Psalm 115
Sunday, 10 October 2021
“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.” Ps. 115:1
Psalm 115 reveals the heart of the psalmist that seeks to glorify God. Selfishness and pride have reached to such a great extent that people even search for God for their own benefit but a true believer always humbles himself in His presence, desiring to seek the Lord and to give glory to the One who has created him and redeemed him.
Today’s key verse emphasizes that none is worthy to be glorified other than the Lord himself. As the moon, who doesn’t have its own light but still shines beautifully because it reflects light from the sun. In the same way human being doesn’t have anything to glorify about themselves other than the light of Jesus reflecting from their lives and so Bible teaches us that, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1Corinthians 10:31).
Let’s see from today’s Psalm how to live a life glorifying God:
To glorify God, avoid all idolatry (Vs.4-8)
The pages of the Bible are filled with messages that condemn idolatry. The significance God places on it is reflected in the fact that the first of the Ten Commandments refers to idolatry, “…you shall not make for yourself an idol...” (Exodus 20:3-5). Now you might think that idolatry has very little to do with us today. After all we are not inclined to worship gods of wood or stone. Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images. Anything that replaces the true God is an idol. It can be pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, and love for possessions, family or relatives. Even those who do not bow physically before a statue but has given space to any of these things in your heart which replaces God then be careful! Idol worship robs God of the glory that is rightfully His and that is something He will not tolerate (Isaiah 42:8).
To glorify God, trust in Him (Vs.9-15)
We glorify God by trusting Him as our helper, defender and source of all blessing. Unlike men, He never lies and never fails to fulfill His promises. Unlike men, His plans are perfect and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and put his trust in Him. Many times we fail to trust God, because we don’t know Him. If we try to know God through His Word, we will see that He is worthy of our trust. The first step in getting to know God is to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. And as we grow in the Lord Jesus, we will be able to say as Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12, “…nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”
To glorify God, praise Him always (Vs.16-18)
Praise flows from the fullness of a grateful heart and it glorifies none other than the One who took away the penalty of our sin and justified us freely. The psalmist says it so clearly that we can praise Him only when we are alive. Charles Spurgeon once said that, “though the dead cannot, the wicked will not and the careless do not praise God, yet we will shout ‘Hallelujah’ for ever and ever.”
Think on it: We exist for God; God doesn’t exist for us, and hence let’s glorify Him in everything.
John the Baptist made a wonderful statement in John 3:30, “He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease.” May that be true of all of us as we grow in Christ.