Psalm 115

Back to blogging again after a long layoff. If you had read the blog at the end of last year you may be wondering what happened to the Websters since my last post. Many great things have happened, but I'll have to save those for another time. One of the great things that I have discovered about blogging is that it helps me to remember what the Lord has done in my life and what the Lord has been speaking to my heart. I spent some time over the last couple of days re-reading some of my old entries and thanking the Lord for all of the wonderful ways that He has worked. Some of the things that I wrote as lessons from the Lord are still being repeated in my life, but He is exceedingly faithful and exceptionally patient.

When I started to blog a couple of months ago, I did so with two goals: 1) to post news of our transition for our friends to read, and 2) to post devotional thoughts from Scripture. Today I will quickly try to accomplish the second goal. Our church is going through the Psalms this summer, and it has been a wonderful study of God's greatness and glory. Because of this, Cheryl and I have been reading through selections of the Psalms in our devotional times too. What an amazing exercise it has been! Today I read Psalm 115, and I'll post just a few thoughts--not an exposition by any means, just a few ramblings.

1) What an amazing opening statement in verse 1, "Not to us...but to your name give the glory."

• What I have discovered in my own life is that I tend to view God in a reciprocal manner. That is, I tend to think that if my highest thoughts are toward God, then His highest thoughts should be toward me. When I am worshipping God and giving Him glory, He should be returning some glory my way. When I bring people to church or talk about Him in the marketplace, I should expect to get a little public recognition my way as well. The only problem is that the Bible says that when we are giving God glory, He is giving His name glory as well. That is to say that His highest and best thoughts are on Himself. There is no one more glorious for Him to exalt, and so He gives glory to His own name.

2) God's commitment to glorify Himself is good news for us. Verse 1 continues, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"

• What wonderful news this is! God's commitment to glorify Himself is not at odds with His kind intention towards us. This is utterly mysterious to me but also wonderfully comforting. We can draw great strength and hope from the fact that there is no one more glorious than God for Him to glorify. Why? Because as His glory is displayed, so too is His steadfast love and faithfulness. This was pointed out excellently in the sermon at our church on Psalm 138. Also, we see this very clearly in Philippians 2:8-9, "8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Here we see Christ being supremely exalted by the Father. He is given the name that is above every names. But why? Because Christ humbled himself by becoming a sacrifice for our sins. God's glory and His steadfast love on full display, working together. Even so, Lord, glorify yourself!


• Side note: I love to see the phrase "steadfast love" in the Psalms. It is amazing to see the regularity and diversity with which it is used. When you read the Psalms you realize that the steadfast love of the Lord is the drumbeat of life. Nations rise and fall under the steadfast love of the Lord. Kings get enthroned and kings hide in caves under the steadfast love of the Lord. Worshippers faithfully praise their Creator, and soberly repent of sin. Wealth and riches are acquired, but poverty and desolation are too. Children are born, and family members die. Battles are won and lost. God's Word is righteously proclaimed and sometimes His face is hidden. All under the steadfast love of the Father. This leads me to believe that God uses all circumstances in our lives to incline our hearts toward Him.

3) God tells the 400 lb Gorilla where to sleep.

• Verse 3, "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." Notice His position. He is exalted in Heaven--enthroned above us (see also v. 16). Notice the extent of His sovereignty. Truly there are some on earth that do as they please, and even some that do mostly as they please. But even the most powerful person on earth has to do some things that they are not pleased to do (doctors visits, sit in traffic, Thanksgiving with the in-laws, etc.). And even the most powerful person on earth does not do all that he is pleased to do. No amount of money can buy the ability to slam-dunk a basketball or hit a curveball in the majors or create a planet or cause someone to love them. But only one does all that He pleases.

4) You are what you worship.

• The foolishness of idolatry is plainly stated in verses 4-8 (I wonder why I still am trapped by it?). Idols are made by human hands, and they can do nothing (speak, see, hear, smell, feel, or walk). But the interesting thing is what it says about the people that make the idols in verse 8, "Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them." (see Matthew 13:13-16)

5) Trust in the Lord--He is your help and shield.

That's all my thoughts for now.

Soli Deo Gloria!