J. Paterson Smyth

Lesson IV

The Schooling for the Kingdom

St. Matthew V. 27 to end, and VI. to 25.

Why not give higher lessons long ago? Do teachers in school begin by teaching Latin and Greek and mathematics to the little infant classes? Why not? Is it the incapacity of teacher or pupil? So they begin with the A, B, C, and then lessons a little harder; and so on, and on, and on, waiting patiently for many days, and months, and years, till the gradually growing mind of the child can take in the high teaching. Same in moral and religious training. Slave mission in Central Africa for slaves rescued from the Arabs—poor creatures gathered in from slavery and savagedom, with all their heathen habits strong upon them—with drunkenness, and impurity, and murder, and revenge, quite common, everyday incidents. Missionary cannot begin with higher teaching about loving enemies, and the duty of self-sacrifice, and the perfect consecration of the life to God. Why not? Would not be understood. Begins with lower lessons. God says: "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal," etc.; and if he can impress on them the sinfulness of these things, he may consider himself for the time fairly successful. By-and-by he hopes to give the higher teaching. And meantime he will often praise them for actions which to us would seem very imperfect. Is he right? Yes, like teacher praising junior class for work which he would think very poor in senior class. By-and-by, when these poor heathens have grown into high-minded Christian men, will they think the old lower teaching wrong as they look back on it? No, they will see it as a lower stage which they have long since passed, but a stage that was a necessary part of their progress upward to the full Christian life.

Why am I talking of these gradual classes in God's school? To help you to understand the Old Testament. Some people are puzzled because the lessons are lower than in New Testament, and because praise is sometimes given for imperfect or faulty acts. A lady came to writer one day, troubled because the Old Testament did not forbid slavery, or putting away a wife, etc. "Why did not God give higher teaching?" she asked. Could you explain to her? Yes; we are in the more advanced classes of God's school now since our Lord came; but the child-races of men in the earlier classes were not capable of our higher lesson, and could only be taught as much as they were capable of receiving. They were often cruel to slaves, often turned away wife out of mere ill-temper. God said, through His inspired teachers: "You must not do that. You must be careful and considerate for the slave, and for the wife who is being put away." They were not yet ready for the higher commands—to set free all slaves; not to put away wives. But they were moving towards it. By-and-by still higher lessons came through the prophets. But they were all like monitors and lower teachers in the school, sent by the Great Master. At last the Great Master Himself came, and now that men had learned the lower lesson, He gave them the new and higher lesson, and the new and higher power to obey it. He founded a High School, with harder and more advanced lessons. Always remember that the coming of Christ made an enormous difference in the world—higher power, higher lessons, higher blessings.

By-and-by teach higher lesson. Next missionary teaches higher still, and so gradually progress is made. What commandment forbids killing? Is it enough for us children of the Kingdom to avoid killing? Have you ever broken the Sixth Commandment? How many people have you killed? If not, how have you broken it? Because you are in the higher classes you belong to the High School—to the Kingdom of God—and therefore more is expected of you. "I am not satisfied," says our Lord, "with your merely not killing people. I go down to the thoughts and intents of the heart. If you hate and revile, and have a murderous feeling, I put you down as breaking my law." So with all the commandments. (In this manner all the six cases given by our Lord can be taught. If there is time, there are many interesting smaller lessons in the chapter, but not room in this Lesson to write about them.)

Think of its meaning in future. Our Father.  Who may use it? May you, even if careless, and having often done wrong? Yes, if you want to. A son may be undutiful, rebellious, prodigal in far country. Yet, if he wants God, he may always cry, "Father" (Luke xv. 17, 18). Must not wait till we feel converted or forgiven, or anything else. So, first feeling is, I am a child, not a slave—though a very unworthy child. I am asking of our Father;  therefore I may be confident: but which art in heaven;  therefore I must be reverent and solemn.

Now, how many petitions? First three, then four. Three about God and His will. Four about—? Which first, God or ourselves? What does this teach? God first, man second. God's glory, and His blessed plans for the world first? my wants and desires last. After this manner always pray. Our first feeling in prayer is, "O God, I want something very badly for myself; please give it to me!" God says, "No, my child, that is not the way to pray. First calm yourself: think of my will and my Kingdom, and all my plans for the blessing of the world. Don't be selfish. Say first, 'Our Father, help all of us together. Never mind me just yet. I want that Thy name may be hallowed, that we may walk before Thee as the great, all‑pure, all‑holy God. I want Thy Kingdom to come on earth, and Thy will to be done on earth, that life may be the lovely, blessed thing which Thou desirest. Never mind me, Lord, just yet; these are the first things I want.' " Is it easy to pray like that? No, but it will become so, and it will be the greatest blessing to our lives.

Does God let me pray for myself at all? Yes. What are the last four petitions for? Yes, these are our sore wants, and God wishes us to ask about them. But even there He guards against my being selfish. How? Can you see? Say petitions again. Is it "Give me my  daily bread? Forgive me my  trespasses," etc.? No, not me  and mine,  but always us  and our.  I think God must hate selfishness more than anything on earth. He is always watching to stop it even in prayer. Like a father hearing one little chap in his family always asking, "Father, I  want holidays for myself,"  etc. Father refuses. By-and-by he learns to ask, "Our  father give us all a holiday—not me alone: I would rather not get it if the others had to work—it would not be fair." Then the father, with glad heart grants the holiday—glad because his boy has learnt the spirit of unselfishness in his requests. Now tell me the two great lessons of the Lord's Prayer.

1. God and His blessed purposes first; I and my wants last.

2. Not me  and mine,  but always us  and our. 

Now take the petitions in order, and see if it be true that no one can truly pray them unless he is an earnest follower of Christ. "Hallowed be Thy name."  Meaning? May we think of Thee and walk before Thee as the great, all‑pure, all‑holy God. Could you pray that truly without trying to be good? "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done."  Where? On earth. How? As it is in heaven. Could you pray that truly without trying to be good? Thy Kingdom come into all hearts—mine and everybody's—that we may be true servants of Thy Kingdom, and make life happy and holy for all. That Thy will may be done. By whom? Me and all others—as it is done in heaven. Think of a boy or girl praying that, and then wilfully doing wrong. What hypocrisy! "Give us our daily bread,"  i.e., give to me, and to all the poor creatures around me, even to the little robin on the window-sill; give to me and to them by means of me and of all who have power to help. What would you say of a man who prayed that, and then turned away from helping some poor neighbour in want? "Forgive us,"  etc. What does this force you to do? No unforgiving boy or girl dares use it. It would mean, "Forgive me as I forgive," i.e., "Don't forgive me at all."  "Lead us not,"  etc. Imagine a boy using that prayer, and then tempting another to lie, or do something bad. So on through the whole prayer. Learn to use it thoughtfully, and it will lift up your whole life. Begin to-night. Either the praying will make you leave off sinning, or the sinning will make you leave off praying. You can't do both together, so wonderful is the power of the prayer taught by our Lord.