and to be earnestly prayed for and sought for,—then do we need earnestly to pray and to strive for that which is the only means of attaining a happy eternal life, namely, our regeneration.
When, then, we utter in prayer the words, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven," we are to look up to the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray that the good which is from him in our spiritual mind, may be brought down into our natural mind and purify it; we are to entreat him to help us in the labor and struggle for our regeneration; to aid us in fighting with our spiritual foes; to deliver us from the evil passions and inclinations—the love of self and love of the world,—to which we are so prone; and that in their stead, good and kind affections and pure desires may be received, and that thus his will may be done in us; and so we may be prepared to enjoy his kingdom hereafter, and to receive the fulfilment of his Divine promise, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things."[1]
But we have now, in the last place, to consider the words of this petition in their general sense, in which they have reference to mankind at large. In this sense, the prayer, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (or, as it would be more exactly rendered, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon earth"), is an expression of earnest desire that the state of love and peace, which prevails in heaven, may also come to earth, and that the world may be brought into heavenly order; that mankind may be delivered from their
