Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 6:10
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
10. Thy kingdom come ] See note ch. Mat 3:2. Lightfoot quotes an axiom from the Jewish Schools, “that prayer wherein there is not mention of the Kingdom of God is not a prayer.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 6:10
Thy kingdom come.
The coming of Christs kingdom
1. Greater than all the kingdoms of the world is the kingdom of God.
2. Amidst all the breaking up of human kingdoms men seek one that wilt abide.
3. This is a kingdom founded not by external might but by moral goodness.
4. The kingdom of God is Gods first primeval thought.
5. The kingdom of God has made out a history.
6. The way of its coming is an inner, a spiritual, a moral one.
7. His kingdom comes in time till it will one day come gloriously in eternity. (Dr. Luthardt.)
Importance of prayer for the conversion of the world
I. In the fact that Christ directs His disciples to make it.
II. In the good influence it exerts over those who offer it in sincerity and in earnest,
III. In the encouragement it affords those who have consecrated themselves to labour in person for that object.
IV. Prayer is the only means of bringing down Gods blessing upon us. (J. Doolittle.)
Thy kingdom, come
1. This prayer reminds us that there is another kingdom besides Gods kingdom established in the world.
2. It suggests difficulties in the way of the establishment of Gods kingdom.
3. It expresses our acquiescence in all things by which the desired result may be secured.
4. It leads us to anticipate that the ascendancy desired will be gained only slowly.
5. It impregnates the future with hopefulness.
6. It necessitates the cultivation of a missionary spirit. (F. Edwards, B. A.)
Christs kingdom
I. Describe this kingdom. This kingdom supposes-
1. A kingdom, and who is the King of this kingdom.
2. The kingdom of Christ is wholly Divine in its rise and progress.
3. This kingdom supposes a sceptre of dominion. It is a sceptre of invincible strength.
4. This kingdom is destined to be universal.
II. What is included in the prayer of the church for its advancement.
1. It is not yet fully come.
2. That this kingdom may come in the world, we ought to pray that this kingdom may come in the Church.
4. We ought to pray that this kingdom may come in our hearts.
III. But if we pray for it, this intimates that we must desire its coming.
1. And can it be otherwise than an object of desire to you, if you love Christ.
2. This prayer intimates that you should labour for its advancement.
3. You should hope for the universal coming of this kingdom. (J. Brown.)
I. The nature of the kingdom.
1. Spiritual in its nature.
2. Tranquil in its government.
3. Abundant in its immunities.
4. Perpetual in its duration.
II. The immediate consequences of its being come.
III. The means to effectuate it. (The Pulpit.)
The arrival of Christs reign
I. Revelation favours largeness of views. It unfolds a sphere composed of vast circles. It attempts to extend our contemplations over the whole earth. Gods kingdom is everywhere.
II. We should let our religious contemplations expand to the limits of the earth. What a mortifying diminutiveness in our widest views of the same.
III. There there some consolatory truths to relieve this awful view of the world. What revealed religion has done and is doing. The prophetic vision of its future achievements. The absolute certainty that Christianity is the grand expedient for renovating the state of man.
IV. Considerations to induce the active co-operation of all Christians. The good designed to be diffused is heavenly. Its progress is at present most marvellous, God looks with greatest complacency upon the missionary toil. (The Evangelist.)
Thy kingdom come
I. This kingdom shows the church of Christ. It is always used in the singular number, showing that there is but one Church, wheresoever dispersed through the world.
(1) It reminds us-that we have but one God, one faith, and one baptism;
(2) That the several parts of it, however distant in interests, judgment, or affection, yet are but many members of one body.
II. The kingdom of God is not yet fully come from the narrow extent of Christianity.
(1) It cannot be said to come till all nations have received and submitted to it;
(2) Until it hath been preached to all the world.
III. This kingdom is not yet come, from the want of due obedience in the members.
(1) A government cannot be said to be perfect-where the laws and constitutions of it have not their due force;
(2) Till the power and efficacy of it be more visible in the orderly lives of its subjects.
IV. The kingdom of God cannot be said to come-till the true members of it receive their reward;
(1) Till His faithful servants are made sharers in it;
(2) Till the subjects of it are freed from hardships and oppression.
V. This petition should dispose us to unity. We pray not here for this or that particular Church, but for that diffusive universal one that makes up Christs kingdom. (Thomas Mangey.)
The second petition
I. The kingdom.
II. The way this kingdom will come.
1. It will come by the mediation of Jesus Christ.
2. It will come through the instrumentality of the cross.
3. It comes by the power of the Spirit.
III. How we should pray for this.
1. Each one of us should pray that the kingdom may come in his own heart.
2. That it may come in the world. (Dr. Stanford.)
The second petition
I. The kingdom of God spiritual. Once this kingdom was undisputed: angels.
II. Essential difference between the kingdom of god and kingdoms of the world.
1. In their ruler.
2. The laws.
3. The subjects.
4. The objects.
5. The methods.
6. The extent.
III. The coming of this kingdom.
IV. The millennial reign.
V. Prayer for the coming of the kingdom.
1. Not unnecessary.
2. What the prayer includes.
3. A test of character.
4. Personal concurrence.
5. Missionary zeal. (Newman, Hall, LL. B.)
The kingdom of grace within us
1. If the kingdom has to come to us, we must be by nature outside it.
2. We cannot go to the kingdom; it must come to us.
3. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bring with them righteousness, peace, and joy.
4. In this kingdom there is dignity and liberty.
5. The extent and comprehensiveness of this kingdom; the whole heart, body, mind.
6. Antagonistic: in opposition to sin within and around us. (Dr. Saphir.)
The Messianic kingdom
I. Who is the King?
1. Christ as Son of man.
2. As the Son of David.
3. By virtue of His sufferings and death.
4. Associated in His reign are glorified saints.
II. When will this kingdom be established.
III. The character of this kingdom.
1. In manifested power on earth.
2. It is spiritual. (Dr. Saphir.)
The second petition
I. The nature of the kingdom spoken of. The Jews always expected a ruling Messiah. Pray for-
1. The reign of grace in the heart.
2. The reign of truth in the world.
3. The reign of holiness and joy in the life of the world to come.
1. We pray against all divided loyalties. (D. Moore, M. A.)
The prophetical spirit of the Lords prayer
I. God is a great king.
1. The kingdom of nature is His.
2. The kingdom of providence is His.
3. Gods higher kingdom of grace.
II. The kingdom of Christ in the world.
1. It is spiritual.
2. It is prophetical. (Dr. O. Winslow.)
Thy kingdom come
I. Let us observe the fact that the consummate blessing is To come. There is a better era for men to come. I refer to this prospective attitude of Christianity because it exhibits two characteristics worthy of notice.
1. It is in accordance with the general working of God. Progress is His law. Christianity is not a fixed system.
2. The wise benevolence of such a position. By proclaiming a better era it gives individuals and the race the loftiest inspiration of hope.
II. Consider some indications of that coming.
1. AS its coming is gradual we cannot expect to discover great advancement within any narrow scope of time.
2. That the kingdom of God is coming is indicated by the fact that the most civilized communities of the world are in a far better condition now than before the advent of Jesus, especially in point of morality.
III. The essential nature of this kingdom.
1. Considered externally, it is an historical fact, and has an organized form.
2. This kingdom is also internal, it is spiritual.
3. As to the advancement of that kingdom do not let us cherish conceptions which are calculated to discourage our exertions. (E. H. Chaplin.)
Thy kingdom come
Gods kingdom is a kingdom of many provinces. They are divided by narrow isthmuses; but over the whole there is a unity of system and design, and the same law pervades. There is the kingdom of nature, providence, of grace in the heart of man, in the world, and in the eternal glory.
I. What is the kingdom of the heart for which we pray.
1. It does not consist with the glory and show of this present life-My kingdom is not of this world.
2. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink.
3. Neither does the kingdom of God come with observation.
But it is-
1. Spiritual.
2. It is free. No one knows liberty who does not know the kingdom.
3. It is comprehensive. It gathers up the whole range of things into a system.
4. It is exclusive. The heart grows so full of God that it can hold nothing else.
II. Have you considered what you really mean when you offer this prayer. God hears and answers, perhaps by loss, bereavement, isolation: thus the kingdom comes into the heart. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The Divine kingdom
I. The kingdom itself. We should have known nothing of it but for revelation.
1. It is not a worldly kingdom.
2. It is constituted in the Person of the King Himself.
3. It is a peaceable kingdom.
4. The subsidiary and collateral blessings which flow from this kingdom.
5. It admits of unlimited extension.
6. It will be of long duration.
7. Its brightness is perpetually increasing.
II. Some grounds on which the pious may pray and expect the diffusion of this kingdom.
1. We may expect it from analogy.
2. We may expect it from the symbolical events of Jewish history. Moses was victorious over Egypt; Elijah over the priests of Baal; Dagon over the ark.
3. The figures and representations of the New Testament.
4. The moral properties require that the kingdom of God should become glorious. Providence produces great results by small means. So large an agency as are involved in the cross and Christianity requires the result to be vast.
5. When we think of the energy employed in the diffusion of the kingdom our hopes arise.
III. Point out some of the encouraging intimations which we have of the coming of this kingdom.
1. The facilities which there are for it.
2. The union of effort.
3. The success of effort. (Dr. Beaumont.)
Nature, a prophecy of the unlimited diffusion of the gospel
We are warranted in such an expectation, I may say, almost from analogy. Why does the moon spread her horns? Why, it is to fill them. Why does the sun rise above the horizon? It is that he may go on his march upward and onward, till he gains his meridian altitude, and pours his vertical glory on the world below. Why is the corn deposited in the soil? It is that it may unwrap, that it may unfold itself-that, of that single seed there may come a tree, the branches of which are for a lodgment of the birds, and a shadow for the beasts of the earth. Why does the rill steal silently from under the sod, wend its way among the grass and the pebbles, following its course onward and onward, enlarging its channel, rendering the fissure wider and wider for itself-till at last that little rill becomes a mighty river, bearing on its bosom the riches of a nation and feeding a nations agriculture. (Dr. Beaumont.)
The missionary prayer
I. The import of this petition.
1. What kingdom is this? It cannot refer to Gods natural kingdom; all such are His already. It refers to His spiritual.
2. What we are to understand by the coming of it?
(1) Its advancement in the hearts of its subjects.
(2) Its extension in the world over the hearts of the ungodly.
(3) It includes the final consummation of the kingdom of grace in glory.
II. The need that exists for still offering this prayer.
1. It is lamentably far from being fully come.
2. Look at the professing Church.
III. Some of the encouragements we have to continue presenting this petition,
1. Past success.
2. The character of our weapons of warfare. Truth has power over the conscience.
3. The predictions of the Bible. (J. Morgan.)
Men generally feel more interested in the earthly than the heavenly kingdom
It is very sad to see how excited and absorbed men can be about the politics of this world; how, on any subject of national interest, such as the progress of a war or the annexation of a territory, the pulse of the nation will beat fast with excitement; how, not only in the council-chambers of kings and the legislative assemblies of nations, but at every street-corner and in every little tavern, men will discuss the matter with eager interest; while it is almost impossible to gather a roomful of people to listen to the records of the gospel difficulties, or of the triumphs of the kingdom of Christ. (F. C. Blythe, M. A.)
Subjects made by voluntary submission, not by geographical limitation
Earthly kingdoms claim all who dwell within territorial limits. A river, a chain of hills, an imaginary line, may determine the question who are the subjects of its rule. But in this kingdom all are enrolled as subjects who voluntarily submit to it, and none else. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
Tile gradual progress of the Divine kingdom
If it had seemed good in His sight, He could have overturned the power of Satan in a short period; but His wisdom saw fit to accomplish it by degrees. Like the commander of an invading army, He first takes possession of one post, then of another, then of a third, and so on, till by and by the whole country falls into His hands. And as the progress of a conqueror would be more rapid after a few of the strongest fortresses had surrendered (inasmuch as things would then approach fast to a crisis, to a breaking up, as it were, of the powers of the enemy), so it has been with the kingdom of Christ, and such will be its progress before the end of time. (A. Fuller.)
Thy will be done in earth.–
Doing Gods will
I. What is the petition. There is the secret will of God; the providential will of God; the revealed will of God-our sanctification.
II. The measure. How do they do the will of God.
1. From love to God.
2. Cheerful alacrity.
3. With zeal and energy.
4. With humility and reverence.
5. With perseverance. (J. Hambleton, M. A.)
Thy will be done
1. We are here taught to pray that Gods will may become the standard and rule of our actions.
2. That Gods will may become the regulator of our wishes and pleasures.
3. That Gods will may become ours, and not that it may destroy ours.
4. That Gods will may be ours, not fitfully and in part, but constantly and perfectly. (F. Edwards, B. A.)
The reign of grace viewed in relation to the work of righteousness
I. A fact assumed, that the will of God is done by all the inhabitants of heaven as he himself requires. The place, the parties, the practice, must receive consideration.
1. To determine the locality of heaven will for ever exceed the ability of man on earth.
2. We can, however, describe its inhabitants.
3. We have to consider how they act.
II. Establish the doctrine implied. God has, and will exercise, the same authority over men on earth and angels in heaven.
1. Our first proof is from the dictates of conscience.
2. Confirmed from the deductions of reason.
3. Clear from scripture.
III. Enforce the duty.
1. That obedience to the will of the Creator is essential to the welfare of every intelligent creature.
2. It is obvious if there had been no sin there would have been no suffering.
3. It is therefore evident that in order to be happy we must be in a state of acceptance with God. (Congregational Pulpit.)
Thy will be done
Gods will is to be the guide and measure of ours. These two standards of Gods will-reason and revelation-however they may promote the same end, yet they are very different in their extent.
I. The laws of Nature seem to regard only
(1) outward order and decency;
(2) strict justice in our dealings.
(3) They allow us to return like for like;
(4) oblige us to no more temperance than can keep the faculties in good order.
II. The laws of the gospel require
(1) inward purity and holiness;
(2) extensive charity, whereby we are to rejoice with them that do rejoice, and mourn with them that weep.
(3) To do good for evil.
(4) To mortify our corrupt affections, and take up our cross and follow our Saviour. By this short view of these two rules of Gods will, it appears that one is more extensive than the other, and that we cannot be said to fulfil the whole of that will without making the gospel the immediate rule of it. (Thomas Mangey.)
The necessity of a cheerful obedience to the Divine will
I. Humility, which corrects every arrogant thought,
(1) reminds us of our demerits,
(2) convinces us that the least blessings we receive are greater than the best of us deserve.
II. Contentment.
(1) An easy satisfaction with our present share of the bounties of providence,
(2) neither envying the more liberal allotments of other men, nor
(3) repines at its own.
III. Patience.
1. Cheerful submission to whatever pains and afflictions we are at any time called upon to suffer.
2. Any troubles and trials we may be called upon to endure.
IV. Quiet subjection to the
(1) authority,
(2) full trust in the goodness, the
(3) wisdom, and the
(4) promises of God.
These are virtues of so close an affinity and connection, that one of them can hardly subsist without the other. All of them are necessary to form and perfect that resignation to the will of God, for which we are taught here to pray. (John Rogers, D. D.)
Our Fathers will
1. The Divine will is more than mere power,-it is righteousness, wisdom, tenderness. It does not fulfil itself by simple force.
2. We should ascribe the sweet as well as the bitter experiences of life to the will of God.
3. We shall find in the Fathers will being as well as doing. It will be in all our doings and desires.
4. In doing the Fathers will it is manifest that many things we have loved will have to be laid aside.
5. The day when this prayer has its answer will be the day of Gods revenge and victory, the revenge and victory of righteousness and love. (W. Hubbard.)
The obedience of angels
1. An angel, by his very nature, is a servant doing Gods behest. It is a law of his being; with us it is an occasional thing.
2. They go from the immediate presence of God, hence their power and joy.
3. An angels obedience is the obedience of a happy being. Obedience is the fruit of happiness.
4. It matters nothing to an angel what the work is which is given him to do.
5. The response to an order is always instant.
6. It is always primarily to Christ. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Angelic obedience universal
You would do well to notice that it matters nothing to an angel what the work is which is given him to do. It may be for a babe, or it may be for a king; it may be for a prophet, or it may be for a country; it may be for one, or it may be for multitudes; it may be for the holiest, or it may be for the vilest; it may be to comfort, or it may be to reprove; it may be to carry a promise, or it may be to execute a judgment; it may be to deliver, or it may be to smite; it may be to restrain, or it may be to lead on. It is just the same to him. It cannot be too menial or too lofty; it cannot be too little or too much. His-Who has given him to do it. It is simple obedience. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The third petition
I. The will of God.
II. Gods potential will.
III. Gods perceptive will in relation to the human will.
IV. Why should Gods will be done? Because it is Gods. Besides the benefits resulting, there is the joy in the very act of performing His will. It dignifies the humblest lot.
V. Angelic nature. The resemblance of obedience suggests resemblance of nature; angels only a higher species of man.
VI. Angelic obedience.
1. Angels do the will of God lovingly.
2. They do it intelligently.
3. They do it prayerfully.
4. They do all Gods will.
5. They do it always.
6. They all do it, and do it altogether.
7. They do it in the presence of God.
VII. Passive obedience. (Newman Hall, LL. D.)
The third petition
I. What do we mean by this petition?
1. That the will of God may be done by the will of man.
2. This is the prayer of a renovated will.
3. In this prayer to our Father we say with emphasis, Thy will be done.
II. How shall we use this petition?
1. Thy will be done in obedience to orders.
2. Thy will be done in submission under trials.
3. Thy will be done by surrender to Thy guidance.
4. Thy will be done in the use of means for Thy reign to come. (Dr. Stanford.)
Let us pray this prayer
1. Not in a spirit of indolent acquiescense.
2. God has a will concerning our actions.
3. God looks on the heart.
4. Three points revealed concerning the life of angels.
(1) Their holiness;
(2) the vitality of their service;
(3) the love.
Their angelic obedience is distinguished by holiness, diligence, love.
(1) We must cast away everything that defileth.
(2) We must stir up the gift that is in us to a lovelier, a brighter, a more kindling glow.
(3) Above all, by setting ourselves to that which is the very work of heaven-sympathy and love. In heaven there is no disobedience, no indolence, no selfishness. (Dr. C. J. Vaughan.)
The submissive spirit of the Lords prayer
I. Look at Gods will, in two or three of its essential properties.
1. It is universal.
2. It is wise.
3. It is supreme.
II. Three things contained in this petition.
1. Gods will done in the fulfilment of duty.
2. In the endurance of trial.
3. In the universal prevalence of holiness.
III. How is Gods will done in heaven?
1. Harmoniously.
2. Cheerfully.
3. Promptly.
IV. The blessings that flow from acquiescence with the mill of God are innumerable.
1. It secures our happiness.
2. It secures our safety.
3. It secures our satisfaction. (Dr. O. Winslow.)
The third petition
I. As it illustrates the great rule of moral obligation. The fitness of taking the will of God as the great rule of human conduct; this was brought out in the first sin.
II. Its application to the circumstances of our Christian life and character.
1. AS the will of God embraces all beings, we as a unit-world in this moral system, must have our allotted part to sustain.
2. We are to say Thy will, as opposed to the will of any other master.
3. The revealed will of God is to be the paramount, exclusive, all-determining law of human conduct. This conformity to the will of God will be exhibited
(1) in an attitude of pious submission, under all that is hard to bear in His providential appointments;
(2) in relation to our spiritual experiences.
III. The pattern of all acceptable obedience.
1. In the way of probation our compliance with the will of God is limited to the present state.
2. How are we to do the will of God?
(1) In its integrity;
(2) with delighted complacency in our obedience;
(3) unwearedly. This shows us with what meek acquiescence we should pray. We have made mistakes enough by following our own will. Let there be no striving to get away from our providential lot. (D. Moore, M. A.)
Thy will be done on earth
The same principle which renders an angel a willing servant in glory would make him a willing servant in this wicked state. He who gets his copy most into his eye, and takes it into his mind, will draw the straightest lines. In material things it is the glory of heaven, where God looks He sees Himself. The crystal sea, sheets of gold, gates of pearl, are made to reflect the glory that shines upon them. As we pass from the material to the intelligent inhabitants, the pattern becomes higher.
1. When we look upon ourselves, what a very disobedient thing obedience is. How men struggle to obey, and often to escape obedience. But turn to the angels.
1. Mark the entire submission of their intellect.
2. The absorption of their will.
3. The pliability with which they adapt themselves exactly to Gods varying purposes.
4. Or pass from the act to the spirit-They are beholding the Fathers face.
5. Gods will must be done in the way God wills it. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Angelic obedience the model for ours
1. It is worthy of remark that our Lord teaches us to think a good deal about the angels.
2. Proposing the angels as a model of obedience gives us a most exalted notion of them and their performance of Gods will.
3. In what way are they our models?
(1) As pure and holy creatures. We must therefore imitate their purity.
(2) As continually occupied in offices of praise and adoration of God. We must imitate their praises in our prayers. (G. Moberley, D. C. L.)
Resignation to the Divine will
I. Devotion to Gods will the true principle of human life. Subjection to the Divine will has made the heroes of the past great.
1. Obedience to God takes its rise in Gods revelation of Himself.
2. It is through acquaintance with the revelation of God we grow into knowledge of His will, and are guided in our desire for its accomplishment.
3. The revelation of God supplies the means for the accomplishment of the Divine will. It gives the power of obedience.
II. The example. (J. Pillars.)
Constant obedience to God
Let our obedience resemble theirs; let it not be characterized by fits and starts, with intervening relapses into indolence; not needing revivals out of apathy; not dependent on novelty which must soon lose its charm, but patient and persevering under all changes and circumstances; not as a mountain torrent, whose rocky channel is bare and sunburnt when snows are not melting and rains do not fall, but as a deep, broad river, ever flowing with fertilizing tide. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
The will of God
1. The secret will of God.
2. The revealed will of God.
3. The determining will of God.
4. The prescribing will of God.
5. The providential will of God. (F. C. Blythe, M. A.)
Thy will
1. Not Satans.
2. Not my will. (F. C. Blythe, M. A.)
In earth as in heaven
1. Thankful that we are not yet under the earth, but permitted to toil at the work God has given us.
2. We should deem it a great privilege to be allowed to do Gods will, inasmuch that we are not only on the earth, but of the earth earthy.
3. We are not to wait till we get to heaven to do Gods will.
4. We are not to take any earthly standard as our aim.
5. The angels do Gods will zealously, perfectly, orderly, constantly, cheerfully. (F. C. Blythe, M. A.)
Imitating angels
I. Some characteristics of the obedience rendered to God in heaven.
1. Angelic obedience is thorough.
2. It is continuous.
3. Prompt and lively.
4. Cheerful and loving.
5. Universal.
II. Reasons why we should seek to imitate the obedience of angels.
1. It will be a positive self-injury not to submit to Him.
2. God ever wills our present and everlasting welfare.
3. Perfect submission to the will of God is essential to our present happiness.
4. It is right.
III. What must be done before the prayer of the text can be fully answered.
1. The Scriptures must be circulated over the entire globe.
2. We also need an unction from the Holy One. (J. Morgan.)
As it is in heaven
1. The will of God is perfectly done in heaven because it is done with the unbroken, uninterrupted sense of the presence of God. We must try to took on things as God looks at them.
2. There is in the celestial world a wide diversity of gifts and operations. The seraphs fire is combined with the cherubs strength.
3. There is war even in heaven to carry out the will of God in casting out evil from the world. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. Courage, self-denial, discipline, are the gifts by which victories are won.
4. It is a world of spirits-the spiritual unites and vivifies the whole. The hosts which really govern the world are the thoughts and consciences of men.
5. It is beneficial. (Dean Stanley.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Thy kingdom come.] The ancient Jews scrupled not to say: He prays not at all, in whose prayers there is no mention of the kingdom of God. Hence, they were accustomed to say, “Let him cause his kingdom to reign, and his redemption to flourish: and let the Messiah speedily come and deliver his people.”
The universal sway of the sceptre of Christ: – God has promised that the kingdom of Christ shall be exalted above all kingdoms. Da 7:14-27. That it shall overcome all others, and be at last the universal empire. Isa 9:7. Connect this with the explanation given of this phrase, Mt 3:2.
Thy will be done] This petition is properly added to the preceding; for when the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Spirit, is established in the heart, there is then an ample provision made for the fulfilment of the Divine will.
The will of God is infinitely good, wise, and holy; to have it fulfilled in and among men, is to have infinite goodness, wisdom, and holiness diffused throughout the universe; and earth made the counterpart of heaven.
As it is in heaven.] The Jews maintained, that they were the angels of God upon earth, as these pure spirits were angels of God in heaven; hence they said, “As the angels sanctify the Divine name in heaven, so the Israelites sanctify the Divine name, upon earth.” See Schoettgen.
Observe,
1st. The salvation of the soul is the result of two wills conjoined: the will of God, and the will of man. If God will not the salvation of man, he cannot be saved: If, man will not the salvation God has prepared for him, he cannot be delivered from his sins.
2dly. This petition certainly points out a deliverance from all sin; for nothing that is unholy can consist with the Divine will, and if this be fulfilled in man, surely sin shall be banished from his soul.
3dly. This is farther evident from these words, as it is in heaven; i.e. as the angels do it: viz. with all zeal, diligence, love, delight, and perseverance.
4thly. Does not the petition plainly imply, we may live without sinning against God? Surely the holy angels never mingle iniquity with their loving obedience; and as our Lord teaches us to pray, that we do his will here as they do it in heaven, can it be thought he would put a petition in our mouths, the fulfilment of which was impossible?
5thly. This certainly destroys the assertion: “There is no such state of purification, to be attained here, in which it may be said, the soul is redeemed from sinful passions and desires;” for it is on EARTH that we are commanded to pray that this will, which is our sanctification, may be done.
6thly. Our souls can never be truly happy, till our WILLS be entirely subjected to, and become one with, the will of God.
7thly. How can any person offer this petition to his Maker, who thinks of nothing less than the performance of the will of God, and of nothing more than doing his own?
Some see the mystery of the Trinity in the three preceding petitions. The first being, addressed to the Father, as the source of all holiness. The second, to the Son, who establishes the kingdom of God upon earth. The third, to the Holy Spirit, who by his energy works in men to will and to perform.
To offer these three petitions with success at the throne of God, three graces, essential to our salvation, must be brought into exercise; and, indeed, the petitions themselves necessarily suppose them.
FAITH, Our Father – for he that cometh to God, must believe that he is.
HOPE, Thy kingdom come – For this grace has for its object good things to come.
LOVE, Thy will be done – For love is the incentive to and principle of all obedience to God, and beneficence to man.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Let the Lord rule over all the nations of the earth, and let them be freely subject to his laws, and to his Son Jesus Christ; let the gospel of the kingdom be published, and prosper, by bringing all thoughts into a captivity to it. And let the kingdom of God come more within the hearts of all men, and hasten the revelation of the kingdom of glory. Let the will of the Lord be every where done, and that on earth, with as much freedom and cheerfulness, and with as little reluctancy, as it is done by the angels and saints in heaven. These three first petitions are of great cognation one to another; God is then glorified when his kingdom is advanced, and his kingdom is then promoted when there is most free and cheerful obedience yielded to his will: the sum is, Let God be glorified.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thy kingdom come,…. The form of expression used by the ancient Jews, relating to this article, before the coming of Christ, doubtless was, as it now stands in their prayers r,
, “the kingdom of thy Messiah come”. Christ alters the expression, leaves out the word “Messiah”, and puts it thus, “thy kingdom come”, to let them know that the Messiah was come; and that it was the kingdom of the Father, in the power of his grace, upon the souls of men, they must pray for and expect: however, he conformed to a rule of their’s in this, as well as in the former petition s; that
“every blessing, or prayer, in which there is no , “mention made of the name”, i.e. of God, is no prayer; and that every prayer, in which there is not , “the kingdom”, is no prayer.”
In this petition the disciples were taught to pray for the success of the Gospel, both among Jews and Gentiles; for the conversion of God’s elect, in which the kingdom of God would greatly appear, to the destruction of the kingdom of Satan, and the abolition of the kingdom of the beast, in the latter day; which will usher in the kingdom, of the mediator, he will receive from his Father, and this will terminate in the kingdom of glory: in a word, not the kingdom of nature and providence is meant, which always was; but the kingdom of heaven, which was at hand, nay had taken place, though as yet was not very visible, and which is spiritual in the hearts of God’s people, Jews and Gentiles; and which will appear exceeding glorious in the latter day, and at last be swallowed up in the ultimate glory; all which must be very desirable by the sincere lovers of Jesus Christ.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. There is some appearance of this petition still remaining, in what the t Jews call the short prayer:
“what is the short prayer? R. Eliezer says, , “do thy will in heaven”; and give quietness of spirit, or acquiescence of spirit in thy will, to them that fear thee below.”
Christ says “thy will”; not the will of wicked men, nor the will of Satan, nor a man’s own will, but the will of God: by which is meant either his secret will, which is the rule of all his proceedings both in providence and grace; is unknown to us, till facts make it appear; is always fulfilled in heaven and in earth; and sometimes is fulfilled by those who have no regard to his revealed will; and is what ought to be submitted to patiently, and without murmuring: or rather his revealed will, which consists partly in the declarations of his grace and mercy; as that salvation is by Christ, whoever believes in him shall be saved, that all the redeemed be sanctified, persevere to the end, and be glorified; and partly in the commands enjoined his people, which will of his is good, perfect, and acceptable. The will of God may be said to be done by us, when our wills are resigned to his; when we patiently submit to every adverse dispensation of providence; when our hearts and actions are, in some measure, conformed to his law; when what is done, is done in faith, with a view to his glory, and without dependence upon it; of which such only are capable who have a spiritual understanding of the will of God, believe in Christ, receive grace and strength from him, and are assisted by his Spirit. These desire to do the will of God, as it is done in heaven; meaning not so much by the inanimate creatures, the sun, and moon, and stars, as glorified saints and holy angels, who do it voluntarily and cheerfully; speedily, and without delay; constantly, and without any interruption; and perfectly and completely.
r Seder Tephillot, fol. 128. 2. Ed. Basil. s T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 40. 2. t Ib. fol. 29. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “Thy kingdom come.” (elthato he basileia sou) “Let your kingdom come,” come to be, to exist, that kingdom so often spoken of in the prophetic Scriptures, Psa 2:8; Dan 7:27; Rev 11:15; Rev 19:6. See also Mat 11:27-30; Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:24.
2) “Thy will be done,” (genetheto to thelema sou) “Let your will come to be or to exist,” as our will is subordinated that we may be and do what pleases you, Joh 7:17; Eph 5,17; 2Co 8:12: Rom 12:2; Eph 6:6; 1Th 4:3.
3) “In earth as it is in heaven.” (hos en ouranon kai epi ges) “Upon earth as also it exists in heaven,”in thought, feeling, speech, and action: Let there exist a fraternal harmony and obedience to thee among men on earth, as it exists among the redeemed in heaven, and among angels that have never sinned, Psa 103:20-22. Mat 6:9-10 includes three petitions, strong desires, that every child of God should repeatedly seek from the Lord, regarding 1) His hallowed name, 2) His coming Kingdom, and 3) that His will be done now.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. May thy kingdom come Though the Greek verb ( ἐλθέτω) is simple, yet if, instead of May thy kingdom come, we read, as it was rendered in the old translation, May thy kingdom arrive, (435) the meaning will remain unchanged. We must first attend to the definition of the kingdom of God. He is said to reign among men, when they voluntarily devote and submit themselves to be governed by him, placing their flesh under the yoke, and renouncing their desires. Such is the corruption of the nature, that all our affections are so many soldiers of Satan, who oppose the justice of God, and consequently obstruct or disturb his reign. By this prayer we ask, that he may remove all hindrances, and may bring all men under his dominion, and may lead them to meditate on the heavenly life.
This is done partly by the preaching of the word, and partly by the secret power of the Spirit. It is his will to govern men by his word: but as the bare voice, if the inward power of the Spirit be not added, does not pierce the hearts of men, both must be joined together, in order that the kingdom of God may be established. We therefore pray that God would exert his power, both by the Word and by the Spirit, that the whole world may willingly submit to him. The kingdom of God is opposed to all disorder ( ἀταξία) and confusion for good order is nowhere found in the world, except when he regulates by his hand the schemes and dispositions of men. Hence we conclude, that the commencement of the reign of God in us is the destruction of the old man, and the denial of ourselves, that we may be renewed to another life.
There is still another way in which God reigns; and that is, when he overthrows his enemies, and compels them, with Satan their head, to yield a reluctant subjection to his authority, “till they all be made his footstools” (Heb 10:13.) The substance of this prayer is, that God would enlighten the world by the light of his Word, — would form the hearts of men, by the influences of his Spirit, to obey his justice, and would restore to order, by the gracious exercise of his power, all the disorder that exists in the world. Now, he commences his reign by subduing the desires of our flesh. Again, as the kingdom of God is continually growing and advancing to the end of the world, we must pray every day that it may come: for to whatever extent iniquity abounds in the world, to such an extent the kingdom of God, which brings along with it perfect righteousness, is not yet come.
May thy will be done Although the will of God, viewed in itself, is one and simple, it is presented to us in Scripture under a twofold aspect. (436) It is said, that the will of God is done, when he executes the secret counsels of his providence, however obstinately men may strive to oppose him. But here we are commanded to pray that, in another sense, his will may be done, — that all creatures may obey him, without opposition, and without reluctance. This appears more clearly from the comparison, as in heaven For, as He has the angels constantly ready to execute his commands, (and hence they are said to do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word, Psa 103:20,) so we desire that all men may have their will formed to such harmony with the righteousness of God, that they may freely bend in whatever direction he shall appoint. It is, no doubt, a holy desire, when we bow to the will of God, and acquiesce in his appointments. But this prayer implies something more. It is a prayer, that God may remove all the obstinacy of men, which rises in unceasing rebellion against him, and may render them gentle and submissive, that they may not wish or desire any thing but what pleases him, and meets his approbation.
But it may be objected: Ought we to ask from God what, he declares, will never exist to the end of the world? I reply: When we pray that the earth may become obedient to the will of God, it is not necessary that we should look particularly at every individual. It is enough for us to declare, by such a prayer as this, that we hate and regret whatever we perceive to be contrary to the will of God, and long for its utter destruction, not only that it may be the rule of all our affections, but that we may yield ourselves without reserve, and with all cheerfulness, to its fulfillment.
(435) “ Adveniat regnum tuum;” the only difference being, that the compound verb adveniat , may arrive, has been exchanged for the simple verb veniat , may come, a change which has been adopted, so far as I have observed, in the modern European versions. — Ed.
(436) “ Elle nous est proposee en deux sortes es Escritures.” — “It is presented to us in two ways in the Scriptures.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Thy kingdom come.Historically, the prayer had its origin in the Messianic expectations embodied in the picture of the ideal king in Isa. 11:1-6; Isa. 42:1-7, Dan. 7:14. It had long been familiar to all who looked for the consolation of Israel. Now the kingdom of God, that in which He manifests His sovereignty more than in the material world or in the common course of history, had been proclaimed as nigh at hand. The Teacher of the prayer knew Himself to be the Head of that kingdom. But it was not, like the kingdoms of the world, one that rested on the despotism of might, but on the acknowledgment of righteousness. It was therefore ever growing to a completeness, which it has never yet reached. Its advance to that completeness might be retarded by mans self-will, and hastened by mans fulfilment of its conditions. And therefore we pray that it may come in its fulness, that all created beings may bring their wills into harmony with Gods will. So tar as that prayer comes from the heart and not from the lips only, it is in part self-fulfilling, in part it works according to the law by which God answers prayers that are in harmony with His own will; and in so far as the kingdom, though in one sense it has come, and is in the midst of us, and within us, is yet far from the goal towards which it moves, ever coming and yet to come, the prayer is one that never becomes obsolete, and may be the utterance of the saints in glory no less than of toilers and sufferers upon earth.
Thy will be done.The prayer has often been, even in the lips of Christians, hardly more than the acceptance of the inevitable. Like the Stoic, we have submitted to a destiny; like the Moslem, we have been resigned to a decree. But as it came from the lips of the Son of Man, it was surely far more than this. We pray that the will of God may be done because we believe it to be perfectly loving and righteous. It is the will that desires our sanctification (1Th. 4:3), that does not will that any should perish. The real difficulty in the prayer is, that it lands us, as before. in a mystery which we cannot solve. It assumes that even the will of God is in part dependent on our wills, that it will not be done unless we so pray. The question, Who hath resisted this will? Does it not ever fulfil itself? forces itself on our thoughts. And the answer is found, as before, in accepting the seeming paradox of prayer. In one sense the will of God, which is also the eternal law, must fulfil itself; but it is one thing for that law to work in subduing all things to itself, another for it to bring all created wills into harmony with itself. And in really praying for this we, as before, in part fulfil the prayer.
As it is in heaven.The thought is true of the order of the visible heaven, where law reigns supreme, with no variableness or shadow of turning. But seeing that the obedience contemplated is that of the will, it is better, perhaps, to think of the words as pointing to the unseen hosts of heaven, the ministering angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. That all wills on earth should be brought into the same entire conformity with the divine will as theirs, is what we are taught to pray for.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Thy kingdom Thy dominion over all hearts and souls. Come By our willing submission to it, and by its universal spread. In this petition, truly offered, we do truly submit to God; we do truly give him our hearts, and are consequently truly Christians. Thy will be done Thy laws be obeyed; thy commandments be executed. A class of commentators make a distinction, for which there is little ground, between the revealed will and the secret will of God. Thus Professor Owen, in his Commentary, says: “His secret will or purpose is being accomplished at all times and in all places of his dominion.” If this be true, then all the vices, crimes, and abominations of fiends and the most wicked wretches, though forbidden by the law of God, are in accordance with “his secret will!” What is this, but to make a hypocrite of the most holy God? What is it, but to make him will the wickedness of the sinner, that he may damn him? What is it, but to make God the original determiner of all sin; and therefore the responsible author of all sin; and therefore, again, the only real sinner in the universe?
In earth as it is in heaven And thereby men would be as obedient as angels, and the earth would be a counterpart of heaven.
The phrase, in earth, clearly indicates the expectation that obedience to God’s will, bringing on the coming of his kingdom, should overspread the earth. This universal hope is placed in the very body of this universal prayer. It is instinct with the very life of missionary enterprise. That kingdom is to be introduced, not by the convulsion of the world’s dissolution, but by the submission of all hearts to its extending sway. The Church, therefore, cannot pray this clause of the divine prayer in the full spirit of its power, without becoming a missionary Church. In this petition is the concentrated germ of all holy enterprise, of all aggressive energy, of all Christian sacrifice; for the conversion of men, for the blessing of the race, and for the recalling of an apostate world to God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“May Your Kingly Rule come.”
Unless we are to see these three prayers that make up the first part of the Lord’s Prayer as totally independent of each other, and as having different time references, this must be seen as including the prayer that the Kingly Rule of Heaven might begin to come on earth within the experience of the disciples who were then listening to His words, for it follows the desire to hallow His Name as described above, and it precedes the request for the doing of God’s will on earth (and the prayer in Luk 11:1-4 omitted the latter because it was seen as having already been said in the previous two requests). Furthermore, as a primary emphasis in respect of the Kingly Rule of Heaven in Matthew (and the total emphasis in respect of the Kingly Rule of God) is on its being experienced and spreading in the present this is what we would expect (see for this The Coming of the King and His Kingly Rule in the introduction). This is thus not just a pious hope that God’s everlasting Kingly Rule will come about in the eternal kingdom, or even a yearning for that situation to come about, looking at things at a distance, in a kind of passive way, as the Scribes and Pharisees did. This is a recognition that the Kingly Rule of God has already begun to exert its power on men and women as revealed in chapter 13, and a prayer that that will be effective, and will continue to come, in order that then it might lead on to the establishment of the everlasting Kingly Rule of God, when all will own His sway (Isa 45:23; Php 2:10). Both ideas are intrinsic within it. Note especially how the establishment of His Kingly Rule in this way is connected both with the offer of salvation (Isa 45:22) and His word going forth in righteousness (Isa 45:23).
Thus it is a cry for His Kingly Rule, which is already established in Heaven (Psa 103:19), to break through on earth (Psa 22:28; LXX Mat 21:29 tou Kuriou he basileia), so that some on earth may become a part of Heaven (Isa 57:15; Php 3:20; Eph 2:6). For ‘His Kingly Rule reigns over all’ (Psa 103:19, LXX Psa 102:19 he basileia autou). Indeed the suffering of God’s king is to lead on to the kingship becoming the Lord’s (Psa 22:12-18 with Psa 22:28; Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12). It is a call for His people to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat 5:6) as they await and participate in the establishment of the Kingly Rule of the righteous Branch, the Messiah Who will make real to them ‘the Lord their righteousness’ (Jer 23:5-6, He will ‘reign as king’ – LXX basileuo basileus). It is a cry for His deliverance and righteousness to be revealed with power in such a way as to effectively work on earth in the saving of men and women in the forming of the new Israel, as a fulfilment of the Isaianic promises. God had promised, ‘I will bring near My righteousness — and My salvation will not delay, and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory’ (Isa 46:13; see also Isa 51:5; Isa 51:8; Isa 56:1), which would result in the establishment of His righteous King (Isa 11:1-4), and that is what is being sought here. It is a prayer that God’s Kingly Rule may spread effectively and powerfully and possess the lives of men and women on earth today, in the way that is described in chapter 13 and elsewhere, so that God’s glory may be seen on earth, although certainly then leading on to its final fulfilment following the judgment, as indeed it also does in chapter 13.
For before there can possibly be an everlasting Kingship there must first be a conquest on earth in the name of the Messiah (Mat 28:19-20) which will then subsequently result in His final everlasting Kingly Rule being established, with that in itself handed over to the fullness of the Godhead at the consummation (1Co 15:24). It is thus a prayer for the establishment of the Messianic reign by the power of God as they go forward to make disciples of all nations (Mat 28:19-20), that He and they might reign on the earth under God’s Kingly Rule (Mat 19:28; Mat 28:18-20; Rom 5:17; Eph 2:6; Col 1:13; Rev 1:6; Rev 1:9; Rev 5:10) in preparation for their being carried up into Heaven (Mat 13:30; Mat 13:43; Mat 24:31; 1Th 4:16-17) as already under His Kingly Rule (Col 1:13), and that they may be citizens of Heaven (Php 3:20), a situation which is potentially theirs (Eph 2:6). It is a prayer that God will fulfil His purposes on earth and bring glory to His Name and to the Name of Jesus, as the world is brought under His sway, something which will then finally result in His perfect everlasting Rule in Heaven. Thus it is the Kingly Rule of God for which the prophets longed and waited (Isa 24:23; Isa 33:22; Isa 52:7) which would come about through His Chosen One (Isa 9:6-7; Isa 11:1-4; Isa 32:1-4; Isa 42:1-4; Eze 37:24-28; Dan 7:14), which would be gradually established on earth in the new Israel (Mat 13:1-52), as a result of the activities of His disciples (Mat 28:19-20), and consummated in Heaven in the new Jerusalem (Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22).
Mat 6:10 b
“May Your will be done.”
This petition is then a continuation of the same prayer as the previous one, but seen from the point of view, not only of God’s activity (‘bring about the doing of Your will’), but of men’s response (‘let them do your will’), and put in more basic terms. It has very much in mind how Jesus will close the Sermon, emphasising the doing of the will of God (Mat 7:21; Mat 7:24-25). ‘Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter under the Kingly Rule of God, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven’ (Mat 7:21). It is thus a prayer that God will work in men’s hearts and minds and wills in such a way that they will ‘will and do of His good pleasure’ (Php 2:13), and that that may be accomplished in order that God’s will might be done on earth and be seen to be done. It is a prayer that what Jesus speaks of in Mat 5:3-9; Mat 7:13-27 might become a reality for His disciples.
But we must here solemnly keep in mind also Mat 26:42 where we have similar words, ‘Your will be done’. For there we have the reminder that His will also comes about through suffering, and especially through the suffering of His Son. Thus by this prayer, quite unknowingly, they will be praying for the successful carrying through of His crucifixion in the will of God, and of their own persecution as they filled up what was ‘lacking’ in the sufferings of Christ (the sufferings of His body as His witnesses). As can be seen it is no light thing to pray for the doing of His will. This may therefore be seen as very much leading up to the prayer not to be brought into the trials that the world will have to face but to be delivered from evil and the Evil One. For while triumphant, it carries within it the idea of the persecution and martyrdoms that lay ahead.
It is interesting that this last petition is not found in the initial giving of the Lord’s Prayer in Luk 11:1-4. It is surely therefore to be seen as a clarifying and expanding on the previous two requests so as to make their meaning unmistakable, and attach them firmly to the present time, precisely because Jesus did not want men just to project them into a distant future. In reviewing the prayer He had Himself seen the danger that this might occur.
(If this were not so we would be suggesting that in His Lucan prayer Jesus had not been much concerned about the current doing of His will on earth but had only been interested in the more distant future, something which does not in fact tie in with the second part of the prayer which very much has in mind the present. Thus the second part of the prayer would then lack anything to tie itself to in the first part of the prayer).
Mat 6:10 c
“As in heaven, so (kai) on earth.”
And as we pray this we are to do so remembering the perfect pattern of obedience. For Heaven is the place where all race to do His bidding, where there is no thought of disobedience to His will, where there is not a whiff of dissent. Once men are there they do not question His will, for they are in a place where God’s will is all. So in Heaven they do not obey Him because they are in subservience and dare not disobey, but because they recognise that what He requires is wholly right (Rev 5:13). They therefore delight to do His will.
This reminds us how much easier our lives would be if only we would take time to live in the light of Heaven. And that is in fact what Scripture constantly exhorts us to do, for we are to recognise that we have been seated at His right hand in the heavenly place, and that we have been made citizens of Heaven, and are therefore to set our minds on things above where Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God (Eph 2:6; Php 3:20; Col 3:1-3), recognising at the same time that all things are open to the eyes of Whom we have to do, whether in earth or in Heaven ( Heb 4:13; compare 1Jn 1:7). Compare again the promises attaching to Mat 5:3-12, and see Mat 6:20. But instead we allow the distractions of this world to take our eyes off our heavenly heritage, and, before we know where we are, we find ourselves once more engaged in disobedience, and ‘the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things, choke the word and it becomes unfruitful’. This can even happen to some extent in a Christian when he takes his eyes off things above. Here therefore Jesus seeks to turn our thoughts in prayer back to our spiritual home. We are to make Heaven our pattern and our home. We are to be homesick for Heaven, and in the light of it ever active on earth.
Note the use of ‘kai’. Kai is a loose and indefinite conjunction, which makes a connection but without emphasising how. Often it is almost redundant. Among other possibilities it can thus be translated as ‘and’ or ‘so’ or ‘even’ (‘that is to say’). A good rule that has been suggested is that its significance should always be understated so as to add as little as possible to the meaning of a sentence. Here that would support the translation ‘so’. ‘On earth as in Heaven’ conveys the right meaning.
But, as we have seen above, the pattern of the prayer suggests that this additional phrase should be seen as applying to all three of the previous petitions, for in Heaven His name is hallowed, in Heaven His rule is unquestioned, and in Heaven His will is done with alacrity and delight. Indeed a major emphasis in the Old Testament is that the Lord already reigns in Heaven. He is the King Who sits above the flood (Psa 29:10) as King over all the earth (Psa 47:2). He is high and lifted up and seated on a throne surveying the situation on earth (Isa 6:1; Psa 53:2). It is there in Heaven that His Kingly Rule (LXX he basileai autou) is established (Psa 103:19). And this Kingly Rule is the Lord’s so that He might rule over the nations (Psa 22:28). Thus it is right and Scriptural that His disciples should pray, ‘Your Kingly Rule come, as in Heaven so on earth’.
The significance of ‘Heaven’ here must clearly be that it represents the ‘place’ where God dwells with His heavenly hosts, for that is where He is hallowed, where He reigns, and where His will is done without question.
A Change in Focus.
Up to this point the whole prayer has centred on God and His will. The emphasis has been on ‘Your — Your — Your’. And rightly so for this should ever be the focal point of discipleship. But now there is a sudden change, for from this point on the focus is on ‘us — us — us’, not in any sense of thinking mainly of ourselves, but having in mind our dependence on Him and our need for His constant help if we are to have the ability to fulfil His commands and do His will. In the light of what we have prayed for in the exalting of His Name, and the establishing of His Rule, and the doing of His will, we are now to seek the means by which we may ourselves have our part in it. This in itself confirms that the first part of the prayer very much refers to the position as it is found on earth. It is that which they need help in facing.
We have suggested in the chiasmus above a parallelism in inverted form between the prayers concerning the performing of His will, and these spiritual requests that now follow, and that still holds, but as regularly in this Sermon they may also be seen from another angle. For the giving of their ‘tomorrow’s bread’ (see below) ties in well with His hallowing of His Name by sending His Holy Spirit to feed their hearts (Eze 36:23-27), the coming of His Kingly Rule very much involves the forgiveness of those who come under that Kingly Rule, (they could not be under His Kingly Rule without its continual provision), and the doing of His will, (and even more so in so far as it leads to suffering), necessarily requires deliverance from trials and from evil and the Evil One.
There are two ways of looking at this part of the prayer depending partly on the significance we place on the first petition. The first is to see the petitions as involving the recognition of:
A continual requirement for physical provisioning, ‘give us today our bread for today’ (or ‘sufficient for today’).
A continual requirement for spiritual restoration, ‘forgive us what we owe to you for failing to do your will’.
A continuing need of both physical and spiritual protection, ‘lead us not into testing, but deliver us from evil and the Evil One’.
But note that on this interpretation there is lacking here any idea of a request for positive spiritual good and sustenance. In a sense they would seem to be praying, ‘Lord, somehow keep us going’, rather than, ‘Lord make us strong to do your will’.
Alternatively we may see all three as referring to Messianic provision; a continual requirement for spiritual sustenance, for spiritual bread (‘Tomorrow’s bread’), that is, to partake of Christ and His words (Mat 4:4) as the bread of life (Joh 6:35), followed by a continual requirement for spiritual forgiveness, and spiritual protection. But either way we should note that unlike the previous three petitions these three are connected by the word ‘and’. It is a reminder that all three are necessary together. It is not a question of one or the other.
Having this in mind let us therefore consider them in more detail, .
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
His majesty, power and might, omnipresence, and omniscience having been confessed, the thought follows:
v. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of heaven, the sum total of the gifts and mercies of God in Jesus, which God has intended for all men and which is realized as the kingdom of grace in the believers, shall come. God must grant faith and keep us in faith and thus in His kingdom. Joh 15:1-5. But our prayer is also for others, that God may open their hearts and minds to the glorious news of their salvation by sending faithful pastors and missionaries, and that he would soon merge the Church militant into the Church triumphant. This petition implies that such is the good and gracious will of God. It follows, then, that this will of God should be perfectly, ideally done and fulfilled, and that all opposing forces should be broken and hindered. Incidentally, His will and allowance in our own lives should be carried out. Whatever of suffering and trials He is pleased to put upon us shall be borne willingly, since the angels themselves are models in the doing of God’s will. At all times, in all places, in all things we pray that His will be done.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 6:10. Thy kingdom come 2. The kingdom of God being universal and everlasting (Psa 145:13.), these words cannot be understoodof it; but of the kingdom of the Messiah, which is also called The kingdom of God, ch. Mat 3:2. There are in the coming of this kingdom several steps to be observed:The resurrection of Jesus Christ, his ascension, and the sending down of the Holy Ghost, were the beginnings of it. Act 2:32; Act 2:36. The preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles extended it beyond the bounds of Judaea, especially when, after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter extirpation of the ceremonial law, the earthly kingdom of Judaea, over which God in a peculiar sense presided, entirely ceased, and the Gospel came to be preached over the known world. This kingdom has ever since enlarged its bounds, as the Gospel has been by degrees, received in the world, and will continue to enlarge itself, till our adorable Redeemer has put all enemies under his feet. What we desire or pray for in this second petition is, the advancement and progress of the Gospel; obedience to the faith or doctrine of Christ, and his appearance in glory. See 2Ti 4:8. Rom 8:19; Rom 8:39. Rev 17:18. It may be paraphrased thus: “May thy kingdom of grace come quickly, and swallow up all the kingdoms of the earth; may all mankind, receiving thee, O Christ, for their king, and truly believing in thy name, be filled with righteousness and peace and joy; with holiness and happiness, till they are removed hence into thy kingdom of glory, there to reign with thee for ever and ever.”
Thy will be done in earth, &c. 3. In this third petition we pray not that God may do his own will, as Dr. Whitby observes, nor that the will of his providence may be done upon us; neither do we pray that we may become equal to the angels in perfection, or that God may compel us to do his will; but that, in consequence of the coming of his kingdom, or the establishment of the Gospel in the world, men may be enabled to imitate the angels, by giving such a sincere, universal, and constant obedience to the divine commands, as the present state of human nature will admit of. This is the most humble, as well as the most prudent wish, that it is possible for the creature to express; because it implies that the Supreme Being will do nothing but what is for the interest of his creatures, who simply and wholly depend upon him; and that he knows better than they what is for their real good. Dr. Heylin joins the two petitions of this verse together; because, says he, they have a mutual dependence, and may best serve to explain each other. The latter, wherein we pray that we may do the will of God on earth, as the angels do it in heaven, might seem a strange, or perhaps presumptuous, certainly an impossible request, had we not been first taught to say, Thy kingdom come. If the kingdom of God comes; that is to say, if God vouchsafes to govern us, he will subdue all our enemies under our feet; a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of his kingdom. It will bring every thought into subjection; it will animate and govern our souls, as our souls do our bodies, and make us do his will on earth as the angels do it in heaven.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 6:10 . [420] , . . .] Let the kingdom of the Messiah appear . This was likewise a leading point in the prayers of the Jews, especially in the Kaddisch , which had been in regular use since the captivity, and which contained the words, Regnet tuum regnum; redemptio mox veniat . Hence the canon, . Bab. Berac . f. 40. 2. Here, likewise, the kingdom of God is no other than the kingdom of the Messiah , the advent of which was the supreme object of pious longing (Luk 2:25 ; Luk 17:20 ; Mar 15:43 ; Luk 22:18 ; Luk 23:51 ; 2Ti 4:8 ). This view of the kingdom and its coming, as the winding up of the world’s history , a view which was also shared by the principal Fathers (Tertullian, Chrysostom, Augustine, Euth. Zigabenus), is the only one which corresponds with the historical conception of the . throughout the whole of the N. T.; comp. on Mat 3:2 , the kingdom comes with the Messiah who comes to establish it; Mar 11:9-10 ; Luk 23:42 . The ethical development (Mat 13:31 ff., Mat 24:14 ; comp. on Mat 3:2 , Mat 5:3 ff., Mat 5:48 ; also on Act 3:21 ), which necessarily precedes the advent of the kingdom (Luk 19:11 ) and prepares the way for it, and with which the diffusion of Christianity is bound up, Mat 28:19 (Grotius, Kuinoel), forms the essential condition of that advent, and through , . . . , is thus far indirectly (as the means toward the wished-for end) included in the petition, though not expressly mentioned in so many words, so that we are not called upon either to substitute for the concrete conception of the future kingdom (Luk 22:18 ) one of an ethical, of a more or less rationalistic character (Jerome, Origen, Wetstein: of the moral sway of Christianity; Baumgarten-Crusius: the development of the cause of God among men), or immediately to associate them together. This in answer also to Luther (“God’s kingdom comes first of all in time and here below through God’s word and faith, and then hereafter in eternity through the revelation of Christ”), Melanchthon, Calvin, de Wette, Tholuck, “the kingdom of God typified in Israel, coming in its reality in Christ, and ever more and more perfected by Him as time goes on;” comp. Bleek.
, . . . ] May Thy will (Mat 7:21 ; 1Th 4:3 ) be done, as by the angels (Psa 103:21 ), so also by men . This is the practical moral necessity in the life of believers, which, with its ideal requirements, is to determine and regulate that life until the fulfilment of the second petition shall have been accomplished. “Thus it is that the third petition, descending into the depths of man’s present condition and circumstances, damps the glow of the second,” Ewald. “Coelum norma est terrae, in qua aliter alia fiunt omnia,” Bengel. Accordingly the will of God here meant is not necessarily the voluntas decernens (Beza), but praecipiens , which is fulfilled by the good angels of heaven. This petition, which is omitted in Luke, is not to be taken merely as an explanation (Kamphausen) of the one which precedes it, nor as tautological (Hanne), but as exhibiting to the petitioner for the kingdom the full extent of moral requirement , without complying with which it is impossible to be admitted into the kingdom when it actually comes. As, according to Mat 6:33 , the Christian is called upon to strive after the kingdom and the righteousness of God; so here, after the petition for the coming of the kingdom , it is asked that righteousness , which is the thing that God wills , may be realized upon the earth.
[420] On the inverted order of the second and third petition in Tertullian, see Nitzsch in the Stud. u. Krit . 1830, p. 846 ff. This transposition appeared more logical and more historical.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1314
THE LORDS PRAYER
Mat 6:10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
HIGHLY as the Lords Prayer is esteemed amongst us, and frequently as it is used, there is scarcely any part of Scripture less considered: we are contented with repeating the words, without ever attending to its true import. The fact is, that though it is written for the use of all, none can use it aright but the true Christian: it is the Christian only, whose heart can embrace the subjects contained in it.
The first petition which we are taught to offer, is, that Gods name may be hallowed and adored. The two next petitions (which now come under our consideration) are intimately connected with it; they have respect to,
I.
The universal establishment of his kingdom
The kingdom, for the establishment of which we pray, is that of the Messiah
[The dominion which God exercises by his providence, cannot be more universal than it is: his kingdom ruleth over all. But the government which he maintains over the souls of men has in every age been extremely limited and partial. That is the kingdom which God has determined to erect: of that the prophets have distinctly prophesied [Note: Dan 2:44.], and declared that it should be subjected to Messiah the Prince [Note: Dan 7:13-14.]: its extent is to be universal [Note: Ibid.], and its duration to the end of time [Note: 1Co 15:24-25.].
The time was now at hand when the foundations of this kingdom were to be laid: and there was a general expectation, both among the godly [Note: Luk 2:38 and Mar 15:43.] and the ungodly [Note: Luk 17:20-21.], that measures for its establishment would speedily be adopted. True it is, that few, if any, sufficiently advert to the spiritual nature of this kingdom: but our Lord gradually rectified the apprehensions of his followers respecting it: and taught them to expect the long-wished-for period; and to pray that nothing might be able to retard its arrival. Some have thought, that, since the establishment of Christianity in the world, there is no further occasion for this petition: but there is, in fact, the same occasion for it now as there was at the first moment it was suggested to the disciples: the only difference between their use of it and ours is, that they prayed for the commencement of this kingdom, and we for its progressive and final establishment. Indeed, the kingdom itself will never have attained its utmost bounds, till every enemy of it be put under the Messiahs feet, and every subject of it be perfected in glory.]
Nor can this event have too prominent a place in our prayers
[After the general petition that Gods name may be glorified, we are taught immediately to desire the advent of the Messiahs kingdom. Nor is this without reason: for it is by the establishment of this kingdom, and by that alone, that Gods name can ever be sanctified in the earth. Look at the Heathen world, who are worshipping devils, or bowing down to stocks and stones: what glory has the Lord from them? Look at those who are carried away by the Mahometan delusion, or hardened by Jewish infidelity: these profess indeed to acknowledge the one true God; but they cast his word behind them, and are avowed enemies to his only-begotten Son. Look at the Christian world, by whom he is dishonoured no less than by any of those whom we have before mentioned: with the exception of a little remnant whom he has renewed by his grace, there is not one on earth that truly loves him, or cordially adores him: all have some idol in their hearts which they prefer to him, some darling lust which they will not sacrifice for his sake. Here surely is abundant reason why we should entreat him to put forth his almighty power for the conversion of the world.
Let this petition then be offered by us with constancy, and with an earnestness proportioned to its importance. Let us pray that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified amongst us: that he would gird his sword upon his thigh, and ride on in the cause of meekness and truth and righteousness; till all the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ.
God requires this at our hands; nay more, the creation itself demands it of us. The whole creation are represented as groaning and travailing in pain together in expectation of this event [Note: Rom 8:21-23.]; and therefore may well be considered as calling on us to exert ourselves in every possible way for their complete deliverance. Whenever then we contemplate the state of those around us, or extend our views to the Heathen world, let us lift up our hearts to God, and pray, Thy kingdom come.]
Closely connected with this petition is that which next occurs, for,
II.
The unlimited execution of his will
This will flow from the former, as an effect inseparable from it. We cannot approve ourselves subjects of the Redeemers kingdom in any other way than by our obedience to his will. Hence we are taught to pray, that Gods will may be done by ourselves and all mankind, even as it is done in heaven: and that too,
1.
In a way of cheerful acquiescence
[The angels, notwithstanding they dwell immediately in the presence of their God, and behold the works which he doeth for the children of men, are yet not privy to his ultimate designs; nor do they understand the full scope of all that they behold. As, under the Mosaic dispensation, the cherubim upon the mercy-seat were formed in a bending posture, looking down upon the ark, in order, as it were, to search out the mysteries contained in it, so are the angels represented by St. Peter as desiring to look into the Gospel salvation [Note: 1Pe 1:12.]; and St. Paul says, that the revelation which God has with progressive clearness made of himself unto the Church, is no less instructive to them than to us [Note: Eph 3:10.]. But we are well assured that they never for a moment doubt either the wisdom or goodness of God in any of his dispensations [Note: Rev 16:5-7; Rev 19:1-4.]. In this they are a fit pattern for our imitation. We know not the secret purposes of God in any thing that he does: his ways are in the great deep, and his footsteps are not known. But we should be satisfied in our minds, that he does, and will do, all things well; and that, though clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment are the basis of his throne. However mysterious his ways may appear, we should at all times solace ourselves with this, that what we know not now, we shall know hereafter. Were this spirit universally prevalent, discontent would be utterly banished from the world. Under the most afflictive dispensations we should maintain a humble composure and a thankful frame [Note: Isa 39:8. 1Sa 3:18. 2Sa 15:25-26.]. What a desirable state! how honourable to God! and what a source of happiness to man!]
2.
In a way of active obedience
[Here also are the angels a pattern for us: they are ministers of God, to do his pleasure; and they do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word [Note: Psa 103:20-21.]. The very first intimation of the Divine will is quite sufficient for them. Whatever the office be, whether to deliver Lot from Sodom, or to destroy a hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians, they execute it with equal readiness and equal pleasure. Thus should we engage in the service of our God: it should be our meat and our drink to do his will: we should hearken diligently to his word, in order to learn what we have to do; and then we should do it without hesitation, without weariness, without reserve. Nor should we be satisfied with having our own souls brought into this state; we should long to see every sinner upon earth, and every thought of his heart, captivated in like manner to the obedience of Christ. The Apostles prayer should be the language both of our hearts and lips [Note: Heb 13:20-21.].
But who can effect this change? Who can subdue the unruly wills and affections of sinful men? None but God: he must make them willing in the day of his power, or they will continue in their rebellion even to the end. To him therefore we should look; and to him should we make our supplication, that he would reveal his arm, and subdue the nations to the obedience of faith.]
From this directory for prayer, we cannot but observe,
1.
What elevation of mind religion inspires
[Statesmen and philosophers, however enlarged their minds, are occupied solely about the things of time and sense: whereas the Christian, even though he be poor and illiterate, separates himself for the pursuit of higher objects, and seeketh and intermeddleth with heavenly wisdom [Note: Pro 18:1.]. The universal establishment of the Messiahs kingdom, and the unlimited execution of the Divine will, the bringing down of heaven to earth, and the assimilating of earth to heaven, these are the subjects of his daily meditation: these are the objects of his most ardent desire. The men of science justly value themselves on having enjoyed the blessings of education: they know and feel the benefit of having their thoughts raised to the contemplation of objects that are out of the reach of vulgar and illiterate minds. But the Christian surpasses them incomparably more than they surpass the lowest of mankind: his meditations are more noble; his mind is more enlarged. Let us learn then to form a proper estimate of religion; and to regard it with the veneration it deserves.]
2.
What happiness it is calculated to produce
[Let these petitions be answered; let this state of things prevail; let the Messiah reign in the hearts of all mankind; let the example of angels be emulated by every human being. Will any one say, that this would lessen the happiness of the world? Will any one say that he even feels a doubt upon the subject? No: we are all convinced in our consciences, that in proportion as we approximated to the holiness of angels, we should also participate their bliss. See what it is that occasions by far the greater part of misery in the world: Whence spring wars and fightings amongst us, but from the lusts which war in our members? It is to the same source that we must trace the greater part of our bodily disorders and our mental troubles. Sin is the parent of misery in ten thousand different forms: and it is religion alone that can heal the wounds which sin has made. If any who profess religion are not happy, the fault is not in religion, but in them: they have either erroneous notions of Gods kingdom, or a partial regard for his will. Let them only possess the dispositions implied in these prayers, and they will have a very heaven upon earth [Note: See Isa 60:19-20.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Ver. 10. Thy kingdom come ] Thy kingdom of power and providence; but especially enlarge thy kingdom of grace, and hasten thy kingdom of glory. The Jews pray almost in every prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” and that Bimheroth, Bejamenu, quickly, even in our days. But it is for an earthly kingdom; that which the apostles also so deeply dreamed of that our Saviour had very much ado to dispossess them. For most absurdly and unseasonably many times they would ask him foolish questions that way, when he had been discoursing to them of the necessity of his own death, and of their bearing the cross. Yea, St John very wisely interrupts him, Mar 9:34 ; Mar 9:37-38 , one time among the rest, as weary of such sad matter, and laying hold on something our Saviour had said by the by, tells him a story of another business. They were besotted with an odd conceit of honours and offices to be distributed here among them, as once in David’s and Solomon’s reign. And what shall we think of their opinion, that not content to affirm that after the fall of Antichrist, the Jews shall have a glorious conversion, and the whole Church such a happy halcyon as never before; but also that the martyrs shall then have their first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ a thousand years Rev 20:4 . Piscator holdeth, they shall so reign in heaven. Alstedius not only saith they shall reign here on earth, but beginneth his millenary about the year of our Lord 1694. Let our hearts’ desire and prayer to God for Israel be that they may be saved, Rom 10:1 . Let us also pity and pray for such poor souls in Asia and America as worship the devil; not inwardly only, for so too many do among us, but with an outward worship. And this we should the rather do, because divines think that when all Israel shall be called, and, as it were, “raised from the dead,” Rom 11:15 ; Rom 11:26 , when those “two sticks shall be joined into one,” Eze 37:16 , then shall many of those deceived souls that never yet savingly heard of God have part and portion in the same resurrection.
Thy will be done ] God’s will must be done by thee, ere his kingdom can come to thee. If thou seek his kingdom, seek first his righteousness. If thou pray, “Thy kingdom come,” pray also, “Thy will be done.” Pray it and do it; for otherwise thou compassest God with lies, as Ephraim did, Hos 11:12 . Now the will of God is two-fold, secret and revealed, whatever Siguardus blasphemeth to the contrary. a His revealed will again is four-fold: 1. His determining will concerning us, what shall become of us, Eph 1:5
2. His prescribing will, what he requires of us, Eph 1:9 ; Eph 3:1-21 . His approving will, by the which he graciously accepts and tenderly regards those that come to him in faith and repentance, Mat 18:14
4. His disposing will, and this is the will of his providence, 1Co 1:1 ; Rom 1:10 . Now we should resign ourselves over to his determining will, as the highest cause of all things; rest in his approving will, as our chiefest happiness; obey his prescribing will, as the most absolute and most perfect form of holiness; and be subject to his disposing will, being patient in all trials and troubles, because he did it, Psa 39:9 . David hath this commendation, that he did all the wills of God ( ), Act 13:22 . And it is reported, saith Mr Bradford, that I shall be burned in Smithfield, and that very shortly. Fiat voluntas Domini. Ecce ego, Domine, mitte me. “The will of the Lord be done,” said those good souls in the Acts, when they saw that Paul was peremptory to go up, Act 21:14 . This third petition, “Thy will be done,” &c., was the last text that ever Mr Beza handled, and thereupon died; and departed rather than deceased ( deficere potius quam desinere visus est. Melch. Adam.), to do God’s will more perfectly in heaven, as he had done to his power on earth. They that thus do and suffer the will of God, are his Hephzibah, My delight, Isa 62:4 . And it should be our constant care so to apply ourselves thereunto, that God may take pleasure in us, as in men after his own heart, and say of us, as he did of Cyrus, He is the man of my will, that executeth all my counsel, Isa 46:11 . This is to set the crown upon Christ’s head, Son 3:11 . Yea, this is to set the crown upon our own heads, 2Ti 4:8-9 .
In earth as it is in heaven ] By those heavenly courtiers. The crowned saints have no rest (and yet no unrest), crying, “Holy, holy, holy,” &c., Rev 4:8 . They follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth, with Usquequo, Domine? “How long, Lord?” &c., Rev 6:10 . Which words also were Mr Calvin’s symbolum, that he frequently sighed out, in the behalf of the distressed Churches. As for the glorious angels, though they excel in strength, yet they do God’s commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word, Psa 103:20 . They rejoice more in their names of service than of honour, and ever stand before the face of our heavenly Father, as waiting a command for our good, Mat 18:10 ; and so willing of their way that Gabriel is said to have come to comfort Daniel with weariness of flight, Dan 9:21 . They do the will of God: 1. Cheerfully; whence they are said to have wings, six wings a-piece, Isa 6:2 ; Isa 2:1-22 . Humbly; therefore with two they cover their faces. 3. Faithfully, without partiality; with two they covered or harnessed their feet. 4. Speedily and zealously; with two they fly abroad the world upon God’s errand, and for the good of them that shall be saved, Heb 1:14 , burning and being all on a light fire, with infinite love to God and his saints, their fellow servants, Rev 22:9 , whence they are called seraphims or burning creatures. 5. Constantly: Jacob saw them ascending, to contemplate and praise God, and to minister unto him, Dan 7:10 . He saw them also descending, to dispense God’s benefits and to execute his judgments, Rev 15:6 . This they do, 1. Justly; whence they are said (there) to be clothed in pure white linen. 2. Diligently and constantly; therefore they have their breast girded. 3. Purely, and with faith, in receiving God’s commandments: therefore are they said to have golden girdles. Go ye now, and do likewise; otherwise ye may be as angels, for gifts and good parts, and yet have your part with the devil and his black angels.
a Sunt qui voluntatis divinae distinctionem in revelatam et arcanam, quasi ipsius diaboli crepitum blasphemare audent. Sic Siguardin, admen. Christ.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10. ] ‘Ut in nobis veniat, optamus; ut in illo inveniamur, optamus.’ Aug [64] Serm. lvi. c. 4 (5), vol. v. pt. i. Thy kingdom here is the fulness of the accomplishment of the kingdom of God, so often spoken of in prophetic Scripture; and by implication, all that process of events which lead to that accomplishment. Meyer, in objecting to all ecclesiastical and spiritual meanings of ‘Thy kingdom,’ forgets that the one for which he contends exclusively, the Messianic kingdom , does in fact include or imply them all.
[64] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo , 395 430
. ] i.e. not, ‘may our will be absorbed into thy will;’ but may it be conformed to and subordinated to thine. The literal rendering is, Let thy will be done, as in heaven, (so) also on earth.
These last words, , may be regarded as applying to the whole of the three preceding petitions, as punctuated in the text. A slight objection may perhaps be found in the circumstance, that the kingdom of God cannot be said to have come in heaven, seeing that it has always been fully established there, and thus the accuracy of correspondence in the particulars will be marred. It is true, this may be escaped by understanding, May thy kingdom come on earth, so as to be as fully established, as it is already in heaven. So that I conceive we are at liberty to take the prayer either way.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 6:10 . : second petition. The prayer of all Jews. Even the Rabbis said, that is no prayer in which no mention of the kingdom is made. All depends on how the kingdom is conceived, on what we want to come. The kingdom is as the King. It is the kingdom of the universal, benignant Father who knows the wants of His children and cares for their interests, lower and higher, that Jesus desires to come. It will come with the spread of the worship of the One true Divine Name; the paternal God ruling in grace over believing, grateful men. Thus viewed, God’s kingdom comes , is not always here, as in the reign of natural law or in the moral order of the world. . . .: third petition. Kamphausen, bent on maintaining the superior originality of Luke’s form in which this petition is wanting, regards it as a mere pendant to the second, unfolding its meaning. And it is true in a sense that any one of the three first petitions implies the rest. Yet the third has its distinct place. The kingdom, as Jesus preached it, was a kingdom of grace. The second petition, therefore, is a prayer that God’s gracious will may be done. The third, on the other hand, is a prayer that God’s commanding will may be done; that the right as against the wrong may everywhere prevail. . . This addendum, not without application to all three petitions, is specially applicable to this one. Translated into modern dialect, it means that the divine will may be perfectly, ideally done on this earth: as in heaven, so also, etc. The reference is probably to the angels, described in Psa 103 , as doing God’s commandments. In the O. T. the angels are the agents of God’s will in nature as well as in Providence. The defining clause might, therefore, be taken as meaning: may God’s will be done in the moral sphere as in the natural; exactly, always, everywhere.
The foregoing petitions are regarded by Grotius, and after him Achelis, as pia desideria , , rather than petitions proper , like the following three. The distinction is not gratuitous, but it is an exegetical refinement which may be disregarded. More important is it to note that the first group refers to the great public interests of God and His kingdom, placed first here as in Mat 6:33 , the second to personal needs. There is a corresponding difference in the mode of expression, the verbs being in the third person in Group I., objective, impersonal; in the second in Group II., subjective, personal.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Thy kingdom come. This is the great subject of the first period of the Lord’s ministry. See App-119, also App-112, App-113, and App-114, and the Structure on pp. 1304, 1305, and 1315.
kingdom. See App-112.
come. It was then being proclaimed, but was afterward rejected, and is now in abeyance. See App-112, App-113, App-114and the Structure on pp. 1304, 1305, and 1315.
kingdom. See App-112.
come. It was then being proclaimed, but was afterward rejected, and is now in abeyance. See App-112, App-113, App-114. Hence this same petition is now correct, not the usual prayers for the “increase” or “extension” of it.
will = desire. Greek. thelo. See App-102.
be done = be brought to pass, come to pass, be accomplished. Greek. ginomai. Compare Mat 26:42.
in = upon. Greek. epi. App-104.
earth = the earth. Greek. ge. App-129. All the texts (App-94.) omit the article.
heaven. Here it is sing, because it is in contrast with earth. Had it been sing in Mat 6:9, it would have implied that our Father was in heaven, but not on earth. In the Greek the two clauses are reversed: “as in heaven [so] upon earth also”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10. ] Ut in nobis veniat, optamus; ut in illo inveniamur, optamus. Aug[64] Serm. lvi. c. 4 (5), vol. v. pt. i. Thy kingdom here is the fulness of the accomplishment of the kingdom of God, so often spoken of in prophetic Scripture; and by implication, all that process of events which lead to that accomplishment. Meyer, in objecting to all ecclesiastical and spiritual meanings of Thy kingdom, forgets that the one for which he contends exclusively, the Messianic kingdom, does in fact include or imply them all.
[64] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo, 395-430
. ] i.e. not, may our will be absorbed into thy will; but may it be conformed to and subordinated to thine. The literal rendering is, Let thy will be done, as in heaven, (so) also on earth.
These last words, , may be regarded as applying to the whole of the three preceding petitions, as punctuated in the text. A slight objection may perhaps be found in the circumstance, that the kingdom of God cannot be said to have come in heaven, seeing that it has always been fully established there, and thus the accuracy of correspondence in the particulars will be marred. It is true, this may be escaped by understanding, May thy kingdom come on earth, so as to be as fully established, as it is already in heaven. So that I conceive we are at liberty to take the prayer either way.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 6:10. – …, come-be done, etc.) Tertullian has transposed these two petitions for the sake of his plan. For in his book on prayer, after he has treated of the petition, Hallowed be Thy name, he says, ACCORDING TO THIS FORM, we add, Thy will be done in the heavens and on the earth. And he then refers the coming of Gods kingdom to the end of the world.- , Thy kingdom) See Gnomon on ch. Mat 4:17, and Rev 11:15; Rev 11:17. The sanctification of Gods name is as it were derived from the Old Testament into the New, to be continued and increased by us; but the coming of Gods kingdom is in some sort peculiar to the New Testament. Thus with these two petitions respectively, Cf. Rev 4:8; Rev 5:10.- , Thy will) Jesus always kept His Fathers will before His eyes, for His own performance and for ours. See ch. Mat 7:21, Mat 12:50.-, …, as, etc.) It will be the part of the pastor to admonish the faithful, that these words, as in heaven so on earth, may be referred to each of the (three) first petitions as, Hallowed be Thy name, as in heaven so on earth, also, Thy kingdom come as in heaven so on earth, in like manner, Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth. -ROMAN CATECHISM.[258] The codices however which in Luk 11:2 omit the words, Thy will be done, omit also the words, As in heaven so on earth- , in heaven) We do not ask that these things may be done in heaven: but heaven is proposed as the normal standard to earth-earth in which all things are done in different ways.[259]
[258] sc. that, issued under the sanction of the Council of Trent.-(I. B.)
[259] In the original in qu aliter alia fiunt omnia.-Lit.: in which all things are done, some one way, some another.-i.e. The unvarying uniformity of Heaven, which conforms itself undeviatingly to the Divine Will, should be the standard by which to correct the multiform variety of Earth, the infinite diversities of which are none of them in strict accordance with that Will.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
kingdom come
vs. Mat 11:27-30; Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:24 (See Scofield “Mat 3:2”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Thy kingdom: Mat 3:2, Mat 4:17, Mat 16:28, Psa 2:6, Isa 2:2, Jer 23:5, Dan 2:44, Dan 7:13, Dan 7:27, Zec 9:9, Mar 11:10, Luk 19:11, Luk 19:38, Col 1:13, Rev 11:15, Rev 12:10, Rev 19:6, Rev 20:4
Thy will: Mat 7:21, Mat 12:50, Mat 26:42, Psa 40:8, Mar 3:35, Joh 4:34, Joh 6:40, Joh 7:17, Act 13:22, Act 21:14, Act 22:14, Rom 12:2, Eph 6:6, Col 1:9, 1Th 4:3, 1Th 5:18, Heb 10:7, Heb 10:36, Heb 13:21, 1Pe 2:15, 1Pe 4:2
as: Neh 9:6, Psa 103:19-21, Dan 4:35, Heb 1:14
Reciprocal: Num 14:21 – all the 2Ch 2:1 – for the name Psa 21:13 – Be thou Psa 57:5 – Be thou Psa 67:5 – General Psa 72:15 – prayer Psa 72:19 – and let Psa 97:1 – Lord Psa 103:20 – do his Psa 108:5 – thy glory Isa 24:23 – when Isa 62:7 – till he make Eze 38:16 – that the Oba 1:21 – and the Mal 1:11 – my name Mat 6:13 – thine Luk 11:2 – Thy will 1Ti 2:1 – supplications
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
GODS KINGDOM
Thy kingdom come.
Mat 6:10
It may help us to make this prayer more real if we try to know something of the Kingdom of which our Lord so often speaks and for the coming of which He bids us pray.
I. A visible kingdom.The Kingdom of God is a visible Kingdom, made up of men and women and children, body as well as spirit. True, some speak of an invisible Kingdom, as if there were two Churches here on earthone material and manifest, the other spiritual and unseen. But the words invisible Church can only apply to the Church in Paradise. The Church on earth is a city set on a hill. It must be visible, or it would fail of the purpose for which its Founder intended it.
II. A catholic kingdom.The Kingdom of God is a Catholic Kingdom. It has no territorial barriers. It has no national limitations. It is not for time, but for eternity.
III. One kingdom.True, like the Empire over which our King reigns, it has many parts. True, it has many members, but together they make up only one body under one Head. Some may talk of the Churches, but Jesus never did. It has many subjects, young and old, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, good and bad, loyal and rebel. And God claims all for His own.
IV. An organized kingdom.Else it were an anarchy.
(a) It has its fixed form of admission.
(b) It has duly commissioned officers.
(c) It has eternal principles.
(d) It is in the world, yet not of the world.
V. Is this kingdom a reality to us?Are we true and faithful subjects? How are we using our privileges? How are we discharging our responsibilities? Let us try and examine ourselves by such questions as these, nor shrink from facing the answers conscience may give to them.
Dean Ridgeway.
Illustration
That was a touching story of the late German Emperor William. Entering a national school one day, he pointed to a plant on the table, and asked a child, What kingdom does that belong to? The vegetable, Your Majesty. And this stone? The mineral, Your Majesty. And what kingdom do I belong to? The little maiden paused a moment and replied, The Kingdom of God, Your Majesty. The Emperor was deeply moved, and, putting his hand on the childs head, said, May it indeed prove to be so.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
EXTENDING THE KINGDOM
Christs kingdom, on the earth, may be divided into three parts;nature,providence,grace. And the kingdom of grace, again, is triple. There is the kingdom in our own hearts; there is the kingdom over the earth; and there is the kingdom of the glory of the Second Advent. We are praying for all three. We have to do now with the second,the spread of Gods kingdom among the nations.
I. Extending the kingdom.To make the Gospel a witness to all people, is, according to Christs own Word, the first duty of the Church. The Gospel has been a witness to all in England! Our great work is Evangelisation. More we cannot do. We cannot convert; but we can evangelise. We can make Christ known to every inhabitant of this earth. The rest is with God. But to do this, and pray for this, is the primary obligation which is laid upon every Christian.
II. The King and the kingdom.It would be well when we are praying for Missions, that we should realise what they are indeed doing; and that we should not only be thinking of the missionaries who preach, or of the heathen who hear, but of Christs kingdom. Missionary work is not like other work,mere natural cause and natural effect. It is on a much higher level. It is different from all ordinary undertakings. It is Christs own power to do Christs own work; for Christs own glory. It is a Kingthe King of kingsasserting His right and taking His kingdom. We are working with promises. We are co-operating with faith. We are leaning on majesty. We are allied to Omnipotence. It is a King,taking a kingdom,which His Father has given Him. When you pray, think of Christ. Do not think of men. Thy kingdom come.
III. Praying for the kingdom.Our Lords own Prayer, and directions, give us clear instruction for what we are chiefly to pray.
(a) For union of the Church, as the highest testimony and the truest sermon in the whole world.
(b) For increase of missionaries. His prescient eye foresaw the universal difficulty which there would be in every agenot of openings, not of money, but of men,hard-working, faithful, loving men of God.
(c) For grace to give power to truth.
(d) The far endGlorify Thy Name.
(e) Nearness to that endThy kingdom come.
For these five, you are especially to pray. Pray on. Pray ever. Prayer does the work. Pray till His kingdom come.
The Rev. James Vaughan.
Illustration
The Marquis of Salisbury (then Lord Cranborne), speaking at the C.M.S. Centenary meeting, said, It is only because we know that in the train of the British government comes the preaching of Christ that we are able to defend the empire of which we are so proud. Therefore, gentlemen, I ask you to pledge this meeting to the Christianity of the British empire. I do not care in what quarter of the globe it may be, I do not care what may be the political exigencies of the moment, I do not care what colleges of secular instruction you may establish, but unless, sooner or later, in due and proper time, you carry with those institutions the definite teaching of Christianity, you have done nothing at all.
(THIRD OUTLINE)
THE CHRISTIANS ASPIRATION
Thy kingdom come! A prayer so simple that a child can utter it, and so profound that an angel may desire to fathom it. It is a missionary text; it is a consecration text also, for there is a parallel between the setting up of Christs kingdom upon earth, and His full and complete enthronement in the believing heart. Let us look for a moment at this parallel, and attempt to indicate it in these particulars.
I. Its source.Whence does this kingdom come? My kingdom, said its Founder, is not of this world. Its source is heavenly. Christs kingdom comes down out of heaven from God. Education, morality, culturethese things may do much, but there is one thing they can never doregenerate a soul.
II. Its characteristics.How is this kingdom to be recognised? By what marks will it be distinguished? It will be
(a) Universal, not partial. Christ is to be universal King (1Co 15:25). Christ can brook no rivals. He must be all or nothing. It is even so in the little world withinChrist must have all.
(b) Transforming, not Tyrannical. The Greek word for kingdom is traceable to a Hebrew root, which has not only the meaning of ordering and ruling, but also of making like. Thus the true idea of government is not by coercion, but by assimilationthe assimilation of the subject to the mind and character of the Ruler. It is thus that righteousness and peace are to be secured, whether in the secret heart within or in the wider sphere without.
(c) Peaceful, not perturbed. The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever (Isa 32:17).
(d) Abiding, not temporary. It is a kingdom which cannot be moved (Dan 6:14).
III. Its conditions.On what terms is this kingdom established? The answer is:
(a) By the revelation of the King. No kingdom without the King.
(b) By the surrender of His foes. Self must be crucified if Christ is to be King.
The Rev. E. W. Moore.
Illustration
God give you a good day, my friend said Tauler of Strasburg to a beggar, whom he met at a time when he was seeking a deeper knowledge of God. I thank God, said the beggar, I never have a bad day. Tauler, astonished, changed the form of his salutation. God give you a happy life, friend. I thank God, said the beggar, I am never unhappy. Never unhappy! said Tauler; what do you mean? Well, rejoined the beggar, when it is fine, I thank God; when it rains, I thank God; when I have plenty, I thank God; when I am hungry, I thank God: and since Gods will is my will, and whatsoever pleases Him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not? But what, said Tauler, if God were to cast you hence into hellhow then? Whereat the beggar paused a moment, and then, lifting his eyes upon him, he answered, And if He did, I should have two arms to embrace Him withthe arm of my faith, wherewith I lean upon His holy humanity; and the arm of my love, wherewith I am united to His ineffable Deity; and thus one with Him, He would descend thither with me, and there would I infinitely rather be with Him than anywhere else without Him. But who are you? said Tauler, taken aback by the sublimity of the reply. I am a king, said the beggar. A king! said Tauler; where is your kingdom? In my own heart, said the beggar.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6:10
Both John and Jesus had taught that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. That would mean that it was near but not yet set up. The prayer for the kingdom to come would therefore be a scriptural one for the disciples to offer at that time. However, it would be unscriptural to make that prayer today since the kingdom is in earth now. As in heaven. God’s rule had been going on for centuries in heaven, hence the prayer was to recognize that fact while praying for it to take place on the earth. Such a prayer indicated two things; that the disciples wished the kingdom to come, and also that they believed in the promise of Christ that it was to come soon.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
[Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.] This obtained for an axiom in the Jewish schools; That prayer, wherein there is not mention of the kingdom of God, is not a prayer. Where these words are also added: “Abai saith, Like to this is that of Rabh to be reckoned, that it is a tradition I have not transgressed thy precepts, nor have I forgotten them” (they are the words of him that offereth the first-fruits, Deu 26:13). “‘I have not transgressed,’ that is, by not giving thanks: ‘And I have not forgotten them’; that is, I have not forgot to commemorate thy name; and thy kingdom.”
[Thy will be done, as in heaven, etc.] “What is the short prayer? R. Eliezer saith, Do thy will in heaven; and give quietness of spirit to them that fear thee beneath,” or in earth.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 6:10. Thy kingdom come (second petition). The Messiahs kingdom, which in organized form had not yet come, but was proclaimed by the Lord Himself, as at hand. It did speedily come, as opposed to the Old Testament theocracy; but in its fulness, including the triumph of Christs kingdom over the kingdom of darkness it has not yet come. For this coining we now pray and the prayer is answered, in part by every success of the gospel, and will be answered entirely when the King comes again. A missionary petition, but not less a prayer for our own higher sanctification and for the second coming of Christ
Thy will be done as in heaven, so on earth (third petition). Heaven and earth, put for their inhabitants. As by pure angels, so by men. The idea of human doing is prominent, our will subordinate to Gods will As expresses similarity in kind and completeness.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 6:10. Thy kingdom come This cannot with propriety be understood of that general kingdom, by which God ruleth over all the world, that being always come, and not capable of any amplification. But the kingdom of God under the Messiah, to be set up, enlarged, and perfected by the preaching of the gospel, and the exercise of Christs kingly power, is evidently here intended; even that kingdom which the Jews thought would immediately appear, Luk 19:11; which the pious among them expected and waited for, Luk 2:38; Mar 15:43; which both the Baptist and our Lord announced as at hand, chap. Mat 3:2; Mar 1:15; and which Christ, in this chapter, Mat 6:33, directs his followers to seek, in preference to all other things; and here to pray for. This kingdom of God is twofold, namely, his kingdom of grace and his kingdom of glory; the coming of both which we may be well understood to mean, when we put up this petition; desiring, 1st, that we and all men may receive the kingdom of divine grace into our hearts, and that God may reign in and over us in such a manner, that we may be his willing and loyal subjects; 2d, that, in order thereto, it would please him to give success to his gospel in all parts of the earth; that he would enlarge the borders of his Church, and bring all nations within the pale of it; and, where it is already established, that he would proceed by his grace more and more to destroy the power of sin, and the dominion of Satan; and to implant his fear and love in the hearts of all his professing people; that thus, 3d, his eternal and glorious kingdom may also be enlarged, the number of his saints be accomplished, and the blessed time come when we shall all be translated into his heavenly kingdom, when, all other powers and dominions being done away, God alone shall be exalted, and rule for ever and ever.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is heaven It is justly observed by Dr. Whitby, that we do not pray in this petition that God may do his own will, nor that the will of his providence may be done upon and respecting us, but that, in consequence of the coming of his kingdom of grace, in the sense above explained, we, and all men, with as much readiness, alacrity, and perfection, as the imperfection of human nature will admit of, may yield obedience to his wise, holy, and good will, however made known to us, whether by revelation, natural conscience, or the dispensations of providence; and may imitate the blessed angels in a sincere, ready, constant, persevering compliance with it: and that, in order to this end, he would vouchsafe us those aids of his Spirit whereby our understanding may be enlightened, rightly to discern what is his good and acceptable will, and our wills and affections powerfully inclined, and all our executive faculties so strengthened, that we may sincerely, readily, and cheerfully perform such obedience.