Glory!

When I was a teenager there was a man in our church who shouted out in his booming bass voice, “Glory!” whenever he was particularly blessed. To imagine it you have to draw out the “O” part and give that syllable a lot of emphasis. I loved hearing it. And I’m glad I didn’t grow up in a church that stifled outward expression. “Amens” were welcome and showed that the listener was engaging in the truth being spoken.

I looked up the definition of glory and found these synonyms: honor, majesty, magnificence, splendor. As a verb, it means to rejoice in, or to revel in. And who is the one to whom all of these words apply most appropriately? Our great God, of course.

I checked to see how many times the word glory was used in the Scriptures, and found a whopping 369. That’s in the New King James Version. We read that “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). Remember when Moses begged God to reveal Himself? God took him to a certain spot and said: “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:22-23). It’s hard to imagine it all, but we certainly know that it was magnificent!

Is there anything more glorious that a beautiful sunrise or sunset? “The heavens declare the glory of God,” the psalmist said (Psalm 19:1). “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57:11). “And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory” (Psalm 72:19).

So how can we give glory to God? He possesses it in His nature. We can’t add anything to it. But we can recognize Him for Who He is, and focus on bringing attention to Him by praising Him, rejoicing in His presence, and taking great pleasure in Him. I read in the Psalms this morning: “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day” (Psalm 71:8). I decided to make it my motto for the day. Would you like to share it with me?

“I Will Sing to the Lord a New Song” from “Singing On”