1. How inward the nature of obedience is. This sequence of petitions
shifts the centre from without to within, from actions to dispositions.
2. How nothing is obedience that is not cheerful and loving. Not
constrained, not sullen, not task-work.
3. How naturally dominant over all life the principles of God's truth
are. Let them be known, and all the rest will follow. They have power to
control all acts, great and small.
4. How impossible practical righteousness is without religion. The Name
is the true basis of morality. We hear a great deal about life rather
than creed; the Gospel is both. The one foundation of theoretical and
practical morals is the will of God.