Not To Us

I learned to swim at a fairly young age. We had a pool in the back yard; summers were hot, and the pool was refreshing. Swimming also kept us kids entertained for hours and wore us out. A win-win for parents and kids. Before I was able to swim on my own, my parents made me wear a pair of orange floaties. I don’t know how conscious I was of this fact, but my parents and I were putting our trust in small pieces of plastic filled with air to keep me from drowning. Again, not that I thought about it, but I was also trusting my parent’s wisdom and care in making me wear the floaties. Although the floaties did the work of keeping my head above water, I took credit for my amazing swimming abilities and leaps into the pool. (It might be time to pull out the old home movies.)

There are two factors at play in my floatie narrative: trust and glory. These same two factors are at the heart of Psalm 115.

1Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,

for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

3 Our God is in the heavens;

he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

5 They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see.

6 They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

7 They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat.

8 Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!

He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!

He is their help and their shield.

11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!

He is their help and their shield.

12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;

he will bless the house of Israel;

he will bless the house of Aaron;

13 he will bless those who fear the Lord,

both the small and the great.

14 May the Lord give you increase,

you and your children!

15 May you be blessed by the Lord,

who made heaven and earth!

16 The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,

but the earth he has given to the children of man.

17 The dead do not praise the Lord,

nor do any who go down into silence.

18 But we will bless the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the Lord! [1]

Paul David Tripp uses the term “glory thieves” to describe what we do when we take glory for ourselves or give glory to anyone or anything besides God. But does it mean to glorify God? What does it mean that God is glorious? I don’t think we can fully describe or understand God’s glory, but Tripp gives us a helpful explanation: “The doctrine of God's glory encompasses the greatness, beauty, and perfection of all that he is. In everything that he is and in everything that he does, God is greater than human description. Every attribute and action of God is stunningly beautiful in every way. Each characteristic of God and every accomplishment from his hand is totally perfect. This is what we mean when we talk about God's glory.” [2]

The psalmist asserts that glory is not to us but to God alone. He even repeats that it is “not to us.” I don’t know what was in the psalmist’s mind when he wrote that phrase twice, but I do know that I am constantly tempted to take glory for myself. I want to be recognized. I want to be made much of. I want praise to rain down on me. I want others to flood social media with my accomplishment. OK, maybe not that last one. Regardless of the extent of my temptations to self-glory, I need to be reminded repeatedly that glory is not to me, not to us but to God alone.

We cannot exhaust the reasons to give God glory, but there are a few we can start with from just this psalm: His steadfast love and faithfulness. He is sovereign and already glorious whether or not we give Him glory. He is trustworthy, omnipotent, generous, Creator, a shield, our help, and our provider.

We will come back to verse 2, but for now, the same nations that taunted Israel with, “Where is your God?”, are the same ones that are giving glory to and trusting the idols described in verses 4-7. These idols are man-made. They have mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hands, and feet, but none of those body parts are capable of doing a single thing. Each part is useless and incapable of doing anything just as the idol itself is useless and incapable of doing anything. No idol of the heart can even begin to compare to God. Useless and incapable versus steadfast love, faithful, sovereign, glorious, trustworthy, omnipotent, generous, creator, shield, help, provider. No comparison.

God is glorious and He alone is worthy to receive all glory. Isaiah records, “I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8). God uses YHWH to refer to Himself – YHWH is His name that depicts His self-existence and eternality. Even God’s name proclaims that He alone deserves all glory. And our purpose is to give Him the glory due His name (Psalm 86:9; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31). Not only were we created to glorify God, but all of creation declares the glory of God (Psalm 19:1-4). God alone deserves all glory from all created things.

We could end with God’s glory, but let’s go back to verse 2, “Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’” Israel may have heard this from their enemies especially after Israel returned from exile to their homeland. If God was with them, why had they been captured and exiled? Why was Jerusalem and the temple in ruins? When we experience hardships and suffering, we may be tempted to ask the same question, “Where is God?” Unbelievers may also use the seeming lack of God’s presence and care in our lives to mock Him and mock our faith.

In John 6, some of Jesus’ followers turned back and no longer followed Him because of difficult truths He said, but Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Likewise, the question in verse 2 is answered with, “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases” (vs 3). Others may question where God is in our hardships and suffering. We may be tempted to question where God is in our circumstances, but the answer is to trust God midst the hardships and suffering. God has not gone anywhere.

The first line of verse 3 affirms that God is. He exists. He is there. The second part of verse 3 affirms God’s sovereignty and power. God will accomplish what He has willed, what pleases Him. Nothing can thwart Him. God is not like powerful human leaders who abuse that power. God’s sovereignty and omnipotence are inextricably linked by His steadfast love and faithfulness. Hesed is the Hebrew word that is translated as steadfast love in the ESV. Hesed is also translated as mercy, lovingkindness, or goodness. We can trust God in our suffering and in our blessings, not only because He is sovereign and omnipotent, but because He is merciful, loving, kind, good, and faithful.

Verse 8 tells us that others put their trust in idols compared to the exhortation in verses 9-11 for Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord to trust the Lord. YHWH also emphasizes God as covenant maker and keeper. Think of all the people we place our trust in who are not faithful to keep their word every time even when they have good intentions. People will fail us. God will not. I love how clearly Paul states this in relation to our sanctification: “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). It’s that simple God will surely do what He says He will do. We can trust Him.

Already we have more than enough reasons to glorify and trust God, a plethora of “God is…” truths, but verses 12-15 detail another truth about God. He remembers us, and He will bless the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord. “The Lord has remembered us.” This is a resounding answer to the taunting question in verse 2. Sometimes it may feel like God is absent, that He has forgotten us, but the truth is that God remembers us. No detail, no moment of our lives has slipped by Him. What a comfort in our suffering to know that God remembers us.

Not only does God remember us, but He blesses us. Even in those times of suffering, if we choose to look, we will see God’s blessings, His mercies. We know that they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Read how Paul describes his suffering:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (emphasis added)

(For a more comprehensive description of Paul’s sufferings, read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

Do you see how Paul was purposeful in perceiving God’s mercies and blessings even in his suffering? And to what end? To show that the surpassing power belonged to God and not to them. Sound familiar? Remembering our weaknesses and sin as well as God’s blessings in the good and bad times reminds us to give God glory and to trust Him in any and every circumstance.

Psalm 115 ends as it began. The dead will not praise or give glory to God (vs 17). We, those who trust in the Lord, are to bless, praise, and give glory to God right now, right here and forevermore (vs 18).

I don’t want to be a glory thief. I don’t want to put my trust in the useless, incapable idols of my heart. But I do, and I’m guessing you do too. I’m thankful for Jesus who perfectly trusted the Father even when it meant suffering and death on a cross in our place, for our sin. Jesus didn’t grasp all the glory of heaven but took on flesh and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Jesus didn’t seek His own glory. He perfectly glorified the Father. For those in Christ, His perfect record of glorifying and trusting God is ours.

Reflection

1. Although God’s glory is beyond human description, based on Tripp’s definition what are specific ways you would describe God’s glory? (For example: God’s grace. Now think of ways that grace is evident and beautiful in your life.)

2. What situations tempt you to seek your own glory? How can you guard against seeking your own glory?

3. I have asked this question through several of the psalms we have covered, but in what or whom do you place your trust on a day-to-day basis? Who or what are you looking to for happiness, security, acceptance, etc.? These might be some of your idols of the heart. Earthly things will fail you. Think of what desires you are expecting those people or things to fulfill. How does God perfectly fulfill them?

4. What are some of God’s blessings in your life right now especially midst the hard things? Take time to praise and glorify God for who He is and what He has done.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 115:1–18. [2] Tripp, Paul David. “The Doctrine of Glory.” Paultripp.Com, Paul Tripp, 20 Aug. 2018, https://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/the-doctrine-of-glory-article. Accessed 13 June 2023.