Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory…

  - Psalm 115.1

Adae, i. e., ad dee, to God i. e. due to God

  - Cormac, Glossary, Irish, 10^th century

I get the impression that a good many contemporary believers understand the faith of Jesus to be something that is in their best interests primarily. Jesus came to earth to save us. The Holy Spirit has come to comfort us. The Bible is God’s Word to bless us. God watches over us each day to make us happy and give us peace.

It’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking that our salvation is primarily all about us.

Rick Warren hinted at as much when, in the opening line of his book, The Purpose Driven Life, he wrote, “It’s not about you.” Many Christians might nod in agreement with Pastor Warren. His book has been widely read, even by whole churches determined to achieve a 40-day makeover away from the spiritual narcissism so prevalent in our narcissistic age.

Yet for all those good intentions, things haven’t changed much in the churches in our day. We still seem to be pursuing the faith according to some fairly self-centered guidelines and practices. We seem to think the salvation we have in Jesus is designed above all else to bless us.

But to believe this is to fall short of God’s purpose in sending Jesus to save the world. Jesus was sent not merely to save lost sinners, but to glorify God in all His works (Jn. 17.4). And to fall short of God’s purpose, even in the claim of being saved, is to be still in our sins (Rom. 3.23).

It must have been the same in Cormac’s day. We recall that Cormac compiled his Glossary to preserve certain Celtic words which had fallen into disuse, and which he believed were very important. Like adae, a literal translation of which is something like, “glory” or “glorious.” What God is due is glory, and glory to God is the end of faith.

Why has God redeemed and saved us? That He might get glory. But what does that mean?

God receives glory when His presence is acknowledged and His character is honored. We glorify God as those who are saved when we live in such a way as to exhibit and exalt His truth, attributes, and works. We glorify God by talking about Him, and not just about what He has done for us. We glorify God when He is seen in our good works of love, and not when we are commended for some good thing.

God is determined that the knowledge of His glory should cover the earth as the water covers the sea (Hab. 2.14). To that end, He is continuously manifesting His glory in the things He has made, through the vast creation (Ps. 19.1-4).

But because sinful people choose to turn a blind eye to God, and to go about their business quite apart from Him (Rom. 1.18-32), God has chosen a particular people out of the mass of humanity to bring His glory to light and to call others to see and acknowledge Him. We who believe in Jesus are called to do all things for the sake of glorifying God (1 Cor. 10.31), and this means that the end of faith is that God might be glorified in all the words and deeds of all the moments of our lives. He intends for us who know Him to render to Him what is His due – glory!

This is the very thing Cormac feared was being lost sight of in His day, and I fear the same is true in our own day as well. We may be all bubbly and gushing about how happy we are to be saved, and how much God does for us. But our salvation is not complete until, in our speech, our demeanor, all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities, we are putting God on display, crediting and honoring Him, and seeking by every means to render to Him the glory which is His due.

I’m convinced we would make real progress in the faith if everything we did was prefaced with the prayer, “Not to us, O LORD, but to Your Name give glory!” Salvation is not about us, not, at least, in the last analysis. Salvation is for us, so that we might be for the glory of God.

And when we do, and this prayer is our prayer, then the world will know that there is a God and King in heaven, and He is great and wise and good and caring and holy, and Jesus is His Name.

Psalm 115.1-3, 14-18 (Plainfield: Nothing But the Blood of Jesus)
Not to us, O God, not us,
    But unto Your Name give glory!
For Your love and faithfulness,
    Ever to Your Name be glory!
Why should the nations cry, “Where is their God on high?”
You rule us, Lord, on high –
    Ever to Your Name be glory!

Grant us, Savior, great increase –
    Ever to Your Name be glory!
Bless us with eternal peace –
    Ever to Your Name be glory!
Heaven and earth are Yours; let every soul adore
And bless You evermore –
    Ever to Your Name be glory!

What does this mean for me, Lord? How can I bring You more consistent glory in all my life?

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T. M. Moore
Principal
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All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.