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النشر الإلكتروني

LECTURE XV.

ST. MATTHEW vi. 13.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

THESE are the last words in the Lord's Prayer. They are few, but they are grand indeed: they make us think as we ought of that Almighty God, the Maker of the world, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, who doeth whatsoever it pleaseth him in the hosts of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth: whom none can oppose, to whom be glory, honour and dominion, now, henceforth, and for ever. All good men, my friends, all who love and fear God have always taken pleasure in praising him, in giving glory to him, in honouring him with their lips and their

hearts. The psalms which you hear read every Sunday evening, were sung to the harp by a good and pious king, and other godly men: and these psalms are full of praises to God. There are also many hymns, in which praise is given to Almighty God. And how can you look about you, how can you view the sun shining in brightness, the glorious sun, which by God's command, knows when to rise and to go down, and not praise your God, who keeps him in his daily course? How can you look up to the moon walking in brightness, and pouring on you a soft and gentle light, and not praise your God, who placed it in the Heavens for the comfort and the light of man? How can you look at the thousands of stars, which shine by night, and which have worlds around them, like this earth, and various creatures living in them, and not praise your God, who made all these things, whose power the Heavens declare, and whose handy work the firmament showeth? How can you view the great,

the vast, the mighty sea, with all its depth and size, and see, when all its waves are roaring, that there are certain bounds, which it cannot pass, and not praise your God, who has made it, and who says to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be staid? Do you not feel the power of God, when the thunder is roaring over your heads, and the wind blowing with all its force around you? You must my friends, think often of these things, for these things will raise your thoughts to Almighty God. They will teach you to fear him, and to do nothing that can displease him. They will teach you to listen to those, who tell you how to walk and please God: they will teach you to listen to the words of that Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who came from Heaven to earth to reconcile sinful man to his offended Father and God.

I suppose you remember that the Lord's

prayer began with calling God our Father and in Heaven.

You find that it ends

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with saying, that the kingdom and the power and the glory are God's. It began with teaching us to look up to Heaven for a Heavenly Father, who knows the wants of his creatures, and is merciful to forgive their sins, and it ends with our saying, that to God belongs all that is need. ful for enabling him to defend, to preserve, and to pardon us. His is the kingdom. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. His dominion reacheth through worlds, and lasteth for ever and ever. Kings on earth die and leave their kingdom to others: he has life in himself, and is the author of life to all who have it. There has never been a time, when God was not. He was neither born nor made. He has been from everlasting, and shall be everlasting. His is the power. No power is like his none to be compared to it. He gives the word, and suns and worlds are made. He commands, and every thing

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obeys him. None can oppose or resist him. It is he who hath made the round world so fast that it cannot be moved: it is he who has made us, and not we ourselves and when he gives the word, go forth, we return to the dust out of which he made us, and our spirits go to him, by whom they were created-even to that God which doeth all these things. His is the glory. Every thing will turn out to his glory. Praise will be given to him by angels and archangels, by the thousands, and tens of thousands, and by the thousands of thousands who surround his throne. They will fall on their faces, and worship him saying, Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever. When we say, that his is the glory, we should remember to seek that glory in all things, to pray to Him, to praise Him, and to serve, and so to live, that God may be honoured and glorified by us. The Bible tells us, whether we eat

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