Table of Contents
Of the Lord’s Prayer
38. The prayer which the Lord taught us is an instruction and teaching of all that we should do and leave undone, and what we should ask and expect from God.
Since it comes from the mouth of the eternal Word, it is full of power and force.
It is not only a prayer, but also a summary doctrine of all Christianity, also Nature and the Eternal Being. No tongue can sufficiently expound it; the more it is considered, the more weight is found in it.
It is not merely a form of words, but a fountain of Spirit.
It is not only an introduction, but the Spirit itself which brings us again into regeneration. It is a springing well, proceeding from the words of God.
Text (Transcription & Rendering)
[The Entrance]
Unser vatter im Himmel
Our Father [which art] in Heaven.
41. When we say Unser vatter im Himmel, then the soul lifts itself up into all the Three Principles, and gives itself up into that out of which it is created. We understand this in the language of Nature very exactly and accurately.
For un- is God’s Eternal Will to Nature;
-ser means “to be” or “is,” comprehended in the first four forms of Nature, in which the First Principle consists.
42. Vatter gives the two distinctions of the two Principles:
- va- is the Matrix upon the Cross;
- -tter is Mercury in the Centre of Nature.
And these are the two Mothers in the Eternal Will, out of which all things are born:
- the one (va) severs itself into Fire,
- the other (-tter) into the Light of Meekness and into Water.
For va- is the Mother of the Light, which provides substantiality,
and -tter is the Mother of the fiery Tincture, which provides the great and strong life.
And Vatter is both of them.
43. When we say im, we understand the innermost, i.e. the Heart, from which the Spirit goes forth. For the syllable im goes forth from the Heart, and is sounded through the Lips; and the Lips keep the Heart in the innermost unawakened.
44. When we say Him(mel), we understand the creation of the soul. The syllable -mel is the Angelical soul itself, which the Heart on the Cross in the Centre between the two Mothers has comprehended, and with the word Him framed into a creature.
So: in Himel, or im Himmel = for Him, the habitation of mel.
Therefore the soul is created in Heaven, i.e. in the loving Matrix (or Mother).
Simplified Meaning
- Unser = God’s eternal will (un) entering into Nature (ser).
- Vater = the union of two Mothers:
- va = Mother of Light (substantiality).
- -tter = Mother of Fire (strength).
- im = the innermost Heart, source of Spirit.
- Himmel = “in Heaven,” creation of the soul as an angelic dwelling (mel = soul).
The First Petition
Dein Name werde geheiliget.
Thy Name be hallowed.
45. When we say Dein, we understand how the poor soul, which has fallen away from God’s will, now catches itself again into that Will (its Principle of Godhead).
The syllable Dein = the soul giving itself into the voice of God.
- Nab (in “Name”) = inclination inward,
- and the syllable me = the heavenly substantiality.
Thus, to say Dein Name = the soul inclines back into God’s heavenly substance, sanctified in the Will of God.
47. And when we say werde, then the whole creature goes along in the Will, for wer has the voice, and with the syllable de the heart falls down in obedience, in meekness, and will not kindle the wrath in fire, as Lucifer had done.
48. And when we say geheiliget, then the soul goes into the heavenly substantiality as a quiet child without anger, into the blessed will turning once more into God.
The syllable ge- is the going forth of the number three (the Trinity).
Thus, the soul passes into Majesty, into the holy light, with the syllable he, comprehended in the Holy Ghost.
With the syllable li, the soul moves into light, going forth with the Holy Ghost for the brightness of God’s majesty.
The syllable get is the soul’s wedding chariot, wherein it rides in the eternal sanctuary of the Holy Ternary (Trinity), sitting with the brightness of the Deity.
The Second Petition
Dein Reich komme.
Thy kingdom come.
49. When we say Dein, the poor soul gives itself up again into the Will of God, as God’s child.
Reich = the soul gives itself into the virtue and power of God’s kingdom, desiring not to come out of the deep, but to rest in the power of God.
The syllable komme = the soul goes forth into the virtue and power, and with me the heavens open, showing forth the apprehended power.
It is as a sprout: the root of the heart goes forth, lips open, and the sprout of the Will grows and spreads in life.
The Third Petition
Dein Wille geschehe wie im Himmel also auch auf Erden.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
53. Wille = the soul gives itself again into the Will of God.
- Wil = the soul gives itself with the Holy Ghost,
- le = the Centre sits in the heart and shines in the Holy Ghost.
Thus, the Will of God flows up in the heart.
Page 262–263
The Third Petition (conclusion)
Dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel also auch auf Erden
(Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven)
54. Geschehe — with this syllable the soul enters into the will.
- Sche = it works the work of God: for here it both, what the counsel of the Father is, what the heart of God wills, as the soul of Christ suffered it (to be hung upon the Cross), and it bows under the Cross as a child, in meekness.
55. Im = the Heart of God, out of which shines the Word.
Himmel = the angelic order, which does the will of God with joy.
So the soul desires to act in God’s will like the angels.
56. Also = it comprehends that will and drives it onward, manifesting it into outward works.
Auf Erden = that will is offered also in the earthly life.
Thus, the petition is that God’s will not remain hidden but be fulfilled visibly in creation.
The Fourth Petition
Gib uns unser täglich Brot heute
(Give us this day our daily bread)
60. Gib — the will sticks in the heart and presses outward, and the mouth catches it. The soul desires to be fed with the Word of God.
61. Uns — with this syllable the soul defends food for all its members, for all souls, as if they were one tree with many branches.
It pulls the nourishment of life out of the Rock (Christ), and so draws into unity all souls in common.
62. Unser — with this syllable, the soul’s will goes into eternal wisdom, wherein before creation the seed was discerned in the eternal will.
Thus, the soul takes its original name in the will, and one part nourishes the flesh, another nourishes the spirit.
If the soul only desired outward bread, it would be bound in the flesh. If it desires inward bread, it is fed by the Spirit eternally.
63. Here the author inserts a “Key”: the greatest hidden secret of being and of nature.
If you understand how “daily bread” includes both outer food and inner sustenance of the soul, you know the mystery of life.
64. Täglich — this syllable means the heavenly number is understood. The bread of heaven on the Cross is the daily martyr’s cross in us.
Thus, daily bread = Christ as the Bread of Life, received in continual surrender.
65. Brot — the corporeal substance springs up, our bodily life. But its truth is that the Body of Christ, as heavenly bread, is the deeper meaning.
Page 264–265
The Fifth Petition
Und vergib uns unser Schuld, als wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern.
(And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.)
67. Und — this syllable is that in which the will of the soul awakens in the meek fire of God. With und the word goes forth in meekness; it starts in the heart, lifts up as budding mercy, and brings reconciliation into the will of God.
- It sets the soul and the heart into unity again, where all wills are mingled in one another, for uns is the congregation of the soul.
- It joins the will into the meek fire of God.
Vergib — here the soul inclines itself down into meekness, as if it said: “I will give myself into Your fire, O Lord; forgive me, for I stand before You in humility.”
The syllable ver lays itself down in surrender; gib signifies the gift of mercy which God bestows.
Thus: forgive us = the will of the soul is washed in the laver of God’s mercy, where the sinner must be washed, or else remain in condemnation.
68. Uns = the union again, where the will of the soul unites itself with the congregation in the fire. All souls in one union, desiring to be washed.
Unser Schuld — here the soul yields itself into the love of God, and is washed as an evil child. It lays down all falseness and wickedness, as if all were but one debt.
69. Schuld = this is the true catalogue or register which sin has brought into the soul. But the mouth pronounces the syllable again as a flash to signify that our works fall away altogether; they belong to the Abyss if not forgiven.
Thus the syllable schuld expresses the lament and confession of debt, which must be washed away in God’s mercy.
70. Als = the will of the soul lays itself downward into escape, into the Abyss of wrath, desiring mercy. Als = lessening of wrath, opening a place of humility.
71. Wir = the will of the soul again presses into the love of God, to forgive as it is forgiven. The syllable wir catches the evil, laying it down in the love of God.
72. Vergeben — the soul enters again into love, overcoming the evil. This syllable points the soul into the majesty of light, in which it forgives outwardly, as it has been forgiven inwardly.
73. Unsern Schuldigern — this is the soul’s washing, its reconciliation, laying down debts in God’s love. It unites forgiveness of heaven with forgiveness on earth.
The Sixth Petition
Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung
(And lead us not into temptation)
76. Und — once more an injection into the loving meekness of God, where the will of the soul in the Majesty humbles itself before the Trinity.
77. Führe — the will goes with the Holy Ghost.
But the soul asks not to be led through the fierce wrath-fire of temptation alone, for that is prison. Instead, it seeks to go with the Spirit through trial into God, where the will is not overcome but proven.
The author recalls Christ’s temptation: “The devil has desired to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.”
So this petition is the soul asking that it not fall into the devil’s sifting power, but remain in the will of God.
78. Uns — this syllable once again unites the soul into fellowship, against the majesty of anger, and presses into the Spirit of God.
79. Nicht — the will of the soul asks not to be cast into wrath, but to be preserved in meekness.
80. In Versuchung — temptation is described as when the fierce wrath of Nature drives the soul down into trial. The petition is to be spared this, to be kept in the Spirit of God, who can turn wrath into love.
The Seventh Petition
Sondern erlöse uns von übel
(But deliver us from evil)
81. Son — in this syllable the majesty appears with its virtue and brightness over the centre of the heart. It gives the soul a principle of its own in the majesty.
82. Derne — this is the sprouting forth of the centre, the wonders of God opening, overcoming wrath and drawing the will into the kingdom of God.
83. Erlöse — here the will of the soul is delivered from wrath, lifted into God’s majesty, and preserved in the kingdom.
84. The author expands: This is the Great Wonder:
- that God has made of one wood and root two kingdoms:
- one kingdom grows outward into wrath (flesh, earthly),
- the other grows inward into love (spiritual, eternal).
This petition is the prayer that the soul be delivered from the wrath-nature, and that the Spirit of God carry it into the eternal kingdom.
Page 268–269
85. If there were no Nature, there would be no Glory, nor Power, nor Majesty. Nature is what manifests the divine Majesty outwardly:
- in Nature appear Power, Glory, Majesty, Trinity, Eternal Being.
- The soul, as Spirit, is discovered within Nature and lifted into divine being.
Without Nature, the soul would have no form, for the Spirit of God manifests itself in it.
86. Thus, fire generates the Spirit along with lust, and the Spirit longs after the fire’s light, to be received into it. If the Spirit did not go forth into fire and lust, it would not live.
So also the fire could not subsist if the Spirit of the air did not blow it up again.
This describes the constant interplay of Spirit and fire.
87. Now the poor soul, in Adam’s fall, has been captured in the earthly spirit. This spirit (of the world) holds the soul in lust, beneath the tyranny of wrath.
But in Christ, the poor soul is lifted again, with the Spirit of God within it, transformed into an angelic will.
The soul that enters God’s will is like a sprout from the root, rising into the light.
88. If the fierce principle (wrath-nature) were awakened again, it would be fire, and the four forms of Nature would rise again.
Therefore, God became man in Christ, so that the love-spirit might have a body and overcome wrath in himself.
89. If the soul remains stuck in the earthly body, it cries “Deliver us from Evil,” asking to be released. The word Deliver (Erlöse) has two meanings:
- outward dominion (body),
- inward dominion (spirit).
The will (angelic) is to be delivered from both wrath and evil.
90. But as long as the desires stir, opening to wrath, the soul is in danger. For it knoweth the Devil, who is proud and flying into wrath. If the soul willingly works in the Spirit of this world, it becomes bound again in evil.
Therefore, it must continually pray, “Deliver us.”
91. Christ fulfilled this on the Cross. He entered the wrath, bore it, and turned it into victory in the rainbow-covenant.
The rainbow is his covenant of peace; his body, the substance; his blood, the fullness of heaven.
92. The three colors of the Rainbow are the Three Principles.
