The Motto of all Mottos

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth’s sake.” (Ps 115:1 AV)

When was the last time you framed your prayer for the glory of God alone?  What we need or desire may be important, but where does the glory of God fit in all if it?  This is an important distinction because if the glory of God does not come first, then we may not be seeking resolution according to his will, or we will not accept the answers He sends.  Here is another question.  When was the last time you asked God to exalt Himself, no matter the consequences to you personally?  When we the last time you didn’t care one iota how God would answer so long as He was what people saw?  These are important questions.  This is the key to a joy filled life.  If we prioritize the glory of God alone and do not care about the ramifications any event might have for us, then we dissolve all self-interest and achieve complete contentment.  ‘Not unto us’ suggests the writer does not wish the LORD to consider the needs or desires of the petitioner at all.  What he wants is for God and Him alone to receive all the benefits of His own will.  What a place in which to arrive.

There have been people, down through the ages, who understood what this meant.  It really didn’t matter what happened to them.  As long as the LORD was glorified in whatever He chose to do.  This is the core of Christlikeness.  For the glory of God!  Down through the ages, there have been groups or individuals who use this phrase as a motto.  Most of the time, it wasn’t for the glory of God.  It was for the furtherance of some agenda.  The phrase sounds great.  But what does it really mean?  It means all pretense and expectation is removed.  It means that no matter the outcome or what personal cost one would pay, ultimately, God is the one who shines the brightest.  ‘For the glory of God’ means the individual is lost in the cause or the catastrophe.  It means that when all is said and done, the individual or group by which God gets His glory is forgotten and all that people remember is God alone! 

There are two concerns our psalmist has.  Truth and God’s mercy are what he seeks.  His desire is for truth and the mercy of God to be what everyone notices and not the means by which they came.  Isn’t this the case with the great commission?  Isn’t that what the church wants? Don’t we want the truth of salvation to go out and the proof that God desires to show mercy?  Why do we serve?  Why do we build?  Why do we do what we do?  The psalmist wanted the world to know that God is the God of all truth and it doesn’t matter what others think, feel, or could figure out.  God is absolute and His truth stands.  This would include His standard for holiness.  We should also want everyone to know that God is a God of mercy.  He desires to forgive all those who seek His forgiveness.  There is no one whom He will turn away.

When we consider the verse above, an obvious question arises.  On a personal note, how much of what we seek from God or out of life is self-serving?  How much of what we seek, the goals we have, or the needs we express is about us as opposed to the LORD?  ‘For the glory of God’ should be the motto of every being.  Especially the child of God.  If we can get there, there is no telling what God can do to change the world.