The morning times., 1895-09-02
ETERNAL POWER REIGHs
Christian Prayer Aims At Com
ing Close to II.
REV. ALEX. KENT'S SERMON
IT Was the Concluding Discourse of
the Series on the Lords Prayer.
Bring Men Into the Heaven OF
Righteousness in This World.

makes for righteousness, and this Eternal
is regnant. In this conviction and in the
desire to come into communion with this
power all Christian prayer is grounded -
This was one OF the striking thoughts in
the discourse OF the Rev Alexander Kent
at the Peoples Church yesterday morning
The sermon concluded the series ON the
Lords Prayer The text was For thine
is the Kingdom ana the power and the glory
Amen"
Dr. Kent said. While this conclusion
of the Lords Prayer is no longer part OF
the Bible, being excluded from the revised
edition, 1t is consecrated by the most ancient
usage and has beconIeso incorporated with
the original formula as 70 share IN all its
sacred associations Besides, there is
an intrinsic harmony between the asCrip-
tions OF the text and the preceding sen
tences. They fifty close the prayer so
that it ends as it begins-with God They
declare the grounds OF our worship; our
faith IS strengthened and our devotion made
more intense by TINS concentration OF feel
ing and recalling Of the thoughts that have
filled the whole prayer.
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
Prayer Is not merely a sense Of need
vOicing itself III darkness and TO space
he continued, but a sense or need, coupled
wIJha sense ofdependence upon a righteous
sovereign. We may puzzle ourselves with
Speculauous about God, deny the coucep-
tious of HIS personality, deny that the
Infinite thinks, wills, feels as we do. but
..H or rr-
thought, there Is stuI something left which
no other word is adequate 10 describe.
There is an Eternal force that makes for
righteousness, and to this We pray.
Prayer that Is not Christian may aim
at personal gaia, at revenge. at escape from
impending danger. but Christian prayer
is first for the doing of Gods viii and the
coming OF His kingdom. for in the happi-
ness OF all, in which The individual has the
Divine promise, he viii find his own
truest and highest happiness
Our Father has the Kingdom, and all
He has is ours He only waits our fitness
to make US rulers with Him His is the
Kingdom in the realm Of matter. The
laws OF nature are His Nature itself is
only a visible phase OF His infinite ex-
istence Matter is not intelligent. but
His Intelligence shines through it. Mat
ter is not bene ercient. but His power
uses it for beneficeHce Throughout the
whole realm OF The material, the Kingdom
is Gods. The laws that hold US in their
grasp are His In the thought OF HIS
riShtfuI sovereignty, as that Of shSuluts
goodness. lies the sanction OF all duty and
the hope OF all prayer.
Because He is ruling with an eye
we may pour out our hearts desire be
fore Him and put forth every energy OF our
own being 10 do His viii on earth as II is
done in Heaven Because Gods is the
Kingdom in the world OF spirit no less than
in the world OF matter, we may ask 10
| be forgiven as we forgive; TO be so kept in
every tempta tiOn as TO find the dis
cipline and the strength IL is fitted to
yield
And the glory is Gods. Not the glory
| OF holding rebels forever IN a pOwerless
| and futile rebellion. That would be no
glory to a moral government. 1t might
be to an earthly government, swayed by
UNIV orthy and selfish ideals. Victory for
| a moral government means victory for its
| subjects. Its victory cannot be complete
! if any portion OF It's subjects be cut Off OF
excluded. The end OF moral government
! is righteousness and the peace and bless
! edne SIS that rig ghteousness brings. To
/ fail of this is to fail of everything for
| which il exists. To fan of this in a single
| individual case is to fail ultimately for all.
| The race is solid. II has hardly begun
| to realize the fact, but the fact remains.
| The people who We're so moved by the
! Johnstown disaster are not going to sit
down quietly in sight OF hell. For their
| own comfort. their own peace of mind such
| misery must be relieved To say that
! it viii be beyond all human power is to
say that all humanity viii be involved in
| its woe.
THE MODERN IDEAL CHRISTIAN.
1T used to be said that the misery of the
wicked would only tend to heighten the
| happiness of the saints. But We don't
! have that style of saints now They be
| lOnged to the days when it was thought
| eminently Christian to stretch heretiCs
! on the rack or burn them at the stake.
! The ideal Christian of the present day is a
different sort OF a person. He is more
like his Master. and therefore more like
| his father. He is kind to the unthankfuI
and the evil He is the sort of person who
/ responds most readily to the needs OF his
| fellows.
''Of all persons the ideal Christian OF
the present day would make the poorest
sort of spectator of eternal burninss