Kingdom, power, and glory correspond to kingdom, will, and hallowing in
the first part. The order is not the same, but it is still substantially
identical.
'Thine the kingdom.' All earthly things, the whole fates of men here,
are ruled by Him. The prayer asked that it might be so; here we declare
that it is so already, not, of course, in the deepest sense, but that
even now and here He rules with authority. 'Thy kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom,' and this conviction is inseparable from our
Christianity. How hard it is to believe it at all times, from what we
see around us! The temptation is to think that the kingdom is men's, or
belongs to blind fate, or chance, and our own evil hearts ever suggest
that the kingdom is our own. Satan said, 'All is mine, and I will give
it Thee.'
The affairs of the world seem so far from God, we are so tempted to
believe that He is remote from it, that nations and their rulers and the
field of politics are void of Him. We see craft and force and villainy
ruling, we see kingdoms far from any perception that society is for man
and from God. We see _Dei gratiâ_ on our coins, and 'by the grace of the
Devil' for real motto. We see long tracks of godless crime and mean
intrigue, and here and there a divine gleam falling from some heroic
deed of sacrifice. We see king and priest playing into each other's
hands, and the people destroyed, whatever be the feud. But we are to
believe that the world is the kingdom of God; to learn whence comes all
human rule, and to be sure that even here and now 'Thy kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom.'
'Thine the Power.' Not merely has He authority over, but He works indeed
through all--the whole world and all creatures are the field of the ever
present energy of God. That is a simple truth, deep but clear, that all
power comes from Him. He is the cause of all changes, physical and all
other. Force is the garment of the present God, and among men all power
is from Him. His will is the creative word.
'Thine the Glory.' God's glory is the praise which comes from the
accomplishment of His purpose and will. This is the end of all Creation
and Manifestation. The thought of Scripture is that all things are for
the greater glory of God. It may be a most cold-blooded and cruel
doctrine, or it may be a most blessed one. All depends on what is our
conception of the character of the God whose self-revelation is His
glory.
An almighty Devil is the God of many people. But we have learned to say
'Our Father,' and hence this thought is blessed. Unless we had so
learned, the thought that His end was His glory would make Him a selfish
tyrant. But since we know Him to be our Father, we know that His Glory
is the revelation of His Love, His Fatherhood; that when we say that He
does all things for His own glory, we say that He does all things that
men may know His character as it is, and 'to know Him is life eternal.'
'Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory': whatsoever we may
have lost and suffered in the past; whatsoever fiery baptism and strife
of arms or of principles we may yet have to go through; whatsoever
shocks of loss and sorrow may strike upon our own hearts; whatsoever
untraversed seas our nation or our race may have to embark upon, One
abides, the same One remains ours and is ever with us. We may have to
face storm and cloud, and 'neither sun nor stars may appear'; we may
have to fling out the best anchors we can find, if haply they may hold
on anything, and may wearily 'wish for the day.' But 'the Lord sitteth
upon the flood,' and in the thickest of the night, when we lift our
wearied eyes, we shall see Him coming to us across the storm, and the
surges smoothing themselves to rest for His pavement, and the waves
subside into their caves at His voice.
'Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory.' Then the world and
we shall be guided right and kept safe, and whatsoever is true and good
shall rule, and the weak cause shall be the conquering, and all false
fame shall fade like morning mist, and every honest desire and effort
for man's blessedness shall have eternal honour. God is King; God is
mighty; God's name shall have glory; then for us there is Hope
invincible in spite of all evil. Courage to stand by His truth and His
will, endless patience and endless charity, are our fitting robes, the
livery of our King. Because He is our Father, He will deliver us and our
brethren from all evil, and by His all-powerful Love will found His
universal kingdom and get the glory due unto His name, the glory of
loving and being loved by all His children.