Father. The very name of father ofttimes moves compassion, beyond any other name; and what may we not expect to receive from our heavenly Father, that is consistent with his holiness, when we pray in faith unto him. He is rich in mercy, and the fountain of life and every blessing. He looks from heaven, and beholds all the sons of men; and considers that they are all the works of his fingers. All their ways, their motives, and their wants, are well known to him. He is "no respecter of persons; but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him also, freely give us all things?" That we may breathe the acceptable prayer before the throne that prevails with God, we must come in the full exercise of lively faith in the promise, taking hold on the arm that conquers all.— "The faith that conquers all, And doth the mountains move; "Without faith it is impossible to please God. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of all them that diligently seek him." 9. This relation of God toward us should fill us with reverence and filial fear, and a determination to glorify him in all things; for father is a name of authority as well as affection, and deserves the utmost respect. By its authority it commands our fear, and by its affection it engages our love. This fear and love God requires of his children, "If then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of Hosts." Mal. i. 6. If we love and fear God as our father, we shall be disposed to honour him by keeping his commandments. It The consideration of the respect due to a father, will dispose us to be thankful to such an ever-blessed Father, and to praise and glorify his holy name. This will appear reasonable if we consider the value of the blessings which we receive from his hands. It was he that first breathed life into man; it was he that animated this well-formed clay with a rational soul, the offspring of God, the Father of spirits. It was he that gave him a capacity for contemplating and adoring his Maker. is in him we live, and have our being. It is he whose watchful providence conducts us through a world of temptations, vanity, and sin, to bring us safe to heaven. It is he who refreshes us with "the comforts of the Holy Ghost" while on the way to glory; and we may say with holy David, "Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm ciii. 1, 2. 373 10. This appellation teaches us to cultivate a christian spirit in the discharge of our duty; and in sincere fellowship to desire and ask for our brother what we desire and ask for ourselves. We should ever remember that we are all linked together by the common ties of nature, and still more so, if "born again" of his Spirit, by the sacred bonds of faith and love; and therefore, all mankind are entitled to a share in our affections, and ought to be remembered in our prayers. We should ever be mindful of our connexion with "the household of faith;" we are their fellow-members, and as such we are bound to sympathize with them upon all occasions, more especially ought we to be disposed to do so as often as we say, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," whether in public or private. What satisfaction it must afford us, to learn from God our Saviour himself, what words, and in what manner he would have us to pray to him, so as not to ask in vain. ficiently consider the use and value of constant, faithful prayer, Do we sufand of the spirit in which it should be offered up? feel its importance, as to be induced from our hearts to say, Do we so "Lord teach us to pray ?" The prayer taught even by our Lord himself, may be repeated without profit to us, unless we are divinely instructed in the manner, and influenced by the spirit of true devotion. considerations ought to stimulate us gratefully to acknowledge These his mercies, and to worship him with reverence and godly fear. II. What we are to understand by the name of God, and what by hallowing it. 1. By the name of God, we are to understand himself, his most glorious attributes, and all that essentially belongs to him; and by which he is infinitely distinguishable and exalted above all other beings in heaven and earth. We give names to things that we may better distinguish them one from another, by conveying us as clear an apprehension as possible of their nature; but God is a being so transcendentally great and glorious, above all other beings, that the whole force of words are insufficient to describe his absolute holiness, his eternal perfections, and his boundless mercy; and yet all that is necessary to be known of him, may be known in the proper use of the appointed means; for the love of God was so great that he condescended to make himself known to the sons of men by name, and saith, "I am the Lord, that is my name," Isaiah xlii. 8; and Christ said to his disciples, "Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am.' The Lord God Almighty descended in a cloud, and stood on the mount Sinai, and there interpreted his name to Moses,-"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed the LORD, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation." Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. And the holy prophets and apostles speak of him under several amiable titles, denoting his eternal existence, almighty power, wisdom, justice, mercy, truth, and love, with the rest of his glorious attributes, all of which are inseparable from his ever-blessed nature and name, infinitely perfect, pure, and holy. All that can possibly be understood as relating to his name and nature, is absolutely pure, holy, and perfect; therefore the Lord himself, who, possessing all possible perfections, is "God over all," glorious, and "blessed for evermore;" the true and living God, worthy to be adored by men and angels, should be worshipped by all the human family in spirit and in truth. 2. What we are to understand by hallowing the name of God. (1.) The word hallow, signifies to render, or to pronounce holy; but God's name being essentially holy from eternity, and perfect in every possible degree, it is not possible to receive the least addition of holiness by any act of ours, neither is it in the power of man nor angels to add to or diminish therefrom. All his glorious perfections he possesses independent of feeble man, or of seraplis near the throne; for men and angels derive their happiness and holiness from him, and are wholly dependent on him every moment; therefore it was for our good that the Lord God made it our duty to hallow his name, as a proof of our gratitude, obedience, and love to him. So the benefit is all ours, and all the glory his. (2.) That we may hallow the name of the Lord as we ought, we must know him; must have an experimental knowledge of his power to save from all sin. We cannot fully sanctify the name of the Lord God in our hearts, till we have obtained a change of heart; for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit. It is true, some people suppose that they in their hearts hallow his name, while in their lives they dishonour him; but that we know to be impossible; for if the fruit be evil, the heart is not pure. It concerns us all to take heed that our hearts are right with God, that a real work of grace be wrought in us by the power of the Holy Ghost, that we may bring forth the fruits of righteousness, to the honour and glory of God. (3.) It may signify a confidence in God, as we cannot hallow his name, unless we have a confidence in him. Considering him as he is, infinitely wise, holy, all-powerful to support us, and good and wise in all his ways, and holy in all his works; that he created the world by his power, and governs it by his gracious providence, we profess to believe that nothing happens to us by chance; that the hairs of our head are numbered, and that no evil can befall us without the knowledge and permission of our Heavenly Father. But it is one thing to confess all this with our lips, and another, and a much greater thing, to believe it in our hearts, so as to be properly affected thereby, and to acknowledge God in all our ways, as infinitely wise, good, and gracious; and to sanctify him in all our thoughts, and desires, and wishes, and studies, with pure motives to glorify his name; yea, not speaking as though we were wiser than God, by complaining of our lot, and murmuring with impatience under our tribulations, saying, "Had my lot been cast in such happy circumstances as those of some of my brethren, I would have glorified God and reverenced his name in all things in some good degree." (4.) The worship of God is both internal and external; and that both may be acceptable to the Almighty, we must worship him in spirit and in truth; not in the deadness of the letter, but with life and power, flowing from a sincere, single heart; not a mere lukewarm recitation of a form of words, but in the Holy Ghost. Brethren, our sincere desires must be presented in humble, fervent, faithful supplications before the throne of grace, in the name, and through the merits of Jesus Christ, with a heart open to receive the blessings of his grace, while at the same time we desire and pray that the name of Jehovah may be hallowed; that is, celebrated and revered, and extensively made known, as holy and reverend, that it may be revered by all the human family; in every part of our worship expressing our desires that the name of God may be honoured, that his kingdom may be established, and that his reign may extend and prosper from pole to pole, that all may be subject unto him, honour him, keep his law, and glorify his holy name. (5.) We hallow the name of our Creator when all our motives are pure, and we have an eye to God's glory in all that we say or do; and when our family worship, secret prayer, and public worship is rightly performed, purely to the honour and glory of God, and all our deportment of life whether we buy or sell, or whatever we do, is all done to the glory of God. We honour him with our lips when we mean what is right in all we say, and speak the truth from the heart, and speak those things which are meet to minister grace to the hearers, suppressing every rising evil in our thoughts and tempers, and regulating all by the grace of God, so that the beginning, continuing, and end of conversation be the honour of the Lord. (6.) If we honour God's holy name, acknowledging his perfections, and sincerely worshipping him, must it not be a profanation of the sacred name to deny or call in question any of his attributes; or to question the authority and truth of divine revelation? But I fear that it is the case with some men, who, though hardly furnished for common conversation, are ready with their sceptical queries," How do you prove the authority of the Scriptures? and that they were given by inspiration? How do you reconcile such and such like difficulties? and how do you account for such mysteries, which," say they, "we call nonsense!" These are some of the liberties taken by some, and is it not calling God's veracity and wisdom in question; making it a matter of dispute, whether Moses and the prophets and the apostles were men sent by God or not? Is it not profaning his holy name, which ought to be always revered, and never used carelessly or irreverently? 3. Too many who bear the christian name, dishonour God with their lips, and in their lives, by the great levity of the present age. Solemn and sacred things are thrown by, or treated with dishonour. The religion of Christ ought to warm the heart and influence the practice of its professors: but in some it is very shallow, a plausible politeness to serve a turn, and is put off and on as easily as our clothes. How often is the public worship of God almost deserted! and what wonder? since a party of pleasure, the dropping in of a friend, the luxurious meal, or any trifling thing is deemed a sufficient excuse for our absence from the worship of God, at the hour appointed for class-meetings, prayer-meetings, the public means of grace, and the family altar, where the name of God should be honoured! 4. By whom is his name to be hallowed? Too many, it is to be feared, through fear of exposing themselves to the imputation of singularity, and of being censured as hypocrites, forbear to rebuke, and to express their disapprobation of those many ways in which God's name is dishonoured. It is the duty of every man to vindicate the character of his fellow men, so far as he justly can with a clear conscience to the honour of his Creator; but it must be more so the duty of every christian to defend the honour of God his Saviour, particularly so, as those who profane it may probably construe our silence into approbation. And now that genuine piety is a thing comparatively so rare, all the disciples of Christ should do all that in them lies to honour the name of God. They should display the Christian banner high, and wave it wherever they go, among rich and poor, seeking the honour that is from God. Mingling prayer and faith in him with all they do, "speaking the truth in love," from the heart, and under the influence of the Holy Ghost, they should take a full stand against sin, declaring open war against all the powers of hell, and all unrighteousness of men; considering themselves in duty bound to shine as "lights of the world," and as accountable to God for every neglect of duty, as well as all backwardness in supporting and defending the cause of God. Therefore, let "every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from all iniquity, be valiant for the truth," and shine as lights in the world," and the word of God will run and be glorified, sinners will be saved from their sin, God's name |