GLORIFYING GOD
Jack Davis
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me…Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:14-15,23.
Oh, what a wonderful privilege and lofty occupation God’s people have! Our Father is indeed the God of glory, and our dear Lord Jesus Christ is also the Lord of glory. These are such in their own right and on their own merit, and any and all glory that God’s people will definitely come into is on the merit and right given or derived from another. The Father and the Son will bring it about by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The scriptures teach us about glorifying God and our Lord and redeemer by acknowledging His acts, and attributes. We are clearly taught to ascribe the highest honor to Him. Synonyms given; magnify, extol, praise express rendering unto God that which belongs to God. The glory of God is a revelation and manifestation of all that He is and has. As the Father, He is the source of divine splendor, and Jesus Christ as the “Lord of Glory” will rule supremely in divine splendor. Read James 2:1; I Cor. 2:8; Phil. 2:11; and Psa. 24:7-10. To “glorify” in the Old Testament speaks of an enlightened opinion, to make heavy, glorious. In the New Testament it expresses to render or to esteem glorious.
Offered Praise And An Ordered Path
These two go hand in hand in glorifying God and the realization of the fullness of His great Salvation. A burning desire for His glory motivates us to walk in all the light we have. Mt. 5:16. As we thus Praise Him, He is always showing us more and more of His uttermost salvation.
Those that walk with the Lord are sometimes made to wonder why “days of trouble” are allowed of Him to come to us. Consider our text (V. 15). Troublesome days should produce an earnest “call” for divine intervention. “Lord help!” Oh, yes, rough times do have their purposes and benefits. Those passing through troublesome situations have realized a variety of blessings. Many aspects of this glorious salvation have been shown. Yet the highest reason is to Glorify God.
It seems amazing that our God would put Himself in such a position for such a purpose as this. What a God we trust! His availability to our call, at the disposal of our faith causes us to want to Give Him the Glory. He could demand our worship, why bother with such creatures as We? Whatever He wants for us, He would have it come willingly, earnestly, honestly, spontaneously, never forced. God is love, and He would have it be our pleasure to glorify Him. If we are willing He will put into our hearts, ever increasing capacity as well as giving us multiplied cause.
When Jesus came He glorified the Father in everything. God was glorified at His birth Luke 2:7-20, during His life by His ministry, 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 18:43, and in His death and resurrection, 23:47; 24:26,46-53. John often tells how the Father was glorified in Jesus – Jn. 17:4; 14:13; 13:31. The Holy Spirit reveals the beauties, splendor, the excellence of Jesus, glorifying Him to our heats and in our lives. It is written that Jesus glorified not Himself – Heb. 5:5. False Christendom is spoken of as “glorifying herself” – Rev. 18:7. She will be judged for it.
The scripture tell us of several being severely judged for this wrong attitude of not glorifying God. “O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified…Thou art weighted in the balances and thou art found wanting” Dan. 5:22-23 & 27. “And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is a voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory…” – Acts 12:21-23. Rom. 1:21-23, gives part of the course of the fallen human race; “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
“Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace” – Lev. 10:3. I am impressed that Aaron held his peace, God had just devoured his two sons with fire. They had not sanctified nor glorified God in their disobedience and Aaron knew that God was right, but it still must have been a hard thing for Aaron to experience. Later Moses and Aaron missed out on leading their people into the promise land because they failed to sanctify God before the people – Read Num. 20:10-12; Deut. 32:49-52; and Psa. 106:32-33. How about God’s people today? I Pet. 3:15; Col. 4:5-6.
“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God” – Rom. 15:5-7. When we allow the God of patience to comfort us in spiritual unity, we are blessedly united in a oneness that glorifies Him. We are purchased to this purpose – I Cor. 6:19-20. Oh what a glorious privilege, that we may from our heart and mouth, in body and spirit, walk and talk, glorify Him. Jesus said, “Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit” – Jn. 15:8.
Peter was given the privilege to express this ultimate purpose in speaking and serving. “…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ…” – I Pet. 4:11. If we be reproached for the name of Christ, on our part He is to be glorified (V. 14). If we suffer as a Christian instead of being a murder, thief, evildoer, or a busybody, let us glorify God on this behalf (V. 15-16).
If suffering determines the glory, if we are to measure the degree of glory to be obtained by the suffering, Who, in the universe could ever begin to endure any measure of suffering compared to what our dear Lord endured? The full overcomers that will make up that bridal company will forever bow the knee unto Him that is preeminate in all things, casting their crowns before His feet, singing thou art worthy, lifting His praise ever higher to the glory of God the Father. I want to be there, don’t you?
A-men’
