MARTIN LUTHER’S

EXPOSITION OF THE

LORD’S PRAYER

MARTIN LUTHER’S

EXPOSITION OF THE

LORD’S PRAYER

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I

will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his

name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear to

hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Rev. 3:5,6

The Huntingtonian Press

2017

© The Huntingtonian Press 2017

ISBN: 978-1-901716-08-5

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72a Upper Northam Road

Hedge End

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD ................................................................................ 7

ADDRESS TO THE READER .............................................. 13

LUTHER’S PREFACE .............................................................. 15

EXPOSITION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER ....................... 17

Our father which art in heaven. ........................................... 21

Hallowed be thy name. ......................................................... 27

Thy kingdom come ............................................................... 40

Thy will be done upon earth as it is in heaven .................. 47

Give us this day our daily bread .......................................... 57

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ....... 74

And lead us not into temptation ......................................... 84

But deliver us from evil. Amen ........................................... 89

A short view and arrangement of the petitions ...................... 93

Appendix 1

SERMON: OF PRAYER .......................................................... 99

Appendix 2

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LORD’S PRAYER. ... 105

7

FOREWORD

Concerning Saul of Tarsus, Christ said to Ananias in Acts

9:16 “I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” So began the ministry of the man who became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Subsequently his whole ministry was formed and fashioned by all that he experienced of sufferings both outwardly and inwardly. In 2 Corinthians 7:5

Paul declares, “we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.” The same was true in the life of the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, his whole life and experience was bound up with that mighty movement of the Spirit of God which we know as the Protestant Reformation. In all his writings Luther speaks of what he had known and felt in his own soul. This is evident in this little work on the Lord’s Prayer as Luther deals with his subject in a distinctive experimental manner.

It is this experimental nature of his writings that made them so highly valued by the Huntingtonians. Thomas Nunn who was principally responsible for the publication of this work in 1844 attended the ministry of William Huntington, and after the latter’s death was very much attached to the ministry of Huntington’s son-in-law, Joseph Francis Burrell, at Eshcol Chapel, Great Titchfield Street, London, where he became a

deacon. Nunn writes thus of Luther, “I have found him a sweet companion; yes, I bless God for him, for though he is dead, yet he speaketh.” And of this particular work by Luther

on the Lord’s Prayer he declares “[it] has often been blessed to my soul.”

Martin Luther

8

As the Huntingtonians loved Luther’s writings so they also had an even higher regard for the Lord’s Prayer. Bernard Gilpin looked to James Bourne, Nunn’s fellow deacon at Eshcol Chapel, as his spiritual father and mentor, and Gilpin writes thus of the Lord’s Prayer:

I had a sweet feeling of the blessedness of sitting down in a quiet and humble residence, and there praying the Lord’s Prayer, all our lifetime. What a substance! Adoption, adoration, submission, daily bread, mutual love, love even to our enemies, forgiveness of sins, deliverance from temptations, and from all evil! If a man is following after these things by faith, he has great gain both here and hereafter.

In writing to his friend Thomas Yeomans, of Birmingham and Leicester, on the 15th September 1843 Nunn raises the matter of his hope to publish Luther’s work:

I wish to tell you of another matter. About two years ago, while reading Luther’s explanation of our Lord’s Prayer, which I have often found sweet and encouraging, more than I can express, I felt a great desire in my soul, if it pleased the Lord, that I might get a few copies, with the summary, reprinted, for the benefit of our poor, having found it so many times profitable to myself. I thought, as a little pocket companion, it might also be to others, who could not get it any other way, a great benefit. I applied therefore to Mr C. through a neighbour of mine, a printer, who is acquainted with him; but Mr C. has kept me in suspense till now, though I had offered him liberally, to allow me the privilege, as Mr S., the bookseller, told me it would be no detriment to his works.

Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer

9

Some time ago, I was mentioning to Mr M. my desire for this; and he told me, he had no doubt but that it might be translated among us, by the Mr B.s or others, without being beholden to Mr C. and I should be glad if

so it could be

As I doubt not you are acquainted with the above little treatise of Luther’s, it has struck me, whether yourself and friends would like to take a few copies, for the benefit of others. If you think, with me, it might be profitable to such as cannot procure it by any other means, I shall be glad to send you the translation, for

your perusal, before it goes to the press. Mr M. intends some other pieces that we may think profitable; such as a short sermon on prayer, &c., to make the work a little different from Mr C.’s.

There is little doubt that the Mr C. referred to would have been Henry Cole, the translator of the works of both Luther and Calvin in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Mr B.s is probably a reference to William and Samuel Myles Benson these were the eldest and third eldest sons of John and Frances Benson. Their mother was the eldest sister of Bernard Gilpin, and each of them married daughters of James Bourne. The Mr M. is doubtless a reference to Watkin Maddy and he would most likely have been the person principally responsible for this translation. Luther’s Exposition of Isaiah ix. 4-7, recently published by the Huntingtonian Press, was translated by Maddy. When he first published it in March, 1884, Samuel Benson wrote in the Preface:

…It is now printed from a manuscript translation made by a deceased friend of the Editor, the Rev Watkin Maddy, M.A., formerly Fellow and Second Wrangler of

Martin Luther

10

St. John’s College, Cambridge. The Editor has unconsciously had the manuscript in his possession ever

since the death of Mr Maddy in 1857

We know that there is also “a translation from the Latin of Luther on Genesis” by Maddy. This was sold at a Books and Manuscripts Sale held at Sotheby’s, London, in April and May 1990. However our attempts to trace this work have proved unsuccessful.

Although the sermon on prayer was not included with Nunn’s edition of Luther’s exposition of the Lord’s Prayer we have included it as an appendix to this edition. Also included as a further appendix is Luther’s “Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer,” taken from his Larger Catechism.

The Huntingtonian Press is publishing these three excellent pieces on the subject of prayer to mark the quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation. It was on the 31st October 1517 that Luther nailed his 95 theses against the sale of indulgences to the church door at Wittenberg Castle.

In this experimental exposition of the Word of God, contained in Christ’s pattern prayer, Luther clearly and faithfully sets forth the twofold effect of Scripture when sovereignly applied by the Holy Spirit. Luther declares:

…every single word of God, has in its nature this effect, to terrify, and to console; to wound, and to heal; to break in pieces, and to build; to root up, and to plant; to humble, and to exalt.

Furthermore, might the spiritual reader be made conscious of, and heed the truth of what Luther says at the end of his exposition of the Lord’s Prayer:

Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer

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The word and promise of God, not thy devotion, makes the prayer good. For that faith that is grounded upon his word is the true devotion, without which all other devotion is mere deceit and error.

Henry Sant

October, 2016

12

13

ADDRESS TO THE READER

CHRISTIAN READER

The publication of this little book has arisen from the

following circumstances. For many years past I have read

Luther’s Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer among his Select Works,

translated by the Rev. H. Cole, and have found much profit and

edification from it.

About two years ago, while reading it with much comfort

and satisfaction, the Lord enlightening my understanding, in

some measure, into the mystery of man’s fall by sin, and also of

his great redemption by Jesus Christ, my soul melting in love

and gratitude for this unspeakable benefit, and having a good

hope that I had a blessed interest in it myself, though every way

unworthy, I felt an earnest desire in my soul that others might

have the same privilege; especially as it sweetly accords with the

faithful ministry it has been my mercy to hear, which has

established my soul in the important truths Luther preached in

his days; and I found a most sweet spirit of prayer, that, if it

were the Lord’s will, he would put it in my power to get it

reprinted as a small pocket companion to such as fear his name,

and are desirous of a nearer acquaintance with the divine

Author of this prayer, who only is able to guide us into all truth,

“which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only

Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; who only hath

immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach

unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be honour

and power everlasting, Amen.”

Martin Luther

14

I doubted not that God would make it a blessing to his

people, knowing many who would be glad to read it, but who

cannot get at it in Mr. Cole’s translation because of the expense.

I believe there are very few who understand our Lord’s

Prayer so as to attain to a saving knowledge of its worth and

preciousness, and to get the spiritual comfort from it that God

our Saviour intended for his people’s stability in faith, hope and

love; and I have never found it so sweetly and profitably

explained in any good man’s works, as in Luther’s.

I hoped therefore that this act would be “sowing light for

the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart;” believing it

to be calculated to establish and settle the weak and mourners

in Zion, who are in the path of tribulation on account of a body

of sin and death, being tempted and tried, and truly such as our

Lord invites, “Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you (said the

dear Saviour of mankind) and learn of me for I am meek and

lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my

yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

And it is my desire that such as fear God, for the comfort of

their own souls may more abundantly appreciate that sweet

Scripture in Jude, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on

your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep

yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our

Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Thus I have given the cause of my publishing this

exposition; and God has been pleased to accomplish my desires

in a way I did not expect, enabling me by the kindness of some

Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer

15

friends to obtain a new translation, containing some parts not

before published in English.

And that the Lord may make it a blessing to thee, Christian

Reader, and to all who peruse it, is the earnest prayer of,

Your’s, in the best bonds,

THOS. NUNN.

19, GREAT JAMES STREET, BEDFORD ROW.

This translation is as nearly as possible word for word from

the German, except in a few places, where the sense appeared

obscure, and that an objectionable expression here and there is

omitted.

~~~~~~~~~~

LUTHER’S PREFACE

There was no need for my preaching and words to be spread

abroad through the country, since there are many other books

at hand, which are worthy and useful to be published among

the people. I know not how, by the will of God, I have been

brought into action; and some in friendship, and some in

enmity, seize and toss about my words. Wherefore this has

occasioned me to publish anew this exposition of the Lord’s

Prayer, which was before put forth by my good friend; that I

might, if possible, still further explain myself, and that I might

do a service to my opponents, for it was my object ever to

profit all, and to hurt no one.

Martin Luther

16

17

EXPOSITION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER

When the Disciples entreated Christ to teach them to pray,

he said, “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen

do; for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking;

be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth

what things ye have need of before ye ask him. After this

manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done in

earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and

forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; 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.”

(Matthew 6:7-13 cf. Luke 11:1-4) From these words of Christ we

learn both words and manner; that is, how, and for what, we

ought to pray; and both of these are necessary to be known.

First, the manner in which we ought to pray.

The manner is, to pray with few words, but with a very deep

feeling of the matter. The fewer the words, the better the

prayer, the more the words, the worse the prayer. It is Christian

to pray with few words and much feeling; but with many words

and little feeling, heathenish. Therefore he said, “Use not vain

repetitions, as the heathen do:” and he said to the heathen

woman, “The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit

and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John

4:23) Now prayer is said to be “in spirit and in truth,” in

opposition to that which is bodily, and in appearance. For this

apparent and bodily prayer is that outward muttering and

Martin Luther

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prating, which is from the mouth only, and without any

understanding. This is seen by men, and is exercised by the

bodily mouth, not in truth. But spiritual and true prayer is that

inward desire, groaning, and longing, proceeding from the

bottom of the heart. The first makes hypocrites and fanatics;

the other makes saints, and the fearing children of God. Here

there is still a distinction to be observed; for this outward

praying is of three kinds. The first proceeding from simple

obedience. In this sort of prayer the obedience is by far the best

thing; and it is like other bodily exercises proceeding from

obedience, if done from a simple intention of obeying, and not

for money, honour, or praise. And there is in the word of God

such unspeakable grace, that even if it be only uttered by the

mouth, without emotion, it is displeasing to the devil. The

second, without obedience, or unwillingly and with disgust; or

for money, honour, or praise. Such prayer would be better left

off, and they who practise it receive their reward in this life,

wealth and temporal honour, with which God rewards a

bond-servant, not a child. The third, with earnestness of heart.

Then is the appearance turned into the truth, and the outward

into the inward. Yea the inward truth breaks out, and becomes

evident together with the outward appearance. But it cannot be

that he who uses many words, prays deeply and spiritually;

because when the mind of a man is attending to anything he

says, and in that act of attention applies thought both to the

matter and to the words, it must necessarily care less for the

words and cleave to the matter, or, on the other hand, let slip

the matter, and think of the words. Therefore these spoken

prayers should be no further esteemed than as incitements and

admonitions for the soul to attend to the meaning and desire

Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer

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which are expressed by the words. Thus many of the Psalms

have for a title, “Of Victory,” “Praise ye the Lord,” which,

though expressed in few words, are yet an admonition to the

soul to think of and desire some good thing. Other Psalms have

the word Selah, which is interpreted, Rest, to remind us at such

a point in the prayer, to stop and pause, in order to consider

well the meaning, and leave the words for a time. In the second

place, Christ teaches us the words, and for what we ought to

pray. Since our Lord was the author of this prayer, without

doubt it is the most excellent, noble and good; for had our most

perfect and faithful Master known a better, he would have

taught us it. But this is not to be understood as though other

prayers, not having the same words as this, are evil; for a

multitude of saints prayed before the birth of Christ, who never

heard these words. But all other prayers, which do not

comprehend the substance and meaning of this prayer, are to be

suspected. The Psalms are good prayers; but they do not so

clearly express the special matter of this prayer, though they

include the whole of it. Therefore they err, who think any other

prayers, whatever they be, equal or even preferable to this;

especially such as are only for temporal blessings as health,

length of days, riches and honour, indulgencies from penance,

and the like; in which our own will and honour are more sought

than the will and honour of God. In this way have services of

human invention become more esteemed than the Lord’s

Prayer by itself. Not that I would reject all these, but there is

too much confidence placed in these verbal prayers, and hence

the genuine, spiritual, inward and real prayer of Christ is

slighted. For all indulgences, all advantages, all blessings, all that

a man needs both for mind and for body, here and in the world

Martin Luther

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to come, are contained abundantly in this prayer. It would be

far better for thee to say but once the Lord’s Prayer, with hearty

desire and understanding of the word, from which amendment

of thy life would spring, than to enjoy the indulgences granted

to the repetition of all other prayers.

This prayer is divided into two parts: in the first is the

preface, introduction, and prelude; in the second are seven

petitions. The first part is: