Lord's Day Questions with proof texts
Link to audio recording of LD 50
Summary (NotebookLM)
In this Lord's Day, Ursinus looks at the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." He examines the meaning and purpose of praying for temporal blessings, outlining eight specific reasons why believers should petition God for daily necessities, such as obedience to divine command and for the confirmation of spiritual confidence. Furthermore, the text meticulously analyzes the terms used in the petition, including why Christ refers to "bread" (to signify all necessities), "our" (implying lawful acquisition), and "daily" (to restrain boundless desires). Finally, the source addresses the complex questions of whether it is permissible to pray for riches or to save resources for the future, concluding that while excessive wealth should not be sought, frugality and provision for the future are acceptable, provided trust remains in God.
Chapter Content:
This briefing document provides a comprehensive analysis of the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," as detailed in the exposition of Lord's Day 50. The analysis reveals that this petition is not merely a request for food but a profound theological statement about divine providence, human dependence, and the nature of trust.
The core interpretation defines "daily bread" as a prayer for all bodily necessities, grounded in the acknowledgment that God is the "only fountain of all good." It asserts that without God's blessing, neither human labor nor the gifts themselves can be of any profit, thereby demanding a complete withdrawal of trust from all created things and a singular reliance on God. The petition's placement in the middle of the Lord's Prayer is strategic; it uses the tangible provision of temporal needs to confirm and strengthen faith in receiving the more critical spiritual blessings that bookend the prayer.
The document outlines eight primary reasons for praying for temporal blessings, including divine command, divine promise, the glorification of God's providence, and the necessity of sustenance to perform God's will. The proper manner of this prayer requires faith, submission to God's will, confidence in receiving what is necessary, and the intention to use these gifts to serve God and others.
A detailed deconstruction of the petition's language clarifies its key terms:
• "Bread" is a synecdoche for all necessities of life (food, health, peace) and, crucially, for God's blessing which makes them profitable.
• "Our" signifies that which is allotted by God and acquired through lawful, honest labor, to be used with a clear conscience.
• "Daily" and "This Day" are included to restrain boundless desires, combat distrust, and foster a continual, day-by-day dependence on God through constant prayer.
Finally, the analysis addresses practical applications concerning wealth and savings. It distinguishes between praying for necessities (lawful) and praying for an abundance of riches (to be deprecated as a spiritual snare). While saving for the future is deemed lawful and wise—supported by scripture—it is subject to strict conditions: the savings must be lawfully acquired, they must not become an object of trust, and they must be intended for proper use in supporting oneself, one's family, the church, and the poor.
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I. The Meaning and Placement of the Fourth Petition
Core Interpretation
According to Question 125, the fourth petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," is a comprehensive plea for God to "provide for all our bodily need." The purpose of this request extends beyond mere sustenance; it is designed to foster a specific spiritual posture in the petitioner:
1. Acknowledgment of Source: To recognize that God is the "only fountain of all good."
2. Recognition of Insufficiency: To understand that without God's blessing, "neither our care and labor, nor Thy gifts, can profit us."
3. Transfer of Trust: To consequently "withdraw our trust from all creatures and place it alone in You."
Theological Placement in the Lord's Prayer
The petition for temporal needs is intentionally situated in the middle of the prayer, framed by petitions for spiritual blessings. This arrangement is explained as a consideration for human "infirmities." The structure allows prayer to both begin and end with petitions for the most important spiritual matters, while the tangible experience of receiving temporal benefits serves to "confirm in us more and more a confidence of obtaining spiritual blessings."
II. Rationale for Praying for Temporal Blessings
The source provides eight distinct reasons why believers should pray for temporal blessings, moving beyond mere necessity to encompass theological and spiritual justifications.
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Reason |
Description |
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1. Divine Command |
God explicitly commands this prayer, both generally ("Ask and it shall be given you") and specifically through the prescription of the Lord's Prayer itself. This command condemns distrust, not the act of asking. |
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2. Divine Promise |
God has promised to provide all things necessary for life. Prayer is the means by which believers actively desire and express confidence in this promise. |
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3. God's Glory |
This petition is an act of acknowledging and professing God's providence over the church, attributing all good things to Him rather than to chance. |
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4. Personal Comfort |
When these gifts are received, they act as "expressions of God’s good-will," comforting believers with the assurance that they are children of God to whom such blessings are promised. |
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5. Exercise of Faith |
The act of praying for temporal needs exercises one's confidence and hope, as it requires the foundational persuasion of being in God's favor. |
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6. Practical Necessity |
Daily bread is necessary to be able to "do the will of God on earth," for as the scripture states, "The dead praise not the Lord." (Ps. 115:17) |
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7. Confirmation |
The desire for these gifts confirms to the individual and professes to the world that God is the one who confers even the smallest provisions. |
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8. Church Preservation |
The prayer affirms the belief that the church will always be preserved, as God consistently hears these prayers and grants daily bread according to His promise. |
III. The Proper Manner of Prayer for Temporal Blessings
Praying for temporal things requires a specific disposition, distinct from prayers for spiritual blessings which are promised absolutely.
Four Core Conditions for Prayer:
1. With Faith: Prayers must be offered with confidence in God's promise; otherwise, they are not heard, and any received goods do not contribute to salvation.
2. With Submission to God's Will: The request must be conditional, asking that God provide what is pleasing to Him and what He knows will contribute to His glory and our ultimate advantage.
3. With Confidence of Being Heard: Believers should be confident that God will provide as much as is necessary to meet their actual needs.
4. With Correct Intention: The end goal must be to use these provisions to serve God and neighbor, not to satisfy "sensual desire."
Distinction from Spiritual Blessings
God does not specify in His word precisely which temporal blessings He will confer. The reasons for this are twofold:
• Human Ignorance: We often "are ignorant what we should pray for" and what would truly be good for us. God alone knows what is most profitable for our salvation and His glory.
• To Teach Contentment: This uncertainty teaches believers to be content with what they receive and to always submit their will to God's.
This contrasts with spiritual blessings (e.g., the Holy Spirit), which God has "simply and expressly promised" to all who ask. Therefore, spiritual blessings should be prayed for positively and without condition.
IV. Deconstructing the Petition's Language
Each word in the petition carries significant theological weight.
On "Bread": A Symbol of All Necessities
The term "bread" is a synecdoche, a common Hebraic figure of speech where a part represents the whole.
• Scope: It comprehends all temporal blessings necessary for the sustenance of life, including "food, raiment, health, civil peace, etc."
• The Blessing Component: Critically, the prayer is not just for the physical item but for its profitable use. Without God's blessing, bread is no better than a "stone or poison." God must grant "the virtue and power of nourishing" along with the gift itself.
• Didactic Purpose: Christ uses this term to restrain desires to only what is necessary and to teach us to pray for God's blessing upon what we receive.
On "Our" Bread: The Principle of Lawful Acquisition
The word "our" implies three conditions for the bread being requested:
1. Divine Allotment: It is "ours" because it is the portion God has designed and given to us.
2. Lawful Labor: It signifies things acquired through "lawful labor in some honest and proper calling," not through theft or unjust means.
3. Clear Conscience: It allows the recipient to use the gifts "cheerfully and with thanksgiving," not as a thief, but with the assurance of God's provision.
On "Daily" Bread: A Call for Restraint
The adjective "daily" serves to limit the scope of the request:
• It instructs us to ask for what is sufficient for each day's need.
• It acts as a check on "raging and boundless desires," promoting contentment with what is sufficient.
On "This Day": A Mandate for Constant Dependence
The addition of "this day" reinforces the theme of reliance on God:
• It guards against the vices of distrust (anxiety about the future) and covetousness.
• It fosters a moment-by-moment dependence on God, expecting provision today just as it was given yesterday.
• It ensures that the "exercise of faith and prayer may always be continued," fulfilling the command to pray without ceasing.
V. Practical Implications: Wealth, Riches, and Savings
The exposition extends the analysis to address the complex issues of wealth and financial planning.
The Question of Praying for Riches
The lawfulness of praying for riches depends entirely on the definition of the term.
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Definition of Riches |
Lawfulness of Prayer |
Rationale |
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Necessities |
Lawful |
Defined as a "sufficient amount of the things necessary for the support of life," these riches are synonymous with the "daily bread" we are commanded to ask for. |
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Abundance / Excess |
Unlawful |
Defined as "an abundance and plenty over and above what is necessary," these riches are to be "deprecated." They are called "thorns" by Christ and a "snare" by Paul, leading to "foolish and hurtful lusts." |
If God does grant abundance, it must be stewarded with extreme care, observing three rules:
1. Do not place trust in them.
2. Avoid luxury and abuse of the gifts.
3. Act as a steward, using them to promote God's glory with the knowledge that an account must be rendered.
The Lawfulness of Saving for the Future
Saving for the future is presented as both right and proper, directly supported by Christ's command to "Gather up the fragments that remain" (John 6:12) and Paul's instruction that parents should lay up provisions for their children (2 Cor. 12:14). It is also a practical necessity for supporting the commonwealth and aiding the poor.
However, this practice is governed by three critical conditions:
1. Lawful Acquisition: The stored goods must have been acquired through honest labor.
2. No False Confidence: Trust must not be placed in the saved provisions.
3. Proper Purpose: They must be preserved for lawful and necessary uses, such as supporting one's family, the church, the state, and the needy.
VI. Addressing Theological Objections
The text preemptively refutes three potential objections arising from the interpretation of this petition.
1. Objection: If the bread is already "ours," why pray for it?
◦ Resolution: The word "our" is ambiguous. It is not "ours" in the sense of being in our power, but "ours" because it becomes so by the gift of God, obtained through prayer.
2. Objection: If bread is obtained by prayer, why is labor necessary?
◦ Resolution: Labor is not the ultimate efficient cause of provision, but it is the necessary means instituted by God. God gives freely, but not without the means of labor and prayer.
3. Objection: If we are to pray only for "this day," is it not unlawful to save for tomorrow?
◦ Resolution: The command "Take no thought for the morrow" forbids distrustful anxiety, not prudent labor or planning. The petition for "this day" is meant to be repeated daily, covering the needs of tomorrow when it becomes today. The goal is to remove covetousness and distrust, not to forbid responsible provision for the future.
What is the theological explanation for praying for temporal blessings?
The commentary comprehensively justifies the theological necessity of praying for temporal blessings (the Fourth Petition, "Give us this day our daily bread") through several interconnected reasons, emphasizing obedience, the manifestation of divine providence, and the confirmation of spiritual faith. The necessity is so strong that the commentary asserts we should desire and pray for temporal blessings from God no less than such as are spiritual.
The justifications for praying for temporal blessings are as follows:
1. Obedience to Divine Command
Praying for temporal blessings is necessary simply on account of the command of God, which the source states should be sufficient even if no other reason could be assigned.
General Command: Christ issues a general command when he instructs believers, “Ask and it shall be given you” (Matt. 7:7).
Special Command: Christ also gives a special command by prescribing the Lord’s Prayer form itself, which specifically includes asking for bread, or temporal blessings.
Clarification on Distrust: When Christ instructs believers to take no thought about what they shall eat (Matt. 5:31, 33), He does not forbid asking for daily bread, but rather condemns distrust, or a want of confidence in God.
2. Acknowledging God’s Providence and Glory
This petition is theologically necessary because it serves to glorify God and profess His role as Creator and Provider.
Profession of Providence: The request for temporal blessings is an acknowledgment and profession of the providence of God, especially towards the church.
Source of All Good: God desires this praise because He is the source of all good things, ensuring that believers do not suppose that these benefits come by mere chance.
3. Confirmation of Faith and Spiritual Assurance
Praying for daily needs is fundamentally linked to exercising and confirming spiritual confidence.
Divine Promise: God has promised to give all things necessary for life. These promises exist so that believers might desire and pray for these things, enabling them to have a firm confidence that they will obtain them, which is described as a spiritual confidence.
Exercise of Confidence: The desire and expectation of these temporal benefits serve as an exercise of our confidence and hope.
Assurance of Favor: The commentary notes that believers cannot desire and pray for temporal blessings from God unless they are first persuaded that they are in favor with him, nor can they promise themselves temporal blessings unless they are assured of spiritual blessings and God’s goodwill.
Comfort and Good-Will: When these good gifts are conferred, they serve as expressions of God’s good-will towards us, contributing to our comfort and reinforcing the belief that we are among the children of God to whom these things are promised.
Confirmation before the World: The desire for these things confirms to the believer, and acts as a profession before the world, that it is God who confers upon us even the smallest gifts.
4. Enabling Service and Preserving the Church
Temporal blessings are necessary to fulfill divine duties and maintain the existence of the church.
Necessity for Service: Praying for daily bread is necessary on account of our necessity, specifically that we may be able to do the will of God on earth. Without daily bread, the will of God cannot be done ("The dead praise not the Lord," Ps. 115:17).
Preservation of the Church: This petition offers the comfort that the church shall always be preserved on earth, since God constantly hears these prayers and will grant daily bread according to His promise.
Placement in the Prayer
Regarding the structure of the Lord's Prayer, Christ placed the Fourth Petition ("daily bread") in the middle, recognizing human infirmities. This specific placement allows believers to begin and end their prayers with petitions for spiritual blessings as the most important, while the experience of obtaining and receiving temporal benefits helps to confirm in us more and more a confidence of obtaining spiritual blessings.
How
does Christ restrain desires?
Christ primarily restrains believers' desires by comprehending all temporal blessings under the term "bread" in the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer ("Give us this day our daily bread").
This deliberate choice of the term "bread" serves two specific purposes in restraining desires:
Limiting the scope of requests to necessities: Christ uses the term "bread" to restrain our desires and teach us to pray only for such things as are necessary for the support of life and for the service of God and our neighbor, both in our common and proper calling. By praying for "bread," we are requesting only such things as are necessary for us, rather than great riches or an abundance over and above what is necessary. This definition aligns with a true sense of richness, which is having a sufficient amount of the things necessary for the support of life and being contented with them.
Guarding against boundlessness and covetousness: Christ calls the requested provision "daily bread" and adds the phrase "this day" to further restrain desires.
"Daily bread" restrains our raging and boundless desires by teaching us to ask only as much as is sufficient for us—what is necessary to serve God and our neighbor in our various callings.
Adding the phrase "This day" meets and guards against distrust and covetousness.
In essence, Christ uses the specific phrasing of the petition—requesting only "daily bread, this day"—to ensure that believers avoid covetousness and the harmful pursuit of excess, which the sources note can lead men into temptations, snares, and hurtful lusts. The emphasis remains on praying for necessity and sufficiency.
How does the term "bread" function in the fourth petition?
The term "bread" acts as a synecdoche in the Fourth Petition ("Give us this day our daily bread") because it is a common rhetorical figure in the Hebrew language.
Christ uses this synecdoche for a specific purpose: to comprehend all temporal blessings under one simple term.
Here is a detailed explanation of why "bread" is used as a synecdoche and what it represents:
1. Linguistic Justification (Synecdoche)
The use of "bread" (a part) to represent all temporal needs (the whole) is justified because this figure of speech is common in the Hebrew language.
This is evident in other biblical passages cited in the commentary, such as:
“In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread” (Gen. 3:19).
“He that did eat of my bread has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps. 41:9).
2. Comprehensive Representation of Needs
Under the term "bread," Christ comprehends all temporal blessings and such things as are necessary for the sustenance of life.
Explicit Examples: These necessities include:
Food
Raiment (clothing)
Health
Civil peace
Theological Necessity: This synecdoche is necessary because we pray for bread out of our necessity, but there are many other things besides bread necessary for us. Therefore, when believers pray for "bread," they are praying for all these necessities.
3. Purpose of the Synecdoche (Restraint and Use)
By using "bread," Christ achieves two key restraints on the believer's desires:
Restraining Desires: It teaches us to pray only for such things as are necessary for the support of life, and for the service of God and our neighbor, both in our common and proper calling. This prevents requests for great riches or superfluous abundance.
Comprising Profitable Use: The term "bread" does not merely include the physical necessities but also comprises such a use of these things as is profitable. Bread itself, apart from a profitable use, is considered "no better than a stone". We pray that God's blessing accompanies the bread, making it profitable and salutary.
The use of "bread" as a synecdoche functions like asking for "a roof over one's head" when seeking a home. You are asking for the entire shelter, but using the most basic, representative part—the roof—to emphasize the necessity and sufficiency of the request, rather than demanding a lavish mansion.
How should blessings be sought?
Temporal blessings (comprehended under the term "daily bread" in the Fourth Petition) are to be sought and prayed for in a disciplined manner, combining faith, submission, purpose, and labor.
The sources outline four specific requirements for the manner in which temporal blessings are to be sought:
1. With Confidence in God's Promise (Faith)
Prayer must be offered up with confidence in the promise of God, or from faith.
If prayers are offered up differently (without faith), they are not heard.
Furthermore, even if good things are received, they are not made contributary to our salvation if the prayer lacked faith.
Believers must have a firm confidence that they shall obtain the things necessary for them, which is described as a spiritual confidence. This includes believing that God will give us as much as is necessary to meet our wants.
We must look in the exercise of faith to God, the author and giver of all good things.
2. With Submission to God's Will (Condition)
All requests for temporal blessings must be made with the condition of the will of God. This submission is necessary because God has promised temporal blessings not with any determined circumstances.
We should pray that God would give what is asked if it be pleasing to him.
We pray for blessings as he knows they may contribute to our advantage and his glory.
This submission is required because we are often ignorant what we should pray for and God knows best what blessings will be profitable for us and manifest His own glory.
We must learn to be contented with those things which we have received from God and always submit our will to the will of God.
3. With the Right End in View (Purpose)
Temporal blessings must be sought for the purpose of service, not for selfish or sensual gratification.
The goal is that we may in the use of these things serve God and our neighbor.
It is not that they may contribute to our sensual desire.
If we do not desire blessings this way, we are not heard; and even if we receive them, they are not made profitable to our salvation.
We should desire these blessings with a good conscience and with thanksgiving.
4. Through Lawful Means (Labor)
Temporal blessings must be sought through actively utilizing the means instituted by God, meaning prayer does not replace labor.
We must desire things necessary that are acquired by lawful labor in some honest and proper calling, pleasing to God and profitable to society at large.
We are to receive what we ask by ordinary means and lawful ways.
Labor is necessary as a means instituted by God, as the Scripture commands, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread" and "if any would not work, neither should He eat".
God gives all things freely, but not without labor and prayer on our part.
In essence, when seeking temporal blessings, we approach God both as confident recipients (faith) and as diligent stewards (labor) who acknowledge that the final utility and profit of the gift rests entirely on God’s blessing. The use of these gifts must align with the purpose of serving God and our neighbor.