Luke 11:2 And he said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done… Now there are two reasons why this prayer, "Hallowed be Thy name," is especially needful. The first springs from our own limitations as finite creatures. Sons of God though we are, we are finite, and God is infinite; and, therefore, our conceptions of Him will be commensurate with ourselves: that is to say, will be finite; and, so far, imperfect, meagre, unworthy. But there is a second reason why we ought to offer this prayer. "Hallowed be Thy name!" We are not only finite, and therefore, must necessarily have stinted conceptions of God; we are also fallen, and, therefore, must necessarily have sinful conceptions of Him. How we mistake God's character, purposes, providences, justice, love, authority — in one word, His Fatherhood! To hallow our Heavenly Father's name, then, is to have His name hallowed in the sphere of our own thoughts, feelings, desires, purposes, in a word, our characters. It is to pray: "Enlarged be our conceptions of Thee, O infinite One! Chastened be our feelings toward Thee, O Holy One! Exalted be our purposes in reference to Thee, O Mighty One! Celestialized be our characters before Thee, O All-seeing One!" Again: To hallow our Heavenly Father's name is to have it hallowed in the sphere of our own words. Once more: To hallow our Heavenly Father's name is to have it hallowed in the sphere of our own lives. For the life without answers to the life within. Our opinions concerning God control our practices. Remembering, then, that our lives represent our views of God, what constant need there is of praying: "Father, Hallowed be our lives!" In drawing our meditation to a conclusion, I ask you to observe. First — That the knowledge of God's name has been an unfolding purpose. Again: The hallowing the Heavenly Father's name is the purpose or final cause of creation itself. (G. D. Boardman, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. |
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