I believe that He will come again from heaven at the last day, to judge those who then are living and those who have died meanwhile, and all men, all angels and devils must come before His judgment-seat and see Him in the flesh; that He will come to redeem me and all who believe in Him from bodily death and all infirmities, to punish our enemies and adversaries eternally, and to redeem us eternally from their power.

The Third Part

[Sidenote: The Third Article]

I believe in the Holy Ghost, a Holy Christian Church, a communion of saints, a forgiveness of sins, a resurrection of the body, and a life everlasting. Amen.

This means--

I believe not only that the Holy Ghost is one true God, with the Father and the Son, but that no one can come to the Father through Christ and His life, sufferings and death, and all that has been said of Him, nor attain any of His blessings, without the work of the Holy Ghost, by which the Father and the Son teach, quicken, call, draw me and all that are His, make us, in and through Christ, alive and holy and spiritual, and thus bring us to the Father; for it is He by Whom the Father, through Christ and in Christ, worketh all things and giveth life to all.

I believe that there is on earth, through the whole wide world, no more than one holy, common[15], Christian Church, which is nothing else than the congregation[16], or assembly of the saints, i. e., the pious, believing men on earth, which is gathered, preserved, and ruled by the Holy Ghost, and daily increased by means of the sacraments and the Word of God.

I believe that no one can be saved who is not found in this congregation, holding with it to one faith, word, sacraments, hope and love, and that no Jew, heretic, heathen or sinner can be saved along with it, unless he become reconciled to it, united with it and conformed to it in all things.

I believe that in this congregation, or Church[17], all things are common, that everyone's possessions belong to the others and no one has anything of his own; therefore, all the prayers and good works of the whole congregation must help, assist and strengthen me and every believer at all times, in life and death, and thus each bear the other's burden, as St. Paul teaches. [Gal. 6:2]

I believe that in this congregation, and nowhere else, there is forgiveness of sins; that outside of it, good works, however great they be or many, are of no avail for the forgiveness of sins; but that within it, no matter how much, how greatly or how often men may sin, nothing can hinder forgiveness of sins, which abides wherever and as long as this one congregation abides. To this congregation Christ gives the keys, and says, in Matthew xviii, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." [Matt. 18:18] In like manner He says, in Matthew xvi, to the one man Peter, who stands as the representative of the one and only Church [Matt. 16:19], "Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

I believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead, in which, by the same Holy Ghost, all flesh will be raised again--that is, all men, in flesh, or body, the good and the wicked; and, therefore, the self-same flesh which has died, been buried, mouldered and been destroyed in many ways shall return and become alive.

I believe that after the resurrection there will be an eternal life for the saints and an eternal death or sinners; and I doubt not that the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, with and in the Holy Ghost, will bring all this to pass--that is the meaning of Amen, "It is assuredly and certainly true."

Hereupon follows

THE LORD'S PRAYER

[Sidenote: The Preface]

The Preface and Preparation for offering the Seven Petitions to God: Our Father Who art in heaven.

This means--

O Almighty God, Who in Thy boundless mercy hast not only granted us permission, but by Thine only beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, hast bidden and taught us through His merit and mediation to look to Thee as Father and call Thee Father, though Thou mightest in all justice be a stern Judge of us sinners, who have sinned so often and so grievously against Thy divine and gracious will, and thus have angered Thee: Put in our hearts, by this Thy mercy, a comfortable confidence in Thy fatherly love, and make us feel and taste the sweetness of childlike trust, so that we may joyfully name Thee Father, and know Thee and love Thee, and call upon Thee in all our necessities. Have us in Thy keeping, that we may remain Thy children, and not be guilty of making Thee, dear Father, a terrible Judge, and ourselves Thine enemies, and not Thy children.

It is Thy will that we not only call Thee Father, but that all of us together call Thee our Father, and thus offer our prayers with one accord or all: Grant us, therefore, brotherly love and unity, that we may know and think of one another as true brethren and sisters, and pray to Thee, our one common Father, or all men and for every man, even as one child prays or another to its father.

Let no one among us seek his own things or forget before Thee the things of others; but, all hatred, envy and dissension laid aside [Phil. 2:4], may we love one another as good and true children of God, and thus say with one accord not "my Father," but "our Father."

Moreover, since Thou art not a father according to the flesh nor upon earth, but art in heaven, a spiritual Father, Who diest not and art not weak, but unlike an earthly father who cannot help himself, whereby Thou showest us how immeasurably better a Father Thou art, and teachest us to hold as nothing in comparison with Thee all earthly fatherhood, fatherland, friends, goods, flesh and blood: Grant us, therefore, O Father, that we may also be Thy heavenly children; teach us to think only of our souls and of our heavenly inheritance, that our temporal fatherland and earthly lot may not deceive and hold and hinder us, and make us altogether children of this world, so that with real and true cause we may say, "Of our heavenly Father," and may be truly Thy heavenly children.

The First Petition: Hallowed be thy Name. The

This means--

[Sidenote: The First Petition]

O Almighty God, dear heavenly Father, in this wretched vale of sorrows Thy Holy Name is so much profaned, blasphemed and put to shame, given to much which is not for Thine honor, abused in many things and made a cloak for sin, so that even a shameful life may well be called a shaming and dishonoring of Thy Holy Name:

Grant us, therefore, Thy divine grace, that we may be on our guard against everything which doth not serve to the praise and honor of Thy Holy Name. Help us, that all witchcraft and sorcery may be done away. Help us, that all conjuring of the devil or of creatures by Thy Name may cease. Help us, that all false beliefs and superstitions may be rooted out. Help us, that all heresy and false doctrine which disguise themselves with Thy Name may come to naught. Help us, that no false pretence of truth and piety and holiness may deceive any man. Help us that none may swear or lie or deceive by Thy Name.

Protect us against all false confidence pretending to rest upon Thy Name. Protect us against all spiritual pride and the vainglory of worldly honor or reputation. Help us in all our necessities and weaknesses to call upon Thy Holy Name. Help us in anguish of conscience and in the hour of death not to forget Thy Name. Help us with all our goods and in all our words and works to praise and honor Thee alone, and not thereby to make or seek to make a name for ourselves, but only for Thee, Whose alone are all things. Preserve us from the shameful vice of ingratitude.

Grant that by our good works and life all other men may be stirred up to praise, not us, but Thee in us, and to honor Thy Name [Matt. 5:16]. Help us, that our evil works or weaknesses may give no one occasion to stumble and dishonor Thy Name or to cease from praising Thee. Keep us, that we may not desire any temporal or eternal blessing which is not to the honor and praise of Thy Name, and if we pray for such things, give Thou no ear to our folly. Help us so to live that we may be found true children of God, that Thy Fathername may not be named upon us falsely or in vain.

To this petition belong all the psalms and prayers in which we praise, honor, thank and sing to God, and here belongs the whole Hallelujah.

The Second Petition: Thy Kingdom come.

[Sidenote: The Second Petition]

This means--

This wretched life is a kingdom of all sin and wickedness, under one lord, the evil spirit, the source and head of all wickedness and sin; but Thy kingdom is a kingdom of every grace and virtue under one Lord, Jesus Christ Thy dear Son, the Head and Source of every grace and virtue. Therefore help us, dear Father, and be gracious unto us. Grant us above all things a true and constant faith in Christ, a fearless hope in Thy mercy despite all the fearfulness of our sinful conscience, and a thorough love to Thee and to all mankind. Keep us from unbelief and despair and revengefulness.

Help us against lewdness and unchastity, and give us a love for virginity and all purity. Help us out of dissension, war and discord, and let the virtue of Thy kingdom come--peace, and unity, and quiet rest. Grant that neither wrath nor any other bitterness may set up its kingdom within us, but that there may rule within us, by Thy grace, sweet simplicity and brotherly fidelity, and all kindliness, charity and gentleness. Help us to have within us no undue sorrow or sadness, but let joy and gladness in Thy grace and mercy come to us. And help us, finally, that all sin may be turned away from us, so that we may be filled with Thy grace, and all virtues and good works, and thus become Thy kingdom, so that all our heart, mind and spirit, with all our powers of body and soul, may obediently serve Thee, keep Thy commandments and do Thy will, be ruled by Thee alone, and may not follow after self or flesh or world or devil.

Grant that this Thy kingdom, now begun in us, may increase, and daily grow in power; that indifference to God's service--that subtle wickedness--may not overcome us and make us all away, but give us rather the power and earnest purpose not only to make a beginning in righteousness, but boldly to go on unto perfection; as saith the prophet, "Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death or grow idle in the good life I have begun; and lest the enemy again prevail against us." [Ps. 13:3 f.]