thing. They are under the necessity of praying thus, not that those things in which they abound may be given them, but that they lose not what they possess. Let the rich, therefore, learn hence the lesson taught by the Apostle, " not to be high-minded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God; who giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy." [1] As a reason for the necessity of this petition, St. Chrysostome says, that in it we not only pray for the means of subsistence, but, also, that " our daily bread" may be supplied by the hand of God, which imparts to it a salubrious and salutary influence, rendering it nutritive, and preserving the body in subjection to the soul. [2]
But why say " give us," in the plural number, not " give me," in the singular? Because it is a duty of Christian charity, that each individual be not only solicitous for himself, but, also, active in the cause of his neighbour; and that, whilst he attends to his own interests, he forget not the interests of others. Add to this, that the gifts which God bestows, he bestows, not with a view that he to whom they are given should possess them exclusively, or live luxuriously in their enjoyment; but that he may divide his superfluities with others. As St. Ambrose and St. Basil say, " It is the bread of the hungry that you withhold; it is the clothes of the naked that you lock up: it is the redemption, the freedom, the money of the wretched, that you hide under the earth." [3]
" THIS DAY"] These words remind us of the common infirmity of mortals. Although distrustful of being able, by his own exertions, to procure permanent subsistence, who does not feel confident of being able to procure necessary food for one day at least? Yet even this confidence God will not permit us to cherish: he commands us to ask him even for our daily bread. As, then, we all stand in need of daily bread, it follows as a necessary consequence that we should make daily use of the Lord's prayer.
We have thus far treated of that bread which we use to nourish and support the body, and which God, " who maketh his sun to rise on the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust," [4] bestows, in his admirable beneficence, indiscriminately on the good and the bad. It now remains to treat of that spiritual bread, which is, also, the object of this petition of the Lord's Prayer, and which comprehends every thing necessary for the safety and salvation of the soul. The soul, not less than the body, is nourished by a variety of food: the word of God, for instance, is the food of the soul; for Wisdom says, " Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you." [5] When God deprives men of this his word, a privation frequently involved by our crimes, he is said to visit the human race with famine; " I will send forth," says he, " a
