Westminster Larger Catechism (Q 191-193)

Dear Church Family,

This past Sunday, in our weekly Sunday school lessons in the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), we studied and discussed questions 191-193. Here is a brief review.

WLC 191  What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come,) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel-officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate: that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him for ever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.

Elsewhere, in the Westminster Confession of Faith, we learn that the visible church (all those who profess the true religion and their children) is “the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation” (WCF 25.2). Thus, when we pray ‘Thy kingdom come,’ we are praying for the advancement of the church militant and the fulfillment of the church victorious (see also WSC 102). There are four broad aspects of the coming of God’s kingdom for which we pray:

1. Victory in the spiritual war between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13-14; Revelation 12:10-11).
2. The purity of the work and worship of the church (Matthew 9:38; 1 Timothy 2:1-2).
3. The rule of Christ in our hearts (Ephesians 3:14-21).
4. The hastening of Christ’s second coming and our reigning with Him forever (1 Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 4:8-11; 22:20).

WLC 192  What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. In the third petition (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,) acknowledging, that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God, but prone to rebel against his word, to repine and murmur against his providence, and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil: we pray, that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness, weakness, indisposedness, and perverseness of heart; and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the like humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy, as the angels do in heaven.

In using the phrase “as it is in heaven,” Jesus was most likely alluding to how the angels perfectly do the Lord’s will in heaven (Psalm 103:20-21). Thus, acknowledging that we and all men are prone to rebel against God and His word (Romans 7:18), in this third petition, we pray for two general things for ourselves and others. We pray that God by His Spirit would:

1. Take away our blindness and perverseness of heart – mortify our sinful nature (Jeremiah 31:18-19).
2. Make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to His will – vivify our spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7).

WLC 193  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.

Recognizing that we do not deserve any outward blessings in this life and that every good thing is a gift from our Father in heaven (James 1:17), in this fourth petition, we pray for three general things for ourselves and others:

1. That we would, by lawful means, have a competent portion of the outward blessings of this life (Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:11).
2. That we would find contentment in our portion of the outward blessings of this life (1 Timothy 6:6-8; Proverbs 30:7-9).
3. That we would be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort (Proverbs 28:19; 1 Timothy 3:8-9; Titus 1:7).

Conclusion

I hope you will join us for our continuing study of the Westminster Larger Catechism on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am as we learn more about how God’s Word directs and helps us to pray!

The Lord be with you!
Pastor Peter M. Dietsch