The Sixth Petition.
Q. WHAT is the sixth petition?
A. And lead us not into temptation.
A. And lead us not into temptation.
Q. What do we beg by this?
A. That God would not permit us to be tempted above our strength.
A. That God would not permit us to be tempted above our strength.
Q. Doth God tempt any man to sin?
A. No, "God is not a tempter of evils, he tempts no man." James i. 13.
A. No, "God is not a tempter of evils, he tempts no man." James i. 13.
Q. What other proof have you?
A. Out of Ps. v. 7 "Thou art not a God willing iniquity." And out of Rom. ix. 14. "Is there iniquity with God? No, God forbid."
A. Out of Ps. v. 7 "Thou art not a God willing iniquity." And out of Rom. ix. 14. "Is there iniquity with God? No, God forbid."
Q. By whom then are we tempted?
A. By the devil, and our own concupiscence.
A. By the devil, and our own concupiscence.
Q. Can a man live in this world, and be free from all temptations?
A. Morally speaking he cannot: "for the whole life of man on earth is a warfare." Job vii. 1.
A. Morally speaking he cannot: "for the whole life of man on earth is a warfare." Job vii. 1.
Q. Why then do we pray to be delivered from temptation?
A. That we may not be overcome, or vanquished by them.
A. That we may not be overcome, or vanquished by them.
Q. Is temptation of itself a sin?
A. No, not without consent on our part; nay, it is a great occasion of merit, if we resist it as we ought.
A. No, not without consent on our part; nay, it is a great occasion of merit, if we resist it as we ought.
Q. How prove you that?
A. First, out of Apoc. ii. 10, 11. "Be thou faithful unto death (saith our Lord) and I will give thee the crown of life: he that overcometh, shall not be hurt by the second death."
Secondly, because Christ himself, who never sinned, would be tempted, "and the tempter came unto him." &c. Matt. iv. 3.
A. First, out of Apoc. ii. 10, 11. "Be thou faithful unto death (saith our Lord) and I will give thee the crown of life: he that overcometh, shall not be hurt by the second death."
Secondly, because Christ himself, who never sinned, would be tempted, "and the tempter came unto him." &c. Matt. iv. 3.
Q. Are we never overcome by by our own default?
A. Never, according to that answer which was given to St. Paul, desiring to be freed from a temptation "My grace is sufficient for thee."
A. Never, according to that answer which was given to St. Paul, desiring to be freed from a temptation "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Q. What other proof have you?
A. Out of James iv. 7. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
A. Out of James iv. 7. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Q. Who are they that say this petition ill?
A. Such as seek after occasion of sin, and wilfully expose themselves unto temptations.
A. Such as seek after occasion of sin, and wilfully expose themselves unto temptations.
Q. What are the best remedies against temptations?
A. To have recourse by humble prayer to God and to his saints, and to such especially as have undergone temptations of the same kind; to resist them valiantly at the first entrance, and to remember often the four last things, death, judgment, hell, and heaven.
A. To have recourse by humble prayer to God and to his saints, and to such especially as have undergone temptations of the same kind; to resist them valiantly at the first entrance, and to remember often the four last things, death, judgment, hell, and heaven.
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