Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness (1).
We are in the midst of the presidential political season right now, not my favorite season. It seems as if every candidate is all about self and what I can do for you, for the country, state, etc.
This kind of hubris is not only in politics. You can hear it is sport and other sectors, too. And while hubris might be an overstatement in some cases, human pride is all around us. The ‘hiring interviewing dance’ is often all about how ‘good’ we are. And this is true for the hiree and the to-be-hired.
I suspect it is the seeking and proclaiming of human glory that caused my spirit to be drawn to verse one of our Psalm and particularly its opening. Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory…
The Psalmist goes out of his/her way to glorify God. Two times he rejects glory for self in order to lift up the name of the Lord. And somehow it does not seem out of place, maybe because it is in Scripture.
As I sat with these words before me, I wondered how I might live them today. How might I give glory to God rather than self in a way that fits the conversation and feels normal and natural?
I am not sure I have an answer for this… but that is the joy of Scripture and sitting with the Lord. He leads me to new waters and down new paths. And this will be a new path for me, one that will take some time growing used to…
Lord, thank You for the Psalms, these inspired prayers. Prayers You, Spirit, uttered and authored through the voices of men. I pray for Your leading, not simply to read or even repeat these prayers, but to have them conform and transform me into a man who more and more closely resembles and mimics the character and attributes of You, my God. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment