy times seven times,'7 that He might improve upon the Law, for in Genesis vengeance was demanded of Cain seven times, of Lamech seventy times seven.8
Chapter 8 (1) To complete the prayer which was so well arranged, Christ added that we should pray not only that our sins be forgiven, but that they be shunned completely: 'Lead us not into temptation,' that is, do not allow us to be led by the Tempter. (2) God forbid that our Lord should seem to be the tempter, as if He were not aware of one's faith or were eager to upset it! (3) That weakness and spitefulness belongs to the Devil. For, even in the case of Abraham, God had ordered the sacrifice of his son not to tempt his faith, but to prove it, that in him He-might set forth an example for His precept whereby He was later to teach that no one should hold his
5 Matt. 18.25-35.
6 Luke 6.37.
7 Matt. 18.21,22.
8 Gen. 4.15; 24.
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loved ones dearer than God.1 (4) Christ Himself was tempted by the Devil and pointed out the subtle director of the temptation. (5) This passage He confirms [by His words to His Apostles] later when He says: 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.'2 They were so tempted to desert their
Lord because they had indulged in sleep instead of prayer.
(6) Therefore, the phrase which balances and interprets 'Lead us not into temptation' is 'But deliver us from evil.'
Chapter 9 (1) How many utterances of the Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles; how many of our Lord's sermons, parables, examples, and precepts are touched in the brief compass of a few little words! How many duties are fulfilled! (2) The honor due to God in the word 'Father'; a testimony of faith in the very title used; the offering of obedience in the mention of God's will; the remembrance of hope in the mention of His kingdom; a petition for life in the mention of bread; the confession of sins in asking for pardon; solicitude regarding temptation in the request for protection. (3) Yet, why be surprised? God alone could teach us how He would have us pray. The homage of prayer, then, as arranged by Him and animated by His Spirit at the very moment it went forth from His divine lips, because of the prerogative granted to Him, ascends to heaven, recommending to the Father what the Son has taught.
1 Luke 14.26.
2 Luke 22.46.
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Chapter 10 (1) Since, however, our Lord, who saw the needs of men, after giving them the method of prayer, said: 'Ask and you shall receive,'1 and since every man has petitions to make according to his own circumstances, everyone first sends ahead the prescribed and customary prayer which will, so to speak, lay the ground work for his additional desires. He then has the right to heap upon this [substructure] petitions, over and above—ever keeping in mind, however, the prescribed conditions, that we may be no farther from the ears of God than from His teachings.
Chapter 11 (1) The remembrance of these teachings paves the way for our prayers to reach heaven, and the first of these is not to approach the altar of God without settling any controversy or quarrel we may have contracted with our brethren. For, how can one approach the peace of God without peace, or the forgiveness of sin when he nurses a grudge? How will he please his Father if he be angry with his brother, when all anger has been forbidden us from the beginning? (2) For Joseph, sending his brothers home to bring their father, said:
'Do not quarrel on the way l'1 He was, in fact, admonishing us—for elsewhere our manner of life is called our 'way'—that on the way of prayer that has been set up we must not approach the Father if we are angry. (3) Furthermore, our
1 Matt. 7.7; Luke 11.9.
1 Gen. 45.24.
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Lord, clearly enlarging upon the Law, adds anger with one's brother to the sin of murder. He does not permit even an evil word to be expressed; even if one must experience anger, it should not outlast the setting of the sun, as the Apostle reminds us.2 How foolhardy it is, moreover, either to pass a day without prayer, while you fail to give satisfaction to your brother, or to pray to no avail since your anger persists!
Chapter 12 (1) Since the attention of our prayer is bestowed by and directed to the same Spirit, it should be free not only from anger, but from any and every disturbance of the mind. For the Holy Spirit does not acknowledge an impure spirit, neither is a sad spirit recognized by the Spirit of Joy, nor a spirit that is bound by one that is free. No one extends a welcoming hand to an opponent; no one admits another unless he is a kindred spirit.
Chapter 13 (1) Furthermore, what is the sense of approaching prayer with hands that have been cleansed but with a spirit that is stained? Why, even the hands themselves need a spiritual cleansing that they may be raised to heaven cleansed of falsehood, murder, cruelty, poisoning, idolatry, and all other stains which, conceived in the spirit, are accomplished by the operation of the hands. This is the real cleansing, not the kind which many, in superstitious anxiety, attend to, taking
2 Eph. 4.26.
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water at every prayer, even when they come after a complete bath! (2) When I pondered this in detail and sought an ex planation, I found it told of Pilate that he washed his hands in the act of surrendering Christ. We adore Christ, we do not surrender Him. Surely, we ought rather to follow a course of conduct different from that of the traitor and for that very reason not wash our hands; except to wash them because of some stain resulting from our dealings with men, for our conscience's sake; but the hands are sufficiently clean which we have washed once and for all, together with the whole body, in Christ.
Chapter 14 (1) Though Israel may wash all its members every day, it is never clean. Its hands, at least, are always stained, forever red with the blood of the Prophets and of our Lord Himself.
Conscious, therefore, of this hereditary stain of their fathers, they do not dare to raise their hands to the Lord, lest some
Isaias cry out,1 lest Christ abominate them. In our case, not only do we raise them, we even spread them out, and, imitating the Passion of our Lord, we confess Christ as we pray.
Chapter 15 (1) Now, since we have mentioned one detail of religious observance that is foolish, we shall not be loathe to censure the others, too, in which vanity deserves to be reproved, inas1 Isa. 1.15.
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much as they are without the authority of any precept, either on the part of our Lord or any of the Apostles. Practices such as this are to be considered superstition rather than devout homage; affected and forced and indicative of scrupulosity rather than of a rational service; at any rate, constrained to match those of the pagans. (2) Take, for example, the practice some have of laying aside their cloaks when they pray. This is the way pagans approach their idols. Now certainly, if this were necessary, the Apostles would have included it in their instructions about the dress for prayer; unless there are some who think that it was during his prayer that Paul left his cloak with Carpus l1 I suppose that the God who heeded the prayer of the three holy youths in the furnace of the Babylonian king when they prayed in their wide oriental trousers and turbans2 would not listen to those who wear their cloaks during prayer!
Chapter 16 (1) Similarly, regarding the custom some have of sitting down when their prayer is ended: I see no reason for it except that they are acting like children.1 What do I mean? If that Hermas, whose writings generally bear the title 'The Shepherd,' had not sat upon his bed when his prayer was finished, but had done something else, would we adopt this practice, too?2 Certainly not! (2) For the phrase, 'When I 1 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.13.
2 Cf. Dan. 3.94.
1 I.e., they do everything they see anyone else do.
2 Hermae Pastor, Vis. 5.1.