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 scepter of Christ: - God has promised that the kingdom of Christ shall be exalted above all kingdoms. Daniel 7:14-27. That it shall overcome all others, and be at last the universal empire. Isaiah 9:7. Connect this with the explanation given of this phrase, Matthew 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 fulfillment 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 fulfillment 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.

continued...

Thy kingdom.

Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 16:28 Truly I say to you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Psalm 2:6 Yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion.

Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains...

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper...

Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed...

Daniel 7:13,27 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days...

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes to you: he is just...

Mark 11:10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that comes in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

Luke 19:11,38 And as they heard these things, he added and spoke a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem...

Colossians 1:13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying...

Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ...

Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying...

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them...

Thy will.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven...

Matthew 12:50 For whoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it...

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God: yes, your law is within my heart.

Mark 3:35 For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life...

John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up to them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said...

Acts 21:14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

Acts 22:14 And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know his will, and see that Just One...

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good...

Ephesians 6:6 Not with eye-service, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you...

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Hebrews 10:7,36 Then said I, See, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do your will, O God...

Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ...

1 Peter 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

1 Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

as.

Nehemiah 9:6 You, even you, are LORD alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth...

Psalm 103:19-21 The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom rules over all...

Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven...

Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

August 27. "Take no Thought for Your Life" (Matt. vi. 25).
"Take no thought for your life" (Matt. vi. 25). Still the Lord is using the things that are despised. The very names of Nazarene and Christian were once epithets of contempt. No man can have God's highest thought and be popular with his immediate generation. The most abused men are often most used. There are far greater calamities than to be unpopular and misunderstood. There are far worse things than to be found in the minority. Many of God's greatest blessings are lying behind the devil's scarecrows …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

'Forgive us Our Debts'
'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.'--MATT. vi. 12. The sequence of the petitions in the second half of the Lord's Prayer suggests that every man who needs to pray for daily bread needs also to pray for daily forgiveness. The supplication for the supply of our bodily needs precedes the others, because it deals with a need which is fundamental indeed, but of less importance than those which prompt the subsequent petitions. God made us to need bread, we have made ourselves to need pardon. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Lead us not into Temptation'
'And lead us not into temptation.'--MATT. vi. 13. The petition of the previous clause has to do with the past, this with the future; the one is the confession of sin, the other the supplication which comes from the consciousness of weakness. The best man needs both. Forgiveness does not break the bonds of evil by which we are held. But forgiveness increases our consciousness of weakness, and in the new desire which comes from it to walk in holiness, we are first rightly aware of the strength and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture