Reflecting on God’s Glory in the Psalms

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

~Psalm 19:1 (CSB)

Why start a series of reflecting on the Psalms with God’s glory?  

The glory of God emphasizes His sovereignty, His power and authority over all of creation.  We are called to honor and glorify God because He is our Creator, but He is not some impersonal God out there letting us fend for ourselves.  He is our covenant-making, covenant-keeping Savior who desires a personal relationship with us.  

God took on human form in the person of Jesus Christ to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves; He paid the price for our disobedience.  So now, instead of eternal separation from God, we are given the gift of salvation.  We can approach the God of the universe and call Him Father, as He calls us His children.  We have an up-close, personal connection with the Living, Eternal God.

Word of caution – do not let the familiarity of your faith breed complacency.  Over time as we live out our faith, we can lose sight of the magnificence of God and begin limiting Him to our finite, human perspective.  The Psalms remind us otherwise.

Glory, according to my Bible dictionary, is “a quality of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and authority.”  The original Hebrew word for glory has a sense of “brightness, splendor, magnificence, majesty of outward appearance” (“Glory”).

One psalmist writes, "When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?" (Psalm 8:3-4).  I noticed two things in these verses that emphasize God's glory to me.  The first is the use of the word "your."  Did you catch it?  The psalmist says, "your heavens," "the work of your fingers" – our writer is talking directly to God.  God created the heavens; therefore, they belong to Him.  Let us not forget to Whom our world ultimately belongs, and may we honor Him.

The second thing I noticed was the writer’s use of a rhetorical question.  When I taught English, I told my kids to think of these questions as the “well, duh” questions.  Not very formal, I know, but it made my point to middle schoolers. Rhetorical questions are asked, but they are not meant to be answered.  They are used to make an obvious point to the reader or listener.  “[W]hat is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?”  There are two layers that I can see to this question.  1) There is the undeniable conclusion that since God created everything – and I do mean everything, every atom and molecule, every animal and plant, every star and galaxy – why do we, whose lives are a mere vapor in comparison, even matter? Ultimately, we are vapor.  Our so-called power and authority, our “glory” is nothing when compared to God’s glory.  2) Our psalmist helps us with this second conclusion, “You made him little less than God, and crowned him with glory and honor.  You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet…” (Psalm 8: 5-6).  Because God said so.  We matter because God said so.  When the Creator of, well, everything, says you matter, then it is so.  We are reminded of Genesis 1 when God creates man in His image and tells humankind to “‘[b]e fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it’” (Genesis 1:28).  God Himself crafted us in His image and gave us meaning and purpose.  

When the psalmist asks, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” (NKJV), we are forced to confront our perception, or misperception as the case often is, of God.  Who are we to not glorify God?  

As we read the Psalms, let us consider who they reveal God to be and how we, as human beings approaching our Creator, respond to Him.  Let the word of God teach us about the glory of God, and may we respond with all appropriate honor, awe, and praise.

Further Reading

If you would like to read more Psalms that focus on the glory of God, I suggest the following.

Psalm 8- God’s Glory, Human Dignity

Psalm 19- The Witness of Creation and Scripture

Psalm 24- The King of Glory

Psalm 29- The Voice of the Lord

Psalm 97- The Majestic King

Resources

“Glory,” Online Etymology Dictionary, Accessed 17 October 2020, www.etymonline.com/word/glory. 

Ronald F. Youngblood, ed., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995.