The words of this brief petition pray that; the kingdom of God may come in this world. And it would sufficiently satisfy the requirements of the words to understand them to pray for the further growth and more perfect developing and advance of the kingdom and the principles of it. So far also as the word "kingdom" might be considered equivalent to "rule," that rule had always been a reality and a very patent fact in the world. But in the light of the preaching of John the Baptist, and of the preaching entrusted to the twelve and the seventy disciples in Christ's commission, it is probable that the petition in this prayer describes the final and perfect form of God's kingdom, as growing out of the truth of Christ, in all its entirety, rooted in his incarnation, vital in the efficacy of his cross and blood, and triumphantly evidenced in his resurrection, ascension, and sending or the Holy Ghost. For a kingdom, a new kingdom, a reign of "abundance of peace," and of every most distinguished type of blessing, the favoured but degenerate nation had now long been looking with very mistakenly directed vision; while the truer and the really devout of them had been earnestly longing and waiting for it - not, indeed, much better informed in their mind, but very much better disposed in their heart. These, therefore, were to some real degree disposed to understand Christ's kingdom, differently conditioned as even to them it was compared with their expectations. And now the petition is enthroned that purports this - May the kingdom of God in Christ come! Dwell on -

I. THE SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF THIS KINGDOM. Explain what is really meant by a spiritual character, illustrating this by:

1. The wonders of the way in which the kingdom was founded on earth.

2. The methods by which it gains and holds its own.

3. The objects which it seeks both near at hand and ultimately.

II. THE SPIRITUAL FORCES WHICH GIVE IMPULSE TO THIS KINGDOM AND WHICH RULE IT, AS MANIFEST AS THEY ARE INVISIBLE. Give here leading illustrations of the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit working at the same time with human servants, but himself unchallengeably the mainspring.

III. THE CATHOLICITY OF THIS KINGDOM. Point out the implications of this fact. Show the enormously strong, growing indications, or evidences, or already concluded proofs of it. - B.

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 God's 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.)

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 God's blessing upon us.

(J. Doolittle.)

1. This prayer reminds us that there is another kingdom besides God's kingdom established in the world.

2. It suggests difficulties in the way of the establishment of God's 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.)

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.)

I. REVELATION FAVOURS LARGENESS OF VIEWS. It unfolds a sphere composed of vast circles. It attempts to extend our contemplations over the whole earth. God's 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.)

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 Christ's kingdom.

(Thomas Mangey.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

I. God is a GREAT KING.

1. The kingdom of nature is His.

2. The kingdom of providence is His.

3. God's higher kingdom of grace.

II. The kingdom of Christ IN THE WORLD.

1. It is spiritual.

2. It is prophetical.

(Dr. O. Winslow.)

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.)

God's 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.)

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.)

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 nation's agriculture.

(Dr. Beaumont.)

I. The IMPORT of this petition.

1. What kingdom is this? It cannot refer to God's 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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

1. We are here taught to pray that God's will may become the standard and rule of our actions.

2. That God's will may become the regulator of our wishes and pleasures.

3. That God's will may become ours, and not that it may destroy ours.

4. That God's will may be ours, not fitfully and in part, but constantly and perfectly.

(F. Edwards, B. A.)

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.)

God's will is to be the guide and measure of ours. These two standards of God's 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 God's 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.)

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.)

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 Father's will being as well as doing. It will be in all our doings and desires.

4. In doing the Father's 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 God's revenge and victory, the revenge and victory of righteousness and love.

(W. Hubbard.)

1. An angel, by his very nature, is a servant doing God's 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 angel's 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.)

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.)

I. THE WILL OF GOD.

II. God's POTENTIAL will.

III. God's PERCEPTIVE will in relation to the human will.

IV. WHY SHOULD GOD'S WILL BE DONE? Because it is God's. 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 God's 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.)

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.)

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.)

I. Look at God's 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. God's will done in the fulfilment of duty.

2. In the endurance of trial.

3. In the universal prevalence of holiness.

III. How is God's 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.)

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.)

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 God's varying purposes.

4. Or pass from the act to the spirit — "They are beholding the Father's face."

5. God's will must be done in the way God wills it.

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)

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 God's 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.)

I. DEVOTION TO GOD'S 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 God's 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.)

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.)

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.)

1. Not Satan's.

2. Not my will.

(F. C. Blythe, M. A.)

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 God's 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 God's will.

4. We are not to take any earthly standard as our aim.

5. The angels do God's will zealously, perfectly, orderly, constantly, cheerfully.

(F. C. Blythe, M. A.)

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.)

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 seraph's fire is combined with the cherub's 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.)

Jesus, SolomonGalileeHeaven, Kingdom, Pass, Pleasure, Reign1. Giving to the Needy
5. The Lord's Prayer
16. Proper Fasting
19. Store up Treasures in Heaven
25. Do Not Worry
33. but seek God's kingdom.

Matthew 6:10

     1075   God, justice of
     1175   God, will of
     2376   kingdom of God, coming
     8126   guidance, need for
     8475   self-denial
     9105   last things
     9412   heaven, worship and service

Matthew 6:1-18

     5909   motives, importance

Matthew 6:1-21

     1660   Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:5-15

     2360   Christ, prayers of

Matthew 6:9-10

     1115   God, purpose of
     5959   submission
     8462   priority, of God

Matthew 6:9-13

     8603   prayer, relationship with God

Matthew 6:9-15

     8658   Lord's Prayer

The Distracted Mind
Eversley. 1871. Matthew vi. 34. "Take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Scholars will tell you that the words "take no thought" do not exactly express our Lord's meaning in this text. That they should rather stand, "Be not anxious about to-morrow." And doubtless they are right on the whole. But the truth is, that we have no word in English which exactly expresses the Greek word which St Matthew …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

The Lord's Prayer
Windsor Castle, 1867. Chester Cathedral, 1870. Matthew vi. 9, 10. "After this manner, therefore, pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Let us think for a while on these great words. Let us remember that some day or other they will certainly be fulfilled. Let us remember that Christ would not have bidden us use them, unless He intended that they should be fulfilled. And let us remember, likewise, that …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

June 16. "Ye Cannot Serve God and Mammon" (Matt. vi. 24).
"Ye cannot serve God and Mammon" (Matt. vi. 24). He does not say ye cannot very well serve God and mammon, but ye cannot serve two masters at all. Ye shall be sure to end by serving one. The man who thinks he is serving God a little is deceived; he is not serving God. God will not have his service. The devil will monopolize him before he gets through. A divided heart loses both worlds. Saul tried it. Balaam tried it. Judas tried it, and they all made a desperate failure. Mary had but one choice. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

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

November 21. "Consider the Lilies How they Grow" (Matt. vi. 28).
"Consider the lilies how they grow" (Matt. vi. 28). It is said that a little fellow was found one day by his mother, standing by a tall sunflower, with his feet stuck in the ground. When asked by her, "What in the world are you doing there?" he naively answered, "Why, I am trying to grow to be a man." His mother laughed heartily at the idea of his getting planted in the ground in order to grow, like the sunflower, and then, patting him gently on the head, "Why, Harry, that is not the way to grow. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

June 10. "Your Heavenly Father Knoweth Ye have Need" (Matt. vi. 32).
"Your heavenly Father knoweth ye have need" (Matt. vi. 32). Christ makes no less of our trust for temporal things than He does for spiritual things. He places a good deal of emphasis upon it. Why? Simply because it is harder to trust God for them. In spiritual matters we can fool ourselves, and think that we are trusting when we are not; but we cannot do so about rent and food, and the needs of our body. They must come or our faith fails. It is easy to say that we trust Him in things that are a long …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

February 12. "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You" (Matt. vi. 33).
"But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. vi. 33). For every heart that is seeking anything from the Lord this is a good watchword. That very thing, or the desire for it, may unconsciously separate you from the Lord, or at least from the singleness of your purpose unto Him. The thing we desire may be a right thing, but we may desire it in a distrusting and selfish spirit. Let us commit it to Him, and not cease to believe for …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Consider the Lilies of the Field
(Preached on Easter Day, 1867.) MATTHEW vi. 26, 28, 29. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? . . . And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. What has this text to do with Easter-day? Let us think …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

'Thy Kingdom Come'
'Thy kingdom come.--MATT. vi. 10. 'The Lord reigneth, let the earth be glad'; 'The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble,' was the burden of Jewish psalmist and prophet from the first to the last. They have no doubt of His present dominion. Neither man's forgetfulness and man's rebellion, nor all the dark crosses and woes of the world, can disturb their conviction that He is then and for ever the sole Lord. The kingdom is come, then. Yet John the Baptist broke the slumbers of that degenerate people …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Thy Will be Done'
'Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.'--MATT. vi. 10. It makes all the difference whether the thought of the name, or that of the will, of God be the prominent one. If men begin with the will, then their religion will be slavish, a dull, sullen resignation, or a painful, weary round of unwelcome duties and reluctant abstainings. The will of an unknown God will be in their thoughts a dark and tyrannous necessity, a mysterious, inscrutable force, which rules by virtue of being stronger, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Cry for Bread
'Give us this day our daily bread.'--MATT. vi. 11. What a contrast there is between the two consecutive petitions, Thy will be done, and Give us this day! The one is so comprehensive, the other so narrow; the one loses self in the wide prospect of an obedient world, the other is engrossed with personal wants; the one rises to such a lofty, ideal height, the other is dragged down to the lowest animal wants. And yet this apparent bathos is apparent only, and the fact that so narrow and earthly a petition …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'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

'Deliver us from Evil'
'But deliver us from evil.'--MATT. vi. 13. The two halves of this prayer are like a calm sky with stars shining silently in its steadfast blue, and a troubled earth beneath, where storms sweep, and changes come, and tears are ever being shed. The one is so tranquil, the other so full of woe and want. What a dark picture of human conditions lies beneath the petitions of this second half! Hunger and sin and temptation, and wider still, that tragic word which includes them all--evil. Forgiveness and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Thine is the Kingdom'
'Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.' MATT. vi. 13. There is no reason to suppose that this doxology was spoken by Christ. It does not occur in any of the oldest and most authoritative manuscripts of Matthew's Gospel. It does not seem to have been known to the earliest Christian writers. Long association has for us intertwined the words inextricably with our Lord's Prayer, and it is a wound to reverential feeling to strike out what so many generations have used in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Hearts and Treasures
'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'--MATT. vi. 21. 'Your treasure' is probably not the same as your neighbour's. It is yours, whether you possess it or not, because you love it. For what our Lord means here by 'treasure' is not merely money, or material good, but whatever each man thinks best, that which he most eagerly strives to attain, that which he most dreads to lose, that which, if he has, he thinks he will be blessed, that which, if he has it not, he knows he is discontented. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Solitary Prayer
'Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret,'--MATT. vi. 6. An old heathen who had come to a certain extent under the influence of Christ, called prayer 'the flight of the solitary to the Solitary.' There is a deep truth in that, though not all the truth. Prayer is not only the most intensely individual act that a man can perform, but it is also the highest social act. Christ came not to carry solitary souls by a solitary pathway to heaven, but …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Structure of the Lord's Prayer
'After this manner therefore pray ye.'--MATT. vi. 9. 'After this manner' may or may not imply that Christ meant this prayer to be a form, but He certainly meant it for a model. And they who drink in its spirit, and pray, seeking God's glory before their own satisfaction, and, while trustfully asking from His hand their daily bread, rise quickly to implore the supply of their spiritual hunger, do pray after this manner,' whether they use these words or no. All begins with the recognition of the Fatherhood …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Our Father'
'Our Father which art in heaven.'--Matt. vi. 9. The words of Christ, like the works of God, are inexhaustible. Their depth is concealed beneath an apparent simplicity which the child and the savage can understand. But as we gaze upon them and try to fathom all their meaning, they open as the skies above us do when we look steadily into their blue chambers, or as the sea at our feet does when we bend over to pierce its clear obscure. The poorest and weakest learns from them the lesson of divine love …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Hallowed be Thy Name'
'Hallowed be Thy name.'--Matt. vi. 9. Name is character so far as revealed. I. What is meaning of Petition? Hallowed means to make holy; or to show as holy; or to regard as holy. The second of these is God's hallowing of His Name. The third is men's. The prayer asks that God would so act as to show the holiness of His character, and that men, one and all, may see the holiness of His character. i.e. Hallowed by divine self-revelation. Hallowed by human recognition. Hallowed by human adoration and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Trumpets and Street Corners
'Take heed that ye do nob your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; 4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Fasting
'Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.'--MATT. vi. 16-18. Fasting has gone out of fashion now, but in Christ's time it went along …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Two Kinds of Treasure
'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.'--MATT. vi. 19-20. The connection with the previous part is twofold. The warning against hypocritical fastings and formalism leads to the warning against worldly-mindedness and avarice. For what worldly-mindedness is greater than that which prostitutes even religious acts to worldly advantage, and is laying up treasure of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Anxious Care
'Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. 25. Therefore I say unto you. Take no thought for your life.'--Matt. vi. 24-25. Foresight and foreboding are two very different things. It is not that the one is the exaggeration of the other, but the one is opposed to the other. The more a man looks forward in the exercise of foresight, the less he does so in the exercise of foreboding. And the more he is tortured by anxious thoughts about a possible future, the less clear vision has he of a likely future, and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Matthew 6:10 NIV
Matthew 6:10 NLT
Matthew 6:10 ESV
Matthew 6:10 NASB
Matthew 6:10 KJV

Matthew 6:10 Bible Apps
Matthew 6:10 Parallel
Matthew 6:10 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 6:10 Chinese Bible
Matthew 6:10 French Bible
Matthew 6:10 German Bible

Matthew 6:10 Commentaries

Bible Hub