Why does the Scripture, why does our God call us to worship Him, and ascribe glory to Him?

‌The answer is not found in His ego. It is found in our need.

‌As the fountain of all that is good and holy and wonderful – we can receive no greater blessing than to have Him revealed to us in all of His ineffable glory. He can bless us with nothing higher than Himself. And so He bids us come and gaze in wonder that we might receive the highest, sweetest and greatest of all that He has to give – Himself.

But o how we lose sight of what is really and truly the best for us. Sin twists our desires so and folds them in so wretchedly that we delight more in the dim and defaced reflection of His glory in ourselves than in the splendor of infinite goodness.

‌And so we are met with this first clause – Psalm 29:1–2 “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

‌Now this opening address is to the angelic hosts; those who behold His glory more immediately than fallen humankind. But what happens in the process is that you and I are brought into that same throne room and invited to participate in angelic experience. It is truly remarkable. It is an exalted call. We are to join our voices with theirs here. Astounding.

‌Glory. No other word will do at the sight of God. Glory! is the divine expression. Rolled into it are simultaneous exclamations of:

‌ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!

‌PROFOUNDEST MAJESTY!

‌INFINITE INDESCRIBABILITY!‌

UNSURPASSABLE TRANSCENDENCE!‌

FATHOMLESS FORGIVENESS!‌

UNBELIEVABLE HUMILITY!‌

INCOMPARABLE BEAUTY!‌

UNDEFILABLE HOLINESS!‌

LIMITLESS, BOUNDLESS, MATCHLESS LOVE!‌

UNFATHOMABLE MERCY!‌

INCALCULABLE GRACE!‌

MIND-NUMBING, UNSPEAKABLE WONDER!‌

INVIOLABLE JUSTICE!‌

INCOMPREHENSIBLE TRIUNITY!‌

INDEFATIGABLE POWER!‌

INEXAUSTIBLE PATIENCE!‌

IMMEASURABLE SWEETNESS!‌

And so very much more – GLORY!

‌1-2 / There is little that leaves us less prepared to deal with life, than when we have a small God. One who is inglorious. Impotent. Wishy-washy. Grim. Uncaring or distant.

‌The call here is for each of us to remember God as He is, by a worship that ascribes to Him the glory that is truly and rightly His. Such worship is for our own good. For it forces us to reckon with how good and great He is – that we might not faint in the days of adversity. Worship – to remember.

‌And it is why when we neglect the gathered worship of the saints we injure our own souls.

‌Remember, spiritual truth does not remain static in the heart and mind at all times, let alone grow, without attention.

‌Ever since the Fall, our ability to retain the great and glorious soul-renewing truths which sustain the heart and mind in trial has been rendered defective. We are like spiritual sieves in this regard. We need a steady influx of Biblical truth to maintain even basic health in Christ.

‌We must never forget that when it comes to spiritual health, we are much like one trying to ascend the down escalator – standing still will in fact find us going backward.

‌And even apart from the Fall – we must remember that as Christ is the Son (sun) – we are but moons, reflecting His glory. We do not generate it. The light we are to the World is light we reflect from being exposed to His. And without this exposure, we soon have no light to give, like the luminous hands and numerals on a watch face.

‌Take the time to ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name, and to worship Him in the splendor of holiness. His ego doesn’t need it, but your soul does.

‌And then, we are called to “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

‌And there is no place where His holiness is on greater display than in the Cross! Worship Him in the splendor of holiness revealed in the cross. Of righteousness fulfilled, sin judged, payment made, sentence carried out, grace made available.

‌From this point on in the Psalm, David focuses upon an aspect of God that overwhelms him, and it forms the foundation of the call to worship he issued in vss. 1-2 – The Voice of The Lord.

‌As it is portrayed here, and elsewhere, the voice of the Lord is that revealing and causative power of God in action.

‌3 – God communicates. His voice is upon the waters – ubiquitous and far reaching, even over that which is dark, dangerous and unstable.

‌3 – And God communicates loudly. It is not that God has not spoken in His creation, it is that we do not want to hear Him. We will ignore what He communicates loudly and ubiquitously so as to form our own opinions and understandings, apart from Him. The old adage that actions speak louder than words is true. His actions have declared who He is, what He has done and what He is about.

‌3 – Not only does God speak in this world, He is actually in this world. He is not far off from His creation, He is in the midst of it. He IS upon many waters. Not an absent landlord, but a present and ruling king.

‌4 – When God speaks, things happen. His voice is His will expressed and when God “says”, what He wills comes to pass.

‌And we must note here that God as incorporeal in His nature, He does not have vocal chords. This requires no audibility. When He said “let there be light” no sound was needed. The meaning of His speaking in power is nothing other than His willing X should come to pass, and so it does. Modern foolish interpretations which assign magical power to spoken words are ludicrous to say the least. God didn’t have to speak audibly in order to create the universe – He simply willed it to be. And it was.

‌4 – The Lord’s voice/will is not a mere opinion inserted into a world of voices. He speaks with supreme and inviolable authority, grandeur and glory.

‌5 – The strongest things on earth cannot resist His will when He exerts it. The cedars of Lebanon, famous for their majesty, strength, durability and as symbols of what is unbreakable, snap like mere twigs if and when He desires. Nothing can resist Him.

‌6 – Indeed, so great is the power of His will when exerted, whole regions and nations dance like playing calves before Him.

‌7 – God does the impossible. Who can single out or separate the tongues of flame in a fire? No one. None but our God. When He speaks/wills it – even that which is utterly inscrutable in human terms is done.

‌8 – When He decides, the entire earth must tremble before Him.

‌9 – It is by His decree the very forces of nature continue in their assignments. Not even the birth of livestock is outside His direct order.

‌9 – When He so desires, the very densest and most impenetrable of things are laid bare.

‌9 – Everything in all all creation declares His glory by their very existence – whether they know it or not.

‌10 – He is Lord over all, the permanent sovereign over all.

‌11 – And it is this Lord, whose word and will is over all, that alone speaks and gives peace to His people. The one who blesses all His own with a peace that is truly transcendent.

‌So how and where do we access this? It is in His speaking – in His Word.

‌This, is why we read, study, meditate upon, teach, memorize and love His Word.

‌Psalm 29:1–2 “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

‌You cannot do a single thing better for your own soul, and that of others.