Sermons on the Lord's Prayer/Sermon 5

by Oliver Prescott Hiller

SERMON V.

"Give us to-day our daily bread."—Matthew vi. 11.

This petition, when viewed in the light of the internal sense, is most comprehensive: it means, Give us, O Lord, every moment, all things we need for the body and the soul.

The expression "to-day" signifies, in the spiritual sense, perpetually, every instant, and also to eternity. That such is the signification of "to-day" and "daily" in the Word, is evident from the fact that in the Israelitish or representative Church, the daily offering of a lamb was called a perpetual burnt-offering.^[1] The same truth may be seen from the fact that, in the spiritual sense, by day is signified state: thus, "today" or "this day" signifies "in this state." Keeping before us this signification of "to-day," we may offer up the prayer, in the evening as well as in the morning, in sickness or in health, in trouble or in joy: in all it is applicable: for the petition is, that in this present state, whatever it be, whether of mind or of body, we may be gifted from the Lord with all things needful for us.

It may be remarked that the phrase "our daily bread," would have been more correctly translated "our sufficient," or, "our needful" bread. As the sentence stands in the common version, there appears to be a needless repetition of the word "day," which there is not in the original. It should be, "Give us to-day our sufficient [or our needful] bread."

Let us now consider the meaning of the term "bread." By "bread," in a natural sense, is signified food in general, all that sustains the bodily life.^[2] But, in a spiritual sense, it signifies all mental food, all that supports the spiritual life or life of the soul. Thus it signifies all goodness and truth, or love and wisdom; for these sustain the soul's life: this is the food of angels, and also the food of our spirits even now, while we are preparing to become angels; it is the food that nourishes us to life everlasting; and according to our reception of which we are growing inwardly into angelic form and beauty. In this sense, the Lord calls himself "Bread:" "I am," he says, "the living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever."^[3] The Lord calls himself "Bread," as being essential Goodness and Truth, the veriest food and life of the soul.

Now, the petition is, "Give us this day our needful bread:" Give us this day, this hour, this moment, all we need for our bodies and our spirits. Let us consider the petition first in its natural sense, and afterwards in its spiritual.

When we kneel down, and offer up this prayer, as we should do daily, we ask that the Lord, in his providence, will supply us with what is needful for our bodily wants, and for those of our families, or of such as are dependent upon us. And if this petition is offered in a humble and devout spirit, we may be sure it will be answered. The Lord knows all our wants, even to the minutest particular: "Your heavenly Father," said the Lord, "knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him."^[4] And he is both able and willing to supply them. Is he not the Almighty Creator and sustainer of the universe? Is he not the owner of all things? "The world," says he, "is mine, and the fulness thereof." "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."^[5] Nay, when he was in the world, dwelling as a man amongst men, did he not show his omnipotence, by creating bread instantaneously, and feeding five thousand with five loaves?—for, as it is declared, "he had compassion on the multitude, because they had nothing to eat; and he would not send them away fasting, lest they should faint by the way."^[6] And will not the same Jehovah Jesus, the one Lord of heaven and earth, have compassion on any of his children, whoever or wherever they be, who cry to him for food, and ask him for the necessaries of life? Assuredly, he will. Do not you think he knew, before you were born, everything you would need till the day of your death,—yes, and to eternity after? and would he have brought you into being, without knowing that he could provide for you? No: your minutest want was foreknown, and, in his Divine foresight, is already provided. He knows where you are to get each morsel you are to eat, every article of clothing you are to wear, and the roof that is to shelter you. For he has himself declared that "the very hairs of our heads are all numbered," that "not a sparrow falleth to the ground without our Father, and that we are of more value than many sparrows;"^[7] and he bids us, "Fear not, therefore."^[8] We may then pray for our "daily bread" with full trust that the Lord in his providence will supply us, and those dependent upon us, with all we need, provided we look to him, and at the same time do our duty.

But it may be asked, If the Lord is our heavenly Father, and if he knows all our wants, and is able and willing to supply them,—why does he require us to pray for them? why will he not supply them without prayer? The answer is,—because he wishes us to feel and to acknowledge our dependence upon him. And the reason he so wishes, is, to prevent our falling into pride and self-dependent states of mind, the effect of which would be to separate us from him, and thus to shut out the influence of his Spirit, which would be to shut out heaven and eternal happiness. The first end of the Lord in regard to us, is, to secure our salvation, our eternal happiness in heaven; for that we are created, for that we live. Now, heaven is not merely a place, but a state of the mind: it is a state, in which the heart is open to the Lord, and so is receptive of the blessednesses which are ever flowing from Him who is the oue Source of all blessing. But, it is humility that opens the heart; it is the state of looking up, and child-like dependence, and devout gratitude, that opens the mind, and conjoins it to the Lord, and so enables it to receive that flood of joy and bliss, which he pours into every soul that is open to receive it. This, then, is the reason, why the Lord requires us to pray, and to ask for what we want, even in natural things—namely, to accustom us to look to him and depend on him, and so become conjoined to him in spirit, in order that we may receive peace of mind even in this world, and after death life everlasting. It is thus from the Lord's love, and desire for our good and happiness, that he requires us to pray.

But now, it is to be remarked, that while the Lord requires us to pray for our daily bread, he also requires us to labor for it: that is, we are to obtain it from him not directly but indirectly. We are not, after prayer, to fold our hands, and wait for our food to be brought to us: we must work, as well as pray. This requirement is founded on a great law of Divine order: it is to the end that man may be man, and not a mere machine;—that he may be an active, and not merely a passive, being. In order that a man may be truly human,—that he may form, as it were, a character for himself, a character which he is to retain to eternity,—he must act as of himself; he must exercise his faculties; he must think, reason, judge, consider; he must try this and that, "he must endeavor and use exertions, altogether as if the result depended entirely on himself. Yet at the same time, he must look up and acknowledge that all the power to act, and all the wisdom to judge, come from the Lord alone, and he must pray to be continually gifted with that power, and guided by that wisdom. Thus doing, he effects two things: first, he keeps his mind open to the Lord by acknowledgment, and secondly, he receives power from the Lord by action; and thus he is gradually formed into an angelic man. He becomes a man, by exercising as of himself the faculties with which he is endowed,—by bringing into operation the light and strength which continually flow from the Lord into those faculties; and he becomes an angelic man, that is, an image and likeness of the Lord, by continually looking up to the one Source of all good, and thus receiving the love and wisdom which continually flow down from that source, and which mould his spirit into a heavenly form.

As you cannot steer a ship unless it is in motion, so the Lord cannot guide man unless he is in action. Were man merely to pray,—were he to remain ever on his knees looking up and asking, his prayer could not be answered. For even though a dove should fly down from heaven with a morsel in its beak, and lay it on his tongue, yet that would not be sufficient: he wants clothes as well as food, and a house to shelter him from the weather; and he wants many things besides these. Nor, even if all these were supplied him by a continual miracle, would he be content or happy. For happiness comes from within, not from without; it is chiefly a state of the mind; and a happy state of mind is not consistent with perfect passiveness,—with mere reception: there must be action added. For it is the glow of action, the delight of use, the pleasure of exercising the faculties in doing something beneficial to ourselves and others,—it is by these, chiefly, that happiness exists. The primal reason is, that God is activity itself: "My Father worketh hitherto," said the Lord, "and I work;"^[9] and the reason of that is, because he is Love itself,—and love, from its very nature and ardor, must exert itself in doing good to the being it loves. And it is in and from this Divine activity that God has his infinite joy. Man being created in God's image and likeness, it is infixed in the order of his nature that he can possess joy and happiness only in the same way, namely, in exercising love towards others, in the effort to benefit and bless them. All the angels are happy in this way, and man must learn to be so, too, if he would become an angel after death. Thus, then, action is the law of order. Consequently, man is required to work as well as pray, in order to form the habit of action; that thus he may come at length into that state of heavenly activity which is angelic and blessed. Were man already in that state,—did he find his delight, as the angels do, in doing good to others, and in exercising himself in pouring out blessing on those around him, there would be always a blessed return; others would do the same to him; and bread, and clothing, and comforts of all kinds and in abundance would be poured in upon him, and he would never want; and were all men in this state, this earth would be, as it was intended to be, a heaven below.

But, alas! men are now selfish. Man, in his fallen state, has perverted the order of his nature,—has departed from the Divine likeness in which he was created, and his chief concern is to get something for himself, thinking little of the good and happiness of others. And all men being such, this life is now a struggle among selfish competitors, and the earth thus has become changed from a heaven into a kind of hell: for self-love is the ruling principle of hell, as love to others is that of heaven. Hence, some snatch away the food of others, and these, consequently, are in want; and so, turning away from their selfish fellow-men, they look up to heaven, and cry for bread; and God could give them bread directly, if it were best for them that he should do so. But the Lord is desirous not only that they should have present bread for the body, but more desirous that they should have and feel the need of that "bread of life," that state of love and goodness, which alone can nourish their souls to life everlasting. He is desirous to convert them, to change and regenerate their natures. Hence, he does not answer their prayer directly, but requires that they go first and work, looking up to him at the same time for guidance. And while they are thus in action, he can guide and direct them,—gradually remould their spirits, push out evils here, introduce good affections there, and so, little by little, amidst trials, temptations, combats, strivings, daily labors, and every form of activity, he gradually accomplishes their regeneration; and thus, while indirectly supplying them with food for the body, he is at the same time inwardly nourishing them with the more precious food of the soul,—love and wisdom, and so preparing them to become angels of heaven. This, then, is the reason, why man must, as before said, not only pray for his daily bread, but labor for it at the same time. And if they do their duty faithfully, their wants will, under the Lord's providence, be certainly supplied.

But there are times in life,—it may be said—in which one has done and is doing all he can, and yet he has not a sufficient support for himself and his family; and there are times, when, in the derangement of general business one cannot get employment. This is no doubt true, and it is an effect direct or indirect of the present disordered state of society, occasioned by man's selfishness. But there is no case that can be mentioned or imagined, in which we are to despair, or in which we may not look up trustingly to the Lord, saying, "Give us our daily bread." If you are doing the best you can, using every exertion, trying in every way, then you may be sure a support will be provided for you in one way or another,—perhaps in a manner and at a time in which you least expected it, and when your surprise and delight will cause you to fall down on your knees in thankfulness. I say to you, the Lord would create bread for you directly, as he did to feed the five thousand, or shower down manna from heaven, as he did for the Israelites, or send ravens to feed you, as he did to Elijah—rather than permit any one to suffer, who trusts in him and does his duty. Remember the Psalmist's words, "I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."^[10] The Lord has a thousand ways of supplying you. Remember that he foresees everything; he is not like one taken by surprise. Before you were born, as already remarked, he knew all you would need, even to the minutest particular. Before you were married, he knew the offspring you would have, and all the wants of each one of them. He will put it into the heart of friends to assist you; he will cause you, in his providence, to meet with some one to whom your needs may be made known: and this, by the way, is sometimes an end for which Divine Providence permits even the good to be brought very, very low, namely, to break down their pride. You must not be too proud to make your wants known—after you have done all you reasonably can to supply them yourself. We are all dependent more or less on each other, and there may be seasons of distress in which an individual may be so placed as to be wholly or partially dependent on others. And if this is not his own wish nor doing, but he has been brought into that state by providential circumstances, it is nothing to be ashamed of: he must consider that this is the means which Providence has taken to supply him, and that the friends who so assist are merely the Lord's instruments. This consideration will enable him, while receiving their aid, still to preserve his self-respect. But you may be sure, that in one way or another, the Lord will provide for you and yours, if you look to him in daily prayer, and then do the best you can. "No good thing," as he has declared in his Word, "will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."^[11] "Commit thy way unto the Lord: trust also to him, and he shall bring it to pass."^[12] "Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee."^[13] These are texts applicable to every trouble in life.

I have dwelt thus fully upon the natural sense of this petition, because in the present selfish and disordered state of society, there are many individuals, even among the good and pious, who are at times concerned about the means of providing for the natural wants of themselves and their families; persons, who pray with earnestness, and wish they could pray with trust, "Give us this day our daily bread." I wish to assure them on Scriptural and also on rational grounds, that they may pray with perfect confidence that their prayer will be answered; and that they need not and must not be anxious; but, doing the duty of the present moment, leave the future to the Lord.

But we must now consider briefly the spiritual sense of this petition.

By the words, "Give us this day our daily [or our needful] bread," is meant, in the spiritual sense, a looking to the Lord, and an acknowledgment of our dependence upon him for our spiritual food,—for that which nourishes the heart and mind and the whole spiritual life. It is a prayer that the Lord will every moment keep and guide our thoughts and feelings; that he will supply thoughts for the understanding and affections for the will, in the degree and manner that in his wisdom he sees to be for our eternal good. And, after all,—though men in general think so much less of it—this is by far the more important concern of the two. The proper supply of the soul's nourishment is far more essential to our highest, that is, to our eternal, interests, than the supply of bodily food. The body will, in a few years, die and return to dust; but the soul is destined to an everlasting existence. And the condition of that existence, whether happy or unhappy, will depend upon the soul's having a due supply of its appropriate nourishment, from day to day, and from moment to moment now, in order that it may grow into the truly human and angelic form, into the image and likeness of the Lord.

Goodness and truth are the food of the soul, and these are meant in the spiritual sense by "bread." Hence, the Lord who is Goodness and Truth, or Love and Wisdom itself, calls himself "Bread." To eat of this Divine bread is to look to the Lord as God, and to become conjoined with him by doing his will and commandments. Then will a stream of love and truth flow from him into the soul, giving light and warmth to the whole inner man, and filling the spirit with peace.

Says the Doctrine of the New Church, "The manna given to the Israelites, and the daily bread mentioned in the Lord's Prayer, signify heavenly food, which is nothing else than love and charity, together with the goods and truths of faith. This food is given by the Lord to the angels every moment, thus forever and to eternity.^[14] It is also beautifully said in another place, "It is given to the angels by the Lord every moment what to think, and this with blessedness and felicity, and thus they are without cares or anxieties; and that this is what is meant in the internal sense by the Israelites receiving manna daily from heaven, and by the daily bread prayed for in the Lord's Prayer."^[15] How delightful thus to be supported by the Lord each moment! to be defended by him from evil, and to be blessed with good every instant; to have all our thoughts and feelings regulated and kept by him, so as to have anxiety and trouble removed far away, and peace, trust, and joy given instead. This is the state of the angels in heaven, and this should be our state, in some degree, even while here below, if we would become angels hereafter. We must learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in the Lord; we must fight against anxiety as a sin; we must make it our continual endeavor to keep close to the Lord, doing each moment, like obedient children, the duty set before us by his providence, and then leaving all the rest to him. As the little bird sings cheerily its last note, as the day-light fades, and, putting its head beneath its wing, sleeps peacefully, un-anxious about the morrow,—so we should lay our heads each night on our pillow, thankful to the Lord for the comforts and blessings we have that day enjoyed, and trusting that, in his Divine Goodness, the same will be given to-morrow, and every day, and in every state, to eternity.

1. See Numbers xxviii. 3-6.
2. See Judges xiii. 15, 16, where a kid is called bread.
3. John vi. 51.
4. Matthew vi. 8.
5. Psalm l. 12, 10.
6. Matthew xv. 32.
7. Matthew x. 29-31.
8. Luke xii. 7.
9. John v. 17.
10. xxxvii. 25.
11. Psalm lxxxiv. 11.
12. xxxvii. 5.
13. Psalm lv. 22.
14. A. C., 2838.
15. A. C., 2493.