SERMONS
 
 SERMONS 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER; 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A SERMON ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. W. HOWELS, 
 
 LATE MINISTER OF LON& ACRE CHAPEL. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 1835.
 
 LONDON: 
 
 II I, (II 10 V, I'UIN'IER, COUCH SQUARE.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 Matt. vi. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye . page 1 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Matt. vi. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye . .14 
 
 ON THE LORD^S PRAYER. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Matt. vi. 9. Our Father which art in heaven . . 29 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 Matt. vi. 9. Hallowed be thy name . . .46 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 Matt. vi. 10. Thy kingdom come . . .65 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 Matt. vi. 10. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven . 82
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Matt. vi. 11 Give us this day our daily bread . . 100 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Matt. vi. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors . . . . .117 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 Matt. vi. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
 us from evil " . ". . .134 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 Matt. vi. 13. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
 the glory . . > . . 151 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 Matt. vi. 13. Amen . 169 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF GOD AND HIS WORSHIP. 
 
 John iv. 24. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him 
 must worship Him in spirit, and in truth . . 183
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. VI. 9. 
 
 After this manner therefore pray ye. 
 
 THIS sermon is only introductory to a series of dis- 
 courses which it is my intention, by the blessing of 
 God, to preach from that interesting portion of 
 Divine Writ commonly called the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 This prayer evinces itself, by its excellencies, to 
 be from God. It has, evidently, its source in in- 
 finite Wisdom and infinite Love. 
 
 I. I shall consider, first, WHAT is PRAYER .? 
 
 If asked to define prayer, I should call it the ascent 
 of the human heart to God the ascent of the heart, 
 with all its wants, with all its sins, with all its misery. 
 We cannot be divested of any thing that is evil but 
 in the bosom of our heavenly Father. It requires 
 the power of Omnipotence, every moment, to deliver 
 us from all evil and invest us with every good. May 
 we know, then, individually, what it is thus to ascend 
 to God ! 
 
 The instruction for prayer is very short and com- 
 
 VOL. i. B 
 
 1C 
 
 * 20GSS":
 
 C 2 SERMON I. 
 
 prehensive : " Pour out your heart before him " (Ps. 
 Ixii. 8) : give it up with all its desires ; keep nothing- 
 back. 
 
 We find something- analagous to prayer even in 
 the brute creation. Every thing that possesses ani- 
 mal life seeks its welfare under what we call instinct ; 
 which, though inexplicable to us, must be traced to 
 God as its source. From our acquaintance with the 
 brute creation we know, that when they have once 
 experienced the kindness of man, they never after- 
 wards fail to look up to him for a repetition of it. 
 The individual who has once tasted that the Lord 
 is gracious, will never look any where else for the 
 satisfaction of the desires of his immortal spirit ; he 
 will be conscious that finite being cannot afford any 
 thing that has even a tendency to satisfy him. We 
 were created, originally, to be satisfied with nothing 
 short of God himself ; and prayer was intended, by 
 the Almighty, to express our return to Him, and 
 the consciousness of His all-sufficiency. Notwith- 
 standing our imperfection and indesert, we are to 
 approach Him, in prayer, assured of being heard 
 by Him. No prayer was ever put up in simplicity 
 and sincerity to God, without receiving an answer. 
 How is this to be proved ? It sweetens the disposition 
 and strengthens the mind. If we are not unjust to 
 ourselves ; if we honour His word, we shall approach 
 Him in prayer assured of being heard by Him. 
 Nothing is more certain than that God hears and 
 answers prayer. " This is the confidence that we 
 have in Him," says the Apostle, " that if we ask any 

 
 ON PRAYER. 3 
 
 thing according- to His will, He heareth us : and if 
 we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we 
 know that we have the petitions that we desired of 
 Him " (1 John v. 14). 
 
 II. I proceed, in the second place, to consider THE 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRAYER. 
 
 1. Public prayer. God is eminently honoured 
 by the public prayers of His saints ; for He " loveth 
 the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of 
 Jacob " (Psal. Ixxxvii. 2). The assembly of the 
 family of heaven here upon earth, bears a greater 
 resemblance than any thing else to the worship which 
 God receives above. Indeed, it is a truism in the 
 minds of those who have paid attention to their 
 Bibles, that nothing can be more delightful to the 
 Lord than the assembly of his saints ; and, as God 
 is a God of order, it is very desirable that this should 
 be carried on with the utmost reverence, and regu- 
 larity. You are unjust to yourselves, and ungrateful 
 to God, in coming late to His house of prayer. I 
 mention this in the most respectful and affectionate 
 manner ; for I should be unworthy of my sacred pro- 
 fession, and of the interesting and important trust 
 committed to me, if I shrank from any duty that 
 had a tendency to promote your welfare. Let me 
 entreat you to exert every effort to assemble your- 
 selves together at the commencement of the worship 
 of God ; that we may begin and end together that 
 all our hearts may ascend as one into the presence 
 of God ; and remember, that God hears your 
 B 2
 
 4 SERMON I. 
 
 prayers not as individuals, but as a congregation. 
 In all ages, the church of God has on various occa- 
 sions met together ; begun at a stated hour, and ended 
 at a certain period, unless the worship was more than 
 usually prolonged by the effusion of the Divine 
 Spirit. In the name of the Lord then, as well as 
 for the welfare of your own souls, I invite you to be 
 as early and regular as you possibly can in your at- 
 tendance on public worship. 
 
 2. Prayer may be considered, secondly, in con- 
 nexion vi\\h family worship. 
 
 As prayer involves an eminent part of the worship 
 of the living God, one observation will apply here 
 universally. Let it be carried on in such a manner 
 as, if possible, to preserve the spirit of prayer, the 
 genuine spirit of worship. And I recommend brevity. 
 I think it much better, much wiser, so to engage in 
 this duty as that children and servants may rise from 
 service, saying, " how soon it is ended," rather than 
 by long chapters, long expositions, and lengthened 
 prayers, to be sent from the room wearied and dis- 
 gusted. It is painful indeed to see servants tired out 
 with the work of the day, and wearied afterwards 
 with worship unseasonably prolonged. One of the 
 most eminent ministers I ever knew was never more 
 than fifteen minutes in family worship. However, I do 
 not wish to limit you to minutes, though I have the 
 highest authority for recommending brevity. " When 
 you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : 
 for they think that they shall be heard for their 
 much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them :
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of 
 before ye ask him " (Matt. vi. 7, 8). 
 
 Most of the prayers in Scripture are very short, 
 and very comprehensive. The longest on record is 
 that of Solomon at the consecration of the temple. 
 But Solomon, in this prayer, was an eminent type of 
 Jesus Christ, in His intercession in glory. The glory 
 of the Lord filled the house, and Solomon was left 
 alone addressing the King of kings. 
 
 3. I consider, thirdly, prayer in the closet. We 
 find that the saints of old had their stated periods, 
 their regular hours, for waiting on God in secret. 
 Let these periods be fixed, and so fixed as to expose 
 you to the least interruption possible. The first 
 thing in the morning certainly, and the last at night. 
 We read of holy Daniel, that he was in the habit of 
 calling on God three times a day. When the day of 
 trial arrived, he opened his windows and prayed 
 as usual, looking towards the temple, the type of 
 the Saviour : the holy man of God did not seem to 
 be ruffled in the least degree ; all was calmness and 
 composure ; proving that he had been in the daily 
 habit of flying constantly from earth to heaven, to 
 the bosom of his Father and his God. The individual 
 who is intimately conversant with God, cannot hear 
 evil tidings from any quarter. 
 
 4. I would just allude to mental prayer. It is 
 desirable, above all things, that the human heart, 
 under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, should be ever 
 kept in a praying frame : " Praying always with all 
 prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
 
 O SERMON I. 
 
 thereunto with all perseverance, and supplication for 
 all saints" (Eph. vi. 18). This spirit does not, in 
 the least degree, militate against cheerfulness, pro- 
 vided that cheerfulness be perfectly innocent. Let 
 nothing be indulged in, for a single second of time, 
 that we should be ashamed of in the presence of the 
 living God. 
 
 As involved in this, I would consider, holy 
 ejaculations prayers that frequently dart from 
 earth to heaven, unknown to Satan himself, bringing 
 back an answer that shields the petitioner from the 
 attacks of the arch-enemy, and renders him triumphant 
 in the hour of trial. 
 
 III. In the third place, let me call your attention 
 to THE BEING ADDRESSED IN PRAYER. 
 
 1. Negatively considered, the Object is, no image. 
 According to the express command of God, all 
 images that resemble any thing in heaven, on earth, 
 or in the waters under the earth, are forbidden. 
 Roman Catholics tell us they do not adore images, 
 as such ; but merely use them to fix the attention and 
 remind them of that which they symbolize. Let it 
 be admitted that they are used with this view. I only 
 ask, can any excuse whatever be available for violating 
 the express command of God ? Besides, there is a 
 folly in it, in this respect, that nothing presented to 
 our senses can give us any idea of the Saviour's ex- 
 altation and intercession. It is calculated only to 
 mislead. 
 
 2. Saints and angels are not to be invoked. If
 
 ON PRAYER. 7 
 
 they could hear us, they could not help us. The 
 absurdity of such worship is only equalled by its 
 sin. God, and God alone, is the object of worship, 
 whether we consider the Divine perfections, or our 
 individual wants. 
 
 1. Because He is omnipresent. "Whither shall 
 I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee from 
 Thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art 
 there ; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art 
 there. If I take the wings of the morning-, and dwell 
 in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even there shall 
 Thy hand lead me, and Thy rig-lit hand shall hold me." 
 He is with us and in us perpetually j for " in Him 
 we live and move and have our being-." 
 
 2. Necessarily connected with the omnipresence, 
 is, the omniscience of Deity. Deity alone is to 
 be addressed in prayer, because He alone sees the 
 inmost recesses of the human heart, and knows all 
 our wants before we give them expression in words. 
 Hence Solomon, in his intercession for the Jewish 
 people, thus expresses himself : " What prayer and 
 supplication soever be made by any man, or by all 
 thy people Israel, which shall know every man the 
 plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands 
 towards this house ; then hear Thou in heaven thy 
 dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every 
 man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest : 
 for Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all 
 the children of men" (1 Kings viii. 38, 39). 
 
 3. God alone is to be addressed in prayer because 
 He is omnipotent. He alone is able to answer our
 
 <S SERMON I. 
 
 prayer, and confer upon us every blessing- we need. 
 We must receive every thing that is necessary to 
 make us truly happy, immediately from Him. 
 
 God has appointed the necessary means, and He 
 will ever crown the diligent use of them with His 
 own blessing-. 
 
 4. Prayer is an act of worship due to God, and 
 to God only. If prayer be given to images, then 
 every thing else ought to be presented likewise. 
 Awful inconsistency and folly ! Worship is due to 
 God alone ; and he who refuses it will for ever rue 
 the consequences. 
 
 IV. I consider, in the fourth place, the name 
 
 of HlM IN WHOM WE ARE TO APPROACH GoD JfiSUS 
 
 CHRIST ; in his person, and in all the glory of his 
 work : for this obvious reason, merit is exclusively 
 His own. No finite being has ever merited, or can 
 ever merit, any thing at the hands of God ; no, not 
 even the highest intelligence in heaven : hence the 
 necessity of a Divine Person, not only to atone for 
 sin; but to be our Saviour, our Intercessor, our Judge 
 in the last day, and our Preserver for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 The Saviour tells his disciples, that whatsoever 
 they ask in His name, shall be given them. Nothing 
 can give us a higher idea of His glory, or of the pre- 
 valence of His intercession. All things are His ; his 
 family are His ; and all blessings are His. His family 
 are His essentially, and His by purchase. " In Him 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"
 
 ON PRAYER. 9 
 
 (Coloss. ii. 9). " For it pleased the Father, that in 
 Him should all fulness dwell " (Coloss. i. 19). " Of 
 His fulness have all we received" (John i. 16). All 
 our temporal, as well as spiritual blessings, emanate 
 from Him. The bread we eat, and the water we drink, 
 are the purchase of His infinitely precious blood. He 
 gives us our daily bread, as a covenant blessing ; 
 and, were we truly wise ; all we think, say, or do, 
 would involve an act of worship to God, for such a 
 Saviour, and for the gifts of such blessings in Him. 
 
 V. In prayer we are to SEEK THE INFLUENCES OF 
 GOD THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 Without Him we can do nothing : and if acquaint- 
 ed with our own hearts, the experience of each must 
 echo this declaration. We know not even for what 
 to ask, and we know not the spirit in which it 
 ought to be asked, without the ceaseless influences 
 of God the Holy Ghost. God has often wounded 
 the feelings of nature, that men might be induced 
 to approach Him in prayer ; and the simple cry of 
 distressed nature has often issued in the gracious 
 communication of holy and spiritual gifts. Such 
 individuals have afterwards discovered that in their 
 first approach to God, they were utterly destitute of 
 the least particle of spirituality : but misery pressed 
 heavily upon them, while eternal destruction opened 
 beneath their feet ; distressed nature burst forth in 
 prayer ; and while that prayer only involved a con- 
 sideration of themselves, God answered it in a way 
 infinitely worthy of Himself, by pouring out upon
 
 10 SERMON I. 
 
 the petitioners His most glorious gift, even His 
 Holy Spirit ; a blessing then unknown and unsought. 
 Prayer is likewise to be made for all men. We 
 are members of a community ; and we are to re- 
 member this in our prayers 5 the Apostle insists upon 
 it in his Epistle toTimothy(lTim. ii. 1, 2). Moreover 
 we have neighbours, by comparing whose lives with 
 the declaration of God's word we must be aware 
 that they are in a state of condemnation before 
 Him. It is God's express command that His church 
 should pray for all men. 
 
 VI. Lastly, consider THE MANY OBLIGATIONS WE 
 
 ARE UNDER TO PRAY TO GoD. 
 
 1. It is the command of God. And from the 
 command alone we might have inferred that He 
 would answer prayer. The Saviour says, " That 
 men ought always to pray, and not to faint " (Luke 
 xviii. 1). The Apostle Paul exhorts us to " pray 
 without ceasing;" and we cannot possibly violate 
 any of these commands without being unjust to our- 
 selves, and without being guilty of rebellion against 
 the King of kings. 
 
 2. The promises of God. These impose on us 
 another obligation to pray to Him ; and they were 
 intended to encourage us to do so. " Call upon me 
 in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou 
 shaltglorify me" (Ps. 1. 15 ; Isa. Iviii. 9 ; Zech. xiii. 9 ; 
 Matt. vii. 7)- And many others might be quoted, 
 did time suffice. 
 
 3. Another reason applicable to the believer is, 

 
 ON PRAYER. 11 
 
 that God has given to us the Spirit of adoption. 
 The gift of the Holy Spirit involves in it new obli- 
 gations, as well as the delights peculiar to itself. 
 " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the 
 Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba, 
 Father " (Gal. iv. 6). But it may be asked, How am 
 I to know that I address God, that I wait upon 
 Him, and look up to him as my Father ? Take 
 one infallible evidence. The individual who knows 
 that God is his Father, can no more live without 
 prayer than he can exist without his daily food. 
 Hunger and thirst, if we neglect our frail frames, 
 would compel us to seek supplies : so hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness oblige the child of God 
 to wait on his heavenly Father. Real prayer is the 
 breath of the soul it is the language of God with- 
 in us the address of one Divine Person to another : 
 and surely this ought to render the exercise most 
 eminently interesting to us ; while it should teach us 
 to deprecate the idea of doing any thing except under 
 the influence of the living God. 
 
 4. Consider the wisdom of prayer. The chief 
 blessing is primarily and perpetually kept in view, 
 Spirituality ! The things of time and sense occupy, 
 invariably, the second place in the heart of him who 
 is born of God : and the consciousness of this is a 
 striking evidence of being interested in the covenant 
 of Christ, and consequently in all the blessings com- 
 prised in it. " Covet the best gifts," and they are 
 the renovating influences of the Holy Spirit. It is 
 to encourage us to wait upon God that the promise
 
 12 SERMON I. 
 
 is given : " Being confident of this very thing, that he 
 which hath begun a good work in you will perform 
 it until the day of Jesus Christ " (Phil. i. 6). The 
 certainty of the possession of the prize affords the 
 strongest encouragement to the believer to persevere 
 in spite of all intervening obstacles. Some presume 
 to say that this doctrine tends to licentiousness ; I 
 ask, who is the best judge of truth, and the effects 
 of truth God or man ? "I will hear what God 
 the Lord will speak ; for he will speak peace unto 
 his people, and to his saints ; but let them not turn 
 again to folly" (Ps. Ixxxv. 8). 
 
 Learn a few lessons. 
 
 1. That prayerless individuals and prayerless fa- 
 milies are, in Scripture, marked and denounced in 
 the most awful manner. " Pour out thy fury upon 
 the heathen that know thee not and upon the 
 families that call not upon thy name " (Jer. x. 25). 
 Are there any of you living without prayer ? I 
 address you as families and as individuals. God and 
 man are against you ! God and his Christ and his 
 Church are against you oh think of these things. 
 
 2. Remember that the prayer of the believer in- 
 volves in it a blessing to himself, as well as to others. 
 He cannot pray as he ought to pray, without a 
 blessing from God. Prayer for others is one strik- 
 ing proof that we pray rightly for ourselves. " The 
 effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
 much " (James v. 16). 
 
 3. And lastly. Consider the high destiny of
 
 IN PRAYER 13 
 
 prayer. It is to lose itself for ever in praise. The 
 principle will live in heaven, but prayer will be 
 lost in praise : persevere in prayer then, pray as 
 long as you live. Ask God for spiritual blessings 
 and have no taste to choose any thing earthly for 
 yourselves : remembering this that the voice of 
 prayer ascending from earth to heaven, has in it 
 more music in the ears of God, than all the songs 
 of the angelic hosts.
 
 SERMON II, 
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. vi. 9. 
 
 After this manner therefore pray ye. 
 
 WE are at a loss, when we peruse the volume of 
 Inspiration, which to admire most ; the goodness or 
 the wisdom of God. They both shine in infinite 
 glory ; giving us instruction in every manner in 
 which it can possibly reach us. 
 
 Some teachers are celebrated for communicating 
 instruction in one way, and some in another ; but 
 our Saviour communicates it in every possible 
 manner ; while each that he adopts presents us with 
 perfection. 
 
 God himself indited a prayer for His family in the 
 Old Testament ; the Saviour has indited a prayer 
 in the New Testament. Infinite Goodness and in- 
 finite Wisdom compassionate our weakness and igno- 
 rance in teaching us how to approach God. Indivi- 
 duals sometimes tell us, "I know not how to pray, 
 I know not how to express myself in prayer." To 
 this, I answer, God teaches you how to pray, and 
 what to say to Him in prayer.
 
 ON PRAYER. 15 
 
 I. In the first place, let me direct your attention to 
 
 THE PRAYER WHICH WILL BE HEARD BY GoD the 
 
 prayer which He has promised to hear. 
 
 1. The prayer of faith will certainly be heard. 
 Faith not only believes in the infinite power of God ; 
 but, at the same time, in His infinite willingness to 
 hear those who pray. The prayer of faith may 
 sometimes mistake its object ; but when it does, 
 God gives an answer, though it may not be what has 
 been asked. God sometimes says " No ;" but when He 
 does, he gives something far better than the request. 
 The Saviour tells his disciples, " All things whatso- 
 ever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall re- 
 ceive" (Matt. xxi. 22). Now the believer asks, 
 Who is the Saviour ? Faith immediately fixes its eye 
 on the dignity of his person, and the worth of his 
 sacrifice ; the person and the sacrifice of God ! and 
 the believer knows that he must prevail. 
 
 2. God will have the whole man engaged in 
 prayer : and this is the honest desire of every true 
 believer. God, in the Old Testament, addressing 
 his family, thus speaks to them : " Ye shall seek me 
 and find me, when you shall search for me with all 
 your heart" (Jer. xxix. 13). There is no being 
 worthy of the whole heart, but God. Man weak 
 and limited as his faculties are, yet, if we take him 
 in his full dimensions, finds no one capable of com- 
 prising him, in all his wants, but God. The indi- 
 vidual who has been disciplined by the Holy Spirit 
 to know himself as a sinner ; Christ as a Saviour ; 
 the Holy Spirit as a Sanctifier ; and the God and
 
 16 SERMON II. 
 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as his God and 
 Father ; will seek Him with the whole heart. 
 
 Many individuals are afraid to pray, because they 
 feel a great deal of selfishness in their prayers. God 
 intended selfishness to be in our prayers. The indi- 
 vidual who knows his own wants, will take himself to 
 a Throne of Grace he is infinitely welcome. God 
 intends, without exception, that in the whole circle of 
 worship we should invariably seek our own interest. 
 Obedience to God involves the welfare of the crea- 
 ture, and will do so for ever. Seek the blessings 
 God intended that you should possess. Let your prayer 
 be that you may posses them all; they are absolutely 
 necessary to renovate the human heart, that it may be 
 brought to, and preserved in, a state of spotless purity 
 for ever and ever. May this be the language of every 
 heart, unworthy as it is in itself; " No one is worthy 
 of my heart no one is capable of receiving it, but 
 God." Finite being cannot receive the whole of man. 
 Give yourselves then wholly to God. Leviathan 
 must have his native element. God is the element 
 of his family ; they cannot live but in Him. Let Him 
 have the heart, then, as well as the head ; not the in- 
 tellect only, but the affections ; indeed He cannot 
 possess the one without the other. O God, take full 
 possession of us individually ! 
 
 3. The prayer of humility will invariably be heard. 
 " God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the 
 humble" (James iv. 6). The humble exalt God, 
 while they feel that they cannot abase themselves too 
 much. My opinion is, that saints and angels in
 
 ON PRAYER. 17 
 
 heaven are not as humble as they would wish to be ; 
 while each is anxious to be lower than the other. 
 Where this principle lives, it must be heaven. The 
 individual who is humble proves, in the exercise of 
 his humility, that the mighty hand of God is upon 
 him. Man is such a monster in pride, that no one 
 but God can bring him down. The aggregate of 
 finite Being cannot do it. All the woes of time, all 
 the miseries of eternity cannot do it. The prayer of 
 God's family ascends from the dust; they no longer 
 usurp the throne of Deity ; no longer attempt to rob 
 Him of his crown ; but sink into nothing before Him, 
 aye into less than nothing ! Pure beings, who have 
 never violated the holy law of God, are nothing be- 
 fore Him : they who have transgressed His holy law 
 are less than nothing ; as, in a pecuniary point of 
 view, one who is in debt, and has no money, is worth 
 less than nothing. Pure beings above have nothing 
 of their own but imperfection ; and imperfection 
 will ever be predicable of finite Being. O may God 
 of His infinite goodness and mercy, teach us to know 
 that we are sinners, and give us to view His glory 
 in the redemption and salvation of fallen man. May 
 we be individually led to Calvary, to behold the Sa- 
 viour dying, the Just for the unjust ; and we shall be, 
 of necessity, humbled in the dust, while our destiny 
 is to be eternally exalted ! 
 
 4. The prayer of industry and diligence will be 
 heard. We ought not to allow ourselves in idleness 
 or slothfulness. It is a disgrace to a man to be idle 
 and slothful even in earthly concerns. Industry and 
 
 VOL. r. c 
 
 |VL
 
 18 SERMON II. 
 
 diligence become man in every thing- wherein he is 
 lawfully engaged ; above all, in his intercourse with 
 Heaven. " The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath 
 nothing ; but the soul of the diligent shall be made 
 fat." (Prov. xiii. 4.) In the name of all the Divine 
 perfections, in the name of every lovely principle that 
 can inhabit the human bosom, I conjure you to be 
 frequent and fervent at the Throne of Grace ! 
 
 5. The prayer of honesty will be heard by God. 
 By honesty, I mean a desire to forsake all sin, with- 
 out one single exception; and a desire to possess 
 every good which God has provided for man in His 
 holy covenant. These things are absolutely neces- 
 sary to constitute spiritual honesty. The Apostle 
 James says to some, " Ye ask and receive not, because 
 ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your 
 lusts " (James iv. 3). They exclude God from their 
 prayers ; their prayers are filled with exclusive 
 selfishness, and an answer to such prayers would be 
 a dishonour to God, and no benefit, but rather a 
 curse to them. 
 
 May we search ourselves individually, in the pre- 
 sence of the living God. I do not ask you what 
 bitter conflicts you may have had within your 
 bosoms ; but I do ask you, in the name of the God 
 of heaven and earth, is it, in the midst of all, your 
 desire to abandon every thing that is contrary to 
 His will, and to seek every thing in conformity 
 with it? 
 
 The Jews of old seem to have understood this, 
 the spiritual Jews especially. Read the ixth chapter
 
 ON PRAYER. 19 
 
 of John, and attend to that excellent. Divine, the 
 blind man who had been restored : the Pharisees say, 
 " We know that God spake unto Moses ; as for this 
 fellow, we know not from whence he is " (ver. 29, 
 &c.) The man answered and said unto them, " Why 
 herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from 
 whence he is, and yet lie hath opened mine eyes" 
 No one could reason better : " Now we know that 
 God heareth not sinners," (that is, those who go on 
 in a wilful course of iniquity ; there is a distinction to 
 be made between the individual who only draws 
 nigh to God with his mouth while his heart is en- 
 gaged with idols, and another who approaches Him 
 fighting against his sins,) " but if any man be a wor- 
 shipper of God and doeth His will, him He heareth." 
 " Since the world began it was not heard that any 
 man opened the eyes of one that was born blind." 
 " If this man were not of God, he could do nothing." 
 Admirable ! This individual seems to have understood 
 well, what spiritual integrity was. He seems to have 
 felt what was the nature of that prayer which would 
 be heard of God. 
 
 6. The prayer of filial fear is invariably heard by 
 God. One reason why the Spirit of adoption is con- 
 ferred by God, is, that it may be a Spirit of grace 
 and supplication. The children of Israel are repre- 
 sented in Scripture, as coming to God with " weep- 
 ing and supplications " ( Jer. xxxi. 9) the genuine 
 spirit of a child. 
 
 The Lord, in describing what this fear is, tells us 
 c 2
 
 20 SERMON II. 
 
 that he " taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in 
 those that hope in his mercy " (Ps. cxlvii. 11). Let 
 this hope be as weak as it may, so it be but real, 
 the prayer will ascend to heaven. 
 
 Let it be remembered in all I have said, that I am 
 contending for the reality, not for the strength of the 
 reality. Nor am I contending for principles exclu- 
 sively ; I mean, principles that have no enemies to 
 contend with. God hears the lisping voice of in- 
 fancy, as well as the voice of manhood in the day of 
 grace. He despiseth not the day of small things. 
 He knows that there are many enemies within the 
 human heart ; and the man who is honestly desirous 
 of being delivered from them will be heard by God : 
 " Praying always with all prayer and supplication in 
 the spirit, and watching thereunto with all persever- 
 ance and supplication for all saints" (Ephes. vi. 18). 
 
 II. But as unbelief is strong within the human 
 bosom ; stronger than we are aware of; it is necessary 
 to prove that GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER. 
 
 1 . And first, The mercy of God proves this ; the 
 mercy of God excludes no prayer of misery on this 
 side hell. Exclusion is the sinner's work. Many 
 desire to know the secret purposes of God before 
 they can open their lips in prayer : this is presump- 
 tion. It is enough to know that His mercy is infi- 
 nite, and that we are individually welcome to Him. 
 " The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting " (Ps. ciii. 17). " He will regard the prayer
 
 ON PRAYER. C 2l 
 
 of the destitute, and not despise their prayer" (Ps. 
 cii. 17). " The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow 
 to anger and plenteous in mercy " (Ps. ciii. 8). 
 
 2. The faithfulness of God proves the same truth ; 
 and indeed I could show how all the Divine per- 
 fections prove the same thing, for each is as glorious 
 as the other in the redemption and salvation of fallen 
 man. " If we say that we have no sin we deceive 
 ourselves, and the truth is, not in us. If we confess 
 our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 
 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (1 John 
 i. 9). We sometimes fear His justice, while we court 
 His mercy. God is not honoured by this. No : un- 
 less I were assured that justice is as much the sinner's 
 friend as mercy, I should never have courage to ap- 
 proach God. 
 
 3. The intercession of Jesus Christ proves it. 
 And, here, all the Divine perfections present them- 
 selves to the Father in the person of the Son. In- 
 finity demanding justice to itself in interceding for 
 sinners. The Apostle Paul seems to have been alive 
 to this truth, and makes a wise and holy use of it : 
 " Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that 
 is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, 
 let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an 
 high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling 
 of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like 
 as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come 
 boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain 
 mercy and find grace to help us in time of need " 
 (Heb. iv. 1416).
 
 22 SERMON II. 
 
 Messiah is above. He is interceding for his family 
 for every individual, and for every grace. 
 
 4. Another reason necessarily and intimately con- 
 nected with this to which I have just alluded is, that 
 the Spirit of the Father and the Son is a Spirit of 
 grace and supplication within our bosoms. With 
 this Divine Spirit in our hearts, what enemy can 
 possibly prevail against us ? Not one : they are all 
 destined to fall, and we to be more than conquerors, 
 through him that loved us and washed us in his 
 blood. 
 
 III. I have said, that instruction is presented to 
 us in every possible manner in the Book of God. 
 We have, particularly, the examples of others ; and 
 we never can be sufficiently grateful to the God of 
 all mercy and grace for them. We like to see a 
 thing exemplified. The description of a machine is 
 not enough for an inquisitive individual : he should 
 see the machine itself, and at work too, if possible, 
 to have a correct idea of the ingenuity of the in- 
 ventor, and the success of the invention. Those 
 whose histories are recorded in Scripture were like 
 ourselves ; they had the same enemies to contend 
 with ; they were placed just as we are ; and yet they 
 have triumphed. Their histories are given to en- 
 courage us to approach God at all times, in all 
 places, and under all circumstances. 
 
 A sick man, sometimes, will hardly hear of a 
 Physician being called in. No persuasion, no entreaty 
 will avail j he will not suffer him to be sent for. At
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 last a friend comes in and tells him, " I was much 
 worse than you are, and the physician has cured me." 
 This gives the sick man confidence ; he puts himself 
 under his care, and soon experiences the good effects. 
 He is restored to perfect health. I view the ex- 
 amples of Scripture in this light. 
 
 The simplicity of the saints of old was such, that 
 they seemed to set about nothing without first con- 
 sulting God. If truly wise, we shall be like them. 
 
 1. The first example to which I refer you, is, the 
 conduct of Abraham's servant, when he was instructed 
 to go and search out a wife for Isaac " (Gen. xxiv. 7). 
 He begins, like a truly wise and pious servant, with 
 prayer to God. And if any of you, my young friends, 
 desire a wife, (and now remember what I say is not 
 to excite a laugh,) seek her of the Lord first of all. 
 If you are truly wise, you will trust yourselves in 
 nothing ; but seek daily prudence, as a daily bless- 
 ing, at the hands of God, that you may not disgrace 
 your profession. Imitate Abraham's servant. 
 
 2. The example of Jacob when he dreaded Esau's 
 wrath, as we read in the thirty-second of Genesis, 
 where we also read of his wrestling with the Angel. 
 He would not be silenced even by the Angel 
 of the Covenant. He persevered till he was in 
 possession of the blessing ; and Esau was imme- 
 diately pacified. Make God your friend, and you 
 may rest assured you will have nothing to fear from 
 any enemy. "When a man's ways please the 
 Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace 
 with him."
 
 24 SERMON II. 
 
 3. The prayer of Hannah. Imitate her, ye 
 mothers ! " O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt indeed 
 look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and re- 
 member me, and not forget thine handmaid, but 
 will give unto thine handmaid a man-child ; then I 
 will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life " 
 (1 Sam. i. 1). Here is a mother! O give your 
 children to the Lord ! She prayed for him before he 
 was born ; before he was called into existence she 
 gave him to the Lord. The grace of God certainly 
 took possession of the heart of Samuel when very 
 young. Many parents wish to have children to take 
 possession of their estates, to sustain (what they 
 call) the dignity of their houses. Hannah ascends 
 above them all ; she wished to have a child, only that 
 she might give him to the Lord. 
 
 4. Remember the prayer of Jabez : "AndJabez, 
 called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou 
 wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coasts, 
 and that thine hand might be with me, and that 
 thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not 
 grieve me. And God granted him that which he 
 requested" (1 Chron. iv. 10). 
 
 5. Read the prayers of the children of Israel, which 
 again and again averted the judgments of God. 
 " When they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord 
 God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found of 
 them " (2 Chron. xv. 4). 
 
 6. ReadiheprayerqfDavidin the cave(Psa\. cxlii.) ; 
 of Elisha among his enemies, and how the Lord an- 
 swered him (2 Kings vi. 15) ; of Jeremiah in prison,
 
 ON PRAYER. 25 
 
 and in the midst of troubles (Jer. xxxii.) ; of Daniel 
 cast into the den of lions (Dan. ix.), from which the 
 Lord delivered him. But some one may be disposed 
 to say, (and it is the duty of the ministers of the 
 Gospel to meet all cases,) This is not my case ; I have 
 involved myself in difficulties by my own sin ; what 
 is the use of my prayer ? My brother, my sister, I 
 have the authority of Scripture to invite you to 
 pray. Read the history of Jonah, who, though armed 
 with rebellion and perverseness ; when in the midst 
 of his distress, after he had brought the calamity 
 upon himself ; prayed unto the Lord ; and the Lord 
 delivered him. " Out of the belly of hell cried I," 
 said Jonah (Jon. ii). It is impossible to conceive more 
 awful circumstances than those in which he was placed; 
 no one was ever circumstanced as he was; yet desperate 
 as was his case, he cried and the Lord heard and de- 
 livered him. These things are written to give us every 
 possible encouragement to approach the Lord. 
 
 IV. Lastly, to consider, the RULE OF PRAYE R . Let all 
 the prayers we find in Scripture, that have been pre- 
 ferred to God and answered by Him, be our patterns. 
 With these in our hands, we shall never be at a loss 
 for words ; we may be at a loss to make a shew of 
 ourselves at prayer, and a very good loss it will be ; 
 but we shall never be at a loss to pray to God. 
 
 All the prayers recorded in Scripture as indited 
 by the Spirit of the living God, indicative of our 
 wants, and of His readiness to supply them, are so 
 excellent as to be without the least alloy of imper-
 
 26 SEHMON II. 
 
 fection: nevertheless none of them are to be compared 
 as a whole and as a model with the Lord's Prayer. 
 "After this manner," said our Lord, " pray ye," and 
 then proceeds : "Our Father which art in heaven, hal- 
 lowed be thy name ; thy kingdom come ; thy will be 
 done in earth as it is in heaven : give us this day our 
 daily bread ; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive 
 our debtors : and lead us not into temptation ; but 
 deliver us from evil : for thine is the kingdom, and 
 the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen." 
 Consider this prayer as a model or pattern, and 
 as a form. As a model, that you may pray for the 
 same blessings, though in different words : and be- 
 sides this I would recommend the use of it as a 
 form. Some Dissenters constantly reject it as a form, 
 doubtless to their own injury. I once asked a dis- 
 senting friend why he did not use the Lord's Prayer. 
 Because, he said, it did not seem to be presented in 
 the Lord's own name. But is not this groundless ? 
 Was there, I ask, any prayer ever acceptably presented 
 to God but in his name, from the first prayer when 
 true religion appeared in Ederi to the present day ? 
 But our Lord in an especial manner places himself at 
 the head of this prayer : " Our Father." He is, as I 
 have often observed, the first of worshippers, as well 
 as the first of kings. He is worshipped as a King while 
 interceding for his people : and his own humanity 
 worships God, while he intercedes for us in all his 
 glory ; as a Divine Person demanding, in justice at 
 the hands of the Father, what is in mercy to be im- 
 parted to us.
 
 ON PRAYEK. 27 
 
 The words of this prayer are very few, and its 
 matter very comprehensive. It comprises God in all 
 His glory, and the sinner in all his shame. It con- 
 tains all that we want ; and in effect all that God 
 wishes to hear from our lips. If there were nothing 
 else in the Bible expressive of the dignity of the Sa- 
 viour's person, of the glory of his work, and of the 
 infinite benevolence of his disposition, this prayer 
 alone would be sufficient. It evidently proves itself to 
 have emanated from the bosom of infinite Wisdom and 
 infinite Love ; from the bosom of One who knew man 
 to perfection, because He knew God to perfection! 
 Model your prayers by this prayer ; and may God of 
 His goodness and mercy write it in all our hearts. 
 
 But there may be some whose cases I have not 
 yet reached ; let them attend, while I address them 
 in the application of my sermon. 
 
 Sickness may derange the human frame very much ; 
 it may reduce it to such a state that it is hardly ca- 
 pable of communion with the Lord, unless in a very 
 eminent degree under the influence of the Holy 
 Spirit. We should attend to this. Some have as- 
 cribed to their own wilful acts what only proceeds 
 from bodily disease. Let it be remembered ; they 
 are the Lord's still, invariably in his bosom, though 
 not always conscious of it. In this state of mind they 
 are frequently made the objects of Satan's attacks and 
 temptations. Remember, it is your privilege as well 
 as duty, though perhaps in the midst of much suffer- 
 ing, to be looking up to God for deliverance ; and
 
 ^8 SERMON II. 
 
 that in His own time and in His own way, he will 
 appear in your hearts individually. 
 
 Sometimes internal and external trials stupify the 
 soul, and the individual thinks that God is about to 
 destroy him. Listen not to such a suggestion. At 
 all times, in all places, under all circumstances, pray 
 to God. Pray when you cannot pray ! 
 
 Another case is the insensibility ofthehumaixheart, 
 and a rebelliousness of spirit quarrelling with God, in 
 all His dispensations. These are some of the severe 
 things His people suffer ; and they are tempted, 
 perhaps, at times to say, I am a hypocrite in grace ; 
 would you pray then ? Yes. The prayer of faith 
 is destined to penetrate the thickest cloud, and even- 
 tually to dispel it. 
 
 Lastly. Let it be remembered, that God is infinitely 
 worthy of being addressed at all times. Even when 
 we are not at all convinced of our own sincerity. / 
 dare not wait till I am convinced of it. Perhaps 
 some of you will think of this. Let your circum- 
 stances be what they may, never be silent before 
 God. You " have not a good heart" God can give 
 
 you one. But, " you have nothing but sin" The 
 dead in trespasses and sins are those whom God 
 quickens. But " you have insulted God again and 
 again" That is the reason why you ought to seek 
 His pardon. But some one may say, " My heart is as 
 hard as adamant " God can soften it. Be determin- 
 ed to lay siege to the Throne of H eaven ; and never 
 be silent till your prayers are heard and answered.
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. VI. 9. 
 
 Our Father , which art in Heaven. 
 
 GOD is the Parent of the universe. He is not only 
 the Author but the Preserver of every thing that is 
 good ; the Author and Preserver of good exclusively ; 
 overruling evil, indeed, for the best and wisest of 
 purposes, as will be evident in a very short time ; 
 annihilating evil, in the bosoms of His friends, and 
 punishing it in His enemies, for ever. But He is 
 the Parent of His human family in the highest sense. 
 The relationship subsisting between God and His 
 Church, in Christ, involves in it all His glory. All 
 her members are naturally His enemies ; but He 
 has purposed, from eternity, to make them not only 
 His friends but His family. This is the end God 
 had in view when He sent His Son into the world 
 in our nature. This is the reason why Christ suffer- 
 ed, died, rose again, and now intercedes for man at 
 the throne of God. 
 
 Angels are the children of God by creation ; but 
 we are His children in every sense in which we pos-
 
 30 SERMON III. 
 
 sibly can be. The Saviour is essentially the Son of 
 God, and He became human. Humanity in Him 
 was made Divine. The Son of God became the 
 Son of Man, that the sons of men might be made 
 the sons of God. 
 
 I. The first thing to be considered is this ENDEAR- 
 ING RELATIONSHIP, " Our Father." 
 
 We are blessed with it in and through Jesus 
 Christ. " He came unto his own, and his own re- 
 ceived him not. But as many as received him, to them 
 gave He power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe in His name : which were born, 
 not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
 will of man, but of God" (John i. 113). The 
 sovereign pleasure of Jehovah, and nothing inferior 
 to this, called them into a new state of existence ; 
 and blessed them with a spirit of adoption, in their 
 regeneration and justification. 
 
 They are commanded here to address God as a 
 Father, for this plain reason; that the relationship in 
 all its glory is destined to pervade their worship for 
 ever. There will be some glorious peculiarities in- 
 volved in the worship of saints that will not be in- 
 volved in that of angels. 
 
 1. They are to address God as their Father, to 
 encourage them in the midst of all weakness and dis- 
 tress. What child dreads the presence of a Father 
 of whose love he is well assured ; of one to whom 
 he is indebted for all ? It is in intimacy with, and 
 by the experience of the affections of a Father, that
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 31 
 
 a child knows him to be his Father. So, it is in in- 
 timacy with, and by our experience of, the love of 
 our Heavenly Father, that we are taught to know 
 Him as such. The relationship to God, as a Father, 
 cannot be known by any one, but in the relationship 
 of a child : it must be known in itself; it cannot be 
 known by any thing extraneous to itself. I may tell 
 my hearers of the relationship subsisting between 
 God and His family in His Son Jesus Christ ; but 
 they can never enter into its blessings without being 
 conscious that they are themselves the sons of God. 
 Seek, then, the blessing : it is open to every one 
 that hears the Gospel. " Like as a father pitieth 
 his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him" 
 (Ps. ciii. 13). Let us not imagine that because Deity 
 is infinitely too perfect to admit of the ebb and flow 
 of feeling, (such I mean as we experience in our own 
 bosoms,) that we are not to pay the utmost attention 
 to this interesting truth. Sympathy and love, pro- 
 perly speaking, inhabit in the highest degree the 
 bosom of Essential Deity ; while, let it ever be re- 
 membered, that all correct feelings, wherever found, 
 whether in the bosoms of men or angels, are only 
 emanations from Deity ; they are from the bosom of 
 the Infinite and Eternal One ; though, in comparison 
 with their parental source, they are infinitely less 
 than a particle of light to the body of the sun. All 
 the exquisite feelings of sympathy and love that in- 
 habited the bosom of the humanity of Jesus Christ, 
 inhabit the bosom of Deity ; and to Deity they must 
 be traced. What is to be traced to an opposite
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 source ? All insensibility ; all corrupt, all exclusively 
 selfish feeling-. Finite beings have nothing in them- 
 selves but imperfection. 
 
 Be encouraged, then, to wait on God, as a Father, 
 and seek the simplicity of a child to receive His 
 truth. Metaphysical science abused, is highly in- 
 jurious to the best interests of man. Whatever 
 difficulties may occur, let the truth I have been 
 dwelling upon occupy the heart. I have proved 
 that it must be so ; if otherwise, no lovely feelings 
 would ever inhabit any being. No excellence, of 
 any kind, can exist in the creature which does not 
 come from God ; and none can come from God, 
 which does not primarily inhabit Himself. The 
 glorious feelings of the Saviour's humanity are to 
 be traced to this ; the Divine perfection dwelling in 
 His humanity. 
 
 2. We are commanded by the Saviour, in the 
 second place, to address God as Our Father ; to 
 teach us, filial reverence as well as filial affection. 
 Love and reverence meet together, in the highest 
 degree, in the worship of God in heaven ; and they 
 must be involved in the worship of God on earth. 
 A son must honour the father he loves. Wher- 
 ever filial affection is found, it invariably involves 
 reverence as well as love. " God is greatly to be 
 feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had 
 in reverence of all them that are about him" fPs- 
 Ixxxix. 7). God will be revered as well as loved ; 
 indeed, He cannot beloved without being revered. 
 
 3. We are commanded to address God as Our
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 33 
 
 Father, in the third place, to teach us to persevere 
 till we prevail. It is a certain fact, that He has 
 provided every good for His people ; and it is there- 
 fore true, that they must be invested with every 
 good. Instead of opposing 1 the purposes of God to 
 our prayers, as many foolishly do, we ought to make 
 a wise use of His purposes to encourage us to pray. 
 He has purposed to give us every good ; and He 
 has commanded us to pray for every good of which 
 we stand in need. " Delight thyself in the Lord, 
 and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart" 
 (Ps, xxxvii. 4). It is not often that we err in our 
 desire, when our hearts are right ; and we know 
 perfectly well, the persevering affection and wisdom 
 with which children ask gifts of their parents : they 
 know that they have the most tender string to touch, 
 and that they must prevail. To encourage you to 
 wait on God at a throne of grace, I need not, I trust, 
 remind you of the tenderness and sympathy of our 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 The Saviour does not command his family to 
 pray " Father, which art in heaven ;" or individually 
 " My Father;" but " Our Father," to teach us this 
 important lesson, that He is himself included. Their 
 prayers ascend to God in him, and are answered by 
 God through him. " Our Father " necessarily in- 
 volves, in another point of view, the relationship of 
 Christ as a Brother, the head and representative of 
 his family. " I ascend unto my Father and your 
 Father, to my God and your God ;" " our Father,3fc" 
 
 How is it that any can say they do not find 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 SERMON III. 
 
 Christ in this prayer ? It is full of him, from first to 
 last ; as full as he himself could make it. He com- 
 mands them to pray ; and he says, " My family, My 
 brother, I will lead you by the hand into the pre- 
 sence of the God of heaven. Do not be afraid ; your 
 elder Brother is with you : say, with me, Our Father : 
 I take the lead in every petition you present." Oh, 
 may we ever feel this ! It will be time enough for 
 us to give over praying to God when we can ascer- 
 tain that Jesus Christ has ceased to intercede for 
 us ; then, and not till then, ought we to cease to 
 pray. But * difficulties and obstacles multiply them- 
 selves continually' Multiply your prayers in exact 
 proportion. 
 
 4. He commands us to address God as our Father, 
 in the fourth place, to remind us that we are one 
 family ; and that we ought to pray for one another. 
 That individual who prays only for himself, has never 
 prayed aright. The spirit of prayer is very com- 
 prehensive ; it is a spirit of love ; it pervades the 
 bosoms of all the family of God, without a single 
 exception. Mistake me not. I am aware that some- 
 times, in the midst of doubts and distress, the believer 
 may think he has no object in view but himself: 
 nevertheless, principle may be strongly retained in 
 his bosom, when he himself is incapable of perusing 
 all its workings. A man may be so severely exer- 
 cised for a season as not to think even of his wife, 
 or his children ; but would any one infer from this, 
 that an affectionate husband can ever be so placed 
 as not to have the welfare of his wife and children at
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 35 
 
 heart ? " Brethren, pray for us," says the Apostle ; 
 and the saints of old frequently prayed for each 
 other. Solomon prayed for the whole family of 
 God ; and in so doing he was a type of Messiah, in 
 His intercession. Pray likewise with each other ; 
 God intended that His family should pray both with 
 and for each other. They are His jewels : sun, moon, 
 and stars are trifles in His eyes compared with them ; 
 kings and empires are put aside as little things, 
 when He in His providence sees fit to exalt His 
 church (as exalt her He will, in spite of all the efforts 
 of her enemies to the contrary). God Himself, when 
 seeking for His jewels, is like the woman mentioned 
 in Scripture, looking for her piece of lost silver: 
 and be assured, my brethren, that He will never 
 lose one of them. As, then, God is our 'Father, and 
 Christ is our Brother, let us not despair; let us pray 
 to Him in the midst of all difficulties, national and 
 individual. " O magnify the Lord with me, and let 
 us exalt His name together " (Ps. xxxiv. 3). 
 
 What is the church militant engaged in at the 
 present moment ? Each member is as fully interested 
 in a brother's welfare as in his own. " Love thy 
 neighbour as thyself." The perfection of the Law 
 requires this ; and it is the glory of the Gospel that 
 it invests man with the perfection of the Law. " Our 
 Father." The Saviour teaches us to love each other. 
 It was intended that every principle of bitterness 
 should be excluded ; that we should all love as 
 brethren ; that offences should be mutually forgiven. 
 A root of bitterness springing up in the human 
 D 2
 
 36 SERMON III. 
 
 heart, is fatal. Churches have been undermined ; 
 by what ? By bitterness of spirit ! Had drunkenness 
 and scandal appeared, the evil would have been ex- 
 posed and eradicated ; but this bitterness of spirit 
 has sometimes been suffered to live, till it has de- 
 stroyed them, and scattered those who have been in 
 the habit of worshipping God together as one family ; 
 so scattered them that we must despair of ever see- 
 ing them united again, till God Himself, their own 
 Father, in all the tenderness of his love shall collect 
 them together around His throne in glory. Cherish 
 no bitterness "of spirit towards any one, whatever 
 evils you may experience at his hands. You would 
 do this, if truly wise, from a principle of selfishness. 
 ' Sirs, ye are brethren " (Acts. vii. 26), said Moses 
 to the two Hebrews as they strove together : " why 
 do ye wrong one to another ? " God would have 
 His family love each other. If we loved one another 
 as we ought to do, we should be indeed invincible. 
 
 II. " Wliich art in heaven." I would consider, 
 secondly, His family mansion, and our PATERNAL 
 
 INHERITANCE. 
 
 Our Saviour, addressing himself to His disciples, 
 says, " In my Father's house are many mansions : if 
 it were not so, I would have told you ; I go to pre- 
 pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
 place for you, I will come again and receive you 
 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be 
 also " (John xiv. 2, 3). At home ! in their Father's 
 house, and with their elder Brother ! In heaven
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 37 
 
 God manifests the glory of His love in a peculiar 
 manner. In heaven, and in heaven only, God dis- 
 penses all His blessings. We are, at present, inca- 
 pable of receiving- them all ; but we are destined to 
 receive them when we arrive at our Father's house 
 above. Children at school are not in the enjoyment 
 of all the luxuries and delights of home ; they must 
 go to their Father's residence, ere they have all they 
 wish for ; and, which is sweeter than all besides, the 
 full enjoyment of their parent's love. 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, 
 and the earth is my footstool" (Isa. Ixvi. 1). By 
 heaven is meant some place (where it may be I 
 know not, and it is wise to check vain curiosity) ; 
 but it is where God chooses to manifest all His love 
 to all His family. It is of little importance whether 
 it be near this earth, or millions of miles distant. If 
 God pleased, He could transport me there in a 
 second of time. Space is nothing to Him who is 
 omnipresent. " Behold the heaven and heaven of 
 heavens cannot contain Him" (1 Kings viii. 27). 
 If He willed it, I might be the next moment in the 
 most distant regions of the earth. Whenever I bid 
 adieu to this tabernacle of flesh, I shall be with Him, 
 and see Him as He is. But, though God is pecu- 
 liarly present in heaven, yet He is present every 
 where. And we have the promise, that wherever 
 two or three are gathered together in His name, 
 our Father and our Brother are present in the midst 
 of us, to hear and to bless us. 
 
 " Our Father which art in heaven." 1. To teach
 
 ,'38 SERMON III. 
 
 us the infinite exaltation of God ; that He can do 
 what He pleases in all the armies of heaven, and 
 among the inhabitants of the earth ; that God is in- 
 finitely exalted above all finite being, and beyond 
 any idea that can ever enter into our minds. " I 
 know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is 
 above all gods : whatsoever the Lord pleased that 
 did He in heaven and in earth, in the sea, and in 
 all deep places " (Ps. cxxxv. 5, 6). 
 
 2. Another reason why the Saviour teaches His 
 followers to address the Father in this manner is, to 
 remind them that they are only strangers and pil- 
 grims here on earth ; and in consequence of this, 
 that they should be perpetually engaged in prepar- 
 ing for heaven. When we are about to visit friends 
 at a distance; friends, whom we love and respect ; 
 it is our desire to appear with becoming decorum 
 and affection ; in such a manner as that we may 
 impart as well as receive pleasure. Need I remind 
 you of the joy that it will give to God Himself to see 
 His family with Him ? Though He is an immutable 
 being, it will give Him exquisite pleasure to see His 
 family safe in heaven. " The Lord thy God in the 
 midst of thee is mighty ; He will save, He will re- 
 joice over thee with joy ; He will rest in his love ; 
 He will joy over thee with singing " (Zeph. iii. 17). 
 And of the Saviour it is said, "He shall see of the 
 travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied " (Isa. liii. 
 11), when the bodies as well as the souls of the 
 redeemed shall be ushered into the presence of the 
 Lord in glory. " Willing rather to be absent from
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 39 
 
 the body, and to be present with the Lord " (2 Cor. 
 v. 6, 8). It is better to depart and be with Christ 
 says the Apostle, to remind us that in a very short 
 time we shall receive a rich welcome to our Father's 
 courts above. We ought not, like naughty children, 
 to play the truant as we are going- home. No, we 
 are pilgrims and strangers here on earth, seeking 
 better things. 
 
 When Abraham set out on his journey at the 
 command of God, to offer up his son Isaac, he knew 
 not whither he was going ; but he was well aware that 
 he was on his road to heaven at the command, and 
 under the guidance of God. In like manner, we should 
 always live as those who are travelling to heaven. 
 Our walk and conversation would be widely different 
 from what they are, if our minds were deeply im- 
 pressed with this truth. Of the family of Heaven, 
 and journeying thither, we should declare plainly 
 that w r e seek a country. 
 
 From what I have said, learn a few lessons : and 
 remember that we must all learn, again and again, 
 the same lessons ; indeed, we should be ever learn- 
 ing, and that too, under the discipline of the Holy 
 Spirit. God is truth ; and the Spirit of truth is given 
 to guide His family here with His counsel, that they 
 may afterwards be received into glory. 
 
 1. Learn then, first, the Love of God. 
 
 It appears in His covenant ; in the gift of His Son ; 
 in the sacrifice of Messiah ; in every gift to us ; the 
 same love pervades all things connected with re-
 
 40 SERMON III. 
 
 ligion. " Behold what manner of love the Father 
 hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called 
 the sons of God ; therefore the world knoweth us 
 not, because it knew him not." " Beloved, now are 
 we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what 
 we shall be : but we know that when He shall appear 
 we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is " 
 (1 John in. 1, 2). The contrast between one state 
 and another is no where so striking as between the 
 family of God ; first of all, in their natural state, 
 and afterwards in their heavenly state, when ushered 
 into the presence of God to receive all the blessing's 
 He has prepared for them. 
 
 2. Learn, secondly, to honour your heavenly Father 
 in all things. Ask yourselves, continually, * Is my 
 Father pleased with me ? * An ingenuous child will 
 do so to an earthly father ; surely we should so 
 honour our heavenly Father, and not only honour 
 Him ourselves, but be the means of leading others to 
 honour Him also. " Let your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your good works, and glorify 
 your Father which is in heaven " (Matt. v. 16). 
 
 The church of God is destined to be the Bible of 
 the ungodly. This is a book which they must read, 
 though perhaps they will not read the volume of 
 Inspiration ; they must read the pages of the human 
 heart, when the loveliness of true religion appears 
 in the conduct of the children of God. The children 
 of this world are obliged to admire them, even while 
 they affect to laugh at them and call them " saints." 
 There is a voice within, that plainly whispers
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 41 
 
 * they are better than you ;' and they cannot help 
 saying 1 in their hearts, ' Oh that we were like them/ 
 But sin is precious to them, and they have not re- 
 solution enough to forsake it. 
 
 Some persons talk as if a decree from God were 
 necessary to send sinners to everlasting- punishment. 
 A decree from God ! This would be a work of su- 
 pererogation indeed. Oh no ; it is not necessary to 
 send sinners to hell ; there they go, and will go of 
 themselves. Man does that work effectually. There 
 is mischief enoug-h in the human heart to tempt Satan 
 himself: yes, and the devil has again and again been 
 tempted by man to tempt him. 
 
 3. Learn, moreover, to submit to all the paternal 
 chastisements of God. "We have had fathers of 
 our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them re- 
 verence : shall we not much rather be in subjection 
 unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they 
 verily for a few days chastened us after their own 
 pleasure ; but He for our profit, that we might be 
 partakers of His holiness " (Heb. xii. 9). Submit to 
 His chastisements ; they are, perhaps, the strongest 
 proof of His love. 
 
 4>. Learn to endeavour to be like Him. Be en- 
 gaged with principle. Ask yourselves ; what would 
 God have the heart to be ? I profess to be the temple 
 of the living God ; what ought my thoughts and 
 affections to be ? And remember He has not only 
 given the command, "Be ye perfect," but has pro- 
 mised that perfection as a blessing (Ps. cxxxviii. 8). 
 " Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear chil-
 
 V2 SERMON III. 
 
 dren " (Eph. v. 1) ; by which the Apostle means, be 
 ye like God. All the perfections of Deity are en- 
 gaged in the work ; it will and must be accomplish- 
 ed. "Predestined to be conformed to the image of 
 His Son " (Rom. viii. 29). The predestination of 
 God involves nothing but good j and this is another 
 reason why we should seek every good at His 
 hands. 
 
 5. Learn to abide by His instructions in all 
 things. We are not, as a professing people, to suffer 
 the examples, the evil, or even the good examples 
 of others, to be our rule. Our rule is the command 
 of God : and there is this peculiarity in His com- 
 mands, they have all the sanctions of Infinity and 
 Eternity. 
 
 We cannot but love and respect the image of the 
 living God wherever found. Would we trace it in 
 all its glory, we must go to Jesus, " who suffered 
 for us, leaving us an example that we should follow 
 His steps " (1 Pet. ii. 21). He presents his Father 
 with an atonement, and us with an example. He 
 has promised to give us His Holy Spirit, and to save 
 us from every enemy ; then, and not till then, will 
 salvation be perfect. 
 
 6. Lastly, learn to trust God at all times, in all 
 places, and under all circumstances Trust Him 
 for all good, without one single exception. He has 
 nothing but good to communicate to His family. 
 True, some of His dispensations may be painful to 
 our feelings ; yet what is painful to the feelings is 
 often salutary to the frame. A medicine prescribed
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 43 
 
 by a physician may be very nauseous, but it may be 
 the means of saving- life. Thus it is with all the medi- 
 cines presented to us by our heavenly Physician. His 
 own life and health are in them ! But above all things 
 seek spiritual blessings, and seek them daily. We 
 have the promise of the Lord that " He will give 
 grace and glory ; and that no good thing will He 
 withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psal. 
 Ixxxiv. 11). 
 
 Learn to trust God when every earthly comfort 
 fails. The children of God are sometimes placed in 
 circumstances exquisitely painful ; and then they stand 
 in need of God's peculiar care, and much of the 
 energy of the Divine Spirit, to keep them from sink- 
 ing. Now it is recorded in Scripture, " When my 
 father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will 
 take me up" (Psal. xxVii. 10). It is hard to be for- 
 saken by father and mother ; but God has promised 
 to be the Father of the fatherless, and the Husband of 
 the widow : "in God the fatherless findeth mercy " 
 (Hosea xiv. 3). I cannot help thinking of a country- 
 woman of mine who was once reproved by her own 
 child, whose father was dead: " Mother, why do you 
 cry?" " What shall I do, what shall I do ; thy father 
 is dead, I know not what to do :" the child said, 
 " Mother, I will tell you what to do ; sing the praises 
 of God." She felt the reproof; the truth reached 
 her, not only from the lips of her son, but from her 
 God. Yes, God is worthy of being praised in the 
 midst of our troubles : they are the ministers of His 
 glory and of our good.
 
 44 SERMON III. 
 
 To conclude : Remember this endearing- relation- 
 ship when your faith seems to be annihilated. 
 
 The believer, when he beholds his sins marshalled 
 against him in battle array, when his eye is turned 
 exclusively to them, is ready to sink, not only into 
 despondency but despair. Ever, then, let the mercy 
 of God be kept in view ; let the love that prompted 
 Him to send His Son to die for us be dwelt upon ; 
 and let distressed sinners think of God " our 
 Father I" of Christ our Brother ! You will then 
 know, in every sense, how you ought to think of 
 Him ; and -learn, as others have done, to triumph in 
 Him. 
 
 Some young believers have been tempted to pray 
 that the Lord would visit them with afflictions. They 
 have heard others speak ol the exercises they have 
 gone through ; of the dark and painful hours they 
 have passed, when dwelling on the corruption of 
 their own hearts ; and as they have not felt these, 
 they have hastily concluded that they were not of 
 the family of heaven : but God has eventually visited 
 them, till they have been obliged to cry out, " Spare 
 me, O spare me Lord I" 
 
 There are seasons of deep spiritual affliction (com- 
 pared with which all the afflictions of earth in the 
 aggregate are but little), when God seems to hide 
 his face ; and, to chastise His child for his rebellion, 
 throwing (if I may so speak) the sparks and flames of 
 hell into his face. What bitter discipline is this ! 
 Perhaps some of you may experience something of 
 it at the present moment. Remember, you have a
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 45 
 
 Father, a Brother above ! Remember that others 
 have been as severely afflicted as you are at the pre- 
 sent time ; and they are now in glory, beyond the 
 reach of all affliction. " Will the Lord cast off for 
 ever ? and will He be favourable no more ? Is His 
 mercy clean gone for ever ? doth His promise fail 
 for evermore ? Hath God forgotten to be gracious ? 
 Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies?" Here 
 is a soul deeply exercised ; but read the context and 
 you will see his triumph. Persevere in waiting upon 
 God, and you will triumph too.
 
 46 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. Vi. 9. 
 
 " Hallowed be thy name" 
 
 I HAVE already observed on the interesting truth 
 that the Saviour places himself at the head of this 
 prayer : " My God and your God ; my Father and 
 your Father." " My brethren " and " thy Sons," 
 form the burden of his intercession before the 
 throne of God in glory. 
 
 "Our Father which art in heaven." Compare 
 this with other passages of Scripture : " Whatsoever 
 ye shall ask in my name that will I do, that the 
 Father may be glorified in the Son " (John xiv. 13). 
 This is the reason why he teaches his disciples to 
 say " Our Father ;" they are to approach God 
 assured that the God they venerate will most 
 readily confer every thing that is good upon His be_ 
 lieving people. "The Lord will give grace and 
 glory : no good thing will He withhold from them 
 that walk uprightly" (Ps. Ixxxiv. 11). 
 
 I. " Hallowed be thy name" I need hardly re-
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 47 
 
 mind you, that the name of an individual implies 
 the person, with all the assemblage of his good, 
 mixed, or bad qualities. God in Scripture addresses 
 us as we address each other ; and all the figures 
 of speech which we use; every striking, every inte- 
 resting association, that can enter into any human 
 composition ; all are found in the Bible. The 
 Name of God, then, comprises Himself, and all the 
 glory of His perfections as the covenant God, Re- 
 deemer, and Saviour of mankind. 
 
 1. The Name of God comprises HisEssence. "Give 
 unto the Lord the glory due unto his NAME : bring 
 an offering, and come before Him : worship the 
 Lord in the beauty of holiness" (1 Chron. xvi. 29). 
 " O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His 
 NAME together " (Psal. xxxiv. 3). 
 
 2. The Name of God implies His Perfections ; but 
 in an especial manner, those perfections in which we 
 are most eminently interested ; those perfections 
 which are usually denominated moral perfections, 
 His mercy, His wisdom, His truth, His faithfulness, 
 His holiness, His justice, His love. " 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 1 the guilty ; 
 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, 
 and upon the children's children, unto the third and 
 to the fourth generation " (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7)' 
 
 3. His Titles. "And Moses said unto God, Behold 
 when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall
 
 48 SERMON IV. 
 
 say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent 
 me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is His 
 name, what shall I say unto them ? Arid God said 
 unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and He said, Thus 
 eh alt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM 
 hath sent me unto you " (Exod. Hi. 13, 14). 
 
 4. The -Name of God sometimes in Scripture im- 
 plies that revelation which He has been pleased to 
 give of Himself. And for the most striking- of all 
 reasons ; salvation must be filled and pervaded by 
 God, or it can be no salvation to us. We converse 
 with each other, now and then, as if grace were 
 something distinct from God ; but there is no 
 spiritual gift, there is no spiritual blessing, that is 
 or can be separated from Himself. He is the life 
 of the soul, and for that reason the life of every 
 grace that inhabits the bosom of His believing 
 children. " Let them that love thy Name be joyful 
 in thee " (Ps. v. 11). "Ye shall know the truth, 
 and the truth shall make you free " (John viii. 32). 
 The Truth, and that truth inspired by God Himself, 
 which is absolutely necessary to save us from our- 
 selves ; and, in that salvation, from every other 
 enemy. 
 
 5. The Name of God sometimes implies, in Scrip- 
 ture, the service of God. Thus it was the intention 
 of David to build a house for the Name of the Lord ; 
 that is, for the service of the Lord; but God told 
 him, that he had been a man of war, and had shed 
 blood, and therefore he was not destined to build 
 it (1 Kings v. 5, 1 Chron. xxviii. 3) : but Solomon
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 49 
 
 was to build the house because God is a God of 
 peace in His Son, of whom Solomon was a type. 
 Yet, at the same time, God gave credit to David 
 for the excellence of his purpose. Yes ; He marks 
 every thing that is pleasing to Him, within the 
 inmost recesses of the human bosom. A thought, 
 a wish, or even a sigh, in unison with His will, 
 can never go unrewarded. 
 
 6. By the Name of God is sometimes implied 
 in Scripture, the covenant and purpose of His 
 mercy. This is the reason why the Saviour 
 himself, in addressing his Father, says to Him, 
 " I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren ; in 
 the midst of the church will I sing praise unto 
 Thee " (Ps. xxii. 22 ; Heb. ii. 12) ; that in My name 
 they may approach, and worship Thee in spirit 
 and in truth. 
 
 II. " Hallowed be thy Name:' This is the first 
 petition, and justly so ; for true religion can have 
 no existence but where the Name of God is hal- 
 lowed. God is infinitely superior to every other 
 being ; and must necessarily occupy the supreme 
 place. It is an absolute impossibility that He 
 should occupy the second. One striking proof of 
 spiritual integrity is this ; that the individual is 
 disposed to give to God the honour due unto His 
 Name: to exalt Him perpetually above every 
 thing. Have you and I learned this lesson ? For- 
 give me, for confessing with shame and confusion, 
 in the pulpit this evening, that, though I am 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 SERMON IV. 
 
 striving hard to learn it day after day, yet I am 
 making very poor progress. I am only just begin- 
 ning to learn it; and if I had not Infinite Wisdom, 
 as well as Infinite Love, to teach me, I should learn 
 nothing. 
 
 It is when man comes into contact with all the 
 perfections of God in His covenant, and the work 
 of His Son and Spirit, that all the rebellion of 
 the heart evinces itself. It is not in the midst of 
 the gross sins of which he has been guilty, that 
 this rebellion is so apparent, as in his opposing 
 God in all the glory of His salvation. 
 
 Perhaps some of you may have known what it 
 is to feel pride within your bosoms, swelling itself 
 into gigantic dimensions, in resisting with all its 
 might a God of mercy ; when He is bringing 
 home to you a sense of your absolute dependence, 
 and explaining to you the workings of your own 
 mind. In reality, quarrelling with God, because 
 you are not individually Gods. Oh ! it is a hard 
 lesson to read the human heart. Could I live with- 
 out the workings of corruption, could I live and 
 be free from sin, I would willingly be a galley- 
 slave all the days of my life. 
 
 The reason is obvious why this petition oc- 
 cupies the first place ; why the Name of God is 
 first introduced. God has His own glory prima- 
 rily and perpetually in view : this is absolutely 
 necessary ; the welfare of the creature could not 
 be secured without it. " The Lord hath made all 
 things for Himself" (Prov. xvi. 4). When His
 
 ON THE LORD'S PHAYER. 5J 
 
 glory occupies the first place, then all that we 
 can possibly want or desire follows in train. 
 God begins ; and not only so, He carries on His 
 own work (the work of grace) in the human 
 heart, for His own Name's sake. This is the 
 reason why He is not wearied with us : but for 
 this, we should have provoked Him to leave us 
 long ago. This is the reason he Himself assigns, 
 again and again, for not having destroyed His once 
 chosen people; "for My Name's sake." Thisisthe 
 reason why God ought to be perpetually in our 
 view. And nothing less than this can fully 
 satisfy the mind of him who is illumined by the 
 Spirit of the living God. When that highly pri- 
 vileged individual knows this important truth, he 
 sees things in the light in which God Himself sees 
 them ; and comes to the same conclusion with 
 Him ; if I may be allowed to use such terms in 
 speaking of the Most High ; who knows every 
 thing without the elaborate process of reasoning, 
 which must, in most cases, take place in our own 
 bosoms. God is first in His own view, and should 
 be first in ours. In perusing the history of saints 
 in Scripture, we find that God is the first object 
 with them ; they looked up to Him ; they were 
 taught to hallow His Holy Name ; and in doing so 
 they invariably found their own welfare. God is 
 very jealous of His own glory, and will not give it 
 to another. 
 
 He will and must be first. Nothing worse 
 can be said of the devil than this, that he wished 
 
 2
 
 52 SERMON IV. 
 
 to give to God the second place. In this is com- 
 prised all evil gf every kind and degree, from the 
 time of the Fall to the present day ; and from the 
 present moment, for ever : and all those who are 
 not taught by the Spirit of God, to keep His glory 
 primarily and perpetually in view, must one day 
 or other rue the awful consequences : according 
 to the word of the Lord in Malachi, " If ye will 
 not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to 
 give glory unto my Name, saiththe Lord of hosts ; 
 I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse 
 your blessings : yea, I have cursed them already, 
 because ye do not lay it to heart " (Mai. ii. 1). 
 
 Read with accuracy the workings of your own 
 minds, and you will find that you are opposed to 
 nothing more than this. And here we find sin and 
 rebellion against the Most High, in a degree in 
 which it cannot be exhibited by Satan himself. He 
 is opposed only to a God of holiness and justice; 
 but we know what it is to offend against a God of 
 Mercy. Oh that we knew ourselves ! While I am 
 addressing you, I am sensible that there is a prin- 
 ciple within my own bosom opposing itself to 
 the majesty of God, in all the loveliness of His 
 covenant offices. And what is the consequence 
 of this ? 1 am taught to prize the covenant office 
 of the Holy Spirit, as fully as the covenant office 
 of Christ. One is altogether as necessary as the 
 other : for, were it possible, after millions of 
 ages spent in perfect and spotless obedience, for 
 the Holy Spirit to withhold His sovereign grace,
 
 ON THE LORD'S PllAYEU. 53 
 
 we should perish evermore. We have only to 
 read ourselves accurately and profoundly to be 
 of one mind with respect to all the essentials of 
 religion. If we differ, we shall differ only with 
 respect to things of very inferior consequence. 
 But it is delightful to think of that blissful period 
 when we shall meet before the throne of God, 
 seeing "eye to eye;" the intellects of all being 
 equally illumined, and the hearts of all wholly 
 engaged with the perfections of God; without 
 even the shadow of a shade of difference'; and that 
 for ever. 
 
 III. HOW IS HIS NAME TO BE HALLOWED? I 
 
 shall endeavour to answer this question. 
 
 Let it be remembered that the holiness of God 
 admits of no increase ; of no diminution. No one 
 can add to His perfections in the least degree ; 
 it is an infinite impossibility. Even the work of 
 Jesus Christ himself, in one important sense, did 
 not enrich them. The obedience of His own 
 Son did not make His name more glorious; it 
 only served to evince His essential glory. Nothing 
 can be added to His perfections, even by the work 
 of a Divine Person ; much less by any thing that 
 we can say or do. But let it be remembered also, 
 that the work of Christ involved in it the brightest 
 development of the glory of the Divine perfec- 
 tions; and at the same time the highest good 
 that can be imparted to finite beings. Christ as 
 a Divine Person purchased every blessing for us.
 
 54 SERMON IV. 
 
 To hallow or sanctify the Name of God implies 
 this, to keep His holiness perpetually in view. 
 Divines tell us, and very justly, that power is the 
 life, and holiness the beauty of Deity. Every 
 moral agent who is truly wise keeps the holiness 
 of God continually in view; and continually re- 
 members the injunction, " Be ye holy, for I am 
 holy " (1 Pet. i. 16). It is in His moral, not in His 
 natural perfections, that we are destined to imi- 
 tate God for ever. In His natural perfections we 
 cannot do it. Creative power, for example, is 
 incommunicable. We cannot call into existence 
 a particle of dust, nor can we preserve it when 
 created : but not so His moral attributes; the moral 
 perfections of God are communicated to us by 
 the Holy Spirit ; and the same Spirit is engaged 
 to bring them to perfection eventually within the 
 bosoms of finite beings like ourselves. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the manner in which the 
 Saviour expresses himself in this petition ; he ex- 
 presses himself not only in the most rich and com- 
 prehensive, but in the most accurate manner. He 
 does not say " glorify " My Father's Name, though 
 if he had said so we should have known what he 
 meant by it. All creation glorifies God. Every 
 thing that He has called into existence has a tongue 
 which glorifies its Creator and Preserver. " The 
 heavens declare the glory of God, and the firma- 
 ment sheweth His handy-work" (Psal. xix. 1). 
 But it would be improper to say that the firma- 
 ment sanctifies God ; that the sun, moon, and
 
 ON THE LOirDS PRAYER. 55 
 
 stars sanctify God : though they glorify, they 
 cannot possibly sanctify Him. None but moral 
 agents who wear His image can sanctify Him. 
 None can reflect the moral image of God, but His 
 own moral creatures engaged in His service ; en- 
 gaged in His worship in heaven above, or in the 
 earth beneath. It is the peculiar, I will not say 
 privilege, but prerogative, of His own family, to 
 hallow or sanctify His holy Name ; to reflect the 
 beauty of His holiness ; and let even His enemies 
 see (whether they will learnor not) what the perfec- 
 tions of God are, as revealed in the Scriptures. 
 
 The volumes of creation and providence were 
 open to men for many ages, but they learned very 
 little. Some tell us a great deal of natural reli- 
 gion: volumes have been written upon the sub- 
 ject ; but to what purpose ? Man cannot possibly 
 learn true religion from any thing but a revelation 
 from God. Nothing can bind the conscience but 
 a revelation from God. If a revelation from God 
 had not reached man, I should boldly declare that 
 the sun, moon, and stars, did not oblige me to 
 worship God. I could not have ascended from 
 the creature to the Creator : I have no capacity 
 for it. I should not have known whether there 
 had been one God or ten thousand. No, it is a 
 command from God himself that imposes the ob- 
 ligation ; and when God presents us with a reve- 
 lation, then every thing we see increases the ob- 
 ligation. What is called "natural religion, '' is one 
 of the strong holds of infidelity ; and it is to be
 
 56 SERMON IV. 
 
 lamented that so many great and good men have 
 dwelt much upon it, when in reality it is a non- 
 entity. But it may be said, does not St. Paul tell 
 us that God Himself may be perused in His 
 works? Most assuredly; but in consequence of 
 having previously received a revelation from Him. 
 And it ought to be remembered, moreover, that the 
 Apostle was writing to those who had received a re- 
 velation, though they had blended with it the follies 
 and absurdities of men. This revelation has tra- 
 velled into the remotest nations of the earth, or 
 men would have had no idea of the perfections of 
 God. Before man can ascend from the creature 
 to the Creator, he must be able to comprehend the 
 link which unites them together : and this his 
 finite capacity cannot accomplish by the feeble 
 light of nature, unassisted by Revelation. 
 
 The Apostle presents us with what is singularly 
 striking and instructive when he says, " I am not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ ; for it is the 
 power of God unto salvation to every one that 
 believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed 
 from faith to faith; as it is written, The just 
 shall live by faith." I repeat it again, that Reve- 
 lation alone binds man, and binds the command 
 of God upon him. Wherever it is found, it is 
 equally binding, whether in the Law or the Gospel ; 
 for the authority of God must live in all His dis- 
 pensations. 
 
 I would now lay down the Scriptural rule for
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 57 
 
 glorifying God ; or, as I have pointed out the 
 distinction between the two words, I would say, 
 sanctifying God. 
 
 And here I beg you will not imagine that I am 
 personal in any thing that I am about to say. I 
 make a general appeal to the conscience by 
 drawing the bow at a venture, and leaving the 
 wind of God to waft it to its destined mark. 
 
 First, then, Hallowing or sanctifying the Name 
 of God, involves the highest reverence in the 
 worship of God. " This is it that the Lord spake, 
 saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh 
 Me, and before all the people I will be glorified " 
 (Lev. x. 3). 
 
 To begin with principle : " Sanctify the Lord 
 God in your hearts" (1 Pet. iii. 15). We know, 
 perfectly well, what the feelings of an obedient 
 son are when he meditates on the character 
 and benevolence of an affectionate father : 
 we know what he feels towards his father; 
 and can easily conceive the indignation that would 
 take possession of his bosom if he heard his pa- 
 rent's name traduced. May we revere the name 
 of God in our hearts, and never presume to engage 
 in His worship, either in public or in private, with- 
 out silently invoking the aid of His Holy Spirit. 
 I need not tell you, that when the heart is right, 
 every thing else will be right. We stand in need 
 of having our principles corrected perpetually : 
 and, blessed be God, the spring of action is in Him- 
 self, and He has covenanted to carry on the work
 
 58 SERMON IV. 
 
 to perfection. Let the Name of God, then, be re- 
 vered in the heart, in the closet, in the family, 
 and in the public assembly of his saints. We 
 have more reason to reverence the Name of God 
 than the angels in heaven have. Do you ask why ? 
 I answer, we are under much deeper obligations 
 than they are. We have beheld the Divine per- 
 fections unfolding themselves in all their glory in 
 our nature ; and in that nature following us'into the 
 depths of hell, beneath the feet of all the enemies 
 of God ; to raise us to the zenith of glory. 
 
 Secondly, The Name of God is hallowed by 
 fruitfulness in every good word and work. When 
 you see an individual who is desirous of promoting 
 the glory of God by doing all the good he can to 
 his fellow-creatures, oh! prize him as a treasure 
 invaluable in this corrupt world. We want indi- 
 vidual fruitfulness in the day in which we live. " Ye 
 are the salt of the earth" (Matt. v. 13). Remem- 
 ber this, ye professors of religion ; and let those 
 who are determined to go to hell, see in you what 
 they ought to see. "Herein is My Father glorified," 
 says the Saviour, "thatye bear much fruit" (John 
 xv. 8). You can be conscious of being His disciples, 
 only while loving, serving, and delighting in Him. 
 Angels must look down with delight on the indi- 
 vidual who is engaged in the service of God : they 
 know what difficulties (internal and external) he 
 has to struggle with, and the lovely development 
 of the principle of obedience, in the midst of so 
 much opposition, must be peculiarly delightful to
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 59 
 
 them. If you saw a flame weak as that of a 
 candle, in the midst of the ocean, it would surprise 
 you to behold that flame gradually gathering 
 strength, till it overspread and drank up the whole. 
 But we have to witness a still greater wonder, and 
 that within our own bosoms. Grace is at first 
 very small, and very weak ; but it is destined 
 eventually to overspread them and to consume 
 all our unhallowed lusts and passions. Let us look 
 for the miracle within a miracle greater than any 
 we can read of- the miracle which changes the 
 worst into the best of men. 
 
 Thirdly, The Name of God is to be hallowed by 
 faithfulness to Him in every thing. '* If any man 
 speak, let him speak as the oracles of God ; if any 
 man minister, let him do it as of the ability which 
 God giveth; that God in all things may be glori- 
 fied, through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and 
 dominion for ever and ever" (1 Pet. iv. 11). He 
 who wishes to sanctify the Name of God, must 
 consider that all he has to do, temporal as well as 
 spiritual, is to be done to the glory of God. This 
 should be the commencement and termination of 
 every thing. 
 
 Some persons seem to have an idea of separating 
 business and religion : but, no ; they ought to be 
 involved in each other. It is a mercy and a bless- 
 ing to be engaged in business ; and business was 
 intended by God to be subservient to the pur- 
 poses of true religion. I would appeal to some 
 individuals, whom God has blessed with much of
 
 60 SEKMON IV. 
 
 the wealth of this world, and who are not obliged 
 to labour as others are, to earn their daily bread : 
 Tell me, to how many temptations are you not ex- 
 posed from frequent hours of leisure ? Doubtless 
 Satan takes advantage of these, and of all peculiar 
 seasons, to ply the mind with his wily snares. 
 Man was intended to be active in body and in 
 soul : even in Eden Adam was commanded to cul- 
 tivate the ground. God has evidently intended 
 to fill business with Himself, to make it a bless- 
 ing, and not an interruption ; and man is never 
 truly happy till he has learned this lesson, 
 " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever 
 ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. x. 31). 
 
 Why am I commanded to support this frail 
 frame? For the glory of God, that I may serve God 
 with my body and spirit, which are His. " Not 
 slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord "(Rom. xii. 11). 
 
 Many of you are engaged in business : What do 
 your consciences say to these things ? I do conjure 
 you, when you retire to your homes, to fall on 
 your knees, entreating the Lord to fill you with 
 his fulness, that by his blessing religion may 
 form in you one glorious whole, embracing you 
 altogether yourselves, your wives, your families, 
 and all your concerns. 
 
 But is this the case in London, generally speak- 
 ing ? Alas ! no : God is little thought of by people 
 in business, and their conduct proves it. I ask 
 you, is God in your consciences, behind your
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 61 
 
 counters, and in your counting-houses ? Oh do not 
 sacrifice the wealth of heaven, the favour of God, 
 and peace of conscience, for worldly gain. Forbid 
 it, Lord ! 
 
 To hallow the Name of God, then, is to carry 
 God Himself with us, and in us, into every thing 
 we do. 
 
 Lastly, the Name of God is to be hallowed 
 by a ceaseless life of faith. 
 
 We are assured that it shall be well with the 
 righteous. They have their troubles and difficul- 
 ties, but God is with them ; and He is engaged to 
 lead them triumphantly through all. " Them that 
 honour Me, I will honour" (1 Sam. ii. 30). 
 
 We all believe that Messiah is to reign glo- 
 riously; and that all error in principle and vice in 
 practice will be trampled into nothing beneath 
 the feet of the Lord of hosts. I firmly believe 
 that we are living in the dawn of that sacred day. 
 I may differ from some of my brethren, as to 
 whether the Saviour is to reign on earth; but we all 
 agree that a principle of holiness is to reign in 
 the human heart that Jesus is to be enthroned 
 in the human bosom : we all agree that people are 
 to love and serve the Lord more generally, and 
 with a great deal more cheerfulness, in that blessed 
 period, than they do now. But let it be remem- 
 bered, that for all supplies of grace we are invited 
 to the throne of God at the present moment : let 
 it be remembered, that, if we are straitened, we 
 are straitened only in ourselves. Let us lay
 
 G'2 SERMON IV. 
 
 siege to the Throne of Grace ; and never be silent, 
 till we are conscious that God is with us, and in 
 us, of a truth. 
 
 To conclude : Let us learn, in the first place, 
 that holiness ought to be the ambition and the 
 pursuit of every reasonable being, and that per- 
 petually. It is impossible to do justice to the 
 human intellect, or to the human heart, without 
 it. Until the image of God take possession of 
 both, neither the human intellect nor the human 
 heart can reach its destiny. Nothing can fill the 
 human heart but the living God. The image of 
 God must ever live in union and communion with 
 its Parent ; and the covenant of eternity was 
 entered into with this view. We were predestined 
 to be " conformed to the image of His Son." The 
 predestination of God will prompt us, if we are truly 
 wise, to be diligent in the use of all the means of 
 grace. The strongest encouragement a believer 
 can have to seek for holiness, is to know, that God 
 has predestined to make His family holy. There 
 is no predestination to evil, except the transgres- 
 sor's own ; the predestination of God has nothing 
 to do with it. Predestination to evil is to be 
 found only in the covenant of sin and Satan, not 
 in the covenant of God : the covenant of God 
 predestined the destruction of evil, and this is its 
 glory. 
 
 2. Learn, again, thatlukewarmness in religion is 
 highly criminal in the sight of God. I am afraid
 
 ON THE LOHO's PRAYER. G3 
 
 that in the days in which we live we are too much 
 like the Laodiceans of old. Remember, I am now 
 quoting the words of God, of them He says, 
 " So, then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither 
 cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." 
 We do not like to see individuals lukewarm in an 
 earthly service ; it is a disgrace to be so, and may 
 prove ruinous. We do not like to see a man 
 trifling with his business, but cheerfully and fully 
 engaged in it. How much more, then, when we 
 are engaged with the King of kings ; with Him 
 who has done all for us ; on whom we depend 
 for every thing ? And when we consider the life 
 of our Saviour here on earth; how ceaselessly He 
 was engaged, without one single moment of inter- 
 mission, from the womb, till He cried out on 
 the cross " It is finished," in serving God and 
 man ; it surely must spur our minds to the most 
 active energy in his cause. Do not be surprised 
 at what I am about to tell you, but receive the 
 truth into the inmost recesses of your hearts: He 
 was as fully engaged in serving man as -in serving 
 God. All he did, comprised in it as fully the in- 
 terest of his church, as it did the glory of God. 
 Has the Saviour, then, been so ceaselessly engaged, 
 and in this respect left me so eminent an example; 
 has the Lord of life and glory stooped even to 
 hell for my sake; and shall I be lukewarm in 
 His cause ? Forbid it, Heaven ! forbid it, O thou 
 infinitely gracious Jehovah ! 
 
 Lastly. Learn to treat, even in conversation,
 
 04 SERMON IV. 
 
 the Name of God with the utmost reverence. It 
 is painful to hear in discourse, and to read in 
 public papers, such expressions as "Gracious 
 God!" "Good Heavens!" &c. They know not 
 what they do. Never trifle with the Name of 
 God. And you, my dear children, remember what 
 I am telling you : Do not take God's Name in vain, 
 for it is a very great sin : be not engaged in it 
 yourselves, and put your hands to your ears 
 when others do it. We should accustom our- 
 selves, in all our thoughts and words, to treat the 
 Name of God with the utmost reverence. Some 
 individuals introduce the Name of God into a joke, 
 to give it a zest : let nothing of this kind be once 
 named among those who call themselves His 
 disciples. Whenever we think of God, we should 
 remember, that, though Jesus died that those who 
 had taken His Name in vain might be forgiven ; 
 yet that he died, too, that His holy Name might 
 be hallowed here on earth ; and that for the same 
 purpose His Holy Spirit might be given to re- 
 side in the hearts of His people. Amen.
 
 65 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. Vi. 10. 
 
 " Thy Kingdom came.' 1 '' 
 
 THIS follows the preceding petition with the 
 utmost propriety. It is impossible for any indi- 
 vidual to pray that the kingdom of God may 
 come, without hallowing, or sanctifying, the Name 
 of God. 
 
 I. Let us consider, first, " THE KINGDOM OF 
 His PROVIDENCE." 
 
 We know, indeed, nothing of His kingdom 
 but from Revelation : there we read its wonders. 
 The idea of natural religion is a mere dream. 
 Nothing, as I have insisted again and again, 
 but a revelation from God, can teach us ; and 
 nothing but a revelation from God can bind 
 us. The volume of Creation can give us no defi- 
 nite rule, and therefore can impose no obligation. 
 But " by faith we understand that the worlds were 
 framed by the word of God." This was felt, in an 
 eminent degree, by Nebuchadnezzar. He was a 
 
 VOL. i. F
 
 GO SEKMON V. 
 
 wonderful man, and we see in him, as conspi- 
 cuously as in any that ever lived, the striking 
 effect of the grace of God. But he was first hum- 
 bled in the dust of the earth ; and we must be 
 deeply humbled too, before we are made thorough- 
 ly sensible that we have lost the Spirit of God. 
 " At the end of the days, 1 Nebuchadnezzar lifted 
 up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding 
 returned unto me; and I blessed the Most High ; 
 and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for 
 ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
 and His kingdom is from generation to generation: 
 and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as 
 nothing; and He doeth according to His will in 
 the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of 
 the earth ; and none can stay His hand, or say 
 unto Him, What doest thou ?" (Dan. iv. 3, 4.) What 
 a striking contrast does Nebuchadnezzar here ex- 
 hibit to what he was before ! Once, God was not in 
 all his thoughts : now, God seems to fill his soul with 
 love and gratitude ; while he presents us with the 
 perfections of Jehovah as fully and faithfully as 
 any of the inspired penmen of the Old Testament. 
 The providence of God is to us peculiarly interest- 
 ing, because we are involved in it every moment. 
 Some individuals, of learning and science, have 
 indeed presumed to deny a particular providence, 
 while they admit a general superintending provi- 
 dence. This is the very essence of folly ; and 
 Atheism itself is more consistent. To admit a 
 general and to deny a particular providence, is a
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. C7 
 
 contradiction in terms. The mischief has arisen, 
 in a great measure, from the hastiness with which 
 professors of religion have attempted, now and 
 then, to interpret the particular providence of God. 
 But His providence does not fail, because they 
 err in the interpretation of it. A particular provi- 
 dence preserves every atom ; every particle of 
 dust that flies before us. Science will prove this, 
 in the clearest manner. It is not in the power of 
 created being to destroy a single particle of mat- 
 ter. Fire, the most powerful natural agent with 
 which we are acquainted, cannot effect this : it can 
 only decompose, and form new combinations. 
 Connected with the indestructibility of matter, 
 mark another fact viz. the tendency of matter to 
 return to its original nothingness, and the proof 
 of a particular providence will be found most 
 complete. The power which called matter into 
 existence, still preserves it. The reason why no 
 particle of matter can be destroyed is, that the 
 energy of the Divine Being pervades it continually. 
 It may travel from East to West, and from the 
 Equator to the Poles ; but it travels on the wings, 
 and is preserved by the power, of Jehovah, beyond 
 the reach of destruction. The declaration of our 
 Lord, that the hairs of your head are all numbered, 
 involves a scientific truth ; and I invite all my 
 friends, who are of a philosophic turn of mind, to 
 connect literature and science with religion, and 
 devote them to it. We are not afraid of know- 
 ledge : it is the abuse of knowledge that we fear : 
 F 2
 
 68 SERMON V. 
 
 the legitimate use of knowledge will be a blessing, 
 and was intended to be a blessing, to man. And 
 what is the legitimate use of knowledge, but to 
 be subservient to the purposes of true religion ? 
 
 From the kingdom of God's providence learn 
 four valuable lessons. 
 
 1. To fear God, who rules and overrules all 
 things, continually. "Who would not fear thee, 
 O thou King of nations!" (Jer. x. 7.) God in- 
 tended that we should peruse His providence with 
 accuracy, in the light of His revelation : yes, even 
 with His own eye ; and at the same time sing 
 His praises with His own heart ! 
 
 2. Learn to rejoice in God at all times. His 
 providence rules overall. In the midst of all the 
 trials and difficulties of life, learn perpetually to 
 acknowledge Him. 
 
 3. Pray that the providence of God may be replete 
 with blessings to His people. So He intended that 
 it should be ; and so it has always been, as you will 
 find abundantly proved in the history of mankind. 
 
 " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice ; let 
 the multitude of the isles be glad thereof." "Ye that 
 make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and 
 give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make 
 Jerusalem a praise in the earth." This is to be 
 your prayer and mine, to the day of death : we 
 are to give Him no rest; He desires none. Here 
 is our encouragement to prayer. We may some- 
 times, by our importunity, weary an earthly friend, 
 till he banish us from his presence; but, we thank
 
 ON THE LORD'S PIIAYEH. 69 
 
 God that He cannot be wearied. He, and He only, 
 is pleased with ceaseless importunity. Let this, 
 then, be our prayer continually. 
 
 4. That the providence of God is the hand- 
 maid of His grace ; preserving His people from a 
 thousand evils, of which they know nothing at the 
 present moment. Thus, they are said to be sanc- 
 tified by " God the Father, and preserved in Jesus 
 Christ, and called." The child or which is more 
 literally true, one who is to be a child preserved 
 in the arms of a God of mercy, to be called in His 
 own time. The best commentary on this will be 
 found in our own individual history, from child- 
 hood to the present time ; for he has read himself 
 to little purpose who does not trace the hand of 
 God in every thing ; and see how he has been 
 conducted, by methods apparently the most un- 
 likely, to the arms of a covenant God. Oh ! we 
 shall find wonders in ourselves, for which to praise 
 God through the countless ages of eternity ! 
 
 II. But I humbly presume that the KINGDOM OF 
 HIS GRACE is chiefly meant, and the Saviour him- 
 self expresses this, when he says, " Repent, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. iv. 17). 
 He was about to establish His kingdom in the 
 hearts of men : and, wherever God has an obe- 
 dient subject, there is His kingdom. In the bosom 
 of every individual whose heart is right with God, 
 there is the monarchy of Jehovah: There He erects 
 a throne. This is universally true : true of all the
 
 70 SERMON V. 
 
 angels of God, when first created; true of our 
 first parents : when they were created, God's 
 kingdom was in their hearts. But this is most 
 eminently true with respect to the humanity of 
 Jesus Christ himself. He is, as I have before 
 stated, the first of Subjects, as well as the first of 
 Kings. Would we see the perfections of God 
 shining in all their glory, unfolding themselves in 
 all their excellency ? We shall find them in the 
 humanity of the Son of God. While on earth 
 He was perfectly subject to His Father. His 
 obedience was unsullied by the least particle of 
 evil. We see the perfections of God more fully 
 developed in the person and work of Messiah, 
 than if we could descend into hell, to peruse the 
 torments of the damned ; more fully than if we 
 could ascend to heaven, to peruse the pure and 
 spotless worship of saints and angels. 
 
 In the person of Messiah we find true obedi- 
 ence bursting upon us in all the effulgence of 
 Deity ; and, in that obedience we find all the 
 glories of His justice, as well as all the glories of 
 His sovereignty. We find the full subjection of a 
 finite being, the absolute dominion of an Infinite 
 Being, only in the humanity of the Son of God : 
 and this carried on progressively to a state of per- 
 fection. It is true, that, as God, He was perfect ; 
 but it is equally true that the powers of his mind, 
 and the graces of his heart, admitted of wonder- 
 ful degrees of perfection. It is said of Him, that 
 " he increased in wisdom and stature, and in
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 71 
 
 favour with God and man." And again we are 
 told, that " it became Him, for whom are all things, 
 and by whom are all things, in bringing many 
 sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their 
 salvation perfect through sufferings." "Though 
 He were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the 
 things which he suffered. And, being made per- 
 fect, He became the Author of eternal salvation 
 unto all them that obey him." 
 
 The kingdom of grace, then, in the human 
 heart, resembles the kingdom which lives eternally 
 in the humanity of the Son of God : and the Holy 
 Spirit, in bringing all the family of God to per- 
 fection, has His eye fixed perpetually on Jesus 
 Christ. Generally speaking, the model of an 
 artist is far inferior to that which is to be pro- 
 duced; biit here, the Model is infinitely the most 
 perfect : here we see a perfect model of the king- 
 dom of God. In the light of this truth we under- 
 stand the Saviour, when he says, "My kingdom 
 is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this 
 world, then would my servants fight, that I should 
 not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my king- 
 dom not from hence " (John xviii. 36). 
 
 The kingdom that reigned in His heart, was 
 wholly spiritual ; and so is the kingdom that is to 
 live for ever in the hearts of His family. The 
 kingdom of God, then, means the reign of His 
 grace within the human heart. "The kingdom 
 of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, 
 and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom.
 
 72 SERMON V. 
 
 xiv. 17). "The kingdom of God is within you" 
 (Luke xvii. 21). We are said to be "temples of 
 God ;" and why the temple of God ? Because God 
 Himself is to be worshipped by us in the inmost 
 recesses of our own bosoms, which thus become 
 the temples of the living God. In other words, 
 the kingdom of God means the influence of that 
 purity in the human heart which reigns in the bosom 
 of Jesus Christ himself at the present moment. 
 
 III. The kingdom of God evidently implies, like- 
 wise the KINGDOM OF HIS GLORY where theSaviour 
 is now at the right hand of God. But to this 
 kingdom His people are to be brought by death, 
 for " flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom 
 of God" (1 Cor. xv. 50). 
 
 The kingdom of God's glory, then, consists of 
 two classes of persons : those who are to be raised 
 from the dust of death ; and those who are in glory 
 now, and who never saw death here below. In 
 that kingdom His people will have a body per- 
 fect, like the Saviour's ; and a soul perfect, like the 
 Saviour's ; a body and a soul perpetually obe- 
 dient to all the motions of the Divine Spirit, and 
 subservient to the worship of God above ; for they 
 will be like the Saviour. The kingdom of grace 
 is introductory to the kingdom of glory; and, 
 where the kingdom of grace is not established in 
 time, the kingdom of glory cannot be established 
 in eternity. It is a truth, sealed by the testimony, 
 and even the oath, of God himself, that the wicked
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 73 
 
 shall not enter into His kingdom. None but the 
 clean shall enter there ; none but the holy shall 
 approach His presence ; every thing that defileth 
 shall be banished from Him for ever. Oh, my 
 brethren! would you be the subjects of glory 
 hereafter, you must be the -subjects of grace here. 
 It is a fearfully delusive dream, to imagine that 
 men may live as they please, and then at last, by 
 receiving the Sacrament, or reading a few prayers, 
 previous to dissolution, be admitted to heaven. 
 No ; their sins v/ill drive them to hell ! This is 
 the awful prospect we have before us, if we wil- 
 fully neglect to return to God, while He is wait- 
 ing to be gracious to us, and inviting to Himself 
 every one of the sons and daughters of Adam, 
 who are privileged to hear His holy Gospel. 
 " Now is the accepted time! Now is the day of 
 salvation ! " O thoughtless sinner ! hear His voice ; 
 come to the Saviour ; enter into the kingdom of 
 His grace ; and you will infallibly be ushered by 
 Himself into the kingdom of His glory. 
 
 IV. I would now consider, in the fourth place, 
 the prayer, " Thy kingdom come," and endeavour 
 to shew what it involves. 
 
 I . It involves the prosperity of the Church of 
 God, Jewish and Gentile; or rather the Church 
 without any distinction whatever ; for " there is 
 neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free ; but all 
 are one in Christ Jesus " (Gal. iii. 28) : one flock, 
 under one Shepherd, in one fold : all subjects of
 
 74 SERMON V. 
 
 one government, all participators in the same pri- 
 vileges, and all heirs of the same glory. The an- 
 cient Prophets looked forward to the Gentile 
 Church, and connected its prosperity with that of 
 the Jewish. They loved God, and the souls of men, 
 and it gave them exquisite pleasure to see, through 
 the vista of futurity, the kingdom of God esta- 
 blished in all the earth. " For Zion's sake I 
 will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I 
 will not rest; until the righteousness thereof go 
 forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a 
 lamp that burneth" (Isa. Ixii. 1). Connect this 
 with the passage I quoted before, and you will find 
 it a privilege to convert the promises of God into 
 prayers. It was for this end all the promises of 
 God were given; and it is God's delight that we 
 upon our knees remind Him of them (2 Peter i. 4). 
 
 2. In using this petition, we pray that God 
 would be pleased to bruise Satan, and all his emis- 
 saries, under the feet of His church. He has 
 Himself promised to trample upon them ; and not 
 only so, but that all His family shall trample the 
 necks of His enemies under their feet also: for it is 
 written, " The God of peace shall bruise Satan 
 under your feet shortly " (Rom. xvi. 20). 
 
 3. We pray that God would send forth faithful 
 ministers to dispense His truth : men who are at 
 once lions and lambs; ministers possessed of 
 courage to preach the whole truth of God. Per- 
 haps it is as necessary for us at this day in Bri- 
 tain, as it ever was. It is the Truth of God alone
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 75 
 
 that is to preserve us from spiritual slavery ; and 
 subject to it we must certainly be, unless God 
 himself establish His throne in the midst of us. 
 
 Parents! guardians! teachers of youth ! I charge 
 you before God to instil the most profound hatred 
 of Popery into the hearts of those you have to 
 teach. Not a hatred to Papists; by no means : 
 the love of Papists, but hatred of their errors. And 
 may we be encouraged to pray continually, that 
 God would send faithful ministers amongst us : that 
 He would give us religious Bishops, men after his 
 own heart, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost : 
 that He would give us religious Deans and Digni- 
 taries, and Ministers of every degree who love the 
 souls of men better than all earthly preferment ; 
 Ministers who will seek the souls of men as their 
 reward, and lose sight of all other considerations. 
 
 May these things live ardently 'in our prayers, and 
 fly continually from our bosoms to the throne of God ! 
 It is impossible to be neutral : we must be for God, 
 or against Him ; for Christ, or against Him. " He 
 that is not with Me is against Me " (Matt. xii. 30), 
 says our Saviour. There is no neutral ground here. 
 
 4. We pray for the success of all means of 
 grace, public and private. God blesses all His 
 own means to effect His own purposes : and the 
 purposes of God, as I have often told you, ought 
 to afford the strongest encouragement to prayer. 
 God has purposed to hear and answer prayer : " I 
 will yet for this be inquired of, saith the Lord 
 Almighty" (Ezek. xxxvi. 37). We see, indeed,
 
 76 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 a great deal of evil in this country at the present 
 moment ; wickedness meets us with a bold front at 
 every corner; but yet we must acknowledge, to 
 the praise of the glory of God, that there is a 
 great deal of good. May this good be abundantly 
 multiplied ! Do not let us say, We can do nothing 
 to promote it. We can all do something, however 
 little. Suppose every drop of water in the 
 ocean were to say, I am but a drop ; I am not 
 wanted ; my absence will not be felt ; I will 
 ascend in vapour; I will rise to the sun, or to the 
 moon ; I will seek another abode : The ocean 
 would soon be dry ! Remember, that as the ocean 
 is composed of drops of water, so the mightiest 
 works of man, from the earliest period to the pre- 
 sent time, have been not unfrequently the result of 
 small exertions bearing together upon one point. 
 " God is not unrighteous, to forget your work, and 
 labour of love." The sigh that ascends from a 
 broken and contrite heart, will be remembered 
 by Him in the resurrection of the just. If some 
 of you can do nothing more for the welfare of 
 Christ's kingdom, you can at least pray for it: 
 pray, then ; pray, I beseech you, and be assured 
 that you will do more by your prayers, than 
 could be accomplished by all the riches of the 
 world without them. 
 
 Lastly, and above all, let our prayers ascend to 
 heaven, that God may keep us, and all His family, 
 by His own power, through faith, unto salvation. 
 A religion that would be effective in doing any
 
 ON THE LOKD'S PUAYLR. 77 
 
 thing for God, must, first of all, fully embrace 
 ourselves. A man must have self-love, he must 
 be eminently interested in his own well-being, 
 before he can be truly generous to others. When 
 we enter the inmost recesses of our own bosoms, 
 and discover the many monsters that inhabit that 
 dreary abode ; when we learn what we are, and 
 what we deserve at the hands of God ; and what 
 God has done for us, and what He is doing, and 
 what He will do within us by the agency of the 
 Holy Spirit (and these are things with which we 
 should be perseveringly and perpetually engag- 
 ed) we shall then be under the influence of such 
 a disposition that we cannot live at home; we 
 shall feel ourselves so rich, that we must dispense 
 to others ; we shall feel so much for the welfare 
 of our fellow-creatures, that we cannot let them 
 rush on to destruction unmolested ; we shall 
 break up the highway that leads to perdition, and 
 hurl the fragments at their guilty souls ; if per- 
 adventure the Lord may have mercy upon them, 
 and turn them out of the path. This will be the 
 work of every individual who feels the value of 
 true religion. Some, by their conduct, seem to 
 imagine that religion is selfish and personal in such 
 a sense as to be regardless of all besides. By no 
 means. That is not the religion of Jesus; it does 
 not deserve the name : true religion gives man the 
 wings of Angels, to fly to some object or other in 
 which he can delight, and gratify himself fully in 
 serving his Father and his God !
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 From what I have said, learn the five following 
 lessons. 
 
 1st. That it is woful hypocrisy to pray from 
 Sabbath to Sabbath, " Thy kingdom come," while 
 we are living in sin. Are there any of this descrip- 
 tion here ? It is my province, as a minister of the 
 Gospel, to find out sinners of every description; 
 to shew them to themselves ; to tell them of the 
 evil of their state, and of their imminent peril. 
 Oh, how much formal and hypocritical prayer have 
 we in this country at the present time ! My bre- 
 thren, is it reasonable to suppose that the Saviour 
 taught us this admirable, this unrivalled Prayer, 
 that we might repeat it with our lips, and straight- 
 way both forget it and him? Such prayers, if prayers 
 they may be called, do not ascend to heaven; but 
 rather descend to hell, and drag the thoughtless 
 individual after them. Do not fall into a mistake, 
 and imagine, from what I am now telling you, 
 that it is not the duty of all to pray : most assured- 
 ly it is : but it is also the duty of all to break off 
 their sins by repentance, at the same time. Both 
 are their duty : and, indeed, we never find the one 
 to thrive and flourish without the other. 
 
 2d. Consider it as the highest honour to do 
 something for God, and to promote His kingdom. 
 In my humble opinion, it is more honourable to 
 serve God in flesh and blood here below, in the 
 midst of all the imperfections of humanity, than 
 to serve Him as saints and angels do in heaven. 
 Oh, do not think little of a life of faith, while you
 
 ON THE LORD'S PKAYER. 70 
 
 can do any thing for God. When God would 
 honour, that He might glorify, His Son for ever, 
 He sent him down to earth, to be a servant of men. 
 This was the language of God from eternity : "I 
 will glorify my Son." Blessed God ! what is thy 
 purpose? how dost Thou intend to glorify thySon ? 
 "I will glorify Him, first of all, by making Him a 
 Servant of Men." And He was as much a servant 
 of men, as He was a servant of God. 
 
 There is no higher honour than to be engaged 
 in the service of God. It is said, that at Kidder- 
 minster, where the great Baxter lived, the effects 
 of that man's zeal live to the present day. We 
 do not know what we can do ; but we should enter 
 upon the work of the Lord, looking up to Him for 
 His blessing. Yes, my brethren, in the midst of 
 a deep sense of your own unworthiness, which 
 leads you to exclaim, Who am I ? what a sinful 
 wretch am I ! let me tell you, this spirit is abso- 
 lutely necessary, to carry you through, and in the 
 strength of God to ensure you success. 
 
 3d. Learn, that, if we will not engage in the 
 work of the Lord, He will not be at a loss for 
 other servants. If we refuse the proffered honour, 
 He will reserve it for others. Oh let me, then, con- 
 jure you to seize the glorious opportunity : what- 
 ever your talents may be, improve them to His 
 glory. 
 
 4th. We do not work at hazard; there is no 
 " perad venture we may not succeed :" we shall un- 
 doubtedly succeed, though at the present moment
 
 80 SERMON V. 
 
 we know not exactly how, or when. " He hath 
 purposed, and He will bring it to pass " (Isa. xlvi. 
 J 1). It is the privilege of the Lord's children to 
 work in the dark ; and an obedient child will not 
 stay till he hears every "Why" answered, No! 
 affection prompts him to proceed ; and the lan- 
 guage of his heart is, I shall know " why" here- 
 after : it cannot rest a secret for ever; and in the 
 mean time I will work, to honour and obey my 
 Heavenly Father. God has promised tha^ His 
 Church shall be a glorious Church. True religion 
 is destined to live in the East and in the West, in 
 the North and in the South : the kingdoms of this 
 world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of His Christ (Rev. xv. 11). 
 
 5th. While engaged in this glorious work, in 
 fighting the battles of the Lord, remember the 
 rich reward ; remember what the Saviour himself 
 says to His own family : His words are peculiarly 
 striking, and worthy of our most serious attention. 
 "To him that overcometh will I give to sit down 
 with Me on My throne; even as I also overcame, 
 and am set down with my Father on His throne " 
 (Rev. iii. 21). The humanity of Jesus Christ parti- 
 cipates in the purity, the peace, the bliss, and the 
 triumphs, of Deity. His destiny is the destiny of all 
 His followers, without one single exception. And, 
 lest any should shrink from receiving the blessings, 
 and being diligently and delightfully engaged in 
 His work, let it be remembered whom the Saviour 
 is addressing: "Because thou sayest,! am rich, and
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 81 
 
 increased with goods, and have need of nothing; 
 and knowest not that thou art wretched, and mise- 
 rable, and poor, and blind, and naked " (Rev. iii. 
 17). These are the individuals to whose view our 
 Lord presents the blessings of His own, and His 
 Father's kingdom ! Had they described themselves, 
 amidst a full consciousness of their own unworthi- 
 ness, they could not have given us a more faithful 
 picture of wretchedness. Blessed be God for such 
 a Saviour, and that such servants are invited to 
 receive at his hands a full, free, and everlasting 
 salvation ; and are honoured by being engaged 
 in His glorious work. May this blessing be ours, 
 and all the glory shall be His, through the count- 
 less ages of eternity. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. vi. 10. 
 
 Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 
 
 As perfection is the destiny of the believer, he is 
 unjust to God and to himself, unless he keep it con- 
 tinually in view. 
 
 Perfection of every kind, and in the highest degree 
 of which our natures are capable, is a blessing com- 
 prised in the covenant of the Triune Jehovah. The 
 object which Messiah kept perpetually in view, was 
 his own perfection: that his brethren might be 
 made eternally perfect, in and by himself, for " It 
 became Him for whom are all things, and by whom 
 are all things in bringing many sons unto glory, to 
 make the Captain of their salvation perfect through 
 sufferings" (Heb. ii. 10). "Be ye holy as God is 
 holy, and perfect as God is perfect" (1 Pet. i. 16 ; 
 Matt. v. 48 ; Luke vi. 36 40). The command is 
 given because it is connected with a blessing : it is 
 as if God had told His family, It is my determination 
 to make you as perfect as the hand of Omnipotence
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 83 
 
 can make you : therefore keep the blessing primarily 
 and perpetually in view. 
 
 I. " Thy wiU be done." The first thing to be 
 considered is the SECRET WILL OF GOD. 
 
 We are not only in the infancy, but in the twilight 
 of existence, while the inhabitants of this earth. 
 There are many secrets which undoubtedly will be 
 communicated to us hereafter, which we cannot bear 
 at present. Our Saviour said to His disciples, " I have 
 yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear 
 them now" (John xvi. 12). "Now we see through 
 a glass darkly, but then face to face " (iCor. xiii. 12). 
 
 The secret will of God has in every thing His 
 own glory in view, involving in it the welfare of 
 His Church. There is light enough in this truth 
 to illumine the darkest dispensations, and enable us 
 to see the footsteps of our heavenly Father travel- 
 ling before us in the night of deepest distress here 
 on earth. " Clouds and darkness are round about 
 Him, but righteousness and judgment are the habi- 
 tation of His Throne " (Psal. xcvii. 2). " How un- 
 searchable are Thy judgments, and Thy ways past 
 finding out " (Rom. xi. 33). 
 
 God is the only Being who has a right to keep a 
 secret. No finite being has. Every finite being is ob- 
 liged to expose himself wholly and unreservedly to the 
 eye of God ; willingly now, or unwillingly in eternity. 
 All the claims of justice and mercy require this at 
 the hands of every finite being. God is the only 
 Being who is wholly at His own disposal, the only
 
 81 SERMON VI. 
 
 Being who is not accountable for any thing that He 
 does. We are necessarily accountable for all things. 
 He is accountable for nothing. Now, if finite beings 
 are under an obligation to unbosom themselves fully, 
 it must be to the Infinite Being. Ascriptions of 
 praise and confessions of sin involve in them a posi- 
 tive act of worship. 
 
 Hear me, my brethren ; young people, do justice 
 to what I am about to tell you ; the members of the 
 Church of Rome, in confessing their sins to the 
 priest, invest the priest with the attributes of Deity. 
 Some, I am ashamed to say, of our own church 
 would have us be silent on this subject : we dare 
 not. It is our duty to expose the errors of the 
 Romish Church, if so be by the Divine blessing 
 some may be rescued from the night of super- 
 stition, and introduced to the noon of Gospel-day. 
 The real fact is, that the confession of every thing 
 that passes within the human mind involves in 
 it an act of worship. And now, my brethren, what 
 do you think of undeifying Deity, and deifying a 
 wretched mortal like ourselves ? 
 
 There are times and seasons when we not only 
 may, but ought, to confess our sins to each other ; 
 but our confessions to each other should be under 
 the direction of sound wisdom and prudence. For 
 instance ; if we offend each other, it becomes us to 
 confess our sins, and to solicit forgiveness not only 
 at the hand of God, but at the hands of men : and 
 in some doubtful and perplexing cases, when the 
 young especially know not what to do, it is well to
 
 85 
 
 consult with some one older and wiser than them- 
 selves ; one whose character is established for sound 
 wisdom and true piety : but the mutual confession of 
 all sin would only tend to mutual corruption. God 
 never intended that the corruptions of the human 
 heart should be deposited in any bosom but His own. 
 Consider the evil that must result to society when 
 all the sins of a family are made known beyond the 
 circle of that family. When confession is to be made, 
 to whom ought the wife to unbosom herself, next to 
 her God, but to her husband ? to whom ought the 
 daughter to confess but to her mother ? to whom 
 ought the son to confess but to his father ? I ask 
 you, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, 
 brothers and sisters, are not these things in perfect 
 unison with your own feelings ? To unbosom the whole 
 of what passes within the human heart to any one but 
 God, is high treason against the King of kings. 
 
 But to return : God has His secret Will, and it is 
 ceaselessly engaged in working out our salvation. 
 May we then be engaged in working out our own 
 salvation with fear and trembling. 
 
 1 . Consider, then, in the first place, the Supremacy 
 of God in working all things according to the 
 counsel of His own will. There is only one thing 
 which guides the will of God, and that is the infi- 
 nite perfection of His nature : this influences His 
 will perpetually. Some have contended for a free- 
 dom of the will that is not to be found, even in 
 Deity : for even in Deity it is not independent of 
 the disposition ; it is impossible that it should be so.
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 The will of every being is wholly connected with 
 his disposition. This is the reason why there is such 
 perfection in the will of Jehovah ; it is wholly con- 
 nected with His own essence. Freedom of will, in 
 the sense in which some contend for it, is not to be 
 found in God Himself. It has no existence but in 
 the dreams, the awfully delusive dreams, of error. 
 The will of God ceaselessly moves under the influ- 
 ence of His own perfections. Nothing less than this 
 could possibly be a security to us. 
 
 2. His will is declared in Scripture to be holy, 
 just, and good : and why ? Because it is wholly con- 
 nected with His essence. His will is only an emaiia- 
 nation of His essence : and by the manifestation of 
 His will, He shews us what He is. " The Lord is 
 righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" 
 (Ps. cxlv. 17). 
 
 3. In the secret, as well as in the revealed will of 
 God, His Omnipotence is to be considered. Every 
 thing He wills must inevitably come to pass. God 
 is the only Being who knows no rival ; and He is 
 the only Being who cannot be opposed with success. 
 He knows no difficulty. A congregated universe 
 would present no greater obstacle to Him, than if 
 He were opposed by a fly. " He doeth according to 
 His will in the armies of heaven, and among the 
 inhabitants of the earth" (Dan. iv. 35). 
 
 I now proceed to assign a few weighty reasons 
 why we should be ardently desirous of being in all 
 things submissive to the secret will of God. 
 
 1. Because God is infinitely ivise as well as in-
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 87 
 
 finitely holy, just, and good. The purpose of God 
 must involve in it His own perfection. In reading 
 the history of saints of old, we find them, in the 
 midst of the deepest distress, using this language, 
 " It is the Lord ; let Him do what seemeth Him good " 
 (1 Sam. iii. 18). And when the Saviour himself 
 was approaching the scene of his sufferings, and 
 tasting the bitterness of that cup, the dregs of which 
 he afterwards drank, he said "Not my will but 
 thine be done " (Luke xxii. 42) : " The cup which 
 my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it ?" It 
 is the highest honour that can be conferred upon a 
 creature, in the midst of the most calamitous cir- 
 cumstances, to be enabled to say, "Thy will be 
 done" (John xviii. 11). It will certainly be well 
 with him; and, though calamities may threaten to 
 overwhelm him, all will be made to work together 
 for his good. 
 
 2. Another reason why we should be submissive 
 to the will of God, is, that suffering is very fre- 
 quently the offspring of our own transgression. 
 "I will bear," said one of old, "the indignation 
 of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him ; 
 until He plead my cause and execute judgment for 
 me." Now he looks forward : " He will bring me 
 forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteous- 
 ness " (Micah vii. 9). This is signally consolatory. 
 When the believer is conscious of having involved 
 himself in affliction by his own sins, even then it 
 is his privilege to look up to the Lord, and to bear 
 His chastisements ; assured that some great good
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 will be produced by it ; for the rod of chastisement, 
 in the hand of our heavenly Father, is destined to 
 be, and must be, productive of good to His child. 
 
 3. The Scriptures on this head do not leave us 
 in the dark ; they tell us what the blessing- will be. 
 Suffering is designed to take away sin. It does 
 not indeed take away sin in a meritorious point of 
 view ; this is the work of God : but as an agent it 
 does ; it is made instrumental in imbittering sin to 
 His family, and in making them grateful for the 
 rod with which He is pleased to visit them. God 
 himself tells us, by the pen of His inspired Prophet, 
 " By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be 
 purged ; and this is all the fruit, to take away his 
 sin." The Lord has many agents in separating His 
 people from their sins, and He does all things in a 
 manner worthy of Himself; while He has invariably 
 in view the welfare of His child. Bear then 
 the chastisement of the Lord. It is hard to bear, 
 perhaps, week after week, month after month, 
 year after year ; but it will be well at last : we shall 
 thank Him in heaven for the pains, as well as for the 
 joys, of earth. Now "no chastening for the present 
 seemeth to be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless 
 afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
 ness unto them which are exercised thereby " (Heb. 
 xii. 11). 
 
 4. We are destined in our sufferings to be con- 
 formed to His Son. " Though he were a Son, yet 
 
 learned he obedience by the things which he suffer- 
 ed." It is a great honour to suffer, because in
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER 89 
 
 suffering we are made more like Christ. Many indi- 
 viduals are enabled by the Lord to rejoice in the 
 midst of their sufferings, and to be grateful for 
 them. Sufferings, moreover, usher in the goodness 
 of God, and are instrumental of much good in His 
 hands. Shimei was suffered to curse David ; but a 
 blessing from the Lord followed it. Job, when he 
 had been severely tried, came forth like gold out of 
 the furnace. It is the exclusive prerogative of God 
 to educe good from evil ; and this He will do, not 
 in one single instance, but in every instance in which 
 His family are visited with evil during the period of 
 their sojourning here on earth. " Humble your- 
 selves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that 
 He may exalt you in due time ; casting all your 
 care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Pet. v. 
 
 6,7). 
 
 5. To specify the highest good we can derive 
 from them on this side eternity ; St. Paul presents 
 us with a most interesting climax in the fifth chapter 
 of his Epistle to the Romans. He begins by saying, 
 " Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace 
 with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
 also we have access by faith into this grace wherein 
 we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." 
 And then he goes on, " And not only so, but we 
 glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation 
 worketh patience ; and patience, experience ; and 
 experience, hope : and hope maketh not ashamed, 
 because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
 by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Our
 
 90 SERMON VI. 
 
 graces are brought to the test by suffering .- without 
 suffering, I do not see how we could learn the weak- 
 ness of finite being: nor do I see how, without 
 suffering, we could be made intimately acquainted 
 with the power of God in upholding us. This is 
 what the Apostle received from the Lord ; and it is 
 a blessing proffered to all His family : " My grace 
 is sufficient for thee ; for My strength is made per- 
 fect in weakness " (2 Cor. xii. 9). 
 
 In the midst of sufferings, then, think not of your 
 own weakness, but of the strength of God : I believe 
 it might be proved that martyrs, while going to the 
 stake, dwelt more upon the power of God to be 
 given to them for their support through their suffer- 
 ing, than on the sufferings themselves ; and thus they 
 triumphed, in one sense, before they began to suffer. 
 
 6. Lastly, Sufferings try and prove principles ; 
 they try and prove our faith. " When I am tried 
 (says holy Job) I shall come forth as gold." We are 
 much more intimately acquainted with the reality 
 of religion in our own souls when in the furnace of 
 affliction than at other times. It is the will of God 
 that His family should suffer more or less on earth, 
 while His secret will pervades the whole, and guides 
 to the most glorious issue : " Wherein ye greatly 
 rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are 
 in heaviness, through manifold temptations " (1 Pet. 
 vi. 6, 7)"- " That the trial of your faith, being much 
 more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it 
 be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and 
 honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 91 
 
 II. I am now to consider, THE REVEALED WILL OF 
 GOD. And we are peculiarly interested in this ; 
 because it is in studying the revealed Will of God, 
 that we learn how to be submissive to His secret 
 Will. All that we require to know being contained 
 in the volume of Inspiration,. 
 
 Our Lord tells the Jews that they erred, " not 
 knowing the Scriptures" (Mark xii. 24 ; Matt. xxii. 
 '29). They asked Him many questions, which, had 
 they studied Scripture attentively, they would have 
 been able to solve themselves. Study the Scriptures, 
 my young friends, in your early years. God intend- 
 ed that His family should be well acquainted with 
 His word. Be ambitious of knowing it, and of hav- 
 ing your memories well stored with it. Learn some 
 portion every day ; consider well its connection, 
 and treasure it in your minds. In doing this, you 
 will arm yourselves against trials and temptations ; 
 the truth which lies hid in memory will speak, and 
 that effectually, by borrowing and using the voice 
 of God himself. 
 
 We are to learn to discipline our own wills by 
 the will of God. The will of a finite being when 
 it deviates, in the least degree, from the revealed 
 will of God, is in a state of rebellion against Him. 
 I am not now alluding to believers in a state of 
 grace here below ; but, to our first parents in Eden, 
 and to angels who fell. There can be no partial 
 deviation from the will of God ; it is absolute and 
 entire. When angels fell, they acted according to
 
 \Y2 SERMON VI. 
 
 their own will, which deviated from the Will of God, 
 and they ruined themselves. Our first parents did 
 the same. Both gave themselves wholly to enmity 
 and rebellion against God : and here, I would ob- 
 serve, that nothing will more effectually destroy the 
 transgressor, than to let him have his own will, his 
 own way. The wisdom of the child of Goc^ then, 
 consists in praying, " Thy will, not mine, be done," 
 O my God ! (Ezra vii. 18 ; Matt. xxvi. 39.) 
 
 I would now endeavour to assign a few reasons 
 why an humble inquiry into the will of God may 
 prove eminently useful. I do not mean that it is 
 wise curiously to pry into things which God has in- 
 tentionally concealed from us ; by no means : but 
 to search into every thing He has revealed, which 
 involves in it our own welfare as well as the glory 
 of God in our salvation, must be an imperative duty. 
 
 1. Mans own will destroyed him ; and it invari- 
 ably leads its possessor to court destruction. Witness 
 what I have just alluded to in the conduct of 
 angels and our first parents. Witness the conduct 
 of great part of the human race : only observe the 
 conduct of individuals presented to us day after day : 
 all echoes the truth of Scripture, " O Israel, thou hast 
 destroyed thyself" (Hosea xiii. 9). Man's will pro- 
 duces nothing of itself but his destruction. How 
 wise then, and how benevolent, the prayer, " Tin/ 
 will be done." 
 
 2. Our own will is naturally and perpetually op- 
 posed to God. " The carnal mind is enmity against 
 God " (Rom. viii. 7)* And why is the will opposed
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 93 
 
 to God ? Because the disposition is opposed to Him ; 
 wholly opposed. The will moves according to the 
 disposition ; if the disposition were partially good, 
 there would be partial good in the will ; but the dis- 
 position is wholly evil ; and so is the will. We only 
 understand this, when we have been called from the 
 darkness of nature to the light of Gospel truth by 
 the Spirit of the Living God. " For the flesh lusteth 
 against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : 
 and these are contrary the one to the other ; so 
 that ye cannot do the things that ye would " (Gal. 
 v. 17). 
 
 3. Again and here me, thoughtless sinner! 
 Digest the truth I am going to tell you. Your 
 own will is invariably opposed to your own salva- 
 tion. It not only brings you into a state of destruc- 
 tion, but keeps you there. All your volitions are 
 opposed to a God of mercy. " It is not of him that 
 willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that 
 sheweth mercy" (Rom. ix. 16). And why? Be- 
 cause man wills his own destruction. Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ does not trace the destruction of the 
 Jews to the will of God, but to their own sinful 
 act : "Ye will not come unto me, that ye might 
 have life " (John v. 40). Their sinfulness and perse- 
 verance in sin was traced wholly and exclusively to 
 themselves. " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that 
 l^illest the prophets, and stonest them which are 
 sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered 
 thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would not " (Matt.
 
 94 SERMON VI. 
 
 xxiii. 37). Hence the wisdom and benevolence of 
 the prayer, " Thy will be done." It is only the 
 will of God, turning- and disciplining the human 
 will, that disposes man to seek, as he ought, the 
 salvation of his own immortal spirit. 
 
 4. I would consider the example of Christ. " I 
 came down from heaven "(John vi. 38), says our 
 blessed Lord, " not to do mine own will, but the 
 will of him that sent me" (John v. 30). His Fa- 
 ther's will was His will continually ; His own will 
 was wholly absorbed in that of His Father. What a 
 happiness ! What a blessing ! To have a will like 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ; and to realize this we must 
 be under the influence of the same Spirit ; the Spirit 
 of the Father and the Son : the Spirit that rules and 
 reigns in the humanity of Jesus before the throne in 
 glory. 
 
 5. Lastly. We have the command of Jesus, " If 
 any man will come after me, let him deny himself" 
 (Matt. xvi. 24; Luke ix. 23): if any man will 
 come after me, let him do my will ; that is, let him 
 be influenced not by His own will, but by mine. 
 
 III. " On earth as it is in heaven" 
 1. First, then, it is to be done zealously. Oh ! 
 the zeal that lives in heaven ; we can form no ade- 
 quate idea of it. There all intellects are fiilly en- 
 gaged in adoring the perfections of God. In perusing 
 the love which prompted the Messiah to descend 
 from the summit of glory to the depth of our hell ! 
 and their hearts are engaged as ardently : this is the
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 95 
 
 glory of their worship. This was the case with our 
 first parents, when they came from the hands of God. 
 But it is not so with us. We know far more than we 
 practise. We have more in our heads than in our 
 hearts. We need all of us to be more under the in- 
 fluence of the Spirit of the Living God ; to be more 
 like saints and angels in heaven ! " Who maketh His 
 angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of flre" 
 (Heb. i. 7)> evidently betokening the spirituality and 
 intenseness of their worship. But when we look at the 
 conduct of our Lord on earth we find something 
 more interesting to us than the obedience of saints 
 and angels in heaven. Witness the alacrity and 
 delight with which he went to Jerusalem ; he 
 hastened thither on the wings of love to God and 
 man. He went to throw himself into the hands of 
 his enemies that he might humble himself to death, 
 even the death of the cross. Yes, he hasted to 
 throw himself to the bottom of the abyss, in which 
 his family were (I speak correctly, for though an 
 abyss, it was fathomed by Deity) : there he found 
 them, and thence he raises them to the zenith of 
 glory. 
 
 2. This petition involves prompt obedience. 
 Wherever affection lives, it always leads to this. 
 Mark the conduct of the obedient child who loves 
 his father; no sooner are the father's wishes expressed, 
 than they are obeyed. " I made haste and delayed 
 not to keep thy commandments " says the Psalmist 
 (Ps. cxix. 60), who was an eminent type of Chist. 
 
 3. It involves diligence in obedience to the living
 
 9(5 SEKMON VI. 
 
 God ; uninterrupted service. We do not like to see 
 individuals indolent when engaged in any laudable 
 earthly pursuit. The Psalmist says, " I have dili- 
 gently kept all thy commandments " (Ps. cxix. 127, 
 131, 143). Indolence is as strong a proof of hypo- 
 crisy and deceit, as diligence is of sincerity and zeal. 
 When we read of those superior beings in heaven 
 who are engaged in worshipping God, and singing 
 " Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty," it is 
 added, they " rest not day and night " (Rev. iv. 8), 
 perpetually engaged in the delightful work. 
 
 4. If we would be engaged in the service of God 
 as the angels are above, we must act as in His 
 presence. He who serves God as he ought, courts 
 His eye continually. May the Lord confer this 
 blessing upon us individually, as it involves the 
 strongest proof of spiritual integrity ; and not only 
 so, but a consciousness of that integrity in the 
 bosom of the worshipper himself. It is said of the 
 angels in heaven, those angels who are ministering 
 to the heirs of salvation below, that they are in the 
 presence of God, worshipping Him perpetually. The 
 Psalmist gives us a singularly striking example of 
 that true, sublime, honesty devotion in which God 
 delights, when he says " I have set the Lord always 
 before me " (Ps. xvi. 8). And how did he view 
 him ? With the eye of the intellect exclusively ? 
 No ; with the eye of his heart ; involving what I 
 told you of confession, he threw open his whole 
 heart, and exposed every thing within his bosom to 
 the eye of the Lord. If we do not this, we cannot
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 97 
 
 enter into the spirit of the prayer, " Thy will be 
 done on earth as it is in heaven." 
 
 5. Our obedience to God's will must necessarily 
 be connected with the welfare of our fellow-creatures. 
 Doubtless, angels above are intensely occupied with 
 the service of God. God fills their bosoms conti- 
 nually ; and for this reason, they are most intently 
 occupied with the salvation of sinners. " Are they 
 not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for 
 them who shall be heirs of salvation." It is the love 
 of God ; it is the worship of God, in all His glory, 
 that gives the soul full leisure to attend to every 
 thing that is lovely. Why are the angels so much 
 concerned for our weal, but because they are so 
 intently occupied in the service of God. O may we 
 ever pray for each other, and do to each other all 
 the good we can ; that we may travel like a little 
 band of brethren, towards the Canaan above ; assured 
 that the powers of hell must fall before us, and be 
 eventually trampled under our feet. 
 
 But we have a higher example than that of 
 angels ; the example of the Saviour himself; who 
 was intently occupied in the service of his Father, 
 and at the same time of his brethren also. Let us 
 imitate him. 
 
 To conclude, learn a few lessons. 
 
 1. To lament, daily to lament, the evil that is 
 within you. Thus the Apostle went on, "O wretched 
 man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death ?" Some professors of religion, and I am 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 <)S SERMON VI. 
 
 sorry to say some ministers, seem to talk as if we 
 were to forget sin. If you forget sin, you will most 
 assuredly forget Christ. It is impossible to remem- 
 ber Christ without remembering sin. 
 
 2. Connected with this, rejoice daily in Jesus 
 Christ. The Apostle tells us with the same breath, 
 " I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord " 
 (Rom. vii. 25). The Psalmist says, " I have set 
 the Lord always before me '* (Ps. xxvi. 3) ; and not 
 only so, but in another place " my sin is ever before 
 me " (Ps. li. 3). The sins of the Psalmist, and the 
 mercy of God, were continually in his view. Their 
 sins, and the sacrifice for sin, perpetually presented 
 themselves to the minds of the Psalmist and Apostle. 
 May God give us the same feeling, that it may pro- 
 duce in us the same effects. And, 
 
 3. We should be ambitious to set a bright example 
 to others. We know that saints of old condemned 
 the world by their conduct. Worldly people will not 
 read the Bible ; they will not read what is recorded 
 against them in this book ; they will not read the 
 mercies of God, and that he delights in obedience. Be 
 it your care then to present to them, daily, God's 
 own edition of the Bible ; that which He inscribes with 
 His own Spirit on the fleshly tables of the human heart. 
 Oblige them to read this, and make them condemn 
 themselves by your conduct. It is said of the infant 
 church, in the Acts of the Apostles, while they were 
 walking in the fear of the Lord, that the loveliness of 
 their deportment attracted the attention of others, 
 and the Lord added to the church those who were
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 99 
 
 destined to be saved ; their lovely deportment was 
 blessed : follow ye then their holy example. 
 
 4. We should pray that God would carry on to 
 perfection, in our bosoms, the work of His own 
 hands. Nor would I forget that there is a blissful 
 period to arrive, when the earth shall be filled with 
 the knowledge of the Lord : a period is coming, 
 when God will be served on earth, with much of 
 that holy fire with which He is served in heaven. 
 Yes; Messiah is promised to reign; and reign He 
 will, most gloriously. Then, and not till then, will 
 mankind witness the dissolution of every evil in 
 principle, and of all vice in practice. Amen. 
 
 H 2
 
 100 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. vi. 11. 
 
 Give us this day our daily bread. 
 
 THE more we meditate on this prayer, the more we 
 shall discover its excellencies ; evincing, as it does in 
 the clearest manner, that it flows from the bosom, 
 and from the lips, of Him who is God. 
 
 Infidelity is in one respect a very formidable, and 
 in an other point of view a very contemptible, enemy; 
 formidable indeed to those who will not honestly 
 peruse the volume of inspiration ; formidable indeed 
 to those who are determined to follow the bent of 
 their own corrupt dispositions; for corruption in the 
 heart darkens the intellect, and makes the indi- 
 vidual, who is the slave of his passions an easy 
 victim of error in principle, as well as of vice in 
 practice. 
 
 On the other hand, infidelity is an enemy that is 
 contemptible in the extreme, to one whose'ears are 
 opened to listen to the voice of God. As soon as 
 the spiritual eye of man is open to behold the 
 glory of revelation, he stands no more in need
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 101 
 
 of the external evidences of Christianity, than he 
 does of the aid of the optician or the astronomer, to 
 prove that the sun is in the firmament of heaven, 
 when his eye is enjoying- its glories. 
 
 There is one thing peculiarly interesting in this 
 prayer, and which pervades the whole. It flows 
 from all the sympathy of the Saviour as man, as well 
 as from all his love as God. He did not stand in 
 need of mercy as we do ; but he stood in need of 
 daily bread, and was as dependent upon his Father 
 for it as we are. We find that now and then, he 
 deprived himself for a season so completely of the 
 things of time and sense, that he was dependent on 
 his own creatures for subsistence : The richest in 
 heaven and the poorest on earth (2 Cor. viii. 9) 
 at the same moment ! May we keep this in view 
 while we are dwelling on the interesting truth in 
 the text. 
 
 One perfection, among countless others in the Sa- 
 viour, was this; that he never cherished an idea of 
 receiving any thing but at the hands of his God. 
 The Independent from eternity became in time as 
 dependent as any of his own family ; and this is 
 another thing to be considered in the exquisite sym- 
 pathy of Messiah. He fed the universe himself. 
 His hand was stretched forth in conferring blessings 
 on all ; while at the same time he was dependent on 
 his own family for daily food. 
 
 " Give us this day our daily bread." 
 
 I. Consider THE BLESSING, " bread " and,
 
 102 SERMON VI f. 
 
 1. First of all, It is the gift of God. Every thing- 
 that is good is universally the gift of God. Every 
 thing-, of every kind, in every degree : " Every good 
 gift and every perfect gift is from above" (James i. 17). 
 " God giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things " 
 (Acts xvii. 25). All things which all worlds receive, 
 at the hands of God are His ceaseless gift. But the 
 bread we eat is to be considered in another point of 
 view : it is not only the gift of God, but His gift 
 to us, inp infinite worth. 
 
 2. The daily bread we eat is purchased by the 
 blood oflmmanuel. " Whatsoever ye shall ask the 
 Father in my Name," says our blessed Lord, " He 
 will give it you " (John xvi. 23) ; and for this 
 obvious reason, all things, all the blessings of time as 
 well as those of eternity, are the purchase of a sacri- 
 fice ; of that sacrifice which was once offered on 
 Calvary. With what an interesting truth does this 
 present us. Our tables are daily spread not only 
 by the hand of a benevolent and beneficent God, but 
 at the expense of Heaven. All the wealth of Heaven 
 is daily presented to us in the food we eat, and in 
 the water we drink. The idea of receiving every 
 thing fully and freely from the hand of God must 
 have given an exquisite zest to all that our first 
 parents enjoyed in Eden. In the food they 
 ate, and in the water they drank, (I shall not express 
 myself too strongly if I say) they tasted God. His 
 goodness sweetened every thing. God intended that 
 all we eat and all we drink should perpetually remind 
 us of His love in giving His Son to die for us. Every
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 103 
 
 thing is purchased for us by Jesus Christ. We have 
 forfeited every thing by sin and forfeited every thing 
 for ever. The whole world was given to Adam, and 
 he was made monarch of all ; but he lost it in a very 
 short time. Jesus Christ has purchased the whole to 
 bestow it upon His own family : " The meek shall in- 
 herit the earth " (Matt. v. 5). Oh that the thought- 
 less sons and daughters of Adam would take this 
 truth into consideration. 
 
 We cannot do justice to our bodies without first 
 doing justice to our souls. And indeed we find that 
 the wicked in reality neglect both. It was intended 
 that in all things we should keep the Lord Jesus 
 Christ perpetually in view. God grant that we may 
 be enabled to do it, looking to Him for every thing 
 we need while we are inhabitants of time, and to re- 
 ceive all at His hands as earnests and pledges of a 
 blissful eternity. 
 
 But, alas ! alas ! if we look abroad into the world, 
 as we are obliged to do daily, we cannot live without 
 witnessing in a thousand instances how the things of 
 time and sense are abused. God the giver is for- 
 gotten ; Christ the purchaser is forgotten ; the body 
 that is to be redeemed, and the soul that is to be 
 saved, all, all are forgotten. 
 
 You will find too that this criminal thoughtlessness 
 pervades every thing. Look at some who w r ould fain be 
 thought religious : they attend a place of worship once 
 on the Sabbath ; but they can go without any spiritual 
 food the rest of the day, and the whole of the week. 
 On Sunday evening they are too busily occupied to
 
 101- SERMON VII. 
 
 worship God, their spiritual appetites are very dif- 
 ferent to their common ones. What in their esti- 
 mation is the best sermon that ever was preached on 
 a Sunday evening, in comparison with rich dinners 
 and fine wines ? Instead of receiving- every thing- as a 
 gift from the hands of God for the sake of His Son, 
 in the light of that to which I have just alluded, read 
 the pages of Scripture, and you will find that in every 
 thing they are courting the curse of God ; they are 
 courting the vengeance of God perpetually. 
 
 It was evidently intended that temporal blessings 
 and spiritual blessings should be connected together ; 
 for in reality, we cannot receive one at the hand of 
 God without receiving all. 
 
 I offer now to your consideration a few reasons 
 why we should use the prayer. 
 
 1 . " Give us this day our daily bread." 
 
 Not individually my daily bread ; by no means : 
 "Me "and "My" enter exclusively into the language of 
 unregenerate man ; of man as he is, a sinner. Man's 
 transgression has made him exclusively a selfish being. 
 Self is his idol, and is primarily and perpetually in 
 his view. Read the history of mankind before the 
 introduction of Christianity, and you will not want 
 awful proof of this. It must ever be remembered 
 that the sublime morals taught in the Christian reli- 
 gion have had a very happy effect, in some respects, 
 on many who never received their spirituality. 
 
 " Give us this day our daily bread." The per- 
 fection of God's Gospel involves in it the perfection
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 105 
 
 of His Law. The law when it originally emanated 
 from God, required that man should love his neigh- 
 bour as himself, and for the best of all reasons ; they 
 equally occupy the same scale in existence : they are 
 the creation of the same God ; they are equally dear 
 to Him ; and the very nature of thing's requires that 
 each should love each, as each loves himself, in the 
 state of discipline in which we are placed at the pre- 
 sent moment preparatory to the perfection of heaven. 
 2. " Our "bread not"m/" bread teaching- us that 
 it is impossible for us to pray honestly for ourselves 
 individually without praying- for ourselves collectively ; 
 without praying for each other as brethren and sisters 
 in the Lord. "Look not every man on his own things, 
 but every man also on the things of others" (Phil. ii. 
 4). The Law requires this love as a duty ; the Gospel 
 confers it as a blessing : so that, evidently in the hearts 
 of God's believing people, all the glories of the Law, 
 and all the blessings of the Gospel, are destined to 
 live eternally involved in each other. 
 
 II. Secondly, we are to pray, " Give us this day our 
 daily bread ;" to teach us, first, that our daily labour 
 does not purchase any thing at the hands of God. If 
 a finite being were to labour for millions of ages, he 
 would never merit any thing at the hands of God ; all 
 the pure spotless obedience of the angelic hosts, has 
 never merited any thing at the hands of God! Listen, 
 Socinians! I must give you your own deserts, (for I 
 dare not natter you,) you will receive them from the 
 hand of God Himself in a very short time. The Sa-
 
 106 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 viour must be one who is capable of purchasing at the 
 hands of God. Finite beings can never be His cre- 
 ditors, they must remain His debtors for ever. And 
 this is in perfect union with the language of all those 
 who know themselves. Hear what the ancient Pa- 
 triarch says ; " I am not worthy of the least of all the 
 mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed 
 unto thy servant" (Gen. xxxii. 11); not worthy of the 
 least, then certainly not worthy of the greatest. 
 
 2. Secondly, " Give us this day our daily bread," to 
 teach us particularly that we have no right to any 
 thing ; no right even to ourselves, but as the cease- 
 less gift of God in Christ. We are taught this again 
 and again, in Scripture; and, if disciplined by the 
 Divine Spirit, our own experience must fully echo 
 the voice of inspiration. "The gold is mine, and the 
 silver is mine" (Hagg. ii. 8), saiththe Lord, "and 
 the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Ps. 1.10). "Behold, 
 the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, is the Lord's 
 thy God ; the earth also, with all that therein is " 
 (Deut. x. 14). Every thing is His. 
 
 3. Thirdly, We pray for our daily bread, that we may 
 be daily blessed in the use and enjoyment of all the 
 mercies which God is pleased to confer upon us. Hear 
 the promise which comes from His own lips respecting 
 His church: "I will abundantly bless her provision; 
 I will satisfy her poor with bread" (Ps. cxxxii. 15). 
 " Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be 
 refused, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is 
 sanctified by the word of God and prayer" (1 Tim. 
 iv. 5).
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 107 
 
 III. To consider the emphatical meaning of " Bread." 
 1. Consider this, first, as emblematic and symbolical 
 of Him who is the Bread of Life, and of those spiritual 
 blessings which are destined to keep the soul alive 
 for ever and ever, and eventually the body, after its 
 re-union with the immortal spirit. "I am the living 
 bread which came down from Heaven; if any man 
 eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread 
 that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the 
 life of the world" (John vi. 51). We cannot pray for 
 the bread which perisheth, unless we pray likewise, 
 for Him who is the bread of life. God will not hear 
 our prayers for daily bread, unless we pray, first of 
 all, for that bread which endureth to everlasting life. 
 God will not give the least of His gifts to any, with a 
 blessing upon it, without giving the greatest. He 
 gives nothing that is truly and permanently good to 
 any one, without first giving Himself. The bread 
 of life, in the first place ; and then, that which is ne- 
 cessary to support our frail bodies. 
 
 2. Secondly. The term "bread" is used as it implies 
 every thing that is necessary for the support of the 
 bodily frame. " If thine enemy be hungry, give him 
 bread (or food) to eat ; and if he be thirsty, give him 
 water to drink" (Prov. xxv. 21). 
 
 3. Thirdly. The term "bread" is used because it was 
 evidently the intention of God to teach us simplicity 
 and temperance in the use of all earthly things. The 
 simplicity and temperance I am speaking of at the 
 present moment, necessarily involve in them the 
 welfare of body and mind. When is the intellect
 
 108 SERMON VII. 
 
 most clear? When under the influence of temperance. 
 When are the fine feelings of the human heart in 
 their highest exercise? When under the influence of 
 temperance. Where does God himself deign to fix 
 His throne? In the bosom of the temperate, not of 
 the intemperate. True wisdom, as we shall see to- 
 ward the conclusion of my discourse, would lead us 
 perpetually, in seeking at the hand of God what is 
 necessary for our support, to seek also the welfare 
 of the immortal spirit, involving as it does in the 
 highest degree the welfare of the body, which is 
 destined to perish. " Having food and raiment let 
 us be therewith content" (1 Tim. vi. 8). 
 
 IV. Fourthly, and lastly. We are to pray daily, 
 for daily bread. 
 
 First, To keep alive a spirit of devotion in the hu- 
 man heart, and to teach us in the use of every thing 
 here below, to keep up a daily intercourse with Heaven . 
 Oh ! my friends, when I think of the spirituality and 
 glory of that holy religion, a minister of which I am 
 (although the most unworthy), I am sometimes 
 trembling in this pulpit, lest I should sink out of it 
 into hell. Do I keep all these truths in view as I 
 ought? Do I think of God and of souls as I 
 ought ? Alas ! alas ! I too often fail of my duty. 
 But there follows another portion of this prayer, 
 " forgive us our trespasses :" when I think of this 
 my heart is cheered ; and when I call to mind that 
 there is an Advocate above who once bore the sins of 
 his family in his own body on the tree here below,
 
 ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. 109 
 
 and who still bears them in his intercession before 
 the Throne above ; then do I take courage, and go 
 forward. 
 
 God likes to hear the prayer of His people. God 
 delights more in intercourse with believing sinners 
 here below, than in intercourse with the angels 
 above. He wishes to hear the voice of His people : 
 this is the reason why he often visits them with 
 severe chastisements, that they may pray to Him : 
 " men ought always to pray, and not to faint " (Luke 
 xviii. 1). They ought to ask God for every thing ; 
 and tremble at the idea of receiving any thing from 
 His hands but in Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. Secondly, " Give us this day our daily bread," 
 to teach us to be fully satisfied with a present supply, 
 that we may dismiss all corroding cares as to futurity; 
 and in this respect, as well as in many others, Scripture 
 recommends to our attention the simplicity of chil- 
 dren. " Take no thought for the morrow, for the 
 morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. 
 Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt, 
 vi. 34). It is in this childlike simplicity of which 
 I am speaking, that the Lord imparts energy to 
 His family to bear every afflictive dispensation. 
 When they meet with the evils of the day, they too 
 often connect them with the evils of to-morrow, 
 in many cases imaginary evils, and they sink under 
 the load ; and no wonder, for they take upon their 
 shoulders a forbidden load. To-morrow is the care 
 of God ; to-day is what you have to think of : and 
 I charge you that you make it a subject of prayer
 
 110 SERMON VII. 
 
 to the Lord that you may live without thinking 1 of to- 
 morrow. This seems to be absolutely necessary to 
 give the mind that elasticity and rich leisure, which 
 are requisite to enable it to carry on a ceaseless inter- 
 course with heaven, and with the God of heaven and 
 earth. Oh! my brethren, how many things have 
 frightened us which were exclusively the creatures 
 of our own imagination ; but though imaginary, there 
 have been often real and serious evils emanating from 
 them. We have weakened our own souls, we gave 
 our spiritual adversaries the advantage over us ; we 
 suffered them to range themselves in battle-array 
 against us between our covenant God and ourselves. 
 May God grant that this may never be the case in 
 future ! 
 
 3. Again, we are to pray for daily bread to 
 keep us in daily preparation for death. "Boast not 
 thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day 
 may bring forth" (Prov. xxvii. 1). In my humble 
 judgment, it is unlawful to pray "give me to-morrow 
 my bread ;" for this reason, to-night I may die. If I 
 am truly wise, I shall pray only for this day ; and if 
 God give me the rest of my time, I can then devote 
 it to Him. 
 
 4. Again, we are to pray "Give us this day our 
 daily bread," to teach us to live honestly, and to 
 eat the fruit of our own labour. Oh how far is he re- 
 moved from dishonesty who trusts his God. Dis- 
 honesty is removed to the distance of Infinity and 
 Eternity from Him. In the midst of thousands of 
 gold and silver, in the midst of every temptation to
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. Ill 
 
 which he can be exposed, he will have nothing- but 
 what God Himself presents to him; and therefore, de- 
 pending 1 on the truth of God, he honours His com- 
 mandment, "Provide things honest in the sight of 
 all men" (Rom. xii. 17). To what is dishonesty 
 frequently to be traced? To unbelief; the monarch 
 sin of men and devils. Would individuals have been 
 guilty of stealing, if they had been taught to pray to 
 God, and to trust in Him? By no means. 
 
 5. Fifthly. We are to pray for daily bread, to teach 
 us industry in our respective callings, trades, and pro- 
 fessions ; but first of all, and above all, spiritual in- 
 dustry : for he who is most industrious at a Throne 
 of Grace will be most industrious every where else, 
 both in things temporal and spiritual. "Not slothful 
 in business', fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" 
 (Rom. xii. 11). Idleness is a dreadful snare to man, 
 no one but God himself knows what it has done ; it is 
 inhabited by (if I may so speak) ten thousand ene- 
 mies to the human body as well as the human soul. 
 
 From this subject, learn, 
 
 1. Not to envy those who neither work nor pray, 
 and yet have abundance given to them. God is a 
 Sovereign, and may give, if He please, to His 
 enemies ; though He will bring them to an awful 
 account at last. But, in the blessings of Providence 
 we see God delights in imparting every good to His 
 creatures ; and why do we not receive more? Be- 
 cause we do not know how to acknowledge the hand 
 of God in the blessings of His providence ; if men
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 were wise and prudent, they would see that He in- 
 vites them to Himself by these means. I have His 
 own authority for this: " Despisest thou the riches 
 of His goodness and forbearance, and long-suffering- ; 
 not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee 
 to repentance ?" (Rom. ii. 4>.) This is its immediate 
 tendency. To say that man's corrupt propensities 
 militate against this, does not invalidate the truth 
 itself in the least degree. "But after thy hardness 
 and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself 
 wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of 
 the righteous judgment of God" (Rom. ii. 5). 
 
 Those who have an independent fortune, if wise 
 and temperate in the use of the things of time, 
 have the richest leisure to scrutinize the book of 
 God ; to examine its invaluable contents, and to 
 compare it with what passes in their own minds. 
 All excuses on the score of disabilities will avail 
 nothing in the last day. There are a thousand 
 things which men omit to do, and which they cer- 
 tainly might do. 
 
 2. Let the poor learn patience, submission, and 
 gratitude, in an humble sphere of life. Man is 
 prone to abuse every thing : this seems to be the 
 reason why the Lord, for the most part, keeps His 
 own family in humble situations in life. "A rich man 
 shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. It 
 is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 
 needle " (Matt. xix. 23, 24). But all the difficulties 
 inhabit his own bosom : if disposed to part with his 
 sins, no obstacle would present itself ; he might
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 113 
 
 then very easily enter in. If disposed to part with 
 the things that God has given him? No, my brother, 
 only with the abuse of what God has given him ; 
 there will then be no greater difficulty in his way than 
 in the way of a poor man. 
 
 3. Let the rich learn to impart to the poor, and 
 thus imitate God. " He that hath pity upon the 
 poor lendeth unto the Lord " (Prov. xix. 17). You 
 to whom the Lord has given the things of time and 
 sense, be liberal. Remember God has given these 
 things to you as treasurers ; they never were your 
 own, and cannot be exclusively your own ; they are 
 as much the Lord's now as they were before. He 
 gave you these blessings (for blessings they certainly 
 are). Live to God ; and receive them as from His 
 hands, and thus you will make the best use of them. 
 But woe to those who hoard up money, and worship 
 a golden god. Some one has observed, that " money 
 is like manure, it does no good till it is spread." Oh 
 that many who are rich, but whom we cannot con- 
 sider in the judgment of charity as liberal, were 
 more alive to the high honour of giving money as 
 much as they can, every day, to the glory of God ; 
 and to promote the best interests of their fellow-men. 
 
 4. We are emphatically taught here not to seek 
 superfluities at the hand of God, but only necessa- 
 ries. We are forbidden to do this. " Give us this 
 day our daily bread." Need I remind you of the 
 prayer of an eminently holy man? " Two things 
 have I required of thee : deny me them not 
 VOL. i. i
 
 114 SERMON VII. 
 
 before I die : remove far from me vanity and lies ; 
 give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with 
 food convenient for me : lest I be full and deny 
 thee, and say, Who is the Lord ? Or lest I be poor 
 and steal, and take the name of my God in vain " 
 (Prov. xxx. 7 9). Is not this book from above ? Most 
 assuredly. Where does this spirit come from ? From 
 the Author of the prayer whence I took my text : 
 it is a faithful record of the truth I am now main- 
 taining. 
 
 Lastly, and to conclude, Let daily prayer be 
 crowned with daily praise. There is something de- 
 fective in our prayers, when they do not lead us on 
 to praise. One striking proof that God answers 
 prayer is, that the individual who is blessed with the 
 answer praises the Lord. "When thou hast eaten 
 and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy 
 God " (Deut. viii. 10 ; Isa. Ixii. 9). Praise Him for 
 every thing ; not only for spiritual blessings, but 
 for temporal blessings likewise. Praise Him for 
 every thing that descends from heaven to earth, in 
 the Son of His love, Jesus Christ. Receive all things 
 at the hands of God in him, and let every thing 
 ascend from you to God through him. If we do 
 justice then to what I have stated, it follows clearly, 
 that we cannot eat and drink as we ought without 
 involving in it an act of worship : it follows, that 
 we cannot eat and drink as we ought, without re- 
 joicing in the Lord our Saviour ; that we cannot 
 do it acceptably without praising Him while the
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 115 
 
 food is in our mouths. True religion leads to this. 
 May it lead us to this ! 
 
 Suffer no sense of past unworthiness to deter 
 you from praising- the Lord. The highest honours 
 are reserved for those who have been most unworthy, 
 when they come to God to solicit them freely at 
 His hands. God intended that we should praise 
 Him in all the relationships of time and sense.Though 
 we may not attain to perfection, yet let us keep per- 
 fection perpetually in view at all times, and in all 
 places; that in whatsoever we may be engaged, 
 wheresoever we may be going, whatever we may 
 be doing, we may have the glory of God always in 
 view. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or 
 whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 
 Cor. x. 31). This, my brethren, will do more for 
 the body, as well as for the soul, than all the phy- 
 sicians in the kingdom. The joy of the Lord is not 
 only medicine for the soul, but for the body like- 
 wise. Oh may we know what it is to appreciate the 
 things of time and sense, by considering them as the 
 purchase of the blood of Immanuel ; and may we 
 never presume to lay our hand upon any thing, un- 
 less we see the hand of God stretched out, and pre- 
 senting us with it in the Son of His love Jesus 
 Christ ! This is the spirit of true Christianity : God 
 grant that we may live and die under its holy and 
 blissful influence ! that we may ascend from earth to 
 heaven, leaving behind all that is earthly ; to live 
 without eating, to live without drinking, to live 
 i 2
 
 116 SERMON VII. 
 
 without sleeping 1 , to live without being 1 weary ; to 
 live, my brethren, eternally with God Himself, our 
 spiritual food ; without the intervention of any thing 
 between us and Himself; to drink of His glory 
 for ever, with all the faculties of the human in- 
 tellect, and with all the energies of the human 
 heart,
 
 117 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. VI. 12. 
 
 And for give us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
 
 THERE is more than conviction in the religion of 
 Jesus Christ. The devil is convinced of its truth, 
 but not conscious of its excellency. We should 
 endeavour to ascend above conviction, and while 
 here on earth be as much like the angels as possible : 
 we should seek to be conscious of it. 
 
 " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors." Infinite Wisdom has connected this part 
 of the Lord's Prayer with that which immediately 
 precedes it, " Give us this day our daily bread ;" 
 and then, " forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors ;" for these evident reasons : 
 
 1. Because daily bread and daily water would be 
 a daily curse without the forgiveness of God. When 
 I look abroad into the world, I could call it the 
 Bedlam of sin and Satan ; and such it would be 
 without a Physician. Thanks be to God, He Himself 
 is its Physician. 
 
 Those who eat their daily bread, and drink their
 
 118 SERMON VIII. 
 
 daily water, without the mercy of God, are eating 
 and drinking inflammables for hell itself. I could 
 prove this with the most lucid arguments, would time 
 permit. As soon as the soul leaves the body, the 
 breath of the Almighty will kindle the whole into 
 one eternal fire. 
 
 The influence of sin is beyond the calculation of 
 any finite being. Sin has bartered the human soul. 
 Man is as insensible of the presence of God, and as 
 regardless of it, as if he were a stock or a stone. The 
 brute creation reproach him perpetually : the dog ap- 
 proaches his benefactor with love and gratitude in his 
 eyes; while the language of his heart seems to be, * I 
 will lay down my life for you whenever you please/ 
 
 If we cast our eyes over this thoughtless world, 
 where God is forgotten, even in the midst of all the 
 courtesies of life ; we witness nothing but what is 
 destined to be eternal fuel for the flames of hell. 
 
 Are any of you, my brethren, living in this way ; 
 receiving, or rather stealing every thing from the 
 hands of God ; returning nothing to Him in love 
 and gratitude. Let me ask you, is it consistent with 
 His perfections that you should be suffered to go on 
 thus for ever ? Is it consistent with the well-being of 
 civil society, that individuals who violate the law of 
 the land, and disturb the peace of the community 
 should go on without punishment ? No, God him- 
 self must be unrighteous if he does not punish you. 
 This is not too strong language : I have weighed it 
 well, and it is necessary to speak thus, to awaken in- 
 dividuals from their sleep of death ; while they are
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 119 
 
 dreaming of mercy, and know nothing- of their need 
 of it. 
 
 2. Daily impenitence provokes God to hide His 
 face even from His own family. Some persons have 
 an idea, that if once introduced into the family of 
 God, God cannot be angry with them. My brethren, 
 perhaps I am correct in saying 1 , that in one sense 
 God is more angry with His own family than with 
 the devil himself. Is this anger consistent with His 
 love ? some may ask. Is the anger of an affectionate 
 father consistent with his love? Most assuredly? 
 And perhaps when His anger descends, we find 
 more love in His chastisements than in any thing 
 else ; God seems to complain of His own family 
 when He says, "Your iniquities have separated 
 between you and your God, and your sins have hid 
 His face from you that He will not hear" (Isa. lix. 2). 
 Daily mercy then is absolutely necessary, otherwise our 
 daily food cannot be a blessing to us : we are indeed 
 forgiven by God ; but we stand in need of daily forgive- 
 ness at His hands as a parent, till sin ceases to be in us. 
 
 I. Of sin as a DEBT. 
 
 In speaking of sins as Debts, we must remember, 
 that they are not to be considered so exclusively ; 
 but that God in his word addresses us precisely as we 
 address each other : all the figures, all the metaphors 
 we use are used by God. He condescends to address 
 us in our own imperfect dialect, and speaks the lan- 
 guage which we speak to each other. Sins are called 
 debts, because by transgression we incur debt. All
 
 120 SERMON VIII. 
 
 beings are debtors to God, and will be so for ever. 
 All the hosts of heaven owe to Him a debt of obe- 
 dience ; it is a universal truth ; not excepting the 
 humanity of Jesus Christ himself, which owes a debt 
 of obedience, and will for ever owe it. This is evi- 
 dent ; for, as a finite and dependent being, his hu- 
 manity must owe love and obedience to his heavenly 
 Father. As I have told you before, he is the first of 
 subjects, as well as the first of kings. 
 
 Man by transgression incurred a twofold debt. 
 In a state of innocence, he was a debtor to the com- 
 mand : in a state of sin, he is a debtor to the curse, 
 as well as the command. 
 
 My dear brethren, are any of you determined to 
 live and die the slaves of sin and Satan? Are any of 
 you determined to open and close upon yourselves, 
 your own prison doors? then, let me tell you the 
 awful truth ; you will be debtors eternally to the 
 command and curse of God : you will owe Him all 
 the perfection of the obedience of heaven : and more 
 than all the miseries of hell ; for finite being cannot 
 comprise the punishment due to transgression. 
 
 If men knew what death is, or rather into what 
 state it ushers the transgressor, they would not leap 
 down the precipice of eternity into such an abyss of 
 sin and misery. 
 
 The state of the wicked is too awful to be dwelt 
 upon exclusively: it must be dwelt upon in connec- 
 tion with the love of God ; that the sinner may be 
 not only convinced of his misery, but of the removal 
 of his sins : sins both of omission and commission.
 
 ON THE LOKD'S PRAYER. 121 
 
 Though we evidently see something of a legal 
 spirit in Job, yet, on the whole, he was an humble 
 pious man. When the provocations of his friends 
 assailed him, then the evil of his heart appeared. We 
 discover his imperfection ; yet he was strikingly 
 honest, and his integrity deserves imitation. Listen 
 to what he says, "how should man be just with God? 
 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him 
 one of a thousand'* (Job ix. 3). And again, speaking 
 of sins of commission, Job says, "How many are 
 mine iniquities and sins: make me to know my 
 transgression and my sin" (Job xxxiv. 32). This 
 was the prayer of honest Job. 
 
 All things are conferred upon us by God ; we 
 are indebted to God for them : they are to be con- 
 sidered as so many talents; yes, ourselves and all 
 our faculties, body, soul, spirit. Our learning (if 
 we have any), our skill in science (if we are scientific), 
 our health, our money, all all to be given to God ; 
 and if this be not done, we are contracting debts 
 every moment. We do not know what riches are, 
 till we give them to God. 
 
 I remember a most generous father, who loved his 
 child dearly, and used to give him a great deal of 
 money ; but he was sadly afraid lest his child should 
 be a miser, so he used to say to him, * Don't mind 
 spending your money, I will take care you shall have 
 money enough ; only let me know what you do with 
 it, I will supply you.' O that we knew how to trust 
 the Lord ; if we do not, we are impoverishing our 
 own souls. We do not do justice to God; to His
 
 1#2 SLRMON VIII. 
 
 holy religion, till every connection with earth is in- 
 volved in our intercourse with heaven. 
 
 II. God is merciful to sinners, in and for the sake 
 of His Son Jesus Christ. And it is consistent with 
 the Divine perfections that He should be so, for the 
 following reasons. 
 
 1. First. Christ was punished for us. "He was 
 wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for 
 our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon Him ; and with His stripes we are healed *' 
 (Isa. liii. 5). 
 
 2. He is the only sacrifice for sin, a sacrifice to 
 God for a sweet smelling savour : there is nothing 
 like a sacrifice for sin, but the sacrifice of Jesus 
 Christ. Infinity and Eternity are absolutely neces- 
 sary to constitute a sacrifice for sin ; and in Christ, 
 we find Infinity and Eternity in humanity like our 
 own (sin only excepted), presenting the Father with 
 a sacrifice. 
 
 3. He shed his blood to cleanse us from all our 
 sin. The fountain opened on Calvary, infinitely 
 rich in merit, will continue to flow to eternity, 
 laden with all the blessings of heaven ; with God 
 Himself, with all that God can bestow upon His family. 
 " The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us 
 from all sin" (1 John i. 7); this is our comfort, 
 consolation, and triumph. 
 
 4. In and through Jesus Christ we are reconciled 
 to God. He is reconciled to us, by the shedding of 
 the blood of Jesus Christ. We are reconciled to
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 123 
 
 Him by the sprinkling- of His blood on the consci- 
 ence (2 Cor. v. 18, 19). Reconciliation comprises 
 the work of the Spirit, as well as the work of the 
 Saviour. You see I am here reprobating the doc- 
 trine of forgiveness before we believe in Jesus Christ; 
 it is only a new edition of that old error, Justifica- 
 tion from eternity. Repentance towards God, and 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, are the operation of 
 the Holy Spirit, flowing from the finished work of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ and issuing in the glory of 
 God, as a Legislator as well as a Sovereign ; for 
 God is a spiritual Governor, as well as a Sovereign 
 Dispenser of blessings. 
 
 5. The Saviour by His obedience unto death pur- 
 chased every thing for us. We ourselves are a pur- 
 chase. Every temporal and spiritual good we receive 
 at the hands of God is the purchase of the death of 
 Christ. It is for this reason that Jesus commands his 
 disciples to pray in his name, and promises that every 
 thing they ask in his name shall be given to them. 
 
 Having spoken of the blessings of mercy as pur- 
 chased by the death of Christ, I would enumerate a 
 few of them. 
 
 1. Peace with God perfect peace eternal peace. 
 God is as much at peace (in one respect) with His 
 family here below, as He is with angels above. 
 Yes, my brethren ; and even more so. I wish to ex- 
 press myself as strongly as I can ; because I am con- 
 scious that I stand on Scripture ground, and that 
 this is truth. Hear me, then, and treasure the 
 truth in your memories : there is a sense in which
 
 124 SERMON VIII. 
 
 God is as much reconciled to His family here below, 
 in the midst of their imperfections, as He is to His 
 saints in heaven. It is necessary to state this ; for 
 some believers are so deeply exercised, so plagued 
 with a corrupt heart, that they stand in need of 
 these consolations. Hear what St. Paul says : "If 
 when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 
 by the death of His Son ; much more, being reconciled, 
 we shall be saved by his life " (Rom. v. 10). 
 
 2. Justification. He that believeth is justified 
 from all things : this is the testimony of Scripture 
 (Acts xiii. 39) : no charge can be made good against 
 him, not one ; it is absolutely impossible. 
 
 Let us suppose an individual confined in prison 
 for a debt : a friend cancels the debt ; can any de- 
 mand be made upon that individual ? Can he be 
 kept in prison ? Assuredly not. 
 
 The believer is as free from the curse of the law, 
 as Christ himself is. Some may perhaps be disposed 
 to say, You are going too far. No, my friends ; but 
 if I preached this exclusively, I should not be going 
 far enough. I pray that God may crown with suc- 
 cess my endeavours to preach the whole of what I 
 find in the Bible : truth will then appear in all its 
 glory, beauty, and symmetry ; and none can possibly 
 abuse it, but those who are determined to do it, and 
 do it wilfully. 
 
 3. Another blessing we receive is, Adoption. 
 " As many as received him, to them gave he power 
 to become the sons of God, even to them that be- 
 lieve on his name" (John i. 12).
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 
 
 4. Freedom of access to the presence of the Al- 
 mighty. Are we welcome to the presence of the 
 King of kings ? Yes : not an angel in heaven more 
 welcome than we. I do not think I should err, if I 
 were to say that the believer is more welcome ; and 
 for this reason ; he is more nearly related to the 
 Son of God, Jesus Christ. "Boldness," "freedom," 
 " confidence;" these are the words used by St. Paul 
 when speaking of the believer's access to God. 
 
 5. Consolation in the midst of every earthly cala- 
 mity. Perhaps some of you have noticed what Jesus 
 said to an afflicted individual. Let me read the pas- 
 sage : "And behold, they brought to him a man 
 sick of the palsy, lying on a bed : and Jesus seeing 
 their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be 
 of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matt. 
 ix. 2). Every blessing follows in the train of mercy. 
 We must suppose this individual to have understood 
 that he who addressed him was the Son of God ; he 
 must have done this, and Jesus must have given him 
 His Holy Spirit to receive the blessing ; otherwise the 
 blessing could not have reached him : and when our 
 Saviour speaks, the blessings he would impart must 
 reach their destination. Mark then the conse- 
 quences: health of body, as well as health of soul. 
 When the Israelites had offended the Lord, Moses ap- 
 proachedHim with one word, 'Mercy.' He knew that, 
 if successful, every other blessing would follow. The 
 great consolation is this; if my sin be forgiven, then I 
 may rejoice and be glad in the midst of every cala- 
 mity : heaven is mine, every good that I am capable of
 
 126 SERMON VIII. 
 
 receiving is mine; and with whatever afflictions I may 
 be visited, while I am a stranger and pilgrim here 
 below, they will be only " blessings in disguise." 
 
 6. Another blessing involved in the mercy of 
 God, is triumph over the fear of death. " O death, 
 where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? 
 The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin 
 is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us 
 the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ " (1 Cor. 
 xv. 55). 
 
 7. And lastly, God Himself, as a portion and in- 
 heritance for ever and ever. Doubtless, there is a 
 place where the Saviour is at the present moment 
 surrounded by his saints and angels ; but we form 
 a very inadequate and incorrect idea of heaven, if 
 we confine it to a place. The believer is the heir 
 of God. God Himself is his portion and inheri- 
 tance for ever. " And if children, then heirs ; 
 heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 
 viii 17). 
 
 III. I am now to consider the attributes of that 
 disposition which does justice to the mercy of God 
 in Christ. 
 
 1. Penitence. Mercy makes penitent, and keeps 
 penitent. Mercy is not only the parent, but the 
 nurse of true penitence. Need I tell you that a 
 child loves its mother, and loves the food pro- 
 vided for its sustenance ? Nothing but peni- 
 tence can prize the mercy of God. Judge your- 
 selves then this evening. Do you delight in the
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 1^7 
 
 mercy of God ? This is the strongest proof of real 
 penitence ; penitence never fixes its abode in the 
 human bosom, till it delights in the mercy of God. 
 " The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him ; 
 in those that hope in His mercy" (Psal. cxlvii. 11). 
 Shew me an individual who delights in the mercy of 
 God, and I will shew you one whose heart has been 
 broken by genuine repentance. Until mercy is 
 known, penitence is but partial and very imperfect. 
 
 2. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Sa- 
 viour. All who believe are justified from all things. 
 Faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary ; and 
 penitence and faith are indissolubly connected to- 
 gether ; they proceed from the same principle, and 
 that principle the offspring of the Divine Spirit. 
 
 3. The yoke of obedience is prized ; it was prized 
 by Christ himself above every thing else. He took 
 upon himself two yokes ; the yoke of the curse, 
 and the yoke of the command. He annihilated the 
 former, that the latter might be an easy yoke for His 
 followers for ever : " Take my yoke upon you, and 
 learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart ; and 
 ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke 
 is easy and my burden is light" (Matt. xi. 29, 30) : 
 light, because he has taken from it the whole of the 
 curse. It was a heavy yoke indeed to him ; but it is 
 light to us ; so light, that it furnishes us with wings, 
 with which to ascend from earth to heaven ; so light, 
 that it is lighter that any of the elements, and ascends 
 above them all. 
 
 4. Peace with all men. That disposition which
 
 128 SERMON VIII. 
 
 prizes mercy delights in peace : " Follow peace with 
 all men, and holiness, without which no man shall 
 see the Lord " (Heb. xii. 14). 
 
 5. It delights to extend forgiveness to others. 
 The Saviour says, " For if ye forgive men their tres- 
 passes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." 
 
 IV. Consider the attributes of what I may justly 
 call a merciful disposition. 
 
 1. It is opposed to a vindictive spirit ; it is its 
 mortal enemy. " Deadly beloved, avenge not your- 
 selves ; but rather give place unto wrath ; for it is 
 written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the 
 Lord" (Rom. xii. 19). There is a great deal of 
 folly in a vindictive spirit ; as it respects the law of 
 the land, as members of civil society, we are not 
 permitted to avenge ourselves. It is a disgrace to a man, 
 as a member of civil society, to take the law into his 
 own hands. A man is, generally speaking, and espe- 
 cially when under the influence of sin, a very bad 
 judge in his own cause. But to consider the sub- 
 ject in another point of view: The command is 
 given, " Avenge not yourselves." We do not know 
 what sin fully is ; we do not know what is due to it. 
 No one but God does ; and therefore no one but 
 God can visit sin. Those who govern in the world 
 visit sins j but only externally, and only in some 
 respects : God is the eternal Judge ; and vengeance 
 is His. Let this truth be fully considered ; and you 
 will not find that any of the Old- Testament saints 
 cherished a vindictive disposition. All that can be
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 129 
 
 said of the frequent allusions to the destruction of 
 enemies, in the Psalms, is this ; that they are a per- 
 fect transfer of the enemy into the hands of God : 
 and this will always be the case with him who is 
 under the influence of true religion ; he consigns 
 his enemy to God : in so doing he does what is well 
 pleasing to God ; and there is nothing in it that mi- 
 litates against a merciful disposition. 
 
 2. A merciful disposition prays that the enemy 
 may not only be forgiven, but converted. " I say 
 unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them which despitefully use you and persecute you " 
 (Matt. v. 44). 
 
 3. A merciful disposition delights to visit an enemy 
 with every possible good ; a merciful disposition de- 
 lights in the mercy of God, and in being like God. 
 God first loved us when we were enemies. God 
 beheld us in a state of enmity, when He entered into 
 the covenant of eternity, when He sent His Son 
 to die for us. He beholds us in a state of enmity 
 when He sends His Holy Spirit to renew us in the 
 spirit of our minds. " If thine enemy hunger, feed 
 him; if he thirst, give him drink " (Rom. xii. 20) ; 
 that is, visit him with mercy as God has visited you. 
 
 V. Consider some MOTIVES to be merciful. 
 
 1. Our sins against God are infinitely more than 
 our sins against each other. Every sin committed 
 by a brother or a child involves in it a greater evil 
 than that committed by a stranger. We are all the 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 SERMON VIII. 
 
 children of God ; God is primarily insulted, and that 
 in the highest degree, by transgression. But could 
 we calculate the number and aggravation of our sins 
 against God, we should have no time to think of the 
 offences we have received from each other ; we 
 should be much better employed in confessing our 
 transgressions against God. 
 
 2. Consider how often we have offended and in- 
 jured each other. Solomon was one who knew human 
 nature probably as well as any man that ever lived ; 
 he had an opportunity of reading himself as well as 
 others. When we hear any speak ill of us we should 
 remember what he says ; " Take no heed unto the 
 words that are spoken ; for oftentimes also thine 
 own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast 
 cursed others" (Eccles. vii. 21, 22). Here you see 
 he sends us into the recesses of our own bosoms. It 
 is wise, my brethren, to view every truth in all its in- 
 teresting bearings, that it may descend upon us in 
 all its mighty weight, to impress upon our hearts the 
 image of God Himself. 
 
 3. We should consider God's mercy to us ; and 
 this, and this only, will be effectual ; nothing less will 
 subdue the heart of man, and dispose him to be mer- 
 ciful to his fellow-creatures (Col. iii. 13). The 
 mercy of God will break his heart, and teach and 
 dispose him to forgive his bitterest enemy. As an im- 
 penitent disposition cannot receive the mercy of 
 God ; so neither can an unforgiving disposition re- 
 ceive it. We are invariably disposed to impart and 
 communicate mercy to our brethren, as we are dis-
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 131 
 
 posed to receive mercy at the hands of God. This is 
 what is involved in that text ; " He hath shewed thee, 
 Oman, what is good; and what doth the Lord require 
 of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk 
 humbly with thy God" (Mic. vi. 8). 
 
 4. Another reason why we should cherish a mer- 
 ciful disposition, is, that it will conduce to our own 
 peace of mind. 
 
 Peace cannot inhabit an unmerciful bosom. Peace 
 cannot live there ; it is impossible. I have often 
 reminded you, that true religion in one respect in- 
 volves in it a principle of self-love ; and God intended 
 that it should. Shew me an individual who is not 
 disposed to be merciful to others, and I will shew you 
 one who is not merciful to himself: there is war in 
 his own bosom, if there be enmity againstjhis brother. 
 
 5. Consider the prayer of the unmerciful. This is 
 the prayer of the merciful individual, " And forgive 
 us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass 
 against us." The prayer of an unmerciful man is, 
 * Do not forgive me, I will not forgive them : send 
 me to hell, as I wish to send my brother to hell :' 
 this is the language of his heart ; he may not be able 
 to interpret it himself, but I have felt it to be my 
 duty, as a minister of the Gospel, to interpret it for 
 him. He spurns a God of Mercy : the language of 
 his heart, fully and faithfully interpreted, is, "Depart 
 from me, I desire not the knowledge of thy ways ;" I 
 will not have thy mercy. 
 
 To conclude, with a few lessons. 
 K 2
 
 132 SERMON VIII. 
 
 1 . Learn humility, from a consciousness of daily sin : 
 this is the lesson God himself intended that we should 
 learn. " Jf we say that we have no sin, we deceive 
 ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess 
 our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our 
 sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 
 (1 John i. 8, 9). 
 
 2. Learn to pity and to pray for those who talk 
 of perfection in this life. One thing is evident : they 
 know very little of themselves ; very little of the law 
 of God ; very little of the Gospel of God ; or they 
 could not talk of perfection. An eminent Divine 
 has said, "There is more corruption than grace 
 in the heart of the most eminent saint under heaven ;" 
 I do believe it. May God of his infinite goodness 
 and mercy arm us with Himself, against ourselves : 
 and remember, for your encouragement, that a little 
 grace, inspired by God, is stronger than strong 
 corruption. 
 
 3. Learn to bless God for daily forgiveness. Let 
 daily forgiveness be the source of daily praise. God 
 is not weary of forgiveness; let us not be weary 
 of praise. 
 
 4. Let us daily pray for a merciful disposition. 
 May this be our ceaseless prayer. It is not enough 
 that we should pray for the establishment of prin- 
 ciple in the heart ; but, for the development of that 
 principle in the life. 
 
 5. Lastly, Pray daily for an increase of faith. 
 We have an interesting example left us on record : 
 our Lord says to his disciples, " Take heed to your-
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 133 
 
 selves : if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke 
 him ; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he 
 trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven 
 times in a day, turn again to thee, saying, I repent, 
 thou shalt forgive him. And the Apostles said unto the 
 Lord, increase our faith." (Luke xvii. 3, &c.) O 
 wise disciples ! Sometimes, indeed, they were foolish ; 
 but on this occasion they were wise. They felt the 
 weight of what their Lord and Master told them, 
 and immediately prayed, " Lord, increase our faith," 
 that we may honour thy command by obedience.
 
 134 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. vi. 13. 
 
 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
 from evil. 
 
 THE connection between one part and another of 
 this prayer, is singularly striking : one thing neces- 
 sarily and sweetly flows from another. The prayer 
 immediately preceding my text is this, "Forgive us 
 our debts, as we forgive our debtors ;" and then con- 
 nected with it, as if all the attributes of Deity are to 
 be displayed in all their glory, the text is introduced. 
 The mercy of God was intended to deliver man 
 from sin in the most comprehensive manner. If it 
 did not effect this, it could not possibly be mercy : if 
 it did not accomplish this effectually and eternally, it 
 would not be mercy, but cruelty. " Forgive us our 
 debts," justify us from every charge ; and this, of 
 course must involve in it, dispose us to love and worship 
 thee. We are forgiven, and we are justified ; we are 
 changed from being the voluntary slaves of sin and 
 Satan, into the sons and daughters of the living 
 God.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 135 
 
 Need I give you the history of the poor cripple 
 at the waters of Siloam, who after having been 
 healed by an Almighty Physician, was thus addressed 
 by him : " Sin no more, lest a worse thing come 
 unto thee" (John v. 14). If we avoid sin, we 
 effectually avoid every thing that is evil ; if we ex- 
 pose ourselves to sin, we expose ourselves to all 
 that is evil : to many evils and dangers in time, and 
 to more in eternity. 
 
 " Lead us not into temptation" Lead us not 
 by thy providence into temptation ; and suffer us 
 not to be led into temptation by any enemy. 
 
 Temptations may be considered as coming either 
 from God or from the arch-enemy of God and 
 man. The temptations of God strictly involve in 
 them no more than a trial of principle. The temp- 
 tations of Satan involve in them the infusion of 
 moral evil into the human mind : this is the differ- 
 ence. I would then consider, 
 
 I. Temptation as coming from God. 
 
 The Israelites were tempted ; I mean, they were 
 proved by the Almighty, by a variety of His dis- 
 pensations. The Lord says, " Thou shalt remem- 
 ber all the way which the Lord thy God led thee 
 these forty years in the wildernesss ; to humble thee, 
 and to prove thee ; to know what was in thine 
 heart, whether thou wouldst keep His command- 
 ments or not " (Deut. viii. 2). In their history, we 
 read our own. If you wish to form an accurate 
 idea of the rebellion of the Israelites in the wilder-
 
 13() SERMON IX. 
 
 ness, read your own hearts with accuracy, and there 
 you will find it all. 
 
 1. The Lord tries His family by His mercies* 
 He does so at the present time. Consider the 
 
 multitude of mercies, of temporal mercies, which 
 He confers upon them ; I defy any finite mind to 
 number them. But, remember, you will have to 
 answer at the day of judgment for them; you will be 
 answerable to God for using or abusing any, or 
 all, of His mercies. He rained manna from heaven 
 on the Israelites; but what did He receive in return ? 
 Love and gratitude ? By no means ; enmity, alas ! 
 and rebellion against Him pervade their conduct. 
 And may we not apply this to ourselves, when we 
 consider all that God has done for us in a temporal, 
 as well as a spiritual, point of view ? And what has 
 He received at our hands ? When we take a retro- 
 spective view of the whole tenor of our lives, we 
 find more hatred than love ; more ingratitude than 
 gratitude. If we had treated any of our fellow- 
 creatures as we have treated God, we should have 
 been spurned from them, and driven as ungrateful 
 wretches from their doors ; but, thanks be to God ! 
 He has not yet spurned us from Him ; and we bless 
 His holy Name for the means He has devised for 
 conferring on us everlasting salvation. 
 
 2. He proves man by His judgments. He proves 
 him by affliction : and very often the afflictions 
 with which men are individually visited, are the 
 offspring of their own sins and iniquities. This does 
 not tend in the least degree to alleviate, but rather
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 137 
 
 to aggravate the evils with which we are visited. 
 The Israelites were commanded to destroy the Ca- 
 naanites : they, however, suffered some of them to 
 live, and those whom they spared became the instru- 
 ments of chastising them again and again. And let 
 me ask, what have not we as a nation done? We 
 have cherished the serpent Popery, and it is at the 
 present moment endeavouring to sting our vitals. 
 Tell me not that I meddle with politics, my brethren ; 
 let me tell you that the constitution of Britain was 
 once a Theocracy ; and when our rulers and go- 
 vernors, yielding to carnal policy, have removed it 
 from us, it is our duty, not indeed to speak bitterly 
 against them, but to pray for them, as well as for our 
 country. He who is aware of the evil of his own 
 heart, and its legitimate desert, will feel intensely 
 for the welfare of mankind at large, and more par- 
 ticularly for those with whom he is intimately 
 connected. Pray for your country, and pray for 
 the rulers of your country ; and give me leave to 
 tell you, that you cannot pray aright for yourselves 
 unless you do so. 
 
 3. He proves His family by false teachers. He 
 suffers false teachers sometimes to insinuate them- 
 selves into His church. The Lord tells the Israel- 
 ites of what they would be exposed to from false 
 teachers j but He gave them an infallible rule, He 
 gave them His own revealed Will ; and He charges 
 them not to listen to any one who would lead them 
 astray from these truths (Deut. xiii. 3).
 
 138 SERMON IX. 
 
 4. He tries them by suspending the influence of 
 His Holy Spirit. 
 
 Now do not mistake me ; some would draw from 
 this an erroneous inference, and suppose, that in 
 consequence of it man necessarily falls into sin. 
 But no : no being ever did or ever will necessarily 
 fall into sin. Consider for a moment; and then 
 you will come to this safe conclusion. The devil 
 himself is not under the necessity of sinning ; he 
 never was, and never will be. If he were under a 
 necessity of sinning, he could not be a moral and 
 accountable agent. The influences of the Divine 
 Spirit are not in the least degree necessary to render 
 us accountable beings. The gift of the Holy Ghost 
 is a sovereign gift, not a gift of equity. But what do 
 we experience when the Divine influences are sus- 
 pended ? Man rushes headlong into sin. Witness 
 the conduct of Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 31). One 
 would have imagined that he would have dwelt on the 
 goodness and greatness of God when a foreign prince 
 had sent his ambassador to him. But no ! he con- 
 sulted his vanity, and that prompted him to exhibit 
 himself. Think not lightly of this : Hezekiah was 
 indeed, on the whole, an excellent man ; but when the 
 Divine influence was withdrawn from him, we see 
 him evincing the spirit which the devil himself 
 evinced, when he first revolted against God, and 
 which he will continue to evince throughout eternity. 
 
 5. He proves His people sometimes, by separating 
 them from every thing that is dear to them. He
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 139 
 
 seems, sometimes, to cut asunder all the tender and 
 delicate string's of the human heart. Witness the 
 command given to Abraham to offer up his son 
 Isaac: principle was tried here, and principle triumph- 
 ed gloriously. While we see our own weakness in 
 the absence of God, we should at the same time 
 learn to read our own strength in His presence. No 
 duty, however difficult, when God Himself is present, 
 will ever be dreaded by His children ; but it will be 
 embraced with alacrity and pleasure, as the will of 
 their Father who is in heaven. 
 
 6. He tries His family sometimes, by persecutions, 
 We do not know much of persecution in this country : 
 but there are those who feel the effects of it, even in 
 the day in which we live ; some who are living, solita- 
 rily, like the sparrow alone upon the house top. Look 
 at such an individual, perhaps a weak female, in the 
 midst of a family who are all the enemies of the living 
 God j she is the object of their cruel scorn from day 
 to day. Oh! it requires the spirit of a martyr to 
 bear this, and the God of martyrs to inspire that 
 spirit every moment. 
 
 II. Secondly, Consider the temptations of Satan. 
 
 And here we must take into consideration, the in- 
 fusion of moral or spiritual evil. But here again, do 
 not mistake me : Satan cannot force the will ; that is 
 impossible. No being can force the will. But Satan 
 does this; he first of all lays hold of the imagination, 
 and presents to men, (what shall I say?) he presents 
 the almost boundless fields of fancy ; with ten thousand
 
 140 SERMON IX. 
 
 pictures of every thing that has a tendency to lead 
 the heart astray from God. Satan first enters the ima- 
 gination ; from the imagination he travels to the 
 heart, the affections, and all the corrupt propensities 
 of human nature. Oh, my young friends, especially 
 examine every thing that enters the imagination : do 
 not play with any thing there ; look to it that truth 
 inhabits it. The most vivid imagination, the most 
 refined sensibilities, are perfectly consistent with 
 hardness of heart. 
 
 1. Satan tempted David to number his people ; 
 he presented his imagination with a wealthy and a 
 populous kingdom. " Number those men, and dwell 
 with delight on thine own greatness " (1 Chron. 
 xxi. 1). David fell into the snare, and numbered 
 the people. 
 
 It is recorded in the New Testament, that Satan 
 entered into the heart of Judas. Satan presented 
 him with the idea of wealth in his imagination, and 
 from thence it travelled into his heart. Enrich 
 thyself by sacrificing thy Master to the will of the 
 people (John xiii. 2). Judas fell into the snare. 
 These examples are perfectly applicable, because 
 there is a similarity in all Satan's temptations, whe- 
 ther as presented to the enemies or to the friends 
 of God. He takes possession not only of one, but 
 every evil propensity, and the will of man consents ; 
 the fool, as he is emphatically called in the language 
 of Scripture, falls wilfully and delightfully into the 
 snares of the tempter. " A man is tempted when he 
 is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then
 
 ON THE LORD SPRAYER. 141 
 
 when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin : and 
 sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 
 i. 14, 15). 
 
 2. Ambition. Satan fixes the hearts of men, by 
 taking possession of their imagination: he shewed to 
 Buonaparte the glory of many kingdoms : he pre- 
 sented him with the most delightful pictures ; with 
 the idea of making himself, not only the monarch, 
 but the God of the earth. He fell into the snare ; 
 and what were the sins he committed under the in- 
 fluence of ambition ? Now observe : The tempter 
 presented our Saviour with the kingdoms of this 
 world and their glory, but he found nothing in Him ; 
 there was no inclination to meet it. The Saviour, 
 doubtless, had a fine imagination. No one ever 
 possessed what can be compared with it. He perused 
 every thing with the eye, and appreciated every thing 
 with the spirit, of one who is God ; and he rejected 
 every evil. And here I would make one obser- 
 vation : no evil could travel farther than the ima- 
 gination in the person of the Saviour; so far and 
 no farther ; it could not enter in the least degree 
 into his heart and affections : there good and evil 
 were properly beheld ; the former loved, prized, 
 and welcomed ; the latter invariably hated and 
 rejected. 
 
 3. Satan lays hold of the indolence and sloth 
 of men, to lead them into snares. My brethren, 
 have always something to do. Be always en- 
 gaged. God never intended that a single idler 
 should exist upon the earth; but that all, high and
 
 142 SERMON IX. 
 
 low, rich and poor, old and young, should be pro- 
 fitably employed. Even Adam, in a state of 
 innocence in Paradise, was not to be idle, but to 
 be engaged in tilling the ground. An idler is 
 called, in the old English proverb, the devil's play- 
 fellow : a proverb more just and important never 
 flowed from the pen of man. David was an idler 
 when he saw Bathsheba ; if he had been lawfully 
 engaged, he would not have fallen into the snare. 
 The devil produced his internal and his external 
 instruments for his overthrow, and triumphed. 
 Oh, what a contrast is there between Uriah and 
 David ! Had not the Scriptures told me that David 
 was the man after God's own heart, I could scarce- 
 ly have believed it. Look at Uriah, brave, loyal, 
 forgetting all the endearments of home, and de- 
 voting himself to his master David. Now view 
 David sending this man, in the midst of all his 
 loyalty, into the mouth of danger, and command- 
 ing him to be set in the front of the battle that he 
 might be slain. Oh, my brethren, as I have told 
 you before, if you wish to have peace of consci- 
 ence, follow the example of Christ. Shun sin as 
 you would avoid a hungry lion. 
 
 4. A fourth instrument to seduce into sin, is evil 
 company. 
 
 Jehoshaphat associated with Ahab ; and after 
 imbibing a considerable portion of. the spirit of 
 Ahab, although the prophet of God had prohibited 
 him from going to battle, he went with Ahab to 
 Ramoth Gilead to fight, contrary to the command
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 143 
 
 of God. You cannot possibly be long in evil 
 company without imbibing something of their 
 spirit. A man who possesses what I may be al- 
 lowed to call a spiritual taste, could not stay one 
 moment, without feeling contaminated. Have no 
 unnecessary intercourse with those who are not 
 the friends of God. They will respect you for it, 
 and respect your principles. They see such 
 things with the eye of an eagle ; and whatever 
 their tongues may say of you, their hearts and 
 their bosoms will be compelled to respect you. 
 Joseph fell into bad company in the court of 
 Pharaoh, and he learned to swear. He knew he 
 was not allowed to swear but on solemn occasions, 
 and by the name of God ; yet he swore " by the 
 life of Pharaoh." Peter went into bad company 
 when he denied his Master ; and from one sin he 
 went on to another ; first of all denying him, and 
 then cursing and swearing that he knew him not. 
 You had better be inoculated with the plague 
 than have any thing to do with sin or sinners, in 
 any shape whatever. 
 
 5. Satan adapts his temptations to the various 
 tastes and propensities of persons ; the wise and 
 the unwise, the learned and the ignorant, the bond 
 and the free. Consider all the countless shades 
 of human conditions, and human characters, and 
 Satan has a snare adapted to them all. " We are 
 not ignorant of Satan's devices" (2 Cor. ii. 11). 
 Brethren, let me again remind you affectionately 
 and respectfully, that his first entrance is into the
 
 144 SERMON IX. 
 
 imagination, and here he is to be withstood. 
 Here Messiah himself withstood him, and triumph- 
 ed over him. 
 
 III. I come now, in the third place, to consider 
 the reasons why we should pray, " Lead us not 
 into temptation;" or rather, some further reasons 
 than those I have already adduced. 
 
 1. To teach us patience in the midst of tempta- 
 tions; if God, in His providence, lead us into 
 them, or if Satan expose us to them. While we 
 oppose them, and triumph over them in the strength 
 of our Lord, they teach us patience. And re- 
 member again, that if we are truly wise in the 
 wisdom of Jehovah, all the machinations of Satan, 
 and all his attempts to ensnare us, will, eventually 
 and for ever, issue in our final triumph and bliss. 
 
 2. It involves the deepest humility ; a conscious- 
 ness of our own absolute weakness and inability 
 to withstand any temptation. In reading the 
 history of the saints of God, we cannot but admire 
 the fortitude and firmness with which, in the 
 spirit of true religion, they met the severest trials; 
 and yet, in further perusing their history, we find 
 the very same individuals yielding to the slightest 
 temptations. The least enemy is stronger than 
 we are in ourselves ; while we are stronger than 
 the strongest in the strength of the Lord our God. 
 
 3. In the midst of trials and temptations, we pray 
 for purity. Job was well aware of this, though as 
 severely tried, perhaps, as any of his fellow-crea-
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 
 
 145 
 
 tures ever were. He says, " When I am tried, I 
 shall come forth as gold" (Job xxiii. 10). Every 
 thing he had was swept away by his arch enemy, 
 Satan ; and his friends assailed him with cruel and 
 false charges; yet Job evidently triumphs in the 
 midst of all his trials. I need not now give you 
 the proof afforded by the sequel of his interesting 
 history, to shew that he did triumph. 
 
 4. We pray in the midst of trials and temptations, 
 that the strength of God may be made perfect in 
 our weakness. It is the province of FAITH to 
 wield, in one important sense, all the attributes 
 of Jehovah ; and only when doing so, can the be- 
 liever anticipate a triumph over all his enemies. 
 The Apostle Paul was made deeply conscious 
 of his own weakness, for he had a thorn in the 
 flesh : what that was, I do not pretend to deter- 
 mine; nor do I know that it would be of any be- 
 nefit to you if I could ; but of one thing I am 
 certain, that if it had been necessary for us to 
 know it, it would have been revealed : however, 
 there was something in it that was a temptation 
 to sin ; something which involved a severe exer- 
 cise of feeling, with a tendency to rebel against 
 God ; but he prayed, and the answer was most 
 satisfactory : " My strength is made perfect in 
 weakness ; my grace is sufficient for thee "(2 Cor. 
 xii. 9). We first of all triumph over ourselves, at 
 a Throne of Grace; that triumph involves in it a 
 triumph over God, like that of Jacob. Having 
 triumphed there, we are destined to triumph 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 140 SERMON IX. 
 
 every where else. The first triumph of the believer 
 is in the closet; and whatever appears to man, 
 is only the effect flowing from that cause. 
 An individual may be considered very rich ; he 
 may have an accumulation of boundless wealth ; 
 if you were suffered to go into his counting 
 house, you should soon be able to tell whether he 
 were so or not. Enter into your counting-houses, 
 enter into your closets ; how do you appear there ? 
 Do you lay siege to the Throne of Grace, and tell 
 the Lord that you must have Divine grace, or that, 
 if you do not, youmustfaU? No one but God knows 
 to what you are exposed. O pray, pray to God ; 
 enrich yourselves in your closets, and you will 
 be rich every where else. 
 
 5. The wicked are said to be led by the Lord 
 into temptation. This truth only involves their 
 abuse of the gifts of God. They wish to have the 
 good things of God's providence : God gives 
 them ; and they abuse them all without one 
 single exception. All the gifts of God are good in 
 themselves, but the abuse of them is man's doing. 
 Or perhaps, to give a more Scriptural account of 
 it, God leaves them to their own ways. He lets 
 them have their own heart's desire j and nothing 
 more is necessary to make men the slaves of sin 
 here, and the victims of hell hereafter. 
 
 IV. We are taught to pray, " Lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evif (or the evil 
 one), for the following reasons.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PUAYEll. 14-7 
 
 1. Consider what sin is. It is enmity against 
 God ; it is enmity in the abstract ; it is nothing 
 but enmity. Some enmity may be qualified: sin 
 cannot be. What is involved in enmity against 
 God, no one but God can fully know. No one 
 but Messiah knows the evil of sin. He does, be- 
 cause he suffered all its tremendous consequences. 
 
 2. Because sin, as being enmity against God, 
 robs man of every good, and visits him with every 
 evil. Sin visits him with a multitude of evils, 
 even in this life. If you were to examine the 
 votaries of pleasure, you would soon come to this 
 conclusion ; for many of them anticipate the 
 awful doom that awaits them ; and if they harden 
 themselves to such a degree as to be insensible to 
 this, it only proves that their case is still worse : 
 " The way of transgressors is hard." The reason 
 why we have so much evil in the world, is in con- 
 sequence of sin. Some people have travelled 
 back to Adam's sin, and said, ' These are the 
 effects of the Fall :' but Adam never obliged the 
 drunkard to get drunk. There is nothing in Adam's 
 transgression to oblige him to do this. There is 
 nothing in Adam's transgression to oblige the thief 
 to be dishonest, or the liar to tell one falsehood. 1 
 could prove all these things, had I time. Oh, let us 
 beware of a system of necessity, which involves in 
 it the fatalism of the Koran of Mohammed, not the 
 predestination of the word of God. What are the 
 calamities of the country to be attributed to ? To 
 the sins of individuals. If we could make the 
 
 L 2
 
 148 SERMON IX. 
 
 drunkard sober; if we could make the thief 
 honest; if we could make the liar speak the truth, 
 Britain would be a heaven compared with what it 
 is at the present moment. The misery existing 
 in the world, at the present day, flows from the 
 sins of individuals who are now living. God will 
 one day remove moral evil ; and then a thousand 
 blessings of His providence will reach men, which 
 cannot possibly reach them at the present mo- 
 ment. There is much suffering in London, inconse- 
 quence of moral evil : if we could remove thelatter, 
 the former would in a great measure cease to exist. 
 
 3. We are taught to pray, " Lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evil ; " that is, from 
 the evil of sin ; because sin aims at the destruction 
 of all the creatures of God, by aiming first of all 
 at the destruction of God himself. 
 
 4. We are taught to pray thus, which is the 
 concluding prayer, because sin is the greatest of 
 all evils ; it is the parent of every other evil. And 
 now let me ask you, my brethren, whence and 
 from whom could this prayer come, but from the 
 heart of one who is God ? 
 
 To conclude, learn, 
 
 1. The hypocrisy of those who pray, and yet 
 at the same time do not watch against the incur- 
 sions of sin, but sit down quietly under them : he who 
 prays as he ought to pray, opposes sin at the same 
 time : "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temp- 
 tation" (Matt. xxvi. 41).
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 149 
 
 2. Learn to avoid every thing which has the re- 
 motest tendency to lead into sin ; and do not listen 
 to those thoughtless professors of religion, who 
 would call these things "legality." Notwithstand- 
 ing all their profession of religion, I do not hesi- 
 tate to call them the ministers of sin and Satan. 
 Solomon gives a very valuable piece of advice 
 when he says, addressing the young man, " Re- 
 move thy way far from her; come not nigh unto 
 the door of her house" (Prov. v. 8). He is here 
 advising the young man to avoid the snare of the 
 harlot; and he says, "Remove thy way far from 
 her;" live at the antipodes; do not approach the 
 door of her house ; and this advice is truly ex- 
 cellent with respect to every other evil ; with 
 respect to every other enemy. 
 
 3. Seek the light and influence of the Divine 
 Spirit continually ; and remember, too, that the 
 light of the Divine Spirit is not enough. His 
 energy is absolutely necessary to influence the 
 heart. There may be a great deal of light in the 
 intellect, where the heart is not under the influence 
 of Divine Grace. Invoke the energy, as well as 
 the light, of the Divine Spirit; that truth may 
 take possession of the whole man ; of the heart 
 and affections, as well as the head. 
 
 4. And Lastly, present all your petitions to God , 
 in the intercession of Jesus Christ. 'My prayer 
 is a very unworthy one :' prayer supposes this ; if 
 we had no imperfection within us, our lives would 
 be ceaseless praise. ' I feel sin strong within me:'
 
 150 SERMON IX. 
 
 prayer supposes the existence of innumerable 
 enemies ; but in whom is our strength ? In whom 
 is our triumph deposited ? In our covenant Head 
 and Representative, Christ Jesus the Lord, who 
 presents all the prayers of his family before the 
 throne of God, and imparts to them daily and con- 
 stantly that measure of strength which is necessary 
 to enable them to triumph. He says, "Under- 
 neath thee are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 
 27) ; and, " As thy days, so shall thy strength be" 
 (Deut. xxxiii. 25). Pray, pray, pray without 
 ceasing ; and remember, that you have an Ad- 
 vocate on high. Let me remind you of this truth 
 in the midst of all your imperfections : while you 
 have a grain of spiritual honesty, your prayers are 
 more acceptable to God, in the intercession of 
 Jesus Christ, than the triumphant strains of angels.
 
 151 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. vi. 13. 
 
 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 
 THE conclusion of this prayer, like every other 
 part of it, presents us with all the credentials 
 of heaven : " Thine is the kingdom, the power, 
 and the glory." Man does not possess honesty 
 enough to ascribe the glory to God, till not 
 only taught, but also enabled, by God Himself, to 
 do so. The more I consider this prayer, the more 
 am I lost in its glory. It has matter enough in 
 it to preach on every Sabbath, even were my life 
 prolonged to the age of Methuselah. Every word 
 proves clearly that it emanates from the bosom of 
 Him who is Supreme. It does more : every peti- 
 tion in this prayer proves that it emanates from 
 the bosom of one who is man as well as God. 
 
 If I begin this interesting prayer, and say, 
 "Our Father," I behold Messiah himself taking 
 his family by the hand, and saying, "I will lead.
 
 2 SERMON X. 
 
 you into the presence of my God, and your God, 
 of my Father and your Father ; be not afraid." 
 
 As Intercessor between God and man, we find 
 in him all the glory of Deity, as well as all the ex- 
 quisite feelings of humanity. He leads his family 
 to the Lord of Hosts, as an object of worship, 
 himself a worshipper : and now mark the conclu- 
 sion : " Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
 the glory." Behold him here, the first of wor- 
 shippers, as well as an object of worship : the first 
 of subjects, and the first of kings, as I have 
 told you before. Who that does justice to this 
 interesting truth would ever sit down in des- 
 pondency, much less despair ; admitting even that 
 the aggregate sins of the human race (great 
 as they are) were upon his head. It is not the 
 multitude of our transgressions that will consign 
 any of us to hell : nothing less than the rejection 
 of the infinitely glorious remedy, a remedy pro- 
 vided by God Himself, will do this. And this, my 
 brethren, will seal our condemnation with all the 
 vengeance of everlasting fire. Forbid it, O Lord 
 God Almighty, and suffer no one who is here this 
 evening to fall into the jaws of eternal destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 I. In this ascription of glory to the Father, there 
 is, 
 
 1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Illustrating 
 one Scripture by another : " Through Him, we
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 153 
 
 both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit 
 unto the Father" (Eph. ii. 18). The Apostle 
 Paul, in teaching the Hebrews, thus addresses 
 them : "Having an High Priest over the house of 
 God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full 
 assurance of faith" (Heb. x. 22). 
 
 Consider, as an example, the Saviour's own 
 faith ; and his faith is recorded as an example, and 
 consequently as an encouragement, to us in the 
 midst of every difficulty. No one among all his 
 brethren ever exercised faith as he did. He was 
 the only one whose faith never failed him, even in 
 the least degree. 
 
 2. This ascription of praise to the Father in- 
 volves in it likewise our hope; hope which an- 
 ticipates the eternal possession and enjoyment 
 of the exceeding great and precious promises of 
 God ; " In hope of eternal life, which God who can- 
 not lie promised before the world began " (Tit. i. 2). 
 
 The Saviour himself is here again an eminent ex- 
 ample; and the Apostle presents him as such to 
 the attention of all believers. " Wherefore," says 
 he, " seeing we are compassed about with so great 
 a cloud of witnesses ;" (saints and angels be- 
 holding us with the most intense interest and de- 
 light every moment ;) " let us lay aside every 
 weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset 
 us; and let us run with patience the race that is 
 set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author 
 and finisher of our faith; who," (now here is his 
 hope) " for the joy that was set before him
 
 1-54 SERMON X. 
 
 endured the cross, despising the shame, and is 
 set down at the right hand of the throne of God." 
 There is the kingdom ! (Heb. xii. 1, &c.) 
 
 3. This ascription of praise to God involves in it 
 the gratitude of His believing family: " Blessed be 
 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, 
 according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten 
 us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ from the dead; to an inheritance in- 
 corruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept 
 by the power of God through faith unto salvation." 
 (1 Peter i. 3, &c.) There is the power. 
 
 It involves in it the praises of God ascending 
 from the bosom of faith and hope, to the ears 
 of the Almighty as a sacrifice most accept- 
 able to Him. Let nothing rob you of this 
 truth : God is delighted with the service of 
 His family, especially with their praises, not- 
 withstanding the many imperfections which in- 
 habit their bosoms. 
 
 4. The Apostle connects praise and prayer to- 
 gether, " By prayer and supplication with thanks- 
 giving let your request be made known unto 
 God " (Phil. iv. 6). We find praises blended 
 with prayer in Scripture; and prayer is never 
 perfect till matured into praise. Many individuals 
 are disposed to ask this question, * How am I to 
 know that my prayers are heard and answered by 
 the Almighty T Some satisfactory answers might 
 be given ; I shall only point out one at present.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 155 
 
 Are you enabled to praise God ? If so, you may 
 be as certain as you are of your own existence 
 that your prayers are heard and answered. 
 
 Praise on earth is as sure an evidence that prayer 
 is heard and answered, as praise in heaven is. My 
 dear brethren, do you know what it is to praise 
 God ? If not, you do not know what the sweetness 
 of true religion is. It is in praise that we are made 
 like the Almighty. He is ever engaged in con- 
 templating His own glories with the most intense 
 delight ; and thus in praise we most resemble 
 Him. 
 
 The individual who praises God will not have 
 to travel very far for evidence of his adoption into 
 His family. He will enter into the recesses of his 
 own bosom ; there he will meet the aggregate 
 forces of earth and hell ; and there defeat them. 
 O may we know what it is to praise God. 
 
 The concluding part of this prayer affords to us 
 the most copious matter of praise : it involves Deity 
 Himself in all the glory of His perfections. Thine 
 is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 1 . First then, Praise God for what He is in 
 Himself. Praise must begin here. This may ap- 
 pear strange to some, and an impossibility to 
 others ; but the solution is easy. 
 
 Consider God is not only the most necessary 
 of all Beings ; but, properly speaking, necessity 
 can be predicated of none but God. He exists of
 
 156 SERMON X. 
 
 necessity. It is equally true that the freedom of 
 God is infinitely more than that of any other 
 being. We find freedom and necessity involved 
 in each other, in the most glorious manner in 
 Jehovah. If we contemplate His Essence He 
 exists necessarily ; because He exists from eter- 
 nity. His existence no more depends on His 
 will, than yours or mine. Consider Him then as 
 necessarily existent ; ever engaged in delighting 
 in Himself; ever engaged in willing that which is 
 holy, just, and good ; ever engaged in willing the 
 highest good to the most degraded, most un- 
 worthy of all beings ; the human family ; and is 
 He not worthy of being praised for what He is 
 in Himself? It is from what He is in Him- 
 self, that all the blessings of the covenant of 
 grace proceed ; it is from what He is in 
 Himself, that His covenant emanates ; and from 
 His covenant all the rich blessings of salvation 
 continue to flow incessantly from Heaven to earth. 
 Oh praise Him, praise Him, praise Him for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 I have said that praise is the perfection of 
 prayer. Read the concluding Psalms ; they are 
 all praises, as the others are, for the most part, 
 prayers; and it is as if the Psalmist had said, I have 
 prayed till I can pray no longer,! have been so rich- 
 ly answered ; God Himself is descending into my 
 bosom every moment, I will praise Him myself, 
 and call upon every one else to do so too ; I will 
 not suffer any being in the universe to be silent :
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 157 
 
 Sun, moon, and stars, earth, dragons, and all deeps; 
 fire and hail, snow and vapour; stormy winds ; 
 mountains and hills ; trees, beasts, and all cattle ; 
 creeping things and flying fowl, kings and people; 
 princes and judges; young and old; they shall 
 all join me in the praises of God. Nor is this to 
 be considered exclusively as poetical imagery: 
 sublime and beautiful in the extreme it is, we 
 acknowledge ; but there is more than this in it. 
 All the creatures of God are His ministers; they 
 are ministers to His church; they become the 
 occasion of praise to the believer. He reads in 
 them the perfections of his heavenly Father, and 
 especially His love to fallen man. " O give thanks 
 unto the Lord, for He is good ; for His mercy en- 
 dureth for ever : to Him that made great lights ; 
 for His mercy endureth for ever ; The sun to rule 
 by day, for His mercy endureth for ever ; the 
 moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy 
 endureth for ever." (Ps. cxxxvi). 
 
 The Lord has written mercy on every thing, that 
 we may live in ceaseless communion with Him ; 
 in daily enjoyment of all our blessings, and in 
 feasting on all the rich privileges He has given to us. 
 
 2. God is to be praised, because He is the 
 Universal Monarch as well as Parent of all beings. 
 
 " Thine is the kingdom.'" He is enthroned in grace : 
 He is enthroned in glory : He is enthroned in 
 providence. O the awful effects of sin ; were it 
 not for sin we should be incessantly praising God. 
 If our hearts were as they ought to be with God,
 
 158 SERMON X. 
 
 His praises would be involved in our salutation 
 when we meet, and when we leave each other. 
 May God have mercy upon us ; and let us never 
 cease aiming at perfection ; however short we may 
 fall of it now, we shall attain it eventually. It is 
 the privilege of the believer to derive valuable 
 lessons from all his imperfections, and all his 
 lapses. I remember, when at school, reading of a 
 celebrated giant who derived new strength from 
 every fall ; so shall we. The believer often says, 
 " I have fallen." Have you indeed, and have you 
 taken your own dimensions in your fall ? Have you 
 taken your length and breadth ; and have you been 
 deeply humbled before God; and has your unwor- 
 thiness endeared to you the God of your salva- 
 tion? We know that skilful artists and me- 
 chanics derive good from every error they com- 
 mit ; they gain instruction from every mistake. 
 This is true wisdom. May we learn to do the 
 same. 
 
 3. God is to be praised for His omnipotence: 
 " Thine is the power." We have in the economy 
 of salvation, and the things connected with it, all 
 the will, and all the power of God. We cannot 
 have more than this, and we cannot do with less. 
 His will appears more glorious in the redemption 
 and salvation of fallen man than in any thing else ; 
 but it is indispensably connected with His power. 
 Whatever God wills, His power must execute. His 
 power may very properly be called the minister 
 of His will. Before His power, what difficulties,
 
 ON THE LORD'S PR AVER. 159 
 
 what obstacles, what enemies, can stand? Not 
 one ; they must all eventually fall. His will and 
 power are engaged to bless and crown His family 
 with every good ; to deliver them from every evil 
 and rescue them from the fangs of every foe 
 (I Pet. i. 3, 5). We find His power in every 
 thing. I move my finger in His power at the 
 present moment. I cannot explain it to you, nor 
 can any one explain it. A skilful anatomist might 
 tell me many things of which I am ignorant ; but 
 still he could ascend no higher than to second 
 causes. It is very well known that every new 
 discovery in science involves in it a discovery of 
 human ignorance. O that scientific men would 
 think of this ! I do not quarrel with science, I 
 only quarrel with the abuse of it ; with its idolatry. 
 The man who is imbued with the spirit of true 
 religion will derive rich instruction from science. 
 
 4. God is to be praised for His glory. 
 
 "Thine is the glory.*' The glory of God may 
 be considered in a two-fold point of view ; His 
 essential glory, and His manifested glory (Psalm 
 xix. J). 
 
 His essential glory involves in it every excel- 
 lence, every good. Glory, in the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, means what is weighty. What is so 
 weighty as Deity? It means substance: "The 
 wise shall inherit substance"" (Prov. viii. 21): this 
 is the word. 
 
 When we think and speak of Deity, all com- 
 parisons fail. Contrasts present themselves con-
 
 160 SERMON X. 
 
 tinually. The aggregate value of all finite Being, 
 when contrasted with Deity, would be infinitely 
 less than a drop of water when contrasted with 
 the ocean ; or than a particle of light when con- 
 trasted with the body of the sun. Yet though it 
 is impossible to fathom the perfections of God, we 
 may know a great deal of them. There is no being 
 so difficult, there is no being so easy to study, as 
 God. His moral and spiritual perfections may 
 be investigated with the utmost ease. The peasant 
 enters into them with as much, if not more, ease 
 than one who is possessed of the genius of a 
 Newton. 
 
 But the glory of God, as it shines in the face 
 of Jesus Christ; His mercy, His truth, His 
 faithfulness, His promises, His precepts; these 
 are the things that God intended us to study, and 
 in these we are to delight. "Now unto God and 
 pur Father be glory for ever and ever" (Phil. 
 ' l v. 20J. 
 
 5. Eternity is destined to be filled and occupied 
 with His praises. " This God is our God for ever 
 and ever" (Ps. xlviii. 14). In heaven above, 
 saints and angels are ceaselessly engaged in wor- 
 shipping God. Messiah himself, in his humanity, 
 taking the lead in His worship ; and entering, fully 
 entering, into the delightful service. God is ever 
 engaged (as I have before observed) in contem- 
 plating His own perfections; Messiah and his 
 family are following Him, and they will continue 
 to follow Him, for ever and ever.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 161 
 
 I do not know how I can better conclude this 
 sermon, than by recapitulating the whole of the 
 Lord's Prayer. 
 
 First. " Our Father" the most endearing of 
 all relationships; a relationship destined to swal- 
 low up every other. All relationships here below, 
 under the blessing of God, and in the economy 
 of Divine mercy, are intended to lose themselves 
 in this for ever. It involves in it the highest re- 
 verence, as well as the strongest love. It con- 
 nects together the intercession of Jesus Christ, 
 and the prayers of all his saints. " Our Father 
 which art in heaven." I am never afraid of ap- 
 proaching a Throne of Grace, however unworthy I 
 am : Jesus is there : I am sensible it must be a 
 snare of the devil that would drive me away. If 
 guilt assail me, this is the reason why I should 
 approach to be forgiven. If a remembrance of 
 past unworthiness oppress me ; if Satan were 
 to present me with a muster roll of all my past 
 sins; these are only so many reasons why I should 
 approach my heavenly Father, before whose throne 
 my elder Brother is continually pleading my 
 cause : nay, I should rather make use of the 
 temptation of Satan as an encouragement to go 
 to a Throne of Grace : I should say to the tempter, 
 ' As I have such a God as the God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, and such an elder Brother 
 who is ceaselessly engaged in interceding for me ; 
 I am determined to persevere, and in His strength 
 triumph over you.' Thus then answer the devil. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 SERMON X. 
 
 " Resist him, and he will flee from you," saith the 
 page of inspiration. 
 
 2. " Hallmcedbe thy Name." We are taught in 
 these words this lesson ; that every thing of God, 
 and every thing connected with God, ought to be 
 treated with the highest reverence. 
 
 Parents, my dear brethren and sisters in the 
 Lord, watch over your children. Never suffer 
 them to take the Name of God in vain ; and forgive 
 me for telling you of what I myself experienced, 
 in consequence of the prayers and pains of a pious 
 mother, who has long since been in heaven. When 
 I was placed in the midst of boys at school, who 
 were practising almost every wickedness, I could 
 not join them. I speak this to the glory of my 
 God, not in praise of myself. I could not take the 
 name of God in vain. I could riot utter oaths and 
 lies as others did; in consequence of the exertions 
 of a pious mother, blessed to me by the Lord. 
 
 3. " Thy kingdom come.'" May He reign in every 
 human heart ; and reign He will, no doubt, 
 
 " From East to West, 
 
 From India to the pole." 
 
 We have the promise, " The earth shall be 
 filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, 
 as the waters cover the sea" (Habbak. ii. 14). 
 Messiah w.ill reign universally; He will subdue 
 to himself the family of Adam at last; and I have 
 no doubt that he has begun the work, and 
 that we are living in the dawn of the millennial 
 day. But before the Sun of Righteousness will
 
 ON THE LORD'S PfcAYER. 163 
 
 arise with universal healing in his wings, the 
 nations of the earth will, I suppose, be visited with 
 severe chastisement; this chastisement, however, 
 will involve a blessing of the highest order ; it will 
 cast from the earth all sin and error in principle, 
 and in practice. Socinians will not live then. 
 Papists must throw away all their idols to the 
 moles and to the bats. The presence of Divine 
 truth will annihilate error, and will penetrate 
 the inmost recesses of the human heart. Divine 
 truth will change and purify the fountain; and its 
 hallowed streams will then richly flow into the 
 life of the believer. "Thy kingdom come :" this in- 
 volves two things: not only our ceaseless prayers; 
 but our ceaseless exertions to promote the glory 
 of God, by doing good to the souls of men. And 
 we all can do more than we are aware of. We 
 do not know what we can do until we try. 
 
 I cannot help thinking of the little captive girl: 
 I am disposed to think that she preached Jesus 
 to Naaman the Syrian. " Would God," she said, 
 "my lord were with the prophet that is in 
 Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy" 
 (2 Kings v. 3). The Syrian was wise enough to 
 listen to this little captive maid ; and he travelled 
 to the land of Israel, where he became ac- 
 quainted with the God of Israel. Many would have 
 said to her, ' Be silent; will a great man listen 
 to you?' her conduct says, * I will not be silent; 
 I have something to say for God.' I pray 
 that God may bless you abundantly, all you are 
 M 2
 
 164 SLK.MON X. 
 
 and all you have, that it may richly flow into the 
 service of God ; and that you may teach men to 
 love and adore your heavenly Father. Above 
 all, in your families exhibit the image of the living 
 God perpetually. Parents, fathers and mothers, 
 let your children see the image of God in the whole 
 of your deportment. Masters and mistresses, shew 
 to your servants the image of theliving God. If they 
 are wicked in consequence of seeing you wicked, 
 how can you have the face to reprove them ? O 
 exhibit the image of Deity to the whole of your 
 family ; and then when any of them do wrong, the 
 reproof will descend, originally, from God Himself; 
 and you will only be the channel of communi- 
 cation. And do not imagine that I am flattering 
 you, when I tell you it will derive a rich tincture 
 from your own feelings : human feelings are ne- 
 cessary to meet human feelings, and this is what 
 we find in Messiah ; God in all His glory, and 
 human feelings in all their perfection. Imitate 
 him then, and they will love you for your reproof. 
 4. "Thy mil be done on earth, as it is in heaven.'' In 
 addition to prayer, this involves in it a ceaseless 
 endeavour to sacrifice our own corrupt will to 
 the will of God ; (God has provided us with the 
 means of doing so;) and to say as the Saviour did, 
 "Not my will, but thine be done " (Luke xxii. 42). 
 In all things study the will of God. There may 
 be cases in which the believer may be perplexed ; 
 yet when the desire is honest, he perseveres in 
 waiting on his God ; and he certainly will learn
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 165 
 
 his heavenly Father's will. If the vision " tany, 
 wait for it " (Habbak. ii. 3) ; if it be night with 
 your soul, yet persevere in prayer ; the dawn is 
 fast approaching. 
 
 5. " Give us this day our daily bread." 1 Here we 
 should learn that we cannot eat the bread, and 
 drink the water, which are necessary for the sop- 
 port of our frail bodies, as we ought to do, with- 
 out eating and drinking that bread and water 
 which are absolutely necessary to keep the soul 
 alive. Oh, how awful is the state of those who are 
 described by the Apostle himself, as eating and 
 drinking their own damnation, in coming to the 
 Lord's table (1 Cor. xi.29); and they are eating 
 and drinking their own damnation, in every thing, 
 until they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ : until 
 then, every thing becomes a curse. It is dreadful 
 in the extreme to remark, that though the richest 
 blessings come from God continually, as all his crea- 
 tures do, yet they are in effect changed into curses 
 by the unbeliever. 
 
 "Give us this day our daily bread." And why ? 
 Because Christ himself has purchased it for as. 
 He has purchased our temporal as well as our 
 spiritual food ; and it is in the economy of Divine 
 government, that we are never to eat the former 
 as we ought to eat it, but in eating the latter. 
 May God teach us to do so ! 
 
 6. "And forgive us our debts" God delights in 
 mercy ; His child delights in mercy too. Shew 
 me an individual who delights in mercy, and 1 will
 
 166 SERMON X. 
 
 shew you a saint ; I will point out one who is 
 destined to triumph over all his enemies. But the 
 believer is blessed with a disposition to delight in 
 mercy, in a two-fold point of view. He delights 
 first in receiving mercy at the hands of God ; and 
 he delights in bestowing mercy on others. Mercy 
 is the only element in which the soul is destined 
 to live, and sin is destined to die ; and remember, 
 sin must die, or the soul must die. God cannot 
 annihilate sin, but in and by His mercy. I 
 mention this to awaken those dreamers who talk 
 of the mercy of God, while at the same time they 
 live in the most thoughtless manner. Oh ! live in 
 the daily habit of receiving mercy at the hands of 
 God; and of bestowing mercy on all those who 
 have injured you. In the name of the living God, 
 I adjure you not to cherish any soreness of feeling 
 towards any individual : if you do so, you will suf- 
 fer severely. If I wished to treat any one with the 
 most refined severity, I should teach him to hate 
 me ; and while he keeps that hatred alive, it must 
 be as a vulture preying upon his soul ; it will tor- 
 ment him morning, noon, and night. Have mercy 
 upon yourselves then, by shewing mercy to others. 
 7. " As we forgive our debtors" Mercy to others 
 involves in it, not only a forgiveness of injury, 
 but a delight in doing them every possible good. 
 Every injury must be washed away from our me- 
 mory, as the tide washes away every impression 
 from the sand. In receiving injuries, we should 
 be sand ; but in receiving benefits, we should be
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYEK. 167 
 
 rocks yielding to the chisel, and retaining an im- 
 pression destined to live for ever. 
 
 8. "Lead us not into temptation."' This in- 
 volves wisdom and circumspection as well as 
 prayer. "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into 
 temptation" (Matt. xxvi. 41). Watch and pray: 
 our enemies are very vigilant ; they know no rest ; 
 they never close their eyes ; they are circumventing 
 us every moment. Let us learn a lesson from 
 them ; and it is wisdom to be taught by them : 
 let us learn vigilance from them. 
 
 9. " But deliver us from evil." This teaches us 
 that none but God can deliver us. We cannot 
 deliver ourselves from the least, from the weakest, 
 of our enemies; but God can deliver us from the 
 greatest: and for the encouragement of some weak 
 individuals, I would say, God not only can deliver; 
 but He has delivered some of His family, after they 
 have run themselves wilfully into the toils and 
 meshes of Satan. Yes, He can deliver, and He 
 does deliver, even in those cases which appear 
 desperate and extreme. His deliverance admits 
 of no exception. His rule is not a general rule, it 
 is universal. 
 
 10. ' ' For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 glory" 
 
 And thus a life of faith involves in it a life of 
 ceaseless prayer, a life of ceaseless praise to God. 
 We are now in a state of discipline, of preparation 
 for heaven. The Holy Spirit is making us " meet 
 to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
 
 1(J8 SEHMON X. 
 
 light" (Col. i. 12); but how does He effect it? 
 He first of all introduces principle into the human 
 heart, to counteract and undermine principle: this 
 ripens into habit, and then flows into the life to 
 correct every thing wrong in it. Oh, cultivate prin- 
 ciples ; cultivate them in yourselves, and in your 
 family, and in your servants. Cultivate them 
 in all with whom you are connected. My bre- 
 thren, be ambitious of making yourselves indivi- 
 dually, and your houses, and every individual in 
 them, a temple, and temples of the living God ! 
 Try what you can do. Lay siege to a Throne of 
 Grace ; imitate the conduct of men of the world, 
 when under some reigning passion : when they 
 have any particular object in view, they say, 'I 
 will try ; I do not see any impossibility in my way ; 
 there are difficulties, but I will endeavour to 
 triumph over them.' Imitate then the conduct 
 of the children of darkness, who are "wiser in 
 their generation than the children of light," (Luke 
 xvi. 8). They that are for us, are more than they 
 that are against us. Our friends are more nume- 
 rous than our foes. All the attributes of Deity 
 are on our side; all the saints and angels in hea- 
 ven are with us; all the prayers of God's family 
 are with us, and are ascending to heaven continu- 
 ally. Try then any thing, and every thing, that 
 is well pleasing to the Lord; and as surely as you 
 try you shall prosper. Amen.
 
 169 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 ON THE LORDS PRAYER. 
 
 MATT. \ T i. 13. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 I HAVE never felt the excellencies and glories of this 
 prayer so strongly, as I do at the present moment. 
 I see Messiah and his family, in the whole of it, from 
 first to last. 
 
 He intimates, in the commencement of it, that 
 he will present our prayers in his own intercession 
 before God : this is the reason why he says "Our 
 Father," which includes himself as well as his family. 
 In the conclusion of the prayer, we find him again 
 placing himself at the head of his family, as the first 
 of worshippers in the ascription of praise to God : 
 "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 glory for ever." He is at this present moment en- 
 gaged in praise, as well as in intercession. 
 
 The faculties of the Saviour's humanity are so 
 wonderfully enlarged, that the aggregate sum of 
 human ability sinks into nothing when compared, 
 or rather contrasted, with it. If some great man 
 were to take up this subject, many valuable
 
 170 SERMON XI. 
 
 truths respecting it might yet be elicited from an 
 attentive perusal of the Scriptures; always bear- 
 ing in mind, that he is Messiah in our nature ; 
 God over all, blessed for ever. In this nature he 
 has triumphed for us; and the provisions of the 
 covenant of grace are so glorious, that our triumph 
 is as fully and completely secured ashis own. Do 
 not shrink from this ; nothing less could secure 
 the salvation of any human being. 
 
 I. Amen involves in it the faithfulness and truth 
 of God : and as an appendage to this prayer, it 
 involves in it our conviction of the truth of God 
 our assurance of His holy truth. And now what 
 shall I say of those who tremble in the presence 
 of the God of heaven and earth, and teach others 
 to tremble, when they should be teaching them 
 to rejoice? 
 
 Amen involves in it all the glory of the Divine per- 
 fections, and the complete triumph of the believer. 
 Divine things are true in themselves ; they were 
 true from eternity ; they involve truth in them. 
 Do not mistake me ; and do not imagine that I am 
 inaccurate ; they involve the essence of truth, 
 God himself, who was Truth before time began. 
 But though true in themselves, they are not so to 
 us until we receive them in the Amen of God : 
 they then become living truths within our own 
 bosoms: God Himself inhabits the bodies as well 
 as the souls of His children : their bodies as well 
 as their souls are the temples of Jehovah : the
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. J71 
 
 great Amen lives in His own truth in the human 
 bosom, and He will inhabit it for ever and ever. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in all the Saviour's ad- 
 dresses, He uses a language which none dare use 
 but Himself. His language is the language of 
 God. No one begins his discourse, as He does, 
 with " Amen." It is another Greek word that 
 the Apostles use, when they would convey the 
 same idea, or something like it ; but Jesus Christ, 
 especially in the Gospel of St. John, uses the 
 word according to the Hebrew idiom, " Amen 
 and Amen." Now there is a reason for this; and 
 the reason is most weighty, as well as most ob- 
 vious ; nothing can be more cogent, nothing more 
 interesting. It is a title of Messiah. He entitles 
 Himself, " the Amen ;" that is, the true God, the 
 God of faithfulness. Compare two texts of Scrip- 
 ture together on this subject. Unto the angel of 
 the church of the Laodiceans write, These things 
 saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, 
 the Beginning of the creation of God " (Rev. iii. 
 14). "He who blesseth himself in the earth shall 
 bless himself in the God of truth," i.e. in God 
 Amen ! "And he that sweareth in the earth, shall 
 swear by the God of truth," i. e. by God Amen! 
 Who then is Jesus, who stiles Himself the Amen, 
 but the God of truth. He is the God, who is the 
 Amen ; and as such, He is always opposed in 
 Scripture to false gods; gods whose very essence 
 is falsehood ; whose composition is nothing but 
 lies. Jesus Christ, as Amen, is the very essence
 
 172 SERMON XI. 
 
 of revealed truth ; and bear this in mind, that truth 
 has no independent existence: moral spiritual 
 truth exists only in God ; it cannot be separated 
 from Him. 
 
 "Amen" I will fill this prayer, and answer it, 
 with myself. Pray then; I will inspire the prayer; 
 it shall ascend to the Father's ears in my interces- 
 sion. I will put myself into it; and then descend my- 
 self in all the blessings that flow down from heaven 
 to earth, to preserve you and bless you for ever- 
 more. Jesus Christ is the unerring Prophet ; 
 Jesus Christ is the faithful and true Witness ; 
 Jesus Christ is the sworn, or, in other words, the 
 adjured God. This is the import of Amen at the 
 end of this prayer. " All the promises of God 
 are yea and amen in Him " (2 Cor. i. 20) : they 
 are so fully involved in him, that they cannot be 
 separated from him ; they comprise Deity in all 
 His glory ; they could not be yea and amen in 
 Jesus Christ, if this were not the case. All the 
 promises involve in them the oath of God, the ad- 
 jured Deity. All His truth is confirmed by His 
 promise and oath, ratified by the death of Jesus, 
 and sealed by His Holy Spirit. When a Jew 
 was formerly sworn, this was the import of the 
 oath administered to him ; "I swear, or I adjure 
 thee, by the Lord God of Israel, or by the Name 
 of Him who is mercy." The witness then who 
 was about to give his testimony answered " Amen," 
 and thus was sworn. 'And this was swearing 
 by the God of truth. I know not now what be-
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 173 
 
 comes of the Quakers' objection to taking an oath. 
 Irreverent oaths are indeed denounced in Scrip- 
 ture; but there are times and seasons when the 
 believer is justified in taking an oath; and in so 
 doing he is led to consider it as an act of worship : 
 this is what an oath is when properly understood. 
 And can it be wrong, my brethren, to worship 
 God ? But iii the light in which I am speaking of 
 oaths now, what a state is Britain in ! Oaths 
 are multiplied perpetually; and men are taking 
 them with as little thought, as if God would not 
 vindicate His insulted Law, and avenge the honour 
 of His own name. 
 
 "Amen." Thus the Saviour concludes : I am 
 the sworn God; I am the adjured Deity: your 
 prayers shall ascend to the Father's ears involved 
 in my oath ; his own oath will receive and fulfil 
 them; and I, by my Holy Spirit, will indite them 
 in your heart. " There are three that bear record 
 in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy 
 Ghost : and these three are one" (1 John v. 7). 
 You know that that text has been much contro- 
 verted ; but the truth is completely scriptural ; it is 
 fully involved in the whole of revelation. We have 
 precisely the same thing in many other texts of 
 Scripture: the truth contained in it not only per- 
 vades the whole of the revealed will of God, but 
 is again and again expressly declared. Hear what 
 the Amen says, in addressing himself to Nicode- 
 mus. He begins first of all, " Verily, verily, I say 
 unto thee " (John iii. 11); in other words, Amen,
 
 174 SERMON XI. 
 
 Amen, /say unto thee : now mark, " We speak 
 that we do know, and testify that we have seen ; 
 and ye receive not our witness." Here is a change 
 in the person from the singular to the plural, prov- 
 ing clearly that not one person alone in Jehovah 
 gives us His oath, but the Three. Compare this 
 with the passage to which I have just adverted : 
 " There are three that bear record in heaven, the 
 Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." I can- 
 not give up that text, while I trust that God would 
 give me courage to perish rather than sacrifice 
 the truth that is contained in it: " There are three 
 witnesses in heaven." 
 
 His Essence, then, to repeat what I have told 
 you before, (and the truth will bear frequent repe- 
 tition, without losing any part of its interest,) His 
 Essence pervades His truth, and that truth never 
 can be insipid to those who have any spiritual 
 taste. Are any tired of the sun ? Are any tired 
 of bread and water? We cannot exist without 
 them. The light of the sun never tires ; bread and 
 water never become insipid ; because we stand in 
 need of them every moment : and for the same 
 reason, to those who are spiritually minded, the 
 truth of God is never wearisome, never insipid. 
 Are they tired of the Sun of Righteousness ? Are 
 they weary of His rays ? Oh, no ! they cannot 
 live without them. 
 
 But now to consider some of the important 
 uses of "Amen," at the conclusion of the Lord's 
 Prayer.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 175 
 
 1 . To remind God the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, of His and Their oaths ; by which the pro- 
 mises of God, by which the truths of God, are 
 confirmed to believers. Men, when they enter 
 into an engagement, and honestly intend the ful- 
 filment of it, frequently say, if applied to after- 
 wards, ' Interrupt me not; my mind is made up: 
 you have my promise, no farther petition is neces- 
 sary.' Not so with God. He delights to be 
 reminded of His engagements, of His promise, 
 of His oath : and remember, His oath is full of 
 Himself. It is intended by God, that in every 
 prayer that flows from our lips, we should remind 
 Him of His covenant oath ; of His own oath sealed 
 and ratified in His dear Son, for the fulfilment of 
 all His promises. Oh what truths we have in 
 Divine Revelation. Our loss is incalculable, if 
 we are not attentive to them. I have the oath of 
 God, that all sin shall be forgiven for the sake of 
 Jesus ! I have the oath of God, that though my 
 sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow ! I have 
 the oath of God, that though they be red like 
 crimson, they shall be as wool ! O pray then ; 
 pray, my brethren ; let the oath of God ascend 
 in your daily petitions; and He will descend, in 
 the fulfilment of His own oath, with all the bless- 
 ings you need. 
 
 2. A second use is this, To strengthen our faith. 
 It is a strong encouragement to go to an indi- 
 vidual who is possessed of well-known bounty, 
 and of all the means necessary to fulfil his en-
 
 17G SERMON XI. 
 
 gagements. Sometimes persons have a great 
 deal of trouble to see an individual ; but at other 
 times, we hear it said, ' Do not be afraid of wait- 
 ing on him ; he is a man of integrity and bene- 
 ficence.' We have here the integrity and bene- 
 ficence of God ; and the oath is given in com- 
 passion to our infirmity. The oath is (what 
 shall I say ?) the sword of the Almighty which 
 He intends shall be buried in the vitals of un- 
 belief. Hear what He says, " That by two im- 
 mutable things," (the oath and the promise of 
 God,) "in which it was impossible for God to 
 He, we might have a strong consolation, who 
 have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope 
 set before us" (Heb. vi. 18). Can any thing 
 have a more immediate tendency to strengthen 
 the weak believer, than the oath of his heavenly 
 Father ? the oath of his eldest Brother ; and at the 
 same time, the oath of the Divine Spirit ; whose 
 province it is to be the Guide and Comforter of 
 His family during their pilgrimage here below ? 
 
 3. It is of use, in the third place, to teach us 
 to devote ourselves to the faith, to the love, and 
 to the service of the Redeemer of mankind. I 
 will tell you my own opinion on this subject ; I 
 have considered it, and I speak it not only with 
 conviction, but with a conciousness of its accuracy. 
 It is this : that when the believer, in the spirit of 
 true devotion, beholds the glories of the religion of 
 Jesus; when his heart imbibes its rich influences ; 
 he binds himself by an oath to serve his God.
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 177 
 
 He says, * Thou hast given me Thy oath, and 
 Thyself in that oath, O my God ! and in "Amen," 
 I give thee my oath in grateful return, and 
 myself in that oath.' This it is. Have you courage 
 to do it, my brother ? Do we consider well the 
 import of it, when we do it ? Happy the man, 
 happy the woman, who knows the import of the 
 word. 
 
 See what results from it : God and His children 
 united together in all the bonds of eternity ! Bound 
 in the oath of God ; bound by the mighty power of 
 God Himself. 
 
 There are promises in the Old Testament that 
 "One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another 
 shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another 
 shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and 
 surname himself by the name of Israel" (Isai. xliv. 
 5). Here is a confirmation of what I say. O 
 my brethren 1 fix your eyes on the glories of 
 the region of bliss, and be not dismayed by any 
 difficulties internal or external. God delights to 
 triumph over them all. I do not know how the 
 believer can know himself well, without going 
 through much bitter, as well as much sweet, disci- 
 pline. All discipline is designed to teach him his 
 own weakness, and to teach him at the same time 
 the strength of his covenant God. Am I in a dark, 
 in a dull, in a stupid frame of mind ? The oath of 
 God is alive ; ever alive ; as full of Himself as it ever 
 was : there is no lethargy in His oath ! 
 
 4. The " Amen " at the conclusion of thia prayer 
 VOL. i. N
 
 178 SERMON XI. 
 
 reproves severely and bitterly every irreverent use 
 of it. How many thousand times have you and I 
 used this prayer, little thinking of its true import. 
 Alas, in what have we been engaged ; and how does 
 it still flow from the lips of unbelievers, without any 
 communication with the human intellect or the hu- 
 man heart. But will God accept of such services as 
 these ? We must stand before the bar of God ; and if 
 any go on thoughtlessly repeating this sublime prayer, 
 woe unto them. People dream of going to heaven 
 by doing the best they can, as they call it, and leav- 
 ing the Saviour to make good their deficiencies ; but 
 I must tell you plainly, that if God were to enter 
 into judgment with us, we must be condemned even 
 for the imperfection of our best performances. Alas! 
 alas! 
 
 5. It reproves likewise the neglect of this prayer ; 
 and the neglect not only of the prayer, but of the 
 "Amen" at the conclusion of it. God delights in 
 being reminded of his covenant engagements, and 
 of His oath in making His engagements. Now Jet 
 me read a passage of Scripture to you. When Ezra 
 opened the book of the Lord in the presence of the 
 Israelites of old, it is said, "Ezra blessed the Lord, 
 the great God : and all the people answered Amen, 
 Amen, with the lifting up of their hands : and they 
 bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with 
 their faces to the ground" (Neh. viii. 6). It is 
 dreadful to find this rich, this infinitely rich title of 
 Messiah, insulted as it is. 
 
 6. This word pours contempt on prayers in an
 
 ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 179 
 
 unknown tongue. We are all to pray together. 
 Suppose, when we meet tog-ether, one were to pray 
 in French, another in English, and another in Welsh ; 
 what confusion there would be. We might pray, 
 but we should not understand one another. God 
 intended that we should be social worshippers ; and 
 for this purpose we must use an intelligible language. 
 They all understand each other in heaven ; there is 
 nothing unintelligible there ; all is plain, all is lucid 
 there. Away then with all the imposture of Popery, 
 and praying in an unknown tongue. 
 
 7. This word teaches us that our hearts should be 
 engaged in this prayer, and in saying "Amen" to it. 
 God Himself, in the Old and New Testaments, tells us 
 of some who draw near to Him with their lips, but 
 their hearts are removed far from Him (Isai.xxix. 13). 
 O how they insult God in so doing! How will persons 
 sometimes impose upon themselves; and still think, in 
 the midst of all their mockery of religion, that God will 
 receive their prayers ! When they visit a friend, they 
 carry their hearts with them; but, when they wait 
 upon God, they act as if they thought Him not 
 worthy of their affections. Alas ! this is the worship 
 which thousands and millions in the present day are 
 offering to the Lord. Do you think such worship 
 will be accepted by the Lord? My brethren, where 
 are our hearts ? Are we desirous that they should 
 be safely deposited in the centre of the bosom of God 
 himself? This is true religion! 
 
 8. Lastly : Our prayers ought to be in unison with 
 the Divine Will. In this case, they most assuredly 
 
 N2
 
 180 SERMON XI. 
 
 will be heard and answered. " In this we have con- 
 fidence," says the Apostle ; " that if we ask any 
 thing according to His will, He heareth us" 
 (1 John v. 14). In some temporal things we may 
 err ; but, it is scarcely possible for individuals ac- 
 quainted with the truth of God to err in spiritual 
 things. I do not mean to say it is impossible ; but 
 in the midst of all the imperfections of our prayers, 
 let it ever be remembered that the Saviour corrects 
 all our errors : they fall into his hands, and there 
 all their imperfections stop ; they go no farther ; he 
 buries them all in the depths of the sea ; he clothes 
 all our prayers with his perfections, and then pre- 
 sents them to the Father, perfumed with his own 
 incense. Oh, what a Friend we have on high ! Be 
 not discouraged, then, because there are imperfec- 
 tions in your prayers : prayer implies not only the 
 imperfections of our other services, but its own : and 
 this we should remember ; that as Jesus bore the 
 iniquities of our holy things on his cross, he will 
 also bear them in his intercession. 
 
 To sum up the whole then in a few words : 
 1. First of all, in using the Lord's Prayer, we 
 fulfil the whole law ; we pray for God's grace, not 
 only for ourselves, but for each other. The Law was 
 intended to live in the Gospel, otherwise it would be 
 no Gospel. The distinction made on this subject by 
 our old divines is this. We are delivered from the 
 law as a covenant of works, to be conformed to it as 
 a rule of life ; and this is the meaning of our reply to 
 the various Commands, " Lord, have mercy upon
 
 ON TIJIE LORD'S PRAYER. 181 
 
 us ;" deliver us from it as a covenant, because we 
 merit its curses ; " and incline our hearts to keep this 
 law :" incline us to honour it as the rule of our lives. 
 Here then, both for ourselves and for each other, 
 the grace of God is desired ; the greatest and most 
 glorious blessing, a blessing of which we shall con- 
 stantly stand in need. The time is fast approaching 
 when we shall not stand in need of any thing we 
 have here below. I shall say, Farewell to the sun, I want 
 thee no longer ; to the moon, Farewell, I want thee no 
 more ; farewell to all things here below : but the grace 
 which God hath bestowed will end in imperishable glory. 
 2. It involves in it the law of Love : " Our Fa- 
 ther/' " Our daily bread," " Our trespasses." We 
 should pray for each other invariably ; and may we 
 make a rule of praying for each other as a congre- 
 gation. As a family of heaven, pray for your mi- 
 nister ; and pray that he may pray for you. We 
 have this treasure in earthen vessels : nevertheless 
 these are the instruments God makes use of to teach 
 you the truths of the Gospel ; and they are better 
 fitted for it than angels : angels might tell you glori- 
 ous things, but they could not sympathize with you ; 
 angels could not preach to sinners, as they do not 
 stand in need of mercy themselves. But a minister 
 of the Gospel is one inspired with new life by the 
 Almighty ; and then commissioned to proclaim glad 
 tidings to others. God says to His minister, I do 
 not send angels to preach the Gospel ; but I send 
 thee whose life I have restored; thee once dead in 
 trespasses and sins : I send thee to preach to thy
 
 182 SERMON XI. 
 
 fellow-sinners : tell them that I have had mercy on 
 thee, and thou canst not tell them more of my mercy : 
 throw thy heart into theirs ; enter into the inmost re- 
 cesses of their bosoms ; meet every enemy, preaching 
 the glories of Immamiel, and tell them that it is his 
 purpose to triumph in his family as nilly and com- 
 pletely as he has triumphed^or them. 
 
 It is an advantage to a minister to have many 
 afflictions, many trials ; and why, my brethren ? Be- 
 cause then he may tell his hearers not what he has 
 heard, but what he has felt and handled of the word 
 of God. He may take the truth from his own 
 bosom, and throw it into the bosoms of his congre- 
 gation. Do not despise the ministers of God ; God 
 will not suffer them to be despised: but do not 
 idolize them : treat them with the respect that is due 
 to them as the ministers of God, whether they possess 
 one or ten talents. 
 
 3. We should deprecate the idea of receiving any 
 thing spiritual or temporal but at the hand of God : 
 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing, by 
 prayer and supplication, let your requests be made 
 known unto God. And my God shall supply all 
 your need according to His riches in glory by Christ 
 Jesus " (Phil. iv. 6, 19). 
 
 4. Lastly, It involves a prayer for preservation 
 from every evil, more especially from sin, from Satan, 
 and from everlasting death ; and that we may inherit 
 the blessings of the eternal covenant in glory for 
 ever and ever. Amen.
 
 183 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 ON THE SPIRITUALITY OF GOD AND HIS WORSHIP. 
 
 JOHN iv. 24. 
 
 God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must 
 worship Him in spirit, and in truth. 
 
 THESE words form part of the interesting interview 
 between the Saviour of mankind and the woman of 
 Samaria. 
 
 He made himself known to her as the Messiah, 
 or, according- to the Greek, as the Christ ; and he 
 makes himself known to all his family, in the 
 same character : but we have his truth in our 
 hand, and do not need any interview with him, as 
 man, to teach us who He is, and what we are. As 
 God, he enters into the inmost recesses of our hearts, 
 and by His spirit tells us who and what we are ; 
 and presents us with as full and faithful an exhibition 
 of our lives as he presented to the woman of Sa- 
 maria. "The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive 
 that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in 
 this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the 
 place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto 
 her, Woman, believe me the hour cometh when ye
 
 184- SERMON XII. 
 
 shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem 
 worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what ; 
 we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews." 
 
 Some of the rays of Divine truth, as appears 
 from the context, had reached even the dark minds 
 of the Samaritans ; but salvation was of the Jews. 
 They preserved among them the forms and ceremo- 
 nies prescribed by God Himself; and though the ma- 
 jority of the nation understood them not; yet the 
 spiritual Jews saw through them, and prized them, 
 as typifying that Christ who was to come as the 
 Saviour of the world. 
 
 Jesus said, "Ye worship ye know not what: we 
 know what we worship." God not only may be, but 
 is worshipped, wherever there are sincere followers 
 of Him. The Gospel may be preached any where 
 and every where on earth. It has been faithfully 
 preached in a variety of places ; and the Spirit of 
 God has set His seal to its truth. The Saviour 
 himself preached on a mountain, and afterwards in a 
 ship; evidently teaching his church in future ages, 
 that the Gospel may be preached wherever indivi- 
 duals can be found to hear it. The expediency of 
 this may in some cases be doubted ; but this does 
 not affect the general truth in the least degree. God 
 may now be worshipped any where and every where. 
 Jesus then adds in the words of the text, " God is 
 a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship 
 Him in spirit and in truth." 
 
 I. The first thing that necessarily claims our con-
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 185 
 
 sideration is, that God is a Spirit : in other words, 
 a rational, immaterial, invisible Being ; emphati- 
 cally styled in Scripture, "The Father of Spirits;" 
 the Creator and Preserver of all other spirits ; per- 
 vading their essence, and, by His mighty energy, pre- 
 serving them in existence : and He will, according to 
 His promise, continue to preserve them for ever. 
 God is a Spirit ; such a Spirit that He pervades all 
 finite spirits ; a Spirit in every respect infinitely su- 
 perior to all those who are His offspring. 
 
 I would consider God as a Spirit ; first, negatively. 
 
 All matter, all time, all space, and, by necessary 
 consequence, all imitation and imperfection, are to 
 be banished to an infinite and eternal distance. No- 
 thing but spirit could have existed from eternity. 
 In the light of this important truth, we see the aw- 
 ful error into which some of the ancient philosophers 
 had fallen, who invested matter with the attributes 
 of Deity by making it eternal. Matter eternal ! 
 in the midst of all its changes and decomposition ! 
 Impossible. Every deteriorating change in the 
 creature has an immediate tendency to dissolution, 
 which, were it not for the energy of creative 
 power, would invariably take place. What are we 
 to think of man, even in his best estate, with all the 
 advantages of learning and science, but unenlightened 
 by revelation ? How awfully ignorant of the true 
 God ! He is in this respect, on a level with the 
 most ignorant savage. 
 
 The deification of matter is atheism and idolatry 
 in the aggregate. The detail of this idolatry is pre-
 
 180 SERMON XI I. 
 
 sented to us by the ancient philosophers in the 
 worship of fruits, vegetables, and plants ; of gods 
 of gold and silver, wood and stone. Here a truth 
 presents itself to our consideration, i. e. the inabi- 
 lity of man to see the necessary dependence of the 
 creature, upon the Creator. Without Divine reve- 
 lation, man could never have understood the nature 
 of his dependence on God, or his duty to Him. 
 
 Whatever we find in the worship of different 
 nations, in different ages, is only a corruption of 
 revelation. Some of the rays of Divine truth have 
 evidently travelled, more or less, almost round the 
 habitable globe ; and wherever we discover any thing 
 that approximates, even in the remotest degree, to 
 that which is good, it must be traced to God : while 
 all the ignorance, imperfection, and evil blended 
 with the worship must be ascribed to the creature. 
 
 It is equally true, that spiritual evil cannot have 
 existed from eternity. It is an utter absurdity to 
 suppose it. Spiritual evil is a deviation from a given 
 rule. That which exists from eternity is subject to 
 no rule, but lives irrespective of all rule. 
 
 God is a Spirit, an infinitely pure Spirit : He has 
 existed from eternity, and will exist to eternity. 
 
 I go on to consider the question positively. 
 
 Necessity presents itself. Independence must in_ 
 volve necessity in it, in the highest degree. Inde- 
 pendence must also involve eternity in it ; " From 
 everlasting to everlasting thou art God." " The High 
 and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity." This is what 
 He says of Himself. Now mark ; to apply my subject
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 187 
 
 in some measure as I go on, mark the interesting 
 truth that flows from the necessary existence of God. 
 Necessity in its primary and highest sense is con- 
 nected with good only. I need not dwell on this 
 truth ; I leave it to the reflecting minds of those who 
 hear me. Consider what I have said, and pray for 
 me, that I may ever find the bliss of this life in seek- 
 ing the welfare of your immortal spirits : while I 
 bless God for having given to such an unworthy 
 worm as I am, one of the most interesting congre- 
 gations under heaven. 
 
 The next thing to be considered is, Freedom. 
 Freedom of volition existing in the highest de- 
 gree : and this freedom at the same time, paradoxical 
 as it may appear, the child of necessity ; and I 
 could prove (if time permitted) that the most glorious 
 freedom that will ever inhabit the bosom of finite 
 being must also be the offspring of necessity. 
 Volition, flying on the wings of Infinite Wisdom, 
 and Infinite Benevolence ; volition, comprising the 
 good only of the creature, for nothing but good can 
 emanate from the sovereign will of Deity. Here 
 we connect not only necessity but freedom in its 
 highest sense, with good and good only. 
 
 If we consider penal evil, I mean the punishment 
 of sin, whether in time or in eternity ; this is to be 
 traced to the necessary perfections of God. Trace 
 then all the good of the creature in life, in death, 
 and for ever, not only to the freedom of His voli- 
 tion, but to the necessity of His nature. How lovely, 
 how infill itel lovely a Being is God. Consider,
 
 188 SERMON XII. 
 
 again evil in both a moral and penal point of view, 
 and trace it to its source ; to the freedom, the 
 abused freedom, of the creature in its moral ; and 
 to the necessary perfections of the Creator, in its 
 penal character. 
 
 In the third place, Power. 
 
 Infinite power must necessarily be one of the at- 
 tributes of self-existent independent essence ; this 
 invariably wafts His will to its destiny. How strik- 
 ing- the contrast between the Creator and the crea- 
 ture ! To will in God is not at all easier than 
 to do : to do, in Him is as easy as to will. In fact, to 
 will and to do may be considered as synonymous in 
 God ; for what He wills that He certainly must do. 
 Here then essential independent Spirit leaves all 
 finite being- at an infinite and eternal distance. It 
 cannot be said of any finite being-, It is as easy for 
 him to do as to will. Satan cannot do all he would, 
 or he would bury us in the depths of hell at the 
 present moment. Angels of light cannot do all the 
 good they would : they cannot love and serve God as 
 they would, for they know that more is due to Deity 
 than they can ever present. 
 
 But to consider moral and penal evil in their ulti- 
 mate consequences. The punishment of the wicked 
 has far more of what is negative than of what is 
 positive in it. All blissful communion is withheld, 
 and God exhibits Himself in the terrible glories of His 
 justice. In the light of this truth consider what the 
 Lord says: " As I live, saith the Lord, I have no plea- 
 sure in the death of the wicked." No : the wicked
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 189 
 
 are punished in hell quite exclusively of His sovereign 
 will. It is not a matter of choice in Deity, whether 
 the wicked shall be punished or not ; it is not an 
 arbitrary act in Him ; but it is an act of that justice 
 which emanates from His necessary perfections. 
 Deity then is lovely, even if we read His perfections 
 in the light of those flames where " the worm dieth 
 not, and the fire is not quenched." 
 
 But contrast this with the bliss of Deity and you 
 will find the positive glories of God. The glory that 
 kindles and keeps alive the flames of hell, kindles 
 and keeps alive the heaven of his people. Not 
 only so ; all the perfections of God that are evinced 
 in visiting- His enemies with punishment, shine in 
 infinitely greater splendour in the salvation of His 
 people ; and will for ever fill and pervade all heaven, 
 and constitute the bliss and peace of the heavenly 
 hosts : because Messiah died, and exposed Himself 
 to His Father's vengeance, that he might for ever 
 close the gates of hell against us ; and open those of 
 heaven to receive and bless us through all eternity. 
 What a triumphant truth is this ! Could we grasp it 
 with the might and in the energy of Divine power 
 (as we soon shall do), our happy spirits would leave 
 their frail frames, and in the twinkling of an eye 
 wing their flight from earth to heaven ; to live in 
 the presence of God for ever and ever. 
 
 In the fourth place, Omniscience must neces- 
 sarily be an attribute of that Spirit who is inde- 
 pendent. This perfection is presented to us in 
 the most interesting manner in holy writ. The
 
 190 SERMON XII. 
 
 Lord is a God of knowledge. When the question 
 was put to Peter by Christ, " Lovest thou me ?" 
 his answer was, " Lord, thou knowest all things ; 
 thou knowest that I love thee." All the perfec- 
 tions of God are co-equal and co-existent. But 
 I must now go on, in the fifth place, to consider 
 
 His omnipresence. 
 
 He inhabits all time, all places, and all ages, at one 
 and the same moment. I have quoted His own testi- 
 mony : " I am the high and the lofty one that in- 
 habiteth eternity." He inhabits not only eternity, 
 but the minutest fraction of a second of time. He 
 not only inhabits infinite space, but pervades the 
 minutest particle of matter. Father, Son, and Spirit 
 present themselves every where ; present in infinite 
 space ; present in infinite and eternal ages ; in each 
 portion of time ; in every particle of matter : if 
 this be not the case, how could He be omniscient ? 
 True we cannot comprehend this, and we never 
 shall. 
 
 6. I proceed now to consider, the Holiness of 
 God. This attribute, as comprising the beauty of 
 Deity, is in its exercise necessarily connected with 
 all His other attributes, and consequently affords 
 us the highest consolation and encouragement. 
 
 It has been justly said, " Holiness is the beauty of 
 Deity, as power is His life." This holiness consists 
 in an infinite love of order, and an infinite hatred of 
 disorder ; in an infinite love of good, and an infinite 
 hatred of evil : and this is the attribute which most 
 immediately presents itself to the consideration of all
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 191 
 
 His worshippers. " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of 
 hosts." 
 
 Many other things might be taken into con- 
 sideration ; but I should detain you too long. 
 
 II. I go on, therefore, in the second place, to 
 consider the nature of that worship which is due 
 to God. It must be like God. He cannot accept of 
 any thing from His creature, that is not like Himself : 
 it would be infinitely unworthy of His perfections to 
 do so. Thoughtless sinners ! consider this ; and then 
 dream of going to heaven when death snaps the 
 thread of life. The spirit of man was originally 
 created in the image of God, not only intellectually, 
 but spiritually. Purity was one of the attributes of 
 angels in heaven, and afterwards of Adam in paradise. 
 
 What is it, then, I would ask, to approach God, 
 and to worship Him, in spirit and in truth ? It is, to 
 revere God above all beings, and above all things. 
 This is to worship God; and this indeed will be a 
 worship worthy of God. But let not weak believers 
 be discouraged: the most glorious provisions have 
 been made by God, and are given to us in wor- 
 shipping, and made known to us to encourage us to 
 worship Him here below. The heart of Messiah 
 primarily ascended to His Father and His God. 
 The consideration of himself was always secondary in 
 his bosom. Connect the purity of his humanity with 
 the dignity of his person : bear in mind that all the 
 glory of Deity pervaded all he thought and did 
 as man ; and let it ever be remembered, that in him
 
 192 SERMON XII. 
 
 we approach the Father. In him, it is worthy 
 of God to say that " He does not despise the day of 
 small thing's." The least particle of true religion 
 will most assuredly ascend to the throne of God, in 
 the intercession of that Saviour who has died, not 
 only to redeem, but to save us with an everlasting 
 salvation. When angels were called into existence, 
 God was the first object that arrested their attention. 
 When Adam was called into existence, God was the 
 first object that arrested his attention. He found 
 himself, if I may so speak, wholly enveloped in Deity. 
 How pure, how happy, must those beings have 
 been, as they originally came from the hand of their 
 Creator! 
 
 " God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must 
 worship Him in spirit and in truth." 
 
 In spirit. The soul, as well as the body, must 
 be prostrate before the Lord; and until the re- 
 generating influence of the Holy Spirit changes 
 the heart, this is never the case. But, my bre- 
 thren,, it is now high time that I should ask myself, 
 and you, individually, WTiat sort of worshippers 
 are we f Do we apparently give the body to God, 
 and the soul to lying vanities? I would enter 
 the inmost recesses of your hearts, and ask you, 
 How have you been engaged in worshipping God ? 
 Has the soul been given to God? Mistake me 
 not; my object is not to be personal, but I must 
 be characteristic. It is the province of a minister to 
 follow his congregation to their families, to their 
 closets, into their hearts; and, appealing to your
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 1Q3 
 
 consciences individually, in the presence of the living- 
 God, I ask you : and how do you answer the question? 
 In truth as opposed to all types and shadows, as 
 embracing all the glorious realities typified by the 
 Jewish rites. Every thing was typified under the 
 Jewish dispensation; not only the sacrifice of Christ, 
 but the influence of the Holy Spirit also. In truth 
 as it is written: "Through him," that is, Jesus, "we 
 both have access by one Spirit unto the Father ;" and 
 nothing short of this is worshipping God in spirit 
 and in truth. In truth in purity. Purity indeed 
 (we confess to our shame) is not the only inmate 
 within our bosoms at present ; but purity does cer- 
 tainly exist in the bosom of every true worshipper, 
 proclaiming war against every thing that is opposed 
 to God; while a sinful principle is ceaselessly engaged 
 in waging war against it. It is a war of extermina- 
 tion : one must die : and, blessed be God, the 
 covenant of Father, Son, and Spirit has doomed the 
 delinquent to perish eternally. The Saviour died 
 that sin might be destroyed and the sinner saved. 
 
 But what is it to worship God? The worship of 
 God must involve this in it, a principle within the 
 human bosom disposing its possessor to honour God 
 as God honours Himself. Nothing less than this is 
 worthy of being called the worship of God. In the 
 light of this truth how awfully destructive is every 
 false religion ! 
 
 The worship of God involves in it union and 
 communion with God Himself ; for a principle that 
 resembles Deity, cannot live but in Deity. After 
 
 VOL. i. o
 
 194 SERMON XII. 
 
 receiving from the lips, or, if you choose, from the 
 pen, of God himself, His holy word ; when the heart 
 is imbued with the truths of the Bible, we find that 
 its glorious doctrines must be true. The nature of 
 tilings, and the necessities of man, proclaim them 
 true, with a voice louder than ten thousand thunders. 
 When thus filled to its glorious dimensions (if you 
 will allow the term), the human bosom echoes all the 
 truths of Divine revelation, and welcomes God again 
 to His own legitimate temple. 
 
 Chemists tell us of affinities of some things that 
 blend together as if they loved each other (if I may 
 use the expression), while others it is impossible to 
 amalgamate ; no skill, no art, can blend them. Now, 
 consider man as the enemy of God : can he be 
 united to God in that state? Impossible. Can he be 
 received into bliss in that state? Impossible. There 
 is an impossibility in Deity, and in the creature also. 
 
 Scientific men invariably study the laws of nature ; 
 and if they wish the works of art to succeed, and to 
 be transmitted to future ages, they act in consonance 
 with those laws ; for in attempting to oppose them 
 they would only meet with disappointment, and in 
 the end destruction. The analogy is similar in 
 spiritual things ; and the believer must do the same in 
 seeking the favour and friendship of God, in life, in 
 death, and for ever. The Law, the Gospel, and the 
 perfections of God, must be studied : the soul and 
 all its powers must delightfully flow into these things, 
 or man is undone for ever. To illustrate this 
 truth in another manner : If you find two friends
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 195 
 
 delighted with the society of each other, you will 
 discover that there is something similar in their 
 dispositions : they may differ from each other in 
 many things, but there is love : there is a principle 
 common to both, that embraces one object, that 
 loves one thing and hates another : they are united 
 and cemented to each other in the bonds of friendship. 
 
 I have often told you that the work of the Holy 
 Spirit is very plain and simple, as far as it is requisite 
 for us to discern it ; for all the purposes of doctrinal, 
 practical, and experimental religion. It is neither 
 more nor less than this, to teach man to apply the 
 principles of common sense to the truths of Divine 
 Revelation. 
 
 Consider the necessity of spiritual worship : it in- 
 volves in it the necessity of the regenerating in- 
 fluences and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What 
 is sin ? The abuse of freedom in the creature, di- 
 recting all the energies of the soul to itself, and, as 
 an awful consequence, excluding the Creator. " God 
 is a Spirit ; and they that worship Him, must wor- 
 ship Him in spirit and in truth." Spiritual worship 
 involves in it the freedom of God and of the crea- 
 ture. Man must be taught to use his freedom aright ; 
 and this lesson can only be taught by the Spirit of 
 the living God. This necessity is not an arbitrary 
 constitution of things ; it is to be traced to the ex- 
 istence of God, and therefore to His necessary per- 
 fections. This necessity is likewise proved by all the 
 arguments and with all the eloquence of God Him- 
 self. Behold Messiah ! The death of an infinite and 
 
 O 2
 
 196 SERMON XII. 
 
 eternal Person proves, in the clearest manner, that it 
 is infinitely and eternally inconsistent with the perfec- 
 tions of God to save any human soul without being* 
 taught to worship Him in spirit and in truth. 
 
 Look within then, individually. Look within, 
 thoughtless sinner ! and behold in man, the descendant 
 of fallen Adam, an awful contrast to God. His freedom 
 is invariably abused. Connect this with the reiterated 
 remonstrances and protestations of conscience, and 
 you will see that sin is exclusively your own. See then, 
 in the light of this truth, the absolute necessity of 
 Divine interposition to save ruined man ; and that 
 in a two-fold point of view, by an Infinite Sacrifice 
 and by Almighty Power. Grace has been called ir- 
 resistible. This, as Mr. Newton observes, is not the 
 best term ; because grace is, and has been again and 
 again, resisted in the bosoms of the family of God ; 
 but it is invincible : as it is written, "^Thy people shall 
 be willing in the day of Thy power." Here is a new 
 necessity, flowing from the necessity and from the 
 freedom of God Himself, in blessing mankind with 
 His sovereign will, made by His fiat, made by His 
 decree, made by Himself, immutably and eternally 
 one with Christ. 
 
 Here a glorious necessity presents itself, the parent 
 of the most delightful freedom, in the bosom of the 
 believer. Once he was the voluntary slave of Satan ; 
 but now, renewed in the spirit of his mind, he is be- 
 come the willing servant of the King of kings. 
 
 See, moreover, the awful consequences of man's 
 wilful apostasy from God. He is in communion with
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 197 
 
 the father of lies : and there are individuals on earth 
 who avowedly worship the devil ; who are honest, 
 and confess what they are doing : but, indeed, all the 
 enemies of God are in communion with the devil, 
 as our Lord said ; " Ye are of your father the devil, 
 and his works ye will do." Man is naturally the 
 worshipper of Satan ; he became his vassal in 
 Eden, and continues so until delivered by the grace 
 of God. 
 
 Look at this large metropolis ; and who can forbear 
 weeping over, what I may justly call, the wreck of 
 humanity. See the wickedness that is going on ; and 
 to increase it, how many editors of newspapers are 
 advocating the cause of infidelity, and diffusing their 
 pestilential productions, to an alarming extent, even 
 on this holy day. O professors of religion ! let me 
 beseech you to honour the Sabbath more and more in 
 your families ; let no idol whatever intervene between 
 you and your God : do nothing on this holy day that 
 can be done on any other. A very little consi- 
 deration would teach us, that, if this day were to be 
 sacrificed as it is in France, we should soon travel back 
 into a state of barbarism ; barbarism of the worst 
 kind, in the midst of science and literature ; which 
 without God hardens the heart more than the bar- 
 barity of the uncivilized savage. 
 
 Lastly. Consider this, that true religion invests its 
 possessor with the highest honour. There is nothing 
 in this world to be compared to it. All the pride of 
 learning and the pomp of kings sink into insigni- 
 ficance before it. Visit a peasant in his cottage, who
 
 1^8 SERMON XII. 
 
 has nothing, perhaps, but what is absolutely neces- 
 sary for subsistence : behold in him the image of the 
 living God ; and you see infinitely more glory, than 
 in the pride of universities and in the courts of 
 kings without it. Though destitute of all earthly ad- 
 vantages, it raises its possessor to the highest honour. 
 The subject is so sublime, so grand, so rich and in- 
 teresting, that no one but God Himself can do ample 
 justice to it. Could I ascend to heaven this evening, 
 and return after having borrowed the eloquence of 
 saints and angels, it would not suffice. If I held 
 in my hand a telescope so admirably made and ad- 
 justed that by its mighty powers I could point out 
 the whole planetary system ; not excepting the most 
 remotely distant worlds that skirt the creation of 
 God ; and as each bright orb passed its focus in rapid 
 succession, could tell you, * / was present when that 
 flew into existence ; when the stupendous machinery 
 of the heavens first began to describe its ponderous 
 and mighty evolutions, /participated in the glorious 
 spectacle ; and when the birth-day song of the morn- 
 ing stars arose, my ears bore testimony to its glorious 
 praise ;' doubtless your surprise and astonishment 
 would be excited. But as a Christian I can tell you 
 more : * I am in union and communion with God : 
 I was present when the creative and mighty energy 
 of His Spirit first called into existence within my 
 bosom His grandest, His sublimest work, even 
 His own spiritual image, compared with which all 
 creation vanishes into nothing.' Oh the sub- 
 Hmity and simplicity of true religion ! The re-
 
 ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. 199 
 
 ligion of Jesus, descending from the bosom of the 
 Father, imparts the life of God to the soul of man j 
 raising it from beneath the feet of all enemies, to 
 survive the wreck of time and the conflagration of 
 the world ; to enthrone it with God for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 ELLEHTON. 1'BINTER, COUGH SQVARE.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 036 468 7