The scripture that I'll bring
before you this morning is that which we considered in the morning
last Lord's Day, Matthew chapter 6 verse 13. And lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. We considered last week
those words but deliver us from evil. The scripture, the particular
scripture I bring before you this morning is the last part
of that verse. For thine is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. Throughout last year, indeed
up until last week, as I say, we've been considering on various
occasions, as I've had opportunity to preach from this pulpit, that
which is commonly called the Lord's Prayer. We've considered
the preface to the prayer, Our Father which art in heaven, Hello
sorry that is the preface our father which art in heaven and
we've considered each of the seven petitions. And so we come
to the conclusion of this perfect pattern prayer this morning for
thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now I would say, by way
of introduction this morning, just reiterate some of the general
observations which we've made along the way regarding this
prayer. We have noted that although this prayer is commonly called
the Lord's Prayer, The Lord himself could not have uttered such a
prayer. The fifth petition says, and
forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. The Lord Jesus Christ
could not pray such a prayer for he was and he is without
sin. It is the Lord's prayer only
in the sense that He has given it to His people as a pattern
for them to pray. And we note again that this prayer
is not to be put into the mouths of the multitudes. At the beginning
of the Sermon on the Mount, and it was in the Sermon on the Mount
that this instruction concerning prayer was given. We read, And
seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when
he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth,
and taught them, saying, and so on. The Lord gave it to his
people as a pattern prayer for them, and for them only. None but the regenerated sons
of God, those who are born from above, can truly pray our Father
which art in heaven. And we note again that this is
a pattern prayer. After this manner therefore pray
ye. Jesus said. Now, it is not given
to us to merely repeat verbatim. We find the Lord's Prayer also
recorded in Luke's Gospel, and we see there that although the
substance of the petitions is the same, different words are
used. And this conclusion, and the
Amen which we have here in Matthew's Gospel, they are not even there
in Luke's Gospel. how we must beware of the mere
superstitious repeating of the words of this prayer. Doesn't
the Lord teach his disciples just before he gives them this
patterned prayer? But when he pray, use not vain repetitions. And we've seen that this prayer
is to be addressed, in fact all prayer, of course, is to be addressed
to God alone, our Father, which art in heaven. Now, this does
not preclude prayer to the Son or to the Spirit. The Son is
a Father to His people, in the sense that He is their head.
Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me, He said.
Isaiah prophesied of Christ, and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And the Holy Spirit is a father
to the people of God, for He is the sole author of their second
birth. They are born of the Spirit,
as John says. And we note that prayer is to
be offered up in our own mother tongue. not in the Latin of the
Romanists, nor in the vain babblings of the Charismatics, their so-called
tongues. Regarding the use of the, thou,
and thy in prayer, we've seen that this is more accurate linguistically
and theologically than you and your. The former, thee, thou,
thy, is the singular. The latter, you and your, is
plural. And whenever God is addressed
in prayer, in the Scriptures, it is always in the singular. For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one. And so the very first petition
in the Lord's Prayer is, Hallowed be thy name. thy name, the singular. Christians are baptized in the
name, singular, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost. And we've noted before, several
times in fact, that the first petition Hallowed be thy name
is the first and great petition. All the subsequent petitions
are subordinate and subservient to that first and great petition. Hallowed be thy name. Last time
we considered the seventh petition, but deliver us from evil. And
is not that petition subordinate and subservient to the first
and great petition. Hallowed be thy name. In Psalm
79 we read, Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory
of thy name, and deliver us, and purge away our sins for thy
name's sake. For thy name's sake. Every prayer
and every petition must be subject to the first and great petition.
Hallowed be thy name. I've said it before and I'll
say it again, those prayers which do not aim first and foremost
at the glory of God shall never be answered ye ask and receive
not because ye ask and miss that ye may consume it upon your lusts
those prayers however which have at the heart of them as their
aim and object the glory of the name of God they are sure to
be answered and this is the confidence that
we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will
he heareth us and if we know that he hear us whatsoever we
ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
him well these are some of the things which we've considered
on previous occasions and so we come to the conclusion of
this pattern prayer for thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever Now, we should note that these
words are missing from many of the modern perversions of the
Bible. They are not there at all in
the main text of the ESV and the NIV. And in other versions,
such as the New King James Version, there is a marginal note-casting
doubt on their authenticity. The argument is that these words
are not found in the oldest manuscripts, by which is meant the Codex Sinaiticus
and the Codex Vaticanus. Now, the Vaticanus really should
raise alarm bells. We know now that those two manuscripts
upon which most of the modern versions are based were actually
19th century forgeries. instigated by the Vatican to
undermine the Protestant Bible. And for those interested, I would
refer you to Dr. Bill Cooper's work on the subject,
The Forging of the Codex Sinaiticus. It's a most illuminating work. There is actually overwhelming
evidence for the authenticity of this portion of the Word of
God. Not only is there much genuine manuscript evidence for the inclusion
of these words, but there are also allusions to them in very
early extra-biblical Christian literature. Chris Austin, one
of the church fathers, expounded this portion of scripture. Now,
would he have expounded it if it were not originally part of
Matthew's Gospel? It is there in the Diatessaron,
which was a second-century harmony of the Gospels. There is an allusion
to it in the Didacli, which is one of the earliest known writings
of the early Church, outside the New Testament. And is there
not an allusion or a reference to this doxology in Paul's epistle his second epistle to Timothy
chapter 4 verse 18 he refers surely to the last of the seven
petitions and to the doxology and the Lord shall deliver me
from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever amen There is much more
that could be said on this subject, and again, if anyone's interested,
I would refer you to the Trinitarian Bible Society's excellent article
entitled, The Power and the Glory. How we need to beware of the
devil's counterfeit religion. There is a false or counterfeit
church, a counterfeit Christianity, a counterfeit or false faith,
There are counterfeit and false Bibles. And you can always spot
a false Bible. It has the devil's question marks
all over the page, in the margins, and in the footnotes. Yea, hath
God said. Remember the warning that we
have at the close of the whole canon of Scripture. For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this book. So
let us come to the words of our text. This portion of the inspired,
God-breathed scripture. For thine is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. For thine is the kingdom. For thine is the kingdom. So
it is stated in the Psalms. Psalm 22 and verse 28. For the kingdom is the Lord's
and he is the governor among the nations. The Lord our God
exercises a sovereign sway and dominion over all nations. Jeremiah
says, Who would not fear thee, O king of nations? All the great
men of the earth, kings and all in authority, are subject to
his sovereign sway and dominion. for the Lord is a great God and
a great King above all gods says the Psalmist. We read in the
Proverbs the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the
rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever he will Is this
not an encouragement for us to pray, as we are instructed, for
kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty? But the
Lord is not only the sovereign King of nations, he is especially,
after an especial manner, the King of saints. Great and marvellous
are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints. That holy city spoken of in Psalm
48 is the Gospel Church, beautiful for situation. The joy of the
whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the North, the city
of the Great King. The Gospel Church is that city
of the Great King. and all the saints of God, they are the blessed inhabitants
of Zion, washed in the Redeemer's blood. The whole realm of nature
belongs to God. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. In Psalm 50, the psalmist says,
or rather God says by the psalmist, for every beast of the forest
is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all
the fowls of the mountains. The wild beasts of the field
are mine. In the book of the Prophet Haggai
it is written that the silver is mine and the gold is mine,
saith the Lord of hosts. Is he not then able to richly
and royally supply all the need of the princes of his royal household,
the blessed inhabitants of Zion? The Lord is rich indeed, and
richly will supply the waiting sinner's need with blessings
from on high. My expectation is from God, then
wait my soul upon the Lord. What an encouragement there is
to prayer here in the words of our text, for thine is the kingdom,
for thine is the kingdom. The kingdom of providence is
his. As we were hearing last Lord say in the evening, Not
only are all peoples and all things under the divine sovereignty,
but all events. The Lord is working His purposes
out in the history of the world. The world's history is the outworking
of the divine decree. It is His story. Paul speaks of the purpose of
him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. He works all things, that is,
all events for the glory of his name and for the good of his
church and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. The hymn writer says the fictious power of chance
and fortune I defy my life's minutest circumstance is subject
to his eye by faith we see a throne like John saw in the Revelation
and behold a throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne
Is there not in these words, for thine is the kingdom, an
encouragement to cast all our care upon him, to submit to his
sovereign will in all things, to submit to all his providential
dealings with us? His is the kingdom of providence,
and his is the kingdom of grace too. Sinner, Have you ever felt,
do you ever feel a willingness in your heart to come to the
Lord Jesus Christ that you might be saved from your sins? Where
does that willingness come from? Well, it comes from Him. It is
of His grace. The Father says to the Son in
Psalm 110, Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power. Are you drawn to the Lord Jesus
Christ? "'No man can come to me,' Jesus
said, "'except the Father which hath sent me draw him.'" If you
find yourself drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is and
it can only be by the grace of Almighty God. Do you believe
on the name of the Son of God? The faith to believe comes not
from yourself, For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Are you enabled
in any measure to walk in the paths of gospel obedience? For
this is of God's grace too, for it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Are you born again? of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. The true Christian is the subject
of divine grace. The kingdom of grace is the Lord's
and he brings into it, into that kingdom, whom he will. And he brings that kingdom into
the hearts of those whom he will. the kingdom of glory is his and
he has determined to give that kingdom to his dear elect Jesus
said fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom In the book of Daniel we read
and the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom
unto the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints
of the Most High whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and
all dominions shall serve Him shall serve and obey Him at the
end when the judgments shall sit we must all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ at the very end when that judgment
shall sit as we read later on in Matthew's Gospel Then shall
the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye, blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. The promise in the book of the
Revelation reads, To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down
with my Father in his throne. The children of the heavenly
King being born from above are destined or rather predestined
to a throne above and if children then heirs, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ. Cain Paul says if we suffer we
shall also reign with him. What a strong motive there is
here then, what an encouragement there is here in the words of
our text to continue in the faith and to continue in prayer and
watch in the same with thanksgiving for thine is the kingdom and
the power and the power the word here translated power is in the
Greek dunamis is the word from which we get our word dynamic
or dynamite where we read of mighty works in the Gospels,
in connection with the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those
words, mighty works, are actually a translation of this one Greek
word, dunamis. For thine is the kingdom and
the power. Now is this not a great encouragement
to prayer? The God to whom we address our
prayers. who is our Father and our Heavenly
King, is of infinite power, and He is able to perform all things
for us. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. The psalmist says, I will cry
unto God Most High, unto God that performeth all things for
me. or he is the performing God, who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods, who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful
in praises, doing wonders, doing wonders. The Apostle says now
unto him that is able to do, exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in
us. I like John Gill's comment on
that verse Ephesians 3 verse 20 he says according to the power
that worketh in us meaning the spirit of God who is the finger
and power of God who begins and carries on and will finish the
work of grace in them and which is an evidence of the exceeding
greatness of the power of God well I'll mention that when you
think when you think that sinners who were dead in trespasses and
sins are brought to call upon the name of the living God. Is it not a stupendous miracle
of grace? A praying sinner, a praying sinner
is an evidence of the supernatural power of God. Is not salvation itself, is not
salvation itself a wonderful work of God? For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. There
is the power of God in forming the human nature of Christ in
the womb of a virgin. The power of God was displayed
at the cross, with the miracles which accompanied Christ's death,
the sun being darkened, the rending of the veil of the temple, the
earthquake, the breaking of the rocks, the opening of the graves.
There was the conviction of the centurion and the conversion
of the thief. and surely the power of God is
supremely displayed at the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from
the dead for though he was crucified through weakness yet he liveth
by the power of God and is there not a power in the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse the vilest sinner and to wash
away all sin and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleansing
us from all sin. Thy blood's renewing might can
make the foulest clean, can wash the Ethiopian white and change
the leopard's skin. And the conversion of any sinner. The conversion of any sinner
can only be by that same gracious and almighty power of God. The Christian is a new creation. He's a new creation. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away, behold, all things are become new. Only the same almighty power
that created the world can create a Christian. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. the same almighty power that
raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead quickens a spiritually
dead sinner into new life and makes a real Christian. And so
Paul speaks of the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward
who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which
he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. And the
keeping of the Christian, the preserving of the Christian unto
eternal life is only by that same almighty power of God. Peter in his first epistle speaks
of the elect who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Octavius Winslow
says, his is the power of conversion. His power breaks the chain, dislodges
the enmity, and erects the kingdom of grace within the soul. His
power guards and carries forward the work thus begun. His power
keeps the feet of His saints, preserves them from falling,
and brings them unto His heavenly kingdom. Thine is the power. All this power, saint of God,
is on your side. There is no foe from whom He
cannot defend you, not a difficulty from which He cannot deliver
you, not a want from which He cannot relieve you, not a sin
which He cannot subdue in you, not a good which He cannot bestow
upon you. Thine is the power. Thine is
the power. I say again what an encouragement
to prayer this is. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
Pilgrim, through this barren land. I am weak, but thou, Almighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand. For as another hymn writer puts
it, Lord, I am blind, be thou my sight. Lord, I am weak, be
thou my might, a helper of the helpless be, and let me find
my all in thee. For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, and the glory. You know, the end
of all things, the ultimate end of all things, the great end
of all things is the glory of God. For of Him and through Him and
to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. in the Proverbs we read the Lord
have made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day
of evil and in the Revelation we read thou art worthy O Lord
to receive glory and honor and power for thou has created all
things and for thy pleasure they are and were created the ultimate end of all things
is the glory of God and the ultimate end of all prayer, all real prayer,
is the glory of God. The conclusion of this patterned
prayer brings us right back to the beginning. Hallowed be thy
name! Hallowed be thy name! Indeed,
the three parts of this concluding doxology remind us of the first
three petitions, do they not? For thine is the kingdom, thy
kingdom come, and the power thy will be done in earth as it is
in heaven, and the glory hallowed be thy name." True prayer begins
and ends with God and with the glory of God. And we know that
the devil and fallen man have always sought to obscure, to
detract from, to take away from the glory of God. The pantheist
deifies nature and worships and serves the creature more than
the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. The atheist defies and
denies God and commits the ultimate blasphemy. But what of that doctrine
which seems to prevail at the present time in so many churches
and supposedly evangelical churches at that? The doctrine of Jacobus
Arminius. Free willism. Does it not detract
from the glory of God our Saviour? To say that fallen man is able
to save himself if only he would avail himself of an offered gospel
and offered grace. To say that man has a free will
and can regenerate himself. To say that I can give myself
a new birth. to say that Christ died for all
and yet His blood was not effectual for all to say that there are
sinners in hell for whom Christ died and for whom Christ paid
the price of their redemption did He pay the price for their
sins or did He not? to say that the Lord does not
have the power to keep His sheep but that it is possible for them
to fall away and to be lost to say that the saved can be lost.
Are they saved or are they not? Such an aberration of the gospel
will not suit a poor, lost and ruined sinner who needs a sovereign
saviour and one who is able to save them to the uttermost. No,
those who are truly convinced of their sin and of their utter
inability to save themselves will ascribe all the glory to
God alone. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. In the Revelation we see the
ransomed Church of God before the throne. The four and twenty
elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship
Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before
the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power. Yes, every crown must be cast
before the feet of Emmanuel, our only Savior, for Thine is
the kingdom and the power and the glory. Forever. Forever. We note those words
forever. Eternity. Tremendous sound. To guilty souls a dreadful wound. But oh, if Christ and heaven
be mine, how sweet the accents, how divine. The Lord's kingdom
is forever. He has never once abdicated his
throne and he never will thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations and the promise to the Lord's
praying people is this for so an entrance shall be ministered
unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ in Revelation 11 we read of Christ and he shall
reign forever and ever and that's in Revelation 11. In Revelation
22 we read of the people of God and they shall reign forever
and ever. His kingdom is forever and ever.
And God's power is as eternal as it is infinite. The atheists
and the false religionists are without excuse because the eternal
power of God is, as it were, set before their eyes in the
creation of the world. Indeed, it is set before their
eyes in the creation of the entire universe. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. His power is forever. He is not
like man who becomes weak with sickness at old age. Hast thou not known, hast thou
not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There
is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint,
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. He gives
power to His people. The God of Israel is He that
giveth strength and power unto His people. Blessed be God, we
read in the Psalms. What is that strength and that
power that God gives to His people? Is it not Christ Himself? 1 Corinthians
1.24, But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. He is Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. God's power is eternal, it is
forever. And the glory of God too is without
beginning and without end. And the believer is called by
grace to be a partaker of that eternal glory. but the God of all grace, who
hath called us unto his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after
that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish,
strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen. Amen. We note the Amen at the
end of this pattern prayer. For thine is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. Amen. The word is left
untranslated from the Greek which was in turn left untranslated
from the Hebrew. It's a Hebrew word. And we see
from 1 Corinthians 14 that it was the practice of the apostolic
churches to say Amen. when one had led in prayer. Paul
is there dealing with those who would pray in an unknown tongue,
and he says in verse 16, How shall he that occupieth the room
of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing
he understandeth not what thou sayest? In the days of the apostles,
it was clearly the practice of the Church to say Amen at the
conclusion of prayer. And I think it's a deplorable
condition a deplorable situation when there is no audible Amen
at the conclusion of prayer in some of our services of worship.
It's not a good sign. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say Amen. Praise ye the Lord. What did
we read at the conclusion of David's prayer in 1 Chronicles
16? when he had brought the Ark of
God and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched
for it 1 Chronicles 16 verse 36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever and all the people said Amen and praised
the Lord But what does the word mean?
Well, the word is sometimes translated as verily. It's interesting that
in a couple of places where Matthew and Mark use the word Amen, translated
verily in our authorised version, Luke uses a completely different
word or phrase. He says, of a truth. of a truth,
and so the Holy Spirit himself teaches us the true meaning of
the word Amen. It means of a truth, of a truth. The Amen is, as it were, the
seal that confirms and affirms and that ratifies and establishes
the prayer. If a prayer were a letter, the
Amen would be the seal on the envelope to confirm the genuineness
of that prayer that it proceeds from a true heart but these are
true words and the true desires of our hearts the Lord Jesus
Christ is called the Amen in John's revelation these things
sayeth the Amen the faithful and true witness You see, in
Him the truth of God is confirmed and established. In Him the purpose
of God is fulfilled. For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him are men, unto the glory of God by us.
For our hope is in the Amen of God, in the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. For is He your hope, May the
Lord bless his word to us each. After this manner therefore pray
me, 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. Amen.