Amen to God's word. As we have
it in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 6, we're
considering this part of the Sermon on the Mount that we know
as the Lord's Prayer, that patterned prayer that Christ teaches his
disciples. After this manner, therefore,
pray or as we have it in another account in Luke 11, when ye pray,
say, and we consider the first part of the prayer, the invoking
of God as our Father in heaven, and then the first two petitions
we've already looked at, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. And now, I want us tonight to
turn to the third of these petitions, at the end of verse 10. Thy will
be done in earth as it is in heaven. And at the outset, we
observe the importance of the relationship between God and
his will. God, of course, is one, and so
God's will is one. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord. There are many attributes in
God, characteristics we might call them, but there is a perfect
harmony amongst all those attributes in the great work of salvation.
The psalmy speaks about mercy and truth have met together and
righteousness and peace have kissed each other. in that fullness
of the revelation that we witness in the person and work of Christ,
we see that God is a just God and a savior. There is in a wonderful
harmony in all of the attributes of God. God is one, and so God's
will is also one. And what does that mean? Well,
God is almighty, He is sovereign and He is free. And so too is
the will of God. As the psalmist says, He hath
done whatsoever He hath pleased. It is that will of God that is
sovereign and free. And it is a misnomer to speak
of man's free will. Man is but God's creature. and in all things he is subject
to God and to the will of God. In the state of innocency in
the Garden of Eden, Adam's will was of course finite and it was
subject to the sovereign will of God. And then since the fall,
that account that we find in Genesis chapter 3, The man's
disobedience to the commandment of God since the fall, a man's
will is in bondage to what he is. He is a sinner. Free will
then is a misnomer, and some would refer to it as the root
error. You may be aware of a little
book, The Great Private, with our late friend Sidney Norton,
which bore that title. He used to publish it all. saw
to his publication himself the free will, the root error. And we have to learn in our experience
to altogether understand the wonders
of the salvation of God. Does he not make us feel something
of the depth of the fall into sin, our impotence, our thorough
helplessness? The Luther says concerning this
petition, that it lays hold of our corruption, not by the hand
or foot, but by the head. That is our will. The head and
ringleader of all our wickedness. We come then here to pray, not
that our will be done, but the God's will be done. And that
will of God, as I said, is almighty, sovereign, and free. But furthermore,
we know that God is holy, and righteous, and good, and so too
is the will of God. Remember how Paul exhorts that
we be not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing
of our mind, proving what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect will of God. That's how the apostle describes
God's will, it is holy, righteous, good, acceptable, perfect. God's will then, we might say,
is altogether like unto himself. And as God is one, so God's will
is one, it is single, it is simple. But then, when we come to consider
it tonight, I want to mention two aspects with regards to that
will of God. that is the subject matter of
this particular petition. Thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. And first of all, to say something
with regard to God's will of purpose. God's will of purpose. That is that will that is already
done. And that will that is always
being done. He doeth according to his will
among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can say to him, what doest thou? And we read the words
just now there in Ephesians 1 11, who worketh all things, all things
after the cancel of his own will. Remember how the Lord God speaks
to the children of Israel by the ministry of the prophets.
Isaiah, they were wanting so much to be like the idolatrous
nations round about them. And there they time and again
fell into that sin of idolatry. But there God speaks. Isaiah
46 and I remember the former things of old for I am God and
there is none else. I am God and there is none like
me. Declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Yea, I have spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. All this will of God, this will
of God's purpose, And on this will is based the doctrine or
we might better say the decree of election. And remember Paul
brings this out as he writes there in the ninth chapter of
the epistle to the Romans. And he speaks of a double decree. Therefore have thee mercy on
whom you will have mercy and whom he will be hardened, as
there is that purpose of election, so also God has foreordained
others to damnation. And it is all according to the
will of God. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth Mercy, we
read there in Romans 9, 16. And going back to the gospel
in the opening chapter in John, he speaks of them which were
born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. Oh, it is that sovereign will of God that lies
behind regeneration. And now, when God comes to accomplish
his purpose and to bring new life into the soul of the sinner,
the Lord Jesus speaks about, the wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but cast not out whence it cometh,
nor whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. All that work of the Spirit then,
coming into the soul in regenerating grace, is the outworking of God's
eternal will and purpose. Again, John 5, 21, For as the
Father raiseth up the dead, even so the Son raiseth up whom he
will. Of his own will begat he us. statements in that we find scattered
throughout God's Word that makes it so clear to us that there
is a sovereign will in God. His great purpose of salvation,
predestination then, is according to the good pleasure of His will. And even that that we were considering
on the Lord's Day evening when I spoke of the calling of the
Gentiles in the outworking of the great covenants of Christ. We read those words just now
in Ephesians 1.9, having made known unto us the mystery of
his will. And what is the mystery of his
will that Paul is speaking of there? In Ephesians, it is that
of the calling of the Gentiles unto the gospel. The Lord knoweth
them that are his. And as I've already intimated,
there is a double predestination. Reprobation also is under that
sovereign will of God. He hath mercy on whom he will
have mercy, and whom he will, he hardness says the apostle. All these are deep things, one
recognizes that, profound things. Again, the language of the prophet
Isaiah, speaking as a mouthpiece of God, I form the light, he
says, and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Now, when God speaks of creating
evil, we're not to think in terms of moral evil. Really, the reference
there is to God's strange works. And I suppose we recognize that
this pandemic that has come on the face of the earth is amongst
those strange things that God does when he comes in his judgments,
when he visits upon men the consequences of their sins. We know that he
is a God who really delights in mercy. But he is sovereign
in all things. Everything is under his sovereign
hand. And God's sovereignty extends
even over the sins of men. And yet, God is not the author
of sin. And men are responsible for their
sinning. And we have that clearly brought
out Here in the New Testament Scriptures, when we think of
the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, remember the preaching of the
apostles there at the beginning of Acts, Peter on the day of
Pentecost, speaking to those Jews and those Jewish proselytes
who had come together to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, the Feast
of Pentecost, and he preaches Christ, him being delivered by
the determinate counsel and full knowledge of God, delivered by
the sovereign will of God, he says, ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain, they were guilty of crucifying
the Lord of glory. And then again, we find similar
words later in Acts chapter four. In Acts chapter four and there
at verses 27, And 28, the language of the apostle again, what does
he say? Of a truth, this is the apostles
in prayer, as it were. Of a truth against thy holy child
Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. It wasn't just the Jews, but
the action also of Pontius Pilate and Herod and Gentiles. It was
the executing of God's great purpose. For the Lord Jesus Christ
must come and make that one sacrifice for sins forever. And so, as
we come to God in prayer and we are instructed by the Lord
Jesus to make God's will the very subject matter of our petitions. I will be not in earth as it
is in heaven. Let us not lose sight of God's
absolute sovereignty. And yet that's praise that God
has ordained for prayer in the accomplishment of his eternal
purpose. Or as he says there, back in
Ezekiel 35, the end of chapter 35, I will yet for this be inquired
of by the house of Israel to do it for them. God will do it. But his people must come and
they must inquire of him and pray to him and plead with him.
Now, it is obvious that God does not stand in need of our prayers. In no way does God stand in need
of our prayers. And there in these opening petitions,
these first three petitions, as I've said before, are God-ward. But we're not praying for God,
we're praying for ourselves. And what is it that we are praying
for when we utter this petition? Thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. We're praying that we might have
that meekness of spirit, that we might come with that desire
that our own wills would acquiesce in the will of God. And of course,
we have the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is Christ
giving instruction to his disciples, telling them how to pray after
this manner. Pray ye, but what the Lord preaches,
the Lord also practices. We have the pattern of the Lord
Jesus and we can think of his own prayers. And now he was a
man of prayer. And I'm thinking especially of
that prayer that he prays in the garden of Gethsemane. Oh my father, he says, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as
I will, but as thou wilt. How his will as the God-man acquiesces
in the will of God, even to the drink in the dregs of that most
bitter cup. And so, also, when we come to
God with our prayers, we must come desiring that spirit of
true submission, that our will and all that we are might be
willingly subjected to what God himself has appointed for us. Now, I'm aware that some speak
of God's permissive will, as well as that will of purpose. Some speak of his permissive
will. But that suggests that he is permitting what he does
not really will. And surely that indicates that
God's will somewhere or other is divided, but God's will is
one. God's will is as himself, undivided,
indivisible. And so in the second place, I
would rather speak of God's will of precept. God's will of precept
is something else that we must take account of when we come
with this prayer. We know that the secret things
belong unto the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed
belong unto us, and to our children. And what is it that God has revealed?
Well, God means men to know and to understand his commandments.
This is the will of God's precept, his commandments. And we know
that God means men to understand these commandments when we consider
the manner in which God has given them. The opening words of Exodus
20, where we have the Ten Commandments, it says God spoke all these words. God spoke the commandments. The
children of Israel heard the voice of God. And oh, it filled
them with trepidation, with dread. And remember how at the end of
that chapter they desire that Moses should be the mediator.
They don't want to hear the voice of God directly speaking to them. Moses is the man who will mediate
between them and God. But God spoke the 10 words, the
10 commandments. And in what God spoke, he also
wrote. He wrote them in tables of stone. And whilst Moses was there in the
mount, receiving further instructions and commandments away from them
for today, They grew weary. What was it become of him? Aaron
makes the golden car. Their guilty then of idolatry. And Moses comes from the mount
and breaks the commandments there at the foot of the mount. But
then subsequently though God would disinherit, Moses again
is their mediator and pleads with God on their behalf. And
what does the Lord God say to Moses? Exodus 34, the opening
verse, the Lord said unto Moses, you, the two tables of stone,
lie unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the words
that were in the first tables. O God, as it were, renews his
covenant. The words are written again by
the finger of God. God speaks. the commandments. God writes the commandments. And now God encourages them into
obedience. He speaks of the blessing that
will come with obedience and the curse that will follow disobedience. Deuteronomy chapter 11 and there
at verse 26. Deuteronomy 11 Verse 26, Behold, I set before
you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey the commandments
of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and a curse if
you will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn
aside out of the way which I command you this day to go after other
gods which ye have not known. All God's word then, clearly,
is a word to be obeyed. Without doubt, to do the will
of God is to keep his commandments. To do the will of God is to keep
his commandments. And this is what we pray. Thy
will be done in earth as it is in heaven. And his will by us
who profess his name who call ourselves by the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. How are we to do that will of
God and to obey the commandments of God? Two ways. Two ways. We are to obey the commandments
spiritually and heavenly. First of all, we are to obey
the commandments spiritually. And this is what Paul You see
what Paul had to learn, he was a Jew, he was of the tribe of
Benjamin, he was the son of a pharisee, and he lived the life of a pharisee.
And he lived by the commandments of God. And yet, he was an unsaved
man. And God has to teach him the
spirituality of that wall of God. As he says there, Romans
7, 14, we know that the Lord is spiritual, but I am carnal,
sold unto sin. The Pharisees were concerned
only for the letter, the outward aspect of the Lord of God. Their
religion was all on the outside. And the Lord Jesus draws that
out in his own ministry. Here in the sermon, chapter five,
In verse 20 he says to his disciples, I sound to you, that except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven. All that Pharisaic righteousness,
that was no real righteousness at all. And now the Lord then
goes on there to expound the Lord of God and the spirituality
of that Lord of God in terms of the sixth and the seventh
commandments. Immediately there in verse 21 of chapter 5, you
have heard that it was said by them of all time, Thou shalt
not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger
of the counsel. But whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. And then again, the seventh commandment,
verse 27, you have heard, that it was said by them of old time,
thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her, commiteth adultery with
her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee,
pluck it out, cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend
thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable
for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell. He's not teaching self-mutilation
or anything like that, but he is certainly showing his disciples
the need for mortification, the mortification of sin, the denying
of the deeds of the flesh, is teaching the spirituality of
the Lord of God. We know this, Paul, and he's
learned this in his own experience, and he writes there in 1 Timothy
1, we know that the Lord is good if a man use it lawfully, knowing
this, that the Lord is not made for a righteous man, but for
the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly, and for Sinners,
there is a ministry of the law. There is a ministry of the law.
To convince the sinner of his sin, that's what the apostle
has to learn. Again, he says, we know that
what things whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in the sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. Oh, it brings that knowledge
of sin. And what does that do? Well,
the Lord then brings to Christ the schoolmaster to bring us
on to Christ. It is to Christ that we must
come. It is to Christ that we must look for all our salvation. This is the will of God, even
your sanctification. Not just our justification, Thank
God for that precious truth of the sinner's justification, his
experience of it by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But also
to look to the Lord Jesus Christ as that one who is the very source
also of our sanctification. Of him are you in Christ Jesus
who have God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption that as it is written in the
glory of letting glory in the Lord. All we are to pray then
is prayer mindful of the spirituality of that Lord of God and being
brought to see that we can only derive anything of sanctification
by looking continually to our Lord Jesus Christ. But this obedience
to the will of God is not only to be understood spiritually
but also heavenly. And that is quite clear in the
instruction that the Lord is giving here in the prayer. We are to pray, saying, Thy will
be done in earth as it is in heaven. And so our
obedience is to be heaven. And what of this heavenly Obedience. Well, four things I want to mention
with regards to heavenly obedience. First of all, it is that it is
constant. And we see it in Revelation 7.15,
those who come out of great tribulation, those who are before the throne
of God in heaven. What do we read in Revelation
7.15? They are before the throne of God and they serve Him day and night
in His temple. They serve Him day and night,
24 hours, day by day. They are constant in doing the
will of God. And as they are constant in their
obedience, so they are also entire. Again, we mean of those angels
who are in heaven, Psalm 103, 20. His angels that excel in
strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of
his words. Oh, they are subject to his words. They do all his bidding. And now those angels do it all
speedily. Remember what we're told concerning
the angels, the seraphim there, In Isaiah's vision, Isaiah chapter
6, they have six wings. With two, they cover their feet. With two, they cover their eyes.
With two, they fly. For that instant, in their obedience
to his commandments, they fly at his command. This is the obedience
of heaven constant, entire, speedily, And then also how fervently they
obey. What are those angels that we
read of in Isaiah 6? They are the Seraphim. They are
the burning ones. Or they are fervent in their
obedience to God. This is how we are to be. We
have a passion for His commandments. We are to embrace all those holy
precepts of the gospel just as we would delight in all those
exceeding great and precious promises of the gospel. We're
not those who are in any way partial in his law. We want to
obey his voice. We want to do his commandments. We want to live to his glory. And that's how we are to come
and to pray this petition. And if we don't come in that
spirit, We are insincere in our prayer. O God, grant us grace
in that we might hear the words of the Lord Jesus, that the Spirit
himself might come and impress these truths upon all of our
hearts. That we might pray in this manner
and say in our prayers to God, thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. And we want to be those who would
do that will of God from our very hearts. May the Lord then
be pleased to bless his word to us.