“The first and great petition” by Thomas Watson

“‘Hallowed be Thy name.’ In the Latin, it is, sanctificetur nomen tuum,—sanctified be Thy name. In this petition, ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ we pray, that God’s name may shine forth gloriously, and that it may be honoured and sanctified by us, in the whole course and tenor of our lives.

It was the angels’ song, ‘glory to God in the highest;’ that is, let his name be glorified and hallowed. This petition, “Hallowed be Thy name,” is set in the forefront, to show, that the hallowing of God’s name is to be preferred before all things.

It is to be preferred before life; we pray, ‘Hallowed be Thy name,’ before we pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’

It is to be preferred before salvation, Rom. 9:1. God’s glory is more worth than the salvation of all men’s souls. As Christ said of love, Mat. 22:36., ‘This is the first and great commandment;’ so I may say of this petition, ‘Hallowed be Thy name,’ it is the first and great petition; it contains the most weighty thing in religion, God’s glory.

When some of the other petitions shall be useless and out of date, we shall not need to pray in heaven, ‘Give us our daily bread,’ because there shall be no hunger; nor, ‘Forgive us our trespasses,’ because there shall be no sin; nor, ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ because the Old Serpent is not there to tempt; yet the hallowing of God’s name shall be of great use and request in heaven.

We shall be ever singing hallelujahs, which is nothing else but the hallowing of God’s name. Every person in the blessed Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, must have this honour, to be hallowed; their glory being equal, and their majesty co-eternal.

‘Hallowed be Thy name.’ To admire God’s name is not enough. We may admire a conqueror, but when we say, “Hallowed be Thy name,” we set God’s name above every name, and not only admire Him, but adore Him.”

–Thomas Watson, The Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Comprising His Celebrated Body of Divinity, in a Series of Lectures on the Shorter Catechism, and Various Sermons and Treatises (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1855), 406.