Our Father, in Heaven
"Our Father, who is in Heaven." (Matthew 6:9)
Who is He? "He is the living God, and an everlasting King." (Jeremiah 10:10)
He is more than a king; He is the King of kings. He is King only of kings; there is no lower rank in His kingdom. Then what does it mean when we call Him our Father? It means that we claim our birthright as kings. All who receive Christ receive power, the right, to become sons of God. "[He] loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And has made us kings and priests unto God." (Revelation 1:5-6)
Being sons of God, not subjects merely, we must be kings. Do you see what rights and privileges this confers upon you? It places you "above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion." (Ephesians 1:21)
And you can begin at once and demonstrate this marvelous authority given you, by controlling yourself. God has given to each one the right and the power to be master, first of himself, then of everything in the universe that would stand in the way of this perfect control over yourself.
All creation is the inheritance and the servant of the man who knows that he is king solely by virtue of his being a son of the Almighty God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.--Present Truth, June 26, 1902--Timeline: IV-15 (Sermon on the Mount)--Matthew 6:9.
Our Father
Jesus taught His followers to pray, "Our Father who is in heaven." Much has been said on the term "Our Father," as indicating our common brotherhood with our fellowmen; but that which it should above all impress on our minds is the fact that both Jesus and we have one Father.
"Our Father" is "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:31) When, therefore, we from the heart, in childlike trustfulness, look up to God and say: "Our Father, who is in heaven. ... Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses." (Matthew 6:9,11-12)
We should remember that the fulfillment of our request is as certain to follow as if made by Jesus Christ in person. We have the same right in the Father's house and at His table that Jesus has, and the same right to share in the inheritance.
If we are children of God, then we are heirs, "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ." (Romans 8:17)--Medical Missionary, September 1905--Original title: The Lord's Prayer--Matthew 6:9-12.
Our Father
"And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of his disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1)
The same request is as pertinent now as it was then, "For we know not how to pray as we ought [and therefore] the Spirit also helps our infirmities," (Romans 8:26) not only by making intercession for us, but also by creating desires in our hearts, and putting right words into our mouths.
Men who have never had any verbal instruction, instinctively give expression to their wants to God, especially if they are in deep trouble, because the Spirit teaches all; but the most complete instruction that the Spirit has ever given concerning prayer is found in the model prayer which Jesus by the Spirit gave to His disciples.
While we are not confined to the exact form of words which Jesus uttered in response to the request of the disciples, we need to study them much; for they are so comprehensive that they cover the needs of every person in the world, in all conceivable circumstances; and no prayer is complete that does not in effect contain the petitions expressed in the Lord's prayer.
First of all we have:
Our Father
"And He said unto them, When you pray, say, Our Father." (Luke 11:2)
No heathen worshiper could ever address these words to a god of wood or stone. Only he can use them who recognizes a God so great that all created beings are His offspring, and whose relationship as Father is so close and constant that "in Him we live, and move, and have our being."
It is to a Father, not a king nor a judge, that we approach in prayer. Even though we know that we are coming to a "throne of grace," the only thing that does or can draw us, and cause us to "come boldly," is the all-absorbing thought that our Father sits upon it.
Afterward, when a sense of His tenderness as a Father has led us to confide in Him, and to pour out our hearts before Him, we exultingly proclaim Him king, because that is our assurance that to Him belongs power to do for us all that His love designs for us.
When we with understanding hearts say "our Father," we feel the confidence and rest and comfort of the "everlasting arms" that are underneath us, clasping us to His bosom.
But there is nothing selfish in true prayer. God is "our" Father. There are crises in our lives, as when Jesus was in the garden, when the urgency of the case, and our extreme danger or need, shut out the consciousness of everything except our individual self and God. Then we can say only "my Father."
But on all ordinary occasions we are to remember that we are only one of many, all of whom have equal rights to claim
God as their Father. The one "God over all" "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 9:5), is the "Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all." (Ephesians 4:6)
This thought is the basis of all real missionary effort; for any work done for heathen, either at home or abroad, is effective only as it is prompted by the loving consciousness that they are our brothers.
When "the only begotten Son" (John 1:18) "[came] to seek and to save that which was lost," (Luke 19:10) it was with these words to the Father: "I will declare your name unto my brethren." (Hebrews 2:12; Psalm 22:22)
All who are "partakers of flesh and blood," (Hebrews 2:14) are acknowledged by Christ as His brothers. Instead of feeling that His unsullied goodness gives Him superior claims on the Father's love, He gladly makes known that the Father loves us even as He loves Him.
If at any time we feel that the wickedness of any fallen men makes them inferior to us, we put ourselves above the Lord, and really separate ourselves from God's family, in that we cannot then unreservedly say "our Father."
There is in the first two words of the Lord's prayer a world of instruction and of admonition. If we always followed this teaching of the Spirit in our prayers, every prayer would be a consecration to missionary work.
In all this there is no denial of the fact that the great majority of the world do not know God as their Father, and do not acknowledge Him as such; and that by our acceptance of this truth we are drawn nearer to Him. But those who are nearest to Him, instead of boasting of it, or feeling that there is a great gulf between them and those who have not an acquaintance with God, are, like Christ, most conscious that the prodigal sons are their brethren.
Who is in Heaven
"Our Father who is in heaven." (Luke 11:2) "Our God is in the heavens; He has done whatsoever He has pleased." (Psalm 119:3)
The fact that our Father is in heaven is the assurance that He has all power, and can do whatsoever He will. "Blessed be You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is yours." (1 Chronicles 29:10-11)
Note that the Scriptures will not let us lose sight of the fact that this mighty God in the heavens, who inhabits eternity, is our Father; and thus far in our prayer, although we know that He is King, that view of God is swallowed up in the one that He is our Father.
The thought that our Father is in heaven is not designed, however, to cause us to feel that He is far from any one of us. "[He who dwells] in the high and holy place [dwells] with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." (Isaiah 57:15) "[He is] not far from everyone of us." (Acts 17:27)
Because: "In Him we live, and move, and are." (Acts 17:28) "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the Lord. Do not I fill the heaven and earth? says the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:24)
So whether we ascend into heaven, or lie in the depths of the earth, or fly on the wings of the morning to the uttermost parts of the sea, even there the Father's hand leads us, and His right hand holds us. "If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall your hand lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:8-10)
In life, in death, in dark and light,
All are in God's care;
Sound the black abyss, pierce the deep of night,
And He is there!
--John Greenleaf Whittier, Poem: My Soul and I, 1847.
This thought is enough for us to meditate upon, and to mold our prayers for a month, when we can learn more of how to pray.--Medical Missionary, November 1905--Luke 11:1-2.
The Holy Name
"Hallowed be your name." (Luke 11:2)
An essential element in all true prayer is recognition of the goodness and the greatness of God. The more we know of God, the more understandingly and confidently we can pray to Him. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Satan is always ready to try to discourage people with the very truths of Scripture that were written for our comfort; and too often he succeeds. So he tries to frighten us away from God by the thought of His holiness. The sinful one says: "I dare not come to the Lord: He is so holy, and I am so vile, that He could not have anything to do with me."
We must learn that just because God is absolute goodness, He receives sinners. Only the wicked turn from the wicked, and point the finger of scorn at them. The good are pitiful and merciful. So the name of the Lord is: "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." (Exodus 34:6-7)
When the psalmist, in his extremity and desolation, called on the Lord, he said: "But You are holy, O You that inhabits the praises of Israel." (Psalm 22:5)
God's holiness is the only hope of fallen humanity. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." (Proverbs 18:10)
After the ascension of Jesus, the disciples went everywhere preaching always in "the Name." When the lame man at the gate of the temple had risen at Peter's command: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk," (Acts 3:6) Peter preached Jesus to the wondering multitude, saying: "His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong." (Acts 3:16)
The next day he said to the council: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, even in Him, does this man stand here before you whole." (Acts 4:10)
From this last text we learn that Jesus himself is His name. "Jesus" means Saviour, and that is what Jesus of Nazareth is. So God's name is His own character, His own being; and His name is in Christ, in whose name we pray.
Therefore in coming to God and presenting petitions "in the name of Jesus," it is as though Christ came to the Father in person, making that request. God cannot reject any such request made in sincerity, for to do so would be to dishonor His own name.
Even among men the name stands for the person. If a business man breaks his word, or fails to meet his obligations, then his name is no longer of any value. The prophet Jeremiah applied this principle to the Lord when, having acknowledged his sin and the sins of the people, he boldly said: "Do not abhor us, for your name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of your glory; remember, break not your covenant with us." (Jeremiah 14:21)
This is in reality what we all say to the Lord when we say in our prayers, "Hallowed be your name." It is an appeal to the Lord to remember His name and His covenant: "Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," (Exodus 34:7) and not to disgrace His name, but to honor it by doing all that it stands for. But this reminder to the Lord is not on His account, but on our own, for it serves to remind us that: "He cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)
Thus we are taught by the Lord Jesus that in true prayer there can be no shadow whatever of doubt. We are not to pray, and then to wonder whether or not God has listened to our petition, or will answer it. At the very beginning of every prayer we are to express our perfect confidence that God will certainly give us all that we ask for in the name of Jesus, and "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20)
The least doubt in prayer is to deny God, and to place Him, in our own minds, on a level with the gods of the heathen; for it is a denial that "He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
His name is holy, and must remain so, and therefore we come with the boldness of absolute trust, making our requests known to God. How natural and easy, therefore, is it to: "Give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness, even before we make our request." (Psalm 30:4; Psalm 97:12)--Medical Missionary, December 1905--Luke 11:2.
Your Will Be Done
"Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)
This petition is the most difficult of all for human beings to utter from the heart. Indeed, often as it is repeated, it is scarcely ever thought of as really a petition, but rather as a concession to the Lord.
People in general, perhaps without being conscious of it, regard the will of God as something to be submitted to and endured; they talk about being "resigned to the will of God," and think it the highest attainment of piety if they do not exhibit or express impatience under it.
That this is altogether the wrong view of the case, may readily be understood if one but stop to think where the expression, "Your will be done" is found. It is in the prayer that the Lord Jesus has taught us to pray, and ranks as a petition, a request, along with, "Your kingdom come, ... Give us this day our daily bread," (Matthew 6:10,11) and "Forgive us our trespasses." (Matthew 6:12)
It is therefore a thing to be ardently desired, as much as our daily bread or the forgiveness of our sins. It is not something against us, but a thing for our benefit.
It is not the will of God that any should perish; but, on the contrary, "[He] will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
He wills that which is best for us, and therefore when we pray, "Your will be done," we are only asking Him to do the best thing possible for us. That prayer really embraces all things, so that when we have asked for all the things that we can think of in detail, we can add, "Your will be done," which will be equivalent to saying, "And do everything else for us that You think is necessary for our welfare." "[He is] able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20)
And that is His will for us. His good will toward us is as boundless as His power; if therefore we ask according to our own will we shall get but little, but if we ask according to His will, we are sure of having all things.--Present Truth, September 4, 1902--Matthew 6:10.
Our Daily Bread
Have you ever thought of the wonderful working of God's power that provides for you your daily bread?
The Lord God made man "from the dust of the ground," in the beginning, and He is still by the same creative power, forming our bodies from the dust of the ground. But if we should take a handful of dust and feed upon it, it would not do us any good, but only harm, for we could not digest nor assimilate it.
The word "assimilate" means, to become like unto. And we must assimilate our food, before it can do us any good. Yet we could never assimilate the dust of the ground; that is, it could never be made into our substance, into flesh and blood, so as to become a part of us.
So God takes the dust and prepares it for us in a beautiful and pleasant way; He changes it so that we can feed upon it and assimilate it, and in thus changing it, He puts lovely colors upon it, sweet and pleasant savors into it, and makes it "pleasant to the sight" as well as "good for food." (Genesis 2:9) The grains, fruits, and nuts are what He has provided for our food. He says, "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (Genesis 1:29)
The plants take up the dust of the ground, which is food for them, and the life of God working in them changes the dust and prepares it for our food. Then that same wondrous life of the Creator working in us takes the substance of the plant, and makes it a part of our flesh and blood. And thus God makes our bodies from the dust of the ground.
Think what wonderful power there is in the words which God spoke of the trees and plants, when He said, "To you it shall be for meat." And how much meaning there is in the daily prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
It means far more than that God should provide us with something to eat. For nothing could be meat or food for us, except by the working of the same mighty power that made us and that made the food, changing it into flesh and blood to build up our bodies.
You eat when you are hungry, and it seems a most natural thing to you that your food should nourish you. But the food must be prepared in your stomach, where it is changed into a kind of milky substance that can be carried in your veins to your heart, from which it is pumped into the lungs, where it is purified and sent down again into the heart. Then it is sent through your arteries into every part of your body, and without your thought or care, the food that the blood carries is formed into your skin, you nails, your bones, your muscles, and the hairs of your head.
Will you not keep these things in mind, not only when you ask your Heavenly Father for your daily bread, but when you take that which He provides and feed upon it?
If you do, your heart will be filled with love for Him whose power is thus working in you every moment, and you will let Him use for His own glory the life and strength that He imparts to you day by day, in giving you your daily bread.--Present Truth, December 13, 1900--Matthew 6:11.
Our Daily Bread
"Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
We are accustomed to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," and to include in this petition not only the physical bread which nourishes our bodies, but that spiritual food which will supply the needs of our soul, making us strong to do the will of God.
But the blessings of God often come to us in such disguise that we fail to recognize the answer to our prayer. The "bread" that the Lord sends us may take the form of:
• trials to be borne,
• taxing labor to be performed, or
• temptations and difficulties to be overcome.
--Present Truth, March 26, 1903--Matthew 6:11.
Praying for Daily Bread
We depend upon the Lord for life, and the Lord teaches us to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
We are to pray for our daily bread, and to realize that it comes from heaven. We have the record that on certain occasions bread came down ready made, as the manna and the giving of bread in the wilderness. Suppose we say: "We are taught to pray for our daily bread, and therefore we will not use means; we will pray, and expect the Lord to feed us right out of His hand with bread already made. If we expect bread in any other way, it shows lack of faith."
I can understand why people think that it does; it is because they leave God out of all the operations of nature, and so they speak of God and nature as if they were two different things. They seem to think that God does some things, and nature some things; then the idea becomes prevalent that nature does more things than God does: and then at last nature does everything, and God is left without any occupation at all.
But all those miracles, as we have seen, are to show us that God works in the visible creation; not that nature is God, but that what men call nature, or natural laws, is the working of God.
You are all familiar, at least by title, with Drummond's book, Natural Law in the Spiritual World. He simply had the thing turned upside down. Natural law does not work in the spiritual world, but spiritual law works in the natural world; and all the law that is manifest in the natural world is spiritual law. These things show us God.
People think that God does not have anything or at most very little to do with providing us with our daily bread. When they have plowed the field, and taken the grain and cast it into the earth, and then have harvested the grain, and threshed it, and ground it into flour and made it into bread they think that they have done it all. But they have really done very little.
The birds do not plow nor sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet our Heavenly Father feeds them; and we are much better than they; therefore we are to expect that in far greater measure the Lord will feed us.
What shall we do, then? Sit with open mouths and wait for the bread to drop in? Oh, no. The birds are not fed that way, except when they are too young to fly, too feeble to walk; and then it is only by their own parents. But as soon as they get old enough to move for themselves, they have to do just what their parents did,-fly about and gather what the Lord has scattered for them.
Now that is all that man does. Man does not do anything more toward getting a living than the birds do. He gathers--reaps what the Lord has strewn. The grain is strewn about, and man gathers it and eats it; but God does all the providing of it; and man is just as directly fed from heaven, from the hand of God, as the birds are. "What You give them, they gather." (Psalm 104:28)
And that is all we can do. God has given us food as the means of perpetuating our life, in order that we may see and trust Him. If the life of all men were continued and renewed day by day without any of these means, without our eating bread and drinking water, men would say that they were self existent. They would think: "We are not dependent upon anybody for life; we are our own masters, and life is inherent in us."
And there would be no means by which you could convince them it is not so. There would be no means of showing them God's rightful claim upon their obedience. They would say: "I do not owe Him anything. I do not receive anything from Him. This life proceeds from myself."
Why, people say this to a large extent anyhow; they act as if that were the case, when it is patent to everyone of us that it is not so. How much more so would it be the case if there were no invisible means for the maintenance of our life?
The prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," uttered in faith, is not at all inconsistent with going out and plowing the fields, and sowing the seed, in reaping the harvest, and threshing the grain, and making it into bread. He that prays that prayer in faith, recognizing that it is God who gives him the power even to do that work, will see himself working together with God. The farmer, whether he knows it or not, is a worker together with God. "Now the just shall live by faith." (Hebrews 10:38)
"We live," we say, "by eating." True; and if we live in the right way, we eat only to live, the pleasure we get out of it being incidental. It is God's will that we should get pleasure out of all the things that are right; but the object of eating is to get life, and thereby to recognize God as the giver of life.
Then the next logical thing, the only consistent thing, is that, recognizing God as the giver of life, we shall acknowledge that He is the only one who has the right to say how that life shall be used. And, stronger yet, that He is the only one that has the right to use the life.
So we shall acknowledge all the time that it is God that works in us both to will and to do, and the man who recognizes this all the time, and who is consistent with what he sees, will have all his ways right. Why? because he won't use the life of the Lord, but he will let the life of the Lord use him. Our bodies are to be instruments of the life of the Lord. The Lord is to use our bodies as He will, and then everything that we do will be right; and thus the just live by faith.
Food as Medicine
What did the Lord give us in the beginning, and what does He still give as the means of healing, restoring us, as our bodies undergo waste; in short, what does God give to man, as his medicine?
Why, the food that we eat; it is man's natural medicine, is it not? The food and the drink, the sunlight and the air,--they are medicine, medicine which God has put in our hands. God has designed that the food that we eat, should be the means of keeping us in life and health.
That being so, it is clear that when by some means or other, through our own fault or through the fault of somebody else, we have failed to allow that life to flow through us unhindered--have dammed up the stream--and there has come stagnation, congestion, disease, we are to be healed by coming to our senses, and recognizing that the life comes alone from God, and accepting His gifts which convey life to us,--coming into harmony with them.
The Lord does not pander to people's laziness, and so He does not do the thing which He has given to man the power to do for himself. He did not roll away the stone from the grave of Lazarus. The people could do that as well as not. Why should they sit there with their hands folded, and allow the Lord to do that He had given them power to do?
Then Lazarus came forth, bound around the head with a napkin. You know as well as I do that the Lord could have brought Lazarus out of the grave with the napkin taken off and laid aside just as well as He could do what He did do. But He did not roll the stone neither did He take the napkin off. He said: "Loose him, and let him go."
They could do that by the power that He gave them: but there was a certain thing that they could not do. There was power above the measure of power they had received, and the Lord exercised that independently.
Jesus raised the ruler's daughter. Then as soon as she had come to life He commanded that they should give her food. Why? In bringing her to life He had exercised the power and the life which was entirely beyond their comprehension or their power to co-operate with.
Then when He had come to the point where they had the means of life which God had put into their hands, He let them go on and use it. He brought the damsel back to life, but in that weakened condition that she was in before she died. Then having brought her to life, and healed the disease, He told them to give her something to eat, so that she could recover her strength.
He could have brought her to health, and made her perfectly strong, so that she would not have had any need for food--not for a while, at least--just as He could keep us alive without eating at all; but when He had brought her to that point, then it was a simple thing: Give her something to eat, and she will get her strength again.
All these things show that God works through means. In the greatest miracle, that of raising the dead, the Holy Spirit is the means by which the life is bestowed. The Lord has given life, and shown it everywhere. Now we are to see it, and find out the ways in which the Lord's life manifests itself, and come into harmony with its workings, and we shall live,--and that is living by faith. And it is thus only that the Christian should live.--Medical Missionary, December 1903--Original title: Healing through Faith, part 2--Matthew 6:11.
The Debt Forgiven
When the Saviour taught His disciples how to pray, He put into their mouths the words, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)
It is clear from this that God does not hold anything against man. If He did, Christ would not have taught us to make such a request. It is this truth, too seldom apprehended, which makes the message of the Gospel: "Tidings of great joy to all people." (Luke 2:10)
If only it were believed, it would lift every cloud that overhangs this life, and cause the hearts of men to sing for joy.
Every sin is committed against God. The Lamb of God bears the sin of the world. David confessed, "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done, this evil in your sight." (Psalm 51:4)
Men realize that they are sinful in His sight, and that there is enmity in their own hearts. They judge God by themselves, and count Him "a hard man." It seems to them that God has nothing but stern condemnation for them, and they avoid His Word, because they fear its reproof.
But God is love, He feels the gap which men make between themselves and Him, and His one desire is to draw all to himself. When Adam sinned, he sought to hide from God, though he needed Divine help more than ever. God looked at his need, and sought out the trembling sinner, not to embitter his life with reproaches, but to bring the comforting promise of a Saviour who should recover what Adam had lost, and restore all things.
Ever since that time, sinful men have thought to hide from God, as though He were pursuing them in His wrath, but it was His goodness and mercy that followed them every day of their lives. Still God sends His messengers into all the world, not to condemn, but to speak the glad tidings to every creature.
And what is the message that the ambassadors bear? Theirs is a ministry, not of reproach, but of reconciliation. They declare that God was in Christ, reconciling sinners to himself, "not imputing their trespasses unto them," (2 Corinthians 5:19) and through them He beseeches all to be reconciled to Him: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20)
Since every sin is against God, if He does not impute sin, no one else can. "Not imputing their trespasses unto them." (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Truly this is a message meet to be sounded in the ears of every sinful, discouraged creature. All have wished at same time in their lives that the miserable record of the past might be blotted out, as though it had never been, and they could start afresh. This is the very thing that the Gospel brings to men.
The old debt is freely forgiven. They are clear with God, and can come to Him with confidence, for all that stood between them and Him is taken out of the way. He has destroyed the enmity, and asks simply that men will acknowledge that He does indeed love them, and be reconciled to Him.
If, after this, men die in their sins, it is their own fault entirely. God does not impute sin to them, but they choose to impute it to themselves by deciding to still bear it when God has set them free. It is not the sins of their lives that condemn men, but the fact that, with the chance of getting rid of the sins, they prefer to retain them. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light." (John 3:19)
God challenges all men to declare one thing which He might have done for His people that He has not done for them: "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4)
He gives every advantage that the weakest can ask for.
• He declares the past to be disposed of, imputing nothing to men.
• In place of the sin which He takes away, He bestows His own righteousness, and imparts His own power, for the Gospel is the power of God.
• He takes away all the old things, and makes all things new, creating a clean heart.
• His angels are commissioned to minister to the heirs of salvation, and His Spirit is given without measure.
• He does for all exceeding abundantly above all that they can ask or think.
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3)--Present Truth, June 15, 1899--Matthew 6:12.
Yours is the Kingdom
"For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13)
These are some of the words that our Saviour taught us to say every day. We know that the Lord's Prayer is to be offered daily, because in it we have the petition, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
We need bread every day, and we are to ask for it as we need it; so day by day we are to acknowledge to God in heaven that the kingdom belongs to Him.
What will be the effect of this prayer when prayed in faith that is well-instructed? First of all it will bring forcibly before our minds what and where God's kingdom is. We pray to our Father in heaven, and are reminded that: "The Lord prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19) "Our God is in the heavens; for He has done whatsoever He has pleased." (Psalm 115:3)
He has all power, and nothing is too great for Him to perform in and for His kingdom. If there is rebellion, He can subdue it. If reforms are needed, He can carry them out. But we must not forget that great as is the kingdom of God, the Saviour has said, "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)
This surely means that those who know and acknowledge the truth shall have "largeness of heart," (1 Kings 4:29) breadth of understanding. Our hearts are to be large enough to take in the world; for we read that: "He has set the world in their heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
This means obedience; for "largeness of heart" means wisdom: "And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes." (1 Kings 4:29-33)
And: "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28:28)
Daily to say to God, "Yours is the kingdom," knowing that the kingdom of God is right within us, is to agree to keep His commandments; for we read again: "I will run the way of your commandments, when You shall enlarge my heart." (Psalm 119:32)
This acknowledgment contains our assurance of righteousness. When we long for holiness of life, and are inclined to despond because of the natural perverseness of our hearts, that causes evil to be present with us even when we would do good, we have but to remember, continually remember, and acknowledge with the whole heart, that we are God's kingdom, and that He can do whatsoever He pleases in us. Nothing is too hard for Him. Our weakness only gives Him the opportunity more effectually to exhibit His power. He can work in us to His fulfill all the good pleasure of His will. "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." (Psalm 11:4)
But we are His temple, and His throne is in us. So our acknowledgment, "Yours is the kingdom" ought to be a request to the Lord to take to himself His great power and to reign supreme in His kingdom, doing what He will with His own. When we utter the prayer understandingly, we virtually say to Him, "I give the reins of government over to You; cast down and out every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of You, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Drive out everything that offends. I cannot cleanse the temple--the task is too great for me--so I give it over into your hands, and shall depend on You to see that it is wholly cleansed."
And with this word comes the comforting assurance that He has never failed any who trusted in Him; for: "He is faithful that promised." (Hebrews 10:23)
So as His is the power, to Him shall be the glory, for we shall be "to the praise of His glory" as we trust in Him. "That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ." (Ephesians 1:12)--Present Truth, November 6, 1902--Matthew 6:13.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
"For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13)
This what the Lord Jesus has taught us to say to our Father in heaven, who, because He is in heaven, rules over all, doing whatsoever He will. "The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19) "But our God is in the heavens: He has done whatsoever He has pleased." (Psalm 115:3)
But the same Lord Jesus tells us: "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)
Therefore since "the power and the glory" belong to the kingdom, it is evident that all the power and the glory of God will be manifested and revealed in everyone in whom God is allowed to reign supreme. When other lords that have had dominion over us, are cast out, and God's kingdom fills us, then the power and the glory that pertain to His kingdom, must also fill us.
What a high and holy calling this is! In Christ, "Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16) "Thanks be unto God for at His unspeakable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)
May the grace of God, and the gift by grace, abound more and more in our hearts.--Present Truth, October 23, 1902--Matthew 6:13.