Psalm 115 - Not to us

Read: Psalm 115 vs 1-18

There are a lot of names in the Bible. According to Google there are over 1700 individuals named across the Old and New Testaments. That’s a lot of names!

When you read the stories of Scripture you find moments when people are keen to ‘make a name for themselves’. This is the exact line found in Genesis 11 when the people gathered together to build a huge big tower at Babel. They reckoned that if they could undertake a great project, literally reaching to the sky, it would ensure that their name became well known all across the world.

We also find another type of person, the kind of person who has a desire to honour God’s name and who is not worried as to whether their name is forgotten or underplayed in the process. Boaz, who we meet in the book of Ruth, is a great example of this. There was an ancient custom in Israel that placed a responsibility on a man (known as a ‘kinsman redeemer’) to marry the widow of a family member. However doing this involved taking on the name of the deceased. In the book of Ruth a ‘nearer redeemer’ stood back from doing this afraid that his name would be forgotten. Boaz in contrast stepped forward, willing to be forgotten, for the sake of doing the right thing. Ironically this former man’s name is not recorded, whilst Boaz’s name finds its way into the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

Psalm 115 is a Psalm that is all about choosing to give glory to God’s name and not to our own names (vs 1). From a variety of angles the Psalm celebrates where God is (vs 3), what he does (vs 9), and why He is to be praised (vs 16-18).

Psalm 115 encourages us not to take ourselves too seriously and to take God very seriously, ensuring that glory goes to His Name.

Prayer: Father thank You for your great name. Please help me to give glory to your name and not to be concerned about the glory of my name. Amen.