Psalm 115

Psalm 115

ALL Glory to God

I. God alone must be glorified above all else, so we must avoid giving His glory to anyone or anything else (Vv. 1-8)

a. The psalmist begins by doubling down on the call for the Name of God to be the only the sole recipient of all glory, above ourselves. God will not share His glory anyone or anything else. God is the source of all things, and there is no value or worth ascribable to anything or anyone apart from that which our Glorious Creator and Sustainer ascribes. God is worthy of all worship and praise, and must be glorified above all other creatures and things, because in His total sovereignty and complete power, He chooses to exercise His amazing “lovingkindness” or “grace”, by which He blesses us immeasurably even though we don’t deserve it, and for His amazing “truth” or “faithfulness”, by which He never fails to do all He says and promises. Our lives mustn’t detract from or tarnish His glory in the world in any way. So our question must be, “Does my life glorify God?” (Vv. 1-3; Job 42:2; Ps. 33:10-11; 103:19; 117:1-2; 135:5-6; Isa. 42:8; 44:6-8; 46:9-11; 48:11; Ezek. 36:20-23; Dan. 4:35; 1 Cor. 4:7; Eph. 2:1-9)

b. When we consider God’s sovereignty, grace, and faithfulness compared to the imperfect humanity, we see how ridiculous it is to assign the glory due to only God, to one like ourselves. Even more ridiculous is to worship or glorify an object made by the imperfect hands of humanity! Listing the powerless and useless components of these idols, we’re reminded that God, who is Spirit and has none of these parts, but designed them all, has to condescend Himself to be explained in our hearts and minds through them, because His power and ability far exceeds anything that we can understand! But of all that these idols can’t do, the most tragic thing about them is the one thing which they can; they have the power to keep human hearts fixated on them so that they become like them. Satan clouds the mind and heart through idolatry, so that the reality of the lifesaving gospel truth is hidden. Those who worship only what they can create with their own power, ability, and hands, become like it; dead, blind, deaf, dumb, and crippled forever. We become like what we worship, and insert many things into our lives in the place of God. Idols cannot be removed, because we’re built to worship, idolize, and glorify God. Idols must be replaced with something of greater value. We must constantly consider how the fruits of our lives idolize, worship, and glorify God alone. (Vv. 4-9; Gen. 8:21; Exod. 20:4-6; Deut. 4:28; 1 Kgs. 18:26-29; Ps. 8:3; 32:8; 34:15-19; 135:15-18; Isa. 6:9-10; 44:9-20; 46:5-7; Jer. 10:1-9; 16:19-20; Hos. 8:6; Hab. 2:18-19; Matt. 13:13-17; John 12:3; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 5:1-2; Phil. 4:18; 1 Pet. 3:12)

II. God alone must be glorified above all else, so we must trust God for all our needs (Vv. 9-15)

a. Our idolatry is ultimate an attempt to fool ourselves into believing that we hold sway over the power to provide all we need for ourselves and control our lives, but it’s a lie. We must trust in the Lord for all our needs, to direct our paths according to His sovereign will, and seek His blessing on our lives. In the same way, the psalmist calls the nation of Israel, those who lead in worship of God, and all those we revere God and are in awe of Him, to give God the glory due Him by trusting Him to provide for all their needs and to protect them from the difficulties and trial of life. God knows our needs and difficulties. He’s faithful to bless those who fear Him and desire to glorify Him with their lives, solely based on His amazing and gracious love for us as those created in His image. He doesn’t bless us because we’re valuable, He blesses us with value, worth, significance, and love through His gracious provision of salvation in Christ. (Vv. 9-15; Gen. 15:1; Lev. 26:1-13; Deut. 28:1-2; Ps. 3:3; 18:1-3; 28:7; 33:12, 20-21; 41:1; 50:15; 84:5; 146:5; Prov. 3:5-8; 16:2; Matt. 5:3-11; 24:46; John 3:16; Jas. 1:12; Rev. 22:7)

III. God alone must be glorified above all else, so we must praise Him all our days (Vv. 16-18)

a. Ultimately, we glorify God and enjoy Him by praising Him in all things for all the days of our lives. God is the sovereign Creator and Lord of all, but He gave us stewardship over the earth for the praise of His glory. Many people refuse to praise God, many other careless people don’t praise God, and the dead can’t praise God anymore in this world. So we must glorify Him as good stewards of His creation, by praising His Name and exalting the Name of Christ with every opportunity we have in this life. We accomplish this praise and glory for God, and the enjoyment of Him in our lives now and forever through good stewardship, by continually probing our hearts and lives with the question, “Am I glorifying God with my whole life?”. (Vv. 16-18; Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 34:1-3; 90:1-6, 12; 100; 103:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Eph. 5:15-20; 1 Pet. 2:9-12)