Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! – Psalm 115:1
“Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!” These words begin the chorus of the hymn “To God Be the Glory,” generally attributed to the prolific hymn lyricist Fanny Crosby. The hymn was originally published in a British hymnal in 1870, with a notation that it had been written at least five years prior. Singer and songwriter Ira Sankey became aware of the hymn and persuaded evangelist Dwight Moody to use it during revivals in Britain in the late 19th century. Many people today have known of the hymn since it was introduced in 1954 by Cliff Barrows at a Billy Graham Crusade in Nashville, Tennessee. Fanny Crosby added several stanzas, including the focus on Christ, “our wonder, our transport.”
Psalm 115 is a part of the liturgical singing included in Passover. As such, it would have been among the songs sung by Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper, a Passover seder. Jesus alone knew the significance of this song of deliverance that extols God as Shield and Helper coming mere hours before He was “delivered” to Pilate.
While the disciples sang of God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from the hands of the Egyptians, you sing today of the great act of deliverance that Jesus Christ provided on Calvary’s cross: deliverance from the bondage of sin. “So come to the Father through Jesus the Son and give Him the glory: great things He hath done.”
Bible scholar and author G. Campbell Morgan warned, “We are ever in danger of putting the welfare of man before the glory of God.” The psalmist repeats, “Not to us,” and Charles Spurgeon said that apart from praising the Lord, little else in life matters. Be bold in praising God and do not let the possible negative reaction of society silence you.
Pray for the time when “everything that has breath” will praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6).
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