Psalm 115, “To Your Name Give Glory”

Intro: Many people come to the Bible with a default man-centeredness seeing God as primarily there to help us navigate through life more successfully. In reality though, the Bible is decidedly God-centered. In this message on Psalm 115 we dwell on the truth that everything exists to glorify God.

Text: Psalm 115

I. EVERYTHING EXISTS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

1. What do we mean by glory?

• The display of his infinite greatness and worth.

2. The point of everything in the Bible points toward God and his glory.

• Isaiah 43:7
• Ezek 20:9 
• Eph 1:5-6

3. Jonathan Edwards on the glory of God:

• “All that is ever spoken in the Scriptures as an ultimate end of God’s works is included in that one phrase, the glory of God…The refulgence shines upon and into the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The beams of glory come from God, and are something of God and are refunded back again to their original. So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God, and God is the beginning, middle and end in this affair.” –Jonathan Edwards (The Dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World)

4. This is true regardless of whether we submit to and obey God.

• God is not wringing his hands in anxiety over whether or not He will be glorified.
• Romans 9:19-23 
• 2 Timothy 2:20-21 
• Philippians 2:9-11  

II. THIS CHURCH EXISTS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

1. Not primarily for us, not primarily for unbelievers, but for God.

• This has several very important implications.

                  1—We not hear to make life and ourselves more comfortable more functional.

                  2—We are not here to see how many seekers we can draw or build a big church.

                  3—We are here to make much of what God has done in Christ on the Cross.

2. How this relates to our new building.

• Reducing Friction for the advance of the Gospel.

3. This will not always be received well by our culture—in fact, it will often be opposed.

• 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
• Spurgeon: “My dear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds.”

4. I believe it is God’s desire to bless this church. The “how” is up to Him.

• But it is presumptuous for us to say how God will bless us!
• May we be a conduit not a cul-de-sac

III. YOU AND I EXIST FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. 

1. Question for the Christian: Does God exist to make much of you, or do you exist to make much of God?

2. Question for the non-Christian: God will be glorified in your life either through your salvation, or through your judgment. Which will you choose?