I. Tam INFLUENOl!l OP' A Dl':VOUT EXAMPf,E. "As he was prayin~ .•. ono of hi~ disciples eaid unto him, Lord, teach us to pray." It was the sight of hi~ MaHter in the act of prayer which prompted thia disciple to make his request. Thus devotion in him beg11t devotion in them. All actions, good and bad, are contagions. Bad acti0ne entic,, the evil, nnd good ones attract and inspire the holy and the pure. An oath is an encouragement to the profane, 11 prayer is 11n incentive to the devout. Only infinite wi~dom can tell whether w<l produce the greater effect by the nnconscioua influence nf our life, or by the result of direct, verbal persuasion. But we can all see that they go well together; that perau11sion to piety with the drawback of a prayerless life would be of very small account. But to be II man of prayer, to be (without ostentation) known to be such, to be evidently" at home" with God, to be felt to be one that continuall.v seeks Divine guidance in the daily conduct of life,-this is to be influential for good. I• is to be saying in the most effective way," It is good for me to draw near to God," anrl. indeed to be saying most forcibly e.lso, "It is good for you to draw near to God." The man of sustained piety, of devout h&bita which he never lays down, who compels men to feel that in bis view God is not to be forgotten or his service relegated to the second place, is a power for good; he is living a truth of vital consequence, he is a blessing to the society in which he moves. II. THE ffiGHEST FUNOTION OP' A RELIGIOUS TEACHER. "Lord, teach us to pray." 1, Not to instruct in aacred truth, high as that is, enlightening the mind on the greatest of all subjects. 2. Not even to cause disciples to meditate on their spiritual condition, and to consider bow they are themselves affected by the truth they have learned. 3. But to lead to God in direct and immediate devotion: the teacher or reli- gious friend who helps another to unburden his heart in prayer to God, to pour out hig epir!t in submission or in dedication to the Divine Saviour, is rendering the highest pr,ssible service one human being· can render to another. III. THE OFFICZ OF THE DIVINE TEACHER. This is not only or chiefly to instruct or to cause us to inquire, but rather to lead us to God in direct, spiritual communion. This Jesus does by: 1. Opening the way to God; becoming the one and only Mediator between God and man, through whom we have constant and perfect access to the Holiest One. 2. Showing us the efficacy of prayer; and this he does (1) by his own most strong e.nd satisfying assertion (vers. 9-13); and (2) by revealing God to us as a Father who distinguishes each one of his children from all others, earnestly Jesires the return of each absent child, and purposes to renew and transform every son and daughter into his own likeness. Such a Father could not but listen and respond when bis chil- dren cry to him. 3. Giving to us a deep sense of the need of prayer; and this he docs by his own example, e.nd also by his teaching. In this he so impresses us with the value of each human soul, with the sinfulness of sin, with the possibilities of spiritual worth and sacred usefulness, and with the grand opening for the faithful soul in the higher spheres beyond, that we e.re impelled to como to God for his redeeming, sanctifying, strengthening gre.ce.-C. •
Vera. 2-4.-71ie troe service of the Lord's Prayer. It is a very painful and pitiful thing tbe.t words which came from the lips of the great Master of the spiritual and the living should have been allowed to dc;;enerate into an unspiritual and lifeless form. That this has been the case to II large extent with the "Pater-noster" is a lamentable fact. It is very doubtful whether Jesus Christ ever intended these words which he gave to bis disciples to be II permanent formula for the Christian Church. It is clear that the true obedience to his W od is not found in II number of correct and regular repetitions of the phrases, but in the devotion which is rendered in the strain and spirit of the "prayer." 'l'he true service to be gained from "the Lord's Prayer" is to gather from it the way in which to draw nigh to God, not only in the worship of the sanctuary, but in the quiet, unseen fellowship of the chamber. What Christ would say to us is this, that in our prayer to God- I. WE SIIOULD GIVE A PROMINENT PLACE TO THE PROORl!:SS OF HIS SPIRITUAL KINGDOM, Out of six petitions the first three are devoted to the growth of the glory and the kingdom of God. This is surely a very significant fact. It rebukes all soifishness and short-sightedness in the presence of God. It invites u~. and indeed it summons us, to make the object of our firat and deepest solicitudo the cause of Jcsua TIJF. c-;oc;r~:L Acconnrno To ST. unrn. [c,n. ltt. t-M.