Matthew 6:9-10: “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'”
Prayer is to the Christian what breathing is to the human being. A Christian cannot experience any growth without prayer. However, we have many problems with prayer: some don’t pray, some don’t know how to pray, some pray rarely, some pray nominally, and some pray wrongly. The Lord, knowing all this, is helping us in this important area in his Sermon on the Mount. Our Lord is teaching us an important principle in prayer: if our life’s motive is not right, we will not pray right. If we don’t pray with the right life’s motive, our prayers will not be heard. James 4:3.
So, the primary and first lesson in prayer is to ask, “Why do we live?” It was answered last week: people have hundreds of reasons, but the Bible summarizes them in three: people in the world live for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That is what people have lived for and are living for. All our forefathers and parents lived for that and are gone. We are called and redeemed so that we don’t live like that. 1 Peter 1:18 says, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” We are not to live like that. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
We are to live, first of all, to hallow God’s name. We saw what a glorious subject this is. God’s name is the purpose of creation, providence, and redemption. That is the purpose for which God created us. Our life’s purpose is to set God’s name apart, to exalt it, to glorify it, and to honor it. God’s glory and his greatness, his esteem, should grow and grow in our minds and hearts, and we should, throughout our lifespan, make room for him, bigger and bigger. It’s very logical: if we don’t desire to live to hallow God’s name, to bring his kingdom, and to do his will, why would we pray at all? This is the secret of why some people don’t pray properly. Only people who have a burning desire for that purpose will be prayerful people. To live for the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, what prayer is needed? Nothing, and all our prayers will be “give me bread, heal my disease, bless my family, bless everything.” We only run to God when danger comes.
This message should wake us up and make us seriously think about why we live. Unless a big transformation happens by the Holy Spirit in our life’s motive, we will not change from selfish praying. All our prayers will not be for God’s name, kingdom, or will, but to save our name, our reputation, our kingdom, and to fulfill our will and plan. We need to live, first of all, for hallowing God’s name.
Now, the second petition: “Thy Kingdom come.” Three words, but how big, important, and urgent this prayer is! To cover it in one hour seems like a joke to me. It’s like a little boy bringing a handful of water from a big ocean and saying, “This is the great ocean.” This is a kingdom in one hour. May the Holy Spirit help me. So I will bring this message in three sections.
Meaning of the Kingdom
“Kingdom” means the reign of God. It means God is ruling and reigning. “To come” means “let it immediately, urgently, and suddenly come.” “Let it come and let it come now, and let it come suddenly.” There is a great, urgent intensity in that prayer. We will see why. “Come, come, come.” A small example: if a gas stove bursts and someone is burning, and someone is coming with a blanket to save them, how would you say, “Come, come”? With great intensity, as if they will die in ten seconds, someone comes to save. This prayer has great intensity.
The kingdom is the reign of God. What kind of kingdom is this talking about?
- It is not a political or earthly kingdom. Israel, and even the apostles at first, desired Christ’s temporal reign. But Christ said his kingdom was not of this world. John 18:36.
- It is not talking about God’s sovereign or providential kingdom. Scripture reveals that after creating the world, God did not leave it but sovereignly reigns, his reign embracing all angels, demons, Satan, people, objects, and events, all the doings of individuals and nations, all the operations and changes of nature, and all events in history, from the smallest to the biggest, absolutely without exception, are under his control. No atom stirs in the world without his sovereign will. Psalm 103:19, “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” “He puts down one and sets up another.” Psalm 75:7. First Chronicles 29:11-12, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and on earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all.”
If we just think about it, God is a great King. All other kings are just a dim shadow of him. He is a great King. He is great in and of himself, and not like other kings who are made great by their subjects. That he is so great a King appears by the immensity of his being. He is so immensely great that ‘the heaven of heavens cannot contain him.’ There is no place where he is not. He is so great that with a word he created heaven and earth, and with a word, he can destroy them. God is a glorious King. ‘Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts.’ He has internal glory. Other kings have royal and sumptuous apparel to make them appear glorious to beholders, but all their magnificence is borrowed. God is clothed with his own majesty; his own glorious essence is instead of royal robes. Kings have their guard about them to defend their person, because they are not able to defend themselves, but God needs no guard or assistance from others. His own power is his lifeguard. ‘Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?’ Even if all subjects turn against him, he can blow them away and still be king. He has a preeminence above all other kings for majesty. He is the KING OF KINGS. All the kings of the earth hold their crowns and diadems by immediate tenure from this great King. ‘By me kings reign,’ Proverbs 8:15. He has the highest throne, the richest crown, the largest dominion—the whole universe—and the longest reigning time—forever.
But this prayer doesn’t even pray for his sovereign kingdom or God’s providence, for it has already come.
So, what kind of reign are we praying for? We could say it is the redemptive reign of God—a wonderful word. The redemptive reign. We are praying for him to reign in the hearts of people through grace. How does God do this? This great God, in Psalm 2, we read, has nations rising against him. “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” God says he is exalting his Son, the King. You see, God wants to give the kingdoms of the world to the Son. In fact, throughout the Old Testament, there is a promise of a coming King, one who would be born and “upon whose shoulders would be the government,” says Isaiah. One who would reign on the earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. The very word Messiah means “anointed one,” one with a right to rule and reign, born to reign. This is so important to God because it is this kingdom that will hallow his name. Nothing is more important to God than his kingdom. God’s program centers on a person. Jesus Christ the King will consummate history. Someone has well said, “History is His story.” History is the redemptive unfolding of God’s plan in the person of Jesus Christ. We are moving to the place where Christ dominates. In Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar sees what will happen to the world’s history and its end. The image is smashed by a flying stone coming through the air. That stone is representative of Christ, and that stone smashes all the kingdoms—Babylon, Greek, Persia, Roman, and all other kingdoms after that—and then the stone fills the whole earth. His program is to exalt Christ; his program is that the consummation of history would be in the reign and the rule of Jesus Christ.
For people who want to hallow his name, nothing else is important. The reign and the rule of Christ are the apex of human history. Nothing else matters except for this. Nothing is more important to God, and nothing was more important to Jesus Christ. He started his ministry, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and he always spoke about the kingdom. Jesus spent all of his years with his disciples, teaching them the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom. And then when he died and rose again, he had forty more days, and in Acts chapter 1, verses 2 and 3, it says, “He appeared to His disciples and He gave them commandments pertaining to the kingdom of God.” He had only forty days left, but it was the kingdom message again, and he just kept talking about the kingdom, about his rule and his reign. Because it’s the heart of the plan, it’s the heart of history, it’s the heart of everything.
The Great Need for This Prayer
See the logical step of “hallowed be your name.” First, we determine to live for hallowing God’s name and want to hallow God’s name. What happens? The first thing we see everywhere is that the great God’s name is unhallowed and abused, and our hearts break. Our blood boils. We wonder, “What do I do, God? I am only one person. Nobody cares for your name. How can your name be hallowed?” We want to hallow his name by being holy. “Let Your name be made hallowed in me.” There is a big problem. As soon as we desire to live a holy life, as soon as we desire to live for him, we face a big hindrance, a big attack, from great enemies of God’s name who are attacking us. Who are they? Our flesh and indwelling sin, this world, and Satan. They are all together called the kingdom of Satan, the kingdom of the world, and the kingdom of darkness, that withstands the effort of a believer to live a hallowed life. So, in this dark world, the only way we can hallow God’s name is by bringing God’s kingdom. Therefore, subsequent to saying, “Hallowed be Thy name,” logically we must say, “Thy kingdom come.” Because if Satan’s kingdom is not withstood and God’s kingdom does not come, there will be no hallowing of his name. So that “Thy kingdom come” is the only way that his name will ever be hallowed. Oh, “Thy kingdom come” should be a burning desire in our hearts. It is the only way God’s name is hallowed in our life and in others.
This prayer is so urgent. What do we see everywhere? Why is God’s name not hallowed everywhere? God is so glorious and majestic, and he has done so much for every person. Why do people not know God? That is because we are in the kingdom of Satan. Satan has a kingdom here. He got it by deceit in Eden. He rules this world and people’s minds. We pray against Satan’s kingdom. This is called the kingdom of darkness because in this kingdom, Satan has darkened people’s understanding and covered their minds with ignorance. People by nature may have a deep skill and knowledge of the things of the world, and yet be very ignorant of the things of God. Because of this ignorance, sin reigns in the kingdom of darkness. With dark understanding and ignorance, people are deceived by deceitful lusts, vanity, and lies. Nothing but sin goes on in his kingdom. It is filled with anger, murder, and lust. The sadness of this darkness is that people are blind, yet they think they see. They are not aware of their blindness. It is a bewildering, bewitching darkness. People love darkness rather than light. They don’t want to come out of this, they don’t realize the wrath of God is on them, and if they continue, they will go to the eternal blackness of darkness. This is why God’s name is not hallowed. Blindness does not allow them to see the glory of God.
Sadly, Satan has made people his slaves; he is the worst tyrant. Others may only rule over the body, but Satan’s kingdom rules over the soul. Satan is a merciless tyrant who gives his slaves poison instead of meat and hurtful lusts to feed on. 1 Timothy 6:9. Nor will he let his slaves have any rest: “They weary themselves to commit iniquity and live in no rest.” Jeremiah 9:5. When the devil had entered into Judas, he sent him to the high priests and from there to the garden and never let him rest until he had betrayed Christ and hanged himself. Satan pollutes them in the gutter and makes them ugly. While they blindly don’t get anything out of sin, he destroys their eternal soul. What troubles do people experience under his kingdom? Don’t we see it all around us? Do you realize what terrible troubles people live in, how many have no hope and want to commit suicide, like a scorpion stinging every second, morning to night, and even at night, they cannot sleep? They have worries, troubles, and fears, both personal and family troubles. You don’t realize that if God’s kingdom is not in a person, Satan reigns in that person’s heart. Though he cannot force the will, by his subtle temptations, he can draw it. He is said to take people captive “at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:26 says, “having been taken captive by him to do his will.” “The prince of the air who now works in the children of disobedience.” Ephesians 2:2. The members of the body are the tools with which Satan works. He possesses people. In Christ’s time, many had their bodies possessed, but it is far worse to have the souls possessed. One is possessed with an unclean devil, another with a revengeful devil, and another with covetousness, adultery, or anger. When people have served him to their utmost strength, he welcomes them to hell with fire and brimstone. This is the story of everyone in Satan’s kingdom.
If people are to see the great glory of God and hallow his name, they have to come out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. The great power he has over people’s souls can be broken only by the coming of the kingdom. It is sad to think that, though the devil’s kingdom is so bad, it has so many to support it. What a large harvest of souls Satan has! And God only has a few gleanings. The Pope and the Turk give the power to Satan. All vote on the devil’s side! Even in the church, how many are nominal Christians but serve him and do not live to hallow God’s name? Even for us, though we are saved, how much his kingdom hinders and affects our minds. How much indwelling sin hinders us from hallowing God’s name. The only remedy for all this is God’s kingdom, which must come and increase in us and in others. Oh, we need to pray.
How Does the Kingdom Come?
When we pray this prayer, we pray first for ourselves and for believers, and then for unbelievers. There is also a final kingdom for which we pray.
First, personally, for believers: why should we pray this when we are already in God’s kingdom? When you receive Jesus Christ, you essentially said, “You are the King of my life; you rule my entire life.” That’s what you said. In the Christmas season, we see in most of the songs a beautiful show of his kingship. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” “Let earth receive her King.” How? “Let every heart prepare Him room.” He is king in a heart, and that’s his kingdom. “Hark and herald angels sing, glory to the new born king.” It is very important to realize that although we are saved, we still have so much darkness and sin in us. Does Christ rule completely in me? How many areas in my life are not ruled? We struggle so much with the world and besetting sin, with remaining sin, and with our imaginations, emotions, and will. We have no peace, no joy, and no love, and the only way we can be delivered and grow is by praying and striving for the kingdom to come.
It is so important to pray because without his continuing reign, we can never overcome sin and control it. The more and more we pray, the more and more Christ’s rule comes into our hearts. Grace rules the will and affections and brings the whole person into subjection to Christ, subdues cruel deceitful lusts, and keeps the soul in a spiritual order. We still must pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ that grace may be increased and that this kingdom may flourish still more in our souls. “Lord, let your kingdom of grace come in more power into my soul; let grace be more augmented and increased.” “Christ in my life, ruling and reigning in my life.”
“Lord, I am pulled by sin and the world. You reign as Lord and control me. My selfish heart wants to live, to eat, and to drink, but you said in Romans 14:17, ‘The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,’ but ‘The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.’ Rule me with that.” “Oh Lord, make me more righteous, more like Christ; oh, Lord, fill me more with Your blessed peace; oh, Lord, may I know the fullness of the joy of the Holy Spirit.” I am asking that the fullness of Christ’s reign be made manifest in me.
What happens when the kingdom comes? The kingdom of God will reveal the vanity of worldly wealth and lusts and show all the infinite beauty, value, and glory of Jesus Christ, and he becomes the pearl of great price, and everything else becomes rubbish. It increases our faith, our love, and our spiritual maturity, and it gives us a fixedness of mind. “That you may attend on the Lord without distraction, in fervency of spirit, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11. It gives us great hatred for sin, helps us to live with uprightness of aim, to be like God, to have communion with him, and to bring glory to him.
Secondly, we pray this prayer, and it applies to others, to unbelievers. When the kingdom of God increases in a person’s own heart, they labor and pray to be instrumental in setting up this kingdom in others. They strive for the conversion of others. How else can you bring the reign of Christ to this earth? By conversion. This is a missionary prayer, an evangelism prayer. First, Christ is in my life, ruling and reigning, and he uses me to bring his reign to this earth in others through me. He mediates his kingdom through the believer. It’s a great concept. That’s why the Bible says we are kings and priests. God literally spreads his kingdom through the believer. And so to say, “Thy kingdom come,” is to pray that he may take up his reigning residence in the hearts and lives of those who are yet in rebellion. It’s a prayer for salvation. He may reign in the hearts of relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and all the people that surround us.
Paul says, “Of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Masters of a family should endeavor to see the kingdom of grace set up in their servants; godly parents should not let God alone by prayer, until they see grace in their children. It shows the increase of grace in us when we labor to see the kingdom of grace set up in others. As water abounds in the river when it overflows and runs into the meadows, so grace increases in the soul when it has influence upon others, and we seek their salvation. And so to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” is to pray an evangelistic prayer, a missionary prayer, inviting people to the Gospel of the kingdom. We pray for the Gospel to be preached, that men may realize they are sinners, and repent. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.” The kingdom is an internal kingdom, a man hearing the gospel, turning away from sin, and turning toward God, which begins in his heart.
This will not happen if we keep dreaming and talking. Jesus said our first concern in this world must be not what to eat and what to drink; we should first seek, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” God will take care of it. Seeking the reign of God in our life and in others should be life’s priority. That is how God’s name is hallowed.
We cannot have anything in the temporal world without labor, so how do we think to get eternal things without effort? The reign of grace in our hearts requires much effort. “If thou seekest her as silver” (Proverbs 2:4). He who sows for flesh and spirit, we have to sow; it is hard work. Say, “Lord, I want this kingdom of grace; I’ve had enough of Satan’s and sin’s reign, let thy kingdom come.” Be importunate in praying. Keep close to the word preached. It is the great engine he uses for setting up the kingdom of grace in the heart. “What, the same old?” Yes, this is the means God has appointed. What reason could be given why the waters of Damascus should not have as sovereign virtue to heal Naaman’s leprosy, as the waters of Jordan, but this, that God appointed and sanctified the waters of Jordan to heal? The kingdom of God increases when we grow in strength through prayer and the word of God, overcome temptations and kill sin. We fight with inward, hidden sins: habits of pride, lusts, envy, hypocrisy, vain thoughts. The kingdom of grace increases and spreads its territories in the soul, living by faith.
We have to strive in life for the reign and rule of Christ; you ought to run for it, you ought to seek it with all your heart. You know, in Luke 16:16 it says, and this is a remarkable verse, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John” – John the Baptist. “Since then,” listen to this, “the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” There’s a lot of ways to interpret that, which really means to enter violently. When people whose hearts are right see the kingdom, they are in a hurry to rush into it. They literally seize it, like violent things. When they see the value of God’s kingdom, they are rushing to grasp it. Is that your attitude? We ought to pray “Thy kingdom come,” in the sense that Christ would rule my heart more and more and that men would be converted, that they would be rushing to grasp the reign of Christ in their life and in the lives of others.
Secondly, we ought to value it. You know, in Matthew 13, Jesus says, “the kingdom is like a treasure” in verse 44, then in verse 45 He says, “It’s like a pearl of great price.” It is priceless, it is inestimable in its value, and we, because it is worth so much, should run to grasp it.
First, let Christ reign in our hearts, and second, in others. The final way is that we pray for the final kingdom of God.
One day the heavens will split wide open, and Jesus Christ will descend as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and judge every man and the kingdoms of the world will become Christ’s kingdom. The book of Revelation says, “Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming.” And finally, you get to the end, and there is one final prayer in Revelation, what he says, “Even so,” – what – “come, Lord Jesus.” That’s part of our prayer too. We’re praying not only that His reign would come in the hearts and lives of people who don’t know Him now, we’re praying that His reign would come in our hearts to the fullness.
Final kingdom blessing: We do not meditate on how great and marvelous it is. Our forefathers thought a lot about it and yearned for it. Think with me for some time. The Final Kingdom in heaven. How glorious.
- The fall curses of sin are removed.
- No hunger, sickness, death.
- No handicap for any children; a perfect body.
- The toilsome labors of this life. God enacted a law in Eden after the sin, “In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread.” “They rest from their labors” (Revelation 14:13). No work.
- In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be freed from original corruption, which is the root of all actual sin. There would be no actual sin if there were no original.
- In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be freed from all sorrows. Here the saints sit by the rivers weeping, but one smile from Christ’s face will make them forget all their sufferings.
- In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be beyond the reach of temptation. No temptation to sin…oh that is heaven for me. Every day I live in a struggle with sin…what a terrible pain. “Where is peace?”
- In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be freed from all vexing cares, which signifies to cut the heart in pieces. Care tortures the mind and eats out the comfort of life.
- In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be freed from vanity and dissatisfaction. Take things most pleasing and from which we promise ourselves the most content, still, of the spirit and essence of them all we shall say, “Behold, all was vanity.” The world is like a landscape painting, in which you may see gardens with fruit trees, curiously drawn, but you cannot enter them; but into the joys of heaven you may enter.
Positive We shall have an immediate communion with God himself, who is the inexhaustible sea of all happiness. This divines call “the beatific vision.” If God, enjoyed by faith, gives so much comfort to the soul, how much more when he is enjoyed by immediate vision? If one flower should have the sweetness of all flowers, how sweet would that flower be! One fruit all fruit. All the beauty and sweetness which lies scattered in the creature is infinitely to be found in God. To see and enjoy him, therefore, will ravish the soul with delight.
In the kingdom of heaven, we shall with these eyes see the glorified body of Jesus Christ. The Savior makes it a great part of the glory of heaven to view the glory of his human nature. “That they may behold my glory” (John 17:24).
In the kingdom of heaven, we shall enjoy the society of “an innumerable company of angels.” In the kingdom of heaven, we shall have sweet society with glorified saints. Oh! what a blessed time will it be when those who have prayed, wept, and suffered together, shall rejoice together! It is an incomprehensible joy and a blessed rest, with their bodies richly “bespangled” with glory.
The glory of this kingdom is solid and substantial, eternal, unchanging, and satisfying. A Christian bathing himself in these rivers of pleasures, It will be pure and unmixed; all worldly happiness has sorrow or bitterness, but this is pure joy.
Above all other kingdoms
- The kingdom of heaven infinitely excels all the kingdoms of the earth. It excels in its Architect. Other kingdoms have men to raise their structures, but God himself laid the first stone in this kingdom.
- This heavenly kingdom excels in altitude. It is higher than any kingdom.
- The kingdom of heaven excels all others in splendor and riches. It is described by precious stones and gold roads. What are the wonders of the world compared to it, the Egyptian pyramids, the temple of Diana, and all else?
- The kingdom of heaven excels all other kingdoms in peace. But where shall we find an uninterrupted peace upon earth?
- The kingdom of heaven excels in magnitude; it is of vast dimensions.
- The kingdom of heaven excels in unity. All the inhabitants agree together in love. Love will be the perfume and music of heaven; as love to God will be intense, so to the saints.
- This kingdom exceeds all earthly kingdoms in joy and pleasure, and is therefore called paradise.
- This kingdom of heaven excels all earthly kingdoms in self-perfection. Other kingdoms are defective; they have not all provisions within themselves, but are forced to traffic abroad to supply their wants at home. This kingdom of heaven excels all others in healthfulness.
- Death is a worm that is ever feeding at the root of our gourd: kingdoms are often hospitals of sick persons; but the kingdom of heaven is a most healthful climate.
- This kingdom of heaven excels in duration; it abides forever. Suppose earthly kingdoms to be more glorious than they are, their foundations of gold, their walls of pearl, their windows of sapphire; yet they are corruptible and fading. How should all this affect our hearts!
What is the basis for us to receive this kingdom? This kingdom will be ours not because of our worthiness, but because the Father promised, “Fear not, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Heaven is not only a kingdom which God has promised, but which Christ has purchased; it is called a purchased possession (Ephesians 1:14). Christ prays that the saints may have this kingdom settled upon them. “Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am” (John 17:24), that is, in heaven. The saints must have this blessed kingdom by virtue of Christ’s ascension. “I ascend unto my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17). Where lies the comfort of this? Jesus Christ ascended to take possession of heaven for all believers. As a husband takes up land in another country in behalf of his wife, so Christ went to take possession of heaven in behalf of all believers. “I go to prepare a place for you.” The elect must have this blessed kingdom, in regard of the previous work of the Spirit in their hearts. They have the beginning of the kingdom of heaven in them here: grace is heaven begun in the soul. The elect must have this blessed kingdom by virtue of their coalition and union with Jesus Christ; they are members of Christ, therefore they must be where their head is.
How earnestly we should pray “Thy Kingdom Come.” Because it is a kingdom worth praying for. It exceeds the glory of all earthly kingdoms; it has gates of pearl. Would God give us a vision of heaven awhile, as he did Stephen, who saw “the heavens opened” (Acts 7:56), we should fall into a trance; and being a little recovered out of it, how importunately would we put up this petition, “Thy kingdom come!”
(2) We must pray for this kingdom of glory, because God will not bestow it on any without prayer and striving. “To them who seek for glory and immortality he gives kingdom” (Romans 2:7). God has promised a kingdom, and we must by prayer and striving seek it. God will not throw away such a glorious kingdom on those who do not ask for it or strive. This would devalue the kingdom.
This should make us fall in love with the holy duties of prayer, reading the Word of God, and church, because every duty spiritually performed brings us a step nearer to the kingdom. The end makes the means lovable. He whose heart is set on riches, counts trading pleasant, because it brings him riches. If our hearts are set upon heaven, we shall love duty, because it brings us by degrees to the kingdom; we are going to heaven in the way of duty. Holy duties increase grace. The duties of religion are irksome to flesh and blood, but we should look upon them as spiritual chariots to carry us apace to the heavenly kingdom.
Use 2. For reproof. (1) It reproves such as do not look after this kingdom of glory, and live as if all we say about heaven were but an imaginary dream, a romance. That they do not mind it appears, because they do not labor to have the kingdom of grace set up in their hearts. If they have some thoughts of this kingdom, yet it is in a dull, careless manner; they serve God as if they served him not; they do not vires exercere, put forth their strength for the heavenly kingdom. How industrious were the saints of old for this kingdom! “Reaching forth unto those things which are before”; “stretching out the neck,” that they might strain every limb, and reach forward to lay hold on the prize (Philippians 3:13). Luther spent three hours a day in prayer. Anna, the prophetess, “departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). How zealous and industrious were the martyrs to get into this heavenly kingdom! They wore their fetters as ornaments, snatched up torments as crowns, and embraced the flames as cheerfully as Elijah did the fiery chariot which came to fetch him to heaven; and do we not think this kingdom worth our labor? The great pains which the heathens took in their Olympic races, when they ran but for a crown fading and perishing, will rise up in judgment against such as take little or no pains in seeking after the kingdom of glory. The dullness of many in seeking after heaven is such as if they did not believe there was such a kingdom; or as if it would not countervail their labor; or as if they thought it were indifferent whether they obtained it or not, which is as much as to say, whether they were saved or not; whether they were crowned in glory, or chained as galley slaves in hell forever.
(2) It reproves those who spend their sweat more in getting the world than the kingdom of heaven. “Who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). The world is the great Diana they cry up, as if they would fetch happiness out of the earth which God has cursed; they labor for honor and riches. Like Korah and Nathan, “The earth swallowed them up” (Numbers 16:32). It swallows up their time and thoughts. If they are not pagans, they are infidels; they do not believe there is such a kingdom: they go for Christians, yet question that great article in their faith, life everlasting. Like the serpent, they lick the dust. Oh, what is there in the world that we should so idolize it, and Christ and heaven are to be disregarded? What has Christ done for you? Died for your sins. What will the world do for you? Can it pacify an angry conscience? Can it procure God’s favor? Can it withstand death? Can it bribe the judge? Can it purchase for you a place in the kingdom of heaven? Oh, how are men bewitched with worldly profits and honors, that for these things they will let go paradise! It was a good prayer of Bernard, Sic possideamus mundana, ut non perdamus aeterna. “Let us so possess things temporal, that we do not lose things eternal.”
(3) It reproves such who delay and put off seeking this kingdom until it be too late; like the foolish virgins who came when the door was shut. Delay brings danger. People let the lamp of life blaze out, and when the symptoms of death are upon them, and they know not what else to do, they will look up to the kingdom of heaven. Christ bids them seek God’s kingdom first, and they will seek it last. How many have lost the heavenly kingdom through delays and procrastinations! Sometimes death comes suddenly; it strikes without giving warning. What folly is it to put off seeking the kingdom of heaven until the day of grace expires?
(4) It reproves such as were once great zealots in religion, and seemed to be touched with a coal from God’s altar, but have since cooled in their devotion, and left off pursuing the celestial kingdom. “Israel has cast off the thing that is good”; there is no face of religion to be seen. They have left off the house of prayer, and gone to play-houses; they have left off pursuing the heavenly kingdom (Hosea 8:3).
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 