That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

From the law of God.

Christ teaches us this in a summary in Matthew 22: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.

No, I am inclined by nature to hate God and my neighbor.

No, God created man good and in his image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him, and live with him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify him.

From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise, for there our nature became so corrupt that we are all conceived and born in sin.

Yes, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.

No, for God so created man that he was able to do it. But man, at the instigation of the devil, in deliberate disobedience robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.

Certainly not. He is terribly displeased with our original sin as well as our actual sins. Therefore he will punish them by a just judgment both now and eternally, as he has declared: Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.

God is indeed merciful, but he is also just. His justice requires that sin committed against the most high majesty of God be punished with the most severe, that is, with everlasting punishment of body and soul.

God demands that his justice be satisfied. Therefore full payment must be made either by ourselves or by another.

Certainly not. On the contrary, we daily increase our debt.

No. In the first place, God will not punish another creature for the sin which man has committed. Furthermore, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God’s eternal wrath against sin and deliver others from it.

One who is a true and righteous man and yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is at the same time true God.

He must be a true man because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should pay for sin. He must be a righteous man because one who himself is a sinner cannot pay for others.

He must be true God so that by the power of his divine nature he might bear in his human nature the burden of God’s wrath, and might obtain for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been given to us for complete redemption and righteousness.

From the holy gospel, which God himself first revealed in Paradise. Afterwards he had it proclaimed by the patriarchs and prophets, and foreshadowed by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law. Finally, he had it fulfilled through his only Son.

No. Only those are saved who by a true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his benefits.

True faith is a sure knowledge whereby I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word. At the same time it is a firm confidence that not only to others, but also to me, God has granted forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, out of mere grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits. This faith the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel.

All that is promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our catholic and undoubted Christian faith teach us in a summary.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Into three parts: the first is about God the Father and our creation; the second about God the Son and our redemption; the third about God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

Because God has so revealed himself in his Word that these three distinct persons are the one, true, eternal God.

That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by his eternal counsel and providence, is for the sake of Christ his Son my God and my Father. I trust in him so completely that I have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul. Moreover, whatever evil he sends upon me in this troubled life he will turn to my good, for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and is determined to do it, being a faithful Father.

The almighty and ever-present power of God whereby he still upholds, as it were by his own hand, heaven and earth together with all creatures, and rules in such a way that leaves and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, and everything else come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love; for all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot even move.

Because he saves us from all our sins, and because salvation is not to be sought or found in anyone else.

No. Although they boast of him in words, they in fact deny the only Savior Jesus. For one of two things must be true: either Jesus is not a complete Savior, or those who in true faith accept this Savior must find in him all that is necessary for their salvation.

Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us and who continually intercedes for us before the Father; and our eternal King, who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.

Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in his anointing, so that I may as prophet confess his name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him, and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with him eternally over all creatures.

Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are children of God by adoption, through grace, for Christ’s sake.

Because he has ransomed us, body and soul, from all our sins, not with silver or gold but with his precious blood, and has freed us from all the power of the devil to make us his own possession.

The eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took upon himself true human nature from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, through the working of the Holy Spirit. Thus he is also the true seed of David, like his brothers in every respect, yet without sin.

He is our Mediator and, in God’s sight, covers with his innocence and perfect holiness my sin, in which I was conceived and born.

During all the time he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, he bore, in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race. Thus, by his suffering, as the only atoning sacrifice, he has redeemed our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and obtained for us the grace of God, righteousness, and eternal life.

Though innocent, Christ was condemned by an earthly judge, and so he freed us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.

Yes. Thereby I am assured that he took upon himself the curse which lay on me, for a crucified person was cursed by God.

Because of the justice and truth of God, satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God.

His burial testified that he had really died.

Our death is not a payment for our sins, but only a dying to sins and an entering into eternal life.

Through Christ’s death our old nature is crucified, put to death, and buried with him, so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer reign in us, but that we may offer ourselves to him as a sacrifice of thankfulness.

In my greatest sorrows and temptations I may be assured and comforted that my Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pain, terror, and agony, which he endured throughout all his sufferings but especially on the cross, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell.

First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he could make us share in the righteousness which he had obtained for us by his death. Second, by his power we too are raised up to a new life. Third, Christ’s resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious resurrection.

That Christ, in the sight of his disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven and is there for our benefit until he comes again to judge the living and the dead.

Christ is true man and true God. As a man he is no longer on earth, but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit, he is never absent from us.

Not at all, for since divinity is incomprehensible and everywhere present, it must follow that the divinity is indeed beyond the bounds of the humanity which it has assumed, and yet is none the less within this humanity as well, and remains personally united with it.

First, he is our Advocate in heaven before his Father. Second, we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, as the Head, will also take us, his members, up to himself. Third, he sends us his Spirit as a counter-pledge, by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth.

Because Christ ascended into heaven so that he might manifest himself there as Head of his church, through whom the Father governs all things.

First, through his Holy Spirit he pours out heavenly gifts upon us, his members. Second, by his power he defends and preserves us against all enemies.

In all affliction and persecution I wait with uplifted head for the very one who has already offered himself to the judgment of God for my sake and has removed all the curse from me, to come as Judge from heaven, who shall cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but shall take me together with all his elect to himself into heavenly joy and glory.

First, that the Holy Spirit is coeternal God with the Father and the Son. Second, that the Spirit is also given to me, prepares me through a true faith to share in Christ and all his benefits, comforts me, and will remain with me forever.

I believe that the Son of God, out of the whole human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, defends, and preserves for himself, by his Spirit and Word, in the unity of the true faith, a congregation chosen for eternal life. And I believe that I am and forever shall remain a living member of it.

First, that believers, all and everyone, as members of Christ have communion with him and share in all his treasures and gifts. Second, that each member must consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and cheerfully for the benefit and well-being of the other members.

That God, for the sake of Christ’s satisfaction, will no more remember my sins nor the sinful nature with which I have to struggle all my life long, but graciously imputes to me the righteousness of Christ, so that I shall never come into condemnation.

Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head, but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ’s glorious body.

Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness, such as eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, to praise God forever.

In Christ I am righteous before God and heir to life everlasting.

Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any one of them, and that I am still always prone to all evil, yet God, without any merit of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me, if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.

Not because I please God by virtue of the worthiness of my faith, but because only Christ’s satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness are my righteousness before God, and because I can accept this and make it my own in no other way than through faith.

Because the righteousness which can be approved by God’s judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God, whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.

This reward comes not by merit but by grace.

No, for it is impossible for those who are grafted into Christ by true faith not to bring forth fruits of thankfulness.

The Holy Spirit works it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it through the use of the holy sacraments.

The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by their use he might the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel, namely, that he graciously grants us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life for the sake of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross.

Yes indeed, for the Holy Spirit teaches us in the gospel and assures us by the holy sacraments that our entire salvation rests on Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.

Two: holy baptism and the holy Supper.

In this way: Christ has instituted this outward washing with water and by it has promised that I am washed with his blood and Spirit from the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, as certainly as I am washed outwardly with water by which the dirt of the body is usually removed.

To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven our sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and lead holy and blameless lives.

In the institution of baptism, where he says: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. This promise is also repeated where Scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins.

No, only Jesus Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.

God speaks this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water removes dirt from the body. But, even more important, he wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that we are just as truly washed from our sins spiritually as our bodies are washed with water physically.

Yes, because they, as well as their parents, are included in the covenant and belong to the people of God. Since both redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to adults, they are also by baptism, as sign of the covenant, to be incorporated into the Christian church and distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the old covenant by circumcision, in place of which baptism was instituted in the new covenant.

In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and to drink of this cup. With this he has promised: as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup shared with me, so certainly his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Also, as certainly as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so certainly he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

It means first of all to accept with a believing heart all the suffering and death of Christ, and thereby to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Furthermore, it means to be united more and more to his sacred body through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us. So that, although he is in heaven and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone, always living and being governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.

In the institution of the Lord’s Supper: The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. This promise is also repeated by the apostle Paul, where he says: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

No. Just as the water of baptism is not transformed into the blood of Christ and is not the washing away of sins itself but is simply God’s sign and assurance of these things, so too the bread in the Lord’s Supper does not become the body of Christ itself, although it is called Christ’s body in keeping with the nature and practice of sacraments.

Christ speaks this way for a good reason: he wants to teach us that just as bread and wine sustain this temporal life, so his crucified body and poured-out blood are the true food and drink of our souls for eternal life. But, even more important, he wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge that through the working of the Holy Spirit we share in his true body and blood as surely as we receive with our mouth these holy signs in his remembrance, and that all his suffering and obedience are as certainly ours as if we ourselves had suffered and done everything in our place.

The Lord’s Supper testifies to us that we have complete forgiveness of all our sins through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself accomplished on the cross once for all; and that through the Holy Spirit we are incorporated into Christ, who is now in heaven with his true body at the right hand of the Father, and that is where he wants to be worshiped. But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have forgiveness of sins through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests; and that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine, and there is to be worshiped. Therefore the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry.

Those who are displeased with themselves because of their sins, and yet trust that these sins have been forgiven them and that their remaining weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ, and who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and lead a better life. Hypocrites and those who are unrepentant, however, eat and drink judgment on themselves.

No, for then the covenant of God is profaned and his wrath is kindled against the whole congregation. Therefore, according to the ordinance of Christ and his apostles, the Christian church is duty-bound to exclude such people, by the official use of the keys of the kingdom, until they amend their lives.

The preaching of the holy gospel and Christian discipline. By these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut against unbelievers.

When, according to the command of Christ, it is proclaimed and publicly testified to all believers that, as often as they accept the promise of the gospel by a true faith, all their sins are truly forgiven them of God for the sake of Christ’s merits; and on the contrary, when it is declared to all unbelievers and hypocrites that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation rest on them so long as they are not converted. It is according to this testimony of the gospel that God will judge both in this life and in the life to come.

When, according to the command of Christ, those who go by the name of Christian but show themselves to be un-Christian in doctrine or life are given brotherly admonition and, if they do not turn from their errors, are reported to the church, that is, to its officers. If they disregard their admonition, they are forbidden the use of the sacraments, and they are excluded by the officers from the Christian congregation, and by God himself from the kingdom of Christ. They are again received as members of Christ and of his church when they promise and show real amendment.

Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit to be his image, so that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for his blessing, and he may be praised by us; and further, so that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and by our godly walk may win our neighbors for Christ.

By no means. Scripture says that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Two things: the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new.

To grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sins, and more and more to hate and flee from them.

A heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.

Those done out of true faith, in accordance with the law of God, and to his glory, and not those based on our own opinion or human institutions.

God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Into two tables, the first of which teaches us, in four commandments, what we owe to God; the second, in six commandments, what we owe to our neighbor.

That I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I rightly come to know the only true God, trust in him alone, in humility and patience submit to him alone, expect all good from him only, love, fear, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against his will in any way.

Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in his Word.

That we in no wise make any image of God, nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded us in his Word.

God cannot and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. As for creatures, although they may indeed be portrayed, God forbids making or having any likeness of them in order to worship them or to serve God through them.

No, for we should not be wiser than God. He wants his people to be instructed not by means of dumb idols but through the living preaching of his Word.

That we must not profane or misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In a word, we must use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may rightly confess him, call upon him, and praise him in everything we do and say.

Yes, indeed, for no sin is greater or provokes God’s wrath more than the blaspheming of his name. That is why he commanded it to be punished with death.

Yes, when the government demands it of its subjects, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote fidelity and truth, to the glory of God and for our neighbor’s good. Such oath-taking is grounded in God’s Word and was therefore rightly used by saints in the Old and New Testaments.

No. A legitimate oath is a calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness, and to punish me if I swear falsely. No creature deserves such honor.

First, that the ministry of the gospel and Christian education be maintained, and that I, especially on the day of rest, diligently attend church to hear God’s Word, to use the holy sacraments, to call publicly upon the Lord, and to give Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil works, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

That I show all honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother and to all those in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their weaknesses and shortcomings, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.

I am not to dishonor, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor by thoughts, words, or gestures, and much less by deeds, whether personally or through another; but I am to put away all desire of revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why the government is armed with the sword.

By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder, which is envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge, and that all these are murder in his sight.

No. When God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, he commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness toward him, and prevent harm to him as much as we can; also, to do good even to our enemies.

That all unchastity is condemned by God, and that therefore we must detest it from the heart, and live chaste and disciplined lives, whether in holy marriage or in single life.

Since both our body and soul are temples of the Holy Spirit, God requires that we keep both pure and holy. Therefore he forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice us to unchastity.

He forbids not only such theft and robbery as are punished by the government; but he views as theft also all wicked tricks and devices whereby we seek to appropriate to ourselves our neighbor’s goods, whether by force or under the appearance of right, such as false weights, ells, measures, goods, coins, usury, or by any means forbidden of God; as also all covetousness and the misuse and waste of his gifts.

That I further my neighbor’s good where I can and may, deal with him as I wish others to deal with me, and work faithfully so that I may be able to give to those in need.

That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in judicial and all other dealings I am to avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. I am to love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I am to do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.

That not even the slightest thought or desire contrary to any of God’s commandments should ever arise in our hearts. Rather, we should always hate sin with our whole heart, and delight in all righteousness.

No. In this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience. Nevertheless, with all seriousness of purpose, they do begin to live according to all, not only some, of God’s commandments.

First, so that throughout our life we may more and more become aware of our sinful nature, and therefore seek more eagerly the forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ. Second, so that, while we diligently ask God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, we never stop striving to be renewed more and more after God’s image, until after this life we reach the goal of perfection.

Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us, and because God will give his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually with heartfelt longing, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them.

First, that from the heart we call upon the one true God only, who has revealed himself to us in his Word, for everything we need. Second, that we acknowledge our needs and misery thoroughly and humbly, so that we humble ourselves before his divine majesty. Third, that we rest assured that in spite of our unworthiness he will hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as he has promised us in his Word.

All things necessary for body and soul, which Christ our Lord has included in the prayer he himself taught us.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer that childlike reverence and trust toward God which should be basic to our prayer: God has become our Father through Christ and will much less deny us what we ask of him in faith than our fathers would refuse us earthly things.

These words teach us not to think of God’s heavenly majesty in an earthly way, and to expect everything for body and soul from his almighty power.

Hallowed be thy name. That is: help us first of all to know thee rightly, and to hallow, glorify, and praise thee in everything we do, in all thy works, in which shine thy almighty power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth. And so order our whole life of thought, word, and deed that thy name is not blasphemed on our account, but honored and praised everywhere.

Thy kingdom come. That is: so govern us by thy Word and Spirit that more and more we submit ourselves unto thee; preserve and increase thy church; destroy the works of the devil, and all violence which would exalt itself against thee; and so order all things until the fullness of thy kingdom comes, wherein thou shalt be all in all.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is: grant that we and all men may deny our own will, and without any murmuring obey thy will, which alone is good; and grant that everyone may fulfill the duties of his calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. That is: be pleased to provide for all our bodily needs so that we may thereby acknowledge that thou art the only fountain of all good, and that without thy blessing neither our care and labor nor thy gifts can do us any good. Therefore may we withdraw our trust from all creatures and place it alone in thee.

Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. That is: for the sake of Christ’s blood, do not impute to us, miserable sinners, any of our transgressions, nor the evil which still clings to us; as we also find this evidence of thy grace in us, that our hearts are sincerely disposed to forgive our neighbors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. That is: since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand even for a moment, and since our deadly enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh, do not cease their attacks, be pleased to preserve and strengthen us by the power of thy Holy Spirit, so that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but may always firmly resist our enemies, until we finally obtain the complete victory.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That is: we ask all this of thee because, as our King who has power over all things, thou art willing and able to give us all good; and so that not we, but thy holy name, may receive all the glory forever.

Amen means: this shall truly and surely be. For my prayer is much more certainly heard by God than I feel in my heart that I desire these things of him.