37. What is the meaning of the ' Third' Petition: 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven'?
1. We ask that we and all men may do the will of God on earth as faithfully and cheerfully as the Angels and Saints do it in Heaven; and
2. We profess that, in all things, we submit ourselves to the holy will of God.
38. What do we ask for in the ' Fourth' Petition: 'Give us this day our daily bread '?
We ask that God would give us all that is daily necessary for our soul and body.
39. Why does Christ bid us ask for our ' daily' bread only?
To teach us that we should wish only for necessaries, not for riches and abundance.
'Having food, and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content' (1 Tim. vi. 8).
40. What do we ask for in the ' Fifth' Petition: ' Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us'?
That God would so forgive us all our sins as we forgive others who have offended us.
41. May those who do not forgive expect forgiveness themselves?
No; on the contrary, they pass judgment upon themselves as often as they say the Our Father.
' Forgive thy neighbor if he hath hurt thee; and then shail thy sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest' (Ecclus. xxviii. 2).
42. What do we ask for in the ' Sixth' Petition: 'Lead us not into temptation '?
We ask that God would remove from us all temptations and all the dangers of sin, or, at least, give us grace, sufficient to resist them.
