Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
1 Chronicles 16:28-30 NIV
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
This passage is part of a song that David composed after bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. He established a worship team to serve at the Ark and gave them this song to sing.
And in this song, we are called on to “ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.” To ascribe is to give, to give God the glory that is his due. And to give glory is to honor. In this song, David calls on us to give God the honor and glory that is rightfully his.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that “man’s chief end is to glorify God.” The idea behind this is that humans were created to give glory to God. I do not believe that to be true. God does not need the glory we are capable of giving him.
So then, why should we honor God? Because of who he is. Because he is our creator. And because of all he has done, is doing, and will do in the creation and for his people. We should honor God because he is worthy of all the honor we can give him.
Giving glory and honor to God should be our natural response to who he is and what he has done. It should not be forced or grudgingly given. Instead, we should joyfully give God the glory due his name. Worshipping him in the splendor of his holiness.
