The Fifth Petition

This petition refers to the poverty and wretchedness of our lives. Although we have God's Word and believe and do God's will and submit to it, and though we are nourished by God's gifts and blessings, our lives are not free from sin. We daily stumble and transgress, because we live in a world of people who sorely vex us and give occasion for impatience, anger, revenge and the like. Besides, the devil is after us; he attacks on all sides, and fights as we have heard against all the foregoing petitions and so it is not possible always to stand firm in such a constant conflict. Hence, here again there is great need to pray and cry: Dear Father, forgive us our debts. Not that he does not forgive sins without our prayers, and before we pray, for he gave us the Gospel, in which there is nothing but forgiveness, before we prayed for it or ever thought of it. But the point here is for us to recognize and accept this forgiveness. For the flesh in which we daily live is so constituted that it neither trusts nor believes in God, and is ever stirred by evil lusts and wicked desires, causing us to sin daily in word and deed by omission and commission. Thus our consciences become restless, fear God's wrath and displeasure, and lose the comfort and confidence the Gospel inspires; therefore, it is necessary for us to reassure our consciences by constantly turning to this petition for comfort.

The effect of this should be to break our pride and keep us humble. When one boasts his piety and despises others, God will bring him to his own, if he will examine himself and set this petition before his eyes. He will come to the conclusion that he is no better than others, that there is no strutting before God; and thus he will rejoice in the opening of the way to forgiveness. Let no one think that he ever will be above the need of forgiveness in this life. In short, unless God unceasingly forgives, we are lost.

Hence this petition is really an appeal to God not to regard and punish our sins, as we daily deserve, but to deal graciously with us and forgive as he has promised, and thus grant us cheerful and bold consciences to stand before him and pray. For where the heart is not right with God and does not obtain such confidence, it will never venture to pray. But such confidence and a joyful heart can never be ours until we have assurance that our sins are forgiven.

It is a necessary and yet a very comforting clause that is added: "As we also forgive our debtors." God has promised us assurance of complete forgiveness and remission of sins; yet only so far as we forgive our neighbor. Inasmuch as we daily sin greatly against God, and he forgives all through grace, we must constantly forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence and injustice and bears us malice, etc. If you do not forgive, think not that God will forgive you, but if you forgive, you have in that forgiveness the comfort and assurance that you are pardoned in heaven. Not because you forgave others; for God forgives freely and gratuitously, out of pure grace, because he promised it, as the Gospel teaches; but that you may be strengthened and assured by such earnest of forgiveness in addition to the promise agreeing with this prayer: "Forgive and ye shall be forgiven," Lk 6, 37. Hence Christ repeats the promise after the Lord's Prayer and says, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," etc., Mt 6, 14.

This token, therefore, is attached to the petition to remind us when we pray, of the promise and to make us plead: Dear Father, I come and pray thee to forgive me; not because I can make satisfaction or merit anything by my works, but because thou hast promised and set thy seal to the promise, making it as certain as an absolution spoken by thyself. For everything that Baptism and the Lord's Supper can effect—which are appointed as outward tokens—this sign can also effect in strengthening our consciences and making us happy. And another reason it has been appointed is that it is something which we may make use of and have with us at all times.