Psalm 115:1

לֹא לָנוּ יְהוָה לֹא לָנוּ כִּי־לְשִׁמְךָ תֵּן כָּבוֹד עַל־חַסְדְּךָ עַל־אֲמִתֶּךָ

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness." (NRSV)

As I think about it, this single verse is so remarkable to me. Don't misunderstand. It's not that it's out-of-place or unusual in any way. No. It fits well with the over-all perspectives of the Hebrew Bible. It is remarkable for stating so simply and so briefly some of the unique characteristics of the Old Testament.

One of these I mentioned already: that these writings were not written to glorify Israel or glorify its heroes and leaders and prophets. They were written to glorify God — and are surprisingly honest about the faults and failings of the nation and of the people. Salvation's glory goes to God alone.

Another common theme is here is the remarkable reticence the Hebrew writers had about speaking of God.

כִּי־לְשִׁמְךָ תֵּן כָּבוֹד

It is not simply "to God be the glory." It is "to God's name give glory." There is a remarkable reserve in talking about God here — and throughout much of the Old Testament. This way of speaking — emphasizing the Name of God — shows that they sensed (I think) that God was greater than all their ideas of God. He had given them a Name — by which they knew and worshipped Him — but God was greater than the Name.

This did not mean they were ignorant of God. Certainly not. The God they served could certainly be distinguished from the various gods that the other peoples served.

"Give glory to God whom we know as Yahweh." "Give glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Or, as a Christian might say: "Give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Praise the God whom we know by revelation.

This strange and carefully qualified way of talking about God seems very significant to me. I wish we would learn from it, and be more cautious ourselves.

It's as if they are saying: "Give glory to what we know of God" Or "give glory to God as God has been revealed to us." The Name is the revelation of the nature and character of God. It is what can be humanly named. But, this is not the whole of God. Human words and ideas cannot contain all that God is.

It's a very ancient theological insight: God is always greater. When we speak of God we come to the limits of human intellectual ability. We are beyond our depth. Whatever we may think or conceive: God is always greater.

We may speak of God by analogy. This says what God is like, but does not say directly what God is. To this Thomas Aquinas added a kind of negative knowledge of God. He said: "Now, because we cannot know what God is, but rather what he is not, we have no means for considering how God is, but rather how He is not." (Summa Theologica Volume 1, Question 3: "Of the Simplicity of God"). And, it is often forgotten by those who use the categories of Omniscient, Omnipotent,and Omnipresent that they tell us more of what God isn't than of what God is.

For me, the name of God reminds me that I do not have control over God. God is always greater. God is the source of my very being. God is beyond my conceptions. Not unknowable, but only knowable in part — by grace.

And I glorify God in response to what I know of God: "to your Name I give glory."

O God,

     whom I know through Jesus Christ

    

Alpha and Omega

Beginning and end

Creator

The Holy One

The Lord of Hosts

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The Great "I Am"

The Rock

The Fortress

God Most High

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Abba

It is a wonder to approach You at all

It is a wonder to speak of you

     to pour out my heart to you

    

May my life glorify you today

                       and always.

                      

And, grant me the peace that I can only know

     when my mind is stayed on you. Amen.

Earlier posts in this series can be found listed as “Praying the Psalms” on either the Bible Studies page or the Prayer page. An introduction to this series can be found here: Praying the Psalms: An Introduction.