The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 02 (of 32)Wesley, John
Religion
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 02 (of 32)
Wesley, John
Methodist Church; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 18th century
6. _Which art in heaven_:――high and lifted up; God over all, blessed
for ever. Who sitting on the circle of the heavens, beholdeth all
things both in heaven and earth. Whose eye pervades the whole sphere
of created being; yea and of uncreated night: unto whom _are known
all his works_, and all the works of every creature, not only _from
the beginning of the world_ (a poor, low, weak translation) but ἀπ᾽
♦αἰῶνος· from all eternity, from everlasting to everlasting: who
constrains the host of heaven, as well as the children of men, to
cry out with wonder and amazement, O the depth! _The depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of_ GOD! _Which art
in heaven_――the Lord and ruler of all, superintending and disposing
all things: who art the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the blessed
and only Potentate: who art strong and girded about with power, doing
whatsoever pleaseth thee! The Almighty: for whensoever thou willest,
to do is present with thee. _In heaven_,――eminently there. Heaven is
thy throne, the place where thine honour particularly dwelleth. But not
there alone; for thou fillest heaven and earth, the whole expanse of
space. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord
most high!
Therefore should we _serve the_ Lord _with fear, and rejoice unto
him with reverence_. Therefore should we think, speak and act, as
continually under the eye, in the immediate presence of the Lord, the
King.
7. *_Hallowed be thy name._ This is the first of the six petitions,
whereof the prayer itself is composed. The name of God is God
himself; the nature of God, so far as it can be discovered to man:
it means therefore, together with his existence, all his attributes
or perfections――his eternity, particularly signified by his great and
incommunicable name Jehovah, as the apostle _John_ translates it, τὸ ἀ,
καὶ τὸ ω, ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος. ὁ ὤν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος· _The alpha and
omega, the beginning and the end, he which is, and which was, and which
is to come_:――His _fulness of being_, denoted by his other great name,
_I am that I am_――His omnipresence――His omnipotence; who is indeed the
only agent in the material world; all matter being essentially dull and
inactive, and moving only as it is moved by the finger of God: and he
is the spring of action in every creature, visible and invisible; which
could neither act nor exist, without the continued influx and agency
of his almighty power――His wisdom, clearly deduced from the things that
are seen, from the goodly order of the universe――His trinity in unity
and unity in trinity, discovered to us in the very first line of his
written word ברא אלהים: literally _the_ Gods _created_, a plural noun
joined with a verb of the singular number: as well as in every part of
his subsequent revelations, given by the mouth of all his holy prophets
and apostles――His essential purity and holiness――and above all, his
love, which is the very brightness of his glory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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