Word of Encouragement (09/10/2024)
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! (1 Chron. 16:8-13)
The next call of David’s is, “Glory in his holy name....” To glory in something is “to rejoice triumphantly; exult” or “to brag.” What do people glory in? Their education? Their credentials? Their assets? Their looks? Their victories and successes? Some glory in the victories of their favorite sports teams. Paul speaks of those who glory in their shame (Phil. 3:19)—their idolatrous obsession, their sexual exploits, their mistreatment of others, how they got away with wrong deeds, etc. What we glory in shows our character and values, doesn’t it?
David calls us to glory in God, not in ourselves. It is sweet to glory in our successes and accomplishments. There are times when it helps to do that, especially when we stumble and fall under the weight of self-doubt and fear that are unreasonable and baseless. But glorying in our past accomplishments can be problematic, too. We can relish them as a way of escaping from the urgent demands of the present. It can lead to paralysis, keeping us wondering, “How can I outdo that?” They say that winning the Oscar can be the end of the actor’s/actress's career. Under the pressure to replicate or outdo the past success (which could have been the role of a lifetime), s/he has a hard time taking another role because nothing seems good enough. Also, we cannot forget that we can glory in our successes one too many times to turn people off, not to mention being embarrassed for doing it in front of someone more successful.
But we can never glory in God too much. For He is infinite in His glory, abundant in His goodness, perfect in His truth, and incomparable in His beauty. We will glory in Him forever in heaven, but we will never grow tired of doing it or exhaust the themes of our praise. If “to glory in” is “to rejoice triumphantly,” how wonderful it is that we have Someone to glory in for all eternity! That means we will rejoice for all eternity!
But we cannot do this unless we can identify with God in an intimate way. Parents glory in the success of their children because they are their children. Sports fans glory in the victory of their teams because they identify with them. We cannot glory in God unless we have a positive connection with Him. Many think that they have this connection with “God.” But sadly, this is only because their God is a figment of their imagination, made in their image. Notice how David calls us to glory “in his holy name.” For sinners, God’s holy name is nothing to glory in; it is, rather, something to be terrified by. Only those who are united to God through the covenant of grace in Jesus Christ can glory in Him. (Of course, David was able to say what he said because he belonged to it in his faith in his greater Son [2 Sam. 7]). Having been brought into covenant union with God through faith in Jesus Christ, we can glory in God’s holy name and have our joy made full in doing so. Oh, people of God, glory in His holy name!