I don’t know why that came to my mind as I meditated on the closing words of Jesus’ model prayer but it did. The last half of verse 13 might be called a “doxology.” A “doxology.” is usually defined as a short hymn of praise. We have three of these in our hymn books, the best known was penned by Thomas Ken (d. 1711). “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” The Lord Jesus concluded His model with the words, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” You could say that with these words, the Lord cleaned-up, tied-up and concluded this short prayer. It also suggests to Whom we pray, how we pray and most particularly why we pray. It is a confession of faith, an argument for further prayer and an ascription of praise. I will come back to these three points in a few minutes, but …
Let’s briefly think about what Christ says.
“For thine is the kingdom…” This is an indirect statement about the sovereignty of God. At this point, Christ doesn’t get into the definition and scope of the Kingdom of God. But it cannot not to be properly compared to the kingdom of the United States. For example, this country has no dominion over the people of Afghanistan or Syria. It can hardly be said that it has dominion over its own citizens. But the Kingdom of God is universal, despite the rebels which temporarily run afoul of God’s law. This Kingdom then has a very special relationship to those who are willing citizens. The saints of the Lord joyfully rely upon our King for protection, direction and blessing. We love and respect our King and refuse to find fault with any of His policies. We may not fully understand all that He does, because we realize that the Kingdom is not about us, but about Himself – the King. “For thine is the kingdom…” We may be disturbed, and perhaps ashamed, that wicked men sit in Congress and the White House, but we “sorrow not as others which have no hope.” “For thine is the kingdom…” And we know that the King is coming – “Maranatha.” “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” He will not only finish what the Holy Spirit has started, but His reproof will be with judgment – “Anathama Maranath.”
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power…” For those of you who like to know this sort of thing, the word for “power” is “dunamis.” The power of our King is not like the power of Queen Elizabeth II – it is not in name only. The power of our King is real, actual, and explosive – like dynamite – “dunamis.” His power can be that of the drought, the hurricane and the volcano. But it can also be the power of the still small voice, which leads a man into an important thought, discovery – or trust. God’s power was seen in Daniel’s bed and breakfast in the lion’s den and his friends’ visit to the burning fiery furnace. It was also seen in the life of Joseph, both when he resisted Potiphar’s wife, and while he nearly rotted away in prison. It was seen at the burning bush, the crossing of the Red Sea. I hope that I don’t need to run on and on describing the “dunamis” of God, because in reality it is beyond anything that He has yet to reveal. We have only seen the little finger of the hand of God. But it is the power of our King – the saint’s king.
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory….” The word “glory” is the source of our English word “doxology” – our short hymn of praise to God. “Glory” is “doxa” in Greek. “Thine is the kingdom, and (thine is) the power, and (thine is) the glory.” In the corruption of our sin-rooted hearts, it is difficult to give God the glory which He deserves. You might question that statement, now that you are a believer, and all things are become new to you. But think about it…. The kingdom and dominion of Jehovah, extends over all things, even those which we might, in our flesh, consider to be rather distasteful or even wrong. God should be glorified in the drowning of millions of people during the flood, and tens of millions in subsequent floods. Is He the sovereign King of all, or is He not? In one way we might look on the sin of Adam as the worst transgression ever committed by any man. While that is true in one sense, in another it has opened the door to things for the saint of God, which he could never possess if it had not been for that sin. “To God be the glory, great things He hath done, and permitted, and corrected, and reversed.” Despite what man might think, and despite the praise he might crave for this good thing and that, the glory for every good thing belongs to Jehovah.
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” The words “for ever,” perhaps more than anything else, lift up our hearts in worship toward God. There is nothing that man has done, which has not eventually crumbled, or is in the process of crumbling. I cannot help but think that during those days prior to the flood, when men lived to be nearly a thousand years old, and when they lived nearer to the day of our creation than we do today…. I cannot help but think that those people did things, built things, and thought things which would make the ideas of common man today appear infantile. But there was not a single accomplishment, building, city, or invention which existed past the flood – with the exception of that exceptional ark which Noah built. And today, why are the athletes of the nations getting ready for the London Olympics? Because there is not a record of older men which is not vulnerable to erasure from the record books. Nothing that man has ever done or ever will do, which will endure much more than that man himself.
But not only is the Lord eternal, so are those deeds and decrees of His which He has ordained to be eternal. He is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,” and therefore to Him “be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”
We all know by listening to the prayers of others and thinking about our own that there are prayers of differing quality. And as we also know quite well, we have songs in our hymn books which are much better than others. By that I mean that they are more scriptural, more reverential, and therefore more helpful and appropriate. Even among the doxologies found in our hymn books, the quality fluctuates.
Christ Jesus’ has left us with an excellent example for concluding our prayer.
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” We have here a kind of confession of our faith – this is what we believe and who we are as Christians. Our God is in sovereign control of His creation – of this we have no doubt. And His authority is not merely on paper, or in a black, leather-bound book – it is real and actual. This is a doctrine which separates us from the rest of humanity and much of Christianity.
Furthermore, all glory belongs to Jehovah. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” and “without him we can do nothing.” Isn’t this a second point which sets us apart from our neighbors? While I might testify that I repented of my sin before God, and that I have believed and rested my soul upon Christ for my salvation, I will also say that these things had their source in the Lord, not in me. My salvation was entirely by grace, and all that I did was to acknowledge and respond to it. I take no credit in my salvation, my knowledge of God, or what little wisdom that I have. As several of the Lord’s parables indicate, my gifts and few talents were also gifts of God’s grace.
“For thine is the ……….the glory, for ever. Amen.” And of course, it is a part of our faith that God is eternal, and we will be serving and worshiping Him eternally. The other day, Sahalie asked me what people will be doing in Heaven. I had to admit that I don’t know the details, but the Bible does reveal some generalities. Without doubt it will be wonderful for both the Worshiped and the worshipful. And it will never come to an end.
Not only is this doxology a confession of our faith, we might take note of each point of the preceding prayer. Our Father is in heaven, and He is absolutely holy. Christ’s millennial Kingdom is coming and God’s will is being done and will ultimately be done on earth. We believe that we are absolutely dependent upon the Lord for our daily needs. As weak and foolish creatures, we are incapable of steering our lives in a sinless direction; we need divine leadership. And all sin is against God, therefore we need His forgiveness.
Something else which this doxology provides or states is an argument for the prayer. We have every reason to call upon the name of our God, because He is sovereign; He does have all authority; and He is omnipotent – all powerful. And we may call on His Name today, knowing that He and His promises are eternal – He and they will be there when we need them. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” “Ask and yet shall receive, that your joy maybe full.”
Then lastly, this doxology reminds us of our responsibility to worship and ascribe due praise unto God. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Isn’t this one of the weakest areas of our prayer lives – praise to God for His gracious blessings? Even when we give generalized thanks, we aren’t as godly or as Biblical as we ought to be. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” These words are good, but they should be only the beginning.
I hope that you can see why many people in the past have magnified this so-called “Lord’s Prayer.” Perhaps sometimes it was excessive and undo praise, but still, this really is rich and wonderful. I think that it is appropriate to memorize it ,and we ought to use it as our guide. And it is even appropriate from time to time, to use it as our actual prayer. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”