“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy [steadfast love] and Your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, ‘So where is their God?’ But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:1-3).
Dear Praying Friends:
The opening lines of this psalm have been etched in my memory ever since I heard them recited at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration on a frigid day in 1961 while I stood shivering in the snow with thousands of others on the east side of the Capitol. (The expansion of the West Portico was being renovated at the time. https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-089&hspart=infospace&p=images%20of+kennedy%27s+inauguration&grd=1).
Since then, of course, these words have taken on more and more meaning for me, especially as I have seen how I constantly try to seek my own honor rather than God’s, to promote my name more than his.
The good news is that God’s glory, consisting of his mercy [steadfast love] and truth, has never changed, and was manifested vividly to human eyes when the eternal Word of God took on flesh and dwelt among us, "full of grace [mercy] and truth” (John 1:14).
Those who trust in Christ know that the Lord “does whatever he pleases,” working all things together for good to those who love him. So, regardless of what happens within us or around us, we can “trust in the LORD,” for “he is our help and shield” (Psalm 115:9).
“We will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 115:18).
Yours in his grace and truth,
Wright