Psalm 115:1

Psalm 115:1

To God be the Glory!

This Psalm is the third in the “Hallel” and it offers praise to the Lord who is the One True God, as opposed to the idols of the nations. This God is full of love and faithfulness, and He blesses all those who trust in Him. The point is that there is only One God and as such He is worthy of our obedience and our worship. Psalm 115 helps us to understand this and to give Him the rightful place of honour in our lives.

 

V1        There is no room in our churches, in our families or in our individual hearts for pride or self-importance. We are nothing, we have achieved nothing; the plaudits of the world or even our fellow believers are misplaced, it is to the Lord alone that all glory is due. Do we think that have achieved something if our church is growing, that somehow this is a tribute to us? Do we think that our well-balanced, polite and capable kids are the product of just our own efforts? Do we think that our status and standing or popularity are achievements that are well deserved? Maybe we did the hard work and had to graft for years. Maybe we’ve ploughed all of our gifts and time into what we have done, but at the end of the day, it is the Lord who gives and takes away, it is He who determines the outcome of our endeavours. If we take the credit for ourselves, we are taking it away from Him. Let’s learn to give Him all the glory and to humble ourselves in so doing. 

If that comes hard, we need to remember that we are only here because of God’s love and faithfulness. Should He withdraw from us, our lives would be a in complete chaos, and we would have no source of supernatural support or provision. It would all be down to us and what a mess we would make of it. No, it is so much easier to just simply serve the Lord and let Him take the credit. And, I might add, He can then also be the One that others who are watching will turn to when things go wrong! Hallelujah!

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