1 Chronicles 16:29 “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!”
The old Civil War Battle Hymn of the Republic, inspired by Jeremiah 25:30-31, begins:
“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.” God be praised! Author of these words, Julia Ward Howe, lived in times that were anything but dainty or delicate. She lived in time of war, the Civil War. And she, like many of that time, including President Lincoln, had come to see that horrible war as God’s judgment on a land that had enslaved, and cruelly and unjustly treated a whole race of people. See Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Prayer & Fasting of March 30, 1863.
Psalm 29:22 repeats the words of 1 Chronicles 16:29. “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
But, we don”t use that word much anymore, so what does the word “glory” mean? The Hebrew word for glory is “kāḇôḏ” and is a weighty, but only figuratively in a good sense, meaning glory, honor, glorious, abundance, riches, splendor, dignity of the highest status. The majestic Creator God of heaven and earth deserves our glory for Him and His glory. Psalm 19:1 proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” The divine perfections and excellence of God’s creation surrounds us in nature; out in the Cosmos, in the air, on the earth and under the sea. Psalm 148:13 “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.” Glory be to God in the highest!
Psalm 97:6 “The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.” Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines the word “glory” as: (1) the glory of God’s majesty everywhere and in everything as brightness; luster; splendor and magnificence. (2) the glory from man towards God as praise ascribed in adoration; honor. (3) In Scripture, glory is the divine presence of God. Psalm 62:7 “In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”
The Apostle Paul shows us that God gave glory to Jesus in 2 Peter 1:17 stating, “For He [Jesus] received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Glorification is the act of giving glory or of ascribing honors to. Exaltation to honor and dignity; elevation to glory; as the glorification of Christ after his resurrection.
For the Born-again Believer, who believes in God, repents of sin, receives Jesus Christ as their personal Savior by his atoning sacrificial death for their sins, and as the Lord of their Life to follow, learn from and obey, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. When a true Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ, comes to the end of this earthly existence, they receive glorification and are ushered into eternity in heaven as a citizen of the kingdom of God. The felicity, ecstasy, and eternal happiness of heaven prepared for the children of God; it is celestial bliss. All this is glory. Psalm 72:18-20“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
In Christ, Brian
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