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Lord’s Day Schedule‡

  • Sabbath School—9:45 a.m.
  • Morning Worship—10:45 a.m.
  • Afternoon Worship—2:00 p.m.
  • ‡ Regular schedule temporarily suspended.
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Notes from Sabbath School: WLC #190

Notes from Sabbath School on the Larger Catechism, WLC #190 — What do we pray for in the first petition?
WLC #190 Q. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A: In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name,1) acknowledging the utter inability and indisposition that is in ourselves and all men to honor God aright,2 we pray, that God would by his grace enable and incline us and others to know, to acknowledge, and highly to esteem him,3 his titles,4 attributes,5 ordinances, Word,6 works, and whatsoever he is pleased to make himself known by;7 and to glorify him in thought, word,8 and deed:9 that he would prevent and remove atheism,10 ignorance,11 idolatry12 profaness,13 and whatsoever is dishonorable to him;14 and, by his overruling providence, direct and dispose of all things to his own glory.15

  1. Hallowed be thy name

    • To hallow is to regard and treat as holy.
    • By God’s name we mean all that by which God makes Himself known. Cf. WLC #112.

    WLC Q. 112. What is required in the third commandment?
    A. The third commandment requires, that the name of God, his titles, attributes, ordinances the Word, sacraments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, his works, and whatsoever else there is whereby he makes himself known be holily and reverently used in thought, meditation, word, and writing; by an holy profession, and answerable conversation, to the glory of God, and the good of ourselves, and others.

  2. The duty to hallow God’s name.

    • All God’s rational creatures have the duty to hallow God’s name because he is our Creator.
    • We who are the redeemed have an added obligation because we have been bought with a price for this very purpose.
    • Only the holy angels and the saints made perfect in glory are able to hallow God’s name perfectly.
    • Amongst mankind on earth, only those who are born again are able to hallow God’s name, albeit imperfectly in this life.
  3. Praying that God would enable and incline.
    • We pray that God would work in us by the Holy Spirit both to will and to do (Phil. 2:13) that which honours Him.
    • God does this first in regeneration and throughout our whole life in sanctificaiton.
  4. Failure to hallow God’s name (cf. WLC #113).
    • All violations of the first four commandments.
    • Minced oaths.
    • Profane use of God’s attributes (“Goodness,” “Mercy,” “Gracious,” etc.).
    • Neglect or misuse of God’s ordinances.
      • E.g., neglect or misuse of private, family, or corporate worship.
      • Wondering thoughts during prayer, or other parts of worship.
    • Neglect or misuse of God’s Word.
      • Not reading, studying, believing, and obeying it.
      • Using it for profane or irreverent purposes (e.g., as a mockery in jokes, etc.)
    • Misuse of God’s works in creation.
      • Treating creation as though it were merely something for our consumption.
        • God’s creation is to be enjoyed with thanksgiving as a gift from God and not as a mere consumable.
      • Treating creation as though it operated by an independent and impersonal set of forces and apart from God’s sovereign oversight and direction.
      • Treating creation as though it were empty of meaning.
        • The Scriptures reveal that God’s creation is to be understood not only scientifically as a part of our dominion mandate, but also artistically, that is, as a work of the Divine Artisan and thus full of meaning.
  5. We pray for the removal of all that hinders or is contrary to the hallowing of God’s name.
    • Atheism: denying the existence of the one true God, or failing to believe in and worship Him.
    • Ignorance: lack of knowledge of the true God and His will, making it impossible to hallow Him.
    • Idolatry: in this context, idolatry is the giving to any other the honour due to God alone.
    • Profaneness: treating that which is holy as though it were common.

  6. The Christian’s duty in the world.

    • Negatively
      • We must be on guard against complacency and indifference to the worlds mistreatment of God’s name.
      • We must be on guard against following the world’s lead in dishonouring God’s name or treating the things of God as irrelevant.
    • Positively

    Through the whole range of life, in all its realms and in every fact, every experience, and every detail of life, the Christian must always take God into account. There is no place in a Christian’s life where God does not matter, there is no place where God’s name need not be hallowed. Christians are to glorify God—hallow his name—in their every thought, word, and deed… (Vos, p. 549)

  7. God hallows His own name by His divine providence, directing “all things so that they work out for His own glory.” (Vos, p. 549)

  1. Matt. 6:9. Cf. Luke 11:2. … Hallowed be thy name…. ↩

  2. 2 Cor. 3:5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. Ps. 51:15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. ↩

  3. Ps. 67:2-3. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Ps. 99:1-3. The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. ↩

  4. Ps. 83:18. … that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. ↩

  5. Ps. 86:10-13, 15. for thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell…. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. ↩

  6. 2 Thess. 3:1. Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you. Ps. 147:19-20. He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. Ps. 138:1-3. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. 2 Cor. 2:14-15. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. ↩

  7. Ps. 145. I will extol the, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever…. Ps. 8. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens…. ↩

  8. Ps. 103:1. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Ps. 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. ↩

  9. Phil. 1:9, 11. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment…. being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Ps. 100:3-4. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ↩

  10. Ps. 67:1-4. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. ↩

  11. Eph. 1:17-18. … that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. ↩

  12. Ps. 97:7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. ↩

  13. Ps 74:18, 22-23. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name…. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. ↩

  14. 2 Kings 19:15-16. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. ↩

  15. 2 Chron. 20:6. And [Jehoshaphat] said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? See verses 10-12. Rom. 11:33-36. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Rev. 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. See Pss. 83; 140:4, 8. ↩

Posted: 10|26|08 at 12:54 am. Filed under: Sabbath School.
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