The Daily Bread of a Faithful Government

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms:

Praying Regularly For the Lord's Good Protection in Grace

Good Morning!

It’s helpful when we come to this part of the catechism to literally consider what the petition is asking and what it is seeking of the Lord. We know at times in the history of Israel God gave bread to His covenant people. Whether as a whole as in the Wilderness, or in part as with David and the showbread or the widow brought a meal by a raven. He’s in the business of providing for the needs of those for whom His Son died. We mustn’t overly spiritualize the promises of God.

We can think sometimes because our problem is mainly spiritual that Jesus is only concerned about taking care of our justified standing before Jehovah. He is obviously in mind to take care of that, and He did so perfectly in the shedding of His blood and His keeping the law perfectly on our behalf and our receiving by faith alone the double imputation of His righteousness. However, when Christ looked on in compassion for those who had gathered to hear Him preach and they had not food for the evening He gave them a meal to eat with their mouths. While in John 6 it is shown that is sadly all they wanted from Him it does not change the fact that when presented with an issue our Lord didn’t answer them with spiritual platitudes, but filled their bellies as needed. He came to save us from our sins and be our King of Kings so that we would have all.

Here is the Q/A for today as we get into talking about the particulars of this question:

Q. 193. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?

A. In the fourth petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread,) acknowledging, that in Adam, and by our own sin, we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them; and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us, nor we to merit, or by our own industry to procure them; but prone to desire, get, and use them unlawfully: we pray for ourselves and others, that both they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day in the use of lawful means, may, of his free gift, and as to his fatherly wisdom shall seem best, enjoy a competent portion of them; and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them, and contentment in them; and be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort.

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