The Lord’s Prayer: Fourth Petition

In the fourth petition, we are asking for the provisions needed for our bodies, while also acknowledging that it is God who supplies us with what we need for our souls. Our material blessings point to something greater (cf. Deut. 8:3; Heb. 10:34). From what God gives us for our earthly benefit, we are to realize the spiritual gifts he bestows upon us for our eternal good.¹“Let us endeavor to rise to those pleasures of a spiritual and heavenly life, which earthly minds neither relish nor understand.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 309.

God’s Grace: Supplying Everything We Need

God cares for us both body and soul. God has made human beings in such a way that we need both a material body and immaterial soul to be complete.²Reformed theology teaches that both the body and soul are integral to being human. When humanity fell into sin, the body and soul were affected and subject to death. Salvation, therefore, redeems the body and soul together. “The whole human person is the image of the whole Deity” (p. 533). “So the whole human being is image and likeness of God, in soul and body, in all human faculties, powers, and gifts… All that is in God… finds its admittedly finite and limited analogy and likeness in humanity” (p. 561). The human soul is invisible, just as God is Spirit (Jn. 4:24) and invisible (1 Tim. 1:17), and in this way possesses “a faint impression of [God’s] immaterial substance.” (pp. 185-186). The body, far from being expendable, is an essential part of what it means to be human! “The body is not a prison, but a marvelous piece of art from the hand of God Almighty, and just as constitutive for the essence of humanity as the soul (Job 10:8–12; Ps. 8; 139:13–17; Eccles. 12:2–7; Isa. 64:8)… It is so integrally and essentially a part of our humanity that, though violently torn from the soul by sin, it will be reunited with it in the resurrection of the dead” (p. 559). “Now, this body, which is so intimately bound up with the soul, also belongs to the image of God… The human body is a part of the image of God in its organization as instrument of the soul, in its formal perfection, not in its material substance” (p. 559-560). From: Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: God and Creation. Baker Academic, 2004. Though distinct, the body and soul are intricately connected. We obtain the greatest satisfaction when God is glorified both by our bodies and souls. One of the body’s primary purposes is to aid the soul in its work to serve, worship, and obey God. Accordingly, we have a duty to care for our bodies, such that it can be used for the service of God.³Consider the last words of Robert Murray M’Cheyne who said the following before he died at the age of 29: “God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride. Alas I have killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message.” Something similar can be learned from John Owen. “Owen reputedly disciplined himself during this period to take only four hours of sleep each night. Already, as a teenager, he was sowing the seeds of both the academic learning and the ill health which were to characterize his later years. He is reported to have said in adulthood that he would have sacrificed his learning in exchange for better health.” Ferguson, Sinclair B. “Profiles In Faith: John Owen (1616-1683).” Knowing and Doing. 2007 Winter, pp. 1-3.  For this reason, we ought to pray that God, in his grace, would bless us with what we need for life and health of the whole person. 

That being said, the focus of the fourth petition is specifically on our earthly needs.⁴The Larger Catechism expands on this further. WLC Q193: 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. Here, the word “bread” is a synecdoche,⁵This is a figure of speech where a term for a part is used to refer to the whole. Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning. Zondervan, 2007, pp. 148, 337. thus signifying all kinds of food (e.g., Gen. 3:19; 28:20; Prov. 30:8; Jer. 11:19), and broader still, representing everything required for human flourishing (e.g., food, clothing, habitation, etc.; cf. Ja. 2:15).⁶“A person little accustomed to make use of the Lord’s prayer is the most likely to observe the literal import of the word bread. One who has been long familiarized to the devout use of this prayer, will more naturally think of its wider and juster [sic] acceptation.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 140-141, fn. 1. Bread represents the most basic substance needed for our bodily survival. When we ask God for bread, we are asking him to fill our most fundamental needs, and in doing so, that he would meet all our needs. 

God’s Grace: Obtaining Our Daily Bread

On account of our sins, we have forfeited the right to all the blessings of this life (Gen. 2:17; 3:17; Rom. 8:20-22; Jer. 5:25; Deut. 28:15-17). We can never earn God’s blessings nor gain access to them from our own efforts (Gen. 32:10; Deut. 8:17-18). We are therefore entirely dependent upon God’s grace in Christ for any material blessings received.

“To Adam, immediately after his creation, God had given dominion over all things which were fitted to be of use to him. That right of dominion he lost by his sin, being rejected and disinherited by the righteous judgment of God… All men, while in a state of sin, are the unjust possessors, usurpers, robbers of God’s benefits. But Christ has recovered for his people what had been lost by the sin of Adam… This Christ communicates to those, and those only, who are united to him by faith. ‘All are yours; and ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s [1 Cor. 3:22-23].’”⁷Ibid, pp. 274-275.

As such, we need to recognize that what we have comes from God through the following:

1. God’s common blessing on nature. “[God] waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart” (Ps. 104:13-15; cf. Mt. 5:45).
2. God’s blessing on our work (Ps. 145:15-16; cf. Ruth 2:1-4, 14-17).⁸We must never claim anything according to our skills or labor apart from God. “The pride of the human heart has a strong tendency in that direction.” “God cannot suffer [i.e., tolerate] that forgetfulness of himself, by which poor miserable men ascribe to their own industry or power the acts of… Divine kindness.” Ibid, pp. 302, 306. “As the phrase, Our bread, implies a promise of the industry [i.e., productivity] necessary to obtain it in a lawful manner, so the prayer that God may give it to us, contains an acknowledgement that our industry will be of no avail without the divine blessing.”⁹Ibid, p. 301.
3. God’s special blessing upon his people. Beyond common grace, God gives his people special grace in Christ, such that they are able to enjoy his blessings in greater measure. “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked” (Ps. 37:16). 

God’s Grace: Using Our Daily Bread

Moreover, it is not enough to merely have material things; we are dependent on God that these things may be used for our actual benefit:¹⁰For this reason, Herman Witsius remarked: “For as all things have been appointed by God, as they all exist by the power of his Almighty command-so the operation of all things takes place by the energy of that command… It follows, from these statements that this petition is as necessary for the richest as for the poorest of mankind. For what would the highest degree of the good things of this life avail us, if the blessing of God were wanting, which alone can make them promote the comfort of soul or body?” Ibid, p. 280.

1. God gives us sufficient health so that we can enjoy the things he has given us. Otherwise, it would make no difference if we have these things in our possession or not. “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God” (Eccl. 5:18-19; cf. Ps. 107:18; Job 33:20).
2. God blesses the material things in our possession so that they produce what they are intended for. For instance, we pray that the bread we eat would actually nourish us, that the water we drink quenches our thirst, and the clothes that we wear give us warmth. Without God’s blessing, even the greatest abundance would be unprofitable to us. “Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes’” (Hag. 1:5-6; cf. Lev. 26:26).

God’s Grace: A Continual Supply of Bread

We are to pray that we may enjoy a suitable portion of the outward blessings of this life (Gen. 43:12-14; 28:29; Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:11-12; Phil. 4:6). Our request is for one day at a time to remind us to trust in God’s goodness from day to day (Prov. 6:6-8; 31:21) and to set aside anxieties about the future (Mt. 6:34).¹¹In a way, worrying about tomorrow is akin to sorcery and witchcraft since the impetus comes from the same source: wanting to peer into God’s secret will, which is wanting to be God himself—an ancient satanic temptation that presented itself in the garden. It is a humble request that helps us to avoid excessive indulgence in worldly possessions, but rather to be content with only what is necessary for the coming day (cf. Phil. 4:11-12; Heb. 13:5). There is no need to hoard out of fear because we can fully trust God to amply meet all our needs (Mt. 6:25-34). 

Interpretative Implications: Priority of the Petition

The Lord’s prayer is structured in such a way that it begins with God’s interests (i.e., the first three petitions) and ends with our pleas to God for him to the imminent threats to our souls (i.e., the last two petitions):

It has been pointed out that the order of these petitions likely discloses something of their relative priority (i.e., with the most important ones presented first). For this reason, some people have questioned whether the fourth petition (i.e., Give us this day our daily bread), as is presented so far, is interpreted correctly if the focus is placed on earthly provisions. After all, our eternal welfare far outweighs our temporal needs (2 Cor. 4:16-18), so shouldn’t spiritual concerns come first? There are several opinions on this issue:

1. Some have suggested that Jesus teaches us to begin with our bodily needs (in the fourth petition) so that our minds can then be lifted up to higher things (in the fifth and sixth). 

“Though the forgiveness of sins is to be preferred to food [i.e., the fifth petition exceeds the fourth petition in importance], as far as the soul is more valuable than the body, yet our Lord commenced with bread and the supports of an earthly life, that from such a beginning he might carry us higher. We do not ask that our daily bread may be given to us before we ask that we may be reconciled to God, as if the perishing food of the belly were to be considered more valuable than the eternal salvation of the soul: but we do so, that we may ascend, as it were by steps, from earth to heaven. Since God condescends to nourish our bodies, there can be no doubt whatever, that he is far more careful of our spiritual life. This kind and gentle manner of treating us raises our confidence higher.”¹²This was the opinion of John Calvin. See: Calvin, John. Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, vol. 1. Translated by William Pringle. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010, p. 322. But on this point, Witsius disagrees: “Our Lord does not lead us gradually from inferior to higher subjects. He commences with the highest of all, and then descends to what is lower. He first of all lays down the ultimate object of our prayers, and next introduces the means by which the object is gained. If he had taught us to ascend by ladders, he would have begun at the lowest step, till in regular order we had arrived at the highest. But that plan, we perceive, is entirely reversed.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 284-285.

2. Other theologians have suggested the opposite—that humans are actually accustomed to care for their souls more than their bodies. For this reason, it is said, Jesus taught us to pray for our bodily needs first so that these are not neglected; and once these are dealt with, we are then freed to pursue things related to our spiritual good.¹³Witsius also disagrees with this point: “Is it not the duty of a Christian to pursue higher objects with such earnestness that all things else shall be regarded as mere additions? This is unquestionably taught us by our Lord. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you [Mt. 6:33].’” Ibid, pp. 285-286.

3. There is a third opinion, which is based on organizing the Lord’s prayer according to petitions made for good things (i.e., the promotion of benefits) and those against bad things (i.e., the removal of evil). Petitions made for good things can be further distinguished between those concerning heavenly priorities vs. earthly needs. The former requests, being the most important, are presented first and correspond to the first three petitions in the Lord’s prayer. Material needs then follow, corresponding to the fourth petition. Finally, the last two petitions concern our desire to be removed from evil (i.e., the forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from Satan’s power).¹⁴This is the opinion held by Witsius. Ibid, p. 286.

From the third view, we can understand how the fourth petition is appropriately placed in the middle of the Lord’s prayer, even though it chiefly concerns our earthly temporal needs.

Practical Applications

There are multiple applications that can be drawn from the fourth petition. The first practical lesson is to acknowledge our humble dependency on God. Apart from him, we have no ability to sustain our lives (cf. Ps. 104:27-29). We are free (and even encouraged) to ask God for the things we need for our daily survival and flourishing (Prov. 30:8; cf. Gen. 28:20). This includes everything we need to lead quiet and peaceful lives (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Moreover, we can petition God to remove suffering and afflictions from us (Joel 2:12-17; 1 Ki. 8:33-37), as long as it serves God’s purposes and promotes his glory (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10). 

“We declare that our life is in the hand of God, who alone gave it to us—who alone preserves it by his power and goodness, and administers those aids without which, according to the order which he has himself appointed, life cannot be preserved.”¹⁵Ibid, p. 293.

In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We respond with thanksgiving:

“Thy being is from him [God]; thy life is always in his hands, thou canst not live an hour without him, thou canst not fetch a breath without him, nor think a thought, nor speak a word, nor stir a foot or a hand without him… no love can be great enough, and no praises can be high enough, and no service can be holy and good enough for such a God… this is not a God to be neglected, or dallied with… O therefore dwell on the meditations of the almighty.”¹⁶Baxter, Richard. Works. II:589-90.

The second lesson is learning contentment, even when we have very little (Phil. 4:11-12), knowing that God cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). The Apostle Paul described this in his own life as a model for all Christians to follow: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8). This attitude promotes a life of moderation. Instead of fixating our minds on material things, our interests should be to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” and all the other things that we may need will be supplied to us (Mt. 6:33). This also means that we need to be content with what God has given us according to his providence (Phil. 4:11-12), and not to covet what others have (Ex. 20:17). This lesson is relevant to the poor and rich alike.¹⁷“Till the poor learn to view the luxuries of the rich without even a wish to obtain them, they cannot live a good or a happy life. If they are satisfied with those things which nature requires for their support, and which hardly any one does not receive from the Providence of God, they may reckon themselves as rich as kings… Let us say with the Apostle Paul, ‘As having nothing, and yet possessing all things [2 Cor. 6:10]’… The rich also will have their happiness increased by moderation. All their abundance will be of no use to them till they have acquired self-command in the management of their affairs.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 297.

The third lesson is remembering that we need to be both waiting and working.¹⁸“It deserves notice that the same chapter of the Book of Proverbs which contains those words, ‘the hand of the diligent maketh rich [Prov. 10:4],’ contains also these words, ‘the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he added no sorrow with it [v. 22].’ Before engaging in any work which may belong to our respective callings, let us earnestly implore the blessing of God upon our labours [Ps. 90:17].” Ibid, pp. 301-302. In the Larger Catechism’s answer 193 on the fourth petition, we are commended to wait upon the providence of God, but at the same time to be active and industrious.

“It means, in the first place, that we are to put our trust, not in our own powers or actions, but in the providence of God, that is, in God, whose providence controls our lives. We are to wait upon the providence of God from day to day, realizing that God will give us blessings according to his holy will in his own appointed time; therefore we are to avoid both unbelief and impatience. We will not demand blessings immediately when God in his wisdom sees fit to postpone them… In the second place, while placing our trust in God, we will not be lazy or inactive, but we still will make use of means… If we are waiting on God for a harvest, we will also take pains to cultivate the soil and plant the seed. We will not expect God’s providence to eliminate our own toil and efforts”¹⁹Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, pp. 563-564.

God’s providential care does not negate human responsibility. God gives us good things through legitimate possession. We are to seek our daily bread, as acquired by our labors and secured by God’s blessing (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:10; Prov. 16:26; 28:19; cf. 6:6-8). Take, for example, the requirement for each person in the wilderness to gather manna, even though it was divinely supplied (Ex. 16:4). Therefore, each person is called to work for a living (Prov. 6:6-11; cf. 2 Thess. 3:10), whether it be in or outside of the home (cf. Prov. 31). Work is neither a punishment nor a curse, but rather a God-like activity where we imitate him as image-bearers.²⁰“The Bible’s story of the world opens with God doing work, six days of it. Once completed, not from weariness but because the work was done, God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 1:1-23; Heb. 4:3-4). Given that man is made in the God’s image and likeness (Gen. 1:27), with Christians called to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1), the fact that the Bible opens with this scene of God doing the work of creation by his powerful word calls for reflection… The Bible opens with a depiction of God at work, and the operational understanding throughout the Bible is that God continues to work, guiding upholding, loving, judging, and saving [John 5:17]… Work is therefore built into the created order, right from the start. God gave man stewardship of the land and all life on it. All tasks man undertakes in God’s world can be seen in relationship to that original commission… All jobs relate to those great tasks. The making of roads and markets enables us to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over the animals. The tasks related to helping other humans to flourish intellectually and spiritually enable people to deal with the land and living creatures. Arguably every righteous task in the world—from that of the farmer or ranger to that of the engineer, the software developer, or the nuclear physicist, from that of the ditchdigger to the physician (or veterinarian), from the coach to the pastor, the zookeeper to the politician, the sergeant to the mailman—every task in the world can be seen in relationship to the subjection of the earth and the exercise of dominion.” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, pp. 18-19, 21-22. “God, who is a worker, ordained work so that humans could worship him through their work.”²¹Corbett, Steve and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself. Moody Publishers, 2014, p. 109. Accordingly, we are charged to make an honest living (cf. 2 Thess. 3:6-15) according to work that is pleasing to God (Col. 3:23).²²If we acquire things through deceit, theft, or laziness, we cannot properly say that these were given to us by God (cf. Prov. 30:8-9). Our means of support should not be through inherently sinful channels, such as gambling, dealing drugs, prostitution, violence, etc. (cf. Jer. 6:13; Mk. 7:21-22; Hos. 12:7; Ja. 4:3). We should not be stealing from or defrauding others (Eph. 4:28). “Not all jobs are righteous… People are paid to commit murder, to bear false witness, to corrupt justice, or to commit adultery. Such jobs not only transgress God’s commands; they image forth the character of the usurper [Satan] rather than the likeness of the Creator [God].” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, p. 22. “We are not sincere in praying that God may give it to us, if, instead of waiting till God gives it, we take it violently into our own hands, in defiance of the laws of justice and charity.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 300. It also needs to be kept in mind that the requirement to work is a creational mandate, present from the beginning.²³“Even at that period when nature produced everything spontaneously [i.e., in the Garden of Eden], man was not permitted to eat his bread in total idleness [Gen. 1:28-30]. After the fall, a sentence was pronounced on the human race, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread’ [Gen. 3:19]; and this is the ‘sore travail which God hath given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith [Eccl. 1:13].’ The Son of God [Jesus Christ] himself, our greater preserver, before entering on the public [ministry] appears to have supported himself, and the family to which he belonged, by labouring as a [carpenter; Mk. 6:3; cf. Mt. 13:55]. The liberty of the Gospel does not exempt us from the obligation to toil.”Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 298-299. Unfortunately, after the fall into sin, much of our work has become toilsome, unproductive, and futile (Gen. 3:17-19; Eccl. 2:18-25). Thankfully, this curse has been reversed with Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:58) and we are able to truly enjoy the fruits of our labors as God’s gifts to us (Eccl. 5:18-19).²⁴There are seven statements to this effect in the Book of Ecclesiastes (2:24-25; 3:12-13; 22; 5:18-19; 8:15; 9:7-10; and 11:8-10). “The preacher in Ecclesiastes… teaches his audience to enjoy God’s good gifts of food, work, and companionship… The ability to do so is a merciful gift from God, as Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 makes clear.” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, pp. 50-52, 67.       

The fourth lesson is that we need to adopt an attitude of gratitude to God. This is expressed through our thoughts, words, and actions. “The acknowledgment of… Divine goodness does not consist [merely] of the sentimentof gratitude, nor is it discharged by words alone, but includes also our duty to use the good things which God hath given us according to his will, and for the advancement of his glory. We ought to use, I say, the good things of God… The Christian who has a proper knowledge of his religion and of true godliness, possesses and enjoys what God has given him as the means of doing good.”²⁵Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 306-307. We are to pray that God will bless us in how we use our blessings (1 Tim. 4:3-5; 6:6-8), even to the benefit of others (Acts 20:35; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:8-16; cf. 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Job 31:16-18, 22-23; Ps. 37:21). Ultimately, our goal should be to direct all of our earthly blessings to God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31).

Footnotes

• 1
  “Let us endeavor to rise to those pleasures of a spiritual and heavenly life, which earthly minds neither relish nor understand.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 309.
• 2
  Reformed theology teaches that both the body and soul are integral to being human. When humanity fell into sin, the body and soul were affected and subject to death. Salvation, therefore, redeems the body and soul together. “The whole human person is the image of the whole Deity” (p. 533). “So the whole human being is image and likeness of God, in soul and body, in all human faculties, powers, and gifts… All that is in God… finds its admittedly finite and limited analogy and likeness in humanity” (p. 561). The human soul is invisible, just as God is Spirit (Jn. 4:24) and invisible (1 Tim. 1:17), and in this way possesses “a faint impression of [God’s] immaterial substance.” (pp. 185-186). The body, far from being expendable, is an essential part of what it means to be human! “The body is not a prison, but a marvelous piece of art from the hand of God Almighty, and just as constitutive for the essence of humanity as the soul (Job 10:8–12; Ps. 8; 139:13–17; Eccles. 12:2–7; Isa. 64:8)… It is so integrally and essentially a part of our humanity that, though violently torn from the soul by sin, it will be reunited with it in the resurrection of the dead” (p. 559). “Now, this body, which is so intimately bound up with the soul, also belongs to the image of God… The human body is a part of the image of God in its organization as instrument of the soul, in its formal perfection, not in its material substance” (p. 559-560). From: Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: God and Creation. Baker Academic, 2004.
• 3
  Consider the last words of Robert Murray M’Cheyne who said the following before he died at the age of 29: “God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride. Alas I have killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message.” Something similar can be learned from John Owen. “Owen reputedly disciplined himself during this period to take only four hours of sleep each night. Already, as a teenager, he was sowing the seeds of both the academic learning and the ill health which were to characterize his later years. He is reported to have said in adulthood that he would have sacrificed his learning in exchange for better health.” Ferguson, Sinclair B. “Profiles In Faith: John Owen (1616-1683).” Knowing and Doing. 2007 Winter, pp. 1-3. 
• 4
  The Larger Catechism expands on this further. WLC Q193: 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.
• 5
  This is a figure of speech where a term for a part is used to refer to the whole. Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning. Zondervan, 2007, pp. 148, 337.
• 6
  “A person little accustomed to make use of the Lord’s prayer is the most likely to observe the literal import of the word bread. One who has been long familiarized to the devout use of this prayer, will more naturally think of its wider and juster [sic] acceptation.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 140-141, fn. 1.
• 7
  Ibid, pp. 274-275.
• 8
  We must never claim anything according to our skills or labor apart from God. “The pride of the human heart has a strong tendency in that direction.” “God cannot suffer [i.e., tolerate] that forgetfulness of himself, by which poor miserable men ascribe to their own industry or power the acts of… Divine kindness.” Ibid, pp. 302, 306.
• 9
  Ibid, p. 301.
• 10
  For this reason, Herman Witsius remarked: “For as all things have been appointed by God, as they all exist by the power of his Almighty command-so the operation of all things takes place by the energy of that command… It follows, from these statements that this petition is as necessary for the richest as for the poorest of mankind. For what would the highest degree of the good things of this life avail us, if the blessing of God were wanting, which alone can make them promote the comfort of soul or body?” Ibid, p. 280.
• 11
  In a way, worrying about tomorrow is akin to sorcery and witchcraft since the impetus comes from the same source: wanting to peer into God’s secret will, which is wanting to be God himself—an ancient satanic temptation that presented itself in the garden.
• 12
  This was the opinion of John Calvin. See: Calvin, John. Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, vol. 1. Translated by William Pringle. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010, p. 322. But on this point, Witsius disagrees: “Our Lord does not lead us gradually from inferior to higher subjects. He commences with the highest of all, and then descends to what is lower. He first of all lays down the ultimate object of our prayers, and next introduces the means by which the object is gained. If he had taught us to ascend by ladders, he would have begun at the lowest step, till in regular order we had arrived at the highest. But that plan, we perceive, is entirely reversed.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 284-285.
• 13
  Witsius also disagrees with this point: “Is it not the duty of a Christian to pursue higher objects with such earnestness that all things else shall be regarded as mere additions? This is unquestionably taught us by our Lord. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you [Mt. 6:33].’” Ibid, pp. 285-286.
• 14
  This is the opinion held by Witsius. Ibid, p. 286.
• 15
  Ibid, p. 293.
• 16
  Baxter, Richard. Works. II:589-90.
• 17
  “Till the poor learn to view the luxuries of the rich without even a wish to obtain them, they cannot live a good or a happy life. If they are satisfied with those things which nature requires for their support, and which hardly any one does not receive from the Providence of God, they may reckon themselves as rich as kings… Let us say with the Apostle Paul, ‘As having nothing, and yet possessing all things [2 Cor. 6:10]’… The rich also will have their happiness increased by moderation. All their abundance will be of no use to them till they have acquired self-command in the management of their affairs.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 297.
• 18
  “It deserves notice that the same chapter of the Book of Proverbs which contains those words, ‘the hand of the diligent maketh rich [Prov. 10:4],’ contains also these words, ‘the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he added no sorrow with it [v. 22].’ Before engaging in any work which may belong to our respective callings, let us earnestly implore the blessing of God upon our labours [Ps. 90:17].” Ibid, pp. 301-302.
• 19
  Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, pp. 563-564.
• 20
  “The Bible’s story of the world opens with God doing work, six days of it. Once completed, not from weariness but because the work was done, God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 1:1-23; Heb. 4:3-4). Given that man is made in the God’s image and likeness (Gen. 1:27), with Christians called to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1), the fact that the Bible opens with this scene of God doing the work of creation by his powerful word calls for reflection… The Bible opens with a depiction of God at work, and the operational understanding throughout the Bible is that God continues to work, guiding upholding, loving, judging, and saving [John 5:17]… Work is therefore built into the created order, right from the start. God gave man stewardship of the land and all life on it. All tasks man undertakes in God’s world can be seen in relationship to that original commission… All jobs relate to those great tasks. The making of roads and markets enables us to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over the animals. The tasks related to helping other humans to flourish intellectually and spiritually enable people to deal with the land and living creatures. Arguably every righteous task in the world—from that of the farmer or ranger to that of the engineer, the software developer, or the nuclear physicist, from that of the ditchdigger to the physician (or veterinarian), from the coach to the pastor, the zookeeper to the politician, the sergeant to the mailman—every task in the world can be seen in relationship to the subjection of the earth and the exercise of dominion.” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, pp. 18-19, 21-22.
• 21
  Corbett, Steve and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself. Moody Publishers, 2014, p. 109.
• 22
  If we acquire things through deceit, theft, or laziness, we cannot properly say that these were given to us by God (cf. Prov. 30:8-9). Our means of support should not be through inherently sinful channels, such as gambling, dealing drugs, prostitution, violence, etc. (cf. Jer. 6:13; Mk. 7:21-22; Hos. 12:7; Ja. 4:3). We should not be stealing from or defrauding others (Eph. 4:28). “Not all jobs are righteous… People are paid to commit murder, to bear false witness, to corrupt justice, or to commit adultery. Such jobs not only transgress God’s commands; they image forth the character of the usurper [Satan] rather than the likeness of the Creator [God].” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, p. 22. “We are not sincere in praying that God may give it to us, if, instead of waiting till God gives it, we take it violently into our own hands, in defiance of the laws of justice and charity.” Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, p. 300.
• 23
  “Even at that period when nature produced everything spontaneously [i.e., in the Garden of Eden], man was not permitted to eat his bread in total idleness [Gen. 1:28-30]. After the fall, a sentence was pronounced on the human race, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread’ [Gen. 3:19]; and this is the ‘sore travail which God hath given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith [Eccl. 1:13].’ The Son of God [Jesus Christ] himself, our greater preserver, before entering on the public [ministry] appears to have supported himself, and the family to which he belonged, by labouring as a [carpenter; Mk. 6:3; cf. Mt. 13:55]. The liberty of the Gospel does not exempt us from the obligation to toil.”Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 298-299.
• 24
  There are seven statements to this effect in the Book of Ecclesiastes (2:24-25; 3:12-13; 22; 5:18-19; 8:15; 9:7-10; and 11:8-10). “The preacher in Ecclesiastes… teaches his audience to enjoy God’s good gifts of food, work, and companionship… The ability to do so is a merciful gift from God, as Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 makes clear.” Hamilton, James M. Work and Our Labor in the Lord. Crossway Books, 2017, pp. 50-52, 67.
• 25
  Witsius, Herman. Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pp. 306-307.