See also: Doxology
Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
A doxology is an ascription of glory to God—a short, exalted utterance of praise that gives glory to the divine Persons—and the doctrine of doxology concerns this giving of glory as the very essence and end of worship. The word means ‘a word of glory,’ and doxologies abound in Scripture as the spontaneous overflow of hearts apprehending the greatness of God: ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen’; ‘to him be glory both now and for ever’; ‘Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling... to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power.’ The grand doxologies of the Revelation ascribe to God and the Lamb ‘blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.’ The church has gathered such praise into set forms—the Gloria Patri (‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost’), the Gloria in Excelsis, and the familiar metrical doxology (‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow’)—by which the assembly together ascribes glory to the triune God. The doctrine of doxology reminds us that worship is fundamentally the giving of glory to God—not the getting of benefit for ourselves, but the rendering to God of the glory due unto His name—and that this glory-giving is the highest exercise of the creature and the eternal occupation of heaven. Doxology is Trinitarian, glorifying Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and so it confesses and exalts the triune God against every diminishment of any Person. It is the fitting response to every apprehension of God’s greatness, grace, and glory, welling up wherever the soul truly sees its God; and it is the proper end of all things and all worship, for of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever. To live and to worship doxologically—ascribing glory to God in all things—is the chief end of man and the truest worship, beginning on earth what shall be the unending song of heaven: ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... glory, and blessing.’
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Webster 1828 defines DOXOLOGY as a hymn or form of giving glory to God; an ascription of glory or praise to God in worship.
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DOXOLOGY, n. — In Christian worship, a hymn or form of giving glory to God. The doxology in the heavenly worship is, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.’ The lesser doxology, ‘Glory be to the Father,’ etc.
DOXOLOGICAL, a. — Pertaining to doxology; giving praise to God.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Timothy 1:17 — "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Romans 11:36 — "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Jude 1:25 — "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
Revelation 5:13 — "...Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition, but doxology is undermined by the man-centered worship that seeks the worshipper’s benefit rather than the giving of glory to God—reversing the very direction of worship.
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Doxology is undermined chiefly by the man-centering of worship that reverses its very direction—turning worship from the giving of glory to God into the getting of benefit for the worshipper. Where doxology ascribes glory to God—‘to him be glory for ever’—the man-centered counterfeit asks what the worshipper receives, feels, and enjoys, making the service a means to human satisfaction rather than an offering of glory to God. This is not a minor shift of emphasis but a reversal of the essential nature of worship, which is fundamentally doxological: the rendering to God of the glory due unto His name. A worship that has lost its doxological heart, however emotionally engaging, has ceased to be true worship, for it no longer gives God glory but seeks the worshipper’s gratification.
The recovery of doxology restores the right direction and end of worship. Worship exists to give glory to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and this glory-giving is the highest exercise of the creature and the eternal occupation of heaven, where the redeemed ascribe blessing, honor, glory, and power to Him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever. The doctrine teaches the church to worship doxologically: to ascribe glory to God in praise, prayer, song, and life; to make the giving of glory, not the getting of benefit, the aim of worship; and to confess, in every doxology, the triune God who alone is worthy. Paradoxically, it is precisely such God-glorifying worship that most blesses the worshipper, for the soul was made to find its highest joy in glorifying and enjoying God. To live and worship doxologically—of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever—is the chief end of man and the truest worship, the earthly beginning of the unending song of heaven.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
The doctrine rests on ascribing doxa (glory) to God—‘to whom be glory for ever’—the giving of glory being the essence and end of worship.
Usage
"A doxology ascribes glory to God—‘to him be glory for ever’—and worship is fundamentally this giving of glory."
"Worship is doxological: the rendering to God of the glory due His name, not the getting of benefit for ourselves."
"Man-centered worship reverses doxology’s direction, seeking the worshipper’s satisfaction rather than God’s glory."