Skip to main content

99. Doxology


1 Chronicles 29:11, Romans 11:33-36, Revelation 5:11-13
Key Verse: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and on earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all."
1 Chronicles 29:11

Well, I'm sure that you've noticed by now that the doxology that we are used to saying, when we end The Christian's Prayer today, isn't part of the prayer that we've been reading, for the past few days, from Matthew and Luke. Where did this doxology come from? Why didn't Jesus use it? Why do we?

There are many different theories concerning the origin of the doxology that we tack on to The Christian's Prayer. Many of the Jewish prayers used in Jesus' day did end with some form of doxology. Therefore, some speculate that the doxology was a given. The disciples knew how to end a prayer, so Jesus didn't need to teach them that.

Others speculate that the doxology was added later by the early church. The earliest manuscripts do not include the doxology, but by the end of the first century, in some manuscripts, it was beginning to be added in one form or another. Either, members of the early church added it to inform the Gentiles, who would not have been aware of how to end a prayer to God, or early Christians assumed that, of course, Jesus originally said it, but Matthew and Luke just didn't bother to record it.

How it came to be a part of our usual recitation of this prayer is not clear. However, as you can see from the scriptures above, the words, "for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the glory for ever and ever," were a common part of Jewish thought and worship.

The word, "Amen," was also not included by Jesus. The word, "Amen," can be understood with the phrase, "so be it," or, "I really mean this." The word "Amen," performed kind of like the seal on a document, or the stamp made by a signet ring. It is a statement that what we have been saying, we really mean. It isn't just words to us. It is meant from the heart.

We really do believe that God is our Father. We acknowledge that He is Holy, even His name! We really do want His Will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven. We do depend upon Him for our daily needs. We do want to be a forgiving people and we do depend upon Him to walk with us through tests and trials to give Him glory. This is our prayer. May we now pray it with meaning as never before. As we meditate on what we are praying, may it transform us in mind, body and spirit, to become more like Him. "Amen!"

Hymn: "The Lord's Prayer"  Just too cute to not share!
The Lord’s Prayer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...
Post a Comment
Read more