The Homiletic Review Volume 22 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1891 Excerpt: ...the critics in hermeneutics, is conceded to be facile princeps. Meyer's explanation is: " God leads into temptation in so far as, to the course of His administration, He brings about a state of things that may lead to temptation--i.e., the situations and circum stances thalfurnish an occasion for sinning." But as possibly throwing some light on the matter, I wish to call J. O. B. 's attention also to the following statement--viz., that in the Greek text of the Lord's Prayer every petition commences with the imperative mood and aorist tense, except the clause: not //;) fiotvifKijf f//idf elf iretpaoi6v (" and lead us not into temptation" ); which clause makes use of the aorist subjunctive. Is not this change in grammatical construction significant? Does not the use of the aorist imperatives--&ytaa0frru, eWtru, yevrflfyru, 56f, and &ijiff--denote that the specific things desired will be certainly granted, the aorist--an achronic tense out of the indicative--giving a vividness to the petitions as if already granted; while the aorist subjunctive, E(Tevfy-9f, with the subjective negative, pf), conditions the realization of the petition on the will of God as shown in the issues of providence, and possibly also on the earnestness and importunacy of our prayers? We are often tempted by surprises of evil, and have to meet a wily adversary. We may infer, accordingly, from the very construction that, since the petition is specially contingent our prayers should be specially importunate, that we may not be overcome by temptation, whatever this word may mean. In modern usage it means enticement to evil; but in the New Testament netpaafuis means sometimes enticement to sin, as in Luke iv. 18; 1 Tim, vi. 9; and sometimes lest, or approval ...