The Lord begins to instruct his
disciples concerning the manner of their praying. I'm not intending
necessarily to go right through the Lord's prayer, but I did
feel that it would be profitable to look again at these words
of invocation at the beginning of the prayer. In Matthew 6 verse
9, After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father, which are
in heaven. Those words, of course, as you
will see in the authorised version, form a single clause. The opening
words, the way in which we begin to address God, our Father, which
are in heaven, and then five or six petitions follow. And then, not here but in Luke's
account, we have that doxology at the end of the prayer Well
we were just looking at those first two words last Thursday
and when we call upon God Christ says we are to address him as
our Father and the Lord here is issuing a commandment. The verb to pray is an imperative
which is how the Lord tells His disciples that for those who
would profess His name we are to adhere then to His instruction
we should call upon God as our Father. And one does personally
feel somewhat rebuked because how often in public prayer I
feel it myself I've not always addressed God as Father. We're often conscious of the
otherness of God, the greatness and the glory of God. the difference
between God and us, and I personally would tend to dwell upon that,
and maybe we sometimes even despise those who are so familiar as
to address God as their Father. Yet this is the instruction,
this is the direction, this is the commandment of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are to come to Him, He is
the great object of our prayer. when we speak to him as Father
we're not necessarily only addressing the first person in the Godhead
but God's Father, Son and Holy Spirit the three persons in the
sense all that God is is our Father He is the one who has
created us He is that one in whom we find salvation and salvation
involves all the persons in the Godhead is that one then that
we seek to come to. And we remarked last time, I
think, that there is a certain theology in prayer. Think of
the words of Ephesians 3.8, that through him, through the Lord
Jesus Christ, we both, that is Jew and Gentile, have access
by one Spirit unto the Father. We think in terms of the mediation
of the Son, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and that coming to
the Father, that calling upon Him. Because as I've said, when
we use the term our Father, we are thinking of all the God is
in the three persons of the Godhead. And last week, speaking of God
as Father, I sought to say how we see that primarily in the
great work of salvation and provision that God was made for sinners
in the person of his only begotten Son, the love of the Father.
God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. The familiar words of John 3,
16. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law that they might
receive the adoption of sons. The words of Paul in Galatians
chapter 4. So, I sought in speaking of God
as our Father to emphasize the truth of salvation, in particular
the truth of adoption. And we went on, of course, last
Lord's Day morning to consider those words of Paul in Galatians
4.6, because your sons, God had sent forth the Spirit of His
Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father. It's an amazing
verse. Again, in that verse we have
the three persons of the Godhead, the Father sending forth the
Spirit of His Son into your heart. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
mentioned in that verse. And how Satan will time and again
challenge us with regards to any sense of our sonship. He will seek to undermine any
confidence we might have in that spirit of adoption. How he tempted the Lord Jesus
Christ himself concerning his sonship. And he is the son of
the Father in truth and in love. He is the eternal son. He is
the only begotten. Son. And Satan comes and tempts
Him there in the wilderness, if thou be the Son of God. And so He will come and tempt
us as the adopted sons. We think of the words, and I
quote them again there in the Hymn 312, that impious if, be
thou said God incarnate, through no wonder if He cast at us, and
make us feel it too, if He tempted Christ. or does he not also come
and tempt us? And we may then to come and desire
that we might know such a spirit of adoption to call upon God
as our Father, which only by the Holy Spirit, as he indicts
our prayers, that we can invoke God in this familiar fashion. Remembering him like as a father,
pity as his children, so the Lord pity as empathy, He knoweth
our frame, he remembereth of me our dust. And now tonight
I want us to turn to the other part of this invocation at the
beginning of the prayer. They say it's a single clause,
Our Father which art in heaven. In a sense, it creates the right
balance, lest we become too familiar with God, We must remember where
God is. We must recall something of the
glory that does belong unto God, the greatness of our God. And that's the theme that I want
to take up for a little while with you this evening, the greatness
of God. Isaiah 57, 15, the high and lofty
one that inhabiteth eternity. In the words here, in the Lord's
Prayer which art in heaven. And dividing what I'm going to
say into some three parts, I want to speak of God as that one who
is exalted, as that one who is sovereign, and also, in the third
place, to say something of God as that one who is omniscient. First of all, we see that God
is exalted. This reference to heaven reminds
us of that truth. God is in that high and that
lofty place. And we see it, of course, so
many times in the language that is employed by the psalmist. Psalm 113, verse 5, who is like
unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high. He is that one who dwells in
the high place. Think again of the words of the
psalmist in the 104th Psalm. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O
Lord, my God, Thou art very great. Thou art clothed with honor and
majesty, who covers Thyself with light as with a garment. who
stretches out the heavens like a curtain, who layeth the beams
of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot,
who walketh upon the wings of the wind. All the Psalmists,
he might come before God and speak in very tender and intimate
terms and address God as his Father. And yet at the same time,
now the Psalmists has that sense of something that belongs to
God that is unique. He is so different. He is the
Eternal One and we are those who know all the limitations
of time and space. And of course He is the Holy
One and we are sinners. And we read that portion in Isaiah
chapter 6 because there we see that even the Seraphim, holy
angels, these burning ones, that's what the word seraph means, burning
ones, bright ones. When the prophet describes the
scene, the throne of God, His glory filling the temple, above
it stood the seraphim, each one had six wings, with twain, with
two, he covered his face, with twain he covered his feet, with
twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and
said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth
is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved,
and the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. For these holy angels, they rejoice
in the glory that belongs unto God. They're sinners, and yet
they cannot bear this sight of God's unspotted holiness. And not only heaven but also
earth is said to be full of the glory of God. We know that God
is not limited to one place. God is everywhere, the immensity
of God. He fills heaven and earth. or when we think then of God.
And God is everywhere and yet there is that sense in which
God is in heaven. Our Father which art in heaven. There are, as we know in scripture,
three heavens that are clearly being spoken of. There is the
atmospheric heavens, the atmosphere around this planet Earth that
God has created and Elijah refers to that in the book of Job there
in Job 35 and verse 5 look unto the heavens and see he says and
behold the clouds we can look up today really I suppose a cloudless
day but we can see the the beautiful azure sky, the brilliance of
the sunshine coming through the Earth's atmosphere. But then
beyond the atmospheric heavens, at night time we can look out
into stellar space, we can look into the wonders and the depths
of the universe. So we remember that God is the
one who has created all these things. The language again of
the Psalm is Psalm 33, 6, By the word of the Lord were the
heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his
mouth. He spake, and it was done, he
commanded, and it stood fast. The universe is God's creation. This is what we call stellar
space, where the stars are. But then the Bible also speaks
of the third, heavens. And what are we to understand
by the third heavens? Well, that's eternal glory that
is outside of space, that's outside of time, that's only entered
by the grace of God. And remember how Paul can speak
in very personal terms concerning something of the glories of that
place. Think of the language that we
have there in the 12th chapter of 2 Corinthians. Here we see
Paul, you see, so modest. He speaks of himself in the third
person. I knew a man in Christ about
14 years ago where that in the body I cannot tell, or where
that out of the body I cannot tell. God knows. Such a one caught
up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, whether
in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knows. And
he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words,
which is not lawful, which is not possible for a man to utter. Paul is speaking there of the
glories of that place, the third heaven. And that is God's special
dwelling place. That is where God is. And yet,
at the same time, God is everywhere. Think of the prayer of Solomon,
of the dedication of the temple of the Lord. But he says there
in his prayer, behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot
contain thee. The heaven of heavens, that's
the third heaven. But God is that one who is everywhere,
that one who holds us in the hollow of his hand. He is not
far from every one of us, says Paul, for in him we live and
move and have our belief. Oh, that Lord is here, that belonged
unto this God. And that special dwelling place,
that place where God is. And when we come to God and address
him in our prayers, we're not to lose sight of those glory. We can use this intimate term,
we can call him our father. We design that spirit of adoption
whereby we pray Aga. The familiar Aga, similar to
our word Dada. We can address God in intimate
terms and yet we're to remember that God is great and glorious. God is in heaven. Then in the second place, when
we think of heaven, It also reminds us of the sovereignty of God.
Again, the language of the Psalms. In Psalm 103, verse 19, the Lord
hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth
over all. He has prepared his throne in
the heavens, and his kingdom extends everywhere. His sovereignty
embraces all Psalm 115 and verse 3, our God is in the heavens,
he hath done whatsoever he pleased. And he is beholden to none. I
like the comment of the Protestant reformer Calvin, he says, when
scripture says God is in heaven, it means all things are subject
to him. And isn't that what we're acknowledging?
when we come before God and address Him in prayer. Our Father which
art in heaven we know now that we are addressing one who is
sovereign and that one who is sovereign will hear us and answer
us and nothing is impossible with Him. He is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think says the Apostle. Our God you see is is an absolute
sovereign. And even such a proud monarch
as Nebuchadnezzar was brought to confess that truth. All the
inhabitants of the earth, he says, are accounted as nothing. Could he do as according to his
will among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth,
and none could stay his hand or say to him, What doest or
the sovereignty of the heart. And it extends even to minute
things. We were thinking just a couple
of weeks ago of that third of the plagues that God visited
upon the Egyptians. There in Exodus 8, where Aaron
is to raise up his rod and to address the dust, the dust throughout
Egypt and it's all turned into lies. We think of God's sovereignty
even now of course in the plague that is on the face of the earth. This coronavirus, they might
not be able to see it with the natural eye, they might be able
to see it under the microscope, but it's such a small thing it
would seem. And yet God is in control, God
is sovereign over all these things. This is the great glory. the
sovereign God that we come to address when we gather together
for our prayers. The glory of God, the sovereignty
of our God, and He is that one who is the judge. Diagram says, shall not the judge
of all the earth do right? For we will judge the world.
And He has appointed that one by whom He will judge the earth,
even the Lord Jesus, in that He is rising from the dead. And
when the Lord comes to judge, what then of those who deny God? What then of those who are rejecters
of God and mockers of God? Think of the language, the solemn
language of the second Psalm. He that sitteth in the heaven
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in division. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. The Lord will have such falls
in division in that awful day that he is appointed. God then
is glorious, God is sovereign. And thirdly, in the words of
this invocation we see that God is omniscient. He is that one
who knows all things. He knows the ends from the beginning. Think of how Elijah is able to
mock those prophets of Baal. He says to them, cry aloud for
he is a god either he is talking or pursuing or in a journey or
for adventure he sleepeth and must be awake. Well, our God
neither stumbles nor sleeps. Our God is that one who is the
living and the true God. He is that one Who knows all
things? Again, we are reminded in 2 Chronicles
16.9, the eyes of the Lord run to and through the whole earth. God knows. And that's our conflict. Men turn to their gods, their
idols. But what are their idols? They
cannot hear, they cannot answer. Think again, the language that
we find in the book of Psalms and there in the 115th Psalm we find David uttering these
words. Thou God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver
and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouth, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but
they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell
not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but
they walk not. Neither speak they through their
throat. They that make them are like
unto them. So is every one that trusteth in death. O Israel,
trust them in the Lord. He is their help. as their shield. For this is the God they are
looking upon. He has eyes. His eyes are everywhere. He has
ears. He hears our crying wherever
we are. But nothing can escape from this
work of good we have to do. So, look at the language here. Previous to the words of the
text, in verse 7, when ye pray, use not thy repetitions as the
heathen for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto him, for your father knoweth
what things ye have need of before ye ask him. It's not that when
we come to God to make our request, we're informing him of matters
of which he is ignorant and dependent on us to inform him of. Why do we pray? We pray because
God has appointed prayer It's part of His gracious purpose.
He has said He will yet be inquired of by the house of Israel. To do it for them. He will do
it. But He has a point in prayer. That He knows everything about
us because His eyes are in every place. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in His eyes. But all things are naked and
open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. and so we
have that assurance in Isaiah 65 before they call God says
I will answer while they are yet speaking I will hear or before
they call remember that great prayer of Daniel the ninth chapter
of the book of Daniel where Daniel through reading in the The prophecy
of Jeremiah is brought to realize that the 70 years of captivity
have been accomplished, and he sets his face now to seek God
for the accomplishment of that ancient promise. It's a wonderful
prayer, but when we come to the end of it, what do we read? There
at verse 23, the angel says, at the beginning of thy supplication,
the commandment came forth and I have come forth to show them,
for they are greatly beloved. At the beginning of thy supplication,
as soon as Daniel sets himself to pray, the commandment is given.
And so it is with us. As soon as we begin to pray,
God issues a commandment. The prayer will be heard and
the prayer will be answered. And again I say, it's not that
we're telling God of things he didn't or he knows the things
that we are in need of before ever we open our mouths. He knows
all things. And the God is in the heavens
and reminds us from that great mountain he can see to the ends
of the earth. Well, as we come to conclude,
I want to say something about the way in which we are to approach
this great God. Four things, really, that we
should bear in mind as we come to address our prayers to Him.
We are to come surely before such a God as this is with humility. We can address Him as our Father.
What a favor, what a blessing. But now it should humble us when
we think that He is that One who is in Heaven. All nations before Him are as
nothing, and they are a quantity less than nothing, and vanity. The greatest nations on the face
of the earth. Nothing before God. Now we see that humility before
God in that portion that we read in Isaiah chapter 6. What is
the effect that the sight of the throne of God has upon the
prophet? Woe is me, you see. Woe is me,
for I am undone. I am a man of uncleanness. I
dwell in the midst of a people of uncleanness. Doubtless as
we come to pray, we'll feel that. We'll feel the uncleanness of
our lips. We come as sinners. We come to
make our confessions. We thank God He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Think of the effect that That
vision of the glorified Christ had upon John, or the beloved
apostle, the one so familiar with the Lord's, leaning upon
his breast at the institution of the Holy Supper. And John
sees Christ glorified there when he's exiled in Patmos. What does
he say? I fell at his feet as dead. Is that the effect it has? And
us, even when we come before this God, He is pleased to be
addressed as our Father. We remember where He is. He is
in heaven, we are upon the earth. Oh, we are to come surely with
all humility and heart. And therefore we must come with
all holy reverence. His name is Holy. He is the Holy One of Israel.
And we're familiar with those words of Ecclesiastes 5. Keep
thy foot where thou goest to the house of God. Be more ready
to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools they consider not what
they do. Be not rash with thy man. Let not thine heart be hasty
to utter anything before God. God is in heaven, thou upon earth.
Therefore let thy words be pure. All which are reverence is God.
It's interesting, you know, the plural pronoun you is never used
in reference to God. Though I know that in our modern
English we don't distinguish you either as plural or singular. But of course, one of the great
beauties of the Orthodox Version is that it brings out the accuracy
of the original Hebrew the Old Testament and the Greek of the
New Testament where the distinction is clearly made. And the name
of God, the Hebrew name for God, we're familiar with the name
Lord, Jehovah, the I am that I am, but the name for God is
the Hebrew name Elohim. Elohim. And that's a plural. I am indicates the plural. We have it in the word Seraphim,
we read in Isaiah chapter 6, where we read of the Seraphim.
I know the Orthodox version puts an S on the end, but really a
Seraph is singular in the Hebrew. Seraphim is the plural. Again, Cherub is singular. Cherubim is the plural. So the I am ending indicates
the plural. And name is a plural. God, literally, I suppose, it
is God's. But we know that God is one. Hero, Israel, the Lord our God
is one God. And the interesting thing is,
in Scripture, that though God, his name is a plural, yet when
the pronoun is used, it's always the singular. always the singular,
because there is one God. There is one God subsisting in
three persons. The three in one, the one in
three, but always the emphasis is upon the unity of God, that
God is one. So we still desire to follow
the version that we're using when we address God as the there,
when we come to Him in prayer. We want to reverence that name,
which is high in that name which is holy. All when we approach
we must come with all humility, we must come with reverence.
And we can approach God in the third place with confidence.
Why is that? Well it's because of the Lord
Jesus, it's through the Lord Jesus. Remember the words that
we have there at the end of Hebrews 4, some of us yesterday evening
joined for the Sovereign Grace Union meeting at Bethel Chapel
in Guilford when Edward Malcolm from Reading was preaching on
those words at the end of Hebrews 4, the throne of grace and a
most profitable sermon and exposition we had on that occasion. Think
of what we are told there in those verses at the end of Hebrews
chapter 4. We have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in
all points tempted like us we are yet without sin. Therefore
let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. How significant is that
word therefore? We can come boldly We can come
with confidence to the throne of grace. Why? Because of what
we read in that 15th verse concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. We have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmity. Christ feels
for us in all our infirmities. He was tempted just as we are
tempted. But He was without sin. He has
overcome the great temptation. All our confidence is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. All we come in with humility,
with reverence, with confidence. And when we address God as our
Father which art in heaven, do we not come also with hope? We come with hope. We're looking
and longing and yearning for heaven. That holy, happy place
where sin no more departs when God unveils his blissful face,
and looks, and loves, and smiles, and is there in our opening praise
tonight. Here we have no continuing citadel,
but we seek one to come. For we are those to fight with,
to come and fight. Without fight it is impossible
to please God. He that cometh to, he must believe
that he is. We come and fight. Who is the
father of the fight? Abram. And what do we read concerning
Abram? He looked for a city which had
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Or when we come
to pray, are we not desiring to enter into the very presence
of God, to enter heaven itself? It reminds us in them. Our own
mortality, it reminds us that all that is about us is only
temporary. We look not at the things which are seen, But the
things which are not seen, the things which are seen are temporal.
The unseen things are the eternal things. All we desire then to
come where God is, our hope is that ultimately that will be
our permanent, our eternal dwelling place. Paul could say he had
the desire to depart and to be with Christ. which is far better. The Lord has gone to that place,
even Heaven, to prepare the place for His people. And all that
God would, as we come to pray tonight, grant to us some little
foretaste of Heaven itself, where congregations ne'er break up,
and Sabbaths have no end. Oh, we longed again for those
proper Sabbath days, when we could congregate again and render
to God that worship, that portrait, that public worship that we were
so missing. Well, the Lord bless these words
to us tonight. Let us, before we turn to the Lord in
prayer,