abstract: The petition is both a prayer and a prophecy--a prayer that the kingdom of the Redeemer may be established throughout the world, a prophecy that this will be accomplished.

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by J. R. W. Sloane

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Vol. 1, No. 9, January 1, 1868 issue of The Christian Statesman.

There are two questions suggested by the terms of this second petition in that form of prayer which Christ taught His disciples. The first is, what is the kingdom to which there is reference, and the second, what are we to understand by the coming of this kingdom?

The word manifestly cannot refer to that absolute sovereignty which as the Maker and Preserver of the Universe, Jehovah exercises over all created things. That kingdom has already come, that kingdom God has always ruled, and no usurper has ever been permitted to wrest its sceptre from His grasp.

Without delaying upon a critical examination of the different meanings of the word kingdom as employed in Scripture, or upon numerous critical opinions as to its meaning in this petition, suffice it to say that we understand the kingdom for whose coming we are to pray to be the Messianic or Mediatorial kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, that universal dominion which God has bestowed upon Him as the reward of His suffering unto death. Alford says:

"Thy kingdom" here is the fullness of the accomplishment of the kingdom of God, so often spoken of in the prophetic Scripture; and by implication all that process of events which leads 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 them all.

The kingdom, then, is the universal dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ, that supreme and universal authority which He exercises as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The petition is designed to keep Christ perpetually before the mind, not as Priest or Prophet, but as King, as the One to whom all power in heaven and earth has been committed and Who, having been made head over all things, hath upon His head many crowns.

This is an aspect of the Messianic office altogether too much overlooked. The world resounds with the preaching of Christ and Him crucified, but too little is heard of Him as the exalted and enthroned Mediator, to Whom every knee should bow, and to Whom all rule and authority must be subject.

There is a hesitancy, a timidity, and a cowardice with respect to this great truth that is to us both amazing and painful; a cowardice that cuts the sinews of the Church's strength, and keeps back the day of her universal triumph. It is an absolute submission that Christianity demands; it knows neither truce nor compromise; it proclaims a war of absolute extermination against every opposing system, and will not rest in its aggressive career until all things are put under the feet of its exalted King. We must demand not only of every individual heart, absolute submission to the law of Christ--but to every institution, to every organization, ecclesiastical or civil, we must say, "Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little." As Christians we mean to conquer the world; we mean that Christ shall be crowned Lord of all; we mean not only that the name of Jesus shall be known but that His authority shall be recognized as far as the course of the sun; and this purpose should not only be uppermost in the mind and heart of every Christian, but should be boldly proclaimed.

This aspect of Christ the Mediator is so prominent in the Old Testament that the Jews fell into a carnal mistake of expecting a Messiah who should be merely an earthly ruler; we have swung far to the other extreme, and are in danger of permitting Christ to be robbed of the glory of the crown which He wears as "Prince of the kings of the earth."

How prominent is this aspect of Christ in the Scriptures! In all the Messianic Psalms it is especially prominent; in the forty-fifth He is addressed in words that "annihilate comparison and competition." "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." What Bible reader has not dwelt with delighted animation upon the words of the prophet whose "hallowed lips were touched with fire," in which he describes that "King who shall reign in righteousness," and the beneficent glories of that kingdom which He will establish.

Christ is presented in the exercise of His kingly office in the wonderful vision of the mysterious Ezekiel. "And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as of the appearance of a man above it."

More distinctly and scarcely less sublime is the vision of Daniel, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people and nations and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Christ claimed this character for himself. "Pilate saith unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king; to this was I born and for this I came into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth."

The Apostle recognizes in the fullest manner the universal lordship of Christ; he speaks of the power of God manifested in Christ "when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principalities and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church." He declares "that he must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet," and that "he is able to subdue all things to himself." In that book which closes the canon of Divine revelation, whose truths are so precious, but the secret of whose vast scheme is yet sealed as with seven seals, Christ is constantly presented in His regal majesty--might, and glory, and dominion, and power, are ascribed to Him, and all things are subject to His authority and directed by His wisdom.

The petition is plain when viewed in the light of these passages. It is both a prayer and a prophecy--a prayer that the kingdom of the Redeemer may be established throughout the world, a prophecy that this will be accomplished. This interpretation gives the petition its length, and breadth, and depth, and height. It is the key that unlocks the mystery of Divine Providence. It is a hand pointing us to the goal of human history. The astronomer who studies the movements of the heavenly bodies may not be able to tell to what distant point in space their mighty march is tending, but he who reads events in the light of this petition cannot fail to discern the point in the future to which all things are converging--the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. This kingdom will have come in the sense of this petition, when Christ shall have subdued all things to himself; when the whole world shall be converted to the gospel; when all institutions shall recognize his authority and submit to his will, and voices are heard in heaven proclaiming: Now is come salvation, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

The chariot wheels are long delayed; the church is waiting and praying; the words of the blind singer of "Paradise Lost," expresses the desire of many an earnest soul: "Come forth out of thy royal chambers O Prince of all the kings of the earth! Put on the visible robes of thy imperial majesty! Take up the unlimited sceptre with the Almighty Father hath bequeathed thee, for now the voice of thy bride calleth thee, and all things sigh to be renewed."

This prayer, offered for many ages, and ascending today like pillars of smoke from many a closet, from many a family altar, and from the sanctuaries all over the earth, where the true worshippers are gathered together, will be answered. Thy kingdom is approaching, the morning cometh,

"Jocund day stands tip-toed on the misty mountain top."

"The days roll rapidly on when the shout of the isles shall swell the thunder of the continents; when the Thames, and the Danube, the Tiber and the Rhine shall call upon the Euphrates, the Ganges and the Nile; and the loud concert shall be joined by the Hudson, the Mississippi and the Amazon, singing with one heart and one voice, Alleluia! Salvation! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!"

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