“Glory be to God the Father, Glory be to God the Son, Glory be to God the Spirit. God Almighty, Three in One. (Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889). This beautiful hymn has been sung for many years.
When we say “Glory to God” or “Glory be unto God,” we are expressing that God is deserving of our honor, praise, and thanksgiving. There is also this well known doxology. “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and forever shall be, world without end. Amen.”
The Oxford Dictionaries define the word glory as “high renown or honor won by notable achievements, magnificence or great beauty, praise, worship, and thanksgiving offered to a deity.”
The Christian community recognizes God as the “Supreme being,” who is worthy of glory because He is infinite self-existent, infinite holy, infinite righteous, infinite sovereign. God alone is worthy to receive our worship, adoration, praise and honor. The concluding book of the Scriptures clearly states, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4).
There is but one God. The Bible states, “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Not only is the Lord our God one, God is unchangeable. The apostle James writes, ”Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). Also, God is eternal. Moses said in his prayer to God, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2). Being eternal, God has neither beginning nor end.
The apostle Paul writes, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Christians should honor God with their entire lives, and this will result in glorifying God. Note, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” It’s not possible to do more than “all.” And this will be accomplished when we are obedient to God’s word and allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct our lives.
At the angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth Luke records, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” (Luke 2:13,14). This, indeed, is a most beautiful “doxology” with the angelic announcement of Jesus’s birth, “a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Glory to God means all praise and honor be to the Most High God who has provided a glorious Savior to redeem “fallen” man. As Christians, let us join with the heavenly host in praising and giving glory to God whose goodwill to man has appeared.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1) is a psalm by David. We may not know precisely why David wrote this psalm. However, we can assume he may have looked upward to the sky since he states “the sky above proclaims [God’s] handiwork.” Perhaps it revealed to him that God’s creation was such a glorious thing. “The heavens” suggest the “Immediate” sky and not God’s abode. Let us remember the heavens are also God’s creation. Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
“Composer F. J. Haydn wrote the oratorio titled “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” Perhaps the composer was inspired by the beginning of Psalm 19 to compose such a beautiful song of the glory of God, when he wrote:
The wonder of His work displays the firmament,
In all the lands resounds the word.
Never perceived, ever understood,
ever, ever, ever understood.
(F. J. Haydn, 1732-1809)
When Adam sinned, the entire human race was plunged into sin. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because of sin, man could not do anything within himself to measure up to the glory of God. Everyone sinned in Adam. Mankind is not only sinful in nature, but also sinful in practice.
However, because of God’s mercy and grace, man can now be “justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Hence, man is now in a position to glorify God. “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). As Paul writes about God, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).
“Glory to God on high, Peace upon earth and joy, Goodwill to man! We who God’s blessings prove, His name all names above, Sing now the Savior’s love too vast to scan” (Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854).
Soli Deo gloria is the Latin for “To God alone be the Glory.” This is most significant, because it essentially refers to our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God and God alone who took the initiative to provide our salvation. Mortal man had no part in it.
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin.”
—Fanny Crosby, 1820-1915
Let us therefore give to God all the glory He is absolutely worthy of. “Worthy are you our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power” (The Revelation 4:11). Amen.