The Lord's Prayer: GLORY

Matthew 6:13

October 27, 2002

 

The Lord's Prayer has been the means of instructing believers through the centuries on how to pray. Augustine, the 4th century Christian leader, taught new converts the Lord's Prayer at the time of their baptism so that they would develop the ongoing practice of prayer. "Receive now this precious jewel and keep it," Augustine exhorted, "receive the prayer which God himself has taught us to bring to God" [Derek Prime, The Lord's Prayer for Today, 163]. No model through the centuries has improved upon the clear, powerful direction for prayer that we call The Lord's Prayer.

 

Perhaps our familiarity with the Lord's Prayer has numbed our thoughts on its daily application in our lives. Here we are reminded to call upon the Lord, to recognize God as God, and to rest in His sovereign might. In an age when we tend to have an overweening dependence upon our abilities and resources, we must recapture the biblical emphasis on being a people of prayer. Throughout the Gospels we find our Lord withdrawing to pray. In the book of Acts, the church gathered in favorable and unfavorable times to pray. Paul's epistles contain evidence of the intensity of his prayer life on behalf of the churches. Ample exhortations to prayer are given in both Pauline and General Epistles. Even the Revelation ends with John praying for Christ to come. Christians, we can conclude, are to live in an atmosphere of fervent prayer.

 

Prayer characterizes the great epochs in Christian history. On Thursday we celebrate the 485th anniversary of the Great Reformation. Without exception, all of the reformers, whether Luther, Calvin, Wycliffe, Zwingli, were men of prayer. They set the example for our own generation of being diligent in doctrine and practice with all undergirded by prayer. Martin Luther, the great reformer that ignited reformation flames on October 31, 1517 by nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, was as much a man of prayer as he was pastor and theologian. He knew the necessity and power of faithful praying, so he urged his own congregation to call upon the Lord.

Call is what you have to learn. Don't just sit there by yourself or off to one side and hang your head, and shake it and gnaw your knuckles and worry and look for a way out, nothing on your mind except how bad you feel, how you hurt, what a poor guy you are. Get up, you lazy scamp! Down on your knees! Up with your hands and eyes toward heaven! Use a psalm or the Lord's prayer to cry out your distress to the Lord [Prime, 160-161].


We smile at Luther's wording, but we must agree with his emphasis. And we must also see how he urged the use of the Lord's Prayer as a guide and stimulus to faithful, extemporaneous prayer. If the Lord's Prayer was vital for the first disciples, if it became the rule and guide for those emerging out of the darkness of Roman ritualism in the 16th century, then surely it is needed by us that feel the pressing weight of the world upon our minds, and yet the tug of heaven upon our souls.

 

Prayer befits God's people for it expresses our submission to Him and dependence upon Him. So as we come to the end of our study on the Lord's Prayer, we are reminded that it is given to us to help us know how to pray - and to motivate us to pray. If we merely look upon the Lord's Prayer as a relic of antiquity with quaint phrases then we have missed its purpose. The fact that Christ taught us how to pray means that we must pray!

 

Our consideration this morning is upon the doxology of the Lord's Prayer. Prayer and praise go together. Ultimately, "prayer terminates in praise," as Gardiner Spring put it [The Mercy Seat, 224]. When we consider the Lord upon whom we call in prayer, we cannot but praise Him for his rule, ability, and honor. Do you daily offer prayer and praise unto the Lord? We are held accountable by the model prayer to be faithful people of prayer.

 

A Clarification

 

I must begin by offering a clarification about this portion of the Lord's Prayer. If you have the NASB or the Amplified or the Modern Language New Testament translation you will find our text in brackets or italics. If you have the NIV or ESV or CEV it is omitted from the text and placed in a footnote. Phillips, Weymouth, and the TEV omit it completely. The NKJV has it in the body but footnoted. The KJV and Peterson's The Message place it in the text without distinction. What does this mean?

 

The New Testament was written in the Koine Greek language or the common Greek tongue. There are no copies of the original autographs from any New Testament book. Instead, we have over 5,000 manuscripts that range from early 2nd century to the middle ages that contain portions or all the Greek version of the New Testament. The process of collating these manuscripts to determine the original text is called textual criticism. One of the first to make use of textual criticism was Erasmus the 16th century Catholic humanist scholar that collated a number of manuscripts, publishing the first Greek Testament in 1516 - a year before the Reformation began. Though his Greek Testament lacked most of the manuscript evidence that we have today, it was sufficient enough for many young scholars to read the Word of God for the first time and believe the gospel. It had a marked impact on Luther's understanding of the gospel, as well as upon William Tyndale in England.

 

All of that historical background is given to say that Erasmus included our text in his Testament - later known as the Textus Receptus - though it was obvious that many of the ancient versions did not contain it. Even the Latin version that was revered by Roman Catholics did not contain it. Since that time scholars have compared hundreds of manuscripts with many concluding that the doxology that ends the Lord's Prayer is not in the earliest copies. Tyndale's English translation, the Geneva Bible, and the King James Version all included the doxology based on Erasmus's Greek Testament.

 

So we come to the 21st century and ask whether this is part of the original Greek New Testament. Here's what evidence I can point out. First, there are early evidences of the doxology in one form or another as part of the Lord's Prayer. The Didache, which was a collection of teachings reportedly by the Apostles, written in early 2nd century that included, "Thine is the power and the glory forever." The Diatessaron of Tatian, a late 2nd century manuscript, contains it as translated in our text. Second, on the other hand many of the best known and utilized Greek manuscripts do not contain it (e.g., Sinaiticus and Vaticanus in the 4th C., and writings of Tertullian, Origen, and Cyprian in the 3rd C.). Third, in the United Bible Societies Greek Testament, scholars have come to the strong conclusion that textual evidence for omitting the doxology is stronger than keeping it [thus giving the omission an "A" status]. Fourth, however it seems that in both Hebrew and Greek traditions, doxologies followed prayers. For this reason many New Testament scholars believe that this doxology was either part of early tradition and so was later added or that the abrupt ending, "deliver us from evil," was left that way so that churches and individual believers could add their own doxology. It has a very similar wording to David's doxology in I Chronicles 29:11, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all."

 

Leon Morris points out, "The case for the doxology is stronger than many students assume" [The Gospel of Matthew, 149]. Martyn Lloyd-Jones appropriately adds, "We do not know for certain whether our Lord did actually utter it at this point or not; but whether He did nor not, it is very appropriate" [The Sermon on the Mount, II, 77]. And for that very reason it is appropriate for us to study it, and certainly appropriate for us to include in our recitation of the Lord' Prayer. John Calvin, the Genevan Reformer, gives us one of the best rationales for including this doxology in our study and prayer:

It is strange that this doxology, closing the prayer, which it fits so well, has been omitted in the Latin. It was added not only to warm our hearts to press towards the glory of God, and warn us what should be the goal of all our supplications, but also to tell us that all our prayers, here set down for us, have no other foundation than God alone, in case we should put any weight upon our own merits [Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, I, 213].


I. Kingdom

 

We "have no other foundation than God alone," writes Calvin. One of the "solas" of the Reformation is Sola Deo Gloria - to God alone be the glory. How fitting that as we offer our prayers unto the Lord that we end with an acknowledgement that He alone gets all the glory, and He alone is the foundation for life and eternity. Such an utterance is found in those familiar words, "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." The doxology provides a simple outline for our meditations.

 

First, we think about "for Yours is the kingdom." We've already encountered the "kingdom" in the first half of the Lord's Prayer. So it is fitting that we not be consumed with our own thoughts and needs so much so that we lose sight of God's kingdom, and our purpose as kingdom citizens in prayer.

 

1. Ruler

 

"Kingdom" primarily points to the King as ruler, governor, and sovereign over his realm. Why do we need such a reminder? We can easily slip into despair when we think of the rampant way that evil has spread throughout the world. We soon forget who created the world and who rules it in spite of evil's tyranny.

 

The children of Israel had this same problem; that is why we find so many of the Lord's titles being revealed to help them refocus their minds upon the sovereign rule of the Lord God. He is called Yahweh, the eternally existent one. He is called El-Shaddai, the God who is all-sufficient - the Almighty. He is called El-Elyon, God Most High. He is called El Olam, the God that is from everlasting to everlasting. Often Isaiah calls him the King to remind us that He alone is sovereign Lord [ISBE, II, 505-508].

 

"For Yours is the kingdom," brings the believer back to the foundation of God's rule over all creation. He is not a god of our making or a god that changes with the centuries to adapt to cultural trends. He remains the Rock that is immoveable and rises above the storms, the Mighty Fortress that is impregnable by his foes, and the King that sits upon his throne. One of my favorite titles for the Lord is found in Acts 4:24 where it is translated as "Lord" when the disciples prayed, "O Lord [despotes], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them [the God who Creates], who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of Your servant, said [the God who Reveals], 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ'. For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur" [the God who Rules]. The Greek term is despotes - from which we get "despot" or one that rules absolutely - the Lord and Master that rules.

 

Chrysostom, the 4th century preacher reminds us, "If the kingdom is his, we have nothing to fear, there being none that can oppose it, or wrest from him the government" [quoted by Herman Witsius, The Lord's Prayer, 374]. This reality must affect our praying and living!

 

2. Rule

 

As we noted several weeks ago, the Lord as Sovereign is not a titular headship like that of Queen Elizabeth over the United Kingdom. He rules over his kingdom. Here we find great encouragement in our praying. When Hezekiah ruled over Judah, he faced the most daunting challenge of his tenure as the Assyrians that had conquered Israel stood at the door to capture Judah. They taunted and intimidated Hezekiah to surrender to them. But Hezekiah prayed to the God that rules:

O LORD, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God (II Kings 19:15-19).


Hezekiah could pray such a bold prayer for deliverance because God is not like the gods of the world that are thrown into the fire and burned because they are made by men's hands. But because he alone is Lord, and he alone rules over the kingdoms of the earth, Hezekiah could pray such a prayer. And so can we! The biggest hindrance to our praying is not insufficient time or poor ability. It is a failure at this very point - to recognize God as Lord of all, the one that rules heaven and earth, and the one that alone can answer our pleas.

 

3. Realm

 

Nothing falls outside the realm of God's kingdom; for it is a kingship over all that God has created. And so our praying is to reflect that we acknowledge his rule. We are not to pray as though he is too small or too weak to answer our praying. We're praying within his realm. He is King that has all authority to act and do as He pleases. As Spring put it, "He has it to bestow in plenteousness which no thought can limit. Giving does not impoverish Him, neither does withholding enrich Him. He can satisfy the most ample wishes" [224].

 

On one occasion Alexander the Great told Anaxarchus, the philosopher, to go to his treasurer and ask for whatever he wanted. Evidently he asked for an enormous sum because the treasurer refused to pay until he had consulted with Alexander. He thought that it was far too much for one man to receive from the King. But Alexander's reply told otherwise, "It is not too much for Alexander to give. He does honor to my riches and liberality by so large a request" [Spring, 224]. Is our God not honored more by our asking him for that which is beyond us so that he might be glorified by the display of his inexhaustible resources? That is why we pray for his name to be hallowed in our lives and across the globe, and why we pray for his kingdom to come in mighty power throughout the world so that his will is done in perfection. Those are mighty prayers! But they command the attention of our Almighty God!

 

II. Power

 

Our God is to be recognized for his power: "for Yours is the kingdom and the power." It is one thing for God to make the claim of kingship, and yet another to have the power to carry out his rule. But this doxology confesses that both are true: he is the omnipotent ruler of the universe.

 

1. Omnipotence

 

"Power" at the very start reminds us of God's omnipotence. The heavenly multitudes capture this in Revelation 19:6, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty [Omnipotent], reigns." The titles Yahweh Sabaoth and El Shaddai in the Old Testament parallel this New Testament title, with both declaring him to be all-powerful [ISBE, III, 592]. Why is this acknowledgement of God's all sufficient power so important for us?

 

"If there were a single blessing He could not give, our confidence in Him would be shaken for every blessing," writes Gardiner Spring. "Should His power fail in one instance, it would be impossible for us to know that it would not fail in ten thousand instances, and in those in which the spirit of prayer feels the deepest interest" [225].

 

2. Ability

 

But we must not think of "power" as some sort of static condition. A river has power only when it moves. But when it is stopped by a dam its power is restrained. God's power knows no such restraint. The word "power" [dunamis] as used throughout the Gospel of Matthew points to divine ability. Often it is translated as miraculous powers that were exercised in healing or raising someone from the dead or meeting some need in the natural realm by divine ability. Need met divine power and resulted in rejoicing by the ones that saw divine ability at work.

 

In light of our prayers, we acknowledge that the ability to meet every need belongs to the Lord. If we do not believe he is able then we will not pray. Is that not where we often falter in our praying? We have a need. We half-heartedly say that we believe that God is able to meet it. Then we add a "but" that reveals our doubt of his divine ability. Maybe that is why Paul - in the middle of Ephesians - offered one of the clearest confessions of divine ability: "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Eph 3:20-21). I've often pondered the superlatives that Paul piles one on top of another in helping us to grasp something of God's ability. God's ability is declared to be "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think." In other words, there is never a need that outstrips God's ability. There is never a situation or circumstance in our lives that crosses a threshold in which God is inadequate. We cannot think or ask beyond his ability to work in every conceivable and inconceivable way to accomplish his divine purposes on behalf of his people for eternity.

 

Do we pray as though our God has this kind of ability? I think we can imagine that there were many in the early church that thought the last person to be saved would be Saul of Tarsus. No one was more ruthless toward Christians or more zealous in the cause of eradicating the world of Christianity than Saul. Don't you think that the Lord prompted some believers to pray for his conversion that they might see the display of his power?

 

How about the spread of Christianity? When we realize that Christianity is the dominant religion across the globe today though in the upper room there were only 120 disciples as the foundation for spreading the gospel, it is incredible to see how without military might or dictatorships or political maneuvering millions have come to faith through the centuries. Other religions have used threats and military strength to enforce the expansion of their religion. But genuine Christianity has arisen through the preaching of the gospel, and faith in Christ alone. Our God is able! Let us believe him!

 

III. Glory

 

One of the key words that describe the character and worth of God is "glory." "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." We see this as both reality and honor given to God.

 

1. Reality

 

By reality, I am insisting that "glory" marks God off from all others. He alone has glory. He alone is glorious. It is the outshining radiance of his character, displayed in such brilliance that it makes the sun appear dull. Perhaps you have been in the mountains or near the ocean during a sunrise. As the rays begin to peak through the veil of darkness, an aura of brilliance breaks forth and affects everything about you. You might even describe the scene as a "glorious sight." By that you imply that no other scene can be compared with the brilliance and majesty of what you have witnessed. It is incomparably beautiful, and yet the power of that beauty is so strong that you cannot look at it for long without damaging your own eyesight. It is both wonderfully brilliant and blindingly awful.

 

That is something of God's glory. As Isaiah caught a glimpse of God's glory in his heavenly vision, he described its beauty but also felt its awfulness. Glory is both transparent and weighty for it is a display of the goodness and purity of God. Not only do we see through the glory in its transparency, but also the glory sees through us, exposing our own darkness of soul and mind, so that like Isaiah we cry out, "Woe is me!" "For Yours is... the glory" declares the uniqueness and incomparability of our God.

 

2. Honor

 

But "glory" is also something that we give as we express the wonder of God's incomparability. It is the collective weight of our praise, honoring the Lord as he ought to be honored through life and lips. According to Revelation 5:12, glory is received by the Lord in light of his worth. Glory belongs only to our God: "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev 5:13). And for all eternity because of the grace shown to us in Christ, we shall declare that glory and honor forever.

 

IV. Amen!

 

"Amen" serves to conclude our prayers and also concludes this doxology. Peter Lewis comments, "The "amen" at the end of the prayer is a form of an old Hebrew word that indicates certainty and dependability. It was used to confirm a statement made by someone else or as a response that acknowledged the validity and binding nature of an agreement" [238]. Or to give a more literal definition, "amen" declares, "so be it" or "may it be so." It is an expression of faith as we look to the Lord who has all rule, ability, and honor to do what he alone can do. Let us so pray that we can add the "amen" to close our prayer, "May it be so."

 

Let us conclude by repeating the Lord's Prayer together.

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