Word of Salvation – Vol.49 No.28 – July 2004

 

Concluding Our Prayer

 

Sermon by Rev M P Geluk on Lord’s Day 52b (Q/A 128-129 Heid.Cat.)

Scripture Readings:  1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Revelation 5:6-14

Suggested Hymns:  BoW 440; 145; 150; 454:1,8

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…

The concluding words to the Lord’s Prayer are really a doxology. The word ‘doxology’ literally means ‘word of praise’. Jesus concluded His prayer with words of praise to God. But doxologies do not necessarily have to come at the end. They can occur anywhere in our prayers or in the church service. You can have words of praise to God at the beginning of your prayer, in the middle, or at the end. It’s the same with a church service. You can sing a doxology at the beginning, or in the middle somewhere, or at the end. It doesn’t really matter. But after you have prayed about a number of things and expressed your faith and trust in God, then a doxology at the end is quite appropriate.

So also in a church service. We have prayed, read God’s Word, heard preaching from it, interspersed it with songs, and then when we have done all that, it is fitting to conclude with a doxology. In the Lord’s Prayer the doxology comes at the end.

Now if you are looking at the version of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke’s gospel (11:2 ff), then you will not find the words “For yours in the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.” They are not there. If you look up the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s gospel, then you will find that the New International Version has the doxology to the Lord’s prayer in a footnote. The North American Standard Bible has included the doxology at the end of the Lord’s Prayer but placed it in brackets. The New King James Version has left it in, without giving a hint about there being some uncertainty whether it should be there or not.

Why have these and other translations done different things with the doxology to the Lord’s Prayer? Did the Lord Jesus say or not say, “For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever, Amen”? Well, most of you know that the Bibles we use are translated from very old manuscripts, and the most reliable of these do not have the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer. The oldest manuscript that has the doxology is from the sixth century, although a shorter version of the doxology is found in a document from the second century. This shorter version does not have the word ‘kingdom’ in it.

So what should the church have done? Omit these words of praise at the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer, or leave them in? Apart from a few exceptions, the Christian church has been inclined to leave them in, and for the following good reasons.

Firstly, the words, “For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever, Amen” are in complete harmony with the overall teaching of God’s Word, even if we are not absolutely sure that Christ spoke them. Secondly, the doxology is a very fitting conclusion to the Lord’s prayer because they are a beautiful expression of faith in God’s kingship, power and glory. Let us give some further attention to these two reasons.

1. The doxology in the Lord’s prayer is scriptural

We’re saying here that these words of praise directed to God at the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer are in perfect agreement with what the Bible says elsewhere about God. Every believer who is familiar with what the Bible says about God will agree it is biblical to say that to God belong the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. We read earlier from 1 Chronicles 29. There we have a prayer from King David that God inspired him to pray just before he died.

In his lifetime David had seen a great deal of God’s mercy and covenant faithfulness. And he was also very much aware of his own sins. As he is about to depart from this life, David committed the new king, his son Solomon, together with all Israel, to God’s safekeeping. David believed that God was able to watch over His people and protect them, and his belief comes out very strongly in the words he spoke to God in prayer. David’s words are very similar to the doxology in the Lord’s prayer. This is what David said:

“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, O God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” (vss 10-13).

When you hear that and then Jesus’ doxology, “For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever, Amen”, then you notice straightaway how similar they are. And there are many other Scripture references which say that to God belong the kingship, the power and the glory forever. Nehemiah 9:5; the conclusions of Psals 145-150; John 8:50; John 17:4; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Timothy 4:18. And in the book Revelation there is the recurring theme that all power, glory and honour belong to God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne (Rev 1:6; 4:11; 5:12-13; 19:1 ff). Therefore, to have the doxology at the end of the Lord’s prayer is perfectly scriptural.

2. The doxology in the Lord’s prayer is a fitting conclusion

The words, “For yours in the kingdom and the power and the glory forever”, express a trust in God’s ability to give us all that is good. But before we look at this trust in God’s power, there is something else that makes the doxology such a fitting conclusion to the Lord’s prayer. It is this. The Lord’s prayer begins with God the Father in heaven and that His name be made holy by us: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” And then this perfect prayer turns its attention to things on earth. In our world we have to struggle against many powers that oppose Christ the King, and so Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come.” And down here on this earth even God’s own people can be quite rebellious, and therefore Jesus taught us to pray for submission to His will: “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

And on this earth we need a number of things in order to live, so Jesus taught us to pray for our bodily needs: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Then we are a people with sinful natures and we struggle all our life against sin, and therefore Jesus also taught us to pray: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” We also face many temptations. The Lord may even send us trials and we’re not sure we can handle them because the devil will try and make us go the wrong way, so Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

So when we follow, more or less, the order of the Lord’s prayer in our own prayers, then we are to think of our Father in heaven first. But then we may also think and pray about all of life’s situations here on earth. The Lords’ Prayer covers all of life’s needs, it enters deep into our physical and spiritual existence. It makes us aware of the devil and of God having the power to deliver us from the evil one. But before we say our ‘Amen’, let us come back to where we started – with our Father in heaven. Having thought about and mentioned all our earthly needs, then let us look up again to our heavenly Father.

Whether it was Jesus Himself, or the early Christian church who added the doxology, we may never know, but that doesn’t matter. The fact is that the prayer of the Christian should really not end with concerns about evil and the devil, but with God’s triumphant power over evil and the devil. Not our prayers ending with hell but with heaven. Not with a looking and a hoping for deliverance but with faith and trust in God who has overcome evil and the devil.

Therefore, before we end our prayers we want to finish up with the Father again. We began with the Father and heaven, and then having prayed about all kinds of earthly situations, we may end our prayers where we started – with God. That’s how many prayers recorded in the Bible end and that’s how we believe Jesus ended His Prayer. With God, confessing Him as our mighty Lord, having all dominion, power and glory. Only with a renewed confession about God’s kingship can we get up from prayer and return to whatever God has given us to do in the world. So what better words to carry with us in our hearts than these, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.”

Now we also said earlier on that this doxology is so suitable because it expresses a trust in God’s ability to do for us what is good. How true that is! When we say, “For yours in the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever”, then we are saying to God that the glory and honour of His holy name, and the provision of all our physical and spiritual needs, will be taken care of, for God is the King and He has the power and the glory – not only sometimes, but forever!

So next time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, or your own prayer, and conclude with a confession that God’s kingdom is a reality, and that He has the power and the glory, then ask yourself if you really trust God in that way. Do we actually put our faith in Him, who says of Himself that He is the powerful, glorious, King of kings?

You realise, of course, that when we put our faith and trust in God, then we have turned away from ourselves. Have you ever noticed that we are never content and happy when we are preoccupied only with ourselves? Ask anyone who is sad, anxious and depressed as to why they are unhappy, and you will hear them telling you about their troubles. That’s if they want to talk about it. Quite often people with burdens will close the door and not talk. But anyone who in faith and trust is able to look up to God, knowing that He has the kingdom, the power and the glory, has turned away from his anxiety and worries. He may still have his troubles but he is not so preoccupied with them. He has cast all his anxieties on God who is almighty and all-powerful.

And when we are preoccupied with our troubles, and can’t seem to shift our focus away from self to God, then our prayer is all about our troubles, our fears and our needs. Now don’t think that you shouldn’t bother God with all that. You may bring all your needs to Him. Jesus has taught us so in His prayer. But the thing is that we’ve become prisoners of our feelings and emotions if we stay focussed on ourselves.

So look at this doxology. It’s all about God! Our thoughts are directed to God’s kingdom and His power and glory. And isn’t that how all our prayers ought to end? Look at Asaph who wrote Psalm 73. He was so immersed in all his worries, anxieties and problems, that even whilst he was conscious of God, he was not really thinking of Him but all thoughts were on himself. But that all changed when he entered the sanctuary of God. He shifted his focus away from himself and onto God and remembered that God is the sovereign Lord. He made God his refuge.

You can still talk to God about all your needs but your eye is no longer on yourself but on God who is all the time busy in completing His plan of salvation and making His kingdom come in full. Prayer is all about letting go of one’s self, not to yourself, but to God. Isn’t that the purpose of our believing and trusting in God?

Yes, do I really believe in God’s power? Do I really believe that God is King and is the only Power of real significance? Sometimes we can’t sleep because we are worried about things. If it’s about our finances, then we’re believing too much in the power of money. We need to believe more in God who He doesn’t need money to provide for us. If we’re brooding about some terrible sin we’ve done, then we’re believing too much in what the consequences might do to us. We need to believe more in God’s ability to forgive us because of what Christ has done for us. If we can’t stop thinking about things in the church going all wrong, then we’re believing too much in what man can do to the church. We need to believe more in God’s plan about continuing His church forever. If we’re all upset because our illness may end in us dying, then we’re believing too much in this life. We need to believe more in eternal life that God has given us when He made us new in Christ.

You see, when we say we need to believe more in God, then we’re saying that God is King! He is the supreme Sovereign! Apart from God’s will all earthly powers cannot even move! Remember again what Jesus said: “Not one of them (a sparrow) will fall to the ground apart from the will of your father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Mt 10:29-30).

Whatever takes place on earth, it is all by the doing of God’s will. He causes or permits all things to pass. Why then should we be afraid and whom should we fear? For the kingdom and the power and the glory are God’s, now and forever.

4. The ‘Amen’

Can we now with that same faith and conviction say ‘amen’? It’s amazing what that little word has come to mean and what is seems to be able to do for some. Some can sleep through a prayer and a sermon, but the ‘amen’ wakes them up instantly. While the Word is proclaimed, you can wander far away in your thoughts, but the ‘amen’ pulls you up quick smart. Sometimes a person will apologise for not having heard much of the sermon because they didn’t have enough sleep the previous night, or whatever. But whatever they missed, they didn’t miss the ‘amen’. And when speakers and preachers go on too long then we say under our breath, or to someone sitting next to us, that it’s time for the ‘amen’.

It’s no wonder, then, that many think that ‘amen’ means ‘the end’. But it doesn’t mean that at all. ‘Amen’ means ‘so shall it be’. Or, ‘this is sure to be’.

If we, then, pray in such a manner as Jesus taught us and conclude our prayer with a believing, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever”, then we can also say ‘amen’ to all that we have prayed.

Therefore, the preacher should not say ‘amen’ if he did not proclaim the Word of God but a distorted version of it. The congregation should not say ‘amen’ if the preaching and praying were not biblical. Knowing beforehand that the ‘amen’ comes at the end of the worship should make us extra careful in worshipping the Lord in a manner that truly glorifies Him. We cannot say or sing the ‘amen’ if the church service was man-centred instead of Christ-centred. People can pray very convincingly and preachers can preach very persuasively but they should not say ‘amen’ – so shall it be – if they think that their own conviction and dynamic power was the reason for their effectiveness. Our ‘amens’ will truly glorify God when the things that were said and done were truly in accordance with God’s will.

So if the church service concludes with the ‘threefold amen’, then think of its appropriateness. The congregation began with a declaration, a vow, that as the people of God, the church, her help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Then God greeted us with His grace, mercy and peace. Elsewhere in the service the Lord speaks to us of His will for our daily lives. And there is a proclamation of grace from God assuring us that our sins are forgiven us for Jesus’ sake. Elsewhere in the church service we read God’s Word and hear preaching from it. And at various points in the liturgy the congregation responds to God’s speaking with songs of praise or songs wherein we say ‘have mercy upon us, O Lord’. The congregation’s response is also there in its prayers and giving. In that way the whole church service is a beautiful dialogue between God and His people redeemed by Christ. How fitting, then, at the end, after God finally pronounces His blessing over us in the benediction, that the congregation’s final response is expressed in the threefold amen. So shall it be, so shall it be.

You could not say or sing the ‘amen’ at the end if the church service was a circus, an aiming to entertain the worshippers, a service peppered with all kinds of wisecracks and banal humour, a service where people muck around, turn off, sleep, chatter and do other things that are not worship. No, you can’t sing a majestic three-fold amen if God was not worshipped.

We close with two verses of a song version of the Lord’s prayer (found in the old brown loose-leaf Book of Worship, No 823:9,10):

To you, great King, our prayers ascend:

your power and glory know no end!

You are our Helper, always near,

for Jesus’ sake our pleas you hear.

You opened wide salvation’s door,

yours be all praise forevermore!

Dear Father, do not hide your face,

for we rely upon your grace.

Our hearts lie open to your eyes

but boldly we cast off all guise

and say, since you will hear our plea:

‘Amen, Amen! So shall it be!’

Amen.