To God Be the Glory

September 18

(Psalm 115:1-11 NIV) "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. {2} Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?" {3} Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. {4} But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. {5} They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; {6} they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; {7} they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. {8} Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. {9} O house of Israel, trust in the Lord -- he is their help and shield. {10} O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord -- he is their help and shield. {11} You who fear him, trust in the Lord -- he is their help and shield.”

(Romans 11:33-36 NIV)  "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! {34} "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" {35} "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" {36} For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

One of man’s constant struggles is giving glory to God. Glory does not belong to us, but we are constantly covetous of it. If you think about it, this is why we manufacture idols. They cannot see, hear, feel, or speak -- so we get to do it for them. That way we can make our gods say and do whatever we want. We are the sovereign one. We are the one in control. But eventually, we become just like them. We become spiritually blind, deaf, numb, and mute. We have no vision, we stop hearing God, our hearts get hard, and no godly wisdom comes from our mouths. When we worship idols, we come to idolize ourselves. We cannot capture God with an image of any kind. His mind, His judgments, and His ways are beyond our understanding. But we can worship the Lord if we give up trying to be Him. We can give God the glory if we remember our place. Not to us, but to God be the glory. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day