Sermon Quotes: "Not To Us"
“These songs capture the experiences of life (all of them, no matter where you are this morning emotionally and spiritually and physically, no matter what you are going through, there is a psalm for you). And these poems capture the emotions we feel in the midst of those experiences. And they give expression to those emotions with piercing accuracy. And so, we relate. This book is honest and real. There is a brutally honest realism in the Book of Psalms.
In the midst of the forest of real life, which sometimes grows thick and dark and frightening as we hike along, where sometimes the path we’ve been walking on becomes hard to even discern and we find ourselves stumbling along, tripping as we go, hoping for a beam of light to break through the trees so we can find the path again-even there in the thick, dark forests of life, these songs cut a path and shine light on the path that takes us to God and reveals him once again to us and teaches us how to respond to him and how to worship him even where it seems he does not dwell. Where it seems he does not dwell.” Rick Gamache
“Where is he? Why, in heaven, sovereignly controlling everything.” Geoffrey Grogan
“However, dead object in itself, the idol had the dreadful capacity to transform its worshippers into its own image-we become like the ‘god’ (or the God) we worship.” Alec Motyer
“The glory of God is the compass that keeps all our Christian living oriented in the right direction-toward God and not toward ourselves. The pull in the opposite direction is so strong that the psalmist repeats: ‘Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.’ (Ps. 115:1).” Stephen Nichols
“God’s glory can be defined as the otherworldly divine transcendence that dwarfs our position as creatures before the Creator. It speaks to the weight and worth of God. It encompasses the full panorama of the supremacy and unity of his divine attributes…This directs us to a world that is radically God-centered…This is revolutionary since many Christians firmly believe that God has them at the center of his purpose. And we certainly must not dismiss the importance we play in God’s plan. But we are not the center. Not by a long shot. God is the center. ‘Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory’ (Ps. 115:1)…God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify himself…Our thoroughly self-centered mindset spouts out, ‘God is good insofar as he meets the criteria for the fulfillment of my dreams, my life goals, my never-ending bucket list…But God’s glory pervades and transcends all. And ironically, suffering for the believer is precisely designed to magnify this glory and to find our deepest joy in a supremely glorious God (James 1:2-4; Ps. 16:11). We must desperately find him and get lost in him. Here is another glorious irony: When we take our eyes off our pain and focus them on God’s enormous and splendid being, the magnitude of our pain shrinks exponentially. God is astronomically greater than even the most horrific evils that inflict seemingly intractable injury on our souls…When we see that God’s glory is the center and we are able to immerse ourselves in that center no matter what we may encounter in this ever-dark world, we will find a deep well of joy and tranquility that transcends the adversity and sustains us in the midst of it.” Scott Christensen
“If you ask, ‘Why is this or that happening?’ no light may come, for ‘the secret things belong to the Lord our God’ (Deu. 29:29); but if you ask, ‘How am I to serve and glorify God here and now, where I am?’ there will always be an answer.” J.I. Packer
“We glorify God, when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes.” Thomas Watson
“I do not seek my own glory...” John 8:50
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’” John 12:27
“Christ died to glorify the Father and to repair all the defamation we had brought upon his honor.” John Piper
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