(1) In the petition, "Deliver us from evil," we pray to be
yourselves as castaways. When David had stained himself with adultery and murder, he complained of his broken bones. Psalm 51:8. This metaphor sets forth the grief and agony of his soul; he lay in sore desertion three quarters of a year, and it is thought he never recovered his full joy to his dying day. O, therefore, you who belong to God and are enrolled in his family, take heed of blemishing your profession with scandalous sin; you will pay dearly for it. Think of the broken bones. Though God does not blot you out of his book—yet he may cast you out of his gracious presence. Psalm 51:2: He may keep you in long desertion. You may feel such lashes in your conscience, that you may roar out and think yourselves half in hell.
[2] We also pray in a special sense, "Deliver us from evil." We pray to be delivered from evil under a threefold notion.
1. From the evil of our heart, which is called an evil heart. Heb 3:12.
2. From the evil of Satan, who is called the "wicked one." Matthew 13:19.
3. From the evil of the world, which is called an "evil world." Gal 1:4.
(1) In the petition, "Deliver us from evil," we pray to be delivered from the evil of our HEART, that it may not entice us to sin. The heart is the poisoned fountain, from whence all actual sins flow. "For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness." Mark 7:21-22. The cause of all evil lies in a man's own bosom—all sin begins at the heart. Lust is first conceived in the heart, and then it is midwifed into the world. Whence comes rash anger? The heart sets the tongue on fire. The heart is a shop or workhouse, where all sin is contrived and hammered out. How