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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew, chapter six. Matthew, chapter six, remember 
what our Lord Jesus is addressing in verses one to 18, he's dealing 
with religious observances, verses one to four, he takes up almsgiving, 
verses five to 15, he deals with prayer. And in verses 16 to 18, 
he picks up the theme of fasting. We find ourselves in the middle 
section this morning looking specifically at prayer. So I'll 
just read verses five to 15. And when you pray, you shall 
not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in 
the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may 
be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into 
your room. And when you have shut your door, 
pray to your father who is in the secret place. And your father 
who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, 
do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think 
that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not 
be like them, for your father knows the things you have need 
of before you ask him. In this manner, therefore, pray, 
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, 
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom 
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men 
their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will 
your father forgive your trespasses. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for the word of God and we praise you for our 
Lord Jesus and for this instruction that he's given in this matter 
of prayer. We ask now that you would forgive us for all of our 
sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness and cause us, God, to take heed 
to the Holy Scripture. We pray for the ministry of your 
spirit. We pray that he would be at work in our hearts and 
in our minds, that he would lead us and guide us into all truth, 
and that we would be humbled under your mighty hand, that 
we would adore you, God most high, that we would be God-centered 
in our lives, that we would live to bring glory unto your great 
name. And it's through Christ our Lord that we pray. Amen. I have a friend in California, 
and it's kind of a funny thing that he does, a bit of a joke. 
If we're talking in the midst of a few people and I'll ask 
him his opinion, he'll say something to the effect, I wasn't really 
paying attention because it wasn't about me. And again, it just 
strikes me as a bit funny, but I think it strikes me as funny 
because it's so true. We are a very me centered sort 
of people. We are very much about, as Pastor 
Cam reminded us in the scripture reading, about me, myself, and 
I. We might describe it as the unholy 
trinity. We think that we're the center 
of the universe. We think that everything emanates 
from our lives. We think that everything is connected 
to us and is about us. Well, this morning, the Lord's 
Prayer instructs us that we're not the most important things 
in this world, that we're down on the food chain, that who comes 
first and foremost is God Most High. And the sooner that you 
and I begin to get our minds wrapped around this truth, the 
better off we're going to be. In fact, you've heard the lie 
before. The world says it. Your own heart probably confirms 
it, that you're unique, that you're special, that you're a 
delicate snowflake. You know that you're a sinner 
before a thrice holy God, and you deserve his wrath and his 
curse, both in this life and that which is to come. You say, 
that's brutal. That's harsh. Well, in order 
to build high, we must first begin low. It's good for us to 
recognize ourselves before this thrice holy God. I wanted to 
take up the first three petitions this morning in the Lord's Prayer, 
the God-centered petitions. But I think 1 Corinthians 10, 
31 and Westminster Shorter Catechism number one dictates we spend 
some time in this first petition. Remember, 1 Corinthians 10, 31 
says, So then, whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, 
do all to the glory of God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 
begins with this statement. What is the chief end of man? 
Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. It's interesting that as our 
Lord teaches on prayer, as we are instructed at Sinai, God 
comes first. The first table of the law is 
about the Lord. The first petition, when we are 
bid to pray, is about the Lord. So it will do us good to spend 
some time unpacking this statement. Hallowed be your name. I want to do this with three 
observations. First, the meaning of his name. Secondly, the explanation of 
the petition. And thirdly, the particulars 
involved. But just by way of, again, more 
introduction, J.C. Ryle said, the glory of God is 
the first thing that God's children should desire. C.H. Spurgeon highlights that truth 
as well, and he says, does not the daily bread often come in 
before the kingdom? We often run into the presence 
of God saying, Lord, give me, Lord, bless me, Lord, help me, 
Lord, deliver me, Lord, protect me, Lord, feed me, Lord, give 
me better jobs, Lord, give me nicer people in my life, Lord, 
make this a more pleasant sojourn in this lower world. Doesn't 
those things often time or do not those things oftentimes crowd 
out? Hallowed be your name. What should be first in the mind 
of the child of God? It should be God. It should be 
the Lord. It should be the sovereign of 
the universe. It should be the one we just 
sang of in Psalm 113. He is far removed, and yet he 
humbles himself to look upon this earth. He humbles himself 
to come in the form and likeness of a man who lives in obedience 
to his father's law, who gives himself up on our behalf, who 
rises again and now sits enthroned at the right hand of the father. 
We ought to be God-centered, not man-centered, not me-centered. It ought to be the case that 
we don't pay attention unless it's about us, that we don't 
pay attention unless we're the center of attention. You might 
say, well, that's a funny joke, but for me it's different. I'm 
so God-oriented and I'm so others-oriented that you would just be amazed 
at my wonder and my glory. Well, then, please pray for the 
rest of us that will receive what it means this morning to 
be God-centered. First, the meaning of his name. 
He says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. What's 
he mean by name? A name can carry a lot of significance. If I say Allah to a group of 
Muslims, that word Allah is loaded with theological freight. They 
understand something when I mentioned the name Allah. If I'm with a 
bunch of Jews and I say Adonai, that word is loaded with theological 
freight. They understand something about 
that name. And it's the same thing with 
the Christian. It's the same thing with the 
believer on the Lord Jesus Christ. The name God means something. It means at least three things. It highlights his being. It highlights 
his attributes and it highlights his word. What do I mean by his 
being? When we pray, how will it be 
your name? We don't mean some generic concept 
of deity. We're not at the throne of grace 
asking that God, would you just please put a God consciousness 
in the hearts of men, women and boys and girls? God, please stir 
up men to realize there's something bigger and greater out there. 
Now, we are praying. How will it be the name of the 
triune God, the father who sought the son who bought and the spirit 
and the spirit who got salvation in the hearts of men? We pray 
the name of the Lord God Almighty, the triune God, father, son and 
Holy Spirit. We pray that name would be hallowed. What about generic concepts of 
deity as Christians? We are about the true and the 
living God most high. We pray his name be hallowed 
as well. We pray that his attributes would 
be extolled. Thomas Watson said, with reference 
to the name, anything by which he may be known. Think about 
it. If somebody were to utter your 
name in a crowded room, what would people associate with you? 
Hopefully good things. Hopefully nice things. You might 
be a bit afraid or a bit embarrassed to have your name mentioned among 
an audience to see how they would respond. Oh, he's a nice guy 
or he's a bad guy or he's a good guy or he's a terrible guy. He's 
a thief, he's crooked, he's a liar, he's a cheat, he's a hypocrite. 
What is it that men associate with a particular name? Well, 
the same is true with reference to God. We associate certain 
things. Theologians call those attributes 
or we might call them perfections. We pray that God's name, God's 
attributes, his perfections would be known. Watson again, anything 
by which he may be known as a man is known by his name. So by his 
attributes of wisdom, power, holiness and goodness, God is 
known by his name. When we pray, Hallowed be your 
name. Yes, his being, the triune God, 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But as well, those 
attributes, those several perfections that the scripture sets forth 
that define and characterize and demonstrate for us who God 
is. We just take for several examples 
the scripture. What does it tell us in Psalm 
19.1? The heavens declare what? The glory of God and the firmament 
shows forth his handiwork. We learn something about God 
when we look into the sky. We don't conclude this all just 
evolved here. It just got here. But rather, 
we conclude that God is indeed glorious. We pray that his name 
would be exalted. You see what happens when we 
strip away the doctrine of creation? We strip away a means by which 
God is glorified among his creatures. We have removed him from the 
very equation of the situation that should lead us to praise 
and worship and adoration. Don't do that. He made all things 
by the word of his power in the space of six days and all very 
good. They exist to display his glory. We see something of God's sovereignty 
in his electing purposes, according to Paul in Romans chapter nine, 
you may turn there. Just to see this whole idea of 
his attributes being displayed, the fact that God is sovereign 
in election, Romans chapter nine at verse ten. And not only this, 
but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father 
Isaac, for the children not yet being born nor having done any 
good or evil that notice the purpose of God, according to 
election might stand. You see, Paul doesn't say, I 
don't want you to be hurt here. I don't want to offend you here. 
I don't want to bring the sovereignty of God to bear upon you because 
you'll be frustrated and you'll be upset and you'll demand your 
rights as a creature of God. Paul says, you know what matters 
more than your rights? What matters more than your alleged 
free will? What matters more than your sense 
of well-being and happiness is God's purpose of election. So 
that prior to the birth of these babies, God had made his determination. You see Brethren, how will it 
be thy name teaches us, God comes first. This is the best thing 
I could ever tell you. This is the happiest truth you 
will ever hear. Because quite frankly, the problem 
with the creature is demanding upon our own rights. Fighting for our own position. making everything work for our 
glory and for our exaltation. Just stop it. Wave the white 
flag, surrender before God, submit to his authority, and see that 
everything is about him. A whole lot better way to live. 
Grace teaches us that. God's power is demonstrated through 
his sovereign providence. Drop down to Romans 9. What shall 
we say that verse fourteen, is there unrighteousness with God? 
Certainly not. For he says to Moses, I will 
have mercy on whomever I will have mercy and I will have compassion 
on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him who 
wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. See, 
God's mercy is store or showcased in the administration of grace. God's mercy is that blessed benefit 
and attribute by which sinners come into saving contact with 
them. But then notice the illusion of the illustration, rather, 
of the example. Verse 17, for the scripture says 
to the Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, 
that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared 
in all the earth. Ever read through the ten plagues 
in the book of Exodus? Do you know that the primary 
Lesson there isn't frogs. It isn't lice. It isn't boils. It isn't dead cows. It isn't 
a bloody Nile. It isn't even the death of the 
firstborn. You know what the fundamental lesson in the 10 
plagues are? God. For this purpose, Pharaoh, 
I raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in the world. How about David when he goes 
up to battle against Goliath? How do we defeat our giants? 
How do we defeat our enemies? How do we face the troubling 
things in our lives that really wage war against our well-being 
and happiness? That's how we approach it. See, 
that's the moralistic bent that drives us in our understanding 
of Scripture. What's in the David narrative 
for me? how I can be psychologically 
prepared to go out into battle and fight my giants. That's what 
we take away from the David narrative. Is that what we're supposed to 
take away from the David narrative? Is that what we're supposed to 
glean from that event? Or are we supposed to learn there 
is a God in Israel, there is a God in the earth, and He must 
be feared, He must be revered, and He must be approached in 
the manner by which He dictates. We ought to be God-centered in 
our interpretation of Scripture. These passages display His multifaceted 
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. Ephesians 
2, 8-10, by grace you have been saved through faith. It's by 
grace. What's God doing in the saving 
of sinners? He is showing something of his 
character. He is demonstrating his attributes. 
He is revealing to us who he is. And we're supposed to stop 
and marvel and wonder and worship and praise and honor and adore. That's the point. See, when you 
go to pray, you say, how would be by me? Is it just sort of 
a formality that you do so that you can get to the good stuff? 
God, give me food. God, give me protection. God, 
give me forgiveness. And God, lead me upon my path. 
You see, I believe the saint of Christ spends a lot of time 
in these first petitions. The saint of Christ ought to 
teach himself or herself what really matters. When we look 
at the Decalogue, when we look at the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches 
us what matters. It's God. Ephesians 310 will 
have cause to refer to that later on, but it shows that one of 
the reasons why God does what he does is to manifest his wisdom 
in salvation through the church. You see, we often think this, 
I'm not going to go to church because I don't get anything 
out of it. What do we think in Ephesians 310 language? I'm going 
to go to church because in church God is manifesting his saving 
wisdom to the entire moral universe. bigger purpose than whether you 
get your batteries charged or not, isn't it? You see, there's 
so much more to life than you. Isn't that good? That make you 
happy? Does that excite you? There's so much more than us. There is a God. And in all of 
the display of his attributes, yes, it brings in glory, but 
it brings us blessing. It brings us saving contact. 
It brings us deliverance. It brings us freedom. It brings 
us out of darkness into marvelous light. God is glorified in the 
saving of sinners by his son, Jesus Christ, so that he will 
be extolled and marveled at and praised and admired throughout 
the ages to come. but will be the ones throughout 
the ages to come praising him. It's awesome. His being, his attributes, his 
word. I hope you pay attention at the 
scripture reading at the outset of worship. Again, we need to 
guard against this formal approach. Well, you know, we always read 
a psalm to begin with. And then we sing a hymn. And our collection of hymns isn't 
that expansive. How come we don't sing, you know, 
599 hymns that are in our hymn book? Because we only know a few tunes 
to be quite candid with you. And then after that, that hymn, 
then we're going to have a prayer and then we're going to have 
another hymn and we're going to have a scripture reading and then 
we're going to have a prayer and then we're going to have the 
preaching. We kind of fall into this sort of rote pattern and 
approach. Did you pay attention in the psalm reading? Psalm 138. 
I will worship toward your holy temple. and praise your name 
for your loving kindness and your truth for you have magnified 
your word above all your name. It's an amazing statement that 
the psalmist says under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He says, 
for your loving kindness and your truth, for you have magnified 
your word above all your name. Certainly, as we pray the petition, 
Hallowed be thy name. We ought to have a category for 
the extolling of and the exaltation of and the promotion of the holy 
word of God. Thomas Manton said this, there 
is more of God to be seen in His Word than in all the creatures 
of the world and in all His other works besides. Yes, the heavens 
declare the glory of God. Yes, the firmament shows forth 
His handiwork. Yes, when we look at the whales 
and when we look at creatures and when we look at things, it 
teaches us something of His power and of His glory. But it's that 
Word that teaches us of that manifold wisdom in the saving 
of sinners by His Son. It is the Word that tells us 
about Calvary. It is the Word that describes 
for us the atonement. It is the Word that interprets 
that event so that we're not left wondering why. It is the 
Word that demonstrates and reveals to us the very God of heaven 
and earth. That, I hope, is an attempt to 
get at the meaning of his name. Let's look, secondly, at the 
petition itself. What does he say? Hallowed be 
your name. Hallowed be your name. The word 
hallowed there has the same root idea of sanctify, of holy. The primary idea involved is 
to set apart. Is Jesus teaching us that God 
would become glorified, that God would become holy, that God 
would become sanctified, that God would become hallowed? The Scriptures tell us that God 
is holy, according to Leviticus 11.44. You shall be holy, for 
I, the Lord your God, am holy. The Scripture tells us that the 
Lord is glorious. The scripture tells us as well 
that God is set apart again, Psalm 113. Where do we see the 
Lord? He's far above. You see what 
the psalmist is saying in Psalm 113, God is up here and it humbles 
himself. He humbles himself to look upon 
the creation. Isaiah 57, verse 15, the Lord 
God Almighty inhabits eternity. So is Jesus saying that we are 
to pray that God would become these things? No, the scripture 
declares that God is these things. What we are to be praying is 
that he would be recognized for this. We do not add to his essential 
glory, but rather we exalt him. The petition is not about God 
becoming hallowed, but rather his being and attributes and 
word being recognized for what they are. You see, that's the 
point. We don't pray God into a holy 
state. We don't pray God into a hallowed 
state. We don't pray God into a sanctified 
state. God is there. We pray, Lord, 
help me recognize it. Lord, help my children to see 
it. Help our church to reflect it. Help society to understand it. This is the gist of the petition. Not that we would make him holy, 
but that we would realize his holiness. Leviticus 10. God kills Nadab and Abihu. So 
that sounds pretty harsh and pretty brutal. You can define 
it however you want, but they disobeyed God. Leviticus 1 to 
9, God says, this is how you're supposed to approach me. These 
are the sacrifices that are authorized. This is the manner in which you 
present yourselves before me. They obviously got the message 
because at the end of Leviticus 9, they offer up a sacrifice 
to the Lord and he sends fire down to consume it. And the people 
of Israel fall on their faces with a shout. In other words, 
they are exhilarated by the fact that God has responded favorably 
and kindly to their sacrifice. Next scene. I mean, you would 
think with a display like that, a demonstration of God's acceptance 
of acceptable worship, it would paralyze us with the thought 
of approaching him in a strange manner. You would think so. See, our hearts are a lot harder 
than we can even imagine. What do Nadab and Abihu do in 
Leviticus chapter 10? They offer up strange fire to 
the Lord. They offer up profane fire to 
the Lord, that which he did not command them. I've often wondered 
about that text and why there's so much that goes on in the name 
of worship today. It obviously demonstrates the 
long suffering of God, the patience of God. Well, what happens? God then sends fire down, and 
not to consume the sacrifice, but to consume the sacrificers, 
specifically Nadab and Abihu. Now, when Israel went home that 
day, they were to take this lesson with them. They weren't supposed 
to say, God's harsh. Did you see the way he killed 
Nadab and Abihu? God's really particular. I mean, if you just 
deviate a little bit, then he's going to kill you. I mean, those 
were some legit lessons, some implications that certainly should 
be drawn. But God tells them God interprets 
this activity for them so that they understand what it is they're 
supposed to take home. God says, by those who come near 
me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I 
must be glorified. You see, there's no if you feel 
like treating me like I'm holy. If it so fits within your realm 
of happy existence, not if it delights you, then you can treat 
me as the holy God of Israel. No, I am this. By those who approach me, I must 
be regarded in this manner. Same idea with how it would be 
thy name. God caused us to fear and tremble 
before your face. God, cause us to have reverence 
and awe. Cause us not to be thinking about 
the Super Bowl when we are singing hymns of praise unto you. And God, keep us from ever cancelling 
a public meeting with you in order to watch the Super Bowl 
under some guise of being missional. Fear, trembling, reverence. All those ought to be common 
words in the Christians vocabulary. So I think it reflects something 
of us, we want, we want, we want. Bless, bless, bless, give, give, 
give. Those are languages or those 
are pieces of vocabulary. We don't have to instill in people. 
Like a kid, you don't have to treat him or teach him how to 
say mine. You don't have to teach him how to say no. You don't 
have to teach him how to resist authority. Those things are there. He's an atom. He knows how to 
say mine. He knows how to assert his will. 
He knows how to resist authority. You have to teach him share. 
You have to teach him others. You have to teach him kindness. 
See, I think this is what Jesus is doing. He's teaching us something 
that ought to mark us as prayers. It's not just give me, give me, 
give me, give me, but rather it's, Lord, you come first. Reference, awe, holiness, fear, 
trembling, all those pieces of information that ought to affect 
the soul of the Christian. This petition falls in line with 
what we see in the entirety of Scripture. Psalm 34, verse 3. Oh, magnify the Lord with me 
and let us exalt his name together. Psalm 96, verse 8. Give to the 
Lord the glory, do his name, bring an offering and come into 
his courts. John Calvin says the substance 
of this petition is that the glory of God may shine in the 
world and may be duly acknowledged by men. Again, we're not praying, 
God, we want you to be hallowed. We want you to be sanctified. 
We want you to be glorified. We want you to be holy. No, God 
is those things. We pray, Lord, help us to see 
it. Help these thick heads and these 
hard hearts to recognize it. Help us to quit speaking so much 
about ourselves and put you in the equation. Help us, God, in 
our prayer closets not to just fill the closet with what we 
want. God, cause us to reflect on who 
you are. Cause us to stop for a moment. 
Cause us to think. Cause us to determine what is 
most important in this world. Take the biggest problem you're 
suffering right now. I don't want to minimize it. 
I really do not want to minimize it. But ask the question, in 
10 years, do you think it's still going to be that terrible? more than likely in 10 years 
you won't even remember. What's most important? When we've 
been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no 
less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. That's 
what's important. This Lord's Prayer teaches us 
that. You need to get your marbles back. You need to get some balance 
in your life. You need some ballast at the 
bottom of the ship to steady it out. You need to get things 
into proper perspective. And proper perspective is not 
interpreting everything about you by you. It's about adopting 
a biblical understanding of who God is and living in light of 
that. That's the essence, that's the 
paraphrase. I don't have the wisdom of a Calvin to put it 
like that, but this is what Jesus is getting at. Stop and consider 
that you're not the most important thing in this world. So what 
are some particulars? How do we pray this? Do we just 
recite it? Hallowed be your name. Again, 
there's nothing wrong with recitation, but remember that Jesus is providing 
a model In this manner, pray, not just repeat these words, 
pray, but in this manner. So stop for a moment and ponder 
the implications of this first petition and see how it relates 
first to you as an individual. You say, well, that seems a bit 
odd. You just said it's not all about 
us. Well, we need to understand how this petition does affect 
us and reflect in our lives. Five suggestions. First, In order 
for us to pray, Hallowed be thy name, we must know his name. We must understand his being. 
We mustn't fall prey to the modalists of our day or to the deviations 
of our day from the doctrine of God as it's revealed in the 
Scripture. We can understand one God, three 
persons. I'm not saying you have to be 
able to explain that to the satisfaction of God-hating rebels, but you 
need to come to the Scripture and realize there is one true 
and living God. And you need to realize that 
there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit, that these three are one God, the same in 
substance, equal in power and glory. You don't understand who 
He is. You don't understand theology. 
How can you hallow God's name if you don't know who God is? 
If you've got some generic concept of deity out there, something 
somewhere is higher and better than us. The scripture informs our understanding 
of who God is. Secondly, that we profess His 
name. You see, we can know some things. We can assent to some things. We need to profess the saving 
name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. You know the pathway to hallowing 
God? You can't hallow God if you're 
not a believer. You can't praise and honor God 
if you're not saved. You can't praise and esteem the 
Lord Most High unless you've come and tasted and seen that 
He is good, that you've bowed at the foot of the cross, that 
you've believed the gospel concerning His Son. This is the means by 
which a believer hallows His name. We know God. We profess 
God. We're baptized in the name of 
the triune God. That says something. Thirdly, 
we depend upon his name. I love Proverbs 18, 10. It says 
the name of the Lord is what? It's a strong tower. Isn't that a great image? The 
name of the Lord, our God, is a strong tower. What do the righteous 
do? They run to it. They find refuge 
in it and they're safe. We depend upon God. You see, 
we're not Genuine, if we're praying in our closet, how would be your 
name? And then we're fretting like the world. It's not legit. There should be something different 
about us. We're not legit when we lift our tongue, bless the 
holy name of God and then curse men with that talk. We're not 
legit. Fourthly, that we esteem his name in our words and actions. Listen again to Watson. He says, 
We hallow and sanctify God's name when we have a high appreciation 
and esteem of him. Isn't that beautiful? How does 
your wife or husband know that you enjoy them, that you love 
them, that you honor them because you appreciate them and esteem 
them? If you treat them like garbage, 
they don't think for a moment that you esteem them. If you 
treat them like worse than anything out there, how in the world are 
they going to be convinced that you appreciate and esteem them? 
Right? Now, brethren, this isn't hard. 
It may be warm in here, but I want you to gird yourselves up and 
pay attention. These are some suggestions. How 
do we pray this? How do we say in the closet how 
it would be your name? We know his name. We profess 
his name. We depend upon his name and we esteem his name. 
Again, Watson, we hallow and sanctify God's name when we have 
a high appreciation and esteem of him and set him highest in 
our thoughts. It's a beautiful statement. We 
set him highest in our thoughts. It's a Latin phrase, Coram Deo. It means in the presence of God, 
you live that way. God in your thoughts. This is 
how the wicked are characterized in the Psalms. God is in none 
of their thoughts. They've thrown them out. So Paul 
says in Romans chapter one, they do not like to retain the knowledge 
of God in their minds. That's a characteristic of the 
ungodly, rather the godly, as Watson says here, sets him highest 
in our thoughts. Watson goes on to say, the Hebrew 
word to honor signifies to esteem precious. We conceive of God 
in our minds as the most super excellent and infinite good. 
We see him in a constellation of all beauties and delights. 
We adore him in his glorious attributes, which are the several 
beams by which his divine nature shines forth. We adore him in 
his works, which are bound up in three great volumes, creation, 
redemption, and providence. We hallow and sanctify his name 
when we lift him highest in our souls. We esteem him a supereminent 
and incomprehensible God." If that definition doesn't cause 
you to cry out for grace, you're not thinking, who does this? Let's be honest. You say, oh yeah, Watson, that's 
how I live my life. It was grace that taught my heart to fear. 
Every second of the day, we need grace. Every moment of the day, 
we need to live in light of hallowed be your name. We need the grace 
to live in light of that. This is not by nature. Why do 
you think Jesus taught us to pray this? I think if he just 
started with the man's sort of petitions, we'd just scratch 
our heads and say, of course we know to pray for food. Of 
course, Lord Jesus, we know to pray for forgiveness. Of course, 
Lord Jesus, we know to pray for deliverance and for protection. 
I mean, those are no brainers. Do we know these as well? Hallowed 
be your name. We know, we profess, we depend, 
we esteem, and we promote his name. 1 Peter 2.9. We have been 
called out of darkness into marvelous light so that we may proclaim 
the praises of him who did this. So you see, when you pray, how 
will it be your name? Think how Lord God, when I leave 
my closet, can I actually engage in this? Because praying shouldn't 
stop in the closet. Prayer should reflect and live 
its way out in our lives. As the Puritan Owen says, he 
who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays. He who prays 
as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays. You see, we're 
not doing anyone any favors to come into the church or go into 
our closet, pray, praise the Lord, hallowed be thy name, and 
then go live out the world like the rebel babe. We have to pray this petition 
for our families. You got a child that doesn't 
confess saving faith in Jesus Christ? You got a husband or 
a wife who doesn't confess saving faith in Jesus Christ? Lord, 
teach them to hallow your name. Lord, take those lips of blasphemy 
and turn them unto praise. You see, this is hand in hand 
with the description of the wicked in Romans chapter one. What's 
the problem of man? So we look at the catalog of 
vices in Romans chapter one and we say, oh, it's sexual sin or 
it's lying or it's thieving or it's murder. It's all these drug 
use or all of these crimes. Yeah, those are all symptoms 
of the bigger problem. What does Paul highlight is the 
issue in Romans chapter one, who did not honor God They did 
not glorify him as God, nor were their hearts thankful, but they 
became futile in their understanding. As a result of that, that pre-commitment 
to the idol, God then gives them over to a reprobate mind. See, 
we look at the symptoms and we scratch our head and say, how 
do we fix this? We fix it by preaching the gospel. Men need 
to turn from their idols to the true and living God. If you've 
got people in your family that are blasphemers, it is grace 
alone that will teach them how to praise the Lord most high. 
God, cause them to hallow your name. Cause my wife, cause my 
son, cause my daughter, cause my Aunt Bessie, cause my whoever 
to learn to praise your name. This is what we should be praying. 
Not to the neglect of Aunt Bessie's foot or her toe or her coming 
surgery, but we ought to pray that Aunt Bessie would stop blaspheming 
the high and holy God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. That's 
all we need to pray. We need to pray this for our 
church. We need to pray this for our 
church. Ephesians 3. I mentioned this already. You 
can turn there. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 8. Paul is telling us 
his place in redemptive history. bit of a transition chapter, 
chapters one and two doctrine, God, how he saves and what he's 
doing in salvation. Chapters four and five and six 
are going to be practical in nature, how the new man is to 
live in Christ Jesus. Three is a bit of a transition. 
It's going to tell the Ephesians how he prays for them, but he 
also reveals his place in God's redemptive plan. And in so doing, 
he shows us something unique about the church of the living 
God. Notice in Ephesians 3, 8, To me, who am less than the least 
of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make 
all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the 
beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all 
things through Jesus Christ. To the intent that now the manifold 
wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities 
and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose 
which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have 
boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. Therefore, 
I ask that you do not lose heart of my tribulations for you, which 
is your glory. Notice verse ten to the intent 
that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known By 
the church. God demonstrate and showcase 
your wisdom, holiness, power, justice, goodness and truth at 
our church. This just goes against what we're 
taught. Church needs to plant trees. You can plant a tree all 
you want. Church needs to radically change their environment. You 
go ahead as a Christian, go out and radically change your environment. 
What's the primary mission of the church? Go, therefore, and 
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them 
to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with 
you always to the end of the age." People are supposed to 
look at the Church as the very showcase of the wisdom, the power, 
and the glory of God in the saving of sinners. Isn't that beautiful? You're part of a trophy case 
in the Church. You live to exhibit the glory 
of God. You live to radiate and shine 
forth his handiwork. People ought to look at the heavens 
and see them declare the glory of God. They ought to be able 
to look at a church and see the glory of God. That God brought 
this lot together, that God forgave us of our sins, that God has 
put us in the same place without killing each other, without gossiping 
about each other, without slandering one another, without abusing 
one another. The fact that this carries on 
week by week by week is a testimony not to the goodness of this group, 
But to the goodness and the glory and the majesty and the excellence 
of our saving God in Jesus Christ. Beautiful, make you happy. This 
is what we're supposed to do to the intent that now the manifold 
wisdom of God might be made known by the church. And notice the 
specific audience in the verse to the principalities and powers 
in the heavenly places. In other words, those principalities 
and powers and heavenly places look down and say, that guy's 
in your group, that guy made it into that place, that guy 
is there, that guy's going to heaven. Yes, because of Jesus, 
because of Christ. You ever thought about that when 
you get to heaven? I don't think you're going to be surprised 
to see who's there. I think you're going to be surprised to see 
how many are surprised to see you there. You're here. You made it. You're in heaven. What are you going to say? Jesus 
is my everything. Shame on us, if we get to heaven 
and go, you're here, you're here, you're here. See, that's our 
hearts by nature in heaven will be changed. So we won't have 
that selfish bet that's so proud and arrogant and so bent on our 
own righteousness and accomplishment that we'll be surprised to see 
others. Anything, they're going to be surprised to see us. You're 
here. You see what the church is supposed 
to do? Isn't it beautiful? See, we have all these plans 
to make the church do more. Just do what we're supposed to 
do, preach the gospel and shine as lights in a crooked and perverse 
generation and demonstrate the manifold witness or wisdom of 
God most high. That's a full time job. There's 
a lot of guilt manipulation going on, Christian, you need to do 
this church, you must do this church witness to the glory of 
Christ. I mean, think about it. You wake 
up in the morning, you pray, God help me to witness to the 
glory of Christ in the way that I live, in the way that I look, 
in the way that I function, in the way that I speak. That's 
enough for you in a day. Isn't it? It's read a good book by Kevin 
Young and Greg Gilbert called What is the Mission of the Church? 
If you're confused about that, read that book. It's very clear. 
It's pretty narrow. Church. Preach the gospel, make 
disciples. Christian, go dig wells. Go transform 
your society, go build houses, go feed the poor. I say the church 
can't be involved in that sort of thing, but the primary focus 
and the primary mission of the church is to declare the saving 
gospel of Jesus. That's all. What else could there 
be? We could dig all the wells in 
the world. We could put new Nike Air Jordans on every foot in 
Africa. But if we're not bringing them 
the gospel of free and sovereign grace, they're going to have 
nice shoes on their way to hell. And again, I'm not saying we 
shouldn't do nice things. It's unfortunate. Much of that 
particular book, it had to qualify. We're not saying you can't do 
nice things. We're not saying you shouldn't 
dig a well. We're not saying you shouldn't plant a tree. But 
what we are saying is that the church's primary focus and mission 
is defined for us in Matthew 28. What I'm suggesting is that 
Ephesians 3 shows us one of the cosmic purposes for this mission. So that the principalities and 
the powers will look down upon a church like this and say, Jesus 
really is amazing because those people are gathered together. 
They're singing praises to God. They want to actually sing hymns 
and songs. They actually want to listen 
to the preaching of the word of God, and they actually want 
to get along with each other. They don't do it perfectly. They 
do it with Mars. They do it with once they do 
it with blemishes. But lo and behold, they're here. 
Who gets the glory? We have to pray this for our 
church. Interesting Westminster, larger 
catechism and filling out what this means to pray. Hallowed 
be thy name. One of the one of the aspects 
of their statement is this, that he would prevent and remove atheism, 
ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatsoever is dishonorable 
to him. What a beautiful thing to pray. 
Remove atheism, remove profaneness, remove idolatry. Because when 
those things are in place, men don't hallow your name. Men don't 
praise your name. Men don't honor your name. Men 
don't glorify your name. God, take my son, or take my 
daughter, or take my spouse, or take my whoever, and put the 
fear of God in them. Cause them to repent from their 
atheism. Cause them to repent from their 
idolatry. Cause them to repent from their 
profaneness, so that they may esteem the glory of God. I think 
that's a great petition to individuals, families, church missions. Be 
still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. 
I will be exalted in the earth. That your way may be known on 
earth, your salvation among all nations. God shall bless us and 
all the ends of the earth shall fear him. Philippians 2, 9 to 
11 says, Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given 
him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, 
every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth 
and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 
Father. You see what the purpose is. 
It's not your glory, it's not your exaltation, it's not your 
praise. It's about Jesus Christ and him being exalted. Well, 
brethren, I think you get the gist of the petition, I hope, 
and you get some at least suggestions in terms of how we apply this 
particular petition. Just a couple of thoughts and 
then we close. First, there is a conspicuous order. In case 
you haven't got that yet, God comes first. God comes first. God is creator, God is governor, 
God is redeemer. All of creation should bow in 
humble adoration and give him the praise that is due his name. 
Again, I think this is the best service a minister can give you. 
I'll tell you it's not about you, first and foremost. What's 
going to free you from your selfish, proud, arrogant, words-loving 
life, basing your status on your words, better than a right view 
of who God is and who you are? There's therapy here, blessed 
therapy. Manton again says this, we should 
rather forget ourselves than forget God. God must be remembered 
in the first place. There is nothing more precious 
than God himself. Therefore, nothing should be 
more dear to us than his glory. Nothing should be more dear to 
us than his glory. God, have mercy on us and teach 
us to pray a right. Teach us to live a right. Because 
if we're honest with ourselves and with you, we would invert 
the order. We would say, God, at times we 
treat you as a means to the end of our happiness. God, we employ 
you as our cosmic servant just to free us from our difficulties. 
God, we use you. We prostitute your holy name 
so that we can get what we want. We need to recognize the order. 
We need to realize, secondly, the necessity of practice. It 
is hypocritical to pray, hallowed be your name, and not live consistently 
with the petition. It is hypocrisy to go into the 
closet and pray, Lord, I want this, and then go live contrary 
to that. Again, I quoted Owen, he who 
prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays. Ryle says, 
may we resolve that by God's help, our hearts shall go together 
with our lips. And again, Manton says in this 
petition, the glory of God is both desired and promised on 
our part. We not only desire Hallowed be 
your name, but we're promising that we're going to promote Hallowed 
be your name. He says every prayer is both 
desired and promised on our part. Every prayer is both an expression 
of a desire and also an implicit vow or solemn obligation that 
we take upon ourselves to prosecute what we ask. Just to give an 
analogy. Do not pray, Lord, lead me not 
into temptation and click on Internet pornography. It's folly. It's wicked, it's perverse, it's 
hypocritical. Don't pray, Lord, help me to 
love my wife as Christ loves the church and then leave the 
prayer closet, tear her down. Lord, help me to submit to my 
own husband as to the Lord and then belittle him in public. 
Or gossip about him to someone else. Or, Lord, help me to honor 
my mommy and my daddy. And as soon as they give me something 
that I don't like, I'm going to reject, I'm going to rebel, 
I'm going to be insubordinate. You see how hypocritical it is? 
Do you see that? I hope you do. So to pray, how 
will it be your name? And then you'll live like the 
devil. It's hypocritical. It's wicked. It's wrong. It's 
ungodly. Every prayer, as Manton says, 
is both a desire and a solemn vow, a commitment to obligation. A realization that I'm not only 
going to pray this, but I'm seeking to live like this as well. I'm 
saying you're going to do it perfectly. You're still going 
to sin to confess it. You forsake it. You ask God for 
pardon. You ask God for mercy and forgiveness. 
You don't make a subtle pact to pray like a hypocrite. Oh, 
God, bless me. Oh, God, help me. Oh, God, make 
me the holy man that I'm supposed to be and go live like the devil. 
That's not praying. It's not praying. And then finally, 
we've touched on this, the way to hallow God is to get right 
with God. You may be here this morning and hallowed be thy name 
sounds like so much that you don't want anything to do with. 
The pathway to hallowing God's name is the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. This is the reason for the cross 
or one of the reasons. God looks upon an earth, he looks 
upon a world where men do not honor his name. where men do 
not glorify his name, where men do not magnify his name. God 
looks upon a world in Adam, dead in their trespasses and sins, 
men completely incapacitated, men who aren't a little hindered, 
men who aren't a little crippled or lame, but men who are totally 
undone in their trespasses and sins. So God undertakes. God sends his son. God's son 
lives in obedience. God's son always hallows the 
name of his father. Interestingly enough, this is 
his petition in John 12, 28. He says, Father, glorify your 
name. You see, when Jesus prayed that 
he lived consistently with it, he didn't pray glorify your name 
and then reject or resist his father's authority. So Christ 
lives in obedience to that perfect law, that perfect will of God. 
And then he comes and he dies at Calvary's cross. Why is that? Because men were blasphemers. 
Men didn't honor the name of God as they're bidden to in the 
third commandment. Men did not revere his holy name. 
Men did not honor and glorify him as God, nor were their hearts 
thankful. That's why Jesus came to die. Jesus came to die and 
rise again so that all who look to him in faith will have everlasting 
life. So the answer this morning is 
not go find a book on how to better hallow God's name. The 
answer is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's grace that 
teaches our hearts to fear. It's grace that should affect 
our tongue. It's grace that should affect 
our conduct. It's grace alone that frees us 
from the curse, the bondage and the penalty of sin and brings 
us to that place where we seek to honor the Lord with our lips, 
where we seek to honor the Lord with our lives. So believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Let us pray. Father, thank you for your word 
and thank you for this petition and for what it teaches us concerning 
priority. We just pray that you would give 
us grace, God, to be conspicuously God-centered in our lives, as 
individuals, in our families, in our church. And God, we do 
pray for the missionary enterprise. As one man has well said, the 
problem in the world is that men do not worship you. Missions 
and evangelism exist to call men to be worshipers of the triune 
God. We pray that Your glory would 
be had throughout the earth. We pray that You would hallow 
Your name, that men, women, boys and girls would submit to Your 
glory, submit to Your honor, submit to Your authority and 
would bow in humble confession. We just pray for our own congregation 
that You would just help us, God, to be consumed with You 
and to bring honor to You. And we ask these things in Jesus' 
name. Amen.