SERMONS
ON THE
LORD'S PRAYER,
BY REV. HENRY M. BACON.
Winm. J. Moses, Printer, Auburn.
Price 37 1-2 ets.
Recommended by Rev. Drs. Huntington and Hopkins,
Professors in Au/lburn Theological Seminary, and
Dr. Kennedy of Troy.
" It gives me great pleasure to commend' Sermons
on the Lord's Prayer, by Rev. Henry M. Bacon,' to
the Christian Public. The author is an independent,
original thinker, without being either eccentric or erroneous. He has succeeded, therefore, in producing
a work on a familiar subject, which is at once sound,
instructive and devotional, while at the same time it
is so fresh and attractive, that to begin to read it, is to
be sure to read it through. Among the multitude of
books in the same department of literature, I know
of none which better deserves to become decidedly
popular, or would be more likely to prove eminently
useful."
E. A. HUNTINGTON,
Professor of Biblical Criticism in the
Theological Seminary at Auburn.
Auburn, Sept. 5th, 1856.
"I entirely concur in the above opinion."
SAMUEL M. HOPKINS,
Prof. Church Hist., 4e.
"I most cheerfully concur in views expressed by
Rev. Dr. Huntington."
D. KENNEDY, D. D.,
Pastor of 2d Street Presbyterian Church, Troy, N. Y.




ON TiE   t
By Rev. HENRY MI BACON,
PASTOR OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN BA1URCH,.
COVINaTONW iNDIANA.
A UBUJRN:
W.I L LI AM f J. MOS 0  ES.'15E.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854,
By H. MI. BACON,
In the District Court of the District of Indiana.




TIIESE SERMONS
ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
TO THE
TO WHOM THEY'WERE PREACHED
BY THEIR GRATEFUL
PASTOR.








PREFACE.
No one reads a Preface: yet not to write one, would seem
to argue stolid indifference, or overweening confidence, as to
the success of his efforts, neither of which the author feels.
He has, besides5 a word or two to say for himself, to the reader
of this book. If any are so impatient that they cannot stota
to talk with him a moment, he cannot help it.
This book may be said to be printed, rather than published;
for it is not supposed that it will fall into the hands of many
who aie not in some way acquainted with the author. It
would be idle to weary any one with the reasons which have
induced him thus to venture out from his retirement, in the
very beginning, as it were, of his ministry. He cannot plead
the novel and interesting apology, that he has been " urged,"
or even "'solicited." He has taken the responsibility, and
must abide by the consequences.
There are some things in this little volume, of which some
who read it, perhaps many, may disapprove. The views here
promulgated have not been rashly adopted. With a scanty
Library, and few counsellors, the author has studied out for
himself many of the results presented in these Discourses.
He is satisfied that they are correct, and his prayer is, that if
they are not, one effect of their publication may be his own
conviction of his error. Criticism is neither deprecated
nor defied. The author is too well aware of the many




VIr                    PR EFACE.
faults that even a' careless eye can discover in these
Sermons, not to know that he "w rho reads to criticise" will
find plenty of employment. He does not think such captious
fault-finding can ruffle the surface of his equanimity. At the
samne time, he will be'grateful to those who will point out
any errors, and thus help him to correct them.
Thlese Sgrmons: w.ere preached in the early, part of the
summer of this year, andthis. will explain  some allusions to
passing eyents,, which have been left unchsnged. Tae. aultor
had intend9ed thoroughly to revise the whole,.speci~ally for
thi parpose of leaving out repetitions of the same thq.ght
in different sermons, but his health has not permitted him to
accomplish the task.  These repetitions are, the author
thinks, appropriate to sermons actually preached to a, qopgtegation; for the business of the minister is to press upon his
hearers, Sabbath after Sabbath, the same great truths. As
they occur in this book, they may serve to remind the reader
that he is to put himself in the position of a hearer.
If these Discourses shall lead any onae to prize. more highlly
the prayer our Lord taught us, the author will feel rewarded
for his labor.
Covington, QOctober, 185-4.




CONTENTS.
PAGE.
SERMON 1.
Our Fathler which art in Heaven,.....................    9
SERMON  II.
tiallowed be thy name,............... 24
SERMOVN III.
Thy kingdom come,............... 48
SERMON IV.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is done in heaven,....  76
SERMON V.
Give as this day our daily bread,.....................  9'J
SERMON  VI.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,....  119
SERMON  ViI.
And lead us not into temptation,....................  140
SERMON  VIII.
But deliver us from evil,...................1......... 163
SERMOM  IX.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever,........................ 192








SERMION I.
Our Father which art in Heaven.-Matt. 6: 9.
I begin to day the fulfillment of a long cherished purpose.  Years ago, the beauty and tenderness, the simplicity and comprehension of the
Lord's Prayer attracted my attention, and they
have grown upon me with every successive reading and repetition of it.  Long before I had
preached, or even sketched a sermon, I had made
up my mind to devote a Course of Lectures to the
exposition of this touching and instructive portion of our Savior's teachings.  Many things
have occurred from time to time to put off the
accomplishment of this determination, till at last
it seemed to be only a beautiful mirage, deluding
and mocking me. I thank God that I have lived
to begin this undertaking.  May he spare us all
to witness its conclusion. I shall be fully rewarded for my labor, if the views I present shall induce any mother, though irreligious herself, to
teach her child this prayer, which our Lord
taught us; if they shall lead any youth who has
outgrown the teachings of pious parents, to repeat again these words of Him who spake as nev



.10              SER'IONS ON
er man spake; or if, finally, (and certainly, I
mnay hope for this reward,) they shall enable any
disciple of Christ to cry more heartily and believingly, " Abba Father."
No more appropriate expression could have
been chosen as the introduction to this prayer
than the words, " Our Father."'  The Savior
teaches us here at the outset the feelings with
which we should approach God.  We must draw
nigh unto him as children to a father, for doubtless he is our Father.  But let us analyze filial affection, and see what emotions enter into it as indispensable elements.  First and foremost among
these I place revern'ece.  I know this virtue has
nearly grown obsolete in our day.  Generally,
nay, almost universally, the child is the center
around which the obsequious parents revolve, and.
to which the whole household gravitates. There
is a sickly sentimentalism much in vogue in our
times that would annihilate fear.  I acknowledge
that "'tis better far to rule by love than fear,"
but I maintain that a love in which there is no
fear of offending, and no dread of just severity
in consequence of offending, is a love that is not
worth the having.
Reverence is an essential element of filial affection, and when it is wanting, that affection
cannot exist in its highest and purest state.
The character of Him whom we call Our Fa



THE LORD7S PRAYER.            i1
ther in Heaven, is eminently calculated to inspire
this reverence.  IHe is no such weak,indifferent
being as some would imagine Him.  Hie thundereth in the heavens  He looketh on the earth,
and it trembleth.  His face is against them that
do evil. Who would not fear this great and terrible God? I will not enlarge here upon this
point, as our Savior has given us, in the very first
petition of this prayer, an express and emphatic
caution to beware of irreverence.
The second constituent of the feeling which
children should cherish toward their parents, is
love. Reverence and love, these are the prismatic rays, either of which alohe is beautiful, but
which when blended, as they always should be, illumine a home with clear and heavenly light.
Inspire your child with reverence and love for
you, and you have done more for your mutual
happiness, and for his success, than if you should
give him the title deed to all the gold mines of
California.
But let us turn our thoughts from  our fathers, according to the flesh, to the  Father
of our spirits.  We are to come to him with a
trusting affection, and oh how much there is in
his character to warrant and invite this: God is
love.  " Like as a father pitieth his children, so
the Lord pitieth them that fear him."  And it is
the peculiar characteristic and crowning glory of




12              SERMONS ON
the Christian religion, that it does thus reveal
God as the object of child-like love.  The Jew
knew that God was awful; the Hindoo knows that
God is to be dreaded; and even
"The poor Indian, whose untutored mind
Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind,"
trembles before him.  But it is the Christian
into whose heart God sends forth his Spirit, crying Abba Father. Not that the Jews had no idea
of God's paternal character.  But this was. by
no means so clear and prominent as it is in the
new dispensation.  It is only since grace and
truth have come by Jesus. Christ, that we can
boldly say, " Our Father who art in Heaven."
I have seen somewhere an allegory like this: A
heathen knelt down to pray-a Jew passing by inquired, what do you call the Deity.  He replied,
the Destroyer; and asked in turn, what do you call
him? The Almighty, was the answer. A Christian drew near and said, we call him Father;
then they all knelt down together, saying, "Our
Father who art in Heaven." And oh, what better
bond of union could there be?  Come, gay,
thoughtless devotee of pleasure, come hard, heartless man of the world, come slave of 3Mammon,
let us kneel down together and say, " Our Father
who art in Heaven."  Why should you be afraid.
You are not: ah, why should you be ashamed to




THE LOklDbS PRAYERL.          13
join your fellow men in asking your common
lFather for what you all need?
And this brings me to the second lesson which
our Savior teaches us in this beginning of the
Lord's prayer-the duty of social worship. Our
Master here lays hold of, and appropriates to the
service of religion, that great principle of associated action, the power of which men are just
beginning to appreciate.  )Men undertake now to
accomplish nothing by themselves; we must have
a society for every thing. It has been heralded
as one of the great discoveries of our time, that
so much can be achieved in this way.  But the
Church of Christ was founded ages ago upon this
basis, and is still held together by this bond.Christians are formed into a society to effect a
common purpose. To strengthen their own interest and to awaken that of others, they are to
meet frequently and regularly.  Masonry and
Odd-Fellowship, with every phase and imitation
of them, have borrowed this great principle from
the Church.  And in this we see the truth of the
saying, that our Lord knew what was in man.There is, too, in this adaptation of the Church to
human nature, a convincing proof that they are
from the same great Author.
But some one, willing to justify himself, and
fighting against reason and revelation will say,
"  do not need to join this society, to enter into




14               SERMONS ON
this communion.  I can be as good a Christian
out of the Church as in it."  No, my friend, you
cannot.  You may be a Christian out of the
Church: you may be a better Christian than
some in it: but you cannot be as good a one out
of it as you would be in it. Your child may be
a scholar by studying at home: he may be a better scholar than some who go to school; but he
cannot be as good a scholar, as with the same application he would have been, if he had been
brought, under the care of a competent instructor, into daily contact and rivalry with those
pursuing the same studies.  It is not simply because it is cheaper and just as easy for one teacher to instruct twenty children as five, that we
gather our youth into schools: but there is great
benefit in association, in friendly strifes, in the
action and re-action of one mind upon another.
It may be that the affiliated states of this great
confederacy would be prosperous and powerful,
if sundered and left each to stand alone; but we
all know that they could not be as safe as they
now are, bound together in one happy union.In union there is strength: and you imust not say
you can be as good a Christian out of the Church
as in it.
But there are some who say,'" I can worship
God at home as well as in the church.  It will
do me more good to read an excellent sermon at




THIE LORD S PRAYER.            15
home than to listen to an ordinary one in the
church."  I have even found professors of religion, who would thus undervalue that public
worship which was one of the great purposes for
which the Church was instituted.  Granting that
you can, (let me say to any such who may happen
to hear me,) derive more instruction from reading at home alone, our Savior teaches us in this
introduction to the Lord's prayer, the necessity
of social, in distinction from individual, worship.
You must meet with your fellow men and say,
"s Our Father who art in Heaven."  You have
social blessings which can be properly acknowledged only in a social capacity; and I deny that
you can worship God as well by yourself as with
your fellow  men.  This is the very mistake of
monks and nuns. You forget, or else this thing
you are willingly ignorant of, that there is no
one of the faculties and feelings of man, that
can attain to maturity and perfection, except
amiid the intercourse and the influence of society.
This is a fundamental law of our being, which
can neither be violated nor evaded; and religion is
subject to it. If you would have submission,
reverence, love, faith, all the feelings that are
called into exercise in the worship of God, possess and overwhell  your soul, you must meet
iith the great congregation,;' Where sorrow flows from eye to eye.
And joy freom. heart to heart."




16              SERMONS ON
If you would have the great truths of the gospel sink deep into your heart, you must see the
tear stealing down the cheek of the sorrowing
penitent, you must watch the light of hope as it
breaks over the beclouded face of some despairing sinner.  Heaven is no such secluded solitude
as you would seek.  John saw there a multitude
whom no man could number, and their voice was
as the sound of many waters.  If you would
anticipate heaven, you must go with the multitude who keep holy day. And in saying this, I
Underrate or discourage private worship, no more
than our Savior did in teaching us to say, Our
Father.  In the beginning of this chapter he
tells us to go into our closets and shut to our
doors, and pray to our Father who seeth in secret; thus plainly teaching us the necessity of
secret prayer.  Here he. shows, indirectly it is
true, but none the less plainly, that we are to engage in social worship.  And this is the order of
nature; secret prayer is the first in the order of
time and of importance.  Every one should prepare in the closet for the public worship of God,
Without this preparation, it is almost impossible
to render acceptable worship. Certainly I should
have more charity for one who, with mistaken
views, neglected the public services of God's
house, than for one who deserted his closet.  Y'et
nothing can take the place of public, social wow




THE LORD'S PRAYEE.            17
ship. It exerts upon the heart of the believer
an important and a peculiar influence; its influence upon society, too, is incalculable and indispensable.  Deprive this community of all the
public services of religion, and it would, slowly
perhaps, but surely slide back into the ignorance
and cruelty of savage life.  The preaching of
the gospel, the voice of prayer and praise, restrain men who never hear them; and who shall
estimate their influence over the worldly-minded
and irreligious, who habitually frequent the courts
of the Lord's house? To the mere philanthropist, our Sabbath gatherings should have a deep
interest. Here, as the rich and the poor meet together, will they not feel that the Lord is the
maker of them both?
And this leads me to observe that. in this introduction, our Lord  teaches us the common
brotherhood of the race. The plain and repeated inculcation of this truth, is one of the distinguished and distinguishing peculiarities of the
Christian religion.  The religion of Paganism,
both ancient and modern, were state and national, designed for a single race, making little or no
effort to extend their influence beyond certain
limits.  The same is true, though perhaps not to
so great an extent, of the Jewish religion. But
when our Savior came, he boldly told his disciples that their field was the world. He sent themr




18              SERIMONS ON
out into all the world, to preach the gospel to every creature; and they did so, to the Greek and
to the Jew, to the Barbarian and the Scythian,
to the bond and the free. And they showed how
all social distinctions  melted  away  in  the
glance  of the  Lord.  They  preached with
equal plainness and fervor to the jailer, in their
dungeon, and to Agrippa in the audience chamber of Kings; to the barbarous people of the island of Melita, and to them of Caesar's household.
Christianity, where it has not degenerated into
a miserable caricature, still teaches that God has
made of one blood all nations of men.  It recognizes no inferior race, so feeble, so debased, as to
be out of the circle of its sympathies.  Wherever the Christian finds a human body wrapped
round a human soul, he finds a brother with whom
he can kneel down and. say — COur Father  in
Heaven." It is upon this broad principle that
the structure of Foreign Missions is built, and
all the pert witticisms of modern philosophers
and "' refornmers" cannot shake it.  How puny do
their achievements appear, compared with the
world-embracing charities of that army of the
Lord of Hosts, which goes not with the war of
artillery, or the gleam of the bayonet, but with
the Bible and the Sabbath School, to wipe away
the tears and heal the wounds of the whole familv of man.




THE LORD'S PRAYER.             19
But our Savior does not here teach us to sympathize with ard care only for the stranger with
whom we have no dealings, though he surely includes all such among the children of our Father
in Heaven.  But this brotherly feeling is to control our daily life. He who prays after this
manner cannot be scornful or selfish.  Come,
proud, haughty professor of religion, come, envious, malignant disciple of Christ, (0, strange contradiction in terms,) kneel down in the morning,
and say, " Our Father." Can you despise or
slight your fellow  men, because they are not
dressed according to your taste?  Can you talk
bitterly and reproachfully of them, because they
do not pay as much attention to you, and are not
as intimate with you as you. desire: not remembering that in estimating your own merits, you
are apt to err in your own favor?  Cold,.heartless,
avaricious man, kneel down at night by the side
of that bed on which you exTpect the Lord to
keep you while you sleep, and as you say, "Our
Father who art in Heaven," think of the poor
whose faces you have ground, or the widow from
whom you have taken her children's bread.  Severe, harsh, unrelenting judge of the wayward
anad the heedless, remember that this erring one
is your brother or your sister.  I do not hesitate
to say that no one can imbibe the spirit of this
beginning of the Lord's prayer, without being, in




20               SERaMONS ON
the best and highest sense of the word, a philanthropist. Let the principle taug~ht here pervade
all hearts, and it would revolutionize society.
Trickery and deceit, harshness and oppression,
would be banished from the earth.
But if any where this feeling should govern, it
is in the intercourse of fellow Christians, both of
the same and of different denominations. Doubtless, God is our Father, in a peculiar sense. We
are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God.  We are heirs of God, and
joint heirs with Christ. Shall we bite and devour
one another. Shall we be jealous and suspicious of each other? Let there be no strife
between us, for we are brethren. Let us love as
brethren; then shall the world behold how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. And nothing will help us to do
this more than worshiping together, saying in unison, "Our Father who art in heaven."  I disapprove entirely of the conduct of some professors
of religion, who never go to Church when they
do not have preaching in their own house, or at
least by their own minister.  Thus keeping yourself aloof from, and ignorant of your fellow Christians, how can you learn to love them? I have
read, somewhere, of a man who went out with his
gun in a valley. Amid the gray fog of the early
dawn, he saw something move before him, which




TIHE LORD S PRAYER,           21
he took to be a wild beast. As he raised his gun
to fire, it occurred to him that it would be well
to be more sure of its character. As he climbed
the mountain, and drew nearer, the light increasing, the vapor melted away, and he saw it was a
man. And when he came close up to him, he
found it was his brother.
So you, my fellow Christian, while you stay
down amid the mists of bigotry and prejudice,
may shrink away from  some fancied monster;
but climb higher up the mount of God: let the
light of the Sun of Righteousness pour its radiance around and into your heart. You shall find
he whom you dreaded is a man, a mlan of like
passions with yourself; and when you come to
see him as he is, you shall clasp him to your
heart; a brother beloved. And nothing, I say
again, will help us to cultivate such a feeling,
more than worshiping together.  We shall then
feel that we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, for we are all baptized into Christ. We do
all eat of the same spiritual meat, and do all
drink of the same spiritual drink. We shall feel,
also, how many and intimate are the ties that
bind us together-having a common Father, loving and trusting the same Savior, heirs of the
same heavenly inheritance, pilgrims to the same
dear home.
And this brings me to the final lesson of this




22               SMtRMONS ON
introduction,-that heaven is our home. We
should therefore set our affections in heaven,
where Christ sitteth, at the right hand of God.
Worldly-minded professor of religion, hasting to
be rich, so engrossed by the pursuit of wealth
that you find no time to turn aside into your closet, or to drop into the prayer-meeting; overtasking yourself so much that the Sabbath finds you
too weary to really enjoy its delightful services;
thoughts of gain stealing on amid its quiet hours,
to cast their dark, forbidding shadow o'er the
"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,"
what an ungrateful, or, at least, heedless child
you are.
Why do you so seldom turn to your home high
up in heaven?  Why do you not lay up your
treasure there?  Ah, where your treasure is,
your heart will be also. On the other hand, my
brother, are you poor, compelled to toil for daily
bread? Is your home scantily furnished, and
your food coarse, while the proud and haughty
around you are clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fare sumptuously every day? Oh, my brother, this is but a way-side inn, where we tarry for
a night.  In our Father's house are many mansions. One who loves us better than we love
ourselves, has gone before to prepare a place for
us.




TiHE LORI D'S PRAYEfR,             23
A home in heaven, what a joyful thought, as
the poor man toils in his weary lot!  Have you
deeper sorrows than poverty or suffering can
bring, some hidden wound healed over outwardly,
yet festering and bleeding within: that bitterness
which  every heart knows only for itself?   Lift
up your eyes and rejoice, for your redemption
draweth  nigh.   There  the wicked  cease from
troubling, and the weary are at rest.
" His own soft hand shall wipe the tears
From every weeping eye;
And pains and groans, and griefs and fears,
Shall cease eternally."
" Oh, who would live alway, away from his God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode:
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o'er the bright plains,
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns."




SERMON II.
Hallowed be thy name: Matt. 6: 9.
" BEHOLD what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God."  The fact that God permits us to
call him "Our Father," might well overjoy us.
To chasten and restrain us, lest in the exuberance of our gladness we should forget the awful
majesty which invests the Divine character, our
Lord teaches us, at the outset, to say, as our first
petition, " Hallowed be thy name."  We learn
from this that it is of the first importance that,
in all our approaches to God,while we come with
the confidence and simplicity of children, we are
always to draw nigh, even in the full assurance of
our faith, "with reverence and Godly fear."
We are taught here, in the first place, that all
our direct addresses to God, which might be
strictly called the use of his name, should be pervaded by awful solemnity.  There is, in the
prayers of some really good men, at times, a blasphemous familiarity, which is absolutely shocking.
Such persons, in their mistaken zeal to be like
children coming to a father, forget how holy and




TI1E LORD'IS PRAYER.          25
reverend is the name of God, and they assume, in
their prayers, the free and easy style of the bar-.rooim and the theatre. This is not only to be
regretted, but must be strongly condemned and
strenuously resisted. The application to God of
endearing epithets, of a familiar and common
character, addressing him as if he were altogether
such an one as ourselves, is so abhorrent to reason as well as Revelation, that I need not enlarge
upon it here. It is sufficient to call your attention to it, and thus put you upon your guard
against a sad mistake, into which some good men
have fallen.
But there is an evil akin to this, to which we
are all exposed, and I think it quite important to
refer to it. It is a mechanical,.thoughtless repetition of God's name in our prayers. This is a
taking the name of God in vain, which we should
be careful to avoid.  That we often repeat the
name of God in our devotions, when it is unnecessary and out of place, may seem a slight matter, not worthy to be spoken of here; but everything connected with the character and glory of
God is of the utmost importance. Especially
should everything about our worship show a deep
and absorbing reverence for the Lord our God.
While this is true of all worship, it is peculiarly
so of our public services; for these are designed,
as has been remarked, to have, and do have a




26              SERVIONS ON
great influence upon the irreligious.  We should
take pains, therefore, to have the public worship
of God impress even the thoughtless listener
with at least a belief in our holy fear of the high
and lofty One, if that emotion may not steal imperceptibly into their souls.
And this naturally leads me to remark, that
this petition, " Hallowed be thy name," is by no
means to be restricted to any such narrow, literal
interpretation as would make it refer only to the
use of God's name.  There are, at times, large
portions of our prayers in which we do not need
to make formal mention of the name of God; and
we ought, as has already been remarked, to avoid
all unnecessary repetition of it: but even those
portions are to be pervaded by.a subdued earnestness, that will show to God, and to our fellow
men, that we do not forget that He is in heaven,
and we are upon the earth. Every intelligent
reader of Scripture knows, that God's name is
often put for his character,-the full assemblage
of his attributes. In teaching us thus at the very
beginning to pray-" Hallowed be thy name,"
our Lord shows us that humility and reverence
should pervade and control all our prayers, and
every part of them. All attempts at display,
whether by ambitious ornament or learned discourse, are here sadly out of place. Do we not
sometimes find, among ministers and those who




THE LORD S PRAYER.            27
are often called upon to lead in public prayer, a
disposition to impress upon their fellow worshipers an idea of their happy lse of language, the
depth of their humility, or the correctness of
their theology, rather than an absorbing reverence
for God, and a consciousness of guilt and want.
Such a spirit, in the performance of public worship,
defeats the object of its institution, for it can
never produce its proper effect upon the devout
or the undevout, except when it is, and is felt to
be, a simple, childlike pouring out of our hearts
before Godl.  Once allow people to suppose that
you are praying to them, and you might as well
drop even the form of addressing God.
You will often see a disposition to criticise the
devotional efforts of Christians, which is equally
at war with the teachings of this petition, and
the spirit of true worship. I have repeatedly
heard persons, when going home from prayermeeting, thoughtlessly-I had almost said profanely, —comparing the prayers of different individuals. Such persons would do well to remember that they are perhaps not very good judges
as to who makes the best prayer. Often, in the
eye of God, the fluent, eloquent man, is guilty of
solemn mockery, while he who utters only a few,
incoherent words, pressed out of a broken, contrite heart, goes down to his house justified, rather than the other. I hope none of you, my




28               SERMONS ON
Christian brethren, will indulge in this foolish,
unchristian criticism, and that none of you will
be troubled or frightened by it.  Do not be kept
from the prayer-meeting and its duties, because
you cannot deliver to your fellow-Christians a
polished oration. I, for one, would much rather
that, overwhelmed by a sense of your own vileness and littleness in the sight of God, you should
not so much as lift up your eyes unto heaven,
and should utter only a few, simple words, than
that you should stand up with undisturbed composure, and voluble self-complacence, to pour
out your fine-turned phrases. I do not disparage
ease and fluency in prayer. They are desirable,
and we should endeavor to acquire them, while
we should carefully avoid an incoherent, fragmentary method of prayer.  But do not seek the
honor that comes from man; and do not be kept
from praying to God by a fear, that you will not
receive honor of man.
I have intimated that ease and propriety in
prayer is a matter of study and acquisition. I
need not stop to prove this, since we all acknowledge that the days of direct inspiration have long
since passed, and that whatever excellence we obtain, is the result of labor and practice.  Instead,
then, of absenting yourself from  the prayermeeting, or sitting down in contented indolence
and carelessness, because you have not what is




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           29
called the "gift of public prayer," you ought
rather to cultivate a devotional spirit, in your
closet and family circle, assured that out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth will speak.
Study the prayers of inspired men; as given
to us in the word of God. Especially, endeavor to conform  your prayers to that one which
we are now considering, given to us expressly as a model,-for he says, " after this manner
pray ye," —by Him who spake as never man
spake. You would also derive great assistance
from the works of some uninspired Christians,
such as Ienry, Watts, Scott and Jay, who have
either writteif for our instruction, or have given
us forms adaptedlto our various wants and peculiarities. I must be permitted to add, here, that
I know of no better uninspired model, of the-solemn tenderness and brief simplicity which should
characterize our prayers, than the Liturgy of the
Protestant Episcopal Church. No one can really engage in public worship, as conducted in these
forms, without having his heart subdued to the
same tone of affectionate reverence.  This may
seem positively heretical to some, who have been
accustomed to look upon the use of forms in worship as dangerous, and indeed wicked.  But this
ground is utterly untenable.  There is no Church
that is entirely without forms. In our present
condition, it would be impossible to do without




30               SERMONS ON
them. That is to say, worship, and public worship especially, must be conducted upon some
plan, according to some regular method.  Our
forms are simple, and variable within wide limits,
at the pleas-re of the officiating minister.  The
forms of our Episcopal brethren are more elaborate and invariable. The clergyman cannot alter,
— indeed, it is doubtful whether he can omit, any
part of the prescribed ritual.  It is our form, our
method of worship, to use extemporary prayers,
while it is theirs to repeat prayers composed beforehand for the occasion. The question between
them and us is one of expediency, whether their
mode of conducting public worship is preferable
to ours.  We do not think it sinftl for them to
use written forms of prayer; but we hold that extemporary prayer is best calculated to cultivate a
devotional spirit, and we protest especially against
being confined to an invariable phraseology.
It is not my duty, now, to enter into the discussion of that subject; if it were, I think I could
show that our views are correct.  One thing I
would suggest to any one, who may dislike my
commending the Liturgy of the Episcopal Church,
as a model in some respects. Such forms of
prayer, when we are not tied to them, and do not
cling to them with superstitious reverence, may
be of great use. He who cannot pray without
them, in his family, for instance, had better em



THE LORD'S PRAYER.            31
ploy them. A  book of prayers, a veritable
"Prayer-Book," compiled by 180 ministers of
Scotland, has been published by a Presbyterian
house, and warmly commended by Presbyterian
periodicals; and I have no doubt that he who
is slow of speech, and has little of the gift
of prayer, would derive great assistance from
studying and occasionally employing such forms.
It is for this reason that I commend to you the
Episcopal Liturgy: especially the forms for
Morning and Evening prayer —not because I
approve of every thing in it. There are expressions in the baptismal and ordination services,
which every Protestant must regret as unfortunate, to say the least; and in the ordinary
Sabbath services, the general tenor of which is
so unexceptionable, and to me so lovely and impressive, the declaration of absolution has always
grated harshly on my ear. But the individual
prayers themselves are, I say again, among the
best of uninspired models-the finest specimens
of what a prayer should be. There is such an
entire absence of display, or straining after effect;
such simple grandeur, such entire forgetfulness
of ourselves breathes in every line, that it is refreshing to turn to them in these days, when
pride and bombast seem to be invading the holiest of holies, when we intercede with God. I do




32              SERMONS ON
not think you could read or hear them in a proper frame of mind, without being benefited.
But some of you may say, this has not been
your experience. You have occasionally attended the Episcopal Church, but the services always
seemed dull and unmeaning. The sermon may
have made an impression upon you, but the worship never seemed to do you any good. The reason of this is, that you did not conform to their
modes of worship. You did not endeavor to enter into the spirit of the occasion, and to actually
worship with them. This you should have done,
just as when you go to the Methodist Church,
you are to worship according to their forms. And
you are not to suppose that, because the forms
are different from those you are accustomed to,
that therefore it is not worship, and that you are
not bound to regard it as such.  You have no
more right to treat the worship of Episcopalians
with contempt or indifference, because they read
or recite their prayers, than they have to despise
ours, because we pray without the use of such
forms. When either of you come to a place of
worship as a critic or a spectator, you do not hallow the name of our Father in heaven as we here
confess that we should, and preay that we may.
These forms will do you good, if you use them
lawfully; and perhaps some of you, who shrink
from them with a horror as superstitious as the




TIHE LOtRD  PRAY ER           33
reverence with which others cling to them, would
be the very ones to be most benefited by their
occasional use.
There is probably no part of the worship of
God in which there is so little hallowing of the
name of God, as in singing his praise.  How
often do persons, even in the sanctuary, join in
these solemn ascriptions of devout homage to
the King of glory, with the same flippant carelessness with which they would sing a love-ditty
or a negro melody.  Indeed, you will sometimes
hear them, when engaged in worldly business or
pleasure, sing with wild hilarity, or even uproarious mirth, such sacred words as,
" Before Jehovah's awful throne, "
or,
" Alas and did my Savior bleed!"
It chills me with horror to hear any one thus
sporting with these awful themes.  God is expressly declared by inspiration itself to be fearful in praises, and we should no more trifle with
these songs of adoration, than with the prayers
that are offered to him.  I know that the department of worship we are now considering has
its peculiarities.  It is associated with music, an
art which requires study, and which has attractions-of its own, entirely independent of the devout emotion to'be expressed. I am far from




34               SERMONS ON
condemning practice, preparative for conducting
the praise of God in the public assembly. Study
is as necessary for this as for preaching'; and direct inspiration is no more to be relied upon in
the one case than in the other. There are, however,
some things in relation to this part of worship,
which I think it important and appropriate to
mention in this connection. In the first place, I
am from principle opposed to the use of hynmns
and sacred songs in teaching music. This will
seem to some a superstitious strictness about little matters, like the unwillingness which many
feel, and I confess myself one of them, to have
political meetings, concerts, and similar gatherings held in a church.  But nothing is trivial
which concerns the cultivation of reverence for
our Heavenly Father. And the practice in question
has such a natural and necessary tendency to make
the name and attributes.of God seem common and
worthless, that I do not see how the religious
have tolerated it so long. No one at all sensitive as to the employment of words, endeared as
many of these are to the pious heart, can visit a
singing school in full blast, without being grieved
at the nonchalant manner in which they are sung,
and the style in which their execution is criticised.  Train up a child to such a use of the
name of God and his praises, and it is almost illpossible to teach him properly to reverence them.




THE LORD'S PRAYER..35
I trust the time is not far distant, when a thorough reform will be effected on this point.
It has been intimated that practice is necessary to prepare for public worship. The use of sacred words is of course allowable at such times,
for the end in view can often be attained in no
other way. But you should be very cautious in
their employment. Never forget the solemnity of
the words you use, and the awful grandeur of the
Being to whom  they are addressed. While I
would not insist, and perhaps ought not to, that
in such meetings there should be the sobriety of
worship, yet I must say that all frivolity and
buffoonery are intolerable and abominable to God
and man.  Scenes are sometimes witnessed in
such gatherings as these, that are shocking in the
extreme.  Let every Christian, to whom God has
given the priceless gift of song, set himself against
these enormities.  Let him remember that the
music of earth, weak and faint though it be, is
akin to that of I-eaven; and let him imagine how
the romp and the jester would appear amid
that "multitude whom no man can number." —
Especially when actually engaged in worship,
should we be careful to hallow the name of God.
Let your soul be full of devout reverence. Be
more anxious to worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness, than to win applause or to escape the
chagrin of failure.  And let me add here, that




36              SERMONS ON
ridicule or contempt, or anything resembling
them, are just as inappropriate to mistakes made
in singing the praise of God, as they are, and are
acknowledged to be, to mistakes made in prayer.
We are not here as mere spectators of a musical
entertainment, critics of an artistic performance.
He who would thus degrade the public worship
of God, knows nothing of the awful sublimity
which attaches itself to the meanest conventicle,
the scantiest assemblage.  "Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them," said I-He who fills immensity
with his presence, and whose throne is in the
heaven of heavens. We are here before God,
all praying, while but one voice is heard, all
praising, while but a few sing.  "Would God
that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that
the Lord would put his Spirit upon them."
This petition teaches us to avoid, and we pray
in it that we may avoid every thing like contempt or
neglect of any part of the worship of God. Talking,
laughing, reading, lounging, and gazing about, are,
as I have often declared, notorious offences against
the simplest rules of good breeding. You may
know when you see a person indulging in any of
these, that he has been very poorly instructed, or
has paid but little attention to what he was
taught.  But I arraign these practices now upon
a charge of much greater enormity.  They are




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            3%
insults to the infinite majesty of God.  They are
slights, put not upon the preacher, but upon the
gospel which he preaches.  "' He that despiseth
you, despiseth me," said He who commanded us to
go and preach the gospel. In other places, and
when engaged in other labors, I can endure the
whispering and other disturbances of the ill-bred
and the silly, but when I come to the Sanctuary,
clothed with the authority of an ambassador for
God, I should be false to my solemn vows, and to
every feeling of my heart, did I not demand for
the message of the Lord the profound silence of
a thoughtful attention.  He who hallows the
name of our Father in heaven, will be sure to
accord it.
There. is a way of showing disrespect for the
worship of God which I must notice briefly. It
is true, and I am happy to bear this testimony,
we as a congregation are seldom interrupted in
this way, but the practice in question is common
in places, and it is well to have correct views in
regard to it. Hle who stalks out of the house
of God with an air of defiance or contempt during the progress of worship, declares as plainly as if he asserted it in words, that these services are a mere idle spectacle, which he can leave
whenever he is weary. Need I say that this
view is erroneous. Theworship of God is a solemn duty, which every one of us is bound to




0S              G5i~SERMoNS ON
perform, and he who disturbs the pious worshiper,
is not only guilty of a gross breach of politeness,
but he turns his back upon the God in whose
hands his breath is, and whose are all his ways.
Another form of disrespect common among us, I
only allude to. There are many persons who
are unwilling to kneel down during family prayer.
This may seem a slight matter, but it is important as a token of the person's state of mind.He is ashamed to have his fellow mlen know that
he humbles himself before God; yet what posture
more proper for him to assume?  If he had any
sense of the terrible majesty of God and his own
weakness, if he hallowed the name of our Father in heaven as he should, would he refuse this
feeble tribute of reverence?
The disposition for which we pray in this petition will throw a halo of sacredness around every thing connected with the worship of God, the
places and times in which it is performed, the
scenes with which it is associated.  Many good
people, who would not for the world be guilty of
any indecorous conduct during the progress of
worship, will yet indulge in foolish, giddy conversation and even laughter, before the services
commence and after they are over. I do not believe there should be anything sour or forbidding
about the worship of Gdcl. A word or two of
cheerful conversation is not out of place; but this




TIE LORD S PRAYEP..           39
mirth seems to me almost profane, when we are
just about to call upon God, or when the solemn
impressions that should have been made upon us,
have had neither time nor opportunity to be effaced. Especially does this trouble me at the
close of worship. I can bear with those who,
coming in with their minds all unprepared for the
sacred scenes of the Lord's day and the Lord's
house, their thoughts wandering like the fool's
eyes to the ends of the earth,-I can bear with
them, if they do not hallow the name of God
But how can people laugh and talk so carelessly
when the solemn words they have heard or uttered have hardly had time to die out of their
ears?  I speak of this more in sorrow than in anger, for I have often been grieved in this way,
and sometimes in this very house. There is also
not unfrequently a haste in leaving the house of
God which must affect the devout worshiper unpleasantly. The concluding moments of service
are dedicated to the looking up of hats, the arranging of dresses, the opening of pew doors, and
securing a fair start in the race from the sanctuary.  All this strikes me as very unseemly.  It
appears to be saying with them of old, "what a
weariness is it, when will the Sabbath be over?"
I greatly admire the custom of our Episcopal
brethren, for all the congregation to wait devoutly a moment or two before they stir from their




40               SERMONS ON
places.  It is only a form, you will say.  I grant
it, but it is a form eminently calculated to manifest and to suggest the reverence we should always feel and exhibit in the worship of God.
~We have hitherto been considering only distinct and formal acts of worship.  Is the spirit
of this petition to be limited to these? It will
require but little consideration to see that we here
pray that a deep and hearty reverence for our
Father in heaven may be breathed into every
part of our life. What confidence can we have,
to say nothing of God, who looks on the heart,
in the piety of him who kneels at the altar, or
covers his face in the sanctuary, and goes forth to
blaspheme, or to talk lightly of God? It must
be evident that the perjurer, however exact he
may be in the performance of his devotions, does
not hallow the name of God. Upon this point,
of course, you who are present need no instruction. But did it ever occur to you that the manner in which oaths are commonly administered
and taken, has little of the solemnity befitting
such a transaction?  An oath is a solemn appeal
to the Almighty, to attest tLe-. w.thl of what we
are about to utter-the faithfulness with which
we will discharge the duties upon- which we are
about to enter. Can a man who has any proper
sense of the majesty- of " Him  with whom  we
have to do,' make such a: declaration with the.




THE LORD' PRAYER.            41
recklessness which is often witnessed in our courts
of justice, and at the inauguration of officers. A
reform  in this matter is greatly needed.  And
we, my Christian friends, when' called upon to
participate in any such transaction, are the ones
to begin it.
It would be well if, into the lips at least of
public speakers, and especially those who discuss
political topics, could be instilled this spirit of
reverence. The name of God is a favorite expletive with them; it is always introduced wherever
it will round a period, or produce a sensation.
Their frequent appeals to " the Great Supreme"
betray, through the mock solemnity with which
they are thinly veiled, their utter indifference to
the Lord, our God. I would as soon hear the
profane jest and coarse blasphemy of the gambler
and the loafer, as these devout expressions falling
so heartless from the lips of one whose daily life
proclaims that God is not in all his thoughts.
Yet pious people! they are shocked at the one,
while they smile on the other. Have they so little discernment as not to perceive that these
irreligious, and sometimes vicious men, have stolen the livery of the court of heaven, if not to
serve the devil, at least to serve themselves. I
apprehend that the real difficulty is, that they are
so little in the habit of hallowing the name of
God in their own every day life, that the mere idle




42              SERMONS ON
use of it, if it sounds well, if it does not absolutely force itself upon them as outrageously
blasphemous, passes unnoticed, or awakens but
little emotion. There is often,in the ordinary
conversation of truly pious people, and sometimes
even in their religious discourse, a careless way
of speaking the name of God, against which I
must protest. You will hear them talk, for instance, of " God's heavens," and " God's world," in
a tone and manner which shows that they do not
reverence him as they should, and that they have
little idea that heaven is his throne, and the earth
is his footstool.
It is related of Queen Elizabeth, that she never spoke the name of God without pausing a
moment to show that she hallowed it, and oftener
than otherwise she would say, " God, my Maker,"
so deeply did she seem to feel her dependence
upon him. There are some of us, perhaps, who
count ourselves much more pious than this haughty
monarch, who would do well to copy her example.
I would not go as far as the Jews, who counted
the word Jehovah, the proper name of God, too
sacred to be uttered, and even when it occurred
in reading the Scriptures, substituted another
word in its place. But let us at all times hallow
the name of our Father in heaven, never mentioning him or any of his attributes but with becoming reverence.




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           43
Before dismissing this particular topic, I would
call your attention to a singular circumstance
which, in my judgment, shows a want of reverence for the name of God.  Many pious people
put this " fearful and glorious name" on a level
with that of the devil, and such words as hell,
damnation, and the like. Now the use of such
expressions in idle banter, or in moments of passion, is profane and wicked.  These people, who
are so reckless in their conversation, show that
they have no very strong conviction of the existence of a fallen spirit who is "not less -than
archangel ruined."  Nor can they have even a
faint idea of the "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish," which God will visit upon every soul of man that doeth evil. But this careless use of such phrases is not for a moment to be
considered as of equal guilt with the reckless and
blasphemous mention of the name of God, and
especially of that worthy name by the which we
are called, the name of Jesus, at which every knee
should bow, and every tongue confess. Let this
latter stand alone on its own bad eminence.
The same general principle, which I have laid
down in regard to our use of God's name, applies
to his word. " Thou hast magnified thy word,',
says the Psalmist, "above all thy name."  This
is generally understood by commentators as referring to the promise of the Messiah. But may it




44               SERMONS ON
not mean also that the Bible is the clearest and
highest revelation of his character, God has ever
made to man; that while some indistinct and disconnected lessons might be spelled out from what
is called the book of nature, it is only in the
word of God, that he who runs can read'? It
seems to me that if " an undevout astronomer is
mad," an undevout possessor of the Bible is much.more so. If it is what it claims to be, the direct
voice of God to man, it should be heard with the
utmost reverence.  Especially, my  Christian
friends, should we be careful in our treatment of
the Scriptures, in which we think we have eternal
life, never to quote them in jest, never speak
of or allude- to them lightly. Do not suffer this
to be done in your presence ordinarily without
rebuke. They are the word of the living God,
which mlust not be trifled with.
As I remarked in reference to actual worship7
that not only prayer and praise, but every part of
the. service, and everything connected with it,
should be instinct with reverence; so now I
would say, as to our every day life, that all these
things should be spoken of and treated with due
respect. 1Many, I fear a great many, professors
of religion, have a jocose way of talking ab;out
the worship of God. Preaching, praying, asking
a blessing, conversing with the thoughtless or the
unawakened, are topics, over which they make




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           45
merry among themselves. Indeed, I grieve to
say, I have sometimes heard them do this with
the ungodly and the profane. And when such
people co'me to speak of the rites and forms of
those who differ somewhat from themselves, they
assume a sneering and contemptous tone, or at
least they manifest a bitter and fault-finding spirit. - My brethren, I must publicly protest against
this. Whatever you may think of it, I am persuaded that in the eye of God it is profanity. It
is taking the name of the Lord in vain.  If a
man really felt that reverence for God and his
service, for which we pray in this petition, could
he trifle with such sacred themes, as many professedly Christian people do? Suffer me to caution
you especially against treating the forms of other
Churches contemptuously.  I am, for instance,
often grieved at the coarse jokes and sneering
words of very good people in regard to immersion. And I single this out, because I think
profane language in regard to it more common
among us than in reference to any other rite. I
know how we are provoked and irritated.  I am
aware how much they revile our practice. I
bring against them no railing accusation, but say
to every such reviler, "' The Lord rebuke thee."
We must remember, however, that their sin is no
excuse for ours. Indeed, we have less reason for
such language than they, for while they do not




46              SERMONS ON
admit the validity of our form, we do that of
theirs. Let us never forget, that in administering
immersion, they are really performing a solemn
act of worship, an ordinance of the Lord's house,
though in our judgment they put themselves to
unnecessary trouble, and insist too much upon
the mere form of the rite.  And so of every other observance of our fellow-Christians, to which
we are not accustomed, or of which we disapprove.
But we do not simply pray for ourselves
in this petition. As in the beginning of the
prayer we include the whole world in its embrace,
so here we ask God to put an end to all superstition and idolatry; that all false religions and all
corruptions of the true religion may be banished
from the earth; that the name of God may be
one, and his praise one, from the rising of the sun
to the going down of the same.'Ve pray that perjury, with its false lips on the word of God, and its
murderous hand lifted to heaven, may be driven
back into the bottomless pit from whence it came.
We pray that no longer, as we walk the streets and
mingle with our fellow men, shall our ears be saluted with oaths and blasphemy; that never again may
a creature of God stand up amid his works,
crowned with mercy and loving kindness, to insult
the awful Majesty of " the Great Supreme;" that
everywhere the Church of Christ, and the ordi



THE LORD'S PRAYER.                 47
nances thereof, may be treated with proper respect,
nay, be loved and enjoyed.  What pious heart
will not pray, "I Hallowed be thy name."
-    " Oh may the hour soon come,
When all false gods, false creeds, false prophets,
Allowed in thy good pleasure for a time,
Demolished, the great world shall be at last
The mercy-seat of God, the heritage
Of Christ, and the possession of the Spirit,
The Comforter, the Wisdom."




SERMON  1I.
Thy Kingdom Come. —Matts 6: 10.
FROM the days of the Grecian sages until now,
men have disputed the question, "What is the
best form of government?"  The great majority
of the wise and good have preferred the democratic or republican.  And there are, of course,
none of us of a contrary opinion. But there are
certain limitations of this verdict, which we
ought not to forget. All are not qualified to live
under, or at least to have a voic3 in a republic.
This applies, of course, not only to individuals,
but to nations.  Who would set up a Republic
among the iottentots or Bushmen of Souet Africa?  What folly in the American Missionaurlc.
or the earlier adventurers to the Sandwich Islands,
to have dethroned the king and proclaimed a democracy?  But now, by a long course of training,
protracted through years, they are fittdd for a
republican form of government: and are now asking admission into this great confederacy.
A free government is, in its last analysis, selfgovernment.  It is no'poetic or legal fiction, to
say that in this country people govern themselves.




THE LORD S PRAYER.           49
They do this not merely in an indirect and metaphorical way, by electing those who make and
execute the laws, but literally, and directly,
by voluntarily submitting to those laws.  If
they did not, how else could they be executed,
since there is no kingly power or standing army
to compel obedience?  And what is to hinder us
from electing those who will connive at, or aid in
our disobedience?  Indeed, we have seen in a sister state, where men do not thus govern themselves, but give themselves up to the violence of
unbridled passion, that they ride triumphant over
the prostrate laws, and defy the state and national government. If they do this in the'green
tree, what shall be done in the dry?  If such a
state of things can exist in a little borough, with
the power of the state and national governments,
and the social omnipotence of public opinion arrayed against it, what would become of us if the
same lawless spirit pervaded the entire country?
Again, I say, the people do govern themselves.
The people of France have repeatedly shown
themselves incapable of this self-government,
thus paving the way for those usurpations which
have of late so often disgraced her history,
though by no means excusing, and far less justifying the perjury and treachery by which they
have been accomplished.
France. said one who knew her well, when in




50              SERMONS ON
the time of her. last revolution he heard some
persons wishing she had a Washington-" France
needs not a Washington, but a people."  The
same may be said of the southern republics of
this continent, they need a people- a people accustomed to, and in the practice of self-governnent. DIemocratic institutions are weak and unsteady among them, or have been supplanted by
despotism, not because there are no persons
among themn  capable of wielding the power and
directing the destinies of a republic; nor yet because
there are no persons qualified to live under such
a government; but they are too few and far
scattered to control the turbulent and the ignorant. There are not enough of them to make a
people. There is a populace, a rabble, to be
bought and sold, to be coaxed and terrified; but
no people to govern themselves.  We live quietly
and prosperously under a ropublic, not because
every man is capable of voting intelligently, and
understanding the great questions at issue before
the country; not because all reverence the sacred
majesty of the law, and submit to it for its own
sake. This is notoriously untrue; nor yet because, according to a recent doctrine, God has taken the Sabbath-breakers and profane swearers.
who fill the high places of our land, under his
protection. But there is such a proportion of intelligent, upright, moraol men, that they over-rule




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            51
and govern the rest. Let ignorance and passion
gain the ascendency, and the sun of our liberty
will go down in a sea of anarchy and blood, and
then despotism will not only be certain, it will
even be desirable, as a relief from the harms of
discord and civil war. This is no fancy sketch. It
is the history of Rome, and to some extent of
France. What will keep us from following in the
same path, I may have occasion to notice before
I close.
We see, then, that the republican form of government is not in all cases desirable.  Our own
government has recognized this principle.  The
inhabitants of the territory of Louisiana, at the
time of its cession to the United States, were
found to be so utterly incapable of self-govern
ment, that the legislative authority was vested in
a council of thirteen, appointed annually by the
President; from among the inhabitants of the tcrritory.
In a community like the fabled republic of
Plato, or the Uitopia of Sir Thomas More, where
all the inhabitants were endowed with unlimited
intelligence and complete self-control; where they
all knew what should be done, and were all willing to do it; nothing but a republic would be
allowable, or indeed possible.  And in a community of limited  intelligence, and defective
goodness, if they are not sunk  too low, we will




52               SERMONS ON
all agree that the republican form is the best for
their present happiness and prosperity, and for
their elevation and development.  But if even into
Utopia itself there should come a being far more
wise and powerful, and of such superior goodness
that all could confide in him, ought they not to
make him govern?  How much more should such
blind and erring mortals, as we will all confess
ourselves to be? Do we not act upon this principle every day?  We confide our highest and
most important interests to those who give, as
we think, evidence of superior fitness for such
guardianship.
After all our flourishes about the voice of
the people being the voice of God, and "the
sober second thoughts of the people," most of
us follow the lead of some master-mind; thus
endorsing the saying of a brilliant writer of
our day, that "the true king or able man has
a divine right to govern."  But no mere man has
a right, or should be allowed, to rule absolutely.
Having but a limited intelligence, even if greatly
superior to all his fellow men, he does not, and cannot, always know what course should be pursued.
He needs to be aided and corrected by his fellow
men; and an unwillingness to be thus advised,
would be an indication of another tendency in
human nature, which is by far the strongest objection to the possession of uncontrolled authori



THIE LORD$S PRAYER.               a
ty by man. Power is apt to corrupt its possessor-to make him selfish and ambitious, regardless of the wishes and wants of others. And if
it does not do this, it begets in him  an overweening self-confidence, which is as fatal to his
subjects as deliberate wickedness.
" Man, proud man,
Dressed in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most assured,
His glossy essence,-like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven,
As make the angels weep."
I would not trust the wisest and purest Nan
that ever lived, with unlimited authority. There
would always be some one among his inferiors,
who could teach him  in regard to some matters;
and I should greatly fear that his head would be
turned by such a giddy elevation.
But suppose there came amongus some tall archangel, excelling in strength, his wisdom far transcending ours,his goodness unimpeachable,his power
of resisting temptation sufficient for any emergency.
}Would it not be wise in us to give ourselves up
to his guidance, implicitly-I had almost said, or
at least to content ourselves with but a qualified
veto on his actions?  Still it might be possible
that some of his measures would be unfortunate.
We might learn to suspect his wisdom, even if we
did not doubt his goodness.  Having tasted the




54              SERMONS ON
blessedness of such heavenly rule, would we not
long to find some one of infinite, that is to say,
unlimited wisdom, and irresistible power, whose
goodness was equal to his intelligence and
strength? Surely, we could confide implicitly in
such a being. We should know that all his plans
would be successful: that all his commands were
for our good. If we found such a being, would
it not be wise in us to enthrone him  supreme
monarch? Need I ask, where can such a being
be found? Our Father in Heaven completely fills
up, nay, if I may so speak, overflows the outline
I have sketched.' Infinite, eternal, unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice,
goodness and truth."  Why should we not all
pray, " Thy kingdom come?"
But let us examine the matter a little more
closely. The laws of a people are generally considered a test of the character of the Sovereign.
Look at the ten commandments, and for the purposes of this argument, I confine myself to the
second table, regulating our intercourse with
each other. Here we have all the principles of
justice clearly and briefly enumerated. I do not
wonder that the infidel lawyer, who began to read
the Bible through, stopped here, crying out in
astonishment, "Where did Moses get that law?"
How came the leader of such a rude, barbarous
horde, for such the Israelites must'have been,




THE LORPDS PRAYER.            55
and doubtless were, after centuries of bondage;
how came their leader to announce with such
terse simplicity, the great fundamental principles, upon which the legislation of all civilized
nations is based?  We do not estimate aright the
greatness of this miracle, for a miracle it was, requiring the Divine interposition, in the form
which we call inspiration; we do not estimate it
properly, because we do not know, or remember,
the real condition of the Israelites at the time of
the Exodus. We fancy them such a people as
we were at the Revolution. And 3Moses such a
man as Washington, or Hamilton, or Jefferson.
But they were slaves, and had been for ages, degraded and corrupted, as only oppression can degrade and corrupt.  What should we think, if
even now, the slaves of the South should march
out, proclaiming and submitting to such an impartial code.  True, the Israelites were in remote,
and but remote contact, it must be remembered,
with the highest civilization then existing; but
it was an idolatrous civilization: how inferior to
that to which our servile population is related.
It cannot be denied that Moses was learned in
all the wisdom of the Egyptians, but what was
their knowledge compared with ours? And especially from it and the corrupt, despotic government, of which it was the support, how could he
learn of the rights and duties of man? But in




56              SERMONS ON
our fathers' veins flowed Anglo-Saxon blood.
llampden and St. Johns, Sidney and Russel,
were their ancestors.  Chatham and Burke were
their cotemporaries.  Is it strange that the constitution formed by the pupils of such men should
be just and impartial? What if the slaves of
the King of Dahomey should rise and promulgate such a code as the ten commandments?
Yet even they- might have caught some stray
beams from the resplendent brightness of modern
civilization. But-in the case of Moses, we have
the first, the earliest promulgation of the great
fundamental principles of all jurisprudence. At
the time when' God spake all these words," the
darkness of barbarism was upon the face of the
whole earth. MIoses lived four hundred years
before Homer, five hundred before Lycurgus, the
founder of Sparta, and one thousand before Plato. And the succeeding ages of antiquity, so far
from improving on him, have nothing that can
compare with these brief but weighty commands.
Compared with these, how cruel and blood-thirsty,
how narrow and paltry, the code of Draco or the
Decemviri, the institutions of Cadmus or Romulus. But they are not only the earliest, they are
also the clearest enunciation of the great principles of justice the world has ever had. Every
lawyer, however scanty his reading, may know
that the jurisprudence of every civilized nation




rHE LORD89 PRAYER.            57
ncnder heaven, whether it be of common or civil
law, is based upon them.  Any open, serious violation of them, " Speaking after the manner of
men," would be adjudged a crime in every court
in Christendom.  How came, we may well ask,
this leader of a barbarous people, this foster-child
of a despot, to point out so plainly those eternal
principles of justice, which should regulate the intercourse of men?  Ah! it was God who spake
all these words. This much, by way of episode,
as to the divine authority and lofty grandeur of
the Decalogue.
Would it not be a happy thing, if this could be
the code of all nations?  If all mankind
Whether those
Whom the sun's hot light darkens, or ourselves
Whom he treats falsely, or the northern tribes,
Whom ceaseless snows and starry winters bleach,
if all would settle down upon these principles of
eternal justice, as the basis of their laws and
usages, might we not hope for peace, peace like a
river, and righteousness like the waves of the
sea? And is not the coining of such a blessed.
era worth praying for? But there is much in
the jurisprudence and legislation of even civilized
and Christian nations, that conflicts with these
commands of God. If any admiring disciple of
Blackstone or Tribonian is inclined to doubt this,
let us submit the matter to a simple test. The
E




58              SERMONS ON
second table of the'law is summed up and comprehended in the second great commandmert,
" Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."  Are
there not many laws on the statute books of this
nation, claiming to be, and perhaps rightfully, the
most enlightened on the globe; to have the purest
and most equitable code; are there not many
laws permitting or authorizing a course of conduct directly contrary to this command?  Let
the kingdom of God fully come, let him be recognized as Sovereign, and his law as universally
binding, and every vestige of such enactments
would be swept away. Wrong doing and trickery, instead of being connived at, or protected by
the law, as it is often complained that they are,
would be frowned upon and rebuked. Ought we
not to pray for the coming of the time when all
our laws shall be framed and executed in the
spirit of the rule so well called golden: " Whatsoever ye would that others should do unto you,
do ye even so to them?"
But human legislation, even when purest and
wisest, is but a weak endeavor after the sanctity
of the divine law. There are many violations of
our rights, there are many failures in duty,
which positive enactment cannot reach. How
much petty lying, for instance, and slander,
which human law could never punish, but it is
here all forbidden: " Thou shalt not bear false




THE LOAD'S PRAYER.             59
witness." The same maybe said of the command,
" Thou shalt not steal," and others.  There are
multitudes of men whose highest standard of
morality is, the law of the land. If they are as
good as that compels them to be, taking no more
than it allows, and doing what it permits, they
think themselves good enough. What progress
should we witness in peace and morality, if all
these persons could be brought to recognize the
law of God as the rule to which they should conform, being a law unto themselves.
One great element of the power of the law over
men, is the certainty of its execution. It is better
to have a mild code, and strictly enforce it, than to
stern and vigorous enactments, but suffer them have
to be evaded and treated with contempt.  But it
is impossible to frame human laws so as to prevent evasion. Iniquity can almost always find
some crevice through which to creep;
"But it is not so above.
There is no shuffling there; the action lies
In its true nature, and we ourselves, compelled
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence."
It, will not be so here, when the kingdom of God
shall come, and his law be recognized as the rule
of conduct.
Human laws often operate unequally.  They
bear hard upon the innocent and the well-inten



60              SERMONS ON
tioned. It is impossible to frame them in such a
way that they cannot be perverted by designing
men for unjust purposes.  The law of God can
never be thus made the instrument of oppression.
It is true and righteous altogether. The infinite
wisdom and goodness of God will always secure
the just and equal operation of his laws. I ask
again, if the enthronement of such a being as absolute Sovereign, is not an event to be desired
and prayed for?
So far, I presume, I shall carry every one with
me. It must seem desirable that all men should
regulate their intercourse with each other by the
great principles of justice, laid down in the latter
part of the ten commandments, and summed up
in the second great commandment: " Thou shalt,
love thy neighbor as thyself." But there is a
portion of the law of God, a first and great commandment, which regards our relations to our
Father in Heaven. There are many persons,
perhaps there are some such here, who, while
they feel anxious that men should keep the second,
care little if at all whether they obey the first.
Or, in other words, while they are anxious that
all should be moral, they have little desire that
any should be religious. They regard Churches
and Sabbath Schools only as they promote morality. If a sect or denomination only requires and
enforces morality, no matter what false and dan



THE LORDS PRAYER.            61
gerous ideas of God and our duty to him it may
inculcate, it is good enough, and pure enough for
them.  They prize as highly, if not more so, him
who is moral without being religious, than him
who is moral because he is religious. It can
hardly be expected of these persons, that they
should pray, " Thy kingdom come," with an eye
to such commands as, " Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart:" or, " Thou shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
Yet, I think it can be shown, even on their own
theory, that they ought to. I do notnow address
myself to my fellow Christians. We believe
that the chief end of man is to glorify God, and
to enjoy him forever. We hold that morality,
as compared with religion, is but
----— " The silken tassel's flaunt,
Beside the golden corn."
But I wish to show the mere moralist that he
ought to be as anxious that men should love God
and reverence him, as that they should be honest
and industrious.  For obedience to the first commandment is the strongest possible guarantee of
obedience to the second. If a man is truly religious, he must be moral; "' every duty to man
becolming doubly sacred as due also to God."
And remember that in offering up this petition,
you do not ask that men may make a profession
of religion, but that they may be religious. The




62              SERMONS ON
word of God everywhere teaches that this involves
morality.  " He who loveth not his brother,
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom
he hath not seen."  " See that none render evil
for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which
is good, both among yourselves and to all men.
But again, religion is not only the stirest, it is
the only sure foundation for general morality.
The religious feelings of man, his love to God,
his reverence for God's law, his dread of God's
dclispleasure, are the only holding ground in which
his soul can anchor amid the storms of temptation that beset him. The great truth has been
recognized by the most profound jurists, the most
capable administrators of government. Mr. Webster, in his address at Plymouth, used the following language: " Our ancestors established their
system of government on morality anq religious
sentiment. Moral habits, they believed, cannot
safely be trusted on any other foundation than
religious principle.  Whatever makes men good
Christians, makes them good citizens; and at the
end of two centuries, there is nothing upon which
we can pronounce more confidentially; nothing
of which we can express a more deep and earnest
conviction, than of the deep and inestimable importance of that religion to man, both in regard
to this life and that which is to come."  And
again, in his Speech on the Girard Will Case, he




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            63
says: " What would be the condition of our fainilies, if religious fathers, and religious mothers
were to teach their sons and daughters no religious tenets till they were eighteen? What
would become of their morals, their character,
their purity of heart and life?  What would become of all that now renders the social circle
lovely and beloved?  What would become of society itself?  How could it exist."
Washington, in his Farewell Address, teaches-us
that same lesson: " Of all the dispositions and
habits which lead to political prosperity," he
says,'"religion and morality are indispensable
supports. In vain would that man claim the
tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert
these great pillars of happiness, these firmest
props of the duties of men and citizens. The
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought
to respect and cherish them.  And let us with
caution indulge the supposition that morality
can be maintained without religion. Whatever
naay be conceded to the influence of refined education, or minds of peculiar structure, reason
and experience both forbid us to expect that
national morality can prevail in exclusion of religiouS principles."
This same truth is recognized also by our nation as a nation, both in the state and general
go vernments. The ha11lls of legislation are silent,




64              SERMONS ON
the public offices are closed, the courts of law are
deserted; and this great confederacy, in form at
least, remembers the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,
Nay, the laws of this state, and of almost every
other state in the union, punish Sabbath-breaking
and profanity as offences against the peace of society. And they do this, not on the ground that
in committing these transgressions you invade
the quiet of others, for you need not, and often
would not, do this; but because whatever weakens the force of religious obligations, saps the
very foundation of public order. True, these
laws are seldom, if ever, enforced; nay, they are
neglected and despised by the men who have
made them, or have solemnly sworn to observe
and execute them. But they stand, and long may
they stand, the profane, Sabbath-breaking legislator's and judge's solemn condemnation of his
own evil course. They show that the first table
of the law is recognized in the basis of the second.
True, it is only observance of the Sabbath, and
reverence for God which are formally re-enacted.
Yet this secures the principles. And I am of
the opinion that the worship of a strange God,
or the idolatrous worship of the one living and
true God, would be equally at war with the spirit:
of our legislation, founded as that is upon the
common law of England. Of one thing there
can be no doubt.  The laws of the land protect




THE LORID S PRAYER.           65
and encourage religion.  Infidelity is tolerated,
Atheism  is tolerated.  And let them be. Heathenism would be tolerated.  I am not sure but
it is in California now. But religion, and the
Christian religion, alone is sanctioned and cherished.
Here, then, you see that wise and enlightened
legislators have always put a high estimate
upon religious motives and obligations. - Would
you be wiser than they? Would you be indififerent to that of which they were so solicitous?
And let me tell you, worldly-minded, scheming,
money-making, money-loving man, it is of great
importance to you, that the religion which controls the community, should be the purest possible.  The more correct its teachings as to what
man is to believe concerning God, and what duty
God requires of man, the more efficacious will it
be in preserving the morality, and thus securing
the welfare of society.  Would you be prosperous and happy?  Would you have all men
share in that prosperity? Lift up, then, your heart
to our Father in Heaven, and say, "' Thy kingdom
come."
Of all people in the world, the citizens of a republic should offer this petition most earnestly.
While religion is a great support and preservative
of any government, it is absolutely essential to
the bare existence of one that assutmes a demo



66               SERIMONS ON
cratic form.  We could not live in a republic
where there was not some reverence for God and
his laws.  In the eloquent language of the instructor of my youth,-" While a democracy in
which every man should love God, and his neighbor, as himself, would be well," —nay, I hold it
the best possible on earth,-"' an infidel and atheistic democracy, manifesting, as it certainly
would, the animalism of the brute with the art
and malignity of the fiend, would give us the most
vivid image of hell upon earth of which we can
conceive."  There is, I fear, —and sometimes
among Christian men too, —' a kind of worship
of democracy," a fluent dogmatism about free
institutions and manifest destiny; as if there
was something in our mere form of government
to preserve and perpetuate it. But a republic
of Sabbath-breakers and debauchees cannot prosper, Anglo Saxon though they be. It is not our
war-steamers on the high seas, our foot and artillery on the frontiers, the elocuent orator,'or
the shrewd politician, that are the defence and
protection of our land. No: the humble, pious
mother, the faithful minister of the Gospel, these
are the bulwarlis of our freedom.
Other men may look to other sources of strength,
to the diffusion of knowledge, the multiplication of
useful inventions, the increase of wealth and refinements, but to me there is no hope for us, but in




THE LORD S PRAYER.          67
the coming of the kingdom of God. Schools and
colleges may rise in every quarter; learned and
laborious Professors may be there; crowds of
eager students may throng around them.. We
may have all knowledge, and understand all mysteries in heaven and earth; our barns and outhouses may be bursting with fullness; railroads
and telegraph-wires may cover the land like a
net-work; but if religion loses its hold upon us;
if we cast off fear and restrain prayer before God,
our wealth and knowledge will only furnish us
more abundant means of profligacy.  Our government, our nation, will be rotten to the very
core, and anarchy, with its sure successor, despotism, will stand at the door.  Fellow-citizen,
whom I may not call fellow-Christian, would you
save our common country from this awful doom?
Pray, then, with us1," Thy kingdom come." Help
us to bring in that kingdom.  Help us to send
into every hamlet and habitation the Bible, the
Sabbath-School, and the preacher; mighty through
God to the pulling down of the strong holds of
sin.
Are you a propagandist, anxious that free institutions should absorb the Continent, sweep
over Europe, and encircle the globe? Then, even
you, too, must pray, "Thy kingdom come."  I
have already shown that a republican government is, in its last analysis, literal self-govern



68                SERMONS ON
ment.  Even the few, and they are very few,
who are naturally capable, to some extent, of this
self-government, will be greatly assisted by " the
grace of God that bringeth salvation.  "When a
man is trained up to become a subject of the
kingdom of heaven, he will be best fitted to be
a good citizen in a free government."  But, with
the mass of men, as has been already remarked,
there is no security. There is no basis for this
self-government, so essential to free institutions,
but the religion of the Bible. If, then, you would
break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free,
you must send this religion, with its influences
and institutions, to every part of the world.Nothing but the coming of the kingdom of God
can destroy all earthly kingdoms, and this certainly will. Let Christianity thoroughly pervade
all ranks and classes, and tyranny would be impossible. Then all in authority would feel that
they were representatives, not substitutes for
nations, and
"-That to rule in slavery and error,
For the mere ends of personal pomp and power,
Is such a sin as doth deserve a hell
To its self sole."
And a nation of godly men could not be enslaved.  They would call no man master, for one
is their master, even Christ.  The Son would
make them free, and they would be free indeed,




TIME LORD S PRAYER.              69
with the liberty of the sons of God. And if not
thus made free, they must be slaves, the slaves
of low  desires;'"slaves to a horde of petty tyrants,"  military  chieftains, demagogues, timeserving politicians, political soldiery of fortune,
" stating, with ordinary oaths, their love to every
new position."  Nations should learn, and they
are learning, that
" It is not kings
Nor priests they need- fear, so much as themselves;
That if they keep but true to themselves, and pure,
Sober, enlightened, godly-mortal men
Become impassable as air, one great
And indestructible substance as the sea."
I do not say that, wherever Christianity prevails, it will immediately or necessarily produce
revolution, and dethrone monarchs.  The process
will be gradual, and it is best that it should. The
forms of royalty may to some extent remain, long
after the people really exercise the sovereign
power. The passage to entire self-government,
in form as well as in fact, may be peaceful, and
perhaps even imperceptible. But when the hour
comes for that change, the people will be ready
for it, and eventually it will come. This is illustrated in the case of the Sandwich Islands. For
a long time, the king has had but nominal power,
and now  they, who, thirty  years ago, were the
barbarous slaves of a cruel despot, as barbarous
as themselves, are asking admittance into our




''70            SERMONS ON
confederacy. W~ho has done this   Philosophers
and orators, theorizing and declaiming aboutpopular sovereignty? No, indeed: a- handful of
ministers of the cross, whom orators and philosophers have been laughing to scorn. Lo! "what
hath God wrought!"
The same process is going on in Great Britain.
True, they have a queen, but she rides in her
carriage amid admiring and applauding thousands,
to open Parliament, with as little real power over
the destinies of England and of Europe, as the
boy prince at her side, the heir apparent to the
throne. The people govern. Public opinion is
heard and respected. No administration could
stand there twenty-four hours against the opposition of the nation. It cannot be denied that
there are great abuses there, and glaring inequalities, but they are constantly attacked by many
sober, enlightened, godly men. They are being
alleviated, and I hope and believe will be ultimately removed, till at last no traces shall remain, of oppressive and arbitrary distinctions in
society. Every humane man, indeed, every man
who is not dyed in red republicanism, must wish
that this change might come by the voluntary
renunciation and sacrifice of the royal family and
nobility. Who could wish to see anarchy and
civil war running riot over that fair land,




THE LOERDIS PRAYER.            71 
"Refinement's chosen seat,
Art's trophied dwelling, learning's green retreat?"
Who would not rather see king, queen and
lords, driven by no dire necessity, but led by
their love to God and their fellow-men, willingly
resigning their place and power. I am not without hope that Christianity will yet present us
with this grand spectacle. But if this change
must come, as the consequence of a revolution,
and I think in some form or other it will come,
the crisis will be comparatively brief and peaceful. There will at least be no reign of terror,
nothing of that wild intoxication, that bloodthirsty anarchy, which disgraced France. They
are better fitted now for free institutions than
any nation on the globe, except our own; and
when the proper time comes, they will take their
place among the republics of the world; with the
calmness and firmness of Christian men. And as
the kingdom of God comes, as Christianity finds
its way deeper and deeper into the hearts of men,
the process will go on. Fetter after fetter will
be broken, slave after slavewill join the anthem of
the free,
" Till nation after nation, taught the strain,
Earth rolls the rapturous hosannah round."
If, then, you love liberty and your fellow-men,
though you are a republican, though you are a
radical, you must pray, "Thy kingdom  come,"




SERMONS ON
that princes and prelates and popes may be nothing, and God almighty may be all in all.
MIy Christian friends, what infinite motives
urge us to pray this prayer, earnestly and unceasingly. While the great majority of our fellow-men are sending after Christ, the Immanuel,
God with us, and saying "We will not have this
man to reign over us;" we are his subjects, his
soldiers, looking for and hasting unto the coming
of God, our Savior. To advance the interests,
and to secure the triumph of his kingdom, we are
united together as a Church. For this purpose
you have built this house; for this purpose I
stand here Sabbath after Sabbath; to this purpose I have devoted my life. To accomplish it,
you spend cheerfully, and indeed gladly, as I hope
and believe, your time and money; nay, more —
you labor in your worldly business, in your stores
and your shops, cheerfully, that you may do something for him who does so much for you. To
hasten the coming of the kingdom, we labor in
the reforms of the day. Other men may aim at
other ends; the increase of physical comfort and
social well-being; but the mark of the prize of our
high calling, is the coming of the kingdom of
God. Any religion, that makes men industrious,
intelligent and peaceful, may satisfy the philanthropist and the republican, but nothing can fill
the compass of our hopes and prayers, but the




TIHE LORD'S PRAYErn.          73
coming of the Son of mnan, "a second time, without
sin, unto salvation."  Why should we not pray
for the realization of our fondest wishes?
"Oh that the Son
Might come again. There should be no more war,
No more want; no more sickness; with a touch
He shall cure all diseases, and with a word all sin."
There is yet another reason why we should
pray,' Thy kingdom come."  Every pious heart
must feel oppressed with a painful consciousness
that the kingdom of God has not yet come.  It
has not yet fully come in our hearts.  We are
often rebellious, and always forgetful subjects;
and the world lieth in wickedness, or, as it might
be translated, under the power of the evil one.
The prince of the power of the air rules the nations. Even in Christian lands, what pride and
oppression, what malignity and deceit, what practical atheism; and oh! how full are the dark
places of the earth of the habitations of cruelty.
Who can overcome this opposition?  None but
God. We have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God,
and not of man.  Well, then, in our utter helplessness, may we cry to our Father in heaven,
" Thy kingdom come;" and blessed be God, that
kingdom shall come.  The mountain of the house
of the Lord shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills,
and all nations shall flow unto it.
P




74                SERMONS ON
"The day shall yet appear,
When the might with the right and the truth shall be;
And come what there may, to stand in the way,
That day the world shall see."
Whether our nation, " heir of all the ages foremost in file of timne," with such pre-eminent facilities and opportunities for forwarding this kingdom, shall aid in this great work, we cannot be
sure. If she is false to her solemn trust, if bribery and deceit and oppression rule, if she is a
Christian nation only in name, she is lost." Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found
wanting," will be written on her walls, as truly as
on those of tyrannous, luxurious Babylon of old.
But if, as we hope and pray, she holds fast, and
does not deny the name of Christ, every thing
teaches us to believe she will have much to do in
bringing in the latter-day glory.  Then do we believe, to quote again the language of the Gazmaliel
at whose feet I was brought up, " there will be in
our ship of state, as we believe there always has
been, one who, though he may seem for a time to
be asleep in the hinder part of the vessel, will
yet come when the winds are loudest and the
waves are highest, and say,' Peace, be still." 
But should we, which may God forbid, reject the
counsel of God against ourselves, his kingdom
will come. Whatever may become of our nation,
yea, of our sect or party in the Church, the ark




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           75
of God will ride triumphant over every billow.
The kingdoms of this world shall become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.
Yes, my brother, however dark and discouraging the prospect may scem, relax none of your
efforts, cease not your importunate prayers; nay,
rather, double your diligence. The kingdom of
God shall come. It may come quickly.  This
tempestuous state of things at present may be
simply
" The waking of a sea
Before a calm, that rocks itself to rest."
Or it may be, as I am inclined to believe, that
the wars and rumors of wars which disquiet the
whole earth, are the foreshadowings of the great
and final contest between truth and error, between
God and the great enemy of God and man.We may fall in the midst of the battle.  The
youngest disciple of Christ who hears me, may
die amid the gloom and darkness of this apparently uncertain conflict; but he whose right it
is, shall reign, and we, whether in the body or
out of the body, shall swell with rapture that
song of grateful homage: "We give thee thanks,
Lord God almighty, that thou hast taken to thyself thy great power, and hast reigned."




SERMON IV.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is done in heaven.
Matt. 6: 10.
THIS petition is the complement, the counterpart of the preceding one.  In the former we
pray that God's kingdom may come; in the latter,
that.men may be obedient subjects of that kingdoin. The one without the other would be invoking upon ourselves the direst possible curse; for
if we should see clearly and constantly our obligation to obey God', and yet not obey him, how
bitter must be our remorse.  The reason why
men live so contentedly in disobedience to their
I-Ieavenly Father, is that they are almost all insensible, while none are fully alive to his kingly
authority; and one cause of this deadness is the
fact that "judgment against an evil work is not
executed speedily.  Judgment for a long time
lingereth, and damnation slumbereth." But, as was
remarked in discussing that subject, page 59, when
the kingdom of God shall come, there will be no
more of the law's delay.  Every transgression
will promptly secure its due recompense and reward.  Men will, on this, as well as on other ac



THE LORD'S PRAYER.           77
counts, be fully aware and unceasingly conscious
of their allegiance to God, and there will therefore be an end, necessarily, of the pleasure of sin,
which they now enjoy for a season.
This, I believe, will be the condition of the
finally impenitent. All the ignorance and stupidity, the blindness and hardness of heart, which
keep men at ease in their wickedness here, will be
removed. Every bleared eye will be cleansed,
every torpid conscience will be awakened. The
glorious attributes of God will be revealed to them
with overpowering distinctness, and the whole
creation will have neither nook nor corner where
they can hide themselves from this display of his
majesty. They will feel their obligation to love
and obey their Heavenly Father, not only as they
do not now feel it, but with a force and strength
of which they can now form no conception. Yet
they will not love and serve him. They will see,
with anguish and agony, the guilt of every sin,
but will still persist in sin; as the drunkard,
even here, feels the folly and shame of his bondage to appetite, yet will not, canrznot break away.
If, then, we would not have this hell upon earth,
when we pray-" thy kingdom come," we must at
the same time ask that the will of God may be
done on earth as it is done in heaven.
The most obvious lesson to be derived from
this petition is the duty of being contented with




78               SERMONS ON
the allotments of Providence. Most Christians,
in their use of this prayer, employ this petition
in no other sense but as expressing their acquiescence in God's purposes respecting them. This
is undoubtedly correct, so far as it goes. We do
here submit our wills, even in our most importunate requests, to the will of God. The spirit of
this petition should be in every prayer, though it
is to be feared that this disposition is not so uniform an element of our prayers, especially when
they are ardent and sincere, as it ought to be.
Our desires after spiritual good are generally so
faint and languid, that we are seldom, troubled
with fears and inquietude, lest the feeble, formal
prayers we offer, should be disregarded. But
when we come to ask for temporal blessings, or
even think of our dependence on the providence
of God for them, how apt we are to have a rebellious, or at least a repining or unquiet spirit.
And sometimes, too, when our hearts are burdened with the thought of the multitudes around us,
casting off fear and restraining prayer; or, when
grieved and heart-broken at the sight of solme
dear friend, a husbandl  a wife, or a child, without
God, and of course without hope in the world;
in the bitterness of our souls we are tempted to
complain of God; or, when hearing of powerful
revivals elsewhere, while all is cold and dead
among us; or, when seeing a fair prospect of




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            79
growth in the Church suddenly blasted by some
unpropitious circumstance, some sudden turn in
the tide of events, do we not murmur that we
alone are left desolate?
My brethren, we are always to cherish the spirit of this petition in our efforts, as well as in our
prayers.  In our labors and sufferings, we are always to say, "thy will be done;" and we are not
to reserve this feeling for great occasions and
severe trials.  In the petty vocations of every
day, in the constantly recurring routine of life's
dull duties, this spirit may, and should be manifested.  IHe who taught us this prayer, is himself
our example in regard to this.  In the hour of
his extremest agony and peril, he saidc: " 0, my
Father, if this cup may not pass away firom me
except I drink it, thy will be done."  The Lord
grant that we may all be baptized with the same
spirit.
That we pray in this petition for such a disposition, appears upon the surface; but a deeper
and an equally important lesson is taught in it.
Neither its spirit nor its literal meaning can be
limited to mere passive endurance.  It reaches
and includes the active powers of our nature.
You would haidly look to find' what is commonly
called Calvinism in the Lord's prayer; but here
it is, in one of its most offensive forms, in this expression: " Thy will be done."  This is not the




80               SERMONS ON
language of acquiescence and submission merely,
as in the case of our Savior, but of earnest ei.treaty, that it may be our meat and our drink, as
it was his, to do the will of our Father in heaver..We confess our utter inability, as of ourselves, to
do the will of God.  IDistrusting and disowning
our own strength, we ask God to bring to pass
the doing of his will by us. The Apostle Paul
felt this.  He sayjs: y"When I would do good,
evil is present with me.  Oh, wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? I thank God, through our Lord Jesus
Christ."  And every converted soul has felt the
same meekness, and has looked to the same source
for strength.  Even unconverted men feel and
confess this inability, though they do not go to
God for help.  The great dramatist of our language, who gives portraitures of human nature
inferior only to those of Holy Writ, and who cannot be suspected of any leaning to stern orthodoxy, puts this strong, but by no means exaggorated language into the mouth of a murderer, full
of remorse:
"Try what repentance can X what can it not?
Yet, oh! what can it, when one can't. repent?"
This inability to do what we know we shouldl
and perhaps wish to do, is part of our sad heritage in our present estate of sin and misery. But.
in what does this inability consist? in what part




TI-IE LORD'S PRAYTE.          81
of man's nature do we find the weakness, the defect which disables him?  This is a question
which demands patient and thoughtful consideration.  May the Father of Lights grant us the
guidance of his Holy Spirit, while we proceed to
investigate it.  The first and great, the fundamental command is, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart."  Now, man evidently has
intellect necessary to understand this. He can
know God; not that he can fully comprehend his
nature, but he can know that there is a God, and
be, to some extent, aware of his character. A
brute or an idiot cannot do this. They are, therefore, incapable of doing the will of God. But
man has, we see, intellectual ability. Hie is capable, also, of exercising the required affectionhe can love. Now, it is possible to imagine a
being of pure intellect, incapable of any affection.
I do not, of course, suppose God ever created
such a being; indeed, I doubt whether such a
being could be created; but we can conceive of
such an one. Now  the command, "Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," addressed to such a being, would be a mockery.
He could see and understand the character of
God, but he could not feel any emotion resulting
from such perceptions of God's attributes.  But
man can exercise this affection, and therefore he
is in this sense able to do the will of God. Man




82               SERMiONS ON
has also a conscience, to which this command may
be addressed.  He can feel the force of moral
obligation,-he can see, and to some extent he
does see, that he ought to obey God.  If lie did
not, or rather could not, he would be incapable of
obedience.  What, then, is the inability of man to
do the will of God?  It is his want of the disposition to do it. This last kind of ability is often
called moral, while the others are called natural.
Man is said, therefore, by those who use these
terms, to have natural ability, but moral inability.
It is generally believed, I think, that our Church
does not adopt this distinction.  It seems to me,
any candid person will see that our standards
teach the doctrine I have already advalcedl, that
man's inability is his want of disposition.' " Man,
by his fall into a state of sin, bath wholly lost all
ability of will to any spiritual good accompanlying salvation."* The Larger Catechism, inllanswer
to Question 25, describes the corruption of man's
nature, as "that whereby he is indisposed, disabled, and madel opposite to all good, and wholly
inclined to evil."
But there are those who believe that our branch
of the Church puts such a construction upon these
passages-gives them such an interpretationu- as
to believe and teach that man has no ability of
any kind to obey the law of God.  This is a great
* Conf. Faith, Chap. 9, Sec. 3.




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           83
mistake. It would be easy to show that the view
of inability I have taken is recognized as the orthodox one, by the most thorough Calvinists.  I
shall quote, at this time, only a few modern authors, to show what our belief really is.
Dr. Green, the nestor of our- Church, quoted
the following expression, as giving his views:
"The moral inability under which sinners lie as a
consequence from the fall, is not of such a nature
as to take away the guilt' of sin." The venerable Dr. Mathews, for many years a Professor in
our Theological Seminary in this State, says:
"We possess, indeed, all the natural facilities
which God demands in his service, but we are
without the moral power. We have not the disposition, the desire to employ them in his service."
Dr. A. G. Fairchild, ini his work entitled, " The
Great Supper," published by our Board, uses the
following language: " Sinners are urged to come
to Christ, inasmuch as their inability is an inability of the will. The reason that they canrot
truly come to the Savior is, that they are not cordially willing.  It is not their choice to come.
Their voluntary blindness, their love of sin and
aversion to holiness, are what disable them.  We
do not therefore teach that sinners are bound
hand and foot, and thuls preve:ted frolm coming
to Christ, though desirous of doing so. This is
a palpable misrepresentation of our sentiments.




84               SERMONS ON
They would be able if they were truly willing."
Could any thing be more explicit?
While we all accept the view I have given of
the nature of man's inability, there are some in
our branch of the Church, who believe-and I am
one-that the terms, natural ability and moral
inability, do not accurately describe the condition
of man, and had therefore better not be employed.  Our objections to them are as follows:
The language used conveys the idea that man's
unwillingness to obey the will of God is not natural to him. Now we believe, as I have no doubt
most of those who use the language I am condemning do, that it is; that is to say, it belongs
to all men: it is a part of our nature.  We bring
it into the world with us. It is the very essence
of that depravity, which we all agree to call native, or natural. Our inability, that is, our unwillingness, is not natural in precisely the same
sense as our intellect, our affections and conscience. God did not endow us with it, but it is
natural in an important sense: which the distinction between natural and moral, as commonlyr
made, slights and overlooks.
Again, man's ability may be said to be moral.
It is not a physical ability that we contend for,
but a moral; an ability which is in the intellect,
the affections, the conscience.  These are the
moral faculties in man. The possession of thema




TIIE LORD'S PRAYER.           85
makes man a moral, accountable being, a subject
of moral government; that is, government by motives-by reason instead of force.  So that man
has a moral ability to do the will of God. Thismay seem to some captious quibbling, but it is
not intended to be such. We, who object to the
phases under consideration, are persuaded that it
is of great importance that our language upon
these points should be as precise and accurate as
possible.  While we agree with those who use
these terms, as to the nature and seat of man's
inability, we prefer to describe it as being in his
will or disposition. We know of no better description of it than that already quoted, " man is
indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all
spiritual good."
I have been sometimes inclined to suspect that
our branch of the Church differs from others in
regard to another aspect of this subject. We hold,
as they do, that man's inability results from, or
rather consists in, such a perversion of his nature
as makes him  opposed to spiritual good, and inclined to evil; but we hold, also, that this perversion of his nature has extended, in a measure,
to his intellect and conscience; has infected and
corrupted them, so that he does not see God's
attributes-does not perceive their moral beauty,
and feel his obligation to love God for them, as
clearly and strongly as he would, if he had never




86              SElRMONS ON
become indisposed, disabled, and opposite to all
spiritual good. Revelation seems to us to teach
this doctrine. This is what we understand the
Bible to mean, when it represents men as having
"' the understanding darkened,being alienated from
the life of God through the ignorance that is in
themn because of the blindness of their hearts;
having their foolish heart darkened," and other
parallel passages which I might quote. We
think that reason would lead us to expect, that
the corruption of man's affections would thus extend to his intellect and his conscience; and we
believe-nay, we are sure, that the testimony of
experience is on our side. Will not every Christian acknowledge that, in his unconverted state,
he did not see such loveliness in the character of
God-so much that ought to awaken his admiration-that he did not feel so strongly as he now
does his obligation to love and serve God?  And
will he not confess that the reason why God's
character is not more attractive to him now, and
that he is not more sensible of his duty to love
God is, the corruption remaining in him, which
blinds his eyes and hardens his heart?  What is
this but to acknowledge that the perversion of his
nature extends to his intellect and his conscience.
Now, it has sometimes appeared to me, that
those who impute to us extreme and unreasonable views in regard to man's inability, do not look




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            87
at this particular point as we do. But, on reviewing the matter, I am inclined to think that
they have slighted this phase of the question.
They have entirely mistaken our opinions. Supposing that we hold that man has no kind of ability, in any degree, to do the will of God, in their
zeal to vindicate God and man from such an aspersion, for such it is, in their well-meant endeavors to prove to us what we have never denied,
that man has enough of what they call natural
ability, to make him  responsible, they forget to
acknowledge, what I cannot think they would
deny, that the corruption of man's nature has impaired his fatculties.  I would remark here, in
passing, that mUCh of the harsh language of the
old writers is to be understood as asserting, that
man's reason and conscience have been weakened,
as a consequence of th.e fall.  When this is remembered, it gives a very different meaning to
many of their expressions, which, taken alone, and
out of their connectiona seem  to deny man the
possession of any ability whatever to do the will
of God.
I have seen it asserted, lately, by high authority, that the difference between us and those who
hold a looser theology is, that while we agree as
to the nature of man's inability, they look upon it
as under man's control, and we do not. They
say, he has only to determine to love God, and




88              SERMONS ON
he can do it. We believe that, however much he
may resolve and re-resolve, he will never do the
will of God, until God works in him, both to will
and to do. If this is the difference between us, it
is certainly of no small importance. I must confess I have seen the former of these views avowed in some influential quarters; but I cannot believe that the majority of those who suppose us
to hold illiberal and absurd opinions in regard to
man's inability, attribute to him such a control
over his own evil disposition. The teachings of
the Bible are plainly to the contrary.:" No man,"
said our Savior himself, " can come unto me, except the Father draw him." And shortly afterwards he repeats the same saying: " No man can
come unto me, except it were given him of my
Father." And, yet again, he tells his disciples
in his parting instructions, " without me ye can do
nothing." -"Not thatweare sufficient ofourselves,"'
says the Apostle, "' to think any thing as of ourselves."  " Can the Ethiopian change his skin,"
said God by the mouth of the prophet, " or the
leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good who
are accustomed to do evil."  Those who become
the sons of God, are represented as being born,
not of the will of man, but of God. The language
of our Confession of Faith is equally explicit.
Not that I would put this upon a level with the
Word of God, but I introduce its declarations




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            89
here, to show how they coincide with the teachings of Holy Writ; and also to convince you
that no one can subscribe to that venerable instrument, without rejecting the idea that ma, can
turn to God whenever he pleases. "Man, by his
fall into a state of sin and misery," say the Westminster Assembly of Divines, "hath wholly lost
all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being wholly averse from that which is good, and dead in sin,
is not able by his own strength to convert himself,
or prepare himself thereto."
This is the experience of every Christian. "I
know too much," said a warm-hearted Methodist
brother to me, in speaking of one who had preached, as he said, tlle doctrine that it was as easy for
a sinner to turn round and be a Christian, a's for
him to take a right-hand or a left-hand road that
happened to lead where he wished to go;'I
know too much," said this devout man, " of the
agony of a sinner under conviction, ever to believe
that." And do we not all know too much of our
own utter helplessness, to believe that man can
convert himself, or prepare himself thereto? The
experience of the awakened soul is of the same
character. "i My nature," said such an one to a
minister of the Gospel, "' is stronger than my will."
Ah, how true! The passionate man, shedding
bitter'tears over his haste and injustic —the




90               SERIIONS ON
drunkard, reeling home to that disgraced family,
before whom and his God he has so often sworn
to abstain forever,-indeed, all kinds and classes
of men must make the same sad confession.  At
least, I cannot think it possible, that any intelligent person, professing to believe what is commonly called Calvinism, in its most liberal phases, can believe that -man's evil propensities are
under the control of his will.
There are two classes of objectors to the sentiments I have advanced, both, perhaps, represented here.  Some of you will say, " I do not believe
any such doctrine.  Man has full power to do
the will of God; he can repent, reform, change
his course of conduct, obey God, whenever he
pleases." Well, my friend, do it: make the experiment.
You do not love to read the Bible, to pray, to
associate with Christians.  You do not love God
with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. Resolve, now, that you will do all this;
that you will perform, faithfully, all the duties
God's word enjoins, and what success will you
have? You are the people that say, if you ever make a profession of religion, you- will show
Church-members how to live. Ah, you do not
know the force of your own evil tendencies. Because you are floating down the stream, you think
there is no current; but turn and breast it, and




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           91
you will soon see with what irresistible power,
(irresistible by your own strength,) it sweeps you
along. I say again, make the experiment.  Many
an awakened sinner has made it before you, and
has discovered his own weakness, nay, utter inability to do the will of God. The Lord grant
that you may find this out before it is too late,
and may flee for refuge to the hope set before
you in the Gospel.
But some one will say, on the other hand, ":I
believe this: I have an evil heart: I cannot change
it: God only can. He will do so, if he sees fit, and
I must wait till he does see proper to do so." Now,
of you who make this profession, one of two things
is true.  Either you do not think it such a bad
thing to be unwilling to obey God, or you do not
truly believe that God alone can remove this unwillingness.
If you felt yourself to be dangerously sick, and
were persuaded that none but the most skillful
physician could save you, how eagerly would you
search for-how earnestly would you beseech such
an one.
But if you think yourself only a little, or not
at all unwell, or believe that, however sick you
may be, you are fully capable of managing your
disease, you will have no anxiety for assistance.
So, too, if you felt the wretchedness and guilt of
sin; if you were really persuaded that no one but




92              SERMONS ON
God could deliver you from that body of death,
with what passionate importunity, what groans
and sighs, would you cry to him for help. I know
you do not feel the danger and the woe of your
present condition; you do not think yourself, as
the Apostle did, a wretched man, because you do
not love and obey God; because there is a law of
sin and death in your members. I long to see
you feeling this, this conviction of sin, which shall
drive you to God as your only resource. And if
you would investigate the matter, I think you
would find that you are not relying so entirely on
the help of God. You think, after all, that, by
and by, when you get ready, you can of yourself
repent; that is, change your heart and your affections. Oh, that I could really convince you that
this is not so; that I could make you feel your
utter inability, of your own strength,.to convert
yourself. I should look to see you finding your
way to God by Him wlho has said, " Whosoever
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out."
There are some who will say, All this may be
true; but we do not think it is best to preach it,
it does more harm than good. I reply, that when
we say the sinner cannot of himself come to
Christ, and do the will of God, we say only what
Christ and his Apostles said; and we are not
afraid to follow their guidance.
Besides, if the sinner cannot of himself turn to




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          93
God, he ought to know it. If you tell him that
he can, or lead him to suppose that he can, he
will be completely at ease, and will wait till he
is ready, instead of seizing the appointed time,
and the day of salvation. In not plainly showing
him his helpless condition, you flatter him into a
false and dangerous peace.
There is yet another class of persons, to whom
I must address myself. Sometimes you find professors of religion among them, though I hope no
member of this Church has any such feeling.
Generally, these persons are moral men, and
what are commonly called, moralists; a class to
whom may be applied the preface to the parable
of the Publican and the Pharisee:'" They trust
in themselves that they are righteous, and despise
others."  What do.these people say? "Whatis
the use of all this dull, doctrinal preaching; what
has it to do with your text?  Give us a plain,
practical, sermon."  My friends,'we are told in
our form of government, that " truth is in order
to goodness;" aid this is sound philosophy. You
cannot have correct practice, without sound doctrine. What would you think of a student in
medicine, who should say to his instructor,'" What
is the use of all this study about the theory of
medicine? let us practice."  Would you want
such an one to practice on you?
The truth I have been endeavoring to unfold




94               SERMONS ON
is eminently a practical one, and appropriate to
our present subject. You will never pray this
prayer as you should, " Thy will be done," till
you feel your utter inability, of yourself, to do
the will of God. If you are a professor of religion, you will not pray so earnestly, nor so often
as you should, for grace to help in every time of
need, until you are convinced that you can of
your own self do nothing; that, as the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
ville, no more can you, except you abide in Christ.
My impenitent friend, you will never ask God
for mercy-you will never cry, " Lord, save or I
perish," until you feel that unless he does save,
you will perish. -You see, then, how important
it is that this conviction of your utter helplessness should be waked up in your heart. The Lord
grant that we may all so feel our dependence upon him, that we shall send up together this importunate prayer, 1" Thy will be done."
Perhaps you are one of those who say you
would join the Church, you would make a profession of religion, you would begin a Christian
life, if you only thought you could carry it out.
For you, this subject has a deep significance.
You need first of all to learn, that you cannot of
yourself carry it out, nor begin it, and that you
must ask God to help you.  Your language will




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            95
then be, "thanks be to God, who giveth us the
victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."
But we pray that the will of God may be done
in a certain manner- " as it is done in heaven."
No better explanation of this comprehensive
phrase can be given, than that which was drawn
out by a Sabbath School teacher, in his examination of his class.  However familiar any of us
may be with this simple story, it will do us good
to be reminded, that while God hides these things
from the wise and prudent, he reveals them unto
babes. "You have told me, my children," said a
teacher, "where the will of God is to be done, on
earth, and how it is to be done, as it is done in
heaven.  How do you think the angels, and the
happy spirits, do the will of God in heaven, as they
are to be our pattern?" The first child replied,
"they do it immediately."  The second, "they
do it diligently." Thethird, " they do it always."
The fourth, " they do it with all the heart."  The
fifth, "they do it altogether.
HIere a pause ensued, and no child appeared to
have an answer ready.  But after some time-a
little girl arose and said, "' why, sir, they do it
without asking any questions."  How suggestive
is every one of these replies.  Let us do the will
of God immediately, never deferring it to a more
convenient season.  Let us do it diligently, not
with listless indolence. Some professors of reli



96               SERMONS ON
gion are very active and enterprising in their
worldly affairs, but slow and careless in everything that pertains to the glory of God, and the
good of their souls. They do not do the will of
God as it is done in heaven.  Let us do it always;
not simply when we shall gain influence, or friends,
or money by it. Not when we have no temptation to do otherwise; not simply when we are
among Christians, or in times of religious excitement; but at all times, in all places, under all
circumstances.
Let us do it with all our hearts; not reluctantly, not driven to it by fear, but because we love
to do it.  Whoever of us shall thus do the will
of God, shall have the peace of God that passeth
knowledge.
" He that hath light in his own clear heart,
May sit in the centre and enjoy bright day."
But if this little company, who are banded together as members of the Church of Christ,
could do the will of God altogether, no jarring,
no contention, no suspicion, what bliss would be
ours. Like the multitude of them that believed
after the pentecostal visitation of the Spirit, we
should be of one heart and soul.
And if to all this we could add such sweet
submission, such confidence, that }He doeth all
things well, as to do the will of God without




THE LORD'S PRAYER.                97
asking any questions, never  doubting, never fearful, never curious, what a daguerreotype of heaven
the sun-light of love would paint, even on the
sin-darkened face of earth.  Who will not pray,
" Thy will be done on earth, as in heaven." I
cannot help thinking that this prayer will be
granted. I have not yet thoroughly investigated
the subject, but my childhood faith still clings
fondly to that grand old theory of a personal
reign of Christ upon the earth.
" Through the harsh noises of our day,
A low, sweet prelude finds its way i
Through clouds of doubt, and creeds of fear,
A light is breaking, calm and clear.
" That song of Love-now low and far,
Ere long shall swell from star to star;
That light, the breaking day, which tips
The golden-spired apocalypse."




SERMON V.
Give us this day our daily bread.-Matt. 6: 11.
THE position of this, in relation to the other
petitions of the Lord's Prayer, is somewhat remarkable.  We make general request for the
hallowing of God's name, for the coming of his
kingdom, and the doing of his will as it is done
in heaven, before we ask anything for ourselves
individually.  Little as this may arrest the attention of the casual reader, or even repeater of
the prayer, it has a deep significance. This subordination of our own needs to the glory of God,
and the welfare of man, this forgetting of our
own individual necessities in a sense of the wants
and woes of a sinful world, is an essential element of the true spirit of prayer.  Worldlyminded men sometimes say, they do not believe
in the efficacy of prayer, for they have tried it,
and it did no good.  A man once told me, that
he had prayed every Sunday morning for a year,
and was none the better for it.  Might not such
persons find an explanation of this anomaly in the
fact, that they have never had that supreme and
absorbing regard for the glory of God, which is




THE LORD'S8 PRAYER.           99
essential to true prayer? " Ye ask and receive
not," says the apostle James, "because ye ask
amiss;" and then he goes on to explain what he
means by asking amiss, " that ye may consume it
upon your lusts."  Menaskfortheir own personal
gratification, for health for instance, but not that
they may have strength to labor for the glory of
God; for wealth, but not that they may spend it
in God's service, and for the good of their fellow
men.  They ask these things of God because
they feel their dependence upon him for them.
But this consciousness of dependence gives them
no pleasure; they do not love to think how completely God overrules their plans, and how he
sometimes thwarts them.
They would gladly be independent of him, if
they could be. How different is this from the,
"Thy will be done," which should always precede
every request for temporal good.
And even when such an one prays for " the
forgiveness of sin, and the life everlasting," it is
from a selfish fear of punishment, or a desire to
be happy.  Of course these may be, and I think
always are, among the motives which lead men to
trust in Christ, and properly so it is. But they
are not to be the sole or supreme motives. They
are such, however, with a worldly-minded, irreligious man, when he asks for;" the blessings Jesus
has to give,"  What cares he for the glory of




100              SERMONS ON
God, and the honor of his law, if he himself may
be safe. And when, as in the case of the moralist, he thinks he can save himself; or, as in the
case of the Universalist, he has persuaded himself that in his present irreligious condition, he
is safe, it is little he troubles himself to pray to
God, to praise him, to read his word.  I do not
mean to say that there are none who believe in
the salvation of all men, who are devout lovers
of the service of God. I have no doubt there
are such;, it has been my privilege to be acquainted with some: but they forlma meagre minority of those who hold the doctrine in question.  Generally, the louder a man is, in his assertions of this belief, and the more confident he
seems to become of his own safety, the less and
less does he care for God, and the Bible, and
prayer.
But there are those who are as confident of
their safety as these persons can be, who
"' Can read their titles clear,
To mansions in the skies;"
having attained to what the apostle calls the full
assurance of hope.  This does not make them indifferent to the service of God.  Nay, the more
confident they become, the more devout are they
in fearing and woi'shiping our Father in Heaven.
"If any man be a worshiper of God, and




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          101
doeth his will," we are told in the Holy Scriptures,
"him he heareth."  Now the men who say they
have prayed, and it did no good, are not worshipers of God, but of themselves; their supreme
affection is for themselves.  They cannot ask, as
the first and chief desire of their hearts, " hallowed
be thy name." They do not hallow it; nay, some
of them at times blaspheme that worthy name.
Neither can they pray with the heart, " thy kingdom come."  They may have no particular objections to the setting up of that kingdom, but they
do not long for it. What they desire is, individual good, and personal safety, no matter what becomes of the cause of the King of kings. And
indeed, they are not willing that the kingdom of
God should come in their own hearts; that is,
that he should be their king.
Their feeling toward the King of Zion is, " we
will not have this man to reign over us."  They
are not endeavoring to do the will of God; they.
are not laboring to induce others to do it. How,
then, can they expect to be heard, when they ask
personal favors?  If you would offer up acceptable prayer, you must pray after the macnner our
Savior taught us. Personal consideration must
be subordinated to, and merged in, the great
interests of the kingdom of God.
It is peculiarly appropriate that the petition
we are now considering, should have been imme



102             SERMONS ON
diately preceded by the one to which your attention was called in a previous lecture.
We pray here for life, to which we all cling
with such an unyielding grasp.  Yet we should
ever say with reference even to this, " thy will be
done."  And the great reason why we should
wish to live is, that we may do the will of our
Father in Heaven. And when we have finished
the work he gives us to do, we should be ready,
nay, glad to go home.
The direct teachings of this petition are highly
important. The first which occurs to me is, our
entire dependence upon God, even for the commonest comforts of life.  Our Savior does not
teach us to say, " Give us this day our daily
bread," because this is the only thing for which
we need to ask. But he takes out this from the
circle of our wants, as the symbol, the representative of the whole. And it is worthy of note,
that he singles out that in which we seem to be
most independent.  In what do we. see more
clearly the direct, simple result of our own labor,
than in the procuring and preparation of our food?
Yet even in this we are to recognize the hand of
God. What he gives us, we gather; he opens
his hand and satisfies the desire of every living
thing.  Arfd if this be true of such apparently
simple processes as the supply of our daily wants,
how much more should we feel our dependence




THE LORD S PRAYER.           103
upon God for those things over which it is obvious we have no control, or at best but a limited
and indirect one.
But there is a deep philosophy in this prayer,
simple as it may seem; nay, silly, as I presume
it must appear to the scornful, scoffing, godless
man, who casts off fear, and restrains prayer before God.  What a circle of agencies must be at
work with unwearied diligence to provide my
daily food..For me the sun must shine, and the
rain must fall, the grass must grow, and the little brook must warble on its silvery way.. The
sturdy woodman must wield his axe. The sunbrowned farmer must follow his plough, scatter
the seed, and wave the gleaming sickle. The
ship must spread her canvas to the breeze, the
merchant-prince must build his ware-houses and
his docks.
Well may I ask God to give me my daily
food, when at so many points in this chain of
events he can come in to derange every plan, to
thwart every enterprize.  He can send incessant
rain and sweeping floods, or long-burning
drought.  He holds the winds in his fist, he can
vex the ocean, and strew the sea-shore with
wrecks. Almost every paper you pick up at the
present time has something to say of the prospects of the wheat crop.* What does this mean?
* This Sermon was preached just before harvest.




104             SERMONS ON
Man has done all he can, and now he waits the
pleasure and the providence of God. The prospect is fair now, they say, for a good return, but
how soon may this fair prospect be blasted. How
appropriate, how philosophical, then, is this
prayer.
[But we are not taught to ask for our food in
the gross, if I Inay use such an expression. We
do not say, once for all, "Give us every day our
daily bread, so that we have a supply of food for
a long time to come;" but every day we come
and say, "' Give us this day our daily bread."  In
the parallel passage, in Lukc, it is said, " Give
us, day by day, our daily bread;" thus we recognize God's ever-present agency. We are not to
suppose that he interferes only at some remote point,
and at longs intervals; that only the hidden and
perhaps inscrutable laws which regulate the wind
blowing where it listeth, and similar operations
in nature, are under the control and guidance of
the Almighty, but the apparently trivial circumstances which enter into the details of every day,
are alike subject to his power, and watched over
by his eye.
This brings me to formally assert, what a careful observer will have inferred from what has been
already said, that this petition  involves and
teaches, what is commonly called the doctrine of
a particular providence. In other words, I be



THE LORD S PRAYER.            105
lieve, in the language of our Shorter Catechism,
that "God's works of providence are his most
holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions."  No
other belief seems to me scriptural or rational
And first let us appeal to the word and She testiInony.  What saith the Scripture?  I take a few
passages from the Old and New  Testaments, as
specimens of what may be found, as every body
knows, in all parts of both.   l He giveth to the
beast his food, and to the young ravens which
cry." —Psalin 147: 9. " He causeth the grass to
grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man,
that he may bring forth food out of the earth."Ps. 104: 14. "' 0 Lord, thou preservest man and
beast."-Ps. 36: 6. " He maketh his sunto rise on.
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust." —Matt. 5: 45.  " Behold the
fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them."-Matt. 6: 26. "1 Are
not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of
them shall not fall to the ground without your
Father.* But the very hairs of your head are
all numbered." —Matt. 10: 29, 30.  If men
would only receive the teachings of God's word,
* Not without your Father's notice, as it is often quoted;
but without him, without his permission, his interposition.
II




106             SERMONS ON
we should have little dispute about a particuWlar
providence.
I said, however, that no belief but ours appeared rational to me, and here the hardest battle is to be fought in behalf of this doctrine.
Many a unan, who is compelled to acknowledge
that the Bible teaches it, will yet demur as to its
reasonableness. Paul, who was no mean logician,
seems to have thought this a rational belief. For
in his masterly address to the Athenians, in
which he adduces no authority from  Scripture,
and was by the very nature of the case precluded
from adducing any, but makes his appeal directly
to the reason and conscience of his hearers, he
makes this assertion: " God, that made the earth
and all things therein, hath made of one blood
all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. For
in him we live, and move, and have our being."
How confidently he says this, as if anticipating
no denial. How natural such a belief.  Who
can think that God would set in action all the
mighty agencies at work around us in nature, and
not superintend them?  Who can think that he
would create such beings as we are, with all our
varied interests and wants, yet disregard us entirely. I for one cannot believe such an absurdity,
such horrid impiety.




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           107
WVe are met here by a philosophical theory
which seems to avoid this folly, yet denies, in
terms, at least, a particular providence. 3Most of
those who hold it, I think, profess to receive the
Scriptures of the Old and New  Testament as
the word of God; but I am not aware that they
ever undertake to prove it by the Bible.
This forbearance on their part is wise; for not
only can it not be proved by Scripture, but when
fairly analysed, when followed out to its legitimate results, it contradicts Scripture.
The devout Christians, who hold this theory,
and there are not a few of them, have such confused views of it, that they do not perceive this
contradiction. If they could only have clear,
well-defined conceptions of what they now hold
so vaguely, they would renounce it intellectually,
as they actually do in their prayers and their
emotions.
The theory referred to is, that "God at first
imparted certain powers to the material and spiritual creation, and established certain permanent
laws, and that, as he originally established this
perfect order, this system of powers and laws,
and set things in operation upon this plan, there
is no need of his continued and present agency;
that the created system thus contrived and established will go on of itself, without being constantly propelled, as they express it, by the hand




108              SERMONS ON
of the Creator; that the powers or active principles with which he has endowed the system  of
things, and to which he has given perpetuity,
continue to operate and produce their proper effects without any further act of divine power."*
They compare the universe to a clock, or a similar piece of machinery, which, when wound up,
goes of itself for a certain time. This theory,
when fully carried out, turns God out of the universe; it does not see God anywhere; it never
says, "Lo! what hath God zwroutgh't."'   I say it
never says this, because, if the universe came
from  the hand of God perfect, completely endowed with all these powers and agencies, there
is no need for him ever to interfere.  A  clock
must be wound up, but this is owing to its imperfections.  If the universe is a vast clock, it never
needs winding up or rearranging.  Perfection is
impressed upon every part of it. Where is the
evidence of any occasional interference on the
part of the Creator? Do the planets run their
course at a constantly slackening pace? Does
the thunder sound less and less loudly until the
spring is again recoiled as tightly as before?
There are some who believe that God does not
interfere; he simply superintends; he watches
over this vast and complicated machinery, lest
some part of it should become deranged.  But I
* Wood's'lheological Lectures.




THE LORDIS PRAYER.           109
say to this, that if the mechanism is perfect, if
these laws are as immutable as they say they are,
there is no need of this. Who would think of
sending for the maker of a clock to watch it all
the time, lest it should get out of order? This
would be proof. not that his mechanism was imperfect, but that it was a miserable failure.  For
my own part, if I held this theory at all, I would
hold it in all its blank, naked; atheism, that God
set the universe a going, and since then has never
touched a single spring, has never spent a single
thought upon it.
This is intelligible and consistent.  There are
some who say that God upholds the powers and
laws of nature.  It is very important to know
what is meant by upholding.  If it is meant that,
God is always present, ensuring the efficiency of
these powers, and securing the permanence of
these laws, then this is all that we who believe in
a particular providence contend for. We believe
that he endowed the creation with certain powers, that he ordained certain modes in which these
powers should act, that he is every where present,
supporting these powers, and that they derive
their strength immediately from him.  Or if I
were to state the matter exactly as it lies in my
own mind, I should say that God determined to
exert his power in certain uniform modes, and
this is what I understand by a law  of nature,




110              SERMONS ON
And he works through second causes, through
the energies of nature, and the activity of man.
To me it is no rhapsody of poetry that "' sees
God in clouds, and hears him in the wind."  He
is there to me.  I see no blind impersonal law,
but my Father's hand drawing the curtains of the
night about me, and fanning my feverish cheek
with the cooling breeze.
There is a variation of this clock theory, if it
is not an entirely new one, which I must notice.
It is a belief that ordinarily God lets the world
go on according to general laws, without paying
any attention to it, but in certain great crises he
interferes. The rising of the sun, the falling of
rain, the death of man, all these come to pass
through the operation of permanent laws.  But
such great events as the downfall of an empire,
the birth of Christ, the Great Reformation, are
objects of his providential care.
This is, it seems to me, the most illogical of all
the theories on this subject. For a care of one
of these great events, involves a care over every
thing connected with and related to it. And
then let any one consider upon what little things
great events sometimes hinge, how the circumstances of our daily life are interwoven with
all the great movements of the age, and he will
see that such a general providence, without a
particular providence, is impossible. There are




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           111
some things in regard to this matter I could wish
to discuss more fully.  One is the animus, the
spirit, the intention, of this theory. It is evidently an attempt to save the Almighty the
trouble, the effort of taking care of the universe.
Another point is the strange misconception of
a law of nature, what it is and what it can do,
that lies at the basis of this theory. I shall
have occasion to recur again to the latter point,
before I close this series of Sermons, and hope to
have more time for its discussion.
But even then I know I shall find that this
whole subject is in some of its aspects incomprehensible. Indeed, as Mr. Burke has said, "What
subject is there, that does not branch out into infinity?" I must be permitted to add, before closing
this brief and imperfect discussion, what is to me,
however it may affect others, an unanswerable
argument. The Bible is clearly opposed to the
philosophical theory we have been considering.
I have already referred to some of these passages.
" He clothes the lilies, feeds the ravens, numbers
the very hairs of our heads." The whole tenor
of Scripture is to recognize the present, personal
agency of God in all our life.  We are told that
this is a Hebrew form of speech. It is a form
of speech I could wish to see pervade all languages. And let me say here, that on no other
theory but that of a particular providence, is it




112             SERMONS ON
possible to pray the prayer our Lord teaches'us
here.  If he has no agency in the matter, why
ask him to give us our food?  Men of the world
do not believe he has any such agency, and therefore they never ask him for such favors; they
never thank him for what they have. But, my
Christian friends, this is not our belief. We look
upon our Heavenly Father as the author of all
our mercies, and the God of all grace. We go
out in the morning, assured that the steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord, —what he gives
us, we gather. We come home at night, and he
giveth his beloved sleep.  Is not this a consoling
doctrine?  Who would not rather believe that
this vast fabric of the universe is presided over
by a conscious, intelligent person, capable of being m'oved by prayer, governing, it is true, according to great principles invariable within certain limits, yet so governing as that the poor and
the helpless may hope for mercy; who would not
rather believe this, than that we are under the
dominion of blind, impersonal agencies, the control of which God has voluntarily abdicated?
This philosophical theory which some have attempted to hold at the same time with the Bible,
gives us up as fully to Fatalism, as Mohammedism
itself.  True, order, of which they have made a
god, reigns in their universe; but it is the order of
despotism; it is the order which reigned in War



THE LORD'S PRAYER.          113
saw, amid the shrieks and groans of the dying.
From such order I turn away with horror, while
I fix my eyes with grateful adoration on my
Father in Heaven, whose kingdom ruleth over
all.
Another lesson which our Lord teaches us in
this petition, is the duty of family religion. We
are, every family apart, to say, every morning,
" Give us this day our daily bread."  If I know
my own heart, I love the public assemblies of the
saints. I am not only willing, or even pleased, I
delight to praise God in the great congregation.
I hope, too, that it fills my soul with joy to meet
with an individual Christian, to talk with him of
our conflicts here, and of the glory that shall be revealed in us. But no department of the service
of God is so attractive to me as family religion.
HIow beautiful, for instance, to see a mother telling her children of Samuel, to whom God called
when but a child; or of Him who said, " Suffer
little children to come unto me;" or teaching
them this prayer, which should be among the first
things a mother teaches her child, and which
should blend in with, and irradiate with its heavenly light, every memory of home. Especially,
how sweet to gather your own little group, no
traitor heart within that circle, no suspicious eye,
no jarring voice; and say together, " Give us this
day our daily bread; be our God and guide, our




114             SERMONS ONo
portion and hope." I pity the home where the
voice of prayer is never heard-where they sit
down to their daily food without thanking God.
They may live in splendor and luxury, their
tables may groan with abundance, and be graced
with the delicacies of every season and every
clime; but they know nothing of the purer joys of
life. They have no idea how it sweetens every
joy, and lightens every grief, to see in them all,
the hand of our Heavenly Father. I would
rather dwell in a hovel, and live on bread and
water, loving and worshiping the Giver of every
good and perfect gift, than to share in their golden
wealth. And what an unwelcome visitor is the
King of Terrors to such a family. No one to
pray, no one to whisper in the ear of the dying
that message of our Lord: "He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
0, what a dreary place is a prayerless home in
the hour of affliction.
There may be some members of this Church,
who are not in the habit of saying, " Give us this
day our daily bread," who excuse themselves in
various ways from this duty of family worship.
I will not taunt you as men of the world do,
with not being what professors of religion should
be. But let me tell you kindly, that you are not
only giving the enemy occasion to blaspheme, but




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          115
you are depriving yourselves of an important
source of strength and enjoyment.
I know of nothing, except secret prayer, which
I hope none of you neglect, that will help you in
the conflict with "corruption without, and temptation within," which is our common lot, so much
as girding on afresh every day the whole armor
of God, in the midst of those with whom you
are most intimately associated, and who look up
to you as their head. It would require a volume
to discuss all the influences and relations of this
delightful exercise. Let me simply suggest to
you, that the machinery of your home life will
move with less friction, and be less likely to get
out of order, if you are in the habit of thus commending yourselves, as a family, to that God who
setteth the solitary in families. - And I must tell
you frankly, that in refusing to worship him as a
family apart, you are guilty of great injustice to
your children. You are depriving them of one
of the strongest safe-guards against vice and
crime, with which theycould be provided. I speak
from experience, when I say that there is nothing
will so powerfully restrain a young man, will so
follow him into every haunt of sin, however gay
and delusive, as the memory of a prayer a mother
taught him, and a father offered up for him in the
home of his childhood.
If, then, you would keep your children from




116              SERMONS ON
the evil that is in the world, accustom them from
their earliest infancy to the delightful duties of
family worship.  And I think I may press this
point upon irreligious parents. It seems to me
you cannot begin the day better than by offering
up the petition we are now considering, even
though you have no such sense of guilt as would
lead you to go on to the next one, 11 Forgive us
our debts." Even if you think you are good
enough, and do not feel any need of pardon, you
are not so irrational as to deny that it is God
who gives us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
Are you so ungrateful as to be ashamed to
acknowledge his goodness even in the privacy of
your home    The least that you can do with
your meagre religious views is, to thank God every time you partake of his bounty. Do not,.I
beg you, with besotted, base ingratitude, cram
yourself, and blaspheme your feeder.
Our Lord teaches us in this petition to avoid
anxiety and fretfulness.  We are not to look
forward into the far-off future, when we pray for
the supply of our temporal wants, but simply to
ask for daily bread, and be satisfied with the assurance, that our Heavenly Father will give it.
Even Christians sometimes distress themselves
with fears lest the time may come when they
shall suffer want. But we are expressly forbid




THE LORD S PRAYER.          117
den to take such anxious thoughts for the morrow, seeing that our Heavenly Father knoweth
what things we have need of. We have the promise of this life as well as of that which is to come.
Why should we be disquieted?  "I have been
young," says the Psalmist, ("and now am old;
yet I have not see the righteous forsaken, nor his
seed begging bread."  Have prudence and foresight; but do not vex yourself about the future.
That was a noble saying of the Christian hero:
" I am immortal till my work is done."
We are also taught here to take heed, and beware of covetousness. Having food and raiment,
let us be therewith content. He who prays this
prayer cannot be a grasping, miserly man. Not
that he will be content to live from " hand to
mouth;" he will be more diligent and hopeful in
his worldly business, since he here asks God to
bless him in it. But he will ever remember, that
all these things perish with the using; and that
anything more than a supply of our wants, is valuable only as it enables us to minister to the spiritual and temporal necessities of others.  He
will, therefore, labor, as the apostle directs, " working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth."
Finally, we are taught in this petition the
brevity and uncertainty of life. I will not say
to my soul, " soul, thou hast much goods laid up




118               SERMONS ON
for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and
be merry," lest God should say to me, " Thou
fool; this night thy soul shall be required of
thee."  I will only ask for daily food.
" For here my spirit waiting stands,
Till God shall bid it fly."
Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when
he cometh, shall find so doing.




SERMON VI.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our.debtors.
Matt. 6: 12.
APPOLONIUS, of Tyranna, a heathen philosopher
who lived shortly after Christ, was accustomed to
pray, " Ye gods, give me only that which I deserve."  There are few who could have the hardihood thus to address the Great Supreme.
Every religion of the race has recognized our
condition as sinners, though they propose various
and widely different methods of atoning for our
sins. Indeed, a religion which did not, in some
way, attempt to satisfy this craving of human nature after reconciliation with an offended Deity,
could have no hold upon the soul of man. And
just in proportion as this feeling is recognized
and received, will be the power of a religious
system. It is in this way we account for the
fact that Unitarianism and Rationalism never have
had, and never can have, such a wide and supreme
dominion as Romanismn.  For the former, however plausible they may seem, and however much
they may commend themselves to the mere intellect of man, lose their hold upon the heart, give
the lie to his moral consciousness, byrepresenting




120              SERMONS ON
our estrangement from God as being very slight
and unimportant, and our reconciliation to him
as requiring little effort or sacrifice. But the
latter, with all its absurdities and extravagancies,
fully recognizes this longing of the soul for forgiveness, and attempts-to relieve it. To this same
source we trace the power of all false religions,
and indeed, to a great extent, of all religions.
The idolatrous Israelite made his child pass
through the fire of MIoloch; the Roman slaughtered whole herds in honor of his deities; the
Hindoo swings from a hook, or flings himself under the wheels of the car of Juggernaut; the
Romanist lacerates his body, or shuts himself up
in a cell-because they believe these are the ways
to expiate their sins, and obtain eternal life. The
Christian differs from them, not as to the necessity of an atonem ent, or as to our offering some sacrifice to secure our restoration to favor, but he
shows unto them a more excellent way.
Pure Christianity differs from all false religions, and from  all imitations and corruptions of
itself, in that it alone, properly speaking, teaches
the doctrine of the forgiveness of sin.  Other religions teach man's sinfulness, and the necessity
of an atonement, but they devise methods by
which man can make this expiation for himself,
and thus demand, as a right, what the Gospel accords to him only as of the mercy of God.




THIE LORD'S PRAYER.          121
It is Christianity alone which teaches us to
confess, after we have done all, that we are but
unprofitable servants; it is the Christian alone
who cries, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Yet there are those in every Christian community, the language of whose hearts, and a fair representation of whose belief is, " Give me that
which I deserve." I do not suppose they would
dare to frame such a prayer, or rather such a demand, into words, and address it to their Maker;
yet their language and conduct show them to be
disciples of Appolonius, rather than of Jesus.
They are of the number of those who coimpare
themselves among themselves. Our Savior spake
a parable concerning them, describing them  as
those who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and despised others. They are as good
as Church members, or even better.  They are
taken for Church members, in preference to some
who have really made a profession of religion. If
ever they join the Church, they will be more
consistent than Christians generally are. Oh,
how different is this boastful spirit from  that
piteous cry, " God, be merciful to me a sinner!"
which contrition wrings from the heart of the
penitent.
And these persons are among the most unimpressible to whom the minister of the Gospel addresses himself. " Seest thou," said Solomon, "a
I




l122            SERMVIONS ON
man wise in his own conceit, there is more hope
of a fool than of him." This is true, and was
doubtless spoken in regard to the affairs of this
life. But it has also a higher meaning and reference. The terms, wise and wisdom, fool and
folly, are used, especially in the book of Proverbs, in a spiritual sense. "' The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom:" "Fools make a mock
atsin."  These, and similar expressions, show how
we are to regard the passage I have quoted.Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit-a man
confident of his own goodness-wrapped up in
the robe of his own righteousness, there is more
hope of a fool, of a wicked man, than of him.
Publicans and harlots press into the kingdom of
God before proud, boastful Pharisees. The very
beginning of a Christian life is a consciousness of
our sinfulness in the sight of God; such a sense
of our own unworthiness as makes us look with
compassion on the faults of others, or lose sight
of them entirely in the absorbing view of our own
short comings. But these people, who run over
all their good qualities so glibly: their kindness
to the poor, their honesty, their correctness of
life and speech, have no idea at all how their conduct must appear in the eyes of a holy God.
They cannot pray, " Forgive us our debts, our
trespasses," for they imagine the few little slips
they may occasionally make, are atoned for by




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          123
their numerous good deeds. They do not feel
their need of a Savior, and therefore the cross of
Christ is foolishness to them. I should have
more hopes of success with the wicked and the
abandoned, than with those decent, well-behaved
people who rely so much on their morality.
I would not deter men from  being moral. I
would not teach them that the more wicked they
are the more hope is there of their being forgiven;
and that therefore they should continue in sin,
that grace may abound. God forbid! I would
have all men to lead peaceable, and quiet, and
honest lives.
But I would keep them from relying upon this
outward morality for acceptance with God. I
would have them consider how much of their
goodness may be due to the force of circumstances-to the absence of temptation, or the fear of
detection; and how little credit they deserve for
such morality. Above all, I would have them
beware how they venture to offer such seeming
uprightness to Him who looketh on the thoughts
and intents of the heart. I believe a virtuous
person, who feels how little claim his goodness
gives him upon the favor of God-is not far from
the kingdom of heaven-is much more likely to
turn to God, than a wicked man, with a benighted
heart and a stupid conscience. But I assert again,
that a man who relies upon his own goodness, is,




124             SERMONS ON
so far as we can see, the most helpless of all.  I
should sooner expect the thief upon the cross, and
the woman who was a sinner, to pray, " Forgive
us our trespasses," than such proud, self-confident
people.
I do not mean to say that all moral, upright
persons, who have made no profession of religion,
do thus plume themselves upon their supposed
goodness. There are many of blameless lives,
humanly speaking, who are far from trusting in
themselves that they are righteous, and despising
others.  The Church of Christ loves and prays
for such; nay, Christ himself beholding them,
loves them.  Yet it cannot be denied, that there
are those in every Christian community, the language of whose heart is, "Give me what I deserve."
And I say again, I have little hope of them: none
at all until they are dislodged from their position
of false security.
MIy Christian friends, there are just such selfrighteous people in the Church, persons who trust
in the soundness of their orthodoxy, the number
and the fervor of their prayers-the punctuality
of their attendance upon religious services, public or private.
And they, too, are the counterpart of our Savior's inimitable description.  They not only
trust in themselves that they are righteous, but
they despise others. They look with ill-concealed




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          125
contempt upon those whose creed is not so correct-whose devotions are not so frequent-whose
gifts to missions and missionaries are not so numerous and costly. Here, again, I do not mean
to depreciate orthodoxy, or attendance at meeting,
or benevolence. They are important. I insist
upon them as Christian duties, but I protest
against a reliance upon them.
After we have done all, we should say, "we
are unprofitable servants, we have done only what
was our duty to do."  Nothing is a better mark
of a Christian, than lowliness of mind-a consciousness *of our unworthiness. And there is
nothing in which the religious experience of the
day is more deficient.  Read the writings of David, and Jeremiah, and Paul; examine the experience of Edwards, and of Brainard, and Martyn,
and every eminent saint; and you will find them
marked with this peculiarity, of a deep sense of
sinfulness. What was said of different religions,
may be said of the religions of different men.
Just in proportion to the sincerity and strength
of your consciousness of sin, will be the power
and fervor of your Christian life. If you are
one of those who think themselves very good
members of the Church, you have great reason
to stand in doubt of yourself. "Let him that
thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall!'?
The addition to this prayer, the condition annexed




126             SERMONS ON
to it by our Lord, is certainly a very marked peculiarity of our religion. Stoicism and Mahommedanism have taught men to treat with contempt the
insults, and endure with patience the injuries they
could not avenge, but they have never taught
men to forgive.  The very divinities of most religions have been passionate and revengeful, and
of course their worshipers must have been like
unto them. It is notorious, that men of the
world look upon revenge, and implacability, as
manly and honorable. Forgiveness is not even
in the worldly man's catalogue of virtues; he
never thinks of condemning himself for being
harsh and unrelenting.  In nothing does the
Gospel of our Lord so set itself in opposition to
the natural heart of man, as in this which Leighton calls the blessed doctrine of forgiveness. The
utterances, to use a cant phrase of the day, of
our Lord on this point, are clear and repeated.
In this very sermon on the mount, from which
the text is taken, this difficult and distasteful duty is enjoined no less than three times, with a
plainness which cannot be evaded. In the preceding chapter, in exposing the false eaching
of the Scribes and Pharisees, he says: "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."  In this petition we are now con



THE LORD'S PRAYER.                127
sidering, he teaches the same great lesson. And,
not content with this repetition, immediately at
the close of this prayer, he recurs to this identical topic, saying, "For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
So important did he consider this duty, which
men of the world, and even some who call themselves his followers, feel at liberty to utterly ignore. And you will notice that, in this last
repetition, our Lord makes our forgiveness to depend entirely  on  our forgiving  others.   Was
there ever such a religion? Was there ever such
a prayer?  "Forgive  us our trespasses, as we
forgive those who trespass against us."-* There is
no better, surer mark  of a Christian, than the
exhibition of a forgiving spirit.  Better than offerings and whole burnt offerings, better than
zeal and orthodoxy, it stamps its possessor as an
Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.
Yet we find not a few  professed followers of our
Savior, harsh and unrelenting: severe in their
$ I have preferred, generally, in the course of this Sermon,
to use the word trespass, instead of debts. The former term
conveys, I think, a more correct idea of the real meaning,
(see verse 14th of this Chapter,) of the text, though the words,
debts and debtors, are literal translations from the original.
Trespasses and trespass occur, however, in the parallel
passage in Luke.




128              SERMOiNS ON
judgment of the erring, they seem to take a kind
of demoniac delight in the anguish and remorse
which the guilty themselves exhibit. They share
in and rejoice at the scorn and contempt which
society visits upon such persons; and with what
quiet satisfaction they seem to be inspired, when
some proud person of wealth or distinction falls,
and is humbled to the dust.  No grief, no regret
even, only a cold, bitter, a"served him  right," or,
"just what I expected."  Is this a fancy sketch 
I would that it were. But there are such people
in every communion-professed imitators of Him
who prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do."  Oh, my brethren, such
a bitter, vindictive spirit, is a horrible caricature
of our holy religion.
The world is often called unforgiving; and so it
is, to particular classes. For the lowly and obscure,
for the unfortunate and miserable, however penitent, however much a reformed and upright course
of conduct may have atoned for early errors, for
them there is no mercy.  But if a man has wealth
and assurance; if, so far from being penitent, the
more guilty he is, the bolder he grows, the world will
soon forget his offences. Nay, there are things,
criminal even in the eye of human law, for which
he may be applauded. And there is scarcely any
offence he can commit, which, if he has wealth
and station, the world will not ultimately forgive




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           129
and forget.  There is a singular exception to this
rule, to which I wish to call your attention. The
world has no mercy for an erring professor of religion, or ministers of the Gospel. They judge
us with a rigorous severity, they could not endure themselves.  Let them remember, that with
what judgment they judge, they shall be judged;
and with what measure they mete, it shall be
measured to them.  They sometimes undertake
to justify their severity toward us by saying that
they do not make such professions.
We do not, I would say in reply, profess to be
perfect; we do not set ourselves up as models for
imitation.  We promise to endeavor to live godly in Christ Jesus; to adorn the doctrine of God
our Savior, with well ordered lives and conversation.  But there is nothing in this, coupled as it
always is with an acknowledgment of our proneness to err, to justify such uncharitable severity
as is generally exhibited toward us by the world.
I, for one, am thankful that a merciful and gracious God is to be our final judge.
The natural disposition of woman is more congenial to the mild and peaceful spirit of the Gospel, than that of man. Christianity has done
every thing for her, and she, in return, has done
much for Christianity.
In almost every Church, a majority of the
members are  women.  Our prayer-meetings




130              SERMnONS ON
throughout the world would make but a sorry
show, if it were not for them. And the teachings
of this prayer we are now considering, owe much
of their influence to the fact, that it drops into
our hearts in childhood, from a mother's lips.
This particular petition is in sympathy with
the general temper of woman.  She is ordinarily
more forgiving and compassionate than man.  A
passionate, revengeful woman is frightful.  I love
to see a lady have strength of soul enough to repel insult, and resist injury, but those " women of
spirit," as they are often called, those viragoes,
that bristle up every time their capricious fancy
imagines any thing has been said or done which
is not as deferential as it should be, are utterly
intolerable.  They are a libel on their sex. And
you meet them in all ranks and grades of society, amid the tinsel and glare of fashionable life,
as well as in the filth and crime of the dens of
infamy.  If these passionate, revengeful womenladies I must not call them-are disgusting, a
cold, hard, unrelenting woman is forbidding in
the extreme.  She is a moral ice-berg, chilling
every thing that comes within the range of her
influence. To the honor of the sex, let it be
said, there are comparatively few such women.
Most of them  are ready to forgive injury, and
forget unkindness.
Yet, such a bundle of inconsistencies is poor




TIIE LORD'S PRAYER.         131
human nature, that even here there is a singular exception. Though woman is thus naturally inclined to forgive, toward offenders of her own sex
she exhibits an unsparing severity.  She takes
into account no mitigating circumstances, looks
at no overwhelming power of temptation, no surprisal in an unguarded moment.  She sees only
the crime and the criminal, and on both she visits her weighty displeasure.  No tears can wash
away the guilt of the erring one; no subsequent
good conduct can win for her again that place in
the confidence of her sister, which, by one fatal
misstep she forfeited,-and forfeited forever.
Man may be melted by her grief and anguish, he
may be re-assured by her reformation, but gentle
woman has for her always the same stony face,
the same adamantine heart.  This is true, generally, of all the offences by which woman loses
her place in society.  But there is a class of
transgressions, or rather transgressors, in the
treatment of whom  woman is, in my judgment,
peculiarly unjust.  I know the morbid sensitiveness which rules our country would forbid my
speaking on this topic.  I can pay no deference
to such mawkish delicacy. To the pure, all things
are pure, and they who squirm most under what
I am about to say, will be the most corrupt. I
say, then, plainly, that woman has no charity for
those of her sex, who offend against the great law




132             SERMONS ON
of purity.  Here, she never forgives, she never
forgets.  Let an unsuspecting girl yield to the
wily arts of the seducer, and she is ruined forever.  The brand is on her forehead, and nothing
can efface it. But the vile betrayer, that villain
of all villains, "earth's most abhorred, God's
most abandoned,hell's most damned," is received,
aye, welcomed.  Christian  mothers,-I hope
Christian fathers seldom do-but Christian
mothers court for their daughters the society of
these men, reeking with the filth of vice, and rotten to their very heart's core with corruption.
But the poor, deluded victim, is driven out with
the mark upon her forehead, deeper and blacker
than that of Cain.
Now, if woman would be simply just, let her
treat her betrayer as she treats his victim.  Let
her turn away from him with the same horror
with which she shrinks from  the touch of her
erring sister. I may be mistaken in my belief
that woman ought to treat the betrayed with
more gentleness; but I do know that she sins
greatly in smiling on the vile seducer.  It is notorious, that these men are courted and flattered;
that their awful crime is no barrier to their admission into good society. To me, such another
villain as the betrayer of unsuspecting innocence,
does not darken God's sunshine. Though he
were my brother, nay, though God should curse




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          133
me with a child so vile and profligate, I must
shrink from him with horror.
It may be that, having been, by the Providence
of God, in the very riot and hot-blood of youth,
constituted the protector of an only sister, I feel
too strongly on this point; but I must say, I
have often thought, if there is any criminal for
whom no city of refuge on earth should open its
gates, on whom the law should visit its most unsparing severity, it is the seducer. Did I notknow
that God was omnipotent, I should almost doubt
whether hell itself had a punishment that could
parallel the enormity of such guilt.
But let us not forget who it is that has said,
"Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And even
this criminal, if he turn again, saying, " I repent,"
is to be forgiven. But this is not the way in
which woman treats such offenders. She spurns
her repentant sister, while she smiles upon the
seducer; who not only shows no remorse, but
even glories in the shame and disgrace of his victim. Gentle woman will link her fate with his
for life, while she rejects with disdain the rough
hand of the farmer or mechanic, who gains his
livelihood by honest toil. Let her at least, with
even-handed justice, commend the same bitter
chalice to'the lips of the betrayer; and, as the
minister of him who said to a weeping penitent,
" Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no




134             SERMONS ON
more," mazy I not go still further?  This transaction I have just referred to, seems to me to
have been left on record for the special purpose
of silencing that prudish modesty, and rebuking
that heartless severity, which turns away with
contempt from an erring woman.  He who did
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who
was holy, harmless and undefiled; he could say,'Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no
more."  Shall not, then, woman look with pity
on her fallen sister? I do not ask for impunity
to crime; I do not plead the cause of the bold
and unabashed, who glory in their shame, and
flaunt their crime in the open face of day. I do
not say, let them be treated with the same respect
as if there were no stain upon their character.
tMay the time never come in American society,
when a woman can be so false to every instinct
of her sex-can so violate every obligation she
owes to God and man, as to give herself up to the
dominion of lust, and yet retain her place among
her fellows.
But I plead for the poor creature, deceived
and betrayed by a fiend in human shape.  Give
her a chance to redeem her character: say to her,
as Jesus did, " Go, and sin no more."  Do
not drive her out to herd with the shameless and
the abandoned. Remember this prayer of your




TIUE LORD'S PRAYER.           135
childhood, " Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
I gladly turn away from  this sad topic, with
which we have seldom any particular concern, to
remind you that our Lord here speaks of the forgiveness of offences personal to ourselves. "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us."
Many a person who can, with comparative ease,
overlook transgressions of the law of God or man,
find it difficult, or, as they sometimes say, imlpossible, to forgive and forget those petty little
offences which are every day committed against
us individually. The disrespect, the rudeness,
the harshness, the neglect, intentional or unintentional, with whiclh he is treated, or fancies he
is treated, rankles long in his heart.
Remember, my dear brother, for I cannot repeat this too often, that we are to forgive those
who trespass against us. Especially would I
press the lesson now, as we are on the eve of a
great political excitement, as intense, perhaps, as
any that have preceded it. Certainly the bitterness of sectional strife will be infused into the
coming contest more largely than ever before.
It becomes every Christian, under such circumstances, to take heed to himself.  Whichever
side you may espouse, there are abundance of
abusive epithets in store, and multitudes ready




136             SERMONS ON
to apply them to you.  Your Christian character
may even be questioned, your motives aspersed,
and you yourself accounted the filth and offscouring of the earth.
Do I therefore advise you to preserve a strict
neutrality in the coming contest? I counsel you
to no such moral cowardice. Wo to our nation,
when abuse and slander can so terrify good men
as to keep them from bringing their influence to
bear upon its government. Choose your ground
well and wisely, and then maintain it in the fear
of God. " In your patience possess your souls."
" See that none render railing for railing, but contrariwise."  "Forgive those who trespass against
you, as you would yourself be forgiven."
Though it does not come logically within the
scope of my present discourse, let me entreat you
to be careful lest you trespass against others.
Be like the. Psalmist of old, who purposed that
his mouth should not transgress. Take heed to
your ways, that you sin not with your tongue.
Above all, let not alienation of heart invade the
Church of God. Let the followers of Christ
stand together, and say to the raging waters of
clamor, and wrath, and bitterness, and evil speaking, thus far shall you go, and no farther.
I would have you notice particularly that our
forgiveness of others, is to be the measure of our
own: " As we forgive those who trespass against




THE LORD'S PRAYEIt.         137
us."  How important that when we pray this
prayer, we know what we are saying.  He who
goes to God with a hard, relentless heart, asks
his Heavenly Father to turn away from him with
the same contemptuous disdain with which he rejects his fellow man. This prayer in the mouth
of a revengeful, unforgiving person, is a most
dreadful imprecation of God's righteous vengeance
on himself. And be careful that the pardon you
extend to others is not tardy and reluctant,
wrung from you by many prayers and tears. Do
not, as Lord Bacon says. in one of his touching
prayers, " Let the sun almost go down upon your
wrath." Oh I if we who are here before God today would only go out into the world to exemplify the spirit of this prayer, what a change it
would work in our lives, and in the lives of those
around us; for seeing our good works, they
would be won, by our good conversation, to glorify our Father in Heaven.
I have repeatedly called your attention to the
correct philosophy of this prayer. I do not think
it out of place to do sp, for these things show
that he who taught us this prayer, knew what was
in man, and that his teachings harmonize with our
daily experience. In reference to this petition,
we can discern this harmony.  Every careful observer must have remarked a deep and intimate
connection between a sense of our own sinfulness,




138              SERMONS ON
and a readiness to forgive others.  Both in the
Church and the world, the proud Pharisee, who
trusts in himself, is most ready to despise others,
and will treat them with the utmost severity. While
on the other hand, he who is the most fully aware
of his own unworthiness in the sight of G-od, is
most ready to throw the mantle of charity over
the failing of his fellows.  Conscious that he
himself owes the Mlaster ten thousand talents,
he cannot, especially if he feel that he has been
freely forgiven, treat his brother roughly for a
debt of a hundred pence.
We see in this the justice of our Savior's emn
phatic repetition, at the close of this prayer, of
the sentiment of this particular request.'" For if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive you." For the possession of
this forgiving spirit is, as I halve before remarked,
one of the best possible evidences of a proper
sense of our own great guilt, and such a sense of
guilt will always teach one charity.
Finally, I would remark, that as the petition
we last considered was peculiarly appropriate to
the beginning of the day, this is equally so to its
close.  How eminently proper, when the harsh
noises of the day are gone, and the silence and
the.calm of night come, that you should gather
round "your family altar, the loved and the loving,




THE LORD'S PRAYER.               139
and say, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Such be our practice and spirit, my follow sinners, all needing every day forgiveness from God
and from each other.  Let not the sun'.go down
upon your wra.th. Let the lullaby that soothes
your home to sleep, be that lyric'of the Christian
poet:
", Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
The ills that 1 this day have done;
That with myself, the world, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be."




SERMION VII.
And lead us not into temptation.-Matt. 6: 13.
IIAVING prayed for forgiveness for the past, it
is natural and proper' that we should ask for security for the future. There is evidently need of
this. The world is a scene of probation, and it
is, of course, necessary that we should undergo
some trials. We sometimes hear persons complain of God's testing the disposition of our first
parents in the garden of Eden, but in no other
way could their obedience have been shown.
And the trial to which they were subjected was
so simple and direct, it was so little that they
were required to do, that we ought rather to admire the compassion of God than to complain of
his injustice.
Temptation, the opportunity of doing wrong,
is still necessary to the perfection of our character. We here pray that God will so arrange the
future that we shtil have no severer, trial than is
necessary for our good.  We recognize and accept our probationary condition; but conscious of
our frailty, we ask Him who knows our frame to
remember that we are but dust, and not to suffer




THE LORD8S' PRAYER.          141
us to be tempted above what we can bear. And
there is no impropriety in this; for we do not live
under the rule of blind fatalism, but of a most
holy, wise, and powerful Father, whose " eyes are
over the righteous, and whose ears are open to
their cry."
There is in this petition an implied, but none
the less evident rebuke of that rash and reckless
running in the way of temptation, from which so
much mischief has flowed.  Most people have
such an entire confidence in their strength of pur~pose, that they do not hesitate, to put themselves
in situations of great exposure.  This is character'stic of men of the world, and of young men
in particular. They are not afraid: they can take
care of themselves..They can hang around groceries, and handle cards, and not become drunkards or gamblers.  Alas! how  many of these
boastful youths find their way to the gutter and
the dungeon. The ruin of thousands is owing
to their failure to keep themselves, and to ask
God to keep them, out of the way of temptation.
Yet this failure is the natural result of their religious opinions; and is another evidence of the
fact that a man's practice depends upon his belief.  The current belief of the world is, that
they can protect themselves,-that they do not
need the help of God; and so they do not ask
him not to lead them  into temptation.  Nay,




142             SERMONS ON
they run greedily in the way of evil, never doubting their own powers. Ah! if they had only
distrusted themselves, and gone to God for help,
they would hlave proved the truth of that saying
of the apostle, " When I am weak, then am I
strong."
It may be well for any of you, who pride yourselves upon your morality, who are sure of your
ability to take care of yourselves, from the fact
that you have kept yourselves pure hitherto; it
may be worth while for any of you here, who rely
upon your own morality, to inquire how much of
this goodness is owing to God's having, unasked,
kept you out of the way of temptation. You are, we
will suppose, and I would not bate the tithe of a
hair from your virtues, you are honest in all your
dealings, owing no man, defrauding no man. But
will you dare to say that if you had been tempted
more severely, you would not have fallen. Perhaps
you have never been in real pressing need of
money, with an opportunity of obtaining it by
dishonest or dishonorable means, and do not know
how the cries of wife and children, and the fear
of want, may goad one on to frenzy. You are
moral and virtuous. But you have always been
shielded from fierce assaults of the tempter.  Can
you take any credit to yourself for this accidental
goodness? Ought you not rather to praise God,
to whose mercy you owe it all?  For my own




THE LORD'S PRAYERS;           143
part, I do not hesitate to say, with the great apostle, By the grace of God I am what I am.  I can
see many a point at which I might have turned
aside to irretrievable ruin, had not his'Arm unseen, conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man."
The theology of the world, their views of
man's dependence upon God, and God's control
over man, being such, it is not to be wondered at
that they are rash and self-confident.  But the
Church, amid all her diversities, has recognized,
at least in her devotions, God's control of our
feelings and actions. It is a peculiar doctrine of
our Church, at least it is so considered, that God
has such control over us, that we may properly
pray, " Lead us not into temptation;" and that
we are so enfeebled, so prone to evil, that we
need to avoid, so far as the providence of God
will allow, all occasion of sin. Yet there are
many among us, who, though they say, and perhaps really ask, " Lead us not into temptation,'
do yet, by their neglect of that other saying of
our Lord, "X Watch and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation," betray a great want of that consciousness of weakness, which alone can give
earnestness to the petition we are now considering;: The reason why we are reckless in exposing
ourselves, and at the same time so cold and formal
in our prayers, that God would not lead us into




14A4            SERMONS ON
temptation is, that we have too, much confidence
in our own strength.  We are all naturally inclined to make this sad mistake. But I think
youthful Christians, and Christians in the beginning of their religious life, are most apt to fall
into it. Persuaded of their ability to carry out
their resolutions, or at least over confident, they
do not feel the necessity of surrounding themselves with every defence, of putting on the whole
armor of God, and avoiding every unnecessary
temptation.
To you who are in the beginning of your
Christian life, I would say, you need every source
of strength within your reach. Daily prayer to
God, daily reading and meditating upon his word,
conversation with the devout as often as practicable, and the social prayer meeting, you ought
by no means to neglect. Do not, I beseech you,
follow the evil and dangerous example of those
who, older in life and religious profession, grieve
the hearts of their pastor and fellow Christians,
as well as weaken their own spiritual strength, by
neglecting these means of grace. And do not go
unnecessarily in the way of temptation.  Do not
find your friends and associates exclusively or
principally among the worldly-minded and irreligious. Do not seek your pleasures ordinarily in
places where it is understood that religion is a
forbidden topic, or among those who are in the




THE  ORnD'S PRAYER.           145
habit of treating it lightly.  Such a course is exceedingly dangerous.  Mlany a young Christian,
who set out with every prospect of leading a holy
lifa, and who did run well for a time, has in this
way gone back, and walked in the ways of God no
more; or has degenerated into a mere professor
of religion, regular at church and at the communion table, but known at no other place, and
recognized in no other manner as a servant of the
Lord.
But if you should not come to such a sad end
as this, by neglecting to watch and pray lest you
enter into temptation, you may well fear that
God will lead you into it as he did David and
Peter, to show you your own weakness. To cure
you of your over-confidence, he will let you fall
into some great, and it may be, disgraceful sin.
And with all your care and prudence, you will
be subjected to trials enough to test your virtue.
You need not, for instance, seek the society of
passionate and insulting people to prove your
control over your own temper. You will have
opportunities enough of showing this, with every
lawful and Christian precaution you may take
to avoid contact with wicked and unreasonable
men.
" Seek not temptation, then, which to avoid,
Were better    trial will come unsought.
Would'st thou approve thy constancy,
Approve first thy obedience."




145              SERMONS ON
There is no -class of persons to whom this
prayer is more appropriate than to parents. No
one can tell the fate of the children you are training up. However long you may be spared, and
however carefully you may guard them, the time
will come when you must send them out into the
world to fight for themselves the battle of life.
And there is not on the records of human
guilt a solitary sin into which your children may
not fall. The men and women, for there are
both, now dwelling lonely and apart in dlungeons, or
herding together in the haunts of vice and crime,
were some of them the children of pious parents,
though most of them came from such prayerless
homes as I fear many of you inhabit. The assassin, whose very name thrills your soul with
horror, was once a little child, as peaceful and
happy as any of yours.  Your boy, whose bright
eye and. beaming face give promise of a noble
manhood, may live only to bring down your gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave, or to burden you
with a heart that, like a bruised reed, is waiting to
be broken.  Ynur daughter may find her dwellingplace for life in"     those homes of sin and shame,
Where Satan shows his cloven foot,
But hides his titled name."
How, then, should you pray to God not to lead
them into temptation, lest they be tempted above




TrE LORD S PRAYER.          147
what they can bear. And I would, in reference
to this topic, address myself particularly to irreligious fathers.  Most men prefer that the mother
of their children should be devout and pious.
Indeed, many profane, ungodly men glory not a
little in the religion of their wives. They would
be shocked at the thought of these latter being
the same sneering, blasphemous skeptics they are
themselves. They feel, and they are right, that
humble, unaffected piety, is the crowning grace
of woman's character; that their homes are safer
for the religion of their wives. They feel that
their children will be more likelyto be brought
up so they shall not disgrace the name they bear.
But while they thus value the piety of their
wives, they themselves cast off fear, and restrain
prayer before God, or it may be, are profane and
vicious.
I shall not stop here to show how honorable it
is to be a Christian, nor to expose the mistake
of those who think it unmanly to pray and read
the Bible. I simply content myself now with
assuring irreligious men that their children need
their prayers and their protection.  They need
every breast-work that can be thrown up around
them-every barrier that can be interposed between them and evil. The prayers and teachings
of their mothers may do much, weakened though
they be by your conversation, and contradicted




148             DEIMONS ON
by your practice. But how much more might
they effect if seconded by your prayers and example. Can you think of letting your children
grow up in a world so full of snares and dangers,
without often asking God to shield and guide
them 
But if we thus condemn those who, with all
their watching, fail to pray, what shall we say of
parents who neither watch nor pray, or who destroy the cfficacy of their prayers by their heedlessness?  How shall we find language strong
enough to condemn those whose boys roam our
streets at will, learning all the filth and blasphemy that even Sodom knew, making night hideous
with their noise, and the day loathsome with their
oaths and vulgarity?  What can we say to the
mothers who never know, and it would seem never
care, what books their daughters read, what coinpany they keep? Who deck them in costly finery, and send them, or weakly suffer them, to force
their way into the ball-room, where sometimes
the dance is too lascivious to be thought of in this
sacred place, and where always the mother cannot
tell how polluted may be the hand her daughter
will clasp, or how treacherous the arm upon which
she will lean?  How can such parents pray for
their children, or with them, at the family altar,
"lead us not into temptation?" I cannot believe they often do.




THIn LORD S PRAYER.          149
There is a mistake sometimes made by parents
in another direction, though not so common, nor
by any means so dangecrous as the guilty heedlessness which we have been considering. It is
shutting up their children as far as possible from
all intercourse with others, never letting them go
from under the eye of their parents or some superior, and thus keeping them in profound ignorance of the world and its snares. But this
makes their moral character too frail and delicate
for use. Robustness of soul must be obtained
in the same way with that of the body, by exercise. You would not coop your child up in a hot
room and wrap him up in blankets, for fear he would
take cold, and thus make him  almost certain to,
whenever a clear, strong breeze blows on himn
You would not keep him fromi moving a muscle,
for fear he should dislocate his arm, or sprain his
ankle, and thus render sure his breaking down
entirely when any moderate exertion was absolutely required of him. Do not, then, prohibit
your children fromu all. intercourse with other
children. Choose for them the best companions,
just as you would choose the safest sports and
employments; for they will learn evil enough from
them. And remember that you are to choose for
them, and not they for themselves. Do not keep
them always in your sight, but give them the best
instruction you can; and then send them out to




150              SERMONS ON
practice on it, praying God to keep them.  Do
not, like the half-drowned foolish. fellow in the
Greek fable, vow they shall not touch the water
until they have learned to swim; but teach them
to swim, and' give them trusty companions, and
you have done your part to keep them from going
down into the depths of infamy that underlie the
sea of life. God will hear your prayers and do his.
Cultivate in your children the habit of confiding in you, telling you what they see and hear,
that you may teach them to discriminate between
good and evil. It is painful to think what a
chasm generally yawns between the- child and its
parents; how much evil the former is learning,
and sometimes in utter ignorance of its dangerous tendency; while the latter are equally ignorant that their child is receiving such instruction,
simply because this confiding disposition has never been cherished. Children should be brought
up, and they may be, to tell their parents whatever transpires in their intercourse with others,
and to understand that whatever they are told not
to tell to their parents is certainly wrong. And
if, in spite of all your care, or which is far more
likely, through your carelessness, you have a
child that will conceal from or deceive you, I
charge you solemnly in the sight of God to break
up that habit, at whatever cost. No surer basis
could be laid for the ruin of your child. He or




THE LORD S PRAYER.          151
she will be like the apples of Sodom, fair without,
but rottenness within. They will keep you in
ignorance of their evil courses, while rumor, with
her hundred tongues, publishes them on every
street and in every corner. It is sad to think, to
how many Christian fathers and mothers the
knowledge of their children's sins comes, alas!
too late, like a thunderbolt from  a clear sky,
simply because they have never accustomed their
children to tell what they saw and heard. While
they slept, the enemy sowed tares in the hearts
of their sons and daughters.
Another capital mistake in this hot-bed moral
culture, and I have already alluded to it, is keeping children in profound ignorance of the world
and its snares. This is done by some parents
through guilty carelessness. They never find
time; they are too busy making money or dresses; they cannot stop to talk about such things.
But those to whom I now address myself, do it
from mistaken care. They fear that they shall
thus give their children a knowledge of evil
they would not otherwise acquire, and so lead
them into temptation. You may be sure they
will learn enough of such things long before
people would generally  suspect them;  and
the wisest thing you can do is to forestall
the devil and his agents. I have no doubt it
is your duty to inform  your children to some




152              aEsRltIONS ON
extent of the ways of the world. Yet it is difficult to say precisely how far you ought to go in
this.  There are, unquestionably, formsandphases
of vice of which they had better be entirely ignorant. Such books as the " Pirate's Own Book,"
confessions of murderers, and the " Hot Corn
Stories," which some misguided religious people
have praised, ought to be prohibited to children,
because they familiarize them with a grade of society and a kind of life of which they had better
never dream.  The man who takes his children
frequently to the brothel, the gambling hell, or
the circus, or is always talking of the scenes
there enacted, and describing them  with great
accuracy, does his children much harm.  He
makes them fully acquainted with that of which
the less they know the better.
"Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
That to be hated, needs but to be seen;
But seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."
Yet fore-warned is fore-armed; and you will
make a sad mistake, if you do not put your child
on his guard against the snares that will beset
his daily path.
i would especially press this duty upon mothers; for I fear they greatly neglect it. What
I have said of the general topic applies to this




THE LORD S PRAYER.           153
particular point.  You need not fear giving your
daughters a knowledge of evil, which they would
acquire in no other way.  They will certainly
learn from others, sooner or later, and generally
long before you suspect.  You are in little danger in beginning too early. Talk to them kindly
and plainly, delicately of course.  A  woman
should never talk otherwise, even to her own sex.
To thus guide and instruct your daughters is not
merely advisable, it is a solemn duty, which you
ought, on no account, and for no pretext, to neglect.  Many a poor girl, by such timely precaution, might have been saved from hopeless ruin.
Bear with me while I apply the general principles I have laid down, to a particular topic, in regard to which I am often consulted.  Some parents refuse to send their children to school at
home, and many hesitate about sending them
abroad.  It is, I acknowledge, a dangerous experiment in either case. I saw so mnuch, during
five years' experience as a teacher, of the corrupting influence of passionate, ill-governed children
upon those who had been better trained, even
when the latter were still under the eye of their
parents, during their leisure hours, that I was
for a lone time of the opinion that where parents
could give any tolerable kind of instruction to
their children, they had better not send them to
school.  But I am inclined to reverse that decisK




154             "ERMTONS oN
ion; for much is gained by the contact of mind
with mind.  Children learn so much faster when
grouped together; and the school is a little world;
they meet there, on a small scale, the very forces
they must encounter; they acquire the very powers of resistance they will need in after life; and
so I would send them to school, taking the following precautions.  Do  not send them  too
early.  Let them be at least seven years old, so
that their character shall have acquired some
force and consistence.  Give them, up to that
time, as far as possible, a correct moral training.
Habituate them to telling you what is said and
done by their playmates at school.  Do not leave
it for chance to bring out the wickedness they
may have witnessed, but let them  be so accustomed to confide in you, that they will think of
nothing but telling you. Send them to a good
teacher.  Beware of the paltry economy of seeking the cheapest.  Send.them to a teacher who
will watch over their morals, and guard with
sleepless vigilance against every influence that
would corrupt them, if you can find such an one.
I know such teachers are like angels' visits, not
only because they are few and far between, but
because they are angels of mercy to your children.
Their price is above rubies,-silver should not be
weighed for the price thereof.  Observe your
children when at home; narrowly but not, suspi



TrliE LOltRD)  PRAYER,       155
ciously. Watch for the rising scab of any moral
leprosy, that you may check it at the outset.
After a child has been thus sent to school at
home till he is at least fourteen or fifteen, I see
nothing wrong, indeed it is sometimes advisable,
to send him abroad, taking similar precautions.
Send him to a good teacher, good in the sense I
have already referred to. Provide for him a
cheerful home among the devout.  Secure him,
so far as practicable, good companions.  Accustom him still to tell you what his associates and
amusements are.  Observe him  when at home,
and strive to stop every beginning of evil. Above
all, throughout his whole career, at home and
abroad, pray often, and teach him to pray, " lead
us not into temptation." Again I say, you have
done your part. God will hear yourprayers and
do his.  Shall he not hear his own elect, who cry
day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them?
Let me say, before I leave this subject, see to
it that whatever instruction you give, be it less
or more, is correct.  Do not give your children
false views of life, or endeavor to found their opposition to evil on false grounds.  If you send
them away to school, do not lead them to suppose that those who mislead them will be the rude
and ragged loafers on the streets, or that it is the
low groceries they must avoid, blt that the sa



156             SERMONS ON
loons and oyster-cellars are the most dangerous
places; and that the young and lively who are
themselves on the road to ruin, are the most dangerous companions. Beware of inoculating them
with your own unfounded prejudices. If you
would keep them out of the ball-room, and you
all know that I think it a dangerous place, do not
teach them to look upon dancing as an awful
crime, or to suppose that'they will meet in the
ball-room only with repulsive people. But let
them know that such midnight orgies are ruinous
to the health of their bodies; that disregard of God
and dislike of religion reign there; and that above
all, the seducer prowls there for his victim. Would
you inspire them with disgust towards the circus?
It is the most proper feeling they could have.
Do not represent it to them as some huge, misshapen creature like the Centaur of the Greek
mythology, with the head of a man ending in the
body of a horse. Let them  know  something
about it. You might even permit them  to see
its glare and tinsel; you might refresh them with
the coarse, vulgar wit of the clown, and the delicate attitudes of the immaculate artists.  But
teach them that the Masters and Misses who perform these surprising feats are either children
kidnapped from their parents, or homeless orphans,
picked up on the street and compelled, by brutal
cruelty, to amuse parents and children who come




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          157
from homes generally of happiness and sometimes
of refinement, to witness the sport.  Teach your
daughters what monsters of vice these vagabond
showmen are, how utterly unworthy to minister
to the amusement or receive the applause of a
virtuous Woman.
Would you guard them against the seductive
influences of card-playing?  It is desirable that
you should. Do not make them believe that it is
a sin to know one card from another, or that no
one but vile and abandoned people play. Do not
teach them to be afraid of their pocket-book- in
the company of all who play. They will soon
learn that this is all a mistake. Take them into
the gambling-hell, show them the haggard face
and blood-shot eye of the ruined nman. Tell
them that the fierce, desperate men around theml
began their career by playing with a sister or a
friend; that fair, white hands wove the first meshes
of the net in which they are entangled. Let
your children know that though there is no sin in
handling cards, yet he who begins, can never tell
where he will end.  To say the least, he puts
himself in the way of danger; he plays with an
as2p, and lays his hand on a cockatrice's den. Do
you wish they may never contract the vile habit
of theatre-going, by which so many young people
have been ruined.  I do not say you should
take them there once, and when they have seen




158              SERMONS O.N
all its apparent splendor, that you should then
unveil to them the corruption and vice, which I
will not say sleep, but rather riot beneath.  BIany
judicious people think this is the best way.  I
have not yet made up mly mind that you sll ould
go that far, but I do say, whatever you tell them,
let it be the truth.  Do not let them imagine a
theatre is a hideous place, full of fierce inen and
coarse, ill-mannered women, lest if they ever are
decoyed in tlhere, as some time or other they will
be very likely to be, and find a fine, large room,
flooded with light, and filled with fashionablydressed, apparently respectable, quiet, well-behaved people, they will think their pious old
father and mother were very good, well lmeaning
sort of people, but they were sadly ignorant what
a nice place a theatre was, or they never would
have said so much against going there.  If you
would save your children from the evil that is in
the world, especially fromn those forins of it to
which I have just alluded, (and surely there is no
Christian parent here, to say the least, who does
not,) teach them that card-playing is the most
successful snare, and the circus and the theatre
are the favorite hunting ground of the thief, the
gambler, of her whose steps take hold on hell, and
of every other recruiting officer of the great enemy of God and man.
The question is often asked, why so many




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           159
children of pious parents, and especially of ministers, who seem to have been trained up in the
way they should go, do yet depart from it. This
is owing, of course, to a variety of causes. One
of them, and a prominent one is, I think, that
the false views of the danger I have been condemning are inculcated upon them. This is done
with the best of intentions, no doubt, but its effects
are none the less injurious.  These young people
find that their parents were mistaken-that the
ball-room, the theatre, and a game of cards are
very different things from what they were taught
to suppose. And some of them never discover what
the real dangers are, until they are given up entirely to the power of evil habits. Though a
majority of them, I believe, sated with these
frivolities, finding them not at all to be compared
with the pure anld peaceful pleasures of a pious
ho'me, do at last return to the shepherd and bishop
of their souls.  Let Christian parents ki ow
whllerof they affirm, if they would keep their
children out of temptation.
If there is any character who resembles the
devil, it is the tempter.  He who would, for the
sake of gain or gratification, deliberately lead his
follow men into evils is essentially fiendish.  It
makes little difference in his guilt, and none at
all in the results, whether he does it without
thinking; he oughlt to think. When this prayer.




160             SERMONS ON
"lead us not into temptation," is addressed to
men;when they see that in the providence of God,
the virtue and happitess of their fellow creatures
are to a greater or less extent in their power;
ought they not to take heed to these things?  Do
you say this prayer cannot be addressed to men 
It often is, and alas! is often disregarded.  It
comes to-day to you who are young, from those pious
parents whose children you are teaching to desecrate the Sabbath, and neglect the house of God; in
whose presence you are ridiculing the religion of
their parents, and thus teaching them to sneer. It
comes to those, let me not call them men, who
are mean enough and base enough to teach little
boys to swear, and to be obscene; who laugh at
the little fellows mouthing their mighty oaths,
and retailing with engaging, but to one who loves
them, distressing archness, the low slang they have
learned in the bar-room and grocery.
It has long -come with earnestness amounting
to agony, from the drunkard and the drunkard's
wife, to the men who have their living by the craft
of tempting to every conceivable crimei the poor
slave of a depraved appetite. They have long
treated this prayer with contempt.  It comes to
them no. longer.  But men and wolmen of the
state of Indiana, it comes to you, louder and
wilder than it ever fell before upon mortal ear.
The poor drunkard, with all the elements of a




THE LORD'S PRAYER.            161
noble soul within him, yet, though shattered sadly
by the assaults of intemperance, comes and
begs you, with such entreaty as might move the
pain'dst fiend below" to keep this deadly, bewitching poison out of his sight, and give him a
fair chance to be a man again. His wife, who has
clung to him through all his downward career,
and clings to him yet more closely as others begin to  desert, lifts her pleading face.  His
children, frozen in the very flush of youth into
cold, heartless, spiritless things, not daring to
look happier children in the face, join their
shrill cries, and laying hold of you with tlieir
little withered hands, as you rush on in the mad
career of party strife, in such a chorus of wo as
earth never heard before, they cry out to you,
"' You have the power, Oh, do not lead us into
temptation; put your foot on this traffic, and crush
it out of existence."  You cannot hear. them.
The syren of party sings too delicious a song in
your ears.  It is all well enough to help the
poor miserable wretches; but there is some other
great project with which they must not interfere;
they can wait till next year.  The roar of artillery, and the voice of rejoicing that celebrates the
success of your favorite measure, will drown out
of your ear the wail of the tempted.  You cannot hear them, but God can hear them.  He will
arise, not only for the passionate cry, but even for




162 ~f'SERtMONS ON
the sighing of the needy.  His ears are always
open,' and I turn to him:'"Holy Father, let
them not be led into temptation. Do thou come to
their help, for thine is the kingdonm, and power.
And when this cursed traffic is driven from  the
land, thine shall be the glory, forever and ever.




SERIMON VIII.
But deliver us from evil.-Matt. 6: 13.
THE origin of evil has been a fruitful subject of
dispute.  The philosophers and theologians of
every age, have perplexed themselves in regard
to it. The only possible solution of this problem, at least in our present condition, is that given in our Confession of Faith: that " God was
pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel,
to permit" it, " having purposed to order it to his
own glory.':"  It would have been better for multitudes who have  disquieted themselves with
speculations on tlis topic, if, content with thus
resolving all their difficulties int o th e  ultim,ate
fact of the Divine permisslon, they hiad b-een mi.,ite.
solicitous to discover the means of avoiding anld
removing evil.
Evil is in the world, and it cannot be always
eluded.  "It must needs be that offences come."
No prudence, however thoughtful, no care, however unwearied, can deliver us fully front the- consequences of the fall, whether they come in the
form of physical or moral evil.  What, then, is
Conf. of Faith, Chap. 6f Sec. 1,.




164              SERMONS ON
it best for us to do? Shall we cast off fear, renounce the guidance of reason, and resolve to
avoid no danger, because we cannot escape all 
Every one must see the folly of such a course.
Yet this is the logic of some reckless people, who
refuse to take any precaution, because all precautions are at times unavailing.  They will not
have any care of their health, because men are
sure to die; or they have known some persons
very prudent and watchful on this point, and they
were sick as often as any one.  There are many
parents who seem *to act upon this principle in
regard to their children.  They let them run in
the street, and associate at will with the evilminded and the vicious, making no effort to restrain them.  And when remonstrated with, their
answer generally is, that it is impossible to seclude children entirely from such influences. I
am sometimes tempted to think that argument is
thrown away upon such people. O-ught they not
to see, at a glance, that the fact that evil is so
general and inevitable, is only an additional and
more urgent reason why we should use forethought; for the more prudent we are, the less
we shall suffer.
But shall we, on the other hand, make this certainty of encountering evil in some of its forms,
the ground of a refusal to put forth any activity?
Shall olir prudence degenerate into cowardice?




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           165
It does with some people. They will not ride
after a horse for fear it will run away. They will
not cross the lake or the ocean-nothing could
tempt them to-lest they should be drowned.
They will not travel on a rail-car, for fear it would
run off the track. Now the proper course is, as
any plain, common-sense man will tell you, to
take all reasonable precautions, and then do whatever is necessary or desirable to be done.  Do not
pick out a wild horse, and an unskillful driver.
Do not put to sea in a rotten vessel, or on
a stormy night, or trust yourself knowingly to a
drunken engineer. The folly of this excessive
timidity appears, from the fact that it often exposes persons to much greater dangers than they
avoid.  You may always travel on foot, if you
think that the safest; yet a tree may be blown down
on you, or a mnad dog bite you, when perhaps, if
you had been travelling in some other, and as you
think more dangerous mode, you would have escaped them.  And of one thing you may be sure,
you cannot, with all your care, escape every evil.
You may never see water beyond your depth;
yet the fire may burn up your house, and burn
you up in it. Wherever you are, you are environled with danger. What can you do, but, after
having exercised all proper care, commit your
ways unto God?
Some of you, who will think this very good




( 66            SERMTONS ON
logic in regard to the things of this life, and-who
constantly act upon it in relation to. them, will
yet demur to it, when applied to our spiritual interests. But let us see how it will work. You
refuse, my impenitent friend, to' do anything
toward making your peace with God, for fear you
will not succeed. You will not start on the road
to heaven, for fear you will never get there, notwithstanding great and precious promises are given unto you to encourage you: " Come unto me,
all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.'   " Him  that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out."  Yet you think we
ought to put forth our activity in the things of
this life, though God has never given us, either
in his word or in his providence, any similar assurance of success. And do you lessen your
spiritual danger by refusing to do anything? Do
you not rather increase it?  Do you not make
your destruction certain?  Consider the great
difference between you and those who are so timid
in regard to worldly affairs.'They may escape
injury by staying at home-they may live a long
and peaceful life.  The only thing they will lose,
may be a little sight-seeing, for which they will
be more than compensated by the solid happiness
of dwelling among their own people. But you,
by staying away from  Christ, are certain to be
destroyed. You lose everything and gain nothing.




THE LORD'S PRAYERn.           167
A little froth instead of the river of the water of
life; a paste diamond or two for the pearl of great
price; a few tinsel toys for a crown of gold.
Oh! how can you be so foolish.  Will you not say,
"I can but perish if I go,
I am resolved to try;
For if I stay away, I know
I must forever die."
And you, who refuse to make an open profession of your secret hope in Christ, because your
hope is so weak, and you fear you will dishonor
God, your folly is but little less.  Is your faith
likely to be strengthened by being smotllered?
Is the friend, who, though not able to do much
yet defends and assists you, of any less value or
credit than he who herds with your enemies, and
is silent when you are abused?  That dangers beset you is true, but Christ has made you many
promises.  " Lo! I am  with you always, even
unto the end of the world."  -'No man shall
pluck you out of my Father's hand."  You are
not to be presumptous.  Do not tempt the Lord
your God; do not expose yourself unnecessarily,
because he has given his angels charge concerning
you. " But watch and pray, lest you enter into
temptation; and whenever he stcs fit to lead you
into it, his arm will protect, his eye will watch
over you.
I presume you are all convinced of the neees



168              SERMONS ON
sity of forethought in the affairs of this life.  But
did it ever occur to you that going to God with
this petition, " Deliver us from evil," is one of
the first dictates of mere worldly wisdom. I assert, without hesitation, that he who lives a prayerless life, however prudent he may think himself,
is of all men most careless. He neglects the
only sure precaution against an infinite variety of
evils. You cannot, prayerless man, as you must
see, know what miasma may lurk in the air; or
if yo i did, you could not protect yourself against
it.  You are utterly ignorant what disease may
be engendering within you, even now. You cannot tell in the morning what accidents may lie
between you and the setting sun. Danger, disease, and death lurk all along your path, and every foot-fall may bring you into some hidden
snare. How soon may disease, disgrace, or infamy
worse than death invade your family circle. How
wise, then, in you to pray this prayer, if you believe
in a God who can protect, and who will hear you!
And who does not wish so to believe?  Would
you not rather adore a being who knows our
frame, and reemembers that we are dust, than one
who sees
" WVith equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish, and a sparrow fall;"
who will pay no regard to your entreaties, and




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          169
will not even be touched with a feeling of your
infirmities?  And how much better that you
should go forth to your daily toil trusting in God,
rather than in blind chance or good fortune. Is
there any comparison between the two, as a source
of patience and strength?  "Our rock is not as
their rock, even our enemies themselves being
judges."
Do you not begin to regret your irreligious
life? I might have some hope that you could
be persuaded to ask God to deliver you from
these physical and social evils to which we-are
all exposed; but feeling as you now do, it would
be idle to urge you to pray to; be delivered from
sin, at once the worst of evils, and the source of
all others. Partly because you think you can deliver yourself, but chiefly because you do not consider sin any evil. There seem to be two stages
in the life of an impenitent man; one in which
he considers sin a mere trifle, the other in -which,
though somewhat aware of his guilt and danger,
he still thinks he can save himself.  Not but
that these two feelings run into and modify 6ach
other. He who has any proper idea; of the evil
of sin, never would think of trying to deliver himself.
And one reason why men are so contented in their
sin, taking no pains to understand its nature
and extent, is, that they imagine they can secure
their own safety whenever they do set themselves
T.




170              SteRMONs  ONX
at work.. Still I thinkl these two states may be
found in the life of almost every irreligious per-,Son; separated by more or less definite limits,
Mlost of you, I apprehend,,- are in the first of
tihese stages.  Sin is' no evil from which you wish
to be delivered.  You would not like to' commit,
any great crime, not because-` it lis a sin against
God, but because you would forfeit the respect of
your fellow men, or your liberty or life. If the
stanidard of human law -or public opinion should
C:hange, you would conform to them, even in violation'of the law,'of God.  Indeed. you do so
even now. Punishtiment  may seem. an evil, and
in order to avoid it,; you may be willing: to forego
sonme enjoyments,'from  which you now  derive.much pleasure.  But once convince you that you
could' still retain them without: any risk of being
punished, and you would never think of abandoning-them.  So6me of you may even have taken
up this belief, and have, as a consequence, allowed yourselves in many things which you know,
and everybody knows, God has forbidden.  Tlhis
shows that sin, in itself considered, is no evil to
you.  I think it more than lik:ely, that if the
cholera were in our midst, m.any of you would in
the morning ask God to, deliver you from it; or,
if such a prayer were offered up in your:presence,
in your hearts you would-. say: aimen to: it.  But
the leprosy of sin is in our:mridst, and you are ev



TIIE LORD'}S'-PRAYER.         17'1
cry day exposed to it; yet you never think of
asking God to keep you fromn it; and when you
hear such a prayer, you do not respond to it.
Such, my brethren, is not the Christian's feeling.  To us, sin is the body of death, and we cry,
" who shall deliver usf rom it'"  There is nothing
in our religion- to -keep us from  asking our
Father in Heaven to keep us from temporal evil.
Nay, we have the highest encouragement to do
so, for we have the promise of this life, as well as
of that which is to come.  But let us never forget the infinite superiority of the unseen and the
eternal.':Let us ever say to " the bounteous Giver
of all good,
"Thou art, of all thy gifts, thyself the crown;
Give What thou wilt, Without thee wve are poor;
And with thee ridh, take wlhat thou wilt away.".
Thle d:oetrinal teaching of this petition -is the
counterpart of the third: " Thy will be done."
In that, wee confessed our inabilitbyias of ourselves
to do the will of God, and asked that his strength
might be mnade perfect in our weakness.  In this,
we acknowledge'that we are unable to resist
temptation, andlc we beseech him' to deliver us;
to provide us a way of escape.  In the petition
immediately preceding the one we, are now considering, we show that being distriustful of ourselves, we are not greedy of temptation. In
this, in praying to be delivered Cfronm evilswe not




172             SERMONS ON
only confess that we are unable to defend ourselves, but remind ourselves that we cannot always avoid temptation; and, indeed, that we
ought not to. The mere fact that there is danger in our path, is not always a sufficient reason
for a refusal to go forward. Do not let your
caution degenerate into criminal cowardice. God
may make it your duty to go into the midst of
great dangers, both spiritual and temporal. He
may surround you with bitter enemies, and.cause you to meet with fierce opposition. Many
of his chosen people have thus been tried. Beware of being a spiritual sluggard, saying,' there
is a lion iI the way."  Remember that God is
able to succor them that are tempted, and will,
with the temptation, provide a way of escape.
I remarked to parents, in a former Lecture,
that as they could not always keep their children
under their own observation, they ought to pray
to'God not to lead them into temptation. I
would remind you now, that even their Heavenly
Father will sometimes suffer them to be tried;
and you, therefore, need to ask him to deliver
them, at such times, from  evil. How can you
think of all the snares to which their rashness
and-inexperience must expose them; of the multitudes who make shipwreck of this life, to say
nothing of the life that is to come, without being
driven to cry mightily to God in their behalf.




THE LOROD 7S PRAYER.        173
Oh, prayerless father and- mother, I know not
whether to think you more foolish or hard-hearted. You will not ask God, who alone is able, by
his Almighty power, to protect and defend your
child from all peril and harm, both of soul and
body. You are shocked at the atrocious cruelty
of those heathen, who carry off their aged parents into the wilderness and leave them to die.
But you, more cruel than they, expose your children to every evil influence the world can exert
upon them; thus making certain, so far as you
can, their eternal death. If you will not pray
for yourself, I beg you to pray for them.' It is better for the children, and for all connected with them," said a parent to me not long
since, "that they should die in early life."  I
cannot think so. It is better, so far as we can
see, that they should die young, than that they
should live to be miserable or vicious. It is sad
to think into what a fiendish expression the placid
face of the child may one day be distorted; how
bloated that soft cheek, how dull and leaden that
bright eye may become. Far better to hide them
away in an early grave; to give them up in infancy, to Him who will carry them in his bosom,
and suffer no stain to soil them, than to keep
them for the doom of the drunkard or the profligate. But is it not still more desirable that they
should' live to be useful and happy, the honor




174              SERMONS ON
andl support of their parents, a pleasure and- a
blessing to all who know them?- There is many
a modern -mother, I am: persuaded, with. her
Gr'acchi, who could not think it better always
for children to die young.  Did the mother of
George Washington think so?  Woulcl any of
you, if God should count your child worthy to
put him into the ministry?  No prayer seems to
me so proper to be offered up for children, as the
reqlest which occurs in what is called our Lord's
intercessory prayer.  " I pray not that thou
shouldest take them  out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them from the evil."  Who
could kneel down at the bed-side of his child,
and pray that it might die?  Who so hardhearted, so impious, that he would not pray that
it might be kept from  the evil.  At the same
time, if children die in infancy, or early life, we
should consider that they are taken away from the
evil to come.
It may seem to some who have heard these
discourses, that I am an officious intermn-eddler,
in speaking so often and so plainly of the duties
of parents to their children. As I shall not
have occasion to refer to this subject soon again,
let me vindicate myself here against any such
captious objectors.  The obligation of parents to
train up their children in the fear of the Lord is
enforced in both the Old and the New  Testa



ITHE LORDD'S PRAYER,         175
nments, with.great plainness and frequency;- and
though mlany have out-grown the wisdom! of Solomon and Paul, I still think they had the Spirit
of the Lord. I am to keep back none of the
counsel of God, and there are -many reasons why
the duty of parents to watch over and pray for
their children,should, least of all, be neglected
in the teachings of him who is set over you in
the. Lord.  Our blessed Master commends the
lambs of the flock, with.peculiar emphasis, to the
watchfull care of his under-shepherds.  It was
the first duty which he enjoined upon his repentant disciple.  I should be false to him who -has
put me. into the ministry, did I not, upon this
very point, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, being
instant in season and out of season. And as a
watchman on the walls of Zion, charged on the
peril of my own life to warn the inhabitants of
the land, when I see danger approaching, I feel
that I must speak at the present time in no uncertain tones. The Presbyterian Church has, if
I.may use such an expression, leaned with all
her weight upon her baptized children. VWe have
looked to them  to replenish our ranks; and
though occasionally strangers have taken up their
abode among us, and have always been welcomed,
yet generally we have drawn our recruits from
those who were born within our gates, and have:
been trained up in our midst.  Instead of the




176            SSERMIONS ON
fathers, these have been the children. We have
always honored family religion; we have laid
great stress upon dedicating children- to a covenant-keeping God in the ordinance of baptism.
We have insisted upon family worship, and the
regular instruction of children at home by their
parents; and to all these, under God, we owe
much of our prosperity as a Church.
But I fear that now we are being shorn of our
strength. It is not that the children of the
Church go elsewhere. That would not grieve us
so much, though we prefer to have thermin the
home of their fathers. But they go nowhere,
save only with the enemies of the cross of Christ.
The land is full of lamentations over the scarcity
of candidates for the ministry, and various causes
have been assigned for this.  May not one great
reason be found in the decay of family religion?
Every one has heard of Madame Campan's la-.
conic and oracular reply to Napoleon's question
as to what France required to make her a great
nation —" Mothers." The Church wants mothers,
mothers who will pray with and for their children, "'lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil."
It has always been the peculiar glory of our
Church, that her children were well-governed,
and thoroughly taught. Is not this fast degenerating into an idle boast?  We seem to resemble




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          177
some old Highland clansman, or Spanish grandee, who lives on his long pedigree, and the fame
of his ancestry; too proud to toil, too indolent
to win a name for himself. For while we still
hold fast to our ancient boasts and professions,
we are practically sinking to a level with those
who avowedly, and of conscience, exercise no
control over their children, and give them no instruction. It is to be feared, that as we have
been exalted so high, we shall yet sink into a
lower deep; and as we have been so famous for
our faithfulness, we shall grow into a wider proverb for our sad and wicked carelessness.
Do you say there is no ground for these fears?
How many households, think you, are there, connected with this Church, that are gathered together every Sabbath, as they were in olden time, to study
the Catechism  and the word of God?  How
many that send to the Sabbath-school and the
prayer meeting a slim and infrequent representation? How many that are represented in the
street on the Lord's day?  These are questions
which it pains me to ask, and would pain me to
answer. Yet there can be for us no surer sign
of desolation and decay, than to see the children
of the Church not trained up in the way they
should go, or departing from it. All our learned
ministry, our wealth and intelligence, the impenetrable logic and Scriptural truth of our doe



178              SERMONS ON
trines, cannot save us, when once these foundations of family government -and instruction are
out of place.  WVhen I see the slightest tremor
in. this bulwark~ of our Church, I must cry aloud
and spare not.  I know' I am-  not your enemy,
and I do not believe you will think me so, because I tell you the truth.
The text, "deliver us from evil," will bear another interpretation, which many eminent critics
are. inclined to give it.  The article occurs in the
original, and this part of speech is never insignificant or unnecessary in the Greek. -A strict
translation of the passage would be -' deliver us
from the evil;" by which, many say, we are to
understand the Evil One, or Satan.  The ancient
fathers all understood it as referring to him,
though their belief in the agency of evil spirits
was mucjh more earnest and practical than is
fashionable now.  A  passage precisely similar,
and translated in the same way in our version, is
that portion of our Lord's intercessory prayer,
which I have already quoted.  " I pray not thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them  from the evil;"  and
this also many critics interpret of the Evil One.
In MIatt. 13: 19, and 1 John 2: 13, the same
cxpression occurs in the original; andcl it is in
both cases translated in our version, " the wicked
one."  In the case of the text,it is proper enough




THE LORD'S PRAYER.             179
for uis to adopt either translation.  That is to
say, we may pray to- God to protect us from the
various evils to which we are exposed, or we miay
ask him to deliver us'" from  the'crafts and assaults of the devil."  There are mlany who lauglh
to scorn thi-s-latter iclea, for they do not believe
in the existence of any such being.. They scout
the notion as an exploded superstition; a remnant of the fables of tile dark ages.  To settle
the controversy between them  and us, let us betakle ourselves to that sure wordl of prophecy,
which still shines amid our boasted civilization,
as a light in a dark place.
We are told in the history. of Job, that Satan
came before the Lord and accused that good mian
of selfishness and hypocrisy; and that Job was,
in conseqluence, given up to Satan to be tempted
and tried.  But some say this whole book is an
allegory.  Where are the marks of its being allegorical?  Why not receive it for what it appears
upon its face to be; a plain, simple account of
what actually happened.  But they say it is inmpossible that such a transaction should ever have
taken place.  How do they know  that?  Let
them prove it. The Bible is intended to reveal
to us what we could not otherwise discover.
Who shall say that the curtain is not here drawn
aside, and we permitted for a imoment to see what
is constantly taking place in the presence of God?
"' """"'  -CY~-Y n




180             SERMONS ON
Who shall say, when a servant of the Lord is
stripped and tormented, as is sometimes the case,
that the devil is not at the bottom  of it?  I
think he often is. And even supposing, as most
persons do, that what is said of Satan coming
with the sons of God, &c., is merely a figurative
representation, it is certainly designed to teach
us the existence of the Evil One, and his agency
in our temptations and troubles. There are other passages of Holy Writ, which express the same
truth in a similar way. Zechariah saw in his
vision, (3: 1.) "' Joshua, the high priest, standing
before the angel of the Lord," that is Christ,
"and Satan standing at his right hand," where
the accuser always stood in the Jewish court.
The apostle John heard a loud voice, saying in
heaven, "Now is come salvation, and strength,
and the kingdom of our God, and the power of
his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast
down, who accused them before our God, day and
night.
But granting that all these passages are figurative, though I think there is more reality about
them than is generally supposed, what will you
do with those places in which the devil is said to
be a liar, a murderer, and the like? In this we
are told by an apostle, the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil.  Is the
devil a mere abstraction, a personification?  Why




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          18 i
then may not God be also?  And it may be
shown to be, just as logically, and in the same
way that the devil can be. Take this passage in
the third chapter of Habakkuk:
" God came from Teman, and the Holy One
from mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And
his brightness was as the light; he had horns
coming out of his hand; and there was the hiding
of his power. Before him went the pestilence,
and burning coals went forth at his feet. He
stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and
drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting
mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did
bow."
Now there is much more reason to say that
this passage is allegorical, than the one in Job.
It occurs in a highly wrought poetical book, with
not a single historical statement in it; nothing at all
resembling the staid and quiet narrative of Job's
life and employments. The language is evidently
figurative; the transaction never could have
actually taken place. Why may I not say that
the word of God is a mere personification; that
wherever it occurs, and in whatever way it is
used, it. is never to be understood as designating
any really existing being.
What folly to reason thus, if indeed it can be
called reasoning. And why are they guilty of




182               SERIVIONS ON
such absurdities, when they find such passages
aS:the following':   The angels who kept not their
first estate, but left their own habitation, he bath
reserved  in everlasting chains, under darkness,
unlto the Judgmeint of the great day."  " Depart,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels."  To do away the certainty
of future punishment, they ni-ust annihilate th-e
]Evil One, and so fly in the face of plain and repeated declarations of t!ie word of God.  Be not
deceived, my brethren.  The Scriptures reveal to
us the existence~ of one, to whom, under the various names of Satan, the Devil, the Evil'One,
the  Serpent, the Dragon, the.Advers'a-ry, they
ascribe the same general qualities.
It is a Singular fact, that those: wlio are -most
skeptical as to the existence of such an.evi-l' spirit
as is revealecl in the wo d of God, hTve been' the
readiest to take up with the nwild and' fodlish delusion  of spiritual rappings.' They could not
credit the plain and repeated -declarations:of the
Bible, but they could put unlinzited confidence in
the unsupported assertions of men and women of
doubtful sanity, or questiona~ble character.  They
could not believre that the devil had.anythfing to do
withi our mllost distressing afflictions,;or the direst
calamities; yet they do not hesitate to declare
that." the'departed spirits of the mighty dead"
engage in moving tables, and writing school-boy




THE tLoD'S PRAYER.             183
compositions.  So true is it, that infidelity natura:lly leads to superstition.,But -snppose' there really is such -a being, is
thlere any reason why we should -pray to be delivered from him?  Is he anything more tha'n a
bugJhbear to  frighten  naughty childr en-  with?
Yes, my brother, he is your enemy  and  mine.
Our Lord tells us expressly, that the ene-my is
the devil. -The apostle Peter calls' him  our adversary, the devil. The word Satan, by which nam e
he is often designated, means al adversary.  He
is called in tle Rivelation of John, the accuser
of the brethren.  I-le is everywhere represented
a;s opposed to tis, seeking our ruin. iHe' -first seduced us to the foul revolt, and ever since he has
labored  for our destruetion.:.' Many professed
Christians  have  no  real, hearty  belief that
the devil is their enemy.   I can remember
distinctly when the -conviction first forced itself
upon'me that lhe hated l  zej-that he watched for
my' halting, and when I faltered, obscure and unknown though I was, be and his followers raisecl
a shout of triumph.  Now this is not a fietion, a
figure of'speech, it is a reality; and he who does
not feel it, to be so, is not: aware of one of his
greatest dangers.  And this is but a fulfillment
of the oldest prophecy on record.  "I will put
enmity between thee," said God to the infernal
serpa.et,'-and the womani and between thy seed




184               SERMONS ON
and her seed."  We are the seed, the spiritual
children of him who is to bruise the serpent's
head.  We must expect to be assaulted by the
serpent in turn.
And he is not an enemy to be despised. He
was once a mighty angel, in the presence of God,
and he is still powerful.
His form has not yet lost
All its original brightness, nor appears
Less than archangel ruined, and the excess
Of glory obscured; as when the sun, new risen,
Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams.
Darkened so, yet shines the fallen archangel.
He is called in the Scriptures the Prince of the
power of the air; and this is a Hebraism for the
powerful prince or ruler of the air. In other
passages he is said to be the god of this world;
thus teaching us his power. There are also in
the world evil spirits; and though the word of
God reveals nothing definite in regard to their
number, their names, and their employment,
and we venture on dangerous ground, when we
dogmatize on these points; yet we are expressly
exhorted to put on the whole armor of God, because we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that
is, with mere earthly enemies; but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wick



THE LORD'S PRAYER.           185
edness in high places, or, as some translate it,
against wicked-spirits on high; this last expression corresponding to the phrase, the prince of the
power of the air. I do not think it idle or superstitious to repeat the warning.  The caution
has not grown obsolete.  Such foes are in our
midst, and, for aught I. know, millions of these
spiritual wickednesses walk the earth, or when we
wake, or when we sleep.  They are said to-be the
angels, the messengers of that Evil One, from
whom our Lord teaches us to pray to be delivered.
He is called their prince.  He can station them
where he will,- to watch and waylay us. Shall we
not, then, call upon God for protection?
The devil is a bold enemy. He disputed with
Michael about the body of Moses, that chosen
servant of God. In his vision in the Isle of Patmos, the beloved disciple saw him and his angels
fighting in heaven itself, with Michael and his
angels. And though these passages are obscure
and mysterious, still they show *the boldness of
our enemy. WVe do know that he crept into the
paradise of God, and tempted the mother of all
living.  He had the presumption to venture into
the presence of Jehovah, and to accuse the upright Job of serving God from selfish and hypocritical motives.  And above all other instances
of his audacity, he assaulted our Lord, who was
holy, harmless, and undefiled.  He would have
H




186             SERMONS ON
had hinm, who is the brightness of the Father's
glory, and the express image of his person, who
sits at the right hand of God, to fall down and
worship: the dethroned and faded spirit who
dwells in the blackness of darkness forever.
Shall we hope to escape?  Do you think you can
daunt such a bold, sagacious enemy, by assuming
an air of defiance, and by asserting, with schoolboy bravery, that you are not afraid?  Can you
flatter yourself that you are so pure and virtuous
that Satan, feeling how awful, simple goodness is,
will not venture to tempt you? -And do not
think that these are idle questions.  Multitudes
have had this self-confidence, and have been ruined.
by it. I warn you against it. You must resist
the devil, if yot  would have him flee from you.
Remember that he tempted our Lord, that angels
fell by him, and pray to God to deliver you from
himi.
The:devil is a subtle andC crafty enemy.  W'e
are told of his wiles and devices.  We are forewarned lest we fall into his snare. We are told
that he transforms himself into an angel of light;
that his coming is with all power, and signs, and
lying wonders. Good old Matthew Henry says,
he is called a serpent for subtlety; an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of trapping.  Paul bids us beware, ".lest by any
means, as Satan beguiled Eve through his subtle



THE LORD'S PRAYER.           187
ty, so our minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ. And it is not alone
the Christian that he attacks.  He blinds the
minds of them who believe not: lest the light of
the glorious Gospel should shine unto them.
W~hen men hear the Gospel, then cometh the
devil and taketh away the word out of their
hearts; lest they should believe and:be saved.
And thus they are taken captive of him at his
will. Do any of you, whether religious or irreligious, suppose that you can yourselves circtumvent or elude this crafty foe?  Ah! you do- no.t
know " the depths of Satan."  The gayest, most
attractive places you see, are often the snares and
pitfalls he has prepared for you.  The sweetest.
misic, the softest tones you hear, are often the
syren song with which he would lull you to sleep,
that he may rob you of your soul.
The devil is a savage, bitter enemy.  He goes
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. lHe is a serpent, venomous, spiteful and
hateful.  He is an unscrupulous enemy.  Our
earthly foes may revolt from some modes of warfare, but there is nothing which the devil is not
mean enough and base enough to do; He is a
liar and a murderer, from the beginning. He is
a slanderer: witness what he said of Job. In
some parts of our version of the New Testament,
the same word is at one time translated the devil,




183              SERMONS ON
and at another, slanderer. The latter is the original meaning, but it was so appropriate to our
great enemy, that it came to be used as his proper name.  Indeed, in the book of Revelation, he
is expressly called, by those who are in heaven,
the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them before God, day and night! There are those in every community who are constantly, day and night,
hunting up and repeating stories of the knavery
and hypocrisy of ministers and professors of religioii; insinuating, or broadly asserting, that their
piety is but a cloak for their profligacy and dishonesty.
Do these men know who they are imitating,of what lineage they come?  Our Savior said to
just such false accusers, " ye are of your father
the  devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do." tMy friend, if you must be in the employment of the Evil One, do not, I beg you, do his
dirty work.  Do not let him  use you to spatter
filth on those who are trying to live godly in
Christ Jesus.
I have intimated that some men are in the employ of the adversary.  Harsh as it may seem,
this must be applied to every one who is not a
servant of Christ.  Our Lord tells us there is
no neutral ground; he that is not for me, is
against me.  And yet, though he employs you,
my impenitent friend, he is your enemy still; he




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           189
gives you only the wages of sin, which is death. He
does not now assume an attitude of opposition.
Ile gives you " the pleasures of sin for a season,"
but it is only for a season.  Hie acts like a gambler or seducer. He toys with you as they do
with their victims, that he may get you under his
power.  When he has rifled you of all you hold
dear, he will turn you out to everlasting shame
and contempt; as his prime ministers on earth
are doing with their victims every hour.
If you had such an earthly enemy as I have
described, bold, wary, vindictive, powerful and
unscrupulous, would you not dread him, and seek
to be delivered from him? Is Satan any the
less to be avoided, because he is a spiritual foe,because himself unseen, he wars against your unseen and eternal interests-? Ah! if he had not
already blinded your mind, you would seek to recover yourself out of his snare.
My Christian friends, while all this will seem
to the irreligious and the giddy a fable or a delusion, to you it is, I am persuaded, a sad reality.
The devil hates us as he hated our Master, because we are not of this world, and he shows his
spite against us. I-e fills our minds with evil
thoughts.  He dresses up sin in an attractive
garb.  He excites unreasonable and wicked men
to insult and provoke us. Let us not underrate
this enemy.  There is often, among Christians, a




190             SERM5ONS ON
light and easy way of speaking of our adversary,
which is very improper.  Not that I think tho
devil ought to be treated with any reverence.
Some good people seem to have the same scrupulous respect for him that they have for the Almighty.  They think it as great an evidence of
a wicked heart for a man to speak thoughtlessly
of the devil, as to blaspheme that glorious and
fearful nanme of the Lord our God. But, on the
contrary, it is comparatively the most guiltless.kind of profanity, if, indeedcl,it can be called a
profanation.  I feel as free to speak- of the devil
as of a wicked man, and I do not think any more
regard should be paid to him.  But beware of
acting and talking as if there were no such being,
countenancing the popular idea that the belief in
his existence is an exploded superstition of the
middle ages.  That, " in this enlightened age,"
we have nothing to fear from him, and that nobody but nursery-maids and bigots believe there
is any such creature.
No, my brother, it is still as true now as it was
in the days of the apostle, that your adversary,
the devil, goeth about like a roaring lion. You
must resist him  steadfast, in the faith.  You
must put on the whole armor of God, and fight
manfully the good fight of faith.  You are, above
all, to take the shield of faith, that is of trust in
God.  You are to rely upon him, praying always




THE LODJD'S PRAYER.              191
with all prayer and supplication.  All these passages show you that all your safety' is to be in
praying this prayer:   Deliver us from  the Evil
One.
" Man's wisdom is to find,
His strength in God alone;
And an angel would be weak,
Who trusted in his own."




SE  ItO3 N   IX.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
forever. Amen.-Matt. 6: 13.
TIIIS conclusion contains the reason why we
should ask of God what we need, and why he
should give us what we seek. It shows the propriety of our coming to him, and of our comling
to him with just such requests.  In the first place,
the kingdom, the authority, belongs to him.  He
is a Sovereign; none can stay his hand, or say unto
him, what doest thou?  Every page of the Bible
contains this truth, either expressed or implied.
" The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens," says the Psalmist, " and his kingdom ruleth
over all.* "   The Most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
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 children of
men.."t'   " Shall I not do what I will with mine
own.j  " He hath mercy on whom he will have
mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth."~  And
even those who attempt to evade the force of
these  plain declarations by subtle arguments,
P's,. 103: 19. 1 Dan. 4: 17. + Matt. 20: 15.    Rom. 9: 18




THE LORD'S PRAYER.         193
and acute criticism, when they come to pray, address our Heavenly Father as a sovereign. They
do not ask him to help them to get what they
need, but they entreat him to give it to them;
thus recognizing him as the giver of every good
and perfect gift; the God in whose hands our
breath is, and whose are all our ways. So you
see that in our devotions, both reason and conscience respond to the truth of this great doctrine,
so plainly revealed in the word of God. Indeed,
it is only on the basis of this doctrine, that there
is any place for such prayers as every pious heart
offers, and feels compelled to offer to God.  If
he is not a Sovereign, if he does not do what he
will in the army of heaven, and among the children of men, why should I ask him for anything
with such an unconditional submission to his will,
when my dependence upon him for it is only remote and indirect, if, indeed, there is any such
dependence at all?
Surely, those Christians, who in words deny and
argue against God's sovereignty, (and by this I
mean his most holy, wise, and powerful governing of all his creatures, and all their actions,)
surely, cannot know  to what their reasoning
necessarily leads. Hear the language of one,
who, denying this doctrine, and not having any
piety to keep him  from  being consistent, has
dared to follow out this denial to its legitimate




194             SEIRMONS ON
results.  " In what prayers do men allow themselves.  That which they call a holy oflice, is not
so much as brave and manly. -Prayer looks
abroad, and asks for some foreign aid to come,
through some foreign virtue, and loses itself in
endless mazes, of natural, and supernatural, and
mediatorial, and miraculous.  Prayer, as a means
to effect a private end, is theft and meanness. It
supposes dualism, and not unity in nature and
consciousness. As soon as the man is one with
God, he will not beg."   And again he says,
" Mens' prayers are a disease of the will.""
I know that many, who dispute God's sovereignty, will shrink with horror from such blasphemous
sentiments.  And I am far from  supposing that
the pantheism of the expressions I lave quoted,
is a legitimate deduction from these principles;
but I think the denial of the usefulness of prayer
is. I see no other stopping-place, when once
you refuse to acknowledge that his kingdom ruleth
over all.
We hear much in our country about popular
sovereignty. Now this is all well enough, if we
do not mean thereby to dispute the sovereignty
of God, or to endorse that vicious and blasphemnous saying, "the voice of the people is the
voice of God," thus enthroning the multitude,
1 R. WV Emerson,




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           195
the majority, in the place of God. He who
denies that there is any law higher than the
constitution or other supreme law of the land,
puts into the hands of the constituted authorities,
the power to obliterate the eternal distinction between rightand wrong. lie opens the door for the
-most unlimited despotism.  He denies the sacred
right of revolution. Especially in a republican
government, where the will of the majority makes
and alters constitutions and laws, is there no other
reliance for -the safety of the minority, and the individual, except thisinuch abused, much misunderstood doctrine of -a higher law, this great truth
that. God alone is a sovereign in his own right,that the sovereignty, even of the people, is but a
delegated sovereignty, and to be exercised only
within certain limits; and that when it transgresses these limits, our allegiance to God should absorb every other feeling, should break every other
tie.
And lest it should be said that this authorizes
every one to nullify any and every law  of the
state, at his own caprice, I would remind you
that this very higher law itself, binds us to be subject to the powers that be, because they are ordained of God. And when any one refuses obedience to the law of the state, he must prove
from the same law, which enjoins obedience in all
ordinary cases, that there is a conflict between the




196             SERMONS ON
two. And he must show this, from some plain,
explicit declaration of the word of God, or by
just and necessary consequence therefrom.
The law of God will take nothing in the place
of this; no whim, no petulant opposition, no inward light.  How  admirably does this great
truth of God's sovereignty guard us from the oppression of the majority on the one hand, and the
rebellion of the minority on the other.
A second reason why we should pray to God
is, that he has the power. Ile is not a Sovereign
merely in name; -with the external'pomp of royalty, overshadowed by a power behind the throne,
and above the throne itself. We do not go to
God as men do to an earthly monarch, to be referred to the administrators of his government,
to see if what we request is in harmony with their
plans. Nor do we approach him as a mere matter
of ceremony, to obtain his formal consent to that
which has already been granted us. He has never delegated his power to angels or saints, or the
Virgin Mary. He has not imprisoned himself in
blind, impersonallaws. If he had, weoughtto pray
to them. As it is, we ought to go directly to
God.  When Ferdinandcl de Soto was traversing
the shores of the Gulf of {Mexico in search of the
fabled fountain of immortal youth, the Indians
besought him  to give them  rain.  His reply,
coming from one who had been brought up amid




TIE LORD'S PRAYER.           197
the darkness of Spanish iRomanism, is worthy to
be written  in letters of gold: " Pray only to
God, for the things you need."
And God has the power to give us just what
we ask of him. IHe is not hampered by. what
are called laws of nature, or natural laws.  It is
not necessary that he should violate these, in order to grant our requests.  He can act in accordance with, and by means of them, and this is
all we ask him to do.
We would not, if we could, have the regular
order of events ever and anon disturbed, in order
to benefit us; or to gratify our caprice.  This
would render our existence an intolerable burden.
It is only on the ground of the permanence of
these so called laws of nature, oni the principle
that like causes produce like effects, that we can
judge of the future by the past, so as to avoid
danger, or lay our plans with any hopes of success. God has, therefore, in great mercy, so ordered matters, that the chain of causes and effects
which comes within the range of our observation,
is invariable within certain limits; so much so,
that when we see one event, we can safely infer
that a certain other event will surely follow it.
But above and beyond the causes which we see,
there are others, of which these we see are but the
effects. Now it is among, and by means of these
hidden and higher causes, that we wish and ex



198              SERMONS ON
peet the Almighty to operate, so as to grant us
our requests, While at the same time he leaves us
a sure basis for action and- reasoning, by not suffering our experience to be contradicted or interrupted.
But let the great apostle of this doctrine, Dr.
Chalmers, speak for himself:  "Instead of treating it as a general argument," he says, "ilet us
take some individual examples.  When the sighing of the midnight storm sends a fearful agitation into the mother's heart, as she thinks of her
sailor-boy, tossed on the tempestuous deep, the
advocates of a hard and inflexible constancy in
nature would forbid her to pray. According to
them, prayer to God, who holds the elements in
his hand, is as useless as to the elements themselves. Yet nature strongly prompts her aspirations for the safety of her boy, and; if our argument be true, there is nothing in science to repress them. God can answer her, not by interfering with second causes, or reversing the changes
of the heaving atmosphere; but by a touch of
his hand- amid the deep recesses of meteorology.  Thus he might bid the elements into silence. A virtue passes out of him, which passes
onward from the invisible to the visible."
It would help to clear away the mist in which
this whole subject is involved, if men only had a
clear idea of what a law of nature really is.  We




TIIHE LORD'S.  PRAYER.       199
may say of this idol of modern skeptics, what
Paul did of those of the ancient heathen   " We
know that it is nothing inii the world." A natural
law is a mere statement of the order which we
have observed in the succession of events.  For
instance, you say that it is a law of motion, that
action and reaction are equal. What more do
you mean by this, than that it is universally
true, that the action of one body upon another is
always succeeded by an equal reaction?  What
more do you know of the efficient cause of this
succession, than he who never heard of this law?
The only advantage you have of him  is, that
when you see one body come in contact with another, he may. discover that in that specific case,
action and reaction are equal. [But you know
that it is always so, and you can take advantage
of this general principle to avoid danger, or to
accomplish what you desire. But as to what
makes it so, you are both equally ignorant.
Take. another illustration, for men are slow to
learn that in their investigation of natural laws,
they do not discover a single really efficient cause,
but simply cstablish, or rather ascertain, an invariablo order of events. I see an apple fall to the
ground.  I ask you why it does this, instead of
moving in -the opposite direction, or floating
around in the air?  You say, the earth attracts
it.  Is this anything more than merely repeating




200              SERMONS ON
that it actually does move toward and to -the
earth.  I ask you what makes the earth attract
it, and you say it is the law of gravitation that
makes it. What is this law of gravitation but a
simple statement of what has been proven to be
universally true, "that all matter in the universe
tends toward all other matter." Do I know any
more why the apple falls to the ground after I
have been informed that this single instance is
but a specimen of what is going on constantly
all over the universe, than I did before   These
laws of nature which men idolize, are only the
uniform modes in which God ordinarily exercises
his power. If he saw fit, he could act on an entirely different method, as he has done occasionally. [But he has seen fit, in his wisdom  and
kindness, so to conduct the affairs of the world,
that we know, as men say, what we can depend
upon. It would be a sad affair if we did not.
Now I say again, that we who pray to God, do not
askhim to interrupt this regular, orderly succession
of events. 5We:think he can answer our prayers
without doing that, though we have no doubt, if
the occasion demanded it, he could, and would,
vary from his ordinary method of governing the
world.
I have, as you will remember, repeatedly
called your attention to the sound philosophy of
this prayer. It may not be out of place to remark




;TIIE LORD'S PRAYER.         201
here, that the whole word of God, while it does
not, and was not intended to, give direct inistriction upon any subject but religion, yet its teachings are based upon, and harmonize with, the
deductions of a correct mental science, and, indeed, of all science. That is to say, it does not
tell what sort of a being man is; it does not go
into any analogies of the powers and affections of
his mind. But in all it says, to or of him, it
goes upon the supposition that he has just such
faculties, and it is adapted to a being possessing
just such faculties, as we know man to be actually endowed with; thus showing that, like the
Sabbath, it was made for man. And so, though
a correct philosophy is not directly inculcated in
the word of God, it is always involved in its
teachings.
Even here, in this conclusion of the Lord's
prayer; there lurks a great metaphysical truth, to
which every profound thinker has set the seal of
his approbation.  They tell us that power is an
attribute of the mind.  And though we sometimes ascribe it to inanimate matter, that this is
but a mere figure of speech. We speak of the
power of the wind' or the sun,'but this dead, lifeless matter, is merely the instrument of some
mind.
WVe are not, on this account, to abandon the
use of such phrases, any more than we are to stop
N




202              SERMONS ON
saying that anything made a deep impression on
our mind, or that a new idea struck us. But we
are not to be deceived by these expressions. We
are to remember that whenever we see power,
there is evidence of the presence of mind.
This may seem absurd to some of you, but it
is the received doctrine among metaphysicians,
and I will show you that it has the endorsement
of one whom you will confess to be a man of
sound practical wisdom. Dr. Noah Webster, in
his definition of the word power, says "tihe exertion of power proceeds from the will;' and in
strictness, no being, destitute of will or intelligence, can exert power."  See, now, how  this
idle, empty abstraction comes in to second the
teachings of our Lord.
There is nothing in this prayer at which men
of the world would be so inclined to sneer, as at
the idea of asling God for daily food.'Why,
they say, the wind, and the sun, and the rain,
these great natural agencies, will ripen your grain
for you; you need not trouble the Almighty
about it. But philosophy rises up and says, the
wind, and the sun, and the rain are mere lifeless matter; they can only be the instrument of some
mind.  The Bible tells us who that mind is; it
is God, who gives us all things richly to enjoy.
He malkes the sun rise, he sends rain, he holds
the winds in his hand.  How  proper that we




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          203
should say, " Give us this day our daily bread,
for thine is the power."
But man has will and intelligence, therefore
we may properly speak of his power. Yet man
is evidently a limited, dependent being; his
power must be derived from some higher source.
This is what mental philosophy teaches. Need I
ask you how this accords with what the Bible
says'of God's power?  God hath spoken once,
says the Psalmist: twice have I heard this, that
power belongethl unto God. That is, he is the
only bei{ng who has underived power; and he is,
therefore, the fountain of all power.
When Pilate told our Lord, " Knowest thou
not that I have power to crucify thee, and have
power to release thee," our Lord answered with
philosophical accuracy, if I may use such an expression, "Thou couldest have no power at all
against me, except it were given to thee from
above."  We here ask God to do for us, and for
our fellow men, what we are ourselves to do; such
as hallowing his name, doing his will, &c., because
our strength to do these, in the most comprehensive use of the phrase, must be derived from him.
Especially, (and Iwouldnot, in the general truth,
lose sight of this particular phase of it,) must a
disposition to do these things, which is an essential element-of our power, be born, not of the
will of man, but of God. What a motive to in



204             SERMONS ON
duce us to ask our Father, who seeth in secret, is
this blessed truth, that all power in heaven and
earth is in his hands.
The last reason given here why God should
hear our prayer is, that it will be for his glory.
This has always been a favorite plea with the
obedient children  of our Heavenly  Father.
"What shall I say, when Israel turneth their
backs," said Joshua, when they had been routed
by their enemies, "for the Canaanites, and all the
inhabitants of the land, shall hear of it, and shall
environ us round, and cut off our name from the
earth, and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?"
"For thy name's sake," said the Psalmist,," pardon
mine iniquity."  And again, "For thy name's
sake, lead fand guide me."
Even our Savior prayed, " Father, glorify thy
Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." This
is the great plea which we should urge before our
Heavenly Father, why he should answer our request.  le tells us expressly, " them that honor
me, I will honor;" and he declares he will not
give his glory to another.
If, then, you would have your prayers answered,
you must plead with God to hear you for his own
name's sake. And in order that this plea may
be acceptable and available, it should be the great
motive which induces us to ask such things of our
Father in Heaven.  Whether we eat or drink, or




THE LORD'S PRAYER.          205
whatever we do, we are to do all for the glory of
God.
If, then, we pray for daily food, for life and
health, it should be thatwe may glorify God. We
shouldl say with the'Psalmist, "'For in death;there is no remembrance of thee, in the grave,
who shall give thee thanks?"  If we ask to be
forgiven, our great motive must not be our own
safety, but that our salvation may be to the praise
of the glory of God's grace. With David we
must say, "' There is forgiveness with thee, that
thou mayest be feared; that is, reverenced." And,' For thy name's sake, pardon my:iniquity." If
we pray that we may do the will of God as it is
done in heaven, it should -not be that men may
call us honorable, but that seeing our goodlworks,
they may glorify our Father who is in Heaven.
And so I might go on with every petition, showing that the reason why we should ask, as well
as why God should answer, is, that he may be glorified in us.
We learn also from this doxology, that praise
should always form a part of our worship.  WATe
may say that this prayer begins and ends in
praise; for the first petition,' Hallowed be thy
name," may be viewed in the light of an ascription. The Bible is full of precepts and examples,
which show that it is our duty thus to glorify
God.  "0!   that men would praise the Lord for




206              SERMONS ON
his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men."-Ps. 107: 31. " Let us come
before his presence with thanksgiving, and make
a joyful noise unto him *with psalms."-Ps. 95:
2. "By him, therefore, let us offer sacrifice and
praise to God continually; that is, the fruit of
our lips giving thanks to his name." —Heb. 13:
15. "Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me."Ps. 50: 23.  The prayers of many good people
are sadly deficient in this respect. They are full
of giving thanks to him for all his mercies; humble confession of sin, both original- and actual;
earnest supplication for the pardon of sin and
peace with God, and for all temporal mercies that
may be necessary; and of intercession for others,
including the whole world of mankind.
But there is little'adoring  the glory and
perfections of God, as they are made known to
us in the works of creation, in the conduct of
providence, and in the clear and full revelation
he hath made of himself in his written word."
Yet this should always be adverted to in our
prayer, especially in public and family worship,
and should be often made a prominent topic.
The advantages of such a course are many.  It
impresses upon the worshipers a sense of the
majesty of the being whom  they address.  It
shows that he who leads their devotions, is aware
what a solemn thing it is to address the King of




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           207
kings.  And it is an important duty thus to
praise and glorify our Father in Heaven.  MIany
people suppose that all these ascriptions are
to be confined to spiritual songs.:But there are
multitudes who never sing.  Shall they never
praise God with their own voices?  Besides,
many of our hymns and prayers, earnestly entreat for some great blessing. These two departments of worship are separated by no welldefined limit.  He who sings, as I have remarked
in a previous discourse, should feel that that exercise requires a devout spirit, and forbids all
jesting and frivolity, equally with prayer. He
who prays, should not come to God merely as a
beggar, but as an adoring worshiper.  Let your
prayers often ascribe dominion, and power, and
glory to our Father in Heaven.
The word amen is from  the Hebrew, and is
either a form of acquiescence, as," Let it be so;"
or, of aspiration, "' May it be' so."  It may be
considered as applicable to this doxology which
we have just been considering, or to the whole
prayer. As related to the former, it teaches us
that we are not merely to believe that the kingdom, the power, and the glory are God's; but
we are to wish that they may be, and to rejoice
that they are.  When we pray to God, we ought
not even to feel,-surely no one would dare to
say, —" Lord, thou canst do as thou wilt, for thou




20N              SERMtONS ON
art supreme; thou canst do what I ask of thee,
for thou hast all power; thou wilt get all the glory, therefore thou oughtest to grant my requests.
But if I could, I would help myself, and get all
the honor to myself.  I come to thee, because I
am obliged to."  No, the language of our hearts
should be, "Let it be so.  I am willing thou
shouldst have the dominion, might, and honor.
Nay, more, so would. I have it. Oh, that it may
be so." And why should it not be a source of
joy to you, that no one can control the Almighty,
while he can do whatsoever he pleases?  Why
Should you be restive and unhappy, when you
think of God's supreme dominion?  Why should
you try to prove that he has not so much control
over you, and your actions?  One would think
that you ought to rejoice, that all power is in the
hands of such a wise and merciful being.
Can you think you would be happier, if left to
your own short-sighted guidance, and impotent
protection?  Only have the Almighty for your
friend, and you are safe.  You may dwell at ease.
You can say to every shadow o'er your path,
" Whatsoever thy name may be;
Whithersoever thy coming tends;
Or.if my pathway passes thee,
Or at thy fated station ends.
Thou knowest what'tis thou- bring'st to me;
I know who'tis that sends."




THE LORD'S PRAYER.           209
Instead of thinking this belief in God's sovereignty a creed of fear, it seems'to me the only
sure ground for the patience of hope.. I say
with the Psalmist, "Oh, Lord God of hosts,
blessed is the man who trusteth in thee."'
It has never occurred to me that it was necessary to prove that God intends to have, and will
have, all the glory of everything he does for us.
But there may be some doubters, and even cavillers
here; and a few plain passages of Scripture will
set the matter at rest. The apostle Paul, in
speaking of God, says, not only that all things
are by him, but that they are for him.  We are
told in another place, that the Lord hath made
all things for himself.
The Psalmist, in speaking of the deliverance
of the ancient Israelites, says, the Lord saved
them for his name's sake.
Ezekiel, in speaking of the return of the Jews
from the Babylonish captivity, represents the Almighty as saying, " I do not this for your sakes,
O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake,
which- ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went."':Neither hath this man sinned,"
said our Lord of him who was born blind, " nor
his parents; but that the'works of God might be
manifest in him."  And over and over'gain, in
every variety of form, we are told that the salVation, of which all other deliverances are but the




210              SERMONS ON
type, and compared with which they are but as
the setting to the precious stone, is of grace, that
it may not be of works; that boasting may be
excluded; that no flesh may glory in the presenIce
of the Lord; that our adoption may be to the
glory of his grace. I need add nothing to such
declarations as these.
Now it has always seemed to me more difficult
for a large class of men to consent to let God
have the glory, than anything else they are called
on to do. A love of honor is not " the last infirmity of noble minds" alone. All men are inclined, more or less, to seek the honor that comes
from man, and with some, this is the greatest obstacle to their salvation. You see so many who
will not pray, because this is an implied acknowledgrnent of our entire dependence upon God, and
that the glory of everything belongs to him.
There are such multitudes who are hoping to be
saved by their good works, who will not take salvation as a free gift, that God may be glorified;
who will not unite with the Church, because that
is a public, open recognition of the fact that God
is to have all the glory. Now if the Scriptures
are true, and the word of God cannot lie, if reason, too, is not deceitful, you see that the power
is all of God, and that- therefore, he ought to
have the glory. Would you seek to deprive him
of it?  Shall a man rob God?  Will you not




T-HE LORD'S PRAYER.         211
render to him  the glory due unto his name?
Even if you cannot rejoice that it is so, can you
not be honest enough to say it is just, it is right,
let it be so? And, Oh! if you had but a glimpse
of the infinite goodness and loveliness of our
Heavenly Father, you would not only say, I ama
content, but you would rejoice and bless God,
that the glory was to be his forevermore; willing
to be but a little unnoticed ray, in the effulgence
that surrounds the throne of the Eternal. Is an
affectionate child jealous and envious of the
greatness his father has achieved, which reflects
honor upon him? Is he restive and dissatisfied
when he sees that all he does, is ascribed to the
judicious counsels and the careful training he has
received from his parents.
This is, I know, "to compare great things with
small." But it is something like a representation
of what our feelings toward our Heavenly Father
should be. And when you love him  with all
your heart, it will be your greatest source of
pleasure, that God is to have all the glory. Even
here below, you will sing that song of the ransomed, " blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and
to the Lamb, forever and ever." And as you
near the home of the blessed, and hear this song
swelling up from the multitude whom no man




21~2             SERMONS ON
can number, in the fullness of your soul you will
cry out, Amen, and amen.
This closing word may also be considered as
applied to the whole prayer, thus deliberately re:.
affirming and setting our seal to all that we have
said.  It is'thus we generally employ it, and it
ought not to be used lightly and irreverently.
There may be, and I presume there often are,
prayers offered up, which are so'faulty, that we
would be constrained to dissent from them. Few
prayers fall from the lips of -uninspired men, every expression, every sentiment of which we could
approve.  But who cannot say amen to this
prayer our Lordtaught us? Go read it, this sweet
Sabbath lmorning, to the'bloated drunkard, the
trembling debauchee, the rude swearer, the fierce,
quarrelsome man of violence. *Let them give in
their verdict.  Will they not say, never man
spake like this man?  Take it around to every
household in this place  Are there any fathers or
mothers, however wicked, who would refuse to
have their children taught it?  If our Lord had
brought us no other message but this prayer, that
would have been a mission worthy of a teacher
sent from God.  Mother, teach your child this
prayer. Though prayerless yourself, let -those
whom God gives you, be'accustomed, from their
very infancy, to call him their Father in Heaven;
to trust in and obey him as such.




TIHE LORD'7S PRAYER.        21.3
Such another talisman, in all time of peril and
adversity, earth cannot afford. Whatever else
you may give them, whatever else you may leave
them when you die, bequeath to them this trust
in God, for it is a pearl of great price, for joy
whereof they might well sell all that they have
and buy it. It is an anchor to the soul, both sure
and steadfast, entering into that within the vail.
My Christian friends, there are some of you,
whose homes I fear are unblessed with the sacred
influences of family worship. I pity you. Tell
me, you who find so many excuses for neglecting
this delightful duty, for refusing this unspeakable
privilege, could you not learn this prayer our
Lord left'on record for us? I knew a mother, a
widow, with helpless little children, dependent
upon her, who gathered her household band
around her every day, and together they audibly
repeated the Lord's prayer. I have heard them,
and it seemed to me, that I stood in one of the
sweetest and holiest spots on earth.  Oh! widowed mother, go thou and do likewise; for if any
children need the protection of this Heavenly
Father, it is such as yours. And what I say unto
you, I say unto all, commend yourselves, and
your loved ones, morning and night, to Him to
whom the darkness and the light are both alike.
I would not be guilty of any idolatrous reverence for the mere words of this prayer. But it




21l4             sErLMONS ON
comes. home to me with an overpowering influence
which I can never express, yet cannot conceal.
Our Lord often prayed alone.  What mortal
shall ever dare to plead as did our Master then,
when he poured out his soul with strong crying
and tears? Inexpressibly dear as is his intercessory prayer to every believer, much as I thank
him for having prayed it, and left it on record,
there are yet expressions in it which must not fall
from merely human lips.  But here is a prayer
our Lord teaches us; it is fitted to us, to our
weak, frail, blinded condition, at once brief and
comprehensive.  One may learn it in a few
leisure moments, and yet within its narrow
compass, it unfolds everything that we need,
both for this life and that which is to come.
Awful, yet at the same time tender; for while it
hallows God's name, and adores him as king, it
yet calls him Father, and asks him for daily
bread.  So simple that a child can receive it, so
profound that a philosopher, nay, an angel' may
lose himself in its depths. I love to repeat it.
When I hear this prayer amid the solemn worship of God, it seems to me a low sweet prelude
of the music of heaven. Even snatches of it,
sound upon my ear like the faint and far-reverberations of that new song, which is ever singing
in the presence of God.
I know not how I can better conclude this so



THE LORD'S PRAYER.          215
ries of discourses, than by gathering up the fragments of this prayer, which we have been so long
considering, and repeating them  as one united
whole; for standing alone in its simple, unapproachable grandeur, it is its own highest eulogy.
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed 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,
forever. And let all the people say, AMEN.