more gracious and beautiful because this petition for bread is in it! The picture of Christ, which is given us in the Gospels, is all the more winsome for the story which tells us that He took the little children in His arms and blessed them; and the character of God becomes all the more beautiful when we see His love stooping even to caring for our commonest wants. “Give us bread.” This petition asks God to supply our primary physical wants. It is not an unworthy petition. It is not too trivial a request to bring to God; for God is not a God simply for great crises, supreme emergencies, tremendous catastrophes: He is a God for every day, and for the common events of every day. Our God is, shall I say, a Master of detail. He cares not simply for the movements of worlds and the policies of nations. He notes the fall of a sparrow, and He counts the very hairs of our head. Nothing is too small for God to notice; the commonest affairs of the commonest life are matters of concern to Him. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Will you notice!— (1) That this prayer proclaims the fact of _our dependence_ upon God _for the very simplest of boons_. “Give us _bread_.” At first glance we might be tempted to think this was a poor man’s prayer; a prayer for the man who is face to face with hunger; a prayer for the man who does not know to-day how he is going to live through to-morrow; a prayer for the man whose balance at the bank has been exhausted, and whose last shilling has been spent; a prayer for the man whose cupboard is empty, and who has nothing in basket or store. “But,” we say, “this is not a prayer for a rich man; this is not a prayer for a man whose barns and storehouses are full; this is not a prayer for those who are nursed in the lap of luxury—the well-to-do, the affluent, the millionaire.” This is a prayer for Lazarus, not for Dives. But, as a matter of fact, I do not read that Jesus anywhere says that this is a petition the rich men need not offer. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, you will find that some of the prayers, _e.g._, the general thanksgiving and the prayer for all sorts and conditions of men—contain petitions which may be inserted or omitted according to the circumstances of the congregation. Such petitions you will find printed in italics and enclosed in brackets, and the instruction is given at the side, that such a petition is only to be used when any members of the congregation specially desire it. But this petition is not printed in italics. It is not enclosed in brackets. There is no instruction at the side to say, “This petition is to be offered by a congregation of the poor, but may be omitted by a congregation of the rich.” Oh no! there it stands in the body of the prayer. Before it you will find the command of Christ “When ye pray, say, Give us this day our daily bread.” There are no exceptions made. This is a prayer for all men, for the prince as well as the