PULPIT MESSAGES

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 219, 12 June 1933, Page 10

PULPIT MESSAGES

Wellington Churches OUR LORD’S PRAYER Its Philosophy Explained Preaching recently in Wesley Church, Wellington, on “The Philosophy of Our Lord’s Prayer, the Pearl of Prayers,” the Rev. T. R. Richards selected for his text the words: “After this manner therefore pray ye.” St. Matthew, Ch. vi., Verse 9. Or, as we may say in present-day language: “Let this be how you pray.” Prayer, said Mr. Richards, is the nerve centre of the Christian church. This model prayer is the first on the lips of the child and the last on the lips of the departing saint. “The disciples asked for a formula of prayer. They said: ‘Lord teach us to pray’,” said Mr. Richards. “In response to the request Christ taught them the philosophy of all true prayer in this, ‘the model prayer.’ It is complete, containing the substance of all true prayer. The prayer may be repeated in two or three minutes and has been used in worship by the Christian church from the first century. Libraries have been written explaining its profound sentences and there is danger that our familiarity with the letter of the prayer may deaden our spiritual perception. It yields its riches in response to careful study and is the treasure house of the Christian church. . A New Pattern. “It has been objected that it is not an original prayer,” continued Mr. Richards. “It is true that the sentences in the prayer were scattered over the Rabbinical writings of the Jews.' The disciples w.ere familiar with them. Christ gathered up these threads of thought and wove them into this new pattern. Christ used in his teaching the best thought of His day. He built upon the foundation of what he found obtaining in the teaching of the Jews. Our present-day educational system is built upon the foundation laid by Sir George Grey. St. John in his Gospel incorporated the Alexandrian philosophy of the first century. Here Christ has given the alphabet of all true prayer. All prayer is the evolution of this teaching, even as the English language is the development of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. “Then there is the literary structure of this prayer. There are seven petitions. They are brief, like all prayers in the New Testament are crisp and bearing on life. In the first table of three petitions they are on a descending scale from God down to the appeal for daily bread. The fact of God is written dike an arch over the entrance to the presence of God. The four petitions in the second table are on an ascending scale, from the mute appeal of the race for bread to the soul and man’s need of forgiveness of sin. It is God first. Ills authority, kingship, His rule and reign in human life, then God’s bounty in response to man's deep need. Prayer’s Social Teaching. “Again, there is the social character of the prayer, its social teaching," continued Mr. Richards. “The Fatherhood of God is followed by the implication of the brotherhood of man. Look at the prayer: There are nine pronouns, all plural. There are four possessive, four objective, and one nominative. This is very fine teaching in its bearing on the social and economic problems of life to-day. We are the trustees of the wealth of God. The Church holds hertreasures in trust for human need. The advocate of gambling and gain by chance prays, ‘Give me this day jny brother’s bread.’ “All men have an equal claim on the patrimony of God. As often as this prayer is used by the Church its need is linked up with all hungry and impoverished souls in the great battle of life. With this prayer all national And race distinctions disappear. All colour lines fade away. The divine benevolence enmeshes all men, and the eternal enfolds all in the mantle of His love and forgiveness. , “Science deals with quantity, spiritual faith with quality,” said Mr. Richards. “Science has made a neighbourhood of the world. Religion is seeking to unify all races and form a brotherhood of the world.” NEEDS OF THE WORLD God’s Kingdom of Justice Basing his discourse upon Isaiah Ixi and Luke iv. Lieut.-Colonel Toomer delivered an address in the Wellington Salvation Army Citadel recently. The Scripture lesson from the prophet Isaiah, he said, was chosen by our Master at the commencement of His ministry as His declaration to the world of the policy for His kingdom. “It will be noticed,” he continued, ‘‘that the foundation principles are not narrow but rather, on the other hand, broad enough to take in every detail of this world’s need, the creation of which will bring into being a perfect social system that will conduce to the happiness of every creature, no matter what nationality or colour. “Indeed, this is God’s purpose, and it is also His desire that His people shall aid Him in establishing His kingdom on earth. For this purpose all who have accepted Christ as king become comrades in arms, and form a part of an army clothed in His uniform, and carrying His sword, thereby being protected and enabled to fight for the maintenance of the policy of God’s kingdom, which is Truth. Righteousness, and Peace, “The setting up of the kingdom will fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah.” continued the speaker, “and this was proclaimed by our Lord in the Synagogue at Nazareth, who then declared Himself as the anointed of God for this purpose. “Let us look at it. First of all the note of hope is sounded for those most in need, to the poor the Gospel is preached, glad tidings of great joy; and then to the broken-hearted is the promise of healing, and the deliverance of the captive; those who are bound by the claims of sin will obtain salvation, the blind receive sight, the mourner is comforted, and the acceptable year of the grace of God is proclaimed to all mankind. “Then, as though to further emphasise the glories of the kingdom, the prophet adds, there shall be beauty for ashes, joy for sorrow, and praise for the spirit of “We must, however, poiut out another heaviness.

side of the picture, namely, there can be no government without law. and Isaiah has left no mistake about this, for before this earth can enter the blessed state of peace there must be ‘The day of vengeance of our God.’ Offenders against the laws of the kingdom must be found and punished, all that makes it difficult for children to grow up in purity of body, mind, and spirit must be destroyed, and the selfishneses of man, which makes it impossible for the labourer to earn a living wage, must give place to the law that says, ‘As ye would that others should do to you, do ye also unto them.’ “The root principle of sin is selfishness,” concluded the speaker. “It is not going to be an easy foe to subdue, but the day of victory is coming, and now God calls to every man and woman whose heart desires the happiness of all mankind to consecrate their lives to His service.