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

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Little Light of Mine

Scripture: Psalm 130 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. It’s the first Sunday of Advent. Today we lit one candle and heard the passage, in Isaiah 9, about the great light! We have heard that the great light is the child born to us on Christmas day. It is Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Christmas is a day we will truly celebrate as we have for years and years, and our ancestors before us for centuries. Christmas is coming! Advent means coming! It is good to spend the next few weeks reflecting on all that it means for us. We begin from the depths of darkness. The world is still suffering the effects of sin. We are still suffering the effects of a world broken by sin. And not just the consequences of our own sins. According to Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The fires in California, the floods and storms on the East coast, and all the other natural disasters we hear ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more