ON THE LORD’S PRAYER VII

 

I have taught your young lips the good words to say over,

Which form the petition we call The Lord’s Prayer,

And now let me help my dear child to discover

The meaning of all the good words that are there.

“Our Father,” the same appellation¹ is given

To a parent on earth, and a Parent of all,

O gracious permission! the God that’s in heaven

Allows His poor creatures Him Father to call.

To “hallow His name” is to think with devotion

Of it, and with reverence² mention the same;

Though you are so young, you should strive for some notion

Of the awe³ we should feel at the Holy One’s name.

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His “will done on earth, as it is done in heaven,”

Is a wish and a hope we are suffer’d to breathe,

That such grace and favour to us may be given,

Like good angels on high we may live here beneath.

“Our daily bread give us,” your young apprehension⁴

May well understand, is to pray for our food;

Although we ask bread, and no other thing mention,

God’s bounty⁵ gives all things sufficient and good.

You pray that your “trespasses may be forgiven,

As you forgive those that are done unto you.”

Before this you say to the God that’s in heaven,

Consider the words which you speak—are they true?

If any one has in the past time offended

Us angry creatures, who soon take offence,

These words in the prayer are surely intended

To soften⁶ our minds, and expel wrath⁷ from thence.

We pray that “temptations may never assail⁸ us,”

And “deliverance beg from all evil,” we find:

But we never can hope that our prayer will avail us,

If we strive not to banish⁹ ill thoughts from our mind.

“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

For ever and ever,” these titles are meant

To express God’s dominion¹⁰ and majesty¹¹ o’er ye;

And “Amen” to the sense of the whole gives assent¹².

1 appellation   

n.名称，称呼

参考例句：

• The emperor of Russia Peter I was given the appellation " the Great ".俄皇彼得一世被加上了“大帝”的称号。
• Kinsfolk appellation is the kinfolks system reflection in language.亲属称谓是亲属制度在语言中的反应。

2 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

3 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

5 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

6 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

7 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

8 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。

9 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

10 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

11 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

12 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。