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A Study of the Lord's Prayer

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 12, 1912

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 89, No. 50.

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A Study of the Lord's Prayer

By R. A. UNDERWOOD

Prayer—No. 4

A Study of the Lord's Prayer

R. A. UNDERWOOD
“Thy kingdom come.” The long-promised kingdom over which “a king shall reign in righteousness,” has been the hope of man ever since Adam failed in Eden, and for its coming men should pray and labor.
The question asked Christ by Pilate, “Art thou a king then?” was promptly answered, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.” John 18:37. Hence the purpose of Christ’s coming to this world as man’s Redeemer will never be realized until he is crowned King of kings, and until of him it can be said, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15. The prophet Micah echoes the triumphs of Christ in these words, “And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.”
The dominion and kingdom, lost by the first Adam, is restored by the second Adam, and is given to the redeemed, “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27.
O, how different will be the reign of the Prince of Peace in the kingdom of immortal life, love, and ever-increasing joy from that of the rulers of the present world! Its king has given the assurance concerning the dead, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.” Hosea 13:14. Again, of the teeming millions held by the power of death, it is said: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead . . . and shall no more cover her slain.” Isa. 26:19-21. With the slimy trail of the serpent wiped off the earth, the prediction, “Destructions are come to a perpetual end” (Ps. 9:6), will have been fulfilled, and the kingdom in all its fulness of blessings will have been established forever.
But must the church wait for thousands of years for the kingdom to come? I am glad to answer, We must wait only in part. In our present life we are to become acquainted with and practise the principles governing Christ’s kingdom, or we shall never enter the kingdom to come.
Christ says, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” Matt. 12:28. When the demons are cast out of a man and the Spirit of God takes control of the individual, then the ruling power of the kingdom comes to reign over and abide with that soul as long as he trusts in God. The apostle Paul gives his experience thus: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Gal. 2:20. This life is lived by “the faith of Jesus,” as well as by faith in Jesus Christ. The Christian is to be possessed of the power of the kingdom in this present world, and unless we have the life and the faith of the king to keep us, we surely shall fail of entering the kingdom of glory soon to come.
“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
I am glad we do not have to wait to enter the next world before this part of the prayer is answered. God’s purpose for his children is that they realize a full answer to this petition in this present life.
We may inquire, How is the will of God done in heaven? Of the most important decision ever made in heaven by its inhabitants concerning the authority and justice of the requirements of God’s government, we read thus: “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” Ps. 119:89. In all voluntary acts the mind first decides the action of the soul. When that question is settled in the hearts of men on earth, as it was once settled in heaven, the victory is won and the conflict ended. As an example, we have been instructed that “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Jer. 10:23. Men as well as angels have been led to believe that they were fully competent to direct their own course of action. For six thousand years the question of the reliability and reasonableness of God’s Word has been the question of all questions to be settled. Thank God, it is settled in heaven, and thousands are finding peace and joy in settling this question in their hearts on the earth. O, the wretchedness of the soul that is unsettled! The most of the confusion and trouble among men and nations in this world has been over questions that were not settled.
As a boy, I remember the strife in our community over the tariff, and still in 1912 that question is unsettled. We are called, as individuals, to settle the question that we will not longer receive the word of God as the word of men. No matter how honest a man may be, his word is received with a grain of doubt, regardless of his integrity, for the reason that it is possible for a man to be mistaken. But not so with God. Listen as to how the word is now regarded in heaven: “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, harkening unto the voice of his word.” Ps. 103:20. The angels no longer question the propriety of loyal and instant obedience to the commands of God. When the authority of God’s word is fully settled in the mind of man, he will do as David did, who said: “I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.” Ps. 119:60.
Some years ago I knew of a woman who had her mind called to the claims of God’s Sabbath day and its obligations upon Christians. She said, “It is settled with me; I shall keep the seventh-day Sabbath from this day on.” Her friends said, “O, do not be hasty in your decision; there may be evidence that will overthrow what you have heard tonight.” The prompt reply was, “God’s law is not yea and nay, but yea and amen.” The whole secret of this decision and victory for the right was in the fact that this person had previously settled the question in her heart as to unquestioning obedience to all God’s requirements. When this is done, it is an easy matter through the power of Christ to do the will of God in earth as it is done in heaven.
To the Thessalonians Paul could write: “When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” 1 Thess. 2:13.
Of the people who will be ready for translation at the coming of Christ it will be said, “Here is the patience ofthe saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Hence they will be doing the will of God in the earth as it is done in heaven when they are taken from this old world of sin and sorrow.
Mesopotamia, Ohio.