Monday, September 11, 2006
Lead Us Not Into Temptation But Deliver Us From Evil
Psalm 50:15 Call on Me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
My dad remembers that during the Second World War when he was a small boy that somehow we begin to have air raid practice times in our little in South Sydney. And they would sound the siren and we would cut out all the lights and pull down all the window shades, and a plane would fly over to see if anybody would dare break the curfew... if anybody would dare leave a light on. My dad was filled with anxiety about the war as a youngster. And he remembers following daily as best he could what was happening as this group would move and that group would advance. But he was reassured by his parents and by older people that this would never happen there. We'd never have to worry about bombings. We'd never have to worry about war. And so even though they practiced those air-raids would frighten me as a youngster, he had assurance that he would never have to worry..."this is just a practice. It's not real. The fiery trial will never take place." But you and I have a trial that will definitely take place!
"temptation" peirasmos, = testing or temptation.
Lead us not.. implies a moral aspect to it.
Evil = the evil one, or trials of a physically emotionally or spiritually agonizing nature.
Or it includes all of these aspects of evil right through to the spurce of evil, the devil.
It would be good to take this as one petition. Lead us not into temptation or trials but deliver us from the evil one and all the evils of which he is the culmination.
As Bishop Latimer said to the convocation of Clergy in the 16th century in England
And now I would ask a strange question: who is the most diligentest bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know him who it is; I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passeth all the other, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you: it is the devil. He is the most diligent preacher of all other; he is never out of his diocess; he is never from his cure; ye shall never find him unoccupied; he is ever in his parish; he keepeth residence at all times; ye shall never find him out of the way, call for him when you will he is ever at home; the diligentest preacher in all the realm; he is ever at his plough: no lording nor loitering can hinder him; he is ever applying his business, ye shall never find him idle, I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintain superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kind of popery. He is ready as he can be wished for to set forth his plough; to devise as many ways as can be to deface and obscure God’s glory. Where the devil is resident, and hath his plough going, there away with books, and up with candles; away with bibles, and up with beads; away with the light of the gospel, and up with the light of candles, yea, at noon-days. Where the devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry; tensing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water, and new service of men’s inventing; as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himself hath appointed. Down with Christ’s cross, up with purgatory pickpurse, up with him, the popish purgatory, I mean. Away with clothing the naked, the poor and impotent; up with decking of images, and gay garnishing of stocks and stones: up with man’s traditions and his laws, down with God’s traditions and his most holy word. Oh that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel! And this is the devilish ploughing, the which worketh to have things in Latin, and forbids the fruitful edification. But here some man will say to me, What, sir, are ye so privy of the devil’s counsel, that ye know all this to be true? Truly I know him too well, and have obeyed him a little too much in condescending to some follies; and I know him as other men do, yea, that he is ever occupied, and ever busy in following his plough. I know by St Peter, which saith of him, “He goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I would have this text well viewed and examined, every word of it: “Circuit,” he goeth about in every corner of his diocess; he goeth on visitation daily, he leaveth no place of his cure unvisited: he walketh round about from place to place, and ceaseth not. as a lion, that is, strongly, boldly, and proudly; stately and fiercely with haughty looks, with his proud countenances, with his stately braggings. roaring; for he letteth not slip any occasion to speak or to roar out when he seeth his time. he goeth about seeking, and not sleeping, as our bishops do; but he seeketh diligently, he searcheth diligently all corners, where as he may have his prey. He roveth abroad in every place of his diocess; he standeth not still, he is never at rest, but ever in hand with his plough, that it may go forward. But there was never such a preacher in England as he is. Who is able to tell his diligent preaching, which every day, and every hour, laboureth to sow cockle and darnel, that he may bring out of form, and out of estimation and room, the institution of the Lord’s supper and Christ’s cross?
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The Devil
Consider Satan’s Power 1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Matt 16: Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
(1) As a spirit he can convey himself into the imagination, and poison it with bad thoughts. As the Holy Spirit puts in good thoughts, so the devil does bad. He put it into Judas’s heart to betray Christ. John 13: 2. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him.
(2) Though Satan cannot compel the will, he can present pleasing temptations to the senses, which have great force in them. He set a ‘wedge of gold’ before Achan, and so enticed him with that golden bait.
(3) He can excite and stir up the corruption within, and work some willingness in the heart to embrace the temptation. Thus he stirred up corruption in David’s heart, and provoked him to number the people. 1 Chron 21: 1. Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel. He can blow a spark of lust into a flame.
4) Being a spirit, he can convey his temptations into our minds, so that we cannot easily discern whether they come from him or from ourselves. One bird may hatch the egg of another, thinking it to be her own: so we often hatch the devil’s ideas, thinking they come from our own hearts. When Peter dissuaded Christ from suffering, he thought it came from the good affection which he bore to his Master, little thinking that Satan had a hand in it. Matt 16: 22. Now, if the devil has such power to instil his temptations, that we hardly know whether they are his or ours, we are in great danger. We have need to pray not to be led into temptation.
Consider Satan’s Purpose 2 Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2 Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
We must take him seriously because he is serious about you. He is on the warpath like a prowling lion at times roaring ferociously at times hoping catching us off our guard whilst quietly stalking us. The evil one is twice called the tempter in the New Testament. He is the master of seduction and boldly appeals to our desires.
First of all he presents the temptation in its most attractive from. Like an angler he presents the bait and hides the hook. He presents the enjoyment and hides the guilt and hurt and shame we will later feel.
Secondly he persuades. He persuades us that bad is good and uses cunning arguments to justify giving in to temptation.
Thirdly he persists. He doesn’t give up and often pounces when we relax safe in the knowledge we have not given in. Fourthly he pressurises. There are times when we become very aware that the devil is attacking us when the force of this tempting becomes almost unbelievable.
Consider Satan’s Plan Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Beg wisdom, that you may see the wiles of Satan, and may not be caught short, unaware of his manipulations, for he is 'transformed into an angel of light,' 2 Cor. xi. 14. The devil doesn’t care so much to draw wicked men to evil; he has enough of them, and he as them securely in his power; but he labours to snare believers, if he can, to get those who belong to God to do his business; therefore he changes himself into an angel of light.
We pray for strength to withstand his darts, that we may take the armour of God and withstand the evil one, Eph. 6:13. We can’t deliver ourselves from the least evil, therefore it is God alone that must keep us safe and secure. Therefore we go to him, that we may get his strength, that we may be 'strong in the power of his might,' for conflict with Satan. It is God alone that can keep us.
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The World
Sometimes we get the glare of this world dazzling our sight, so we cannot see spiritual things. Sometimes our love for the Lord is replaced by our love for the world.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Psa 73:27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God:
When our delight in communion with God is lessened by our delights in the things of this world, it is unfaithfulness, spiritual adultery.
You need to pray that the world not get in your eyes.
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The Flesh
The apostle Paul groans sadly, Rom.7:24, '0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?'
That God would weaken the strength of inbred corruption, that we may not stumble because of it.
If we be foiled by our corruption, we beg that we may not lie in our sins, and suffer sin to have a quietly reign in our lives : Ps. cxix. 133, 'Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.'
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
You Must Trust The Lord To Be Delivered
The Lord Sympathises
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
The Lord loves you and wants to support you against these enemies.
The Lord Succours
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The word succour, although an old word, carried with it the idea of being nursed, or being cared for, of being helped. The Lord cares for you and wants to help you.
The Lord Is Sovereign
Although the conclusion of the Lord's prayer : "for Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen!" is possibly not part of the opriginal wording of the Lord's prayer (vis. NIV and NASB footnotes), the thoughts are very biblical.
1 Chron 29:10 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Your only hope of vanquishing these three enemies is because the Lord is Sovereign. You are weak, but He is strong, He alone can keep you from all wrong.
You need to know that He is Lord. You need to trust Him since He is Lord. Prayer and trust are very closely linked together. Prayer is trusting the issues to God.
Will you pray more that the Lord deliver you from al evil?
He wants to.
My dad remembers that during the Second World War when he was a small boy that somehow we begin to have air raid practice times in our little in South Sydney. And they would sound the siren and we would cut out all the lights and pull down all the window shades, and a plane would fly over to see if anybody would dare break the curfew... if anybody would dare leave a light on. My dad was filled with anxiety about the war as a youngster. And he remembers following daily as best he could what was happening as this group would move and that group would advance. But he was reassured by his parents and by older people that this would never happen there. We'd never have to worry about bombings. We'd never have to worry about war. And so even though they practiced those air-raids would frighten me as a youngster, he had assurance that he would never have to worry..."this is just a practice. It's not real. The fiery trial will never take place." But you and I have a trial that will definitely take place!
"temptation" peirasmos, = testing or temptation.
Lead us not.. implies a moral aspect to it.
Evil = the evil one, or trials of a physically emotionally or spiritually agonizing nature.
Or it includes all of these aspects of evil right through to the spurce of evil, the devil.
It would be good to take this as one petition. Lead us not into temptation or trials but deliver us from the evil one and all the evils of which he is the culmination.
As Bishop Latimer said to the convocation of Clergy in the 16th century in England
And now I would ask a strange question: who is the most diligentest bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know him who it is; I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passeth all the other, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you: it is the devil. He is the most diligent preacher of all other; he is never out of his diocess; he is never from his cure; ye shall never find him unoccupied; he is ever in his parish; he keepeth residence at all times; ye shall never find him out of the way, call for him when you will he is ever at home; the diligentest preacher in all the realm; he is ever at his plough: no lording nor loitering can hinder him; he is ever applying his business, ye shall never find him idle, I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintain superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kind of popery. He is ready as he can be wished for to set forth his plough; to devise as many ways as can be to deface and obscure God’s glory. Where the devil is resident, and hath his plough going, there away with books, and up with candles; away with bibles, and up with beads; away with the light of the gospel, and up with the light of candles, yea, at noon-days. Where the devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry; tensing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water, and new service of men’s inventing; as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himself hath appointed. Down with Christ’s cross, up with purgatory pickpurse, up with him, the popish purgatory, I mean. Away with clothing the naked, the poor and impotent; up with decking of images, and gay garnishing of stocks and stones: up with man’s traditions and his laws, down with God’s traditions and his most holy word. Oh that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel! And this is the devilish ploughing, the which worketh to have things in Latin, and forbids the fruitful edification. But here some man will say to me, What, sir, are ye so privy of the devil’s counsel, that ye know all this to be true? Truly I know him too well, and have obeyed him a little too much in condescending to some follies; and I know him as other men do, yea, that he is ever occupied, and ever busy in following his plough. I know by St Peter, which saith of him, “He goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I would have this text well viewed and examined, every word of it: “Circuit,” he goeth about in every corner of his diocess; he goeth on visitation daily, he leaveth no place of his cure unvisited: he walketh round about from place to place, and ceaseth not. as a lion, that is, strongly, boldly, and proudly; stately and fiercely with haughty looks, with his proud countenances, with his stately braggings. roaring; for he letteth not slip any occasion to speak or to roar out when he seeth his time. he goeth about seeking, and not sleeping, as our bishops do; but he seeketh diligently, he searcheth diligently all corners, where as he may have his prey. He roveth abroad in every place of his diocess; he standeth not still, he is never at rest, but ever in hand with his plough, that it may go forward. But there was never such a preacher in England as he is. Who is able to tell his diligent preaching, which every day, and every hour, laboureth to sow cockle and darnel, that he may bring out of form, and out of estimation and room, the institution of the Lord’s supper and Christ’s cross?
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The Devil
Consider Satan’s Power 1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Matt 16: Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
(1) As a spirit he can convey himself into the imagination, and poison it with bad thoughts. As the Holy Spirit puts in good thoughts, so the devil does bad. He put it into Judas’s heart to betray Christ. John 13: 2. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him.
(2) Though Satan cannot compel the will, he can present pleasing temptations to the senses, which have great force in them. He set a ‘wedge of gold’ before Achan, and so enticed him with that golden bait.
(3) He can excite and stir up the corruption within, and work some willingness in the heart to embrace the temptation. Thus he stirred up corruption in David’s heart, and provoked him to number the people. 1 Chron 21: 1. Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel. He can blow a spark of lust into a flame.
4) Being a spirit, he can convey his temptations into our minds, so that we cannot easily discern whether they come from him or from ourselves. One bird may hatch the egg of another, thinking it to be her own: so we often hatch the devil’s ideas, thinking they come from our own hearts. When Peter dissuaded Christ from suffering, he thought it came from the good affection which he bore to his Master, little thinking that Satan had a hand in it. Matt 16: 22. Now, if the devil has such power to instil his temptations, that we hardly know whether they are his or ours, we are in great danger. We have need to pray not to be led into temptation.
Consider Satan’s Purpose 2 Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2 Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
We must take him seriously because he is serious about you. He is on the warpath like a prowling lion at times roaring ferociously at times hoping catching us off our guard whilst quietly stalking us. The evil one is twice called the tempter in the New Testament. He is the master of seduction and boldly appeals to our desires.
First of all he presents the temptation in its most attractive from. Like an angler he presents the bait and hides the hook. He presents the enjoyment and hides the guilt and hurt and shame we will later feel.
Secondly he persuades. He persuades us that bad is good and uses cunning arguments to justify giving in to temptation.
Thirdly he persists. He doesn’t give up and often pounces when we relax safe in the knowledge we have not given in. Fourthly he pressurises. There are times when we become very aware that the devil is attacking us when the force of this tempting becomes almost unbelievable.
Consider Satan’s Plan Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Beg wisdom, that you may see the wiles of Satan, and may not be caught short, unaware of his manipulations, for he is 'transformed into an angel of light,' 2 Cor. xi. 14. The devil doesn’t care so much to draw wicked men to evil; he has enough of them, and he as them securely in his power; but he labours to snare believers, if he can, to get those who belong to God to do his business; therefore he changes himself into an angel of light.
We pray for strength to withstand his darts, that we may take the armour of God and withstand the evil one, Eph. 6:13. We can’t deliver ourselves from the least evil, therefore it is God alone that must keep us safe and secure. Therefore we go to him, that we may get his strength, that we may be 'strong in the power of his might,' for conflict with Satan. It is God alone that can keep us.
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The World
Sometimes we get the glare of this world dazzling our sight, so we cannot see spiritual things. Sometimes our love for the Lord is replaced by our love for the world.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Psa 73:27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God:
When our delight in communion with God is lessened by our delights in the things of this world, it is unfaithfulness, spiritual adultery.
You need to pray that the world not get in your eyes.
You Must Pray To Be Delivered From The Dangers Of The Flesh
The apostle Paul groans sadly, Rom.7:24, '0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?'
That God would weaken the strength of inbred corruption, that we may not stumble because of it.
If we be foiled by our corruption, we beg that we may not lie in our sins, and suffer sin to have a quietly reign in our lives : Ps. cxix. 133, 'Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.'
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
You Must Trust The Lord To Be Delivered
The Lord Sympathises
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
The Lord loves you and wants to support you against these enemies.
The Lord Succours
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The word succour, although an old word, carried with it the idea of being nursed, or being cared for, of being helped. The Lord cares for you and wants to help you.
The Lord Is Sovereign
Although the conclusion of the Lord's prayer : "for Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen!" is possibly not part of the opriginal wording of the Lord's prayer (vis. NIV and NASB footnotes), the thoughts are very biblical.
1 Chron 29:10 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Your only hope of vanquishing these three enemies is because the Lord is Sovereign. You are weak, but He is strong, He alone can keep you from all wrong.
You need to know that He is Lord. You need to trust Him since He is Lord. Prayer and trust are very closely linked together. Prayer is trusting the issues to God.
Will you pray more that the Lord deliver you from al evil?
He wants to.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 12:18 AM 
