The God of Glory

Psalm 29:3 declares God to be “the God of glory.” This is a statement revealing who God is. He is glorious. In other words, God has inherent, intrinsic glory. Glory is of the very essence of the Divine Being. Therefore, His glory never diminishes, fades, or improves. It is unchanging.

What is glory? To be sure, our creaturely minds cannot fully comprehend the magnitude and majesty of God’s glory. Many words could be used to describe God’s glory. But, let me offer two that might help. Glory has to do with weight and worth.

There is a “weightiness”, a “heaviness” to God’s Being. In the Scriptures when people encountered certain manifestations of God’s glory, they were noticeably affected. Moses’ face shone so bright that he had to wear a veil. On the day that the temple was dedicated, the priests could not stand to minister in it because of the Glory that was present. When Job experienced God’s glory, he responded, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth….I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 40:4; 42:6) When the Apostle John saw the glory of the risen and reigning Christ, he fell on his face as a dead man. Mortal man cannot remain unaffected by the experience of the weight of God’s glory.

Glory also speaks of God’s worth. Unlike everything else in all creation, God’s worth is not a derived worth. It is unaffected by human opinion or desire. The God of glory is the source and determiner of all worth. He is infinetly abundant in worthship and gloriously incomparable in honor. “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” (Is. 40:18) He has been, is, and ever will be worthy.

Therefore, let us “ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.”  (Ps 29:2 italics mine) And, “let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. ” (Heb 12:28-29) May God grant that our experience and expressions of worship increasingly reflect His weight and worth, for the God of the gospel is also, the God of glory!