Our Father, who art in Heaven.
This is the preface of the Lord's Prayer , which aims at captivating God's good-will , and on disposing the suppliant to love and fear, the most suitable affections for prayer.
For if he is a Father, is he not worthy of love? But what kind of love? for our love to him should be measured by the extent of his goodness.
But what is the extent of oar Eternal Father’s goodness? God is in himself supremely happy, he is the creator of heaven and earth, our Lord and King, and yet he desires to be, and to be esteemed, our Father; and he delights for us in turn, vile worms of the earth and miserable sinners as we are, unworthy to be called his servants, to be, and to be called, his sons. Oh, what love hath the Father bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and be, the sons of God! Oh, immeasurable goodness of the Father! But where is the equal love of the sons?
Consider, too, what fear is due to this Father, who is seated on the throne of his majesty in heaven, yet is everywhere present, beholding severally each secret thing, and governs at once all things in heaven and earth? Great in very truth is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and of his power and greatness there is no end. The cherubim and seraphim stand trembling before him.
See, then, with what love and confidence, and yet with what humility and reverence, you ought to compose your mind when you come to pray.
Next come seven petitions, in which we partly pray for blessings, and partly entreat to be delivered from evils. For, as by prayer we make known our desires, so in the Lord's Prayer we ask for those things which we may lawfully desire. Now that which is the first object of desire is the chief good, the last end. We ask next for the means which are proper for obtaining this end. And lastly , for the removal of those obstacles which stand in the way of our obtaining it.
Lastly , the chief good, and our final end, is God, whose glory we desire for its own sake, and from the sole motive of pure love, in saying,
Hallowed be thy name.
That is to say, May thy name, which is most holy and glorious in itself, be also thus esteemed by all. May it be acknowledged by true faith, praised by steadfast hope, and worshipped by pure love. Not that our aid is needed for thy name to be holy; but because it is holy and glorious, and therefore the source and form of all holiness, let the
