Audio Transcript
Of late we’ve been looking at how to kill fleshly instincts inside of us: killing self-indulgence in episode 2257, killing the desire to retaliate in episode 2258, and next in line today, killing the love of applause, because of course it feels so good to be applauded. You would think that getting the credit for something, getting recognition, would feel amazing for a while — and it does feel great, for about thirty seconds. And then you need more and more and more — a new hit of praise until I become the center of a little, depressing universe called me. Today on Ask Pastor John: Kill your ego, find your joy.
Priya in Houston, Texas, asks about a recent psalm in our Bible reading. “Pastor John, hello to you! We read in Psalm 115:1 that the psalmist declares this: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!’ Why do you think it is so important to give glory to God as opposed to seeking out glory for ourselves? How does this whole dynamic challenge the tendency we naturally have to take credit for our achievements or blessings in life? In what ways can we better practice humility and recognize God over our lives, especially in moments when we experience success or recognition from others?”
I don’t watch many movies. I don’t find the vast majority of them good for my soul, but I’ve watched one movie twice, maybe more — namely, Shakespeare’s Henry V, starring Kenneth Branagh, for two reasons: King Harry’s speech on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, and then, best of all, the response of the English soldiers to their victory over the French.
King Harry looks at the statistics of how many French perished and how many English perished — like, 10,000 to 25 — and he says that if anybody in his army takes credit for this victory, they should be put to death, and they are to sing the Non Nobis (that’s Latin) on their way to Calais. And I get the shivers up and down my spine when I listen to those soldiers walking across the battleground singing, Non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomini tuo da gloriam. It’s the first line of Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”
Not to Us
I think the reason that scene moves me so deeply is not only because the setting is just such terrible carnage in the battle, but also because this is the ultimate and final point of the Bible and the ultimate and final purpose of the universe: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”
I think these words of God in Ezekiel 36 could be spoken over God’s purpose for the whole world and for his people in it. Here’s what Ezekiel 36:22–23 says:
Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
And he meant he’s going to save Israel, not for their sake but for the vindication of his holiness. God created the world. God governs the world so that the holiness of his name (that is, the utter transcendent purity and worth and beauty and greatness of his name, himself) would be known and enjoyed with white-hot affection by a redeemed people who have found in him their supreme treasure. Here’s Isaiah 43:6–7: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.”
For His Name
He created the world at the beginning for the manifestation of his glory, and his Son is coming back at the end so that he might be marveled at and glorified in his people (2 Thessalonians 1:10). And in between creation and consummation, over and over again, he declared this to be his purpose in all that he does.
- Why did he deliver his people from Egypt? “I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations” (Ezekiel 20:9).
- “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).
- “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt” (Psalm 25:11). That’s why he pardons us.
- “For your name’s sake you lead me and guide me” (Psalm 31:3).
- “Deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!” (Psalm 79:9).
- “He saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power” (Psalm 106:8).
And perhaps the most powerful summary statement of God’s purpose in all of history is Isaiah 48:9–11:
For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
In other words, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.” So, when Priya asks, “Why do you think it is so important to give glory to God as opposed to seeking out glory for ourselves?” the first answer is that this is God’s ultimate purpose for his people, for all of history, for all of creation. This is his ultimate purpose. We want to join God, don’t we? We want to join God in his ultimate purpose. Indeed, he tells us to join him in his ultimate purpose. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). This is God’s ultimate purpose. He tells us to join him in it.
We Get Grace; He Gets Glory
And then Priya asks, “In what ways can we better practice humility and recognize God over our lives, especially in moments when we experience success or recognition from others?” There’s time for one brief suggestion. The second half of Psalm 115:1 needs to be included when we quote the verse. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory” — and here it is — “for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
That has two implications. One is that when we succeed at anything and receive recognition, we realize it is a gift of God’s steadfast love. We owe all our successes to God. Paul said, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Or Romans 11:35–36: “‘Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
The other implication of Psalm 115:1 is that the self-exaltation of God is, in a final sense, the exaltation of the fullness of his grace. When he says he does everything for his name’s sake or for his glory, he means, ultimately, for the glory of his grace, which means that his self-exaltation is a great act of love toward us. We are sinners, and our lives depend on grace.
So, here’s the key, Priya: We get the grace; he gets the glory. We get the pleasure; he gets the praise.
