Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For your is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. I. That is, IF WE BE LED INTO TEMPTATION, LET US BE KEPT FROM THE EVIL OF IT. It is a more wonderful providence to be kept from the evil, than from temptation. If a garrison be never assaulted it is no wonder that it standeth exempt from the calamity of war. II. THE EVIL OF SIN IS GREATER THAN THE EVIL OF TEMPTATION. 1. Because it separateth us from God. Poverty, sickness, blindness, loss of goods — let a man be never so low, yet, if in a state of grace, the Lord taketh pleasure in him. 2. Because it depriveth us of God, who is the fountain of our comfort. 3. It reproveth our folly. We complain of other things, but do not complain of sin, which is the greatest evil. The evil of affliction is but for a moment; like rain, it drieth up of its own accord; but the evil of sin is for ever, unless it be pardoned and taken away. Sin is the cause of all the evils of affliction; therefore, when we complain, we should complain not so much of the smart, as of the cause of it. (Thomas Manton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. |
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