Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell;
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before,
But vaster. We are fools and slight;
We mock thee when we do not fear;
But help thy foolish ones to bear;
Help thy vain worlds to bear thy light.
There is great need of the lesson of reverence. Men do not seem aware of God. Even in the holiest places of earth there appears to be in most of us lack of consciousness of the presence and majesty of God. Almost nobody takes off his shoes before the burning bush. “Nobody fears God nowadays,” said one distinguished English clergyman to another, with deep pain in his heart. We all need to learn anew the lesson of reverence. This is on of the teachings of this prayer, — “Hallowed be thy name.”
What are we to understand by the name of God? Among the ancient Jews there was one divine name which had peculiar sacredness. It was so holy that they never pronounced it in public. When they came to it in reading, they would pass over it in reverent silence, not daring to take it upon their lips. The Mohammedans, also, have a great reverence for the divine name. They will not tread upon a piece of paper, even the smallest torn fragment which they see lying upon the ground, but will reverently pick it up, saying, “It may contain the name of God.” In this there may be little more than superstition in the outward honor shown to the diving name. Ofttimes men with wicked heart will treat the written or spoken name of God with seeming reverence, bowing at its every mention, while in their own life they have no true regard for God. It is very evident that more than this is meant in this petition for the hollowing of God’s name. We must honor it in our heart and in our life.
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