Sol Deo Gloria — to the glory of God alone. Not Sol Meo Gloria, meaning for our own glorification, but for God alone!
Starting with “In the beginning God created…” (Gen. 1:1 NIV), we are first exposed to God’s manifested glory. He spoke, and there was light, sky, seas, vegetation, the moon, sun, stars, sea and land creatures. On the sixth day, He made man in His own image. This verse, along with countless others, paints a beautiful picture of His handiwork we are blessed to see with our very own eyes. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge There is no speech are language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).
His glory is His creation, His holiness, His perfection, His unfailing love, His justice, His mercy, His faithfulness, His miracles and, definitely equal to all of His grandeur and majesty, His plan of redemption. Even though countless people choose not to see or believe it, it is still on display and available for their benefit. They may deny His existence and think it is all happenstance, but the truth still stands — “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6 NIV). He is God and God alone.
Remember, God’s glory belongs to Him and Him alone. The world today gives undeserved honor and glory to celebrities in sports and entertainment arenas. They spend hundreds of dollars to see such people in person, to get their autographs and praise them for their abilities. They idolize people who are worldly and ungodly. This should not be so. While particularly referring to the Israelites and their open idolatry, God’s words can apply directly to us: “…How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another” (Isa. 48:11). It can’t get any plainer than that, can it?
“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee How great thou art, how great thou art!”
“How Great Thou Art” isa favorite song of mine. Although Stuart Khine, a British minister, is responsible for most of the version we have today, the original text came in 1885 from Carl Boberg, a Swedish preacher. Being caught in a violent storm one day, he observed lighting strikes and heard roaring thunder, after which the sun came out and brought calmness to a dark and foreboding day. He then fell to his knees and thus inspired the words to this familiar song. It was many years later when our current version became popular by George Beverly Shea.
You and I are made for God’s glory — “…Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isa. 43:6-7). He has provided us salvation through His son, Jesus; we have been adopted into His family. We have a personal relationship with Him. How do we respond to such great providence?
We respond by loving Him, praising Him and communicating with Him through prayer and Bible study. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31).
God’s glory is so vast that there is no way to come even close to comprehending it, but we are indeed blessed to share a part of it.
We sang a song in my church recently entitled “Is He Worthy?” Is He? Everything we see, read and experience in our own limited way shouts out: Yes, He alone is worthy. What more do we need to know?
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord…” (Psalm 150:6).
