Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (Ps. 29:2)
TRUE GREATNESS PROMPTS spontaneous praise. When an athlete makes a spectacular play to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or a soldier acts decisively with unrestrained gallantry to save a life, onlookers are compelled to applaud. The terrain of history is dotted with human luminaries who stood out when the pressures of the moment caused others to sit still. Rather than shrink back, they lunged forward and wrote another valorous chapter in the story of human history.
Yet if we were to aggregate the sum of human greatness, it wouldn’t amount to a single drop of water compared to the vastness of God’s immense ocean of achievements. When we ponder a mere outline of the universe, the complexity of the atom, the symbiotic mingling of ecosystems on our planet, or the intricacies of the human heart, we are quickly overwhelmed by the infinite, multifaceted nature of God.
Still, the psalmist invited worshipers to mingle their voices with that of creation and give full-throated, high-volume praise to God. If we are to give God the glory due His name, we must “ascribe” to Him the wonders of His character and achievements. The word ascribe means to give credit where credit is due. It means to acknowledge the mighty deeds of our Creator and ponder His greatness, both in the created world and in the affairs of humankind.
As you worship today, ascribe to God the glory due His name.
Jim Miller is a chaplain in the US Army. He is married, has two teenage children, and enjoys traveling, music, video games, and playing with his dogs.
