Hi, and thanks so much for listening to the latest episode from the Hem We Proclaim podcast. This is the concluding message in our Lord's Prayer study. Today you're going to hear a lot about something called a doxology, which simply means an expression of praise to God. And that's how the Lord's Prayer concludes. It goes without saying, the Bible is full of doxologies, and this one wraps up the prayer nicely.
I won't give you any more spoilers, but let's finish up the study now with Righteous Prayer Focuses on the Praise of the Father. Matthew chapter 6, we're going to conclude today our study of the Lord's Prayer. But to pray rightly is to know God as Father. And that, I guess, has been one of the most. stunning realities that has been so helpful to me.
over the past 12 weeks of looking at this is really coming to a deeper understanding of knowing that God is my Heavenly Father and that He really does love me. That's really good news, isn't it? And that makes you want to pray. That's what makes your heart want to pray. And so Jesus understood this, and so in the Lord's Prayer, he focuses us on seven major themes that all center on God the Father.
And these seven themes reveal to us his character and show us and teach us how adopted sons of the Father actually begin to pray. And so here are the themes. Righteous prayer focuses on the adoption of the Father. That's how the prayer begins: our Father. Righteous prayer.
Focus is on the honor of the Father, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Righteous prayer focuses on the kingdom of the Father, our Father in heaven. Your kingdom come Righteous prayer focuses on the will of the Father. Our Father in heaven, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Righteous prayer focuses on the provision of our Father.
Our Father in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Righteous prayer focuses on the forgiveness of the Father. Our Father in heaven, forgive us our debts as we also. Have forgiven our debtors, and that righteous prayer focuses on the deliverance of the Father. Our Father in heaven, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
It's quite a prayer, isn't it? It's amazing. And so as we come to the end of such an amazing prayer, the question that's before us is how do we conclude our prayers? How do we close such an amazing prayer? How do we bring it to an end?
Martin Lloyd-Jones, he said, what can one say after facing such a prayer and such words? There must be a kind of final Thanksgiving. There must be.
some sort of doxology. And so In some of the ancient manuscripts, in some of the English translations, if you use the King James Bible, you will see in your King James Bible. That there is a doxology included. If you have the New American Standard, you'll see that doxology in brackets in your Bible. And if you have the ESV at the end of verse 13, you will see an asterisk.
which carries you to a footnote which includes the doxology. And so this doxology at the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer simply says, for yours this is to the Father, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Now, the word doxology is familiar to most Christians, and the Old Testament and the New Testament is just chock full of doxologies everywhere, and rightfully so. Many believers, like myself, grew up singing the doxology. as part of their church's liturgical practice after they collected the offering. And the word doxology just simply means speaking praise. That's what the word means, speaking praise.
And so a doxology is simply a form of words. That offers praise to God for his glory. Especially praise to God for his glory in regard to his work of creation and redemption. Just two quick examples in Revelation chapter 4, verse 11. It says, Worthy are you, our Lord and God.
To receive glory. Into honor and power. Why? For you created all things. and by your will they existed and were created.
And then redemption in 1 Timothy chapter 1. Verses 15 through 17. Listen to what the Apostle Paul does. He's retracing the glorious salvation that God has worked in his own life as a first century terrorist to the church. And the Apostle Paul says: the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
By the way, That verse, 1 Timothy 1 verse 15, that is the message of Advent. The season of Advent. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's good news. He said, He came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience. As an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. What do you say to such divine perfect patience and grace? Paul breaks out in a doxology to the king of the ages. Immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
So those are doxologies.
Now there's a question in our text as to whether this commonly recited traditional doxology at the end of the Lord's Prayer is actually part of the very words that our Lord taught us to pray. There's a big debate about this whole thing, and we're not going to get into New Testament criticism, because that's not the purpose of preaching.
So let me just fast forward through all of that complicated stuff and just say this. is that Even though this particular doxology is not found in the earliest manuscripts that we have. It is in harmony with the teaching of both the Old and New Testament, and it provides the proper conclusion to this prayer.
So J.I. Packer just simply says it like this, if this closing doxology is not from Jesus' lips, it is certainly reflecting his mind. And that's what we have here. And so how did this doxology then come to be added to the end of the Lord's Prayer?
Well It's been suggested, which is probably correct, that this threefold doxology was composed probably on the basis of David's doxology from 1 Chronicles 29, verses 11 through 13. And it was done by the early church for liturgical use in the corporate worship of the church. And so I want you to turn back. If you might have to just pull the pages of your Bible apart and blow off the dust, because I'm not sure many of you have read recently in 1 Chronicles 29. Wake up.
Oh, I think I'll read 1 Chronicles 29 this morning over my latte, right? 1 Chronicles chapter 29. Just turn back there for a second because I want to give you the context for where this comes from. In 1 Chronicles 29 in verses 1 through 9, David calls on the people of Israel to support his son, listen, to support the son of David. To support his son Solomon by contributing to the temple fund for the construction of the temple.
Thus verses one through nine. And then the people respond generously with free will offerings. to David's request. And then After the people respond generously to David's request, David then stands as the king before the people, and he offers a doxology, a blessing of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly.
So look at verse 10. Beginning verse 10, Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel, our Father. Forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. I want you to notice something about David's doxology. Notice very carefully that David addresses the God of Israel as the God of Israel, our Father. You see that? And he blesses our Father.
For his power and his glory and his kingdom. And he acknowledges that this Lord, the great king, who is blessed forever and ever of the people of Israel's daily bread. Look at verse 12. He says, Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
We praise you, our Father, because you give us our daily bread. And then in verses 14 and 16, David confesses that even his generosity for the temple fund. And even the people's generosity of free will offerings to provide for the construction of the temple fund. In verses 14 and 16, all of that generosity, David says, does not come from David. It does not come from the people.
It comes from our Father, because he says that twice, listen, but who am I, verse 14, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly, for all things come from you. The context is he's talking about all that they've given to build the temple. The people gave, but David says, all this came from you, not from our hand. You see that? All things come from you, and of your own, of your own, we have given you.
You've given it to us, and we've just simply given it back to you because it's all yours. Nothing comes from us. We have no resources. All praise goes to you, Father. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house and for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.
Doesn't get any clearer than that. And so in this doxology, David acknowledges that he and Israel are dependent entirely on the God of Israel our Father for all their temporal and spiritual provision and protection. And that gracious provision and protection by Israel's great king calls forth from David doxology. That is, it calls forth from him the speaking of praise to God for his glorious provision and protection. It's amazing, isn't it?
And what we have to also keep in mind is this, is that when we are considering David's plans and provision for the construction of the temple and his praise for the construction of the temple, we are ultimately looking at the shadows of the person and work of Christ himself. And so ultimately the New Testament tells us that Jesus, the Son of David, is the true tabernacle, John 1.14. He is the true temple, John 2, verse 19. And so David's addressing the God of Israel as our Father reminds us that David's prayer and now the Lord's prayer is Christ-centered and makes no sense apart from Christ. And so like David, when the Christian considers the Father's gracious, abundant provision and protection in praying the Lord's Prayer, it is fitting and right to offer the doxology that David offered.
It's fitting and right. We ascribe praise to the Father for the person and work of His Son on our behalf. And so as we consider this closing doxology, that brings us to one final lesson that we learn about righteous prayer, which is this. It's just simply that righteous prayer focuses on the praise of the Father. That's what we're learning.
We end prayer as we begin prayer. How is that? Ascribing glory to our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom is yours, is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Listen to what Herman Witzius observes.
He says, We must begin with the glory of God. We must end with the glory of God. The love of the Divine Glory ought to be the first principle from which our desires and prayers flow. End quote. The most important part and purpose of righteous prayer is to promote the glory of our Father in heaven.
There's a threefold ascription of praise to the Father, and Witsius says that this threefold ascription of praise is in the highest degree worthy of a Christian. You have to keep in mind the context of what Jesus is teaching here. In contrast, in the context to the Pharisees, whom Jesus calls hypocrites, vain persons. Why? Because they put on a show of religious activity to be praised by others when they're seen doing it.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemns the hypocritical religious practices giving. praying, fasting of the Pharisees. And he says in chapter 6, verse 5, he says, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners. that they may be seen by others.
Jesus is directing in this prayer our attention to our motives, why we engage in religious disciplines, why we do the things that we do, either corporately in church or privately in our own devotional life. And that issue is the intention of our hearts, its direction and its aim. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 16, which is the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that our good works Or to be done. For the glory of God. And so, the question before us as this prayer comes to the end is.
Do we do good works so that others may see our good works and give us glory? Or do we do good works so that others may see our good works? and give our Father in heaven the glory. Matthew 5, verse 16. You see, the principle of human sin, writes J.I.
Packer, he says, the principle of human sin, which is the devil's image in man. Is this, Glory is not God's, but mine. And the vain religious hypocrite finds meaning. in the praise of others. and being admired for what he or she is and does.
The person who desires his or her good works to be seen by others. sets before others his or her own glory. not the glory of the Father in heaven. But in contrast to the Pharisees in this test, Text. In contrast to the Pharisees who seek their own glory, who seek the praise of men, this traditional doxology teaches us what is to be the end of all our petitions and prayer, namely, listen, the manifestation of the kingdom.
and the power and glory of our Father in heaven. Graham Goldsworthy is right. He says, this doxology should echo our longing for the appearing of our Father's glorious kingdom and the revealing of his power and glory. That means theology is for doxology. That is, the speaking of the praise of God.
All religious devotion, religious acts, are for the praise of our Father in heaven. The practice of godliness, righteous prayer, is for the glory of our Father in heaven.
So here is the test. Ask yourself. Packer writes How pleased or how displeased you become if God is praised while you are not. And equally, if you are praised while God is not. The mature Christian is content not to have glory given to him, but it troubles him if men are not glorifying God.
And so the Heidelberg Catechism asks us this question then, how do you close your prayer? And here's the answer. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. That is all this we ask of you, because as our king. having power over all things.
You are both willing and able to give us all that is good, and that thereby not we but your holy name may be glorified. Forever. This is what Jesus is teaching us. And so I want you to look at this traditional doxology with me this morning for the next few minutes. And I want you to notice that this doxology consists of a threefold ascription of praise to our Father.
It teaches what to praise and how to praise our Father, a three-fold description of praise to the Father. First, It says that we ascribe praise to the Father for his kingdom. We ascribe praise to the Father for his kingdom.
So this doxology is recalling and building upon the second petition where we pray, quote, our Father in heaven, your kingdom come. In this doxology, we acknowledge that the Father's kingdom has come and is coming in the person and work of Jesus Christ. and that that kingdom is his alone. The Father rightfully and he truly possesses his kingdom, and he will possess his royal divine rule for ever and ever. His is the kingdom.
And so by this doxology, when we say, Father, our Father in heaven, yours is the kingdom, we are declaring that our Father in heaven is more powerful than all, and that, listen, he is the best king of all. The duty of a king. What is the duty of a king? It is to here. defend and preserve his subjects from all harm.
And the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. is that through Jesus he reveals to us that our Father in heaven is the best King who hears, defends, and preserves His subjects against all evil. For yours is the kingdom. The evil one, the devil, does not accept the fact that God the Father is a great king. He does not submit to the Father's sovereign rule and reign.
And even though the devil continually wars against us, And even though when we look out in the world and it seems that he is opposing and winning victory over the Father and the Father's kingdom for a while, Listen to what the Bible says about him. He's nothing more than God the Father's servant who does his will. And though the devil intends to harm and to hurt and destroy God's church, he's nothing more than the father's servant in his kingdom. And the Bible says that ultimately he is a defeated foe. Who is brought into subjection to the Father's sovereign rule and he's merely awaiting his eternal sentence to be cast into the lake of fire forever.
Our Father's kingdom rules over all. And so our Father in heaven is a great king. And the Psalms, if you read the Psalms, the Psalms proclaim God as our great King and provide the best exposition for this doxology. Just listen to a couple of samples from the Psalms. Psalm 45, verse 6, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
Psalm 103 verse 19, the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. Psalm 145 verse 13, Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Father is sovereign. He reigns over all earthly powers, both visible and invisible. His is the kingdom forever and ever.
In the Old Testament, the Lord Yahweh was acknowledged, listen, as the God of gods and the Lord of lords. That same designation in the New Testament is given specifically to Christ. And in the New Testament, Christ is given the title, listen. King of kings and lord of lords. In other words, that specific title ties Jesus to Yahweh of the Old Testament as the great king who rules over all.
And so, as the best king, our Father in heaven is not only a great king, but he's also a gracious king, which is the display of his glory for us. This doxology should reflect our absolute wonder at the graciousness of God our Father, who is a great King. And allows us to To call him father. That's quite an amazing thing, an amazing address that you would speak to a great king as our father. And so we give praise to the Father who has taken a child of wrath and made him or her a beloved son.
As a great and gracious king, our Father in heaven gives his subjects everything they need for their salvation. The Father reigns in Christ. And he carries out his kingdom-saving plan in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Listen to the Apostle Paul in Titus chapter 3, verses 5-6. as he mentions every member of the trinity He says that God the Father saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Whom God the Father poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in two verses. And so, our Father's kingdom is a kingdom of grace. It is a kingdom over a people that He has chosen out of the world, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and sanctified richly by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. And therefore, We are to conclude our prayers by giving praise to the Father because He has graciously granted us entrance into His kingdom of which we could have never entered if it was up to ourselves.
And so we give praise to our Father. In Exodus chapter 15, Moses composes a song of praise. To God in celebration of his triumph over Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. He says, The Lord will reign forever. Endeavour.
In Daniel chapter 4, verse 3, he proclaims, his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. John in Revelation 11 verse 15 proclaims, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the point is this glorious display of the Father's kingdom, both his reign and his blessing over his people. Is intended to call forth in us his people unending eternal praise. Yours is the kingdom.
Second. We ascribe praise to the Father for his power. For yours is the kingdom and the power. Kingdom and power are inextricably linked together. And the idea here is that the Father in heaven has omnipotent control over all things.
He's all powerful. Our Father is a most powerful king. Listen to Psalm 93, verses 1 through 2. The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed. He has put on strength as his belt. That's power. Yes, the world is established. It shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting. Our God is a most powerful King. We see this very clearly in Exodus chapter 9. where Moses is interacting with Pharaoh.
In Exodus chapter 9, verses 14 through 16, the Bible tells us that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, believed himself to be a representative of divine power on the earth. Pharaoh, as the king of Egypt, believed that he was the sovereign king who ruled over all the nations of the earth, that he possessed all sovereign power in himself.
So the Lord said, I'm going to teach Pharaoh a lesson. And the Lord sends these plagues to Egypt. Because the Bible, ever since Genesis, has been declaring to us that the Lord the Creator is the great King over all the earth. And so he sent these plagues upon Egypt, that revealed to Egypt and to Pharaoh himself that there is no greater sovereign king in all the earth than him, the Lord.
So listen to verse 14 of chapter 9 of Exodus. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants, and on your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. There's no king like me, Pharaoh, and you're going to find out. And moreover, the Lord makes it clear to Pharaoh that it was only because of his mercy that Egypt had not been completely destroyed from the face of the earth. Listen to what he says in verse 15.
For by now I could have put out my hand. This is power, okay? I could have put out my hand, which is a representation of God's power. And struck you and struck your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. And then in verse 16, the Lord says, For this purpose, Pharaoh, I have raised you up to show you my power.
So that, why?
So that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Hallowed be your name. Yours is the power. This is where the Lord's Prayer is teaching us from. The scriptures describe the Lord as the mighty one.
As the mighty God In Psalm 24, verse 10, David asks, Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. In Psalm 150, verse 2, the psalmist exhorts us, he says, praise him for his mighty deeds. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Our Father in heaven shows us his power in giving us what we ask of him in the Lord's Prayer.
The Father's power is seen in his provision for all of his people's physical temporal needs or daily bread. The Father's power is seen in his provision for all of his people's spiritual needs. Listen carefully. The same power that the Lord exercised in delivering Israel from the tyrannical rule of Pharaoh. The same power by which God told Pharaoh, you will see that my name will be proclaimed in all the earth.
My name, that name, that same power, that same name the Father exercised in Jesus when he raised Jesus from the dead, and that same power that he delivered Israel from Egypt, that same power by which he raised Jesus from the dead, Paul says, is now at work in you to complete your salvation. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 19 through 20, Paul takes every word in the Greek language for power and puts it in one sentence. And he says, I want you to know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might. That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. And Paul says, that power is at work in you now.
And so as the king of kings, our father in heaven, has the power to subdue, conquer, and make obedient to his will by grace, not dictatorial tyrannical rule, but by grace with his gracious power, he can subdue, conquer, and make all of his enemies subjects of his kingdom, which includes you and me. How do we know? Listen. Romans 5.10, while we were enemies, We were reconciled to God the Father by the death of his Son. Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his Son's life.
He conquers his enemies and he makes them their beloved. This is our Father in heaven. As a great king, our Father in heaven has the power to protect and preserve the subjects of his kingdom from all evil to the very end.
Now to him who is able to keep you. To him who is able to keep you. Able is a word for power. He is able to keep you from stumbling, ultimately falling away and not making it to the end. He is powerful to keep you from stumbling and to present you how.
Blameless. Before the presence of his glory that would consume you, were you not blameless? And to do it with great joy. I don't know about you, but if I were to stand before an earthly king, I would be a little bit trepidatious. And I'm not sure at that point, I would be going, oh, praise the Lord.
I'm bowing before a king. I'm like, okay. And he's able to keep us and to present us. Blameless before the presence of his consuming fiery glory. Not with fear, not with reluctance, but with joy.
Therefore Jude says, To the only God our Savior, doxology, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Our Father in heaven is not a tyrant. He is a gracious Father who has all power to save his subjects. And then, listen. The sixth petition is in this doxology. Because the sixth petition corresponds to the law that is written in our hearts.
Our Father, your will be done.
Well, how will His will be done? The moral law of God, the Holy Spirit, will be written on our hearts through the gift of the gospel. The Father delivers us from all evil by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. The Spirit's indwelling power assures my protection and ultimate triumph over all evil. Listen again to Paul in Ephesians chapter 1.
We have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. to the praise of his glory. The sixth petition. We're instructed that we not only need the grace of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts, to bend our hearts, to obey God by grace. but to render us invincible against all the evil stratagems and assaults of the evil one who comes against us, all the assaults of the world, all the assaults of my flesh, the Holy Spirit conquers them all.
He is the gift from the Father, who is our power. To battle with the world, our flesh, and the devil. And so, this powerful deliverance listen is Trinitarian. There is this threefold description of praise to the Father. Kingdom, glory, and power is based upon the fact that He's Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This implicit Trinitarian nature of these final three petitions. Listen, the Father's. Creation and Providence provides all of my daily bread. The Father's forgiveness in the Son cancels all my moral debt. The Father's protection by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit assures me of my ultimate perseverance and victory over all evil.
This is why some manuscripts in the early church added the Trinitarian phrase, of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And so in prayer We invoke the Father and the Son to forgive us our debts, deliver us from all evil, present and future, to equip, defend, protect, preserve, and provide all of our spiritual and temporal needs. Do it through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit as we struggle in our sanctification.
So that in the end all victory is given to us, so that his name will be hallowed in all the earth. That's the Lord's prayer. And then finally, we ascribe praise to the Father. For his glory The glorious display of the Father's kingdom, the glorious display of the Father's power, His omnipotent control, is intended to call forth our unending doxology, speaking of praise to Him. And then finally, we ascribe praise to the Father for his glory.
What is his glory? Glory in the Bible can refer to two things. Glory can be the glory that God actually has. And that he shows, displays, manifests, and gives. Or glory can be that which is given to the Father, to God.
And here's the idea in this doxology that the glory that the Father displays by giving to his children the petitions that they ask of him in prayer is what's intended to call forth our praise. In giving us what we ask for in this prayer, we give glory to the Father alone for his gracious and abundant provision and protection for us. You see, the Father has Full regard to his glory. And he will answer the petitions in this prayer. Why?
Because all of these petitions contribute. To his glory.
So when the Father's kingdom comes... When his will is done on earth as it is in heaven, When he gives to us every day, unending our daily temporal bread and needs. when He continually forgives and cancels our moral debts when He delivers us day after day from the world, the flesh, and the devil, on and on He goes, He is manifesting to us His glory. And such a manifestation of divine grace and goodness is intended to call forth in his people eternal praise. Yours is the glory forever and ever.
And so this final petition is leading us back to the first petition, hallowed be your name. And we've learned from righteous prayer in this study. That righteous prayer ends with an affirmation and begins with an affirmation and a declaration of the glory of God in His praise. Hallowed be your name. Yours is the kingdom.
Yours is the glory. Yours is the power forever.
So, where does all this come from? The Old Testament? Let me just quickly show you how. It's very simple. In the Old Testament, God's glory was bound up in his self-revelation of his covenant name called Yahweh, the Lord.
Capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, the Lord. In the Exodus chapter 33, verse 18, Moses asked Yahweh the covenant name of God, the Lord. He says, Lord, please show me your glory. Listen to the reply. I will make all my goodness.
Glory equals goodness. I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name. The Lord, Yahweh, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. What is Yahweh's glory? It is his goodness.
It is his graciousness. It is his mercy and his sovereign pleasure to dispense it how he will. In Exodus chapter 34, Verses 5 through 7, listen what the Lord did for Moses in response to Moses' request, please show up me your glory. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, stood with Moses. And the Lord proclaimed the name of the Lord.
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. What is the glory of God? It is the fact that, listen, his name shows us he is merciful. He is gracious. He is slow to anger.
He is abounding in steadfast love. He is abounding in faithfulness. He is abounding in forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. That is his glory. The Lord's goodness and gracious, merciful character, which is revealed in his covenant name, is the essential glory of God.
Later on in redemptive history, just in Exodus 40, we see that in the tabernacle, And then in 1 Kings in the temple, that the Lord Yahweh... Displays his glory, listen, as an awe-inspiring expanse of bright light, which is what's called the Shekinah glory of God. And then ultimately, as we come to the New Testament, this glory revealed in the Lord's covenant name. This glory revealed his bright light shining. In the tabernacle and temple.
The New Testament says all of that is found is finds its fullest and final and clearest expression in the person and work. of Jesus Christ. Jesus Most Fully and perfectly reveals the gracious, merciful, forgiving, glorious nature of Yahweh. In John chapter 1, John tells us this explicitly. He tells us in John 1, verse 14: Jesus is the true tabernacle.
who is full of grace and truth. He says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. Glory is the only Son from the Father. Full of grace and truth. This comes straight from the passages I just read you.
Christ is the fullest and final expression of the image and glory of the Father. The author of Hebrews and Hebrews 1, verse 3 says, Jesus, the incarnate Son, is the radiance Of the glory of God. Do you know what that means? The moon reflects the rays of the sun and we can then see the moon in nighttime. But the sun doesn't reflect, it radiates light from within because it's powerful, that's its nature.
The author of Hebrews says Jesus is not the moon that reflects, he is the sun that radiates. In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, Paul calls Christ the image of the Father. In chapter 4, verse 6, he says that the glory of God is manifested to us in the face of Jesus Christ. He says, For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face. of Jesus Christ.
The covenant name of God. whom Moses said, Please show me your glory. It's Jesus Christ. The overwhelming bright expanse of this bright light that descended in the tabernacle and in the temple is Jesus Christ. Christ.
And John Calvin, commenting on this passage from 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, says, For as God the Creator of the world pours forth upon us the brightness of the sun, and gives us eyes to receive it.
So, as the Redeemer in the person of his Son, He shines forth indeed upon us by His Gospel. but as we are blind, that we would be in vain if He our Father did not at the same time enlighten our understanding by His Holy Spirit. And so Paul means, therefore, that God the Father has, by the Holy Spirit, opened the eyes of our understanding to make them capable of receiving the light of the gospel so that we can see the image of the Father who is the glory of God. And so, this divine pattern of righteous prayer demonstrates that all prayer is tied to the God the Father's self-revelation. of his plan of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ.
This is a Christian prayer. Jesus Christ's display of the Father's glory is intended to call forth our unending praise. And so when we acknowledge that the kingdom, power, and glory belong to the Father, do you know what we're also acknowledging at the same time? We are acknowledging at the same time that we have no authority or sovereignty in and of ourselves. We are acknowledging yours is the power.
We have no power. We're nothing but weak. We have no resources. We are fully dependent upon all of your provision and all of your protection. And ultimately we have no glory.
but only ill repute and condemnation apart from your son. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power, and yours is the glory forever. And so solide gloria, glory to God alone, is what Jesus teaches us to affirm in this divine pattern of righteous prayer. Look at the last word of the doxology. Amen.
You know That word amen is commonly used. Almost as a throwaway term. But it's seldom understood why it's used. Yeah. It's a Hebrew word in the Old Testament that just simply expresses an emphatic yes.
It's not a wish. It is a committed confidence, so shall it be. Yeah. Zacharias Tricinus who wrote the Hudelberg Catechism. He said, This word amen denotes a true and sincere desire that we may be heard.
Father, we say, so shall it be. You will hear me. You will hear this prayer. Amen.
You hear me, Father. It's confident assertion of faith in the Father. You will hear me, Father, for the things for which we desire and for which I pray for. You will answer this request. This word, he says, amen, denotes certainty, profession, and confidence, a confirmation of our faith.
We are fully persuaded. that our Father will hear us. when we pray this prayer. And that he will answer. And so, when we conclude this prayer and all of our prayers with the word amen, but particularly this prayer.
We are saying, Father, so let it be. Let all that we have asked of you come to pass. All that Jesus, your Son, has taught us to pray shall truly and certainly be. For my prayer, Father. It's more assuredly heard by you that I feel in my heart that I desire the things that I've even asked of you.
And so we must never forget that theology is for doxology. Our religious devotion is for doxology, the speaking of praise of God. This doxology is the truest expression of of a son's trust in the Father of heaven. And the son who prays this prayer, the adopted son who prays this prayer, his expression will always be worship. He will always be praising His Father in Heaven.
And so with the Apostle Paul we conclude. To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God. Be honor. and glory forever and ever. And we all say, Amen.
John Fawnville sends his thanks for listening today. And before you hit the next episode, can I tell you about an encouraging book you might want to get soon? It's called Hope and Holiness, How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity. You're not alone if you've tried to conquer sexual temptations and tried all the methods available, only to find yourself feeling defeated again. This book may be just what you're looking for.
In His Shepherding Heart, John shows that the gospel, not practical steps or more self-discipline, is God's provision for the power to live a life of sexual purity. and it's available to every Christian. What I like is the book is available in three convenient ways, paperback, audiobook, or Kindle. Please look for the links that I put in the description and get a copy today. Does anyone come to mind who may like this episode?
Please share with them and listen again to the Human Proclaim podcast.
