THE FAMILY ALTAR

May 23.

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matt. 6:10.

Our heavenly Father wills that all men should be saved and

come to the knowledge of the truth as revealed in His blessed

Word. But that unholy alliance, the devil, the world, and our

flesh, continually opposes this His good and gracious will and

seeks to prevent His kingdom from coming to us and abiding

within us. Forewarned is forearmed. Without our heavenly

Fathers gracious help not one of us can escape the schemes of

these powerful and deadly enemies of our souls. Let us daily

and sincerely, but also confidently ask Him to break and hinder

their evil counsel against us, that we may never do their will,

but always His holy will, even as it is done in heaven, where

the angels gladly and unhesitatingly carry out His commands. So

our will ought to conform at all times to the will of our heavenly

Father. Gladly, willingly, we ought to obey His command to

resist the devil, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, to

crucify our flesh with the lusts thereof, and to lead a holy life

in all godliness and honesty. And it is furthermore His good

and gracious will that we take upon ourselves unresistingly the

crosses and afflictions He sends us for our good; for all things

must work together for good to them that love God. No cross,

no crown! How hard it is for us sincerely to pray in our trials,

especially when they prove so sore and long : "Thy will, 0 heavenly

Father, not mine, be done!" Yet it is just in these sore trials

by which our Father in heaven corrects us, that we learn not to

hold ourselves without sin and guilt, but to seek His pardoning

grace and saving kingdom the more earnestly and effectually.

Dear heavenly Father, Thy will is good and gracious toward us, even

when in Thy wisdom and love Thou dost afflict us. We pray Thee, help us to submit willingly to Thine all-wise dispensations; break and hinder the will of the devil, the world, and our own rebellious flesh, and strengthen and preserve us steadfast in Thy holy Word and saving faith unto the en