Not to us, Lord, not to us,
But to Your Name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.
Give All Glory to God Because He Deserves It – Psalm 115:1
Not to us, Lord, not to us,
But to Your Name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.
Understanding Psalm 115
Throughout Psalm 115, the psalmist remains diligent in offering all glory, honor and praise to the Lord. He does not do this because he is wanting some sort of blessing from the Lord; rather, he does this because God is all good and all deserving of our honor, love, praise and worship.
The psalmist begins his psalm highlighting that instead of people deserving honor, all glory belongs solely to the Lord: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your Name [we] give [all the] glory…” (v 1). The Hebrew word used for “glory” means honor, reverence and abundance. All throughout history, the psalmist’s “attitude of gratitude” – a continuous willingness to offer all praises to God – is emulated by every saint who ever came to know Him. Through their unwavering faith and the Lord’s subsequent and miraculous workings in their life, the saints did what the psalmist did – they gave all glory and honor to God.
In order to shower the Lord with unwavering praise and worship however, one must acknowledge what He has done for them. Think for a moment about all that God has given you, the air in your lungs, family and friends who love you, a vocation, roof over your head, life experiences, gifts, talents, etc. Now ask yourself: Did I do anything to deserve all of this? The answer is no. We do not deserve all that we have received from God. But the Good Lord gives to us anyways because of the great love He has for us. Thank you Jesus!
While you ponder how incredible God’s love is, how truly gracious He is to you, imagine also how He, the God of all creation and the Creator of the universe, has revealed Himself to us lowly creatures. He has done so in such a way that we, fallen and sinful creatures as we are, can actually know Him and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. Not only can we draw near and share with Him, we are given also an opportunity to share in the eternal Paradise with Him. All of this because He loves us! In fact, His love is so sacrificial that He was willing to crucify His only begotten Son, He who is Holy, righteous, true and all-just, so that each and every one of us could be reconciled back to Him. O thank you, Jesus!
God tells us in the Gospel of Matthew that He “maketh His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (5:45). In other words, His love for His creation is so great that He even reaches for those who have outright rejected Him.
The psalmist refers to rejectors of God as “heathens … who make idols from silver and gold.” While these man-made idols may ‘have mouths, they do not speak; eyes but do not see; ears but do not hear; noses but do not smell; hands but do not touch; feet but do not walk.’ In other words, the psalmist compares false idols of this world to the rejectors of God themselves. According to him, rejectors of Christ may possess human features such as two eyes, two ears, a mouth, etc. but they are lifeless in the soul and thus possess no real purpose or life within them.
Therefore, let us never become like the heathens, idolizing the fleeting things of this world. Instead, as the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 115, let us be continually mindful of all the Lord has done; giving Him glory in all circumstances. To this end, let us too profess alongside the psalmist: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your Name [we] give [the] glory; because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.“
A Confession of Faith Prayer
My God, I place all my trust and confidence in You; You who will reward the good and punish the wicked. I believe in You and accept everything You have taught and revealed. I profess that in one God there are three Divine Persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. With my mouth I declare that God became Man without ceasing to be God. He is Jesus Christ, my risen Lord and Savior; the Redeemer of the human race. As such, He died on the Cross for my salvation and eternal happiness with Him.
O my God, strengthen my faith. Help me to believe with a lively and courageous faith. Using all of my heart, Lord, help me to love You and give You all glory all the days of my life. Please forgive me for ever having offended or doubting You. With Your help, I promise to amend my ways and try my best to never offend You again. I pray this all in Your good and holy Name, amen.
Amen, Amen 😎😎😎😎😎 Lord God the Father. God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. I thank you for your incredible blessings, your gifts to me, career path you’ve enlarged, thank you Jesus. I thank you for orchestrating my protection and my excellent health. Endow me with supernatural powers to creatively and innovatively master the fundamentals of Go (Golang) such that I’m able to interview with substantial credibility re Freelancer / Developers / Consultant. Father grant me favor for this quest. Open doors… I cannot open without you. Father bless your holy name… Thank you Jesus. Amen, Amen, Amen 😎😎😎😎😎