Page:Sermons on the Lord's Prayer.djvu/28

 of Jesus Christ pronounced there, as on earth; but, instead of those names, a name is formed from the idea of all things which are known and believed concerning him, which idea is derived from all things of love towards and of faith in him. This being the case, the quality of every one there is immediately known, as to his love and faith in the Lord, merely by his pronouncing in a spiritual expression or name, or : and hence also, they who are not in any love or faith towards him, cannot name him; that is, they cannot form any spiritual name concerning him." Thus, in the spiritual sense of Scripture, by name is signified quality, and by the name of God, His Divine quality, character, or nature.

But what, now, is the quality or nature of God?—for, understanding this, we shall know what it is that is to be hallowed. God, in his essential nature, is Love—Love, of an intensity altogether inconceivable to our finite minds; with which Love is united Wisdom, equally transcendent. But from that Divine Love and Wisdom there proceed goodness and truth, which are spiritual heat and light: these flow from the Lord down into the heavens, and into the minds of angels there, and also into the minds of men on earth, giving light to the understanding and warmth to the heart. In these, the quality or nature of God becomes perceptible to us, and appreciable by us: we perceive him in the beauty of truth, we are affected by him in the tenderness of love: wherever there is genuine truth and goodness, there the Lord is present.