Why should glory not be unto us (Psalm 115:1)?

(v. 1) The opening verse gives the theme of the psalm — God's people refusing any merit in themselves, and ascribing all blessing to the Lord. Psalm 114 had traced their deliverance to the presence of the Lord acting in power on behalf of His people. Psalm 115 shuts out the power and glory of man. “Not to us,” they say, “but to thy name give glory.” His mercy and His truth have combined for the blessing of His people.

170 Psalm 115. The first principle here brought under our eye is setting the Lord's glory first, a simple but mighty one - "not to us but to thy name." So we find perfectly in Christ. But this is followed, for all that, by the connection of that glory with God's people. The first principle gives purity of motive - this the courage and hope of faith. And note what is specially blessed - the name (that is, the revelation of God's character) is specially suited to the blessings of His people. He had spoken in promise, but they have failed on their side to take up the promise in the path of righteousness. Yet God has promised, and here His name of government in grace comes in. "Give the glory to thy name for thy mercy," which is part of His name; "and for thy truth's sake," which is another. And here the glory comes out - if He were not the former, the latter could not be. Righteous judgment would have cut off the guilty; but there would have been no fulfilment of promise. But mercy rejoices over judgment. What God is in His nature, love, interprets itself in His ways towards the failing, in mercy, leading them no doubt into the place of repentance that they may suitably enjoy - suitably to any moral relationship with God, but then accomplishing His promise in truth. But the divine glory goes first. This is counted on.

Psalm 115 speaks of the living God. "Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." What a combination have we here. Mercy and truth have met together. We can sing of this now. Israel will one day sing of it; for of them, not the Church (as verse 9 shows), the psalm speaks. Brought in consciously guilty before God, having failed to stand before Him on the ground of their own righteousness, the godly remnant will sing of this, and turn to give Him all the praise and the glory. Jerusalem made a praise in the earth, the Jews (so long despised and ill-treated) the nation to whom others will seek to join themselves (Isaiah 62:7; Zech. 8:23); all this, blessed though it will be, will afford them no ground for boasting, but full ground on which to ascribe all praise and glory to Jehovah.

It is the settled purpose of God that "no flesh shall glory in his presence." All human pretension must be set aside. He will hide pride from man. Israel had to be taught to remember their origin, and their true condition — "bondmen in Egypt" — "fewest of all people" — no room for pride or boasting. They were, in no wise, better than the nations around them; and therefore, if called to account for their high elevation and moral greatness, they had simply to trace it all up to the free love of God, and His faithfulness to His oath. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." (Ps. 115:1.)

The psalm begins with a pleading that Jehovah will act for Himself and for the glory of His Name, and not allow the heathen to taunt His people, as if Jehovah were one of their own gods, not to be found in the time of need. It is, in fact, Israel's sin which has given even the appearance of this; and therefore they urge that He give glory to His own Name, if He cannot to theirs: and this, not as if the account men made of Him were of such importance, save to them, and to the love therefore in Him which cared for them. And then again, He had pledged Himself to faith; and thus they could plead with Him for His truth's sake also.

Israel's God, after all, if for the nation's sin He were not found now in His place on earth, was still in heaven. He was a reality, accomplishing whatever He would, spite of all opposition. And this leads naturally to the comparison with idols.

But though Israel may boast themselves triumphantly, turning to the earth, when it looks on high it can only say He hath done what pleased Him, "Not unto us, not to us, O Jehovah" - the expression not merely of humble consciousness but of righteous desire, "Unto thy Name give glory." But His Name is identified, for He has identified it with them. "For thy mercy and for thy truth's sake," for thus His Name was manifested towards Israel - if only truth, then must Israel have been rejected, for they had crucified their Messiah, as well as broken their law, but the promises of Jehovah must not fail because man does, and therefore, in His inscrutable wisdom, He brings in by mercy the accomplishment of His truth, and when, instead of going about to establish their own righteousness they stumble at the stumbling stone, they take mercy as their only and just hope, then the truth is established according to God's own promises and heart; and Jesus is owned as the way of it, for grace (khesed) and truth (emeth) came by Him, and, though rejected, will be established with additional splendour and glory therefore by Him. This then was how different a ground for Israel! Not the law - the law was given by Moses - that was their righteousness, but they had failed, utterly failed. Such is the ground Israel rests on then, and therefore the question can really be raised between God in Jacob and the heathen acting in scornful despite of their old sorrows and present abasement, saying "Where is he?" The answer is of faith. Though Jesus may not yet be publicly manifested, yet, by the Spirit of Christ in the midst of them, "Our God is in the heavens," and, as to all the prosperity of the Gentiles, and their abasement, they say, as Jesus on the non-repentance of Israel, "He hath done whatsoever it pleased him" - the heathen idols are nothing (compare the chapters of Isaiah, onwards, after chapter 40, where the question is raised, and the humiliation of Christ also brought in) and so they that trust in them. Then the Spirit of Christ thereon turns and addresses itself to Israel, "O Israel, trust in Jehovah," and asserts also the mercy - He is their help, etc.; and then the promise of millennial blessing from verse 14, but Jewish and earthly - those spared - (vv. 17, 18) - full of blessing, but blessing for Israel on the earth.

We sometimes learn the greatness of our sins, as well as the nature of our blessings, by means of contrast. Compare, for example, the contemptuous expression of the inhabitants of Jerusalem with the confession of the humble-minded remnant, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory." (Psalm 115:11.) The omission of the word "NOT" proved that the inhabitants of Jerusalem were guilty not only of despising their brethren, but also of claiming undue honour for themselves, instead of attributing it unto God, from whom it comes, and to whom all glory is due.

Now, we thoroughly believe that faith is the gift of God, and that it is not according to man's will or by human power. And further, we believe that not a single soul would ever come to Christ if not drawn, yea, compelled by divine grace so to do; and therefore all who are saved have to thank the free and sovereign grace of God for it; their song is, and ever shall be, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake."

Now, we thoroughly believe that faith is the gift of God, and that it is not according to man's will or by human power. And further, we believe that not a single soul would ever come to Christ if not drawn, yea, compelled by divine grace so to do; and therefore all who are saved have to thank the free and sovereign grace of God for it; their song is, and ever shall be, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake."

The truth, we judge, is this: that since the power that really does God's work is "of God and not of us," the thing of prime importance is that what is done should be manifestly by God's power and to God's glory. Ability and gift and intelligence on the part of the servant are desirable, and not to be despised, but if the servant possessing them be at all tempted to rely on them, or, what is even worse, parade them, God will pass him by and use some foolish or insignificant instrument to our astonishment.