Q. 123. Which is the second petition?
A. “Thy kingdom come”; that is, rule us so by thy word and Spirit, that we may submit ourselves more and more to thee; preserve and increase thy church; destroy the works of the devil, and all violence
which would exalt itself against thee; and also all wicked counsels
devised against thy holy word; till the full perfection of thy kingdom take place, wherein thou shalt be all in all.
Q. 122. Which is the first petition?
A. “Hallowed be thy name”; that is, grant us, first, rightly to know thee, and to sanctify, glorify and praise thee, in all thy works, in which thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth, are clearly displayed; and further also, that we may so order and direct
our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that thy name may never be blasphemed, but rather honoured and praised on our account.
Q. 120. Why has Christ commanded us to address God thus: “Our Father”?
A. That immediately, in the very beginning of our prayer, he might excite in us a childlike reverence for, and confidence in God, which are the foundation of our prayer: namely, that God is become our Father in Christ, and will much less deny us what we ask of him in true faith,
than our parents will refuse us earthly things.
Q. 121. Why is it here added, “Which art in heaven”?
A. Lest we should form any earthly conceptions of God’s heavenly majesty, and that we may expect from his almighty power all things necessary for soul and body.
Q. 116. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?
A. Because it is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us: and also, because God will give his grace and Holy Spirit to those only, who with sincere desires continually ask them of him, and are thankful for them.
Q. 117. What are the requisites of that prayer, which is acceptable to God, and which he will hear?
A. First, that we from the heart pray to the one true God only, who has manifested himself in his word, for all things, he has commanded us to ask of him; secondly, that we rightly and thoroughly know our need and misery, that so we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of his divine majesty; thirdly, that we be fully persuaded
that he, notwithstanding that we are unworthy of it, will, for the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly hear our prayer, as he has promised us in his word.
Q. 118. What has God commanded us to ask of him?
A. All things necessary for soul and body; which Christ our Lord has comprised in that prayer he himself has taught us.
Q. 119. What are the words of that prayer?
A. Our Father which art in heaven,
1. Hallowed be thy name.
2 Thy kingdom come.
3 Thy will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
4 Give us this day our daily bread.
5 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
6 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.
Please watch and be grieved by this eight-minute Christianity Today video on America’s most ugly export:
Popout
The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
Adapted from Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield-1. Edited by John E. Meeter. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, pp. 407-410.
21. I believe that the Church is God’s spiritual minister for the purpose of redemption and the state is God’s providential minister for the purpose of thisworldly order. The power of the Church is exclusively spiritual; that of the State includes the exercise of force. The constitution of the Church derives exclusively from divine revelation; the constitution of the State must be determined by human reason and the course of providential events. I believe therefore that the Church has no right to construct or modify a government for the State, and the State has no right to frame a creed or polity for the Church.
22. I believe that disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be His witnesses in the world, proclaiming the justice and mercy of God to all men, and making evident His wise and righteous rule over every aspect of human culture. Therefore it is my obligation to search the Scriptures with all the skills God has allotted me, and to seek, within the bounds of my calling, to apply my understanding of His Word to the entire created order, and to all the outworkings of His most wise providence. And I believe that it is my privilege and duty to pursue a vocation in this world that employs my gifts to the glory of God, and for the good of my family, my congregation, my community, and, as God brings opportunity, to any who may be in need.
23. I believe that as Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his eternal reward; the wicked shall have the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them, wherein their consciences shall fully concur, and they shall be cast into hell, to be punished with unspeakable torments, both in body and soul, with the devil and his angels for ever. The righteous in Christ shall be caught up with Christ and there openly acknowledged and acquitted; shall be received into heaven, where they shall fully and forever be freed from all sin and misery; filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and happy in both body and soul, in the great company of all God’s saints and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity.
24. I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord, and when He shall return in His majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity; encouraged by which blessed hope, it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardships here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with Him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.
And to Him, my Redeemer,
with the Father,
and the Holy Spirit,
Three Persons, one God,
be glory forever, world without end,
Amen, and Amen.
Thanks to Andrew Webb for this e-text
http://www.reformed.org/calvinism/index.html?mainframe=/calvinism/warfield_reformed_theology.html
Q. 113. What does the tenth commandment require of us?
A. That even the smallest inclination or thought, contrary to any of God’s commandments, never rise in our hearts; but that at all times
we hate all sin with our whole heart, and delight in all righteousness.
Q. 114. But can those who are converted to God perfectly keep these commandments?
A. No: but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of this obedience; yet so, that with a sincere resolution
they begin to live, not only according to some, but all the commandments of God.
Q. 115. Why will God then have the ten commandments so strictly preached, since no man in this life can keep them?
A. First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin, and righteousness in Christ; likewise, that we constantly endeavour and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit,
that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God,
till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us, in a life to come.
Humble recipient of Divine-Sovereign grace, husband to my beautiful wife, father of our two children, student, artist, musician, and Reformed churchman.
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