Year: 1873

Abrtract Of Sermon, by r. N. Web


Stcr.


In our Lords prayer, we have haC
the address, "Our Father which ar
in heaven )" words Of Worship -"hal
lowed be thy name )" pledge Of 10y
atty and service-''thy kingdom come
thy will be done in earth as it is in hea
ven J" petition, which is our warrant
for asking for any temporal good


"gi7e us this day our daily bread'' and
now come we to consider tie petition
which involves many questions Of NOR
al character and moral government
"And torgive us our debts as zoe for
give our debtors"


In teaching US thus to pray, our
Lord assumes and teaches a number of
things.


| l. Our responsibility, that is, our
intelligent freedom. In other words,
that we hnoU, and are free to do or not to
do, what is right. If this were not so
Of course we could not sin-could in
cur no debts.


2. That we have not fulfilled our
bligations-that we are al! in debt to
our Father in heaven, to the govern
ment of God. It ought to do US good
to foot up Our liabilities = for example :;
We are in debt to God for our bodies,
with their marvellous machinery and
wonderful adaptations and astonishing
powers. We owe it to him, to present
our bodies living sacrifice holy and
acceptable to him !; to keep our feet in
the paths Of his testimonies to keep
our hands at honorable work, and out
Of all mischief; to keep our tongue
from evil and our lips that they speak
no guile to keep our brains clear,
and to exercise them about worthy
matters; make our bodies, with all
their powers an honor and a satisfac-
ton to him. Are we not fearfully in
debt?


We are in debt too for our minds,
which give us possibilities of such
greatness and blessedness. We owe it
to him to make the very most Of all
our mental powers, to the mutual ad-
vancement and well-being of each other
and so to his glory. What a debt
to him for the bible, the revelation Of
his wish, his will, his character and
government. Whatever good we have
failed to achieve or to experience by
reason Of neglect Of that book, is to
be set down against us, to many, a
very great and very dishonorable debt,


But what shall we say of his cum
speakable gift, which lays under obli-
Cation every power of our intellect our
sensibility and our will we owe him,
on this account our hearts love cur
most loyal and devoted service, our
readiest obedience. We are under an
infinite obligation to "hear him. whose
death is the price Of our ife-to hon
or his church to observe in memory
of him his own instituted feast-to
confess him before men, as our own
most beloved lord work and pray
and give, for the establishing Of his
kingdom. But what have we done !:
Should God present the bill and insist
on payment we must stand before him
utterly appalled, and hopeless, miser-
able sinners indeed; realizing


3. That ne cannot poy ear debts,
AS the man whose increase Is ust
equal to his out-go, even SO are we,
even if we begin at once to
meet all accruing obligations. The
best we can accomplish Ia any day of
our future existence will only fulfill
that days obligations. 1t will give US
nothing whatever to apply on past
debts. We cannot pay them. Nor is
there any being in the universe that
can pay them. In the commercial
world, we may pay yesterdays debt by
the extra gain Of to-day, or one who
has more than will meet his own inan-
cial obligations may pay for US, but IN
the moral world no such arrangement
is possible Not even the son of God,
not God himself even can do more than
fulfill his own obligations. If God
should fail to meet moral obligation
at any time, he could never after pay
the debt. He would be as helpless to