The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah(Psalm 24)
The Second Petition.
Thy kingdom come.
What does this mean?–Answer.
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.
How is this done?–Answer.
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.
Thy kingdom come. Thine let it be
In time and in eternity.
Let Thy good Spirit e’er be nigh
Our hearts with graces to supply.
Break Satan’s power, defeat his rage;
Preserve Thy Church from age to age.(LSB 766)
The Second Petition.
Thy kingdom come.
49] As we prayed in the First Petition concerning the honor and name of God that He would prevent the world from adorning its lies and wickedness with it, but cause it to be esteemed sublime and holy both in doctrine and life, so that He may be praised and magnified in us, so here we pray that His kingdom also may come. 50] But just as the name of God is in itself holy, and we pray nevertheless that it be holy among us, so also His kingdom comes of itself, without our prayer, yet we pray nevertheless that it may come to us, that is, prevail among us and with us, so that we may be a part of those among whom His name is hallowed and His kingdom prospers.
51] But what is the kingdom of God? Answer: Nothing else than what we learned in the Creed, that God sent His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life, and salvation against sin, death, and an evil conscience, for which end He has also bestowed His Holy Ghost, who is to bring these things home to us by His holy Word, and to illumine and strengthen us in the faith by His power.
52] Therefore we pray here in the first place that this may become effective with us, and that His name be so praised through the holy Word of God and a Christian life that both we who have accepted it may abide and daily grow therein, and that it may gain approbation and adherence among other people and proceed with power throughout the world, that many may find entrance into the Kingdom of Grace, be made partakers of redemption, being led thereto by the Holy Ghost, in order that thus we may all together remain forever in the one kingdom now begun.
53] For the coming of God’s Kingdom to us occurs in two ways; first, here in time through the Word and faith; and secondly, in eternity forever through revelation. Now we pray for both these things, that it may come to those who are not yet in it, and, by daily increase, to us who have received the same, and hereafter in eternal life. 54] All this is nothing else than saying: Dear Father, we pray, give us first Thy Word, that the Gospel be preached properly throughout the world; and secondly, that it be received in faith, and work and live in us, so that through the Word and the power of the Holy Ghost Thy kingdom may prevail among us, and the kingdom of the devil be put down, that he may have no right or power over us, until at last it shall be utterly destroyed, and sin, death, and hell shall be exterminated, that we may live forever in perfect righteousness and blessedness.
55] From this you perceive that we pray here not for a crust of bread or a temporal, perishable good, but for an eternal inestimable treasure and everything that God Himself possesses; which is far too great for any human heart to think of desiring if He had not Himself commanded us to pray for the same. 56] But because He is God, He also claims the honor of giving much more and more abundantly than any one can comprehend,-like an eternal, unfailing fountain, which, the more it pours forth and overflows, the more it continues to give,-and He desires nothing more earnestly of us than that we ask much and great things of Him, and again is angry if we do not ask and pray confidently.
57] For just as when the richest and most mighty emperor would bid a poor beggar ask whatever he might desire, and were ready to give great imperial presents, and the fool would beg only for a dish of gruel, he would be rightly considered a rogue and a scoundrel, who treated the command of his imperial majesty as a jest and sport, and was not worthy of coming into his presence: so also it is a great reproach and dishonor to God if we, to whom He offers and pledges so many unspeakable treasures, despise the same, or have not the confidence to receive them, but scarcely venture to pray for a piece of bread.
58] All this is the fault of the shameful unbelief which does not look to God for as much good as will satisfy the stomach, much less expects without doubt such eternal treasures of God. Therefore we must strengthen ourselves against it, and let this be our first prayer; then, indeed, we shall have all else in abundance, as Christ teaches [ Matt. 6:33 ]: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. For how could He allow us to suffer want and to be straitened in temporal things when He promises that which is eternal and imperishable?
Just as God’s name is holy in and of itself, likewise God’s Kingdom comes in and of itself. But we pray this prayer so that we may both recognize what God’s Kingdom is and ask that it may come among us also. In reality, the previous two petitions were dealing with the first two commandments. Likewise, this petition deals with the 3rd Commandment. God’s Kingdom came to us in Christ and still comes to us via the Church. It will also come against on the Last Day (1 John 3:1-10).
We first pray that this is done for us now via Word and Sacrament. Namely, the Church is God’s Kingdom here on Earth. We pray that the Kingdom goes forth to the world via the Church and all Christians. After all, we are representatives of God’s kingdom, citizens there and ambassadors here. So we are part of the Kingdom of God already here on earth (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, John 3:1-15, Colossians 1:9-14).
So God’s Kingdom comes truly comes in two ways. The first is here in time through Word and faith (Matthew 13). The second is when Christ comes again at His second coming to make His Kingdom fully manifest and finally cast out all evil from our midst (Luke 19:11-27, 1 Peter 1:3-12).
To sustain us to Christ’s second advent we pray that God’s Kingdom comes here on Earth. That those who are in the Church are preserved and that those who are without it come to faith. That Satan and his minions would be crushed. That the Lord would come speedily to end this veil of tears and usher in His true eternal and righteous reign (Romans 15:14-21, Luke 10:17-20, 11:14-23, Revelation 20:11-15).
We pray for all of this in this very simple phrase. So much here is asked for that we shudder even to comprehend it. Even so, we should pray for these things as He desires us to do (Hebrews 4:16).
For we are more than the beggar that Luther illustrates here. We are God’s children. So let us be bold in our prayers. Our dear Father in heaven will give us what we ask. He will most certainly come and usher us into the eternal Kingdom that He has prepared for all His elect princes and princesses.