Bible Dictionary
DOXOLOGY
A doxology is a hymn or formula giving glory and praise to God. Biblical examples occur in Psalms, apostolic writings, Revelation, and traditional conclusions to Christian prayers.
Definition
A doxology is a hymn or liturgical formula expressing praise and glory to God. The term is applied to short concluding praises, including the Gloria in Excelsis, the Gloria Patri, and the traditional conclusion associated with the Lord’s Prayer.
Biblical Usage
Doxological passages occur in Psalms, Romans, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, Jude, and Revelation. The term is especially applied to the concluding words, “For thine is the kingdom,” attached in some traditions to the Lord’s Prayer.
Historical Background
The phrase “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be” was probably added to the simple Gloria Patri to oppose the Arian conception of Christ. The supplied material also identifies the Gloria in Excelsis as an expansion of Luke 2:14.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>dok-sol'-o-ji (doxologia, "a praising," "giving glory"): A hymn or liturgical formula expressive of praise to God, as the Gloria in Excelsis (an expansion of Lu 2:14), sometimes called the Greater Doxology, and the Gloria Patri ("Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, world without end, Amen") also known as the Lesser Doxology.</p><p>The clause, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be," was probably added to the original simple formula to emphasize the church's dissent from the Arian conception of Christ.</p><p>The term is applied in particular to the concluding paragraph of the Lord's Prayer (Mt 6:13 margin, "For thine is the kingdom," etc.; compare 1Ch 29:11, and see LORD'S PRAYER).</p><p>To the same general class belong Ps 41:13; 72:18 f; 89:52; Ro 16:27; Eph 2:20; 1Ti 1:17; Jude 1:25; Re 5:13 f; 19:1-3, and the modern stanza beginning "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."</p><p>M. O. Evans</p>