maintain to Himself a kingdom upon the earth, and blessed are they that own His authority as their only King and Lord. He reigns, and He must reign till all His enemies are put under his feet. "Kiss the Son, then, lest He be angry and ye perish from the way. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

The third petition of this remarkable prayer is expressed in these words, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." The will of God, like His kingdom, is of a twofold character,-secret and revealed. His secret will is that by which He is Himself regulated in the arrangements of His providential government; and His revealed will is that by which He desires that all men should be regulated. It is to the revealed or preceptive will chiefly that this petition refers. His will is done perfectly in heaven, for the glorified saints" serve Him day and night in His temple," and the holy angels "do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word." We cannot equal the inhabitants of heaven in the perfection of their obedience; but though we may be incapable of reaching its extent in this world, still we may imitate some of the qualities of their obedience-its humility, cordiality, faithfulness, diligence and zeal, and, besides, we may strive after perfection.

This petition is intimately connected with the second. Every true subject of Christ's kingdom is de

sirous of knowing and obeying the will of God. The first exclamation of the man who is born from above is, "What wilt thou have me to do?" The Word of God becomes "a light unto his feet and a lamp unto his path," and the Spirit of God works in him both to will and to do of his good pleasure. But the petition, "Thy will be done," expresses not only a desire to obey the revealed will, but also a desire to submit to the secret, providential, purposing will of God. The will of God, in so far as man is concerned, involves both doing and suffering; and although the angels that never sinned cannot be patterns of suffering, yet there are inhabitants of heaven concerning whom we are expressly informed, that they have passed through great tribulation before they entered the kingdom of God. In regard to all the dispensations of Providence, whether prosperous or seemingly adverse, we ought ever to pray "Thy will be done."

In offering up this petition, however, we must have a reference to others as well as to ourselves, and, therefore, we must be understood as praying that men may universally be brought to do the will of God with a promptitude and a cheerfulness such as are manifested by the angels in heaven.

Thus have we endeavoured rapidly to sketch the true nature and meaning of the first part of this invaluable prayer. It might be easily shown to be in beautiful harmony with the whole scope of the ser

mon, breathing as it does an earnest desire that God may be glorified, and His kingdom established on the earth.

But we cannot close this section without putting to each individual reader the solemn inquiry, Has this kingdom come into your own soul? Have you been made willing in the day of the Redeemer's power? Are you seeking at once to know and to do His will, or are you of the number of those who know His will and do it not? "This is the will of God that we believe on Him whom He hath sent." Have you complied on this essential and all-important point with the will of God? If not, let it be your earnest prayer and your unceasing endeavour in the diligent use of all the means of grace, that you may be subdued under the power of Christ.

And let those who have been enabled to accept the invitations of His grace bear constantly in mind, that "this is the will of God, even our sanctification.” He wills His people to be a holy nation, a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

SECTION 4.-PRAYER-LORD'S PRAYER CONCLUDED.

MAT. VI. 11-13.

The Lord's prayer, as we have seen, may be divid

ed into two parts, the first referring to the relation which God holds to us, and the second referring to the relation which we hold to God.

It is the second part which forms the subject of our present exposition. The believer has, in the first three petitions, been breathing forth an earnest desire that the kingdom of God may come, that the reign of grace and of righteousness may be established in his own soul and in the souls of all mankind; and now he proceeds to pray that all the hindrances to the coming of that kingdom may be removed. The fourth petition of this beautiful prayer is expressed in these words, "give us this day our daily bread." This evidently refers to our temporal affairs, the means of our worldly support. The word bread being spoken of in scripture as the staff of life, and being the principal article of food, is here used for food in general, implying all needful support for our bodies. You observe we are commanded so to frame our prayers in reference to the good things of this life, as to express the utmost moderation in our requirements. thou seek great things for thyself? Seek them not.” "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out," and it is, therefore, an incumbent duty, as well as essential to our true comfort, that, "having food and raiment we should therewith be content." It is undoubtedly true that every child of God will combine diligence in his worldly calling

"Dost

with fervency in his supplications at a throne of grace, and it is equally true, that amid all his unwearied activity in the labours of honest industry, he will ever view himself as an humble pensioner on the bounty of heaven. "Give us." "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." And how does it sweeten all the enjoyments of life when they are received as if they had come down directly from the hand of God. The homeliest meal partaken of in this way has a rich blessing with it. We are thus recognizing the source whence all our mercies flow, and honouring Him who, whether in temporal or in spiritual matters, "giveth the increase."

And this petition, further, is limited to what is sufficient for our present subsistence, "give us this day our daily bread." We are not authorised in asking of God that He would give us a large store of worldly blessings, but the very language of this prayer goes upon the supposition that prayer is as necessary as our daily food. We must come to God every day imploring Him to bestow what is sufficient for that day, and it is as needful that we should ask God to give, as it is needful to work that we may earn support. And yet, what a melancholy separation do we too often make between prayer to God and industry in our worldly calling. How would we