"For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13)
This close of the Lord's prayer, which is called the "doxology," from two Greek words meaning an ascription of praise or honor, has been omitted in the Revised Version of the New Testament. It is therefore necessary, before commenting upon it, to give the reasons for commenting upon it at all.
The reason which the Revision Committee gave for rejecting it, is that it does not appear in the most ancient versions. Dr. Roberts gives, however, after stating the objection to it, this testimony in its favor: "There is indeed, one mighty argument in its favor. It is found in most of the ancient versions, such as the Ethiopic, the Armenian, the Gothic, and, above all, the Syriac. And could we be sure that the doxology existed from the first in such an ancient version as the Peshit Syriac, its genuineness would perhaps no longer be disputed."--Companion to the Revised Version.
And the whole argument, pro and con, is thus briefly put in the Speaker's Commentary: "The doxology is omitted by the majority of modern editors (Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Wordsworth), who regard it as an interpolation derived from the use of the prayer in the early liturgies of the church, with an ascription of praise added. The principal argument against it rests on its absence from four of the oldest uncial (A B D Z) and five cursive MSS., from the Latin and Coptic versions, and from the citations of the Latin Fathers.
On the other hand, it is found, with occasional variations, in the nine uncials and at least 150 cursives, and in the Syriac, Sahdic, Ethiopic, Gothic, and Armenian versions, and is supported by preponderating evidence from the Greek Fathers."
It seems, therefore, that the evidence against the genuineness is at the best but negative. This would be sufficient, if the ideas expressed by it were not in harmony with the truth as revealed in the Scriptures. But that the doxology does express perfectly scriptural ideas, is evident from the following sample texts.
On "yours is the kingdom," read: "For the kingdom is the Lord's; and He is the Governor among the nations." (Psalm 22:28)
On "the power," read: "God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God." (Psalm 62:11)
For "the glory," and all the rest, forever and ever, read: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." (Revelation 5:13)
Now since the kingdom, and the power, and the glory are the Lord's, it would certainly be proper to ascribe them to Him in our prayers, even though it were proved beyond all controversy that the doxology was not originally given with the Lord's prayer.
Let us therefore see what lessons we may learn, and what aids to devotion we may find, in the closing words of that petition as it stands in the common version, and as it naturally comes from the lips of thousands of reverent worshipers.
For Yours is the Kingdom
This statement, if remembered, tends to beget confidence as well as reverence and awe. "The Lord has prepared His throne in the Heavens; and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19) "For the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." (Malachi 1:14)
Now while the greatness of God as king may strike terror to the hearts of the wicked, it is a source of joy to the Christian, for he knows that his confidence is not in a vain thing. He knows that God is love, and therefore he loves to think that He is great, for that means great love. So while "The sinners in Zion are afraid," (Isaiah 33:14) the upright in heart may say with all confidence: "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us." (Isaiah 33:22)
And the Power
In the thought that "power belongs unto God," there is the same comfort that there is in the thought that the kingdom is the Lord's. For immediately following the verse in which the psalmist says so emphatically that "power belongs unto God," we read, "Also unto you, O Lord, belongs mercy." (Psalm 62:12)
Power without mercy is terrible; mercy without power is despicable; but power and mercy combined form a character worthy of love and respect. And when that power and that mercy are infinite, then the One in whom they are found is worthy of all worship.
The creation of the world stands as the great evidence of God's power. Says the prophet Jeremiah: "But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king; at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. Thus shall you say unto them, the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His discretion." (Jeremiah 10:10-12)
Again the same prophet says: "He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heaven by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of His treasures." (Jeremiah 51:15-16)
Again the prophet repeats the statement, and couples with it, or rather draws from it, a comforting thought. He says: "Ah Lord God! behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for You; You show lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is His name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work; for your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men; to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 32:17-19)
Although this also speaks of God's power to execute judgment upon the wicked, it nevertheless contains comfort to the righteous; for as strong as God is to execute judgments, so strong is He to protect His people. And so Moses, in "the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel," said: "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the heaven in your help, and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He shall thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them." (Deuteronomy 33:26-27)
As the Christian comes to God with his humble petition for strength, what could give him greater assurance than this thought? When he knows that all the power of God is pledged to the support of His children, will he not come with the greater boldness, the more he realizes the power of God? When he reads that: "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him," (2 Chronicles 16:9) is it not a comfort to know that God is omnipotent? When he says, "Hallowed be your name," and remembers that it is a glorious and fearful name, what an encouragement to be assured that: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it, and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10)
Once more we read of the power of God, as described by the prophet Isaiah. Says the prophet: "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, He takes up the isles as a very little thing. ... All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity." (Isaiah 40:15,17)
Again he says of God, that: "It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in. ... To whom then will you liken me, or shall I be equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things, that brings out their host by number; He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one fails." " (Isaiah 40:22,25-26)
But why are we interested in learning of this great power of God? Read on: "Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31)
God's power, then, is for the benefit of His children. He clothes them with His own power. The fullness of His power may become theirs in the strife against evil, if they but earnestly desire it. This will be brought out more fully further on.
The power of God as manifested in the healing of disease can be noticed only in the most general way:
• The dead have been raised;
• The lame made to walk; o The blind to see;
• The dumb to speak, and
• The deaf to hear.
• Withered limbs have been made whole in a moment of time.
• Men full of leprosy have had their flesh become like that of a child.
Now why are all these exhibitions of the power of God placed on record? For the purpose of begetting confidence in God.
When the child of God offers the Lord's prayer or its equivalent, he is not to utter the words, "For yours is ... the power," as a matter of form, but is to come with an intelligent sense of the power of God. That knowledge, coupled with his knowledge of God's willingness to help, is the assurance that his petition, if it is a proper one, will be granted.
The expression, then, "For yours is ... the power," is virtually a statement of the petitioner's confidence in God. Says Paul: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." (Romans 1:16)
Not only is the gospel the power by which God saves those who believe, but it is the manifestation of all the power of God for the salvation of those who will accept it. "[Christ is] the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:24)
He represents all the power in the universe, because: "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9)
And it was: "By Him that all things were created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers." (Colossians 1:16)
Therefore when God in His great, love for the world gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life, He gave all that Heaven had to bestow. And this is further indicated in the words of Paul: "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
The greater includes the less. Since God has already given us His Son, which is a greater gift than all things else combined, how is it possible for us to ask or expect too much from Him? Christ, who is our Advocate with the Father, says: "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18)
And He is with His people always, even unto the end. Surely, then, it is not without reason that we are taught to acknowledge in our prayers the power of God. What confidence such knowledge begets!
Beneath His watchful eye
His saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up,
Shall guard His children well.
And the Glory
This is a most fitting climax for a prayer. It is utterly impossible that human language should describe the glory of God. Let one read the 1st and 10th chapters of Ezekiel, and he will see the inability of human language to give any just conception of God's glory. Perhaps the best idea, the one conveying the most meaning to our minds, is given in: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1) "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth! who has set your glory above the heavens." (Psalm 8:1)
The second statement naturally follows from the first. Since God created the heavens, His own glory must be greater than the glory of the heavens. Therefore when we see the sun shining in its strength, we have only a faint conception of the glory of God.
This point was well illustrated once by a Jew who was asked by a heathen to exhibit his God. The Jew replied that his God could not be seen. When the heathen expressed the opinion that if the Jew had a God he ought to be able to show Him, the Jew bade him look at the sun. The sun was at that time in its midday splendor, and the heathen said, "I cannot look at it; it blinds my eyes."
The Jew replied, "Well, if you are unable to look upon one of God's creatures, how can you expect to be able to look upon God himself?"
This was a just and wise answer. God, as Creator of the heavens and the earth, has set His glory above the heavens.
Whenever the priests went into the most holy place of the earthly tabernacle, where the glory of God was manifested, they were obliged to have a cloud of incense go up before them to shield their eyes from the glory, or else its brightness would have caused their instant death. (See Leviticus 16:2,12,13) But even this precaution was insufficient whenever the Lord manifested more of His glory. Thus we read of the dedication of Solomon's temple: "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house." (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)
When the Lord came down to speak His law, "Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." (Exodus 19:18) "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." (Exodus 24:17)
So great was the glory of God that the reflected glory that shone from the face of Moses after he had been for a time in the presence of God, was such that the people could not look upon him. (Exodus 34:29-35)
When Christ comes to judge the world and to save His people, it will be in all the glory of the Father. "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels." (Matthew 16:27)
Of that glory we read as follows: "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had horns coming out of His hand; and there was the hiding of His power. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow; His ways are everlasting." (Habakkuk 3:3-6)
But why say more as to the glory of God? Human language cannot do it justice; the highest flights of the imagination must fall far short of the reality. And what is there of strength or comfort in the contemplation of it? A few texts will answer. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)
A finer passage cannot be found in any book in the world. It would seem as though Inspiration itself could not use human language to furnish a more magnificent climax.
Paul prays for the same thing that we ought to pray for, namely, that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, and that so we may be filled with all the fullness of God; and this is nothing less than that we should be able to resist all evil, and to keep it out of our hearts.
But how can we do this, seeing we are weak? Why, God will strengthen us with might by His Spirit. But how much might will He give us by His Spirit? "According to the riches of His glory." (Ephesians 3:16)
And so when the Christian approaches the throne of grace, that he may find grace to help in time of need, he may remember that all power and glory belong to God; and the thought that his draft upon the supply of strengthening grace will be honored to an amount equal to the inconceivable glory of God, must necessarily tend to make him come with boldness.
The same thought is emphasized in a most wonderful manner by the prophet Jeremiah in his prayer to God for the backslidden Jews. He says: "We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You. Do not abhor us, for your name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of your glory; remember, break not your covenant with us." (Jeremiah 15:20-21)
Surely the prophet must have been filled with the Spirit when he uttered that prayer, else he would not have dared say to the Lord, "Do not disgrace the throne of your glory." What may we learn from it? Simply this:
God's throne is a throne of grace; it is also a throne of glory, and He has promised to give grace "according to the riches of His glory." Therefore if He should fail to impart this full measure of grace to those to whom it is promised, His glorious throne would cease to be a throne of glory; it would be disgraced. What confidence we may have when we remember that God's honor and glory are pledged to the support of those who trust Him. What excuse can we have for not overcoming? "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11)
"The Lord will give grace and glory." Grace now, and glory hereafter. Yet the measure of grace which He will give is according to the riches of His glory, so that, believing in and loving Christ, whom we have not seen, we may "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." (1 Peter 1:8)
And so, with Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, being children of God, "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved," (Ephesians 1:6) the trying of our faith will certainly "be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:7)
The words, "Yours is the glory," which we utter in the Lord's prayer, are freighted with a glorious hope for the Christian. Even now are we the sons of God, though it is not yet made manifest what we shall be; "But we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2) "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:16-17)
Glorified together with Jesus Christ! Read the description of the glory of Christ, as Isaiah saw it: "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And He said, Go, and tell this people, Hear indeed, but understand not; and see indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." (Isaiah 6:1-10) "He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him." (John 12:40-41)
Now try to realize that the children of God are to be glorified together with Him. That means that these faces will shine as does Christ's, for: "[He shall] change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Philippians 3:21)
Yes; it means that the glory of Christ, from which even seraphim hide their faces, shall be shared by His now-despised followers; for the holy prophet has said that: "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)
And Christ himself said that when He shall come, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:43)
The Christian may feel wearied with the battle, and crushed by anguish either of body or spirit, or both. Then he can recall Paul's words: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)
Paul had experienced far more than the ordinary lot of human sorrow. He had been in labors abundant, even in weakness and trembling. He had been in prison many times. Five times he had received from the Jews the full number of stripes that the law would allow; three times he had been beaten with rods; and once he was stoned and left for dead. He had been shipwrecked, had been in perils of robbers, and worst of all, "in perils among false brethren." (2 Corinthians 11:26)
But he had been permitted to see something of the glory which God has in reserve for those who love Him and he gave it as his deliberate opinion that all the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
Take all the sufferings of this life, and place them in one scale, and place in the other the glory that God has for His children, and the glory would so outweigh the sufferings that no comparison could be made between them. The sufferings could be expressed only by zero. And so the apostle says: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
Of all this we should be reminded when we repeat the Lord's prayer, or, indeed, when we pray at all; for that is the true model for all prayers.
So the prayer which begins with "Our Father in Heaven," and passes through all the wants of our fallen humanity, closes with a joyful anticipation of the time when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; when He shall take to himself His great power and shall reign; and when those who love and serve Him shall shine forth as the sun in the everlasting kingdom of glory.
And as our hearts contemplate the glorious time when we shall receive the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls, there is in the joy that we feel a foretaste of the glory that shall be revealed in us, and we exclaim with the prophet, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)--Signs of the Times, August 10 & 17, 1888.