[4.] You are directed again, when the glory of God and sanctifying of his name either sticks with us, or sticks abroad, God must be specially consulted with in the case. When our hearts are backward, then. ' Lord, open thou my lips ; ' Lord, affect me with a sense of thy kindness and mercy. When it sticks abroad, when such events fall out, as for a while God's name is obscured, and seems to be clouded, ' Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name ?'
III. Having opened the order of the words, and the reasons of putting up such a request to God, I now come to the sense of the petition, ' Hal- lowed be thy name.' Four things will come under consideration : —
1. What is meant by the name of God.
2. What it is to JiaUoiu and sanctify it.
3. I shall take notice of the form of the proposal, djiaaOrjro), Halloived.
4. The note of distinction, thy name. First, What is meant by God's name ?
1. God himself.
2. Anything whereby he is made known.
[1.] God himself. Name, by an Hebraism, is put for the person itself. Thus : Kev. iii. 4, ' Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments;' that is, many persons ; so : Acts i. 15, it is said there, ' The number of the names together were about one hundred and twenty,' that is of persons. So it is used in the present case. God's name is put for God himself: Ps. xx. 1, ' The name of the God of Jacob defend thee ! ' That is, God himself. So : Ps. xliv. 5, ' Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us ;' that is, by thee. And to believe in the name of Christ is to believe in Clirist himself. Name is put for person, for the im-
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mediate object of faith is the person of Christ : John i. 12, ' To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that beheve on his name.'
[2.] Anything whereby he is made known to us, Nomen quasi notamen. As a man is known by his name, so God's titles and attri- butes, his ordinances, his works, his word, are his name, chiefly the two latter. For his works, they are a part of the name of God : Ps. viii. 1, the burden of that psalm is twice repeated, ' 0 Lord, our Lord, how great is thy name in all the earth!' By the name there, is meant God made known in his works of creation and providence, for he speaks there of sun, moon, and stars, which proclaim an eternal power to all the world ; and he speaks of such a name as is in all the earth. And, Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20, ' He hath not dealt so with any nation,' and given them his word, statutes, and ordinances ; every one hath not that privilege. But, ' How great is thy name in all the earth ! ' That is, how manifestly art thou made known by thy works ! But above all, by name is meant his word : Ps. cxxxviii. 2, ' Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.' There is more of God to be seen in his word, than in all the creatures of the world, and in all his other Avorks besides. We understand more of God than can be taken up by the creation. It helps us to interpret the book of nature and providence; there we have his titles, attributes, ordinances ; there we have his greatest work, in which he hath discovered so much of his name, the mystery of redemption, which is not elsewhere to be known. Thus by the name of God is meant God himself, as he hath made known him- self in the word. We desire that he may be sanctified, that he may with honour and reverence be received everywhere.
Secondly, The second thing to be explained, what is meant by hallowed f In scripture God is said sometimes to be magnified, some- times to be justified, sometimes to be glorified, and sometimes to be (sanctified. Now it is not here said, Magnificetur nomen tuum, or glorificetur, but sanctificetu7' — let thy name be sanctified. All these terms do express how God is to be honoured by the creature, and they have all distinct notions. God is said to be magnified : Luke i. 4(3, ' My soul doth magnify the Lord.' To magnify God argueth a high esteem or a due sense of his greatness. Again, God is said to be justified : Luke vii. 29, ' The people and the publicans justified God.' What is it to justify God ? To justify is to acquit from accusation, and when that word is applied to God, it signifieth our owning of him notwithstanding the prejudices of the world against him. To glorify God is to make him known to others, and to bring him into request with others, lor glory it is clara cum laude notitia, a public fame or knowledge of excellency. Thus Christ saith, John xvii. 10, ' I am glorified in them;' speaking of his apostles, because by their means he was made known to the world. All these are included in the word of the text. Yet there is somewhat more intended by to be sanctified. When is God then said to be sanctified ?