Psalm 115: Not to us…

​Key Verse
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
 
Meditation
After decades of working diligently at great personal cost, William Wilberforce witnessed the British Parliament vote to abolish the slave trade in 1807 (26 years later they voted for full emancipation). Throughout the battle for liberation, Wilberforce gave credit to God by citing the first verse of today’s Psalm: 
 
“Not to us, oh Lord, but Your name be the glory!”
 
Today’s psalm calls upon God’s people to trust in the Lord for protection and provision (vv. 12-15) in the midst of nations disparaging God (v. 2). God is sovereign (v. 3), our “help and shield” (vv. 9-11) who blesses all whose trust is in Him (vv. 12-15). The living Lord who “does all that He pleases” is contrasted with lifeless idols made from human hands that do nothing (vv. 3-4). Verse 8 is a warning: Those who make idols and trust in idols will become like the idols.
 
Greg Beal’s classic book We Become What we Worship powerfully and simply unpacks this key Biblical theme: “We resemble what we revere either for our ruin or restoration.” Worshipping idols of this world makes us blind, deaf, feelingless, and purposeless. God’s grace invites us to return to Him, revere Him in worship, trust Him with our lives, and to become like Him (Colossians 3:10).

The Lord is pleased to remember and bless His people, those who fear Him vv. 12-13). God gives freedom to captives and liberty to those in bondage through His faithful work in Jesus Christ. Responding to His grace with lives of worship, we too proclaim:
 
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory!”
 
Today’s Reading
Not 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!
 
Richly Dwelling
-What to you resemble more, the living God of the Bible or the false gods of our culture?
 
-Where do you need to more faithfully worship the Lord, trusting in Him for protection and provision, so you can more fully reflect His character in your labor, life, and love?
 
-How can you deflect glory to God more faithfully, giving Him credit for all you do? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!