The Glory

The first time the word "glory" is used in Scripture, God speaks of gaining it for Himself through the judgment of pharaoh in Exodus 14. This immediately brings to mind questions of justice and punishment in matters related to the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Did God merely foresee pharaoh's rebellion and thereby decide to gain glory through punishing him? Or did God ordain before the foundation of the world that pharaoh should be raised up to rebel and thus serve as a vessel of wrath by which God would gain glory through His just wrath? Certainly the latter is true, as Paul explains in Romans 9:17-24.

We may object for the sake of upholding the "massive" importance of our own decisions, but then we mistake God's purpose for all things - to bring Himself glory.

Psalm 24:7-10 says, "Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—He is the King of glory."

Psalm 79:9 says, "Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake."

Psalm 115:1 says, "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness."

Interestingly, for us to "give glory to God," we tell the truth (Joshua 7:19; John 9:24). Romans 5:2 says, "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

Avalon sings a song called, The Glory. Here are the lyrics:

In the solitary moment of His birth
On this barren dusty land
All of heaven kissed the face of the earth
With a miracle of love
God became a man
But He was sent away to draw His final breath
When He was only thirty-three
And in the shame of dying a criminal's death
He cleansed an angry world
And in His suffering I see

The glory of the blood
The beauty of the body
That was broken for our forgiveness
The glory of His perfect love
Is the heart of the story
The glory of the blood

Now I have tried to find salvation on my own
In a search for something real
But there's a guilty heart inside this flesh and bone
Fall upon His grace
And I begin to feel
And when I close my eyes I can see Him hanging there
Oh the precious wounded Lamb of God
All the majesty in this world cannot compare to the glory
The beauty of the body
That was broken for our forgiveness

The glory of the blood
The beauty of the body
That was broken for our forgiveness
The glory of His perfect love
Is the heart of the story
The glory of the blood

But He was sent away to draw His final breath
When He was only thirty-three

Romans 11:36, Paul's greatest doxology, declares: "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen."