Lord’s Day 52
Q129. What does that little word Amen mean?
Amen means: this is sure to be! It is even more sure that God listens to my prayer than that I really desire what I pray for.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Isaiah 65:24
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
2 Corinthians 1:20
“For all the promises of God in him yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”
2 Timothy 2:13
“If we believe not, he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
Cyprian makes a perceptive and theologically sound observation about the order and logic of this fifth petition: we pray for the forgiveness of our sins after praying for daily bread, so that the one who is fed by God may also live in God. This petition looks beyond our present, temporal life to the eternal life that belongs to all whose sins are forgiven. Cyprian also notes that this petition is a remarkable and candid confession by the church, in which she acknowledges and mourns her sins, while at the same time finding comfort in the promise that Christ will grant her forgiveness. It also binds us to extend that same forgiveness to our neighbors. Through this petition, then, Christ intends three things:
1. That we acknowledge our sins.
2. That we genuinely hunger and thirst for forgiveness, since it is granted only to those who desire it and who do not trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot.