Glory to God

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalms 29:2)

David begins this psalm by telling heavenly bodies to give glory to the LORD. “...Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.” (Psalms 29:1) Bible scholars agree that he is addressing his appeal to angels. David warrior, king, poet and prophet had great understanding of spiritual things and the spiritual realm. In spite of all the battles he fought, the recorded works and other deeds, good and bad, he never abandoned God as his LORD. He knew how to draw near to God. In this psalm he recognizes that there are spiritual beings in the universe, but that God is over all of them and that they must give glory to the one and only LORD.

Glory is due to His Name because His Name is holy. That means it’s sacred and worthy of worship. It’s divine and not earthly nor common. Isaiah had a glimpse of heaven in a vision. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-3) Long before Isaiah, David understood that all heavenly beings worshipped the LORD.

There is continual worship in heaven. John writes about it in Revelation. “And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 7:11-12) And they cast their crowns before Him. (Revelation 4:10)

When we worship here on earth, the heavenlies also worship. We join together to worship our LORD. “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.” (Psalms 95:1-2) We literally come before His Presence in heaven. Paul said it clearly: “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,” (Hebrews 12:22-23)

And it is only to Him, the LORD God, Who is worthy of all glory. We need to be so careful not to take any glory for ourselves. This is a hard thing for some because the works that the Lord does in us and for us is so within us because of the Holy Spirit living in us that it’s easy to think we had something to do with it. But just as salvation is completely a work of God, so is anything divine. We merely allow ourselves to be used of Him. He uses our hands and feet. He uses our voices and hearts to touch others and to reach out to others. And we get to see His marvelous and glorious miracles in the lives of others. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) A work or works have be ordained to each one of us. It has been assigned to us since the creation of the world. God has birthed us as His children, to do a specific thing or specific things, for His glory.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Some of these good works may seem so distant from spreading the Gospel. We may help a disabled neighbor take out their trash or bring their mail to them because we know how difficult it is for them to get around. Let no one ask, “And how is this bringing them the Gospel?” But, this small act of good works brings glory to our heavenly Father. It is a testament, a testimony of God’s Goodness and Holiness.