[0:00] I'd like you to turn to the book of Psalms and to Psalm 29.
[0:13] The book of Psalms and the 29th Psalm. Read verses 1 and 2.
[0:24] Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
[0:36] Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. I want this evening at the end of your communion season to think about a particular theme from the Bible.
[1:04] The theme of glory. I hope it's an appropriate theme for the end of this season. As it was suggested to me as an appropriate theme a few months ago.
[1:19] For the end of the Christian Union's program in St. Andrews. They meet on a Friday evening. The students in the university.
[1:29] And I was to do the final Friday teaching meeting on Samuel. Because they were doing a series on various characters in the Bible.
[1:43] And then just a couple of weeks before that. They said we've changed our mind about having that meeting in the usual venue. What we're going to do is go to the ruins of the cathedral.
[1:58] And have an open air meeting. And we want you to change the subject. And to speak on the theme of glory. As a way of ending the year together.
[2:12] So we did that in the ruins of the cathedral. Normally there would be about 250 students at the CU. But the authorities limited that to 200 in the sacred historic precincts of the cathedral.
[2:30] And it was very moving at one point. The vice president of the Christian Union, a girl, was leading the first part of the meeting. With singing and readings and prayers.
[2:42] And she called on the students to pray privately, quietly themselves, for 5 to 10 minutes.
[2:54] And 200 students knelt on the grass at the cathedral. On a beautiful evening. Perfect stillness.
[3:05] And they prayed for 10 minutes. Each of them on their knees. It was a very moving sight. Especially to think of what all of these young people could have been doing on a Friday night.
[3:19] Was it not that their heart was for God and his face and his word? And then it was easy to speak on glory in that kind of context and setting.
[3:32] And beginning here in Psalm 29. And we'll finish here in Psalm 29. But we'll be looking at lots of other texts in the Bible along the way.
[3:46] And I do hope that all of these texts will actually be in my Bible tonight. Unlike yesterday. When I was going to speak before the distribution of the elements.
[4:04] On the lamb in the midst of the throne. And as I stood there and looked at Revelation 5. For the life of me I couldn't find the phrase.
[4:15] I had to think very quickly. And say something else. In the pre-table address. Of course this translation takes a different view. And it could be quite right that it takes that view.
[4:30] The lamb not in the center of the throne. But the lamb between the throne. And those around the throne. But anyway. My prayer is that I will not have any such surprises this evening.
[4:42] As we look at this theme. Now I want to look at five things. As time allows. I want us to think about the glory of God.
[4:53] First of all. In the Old Testament. In just one or two passages. And then to think about the glory of Jesus. In the New Testament story.
[5:06] And then something about the glory of the gospel. And then the glory of our destiny. And finally. What should our response be.
[5:17] To what we see and hear. Of the glory of God. And in all of this. I will be assuming that glory.
[5:29] Speaks of God's brightness. And radiance. As God reveals that. To men and women. In different ways.
[5:40] That glory speaks of the splendor. And majesty of God. As in different ways. That blazes out. And people are made aware of.
[5:53] And profoundly impressed by. The spectacular. Shining. Brilliance. Of the glory. Of who God is.
[6:04] And what God does. The glory of God. In that way. In different parts. Of the scripture. I was impressed recently.
[6:17] With somebody suggesting. That one way of thinking about glory. Is God going public. With who. And what he is.
[6:28] What we might never see. Or might never be made aware of. God goes public. God goes public. And displays. Something of himself.
[6:39] And his splendor. His glory. Is experienced. By men and women. So. Let's think first of all.
[6:50] Of the glory of God. In the Old Testament. One thing that the Old Testament. Stresses about God's glory. Is the way that it's seen.
[7:01] In creation. Around us. Maybe the obvious. Verse there. Is at the beginning of Psalm 19. The heavens.
[7:11] Declare. The glory. Of God. So when. Someone sees. A beautiful sunset. Or looks at a starry sky.
[7:24] They're meant to say. The God. Who made. These things. Is more. Glorious. Infinitely.
[7:35] More. Beautiful. Than the beauty. Of any sunset. Or the beauty. Of any starry sky. The creator. Reveals. Just a little.
[7:47] Just a whisper. Just an echo. Of his own beauty. In the glory. And beauty. Of the things. That he has made. In this Psalm 29.
[7:59] I think the glory. Is also seen. In a storm. Because. Most of the Psalm. Has the voice. Of the Lord. Causing things. To break.
[8:10] And the wilderness. To shake. And then you see. At the end of verse 9. In his temple. All cry. Glory. So whether it's.
[8:21] The quietness. Of a lovely view. Or whether it's. The power. Of a tempest. In nature. God.
[8:31] Reveals. His glory. In the things. That he has made. In this world. But then. In other places. In the Old Testament.
[8:43] The stress. Is on God. Showing his glory. Occasionally. Occasionally. When he. Appears. In. Theophany. In appearances.
[8:54] Of the living God. To men and women. For example. You remember. The stories. Of tabernacle. And temple. And the way.
[9:05] That at the end. Of Exodus. The cloud. Comes down. On the tabernacle. And the. Shekinah. Glory. Fills. The tabernacle. And.
[9:17] No one. Can enter. Because the glory. Of the Lord. Is filling. The place. The same thing. When Solomon. Constructs. The temple. The cloud.
[9:28] Comes down. The glory. Fills. The place. And the priests. Are unable. To enter. Because. Of the splendor. Of the Shekinah. Glory. In all.
[9:39] Its awesomeness. In that building. Or you have another. Appearance. Of glory. You know. The passage. In Ezekiel. In the first.
[9:49] Chapter. Of Ezekiel. Where he has. A rather. Bewildering. Vision. Of God. And at the end. Of chapter one. It says.
[10:01] That. What he saw. All he can say. Is it was. Like. The appearance. Of the likeness. Of the glory. Of God. All the fire.
[10:13] And the radiance. And the burning. That he sees. He can't find words. To express it. And he just says. It was like. The appearance. Um.
[10:23] Of the likeness. Of the glory. Of the Lord. God. Revealing himself. To people. In ways that.
[10:35] Leave them. Lost for words. To describe. The splendor. Of what they are privileged. To witness. Jesus. But I think.
[10:46] There's something else. In the Old Testament. About glory. That's. In a sense. Even more. Amazing. Than the glories. Of creation. Or the glories.
[10:56] Of God. Appearing. And it is. The glory. Of God's. Love. I read earlier. In Exodus.
[11:06] chapter. 33. And 34. And I'm not sure. That everybody. Would agree. With. With this way. Um.
[11:17] Of reading it. But. Uh. Let me. Share. What I think. In verse 18. Moses says. Uh. Exodus 33.
[11:27] And 18. Moses said. Please. Show. Me. Your. Glory. And the Lord. Said. I will make all my goodness.
[11:38] Pass. Before you. And then God speaks. Of his grace. And of his mercy. Now. The way we normally read that. Is that.
[11:49] Moses said. Show me your glory. And God says. You won't see. My glory. At least the glory. Of my face. And I will cover you.
[12:01] So that you don't see. The glory. Except as I. Go past. And disappear. From view. Now. Of course. That's part of what's being said.
[12:11] That Moses could not cope. With the full glory. Of the face. Of God. But I think. That here. God is actually.
[12:23] Giving Moses. A partial. Glimpse. Of his glory. In what he says. About himself. And his love.
[12:34] Moses says. Show me your glory. And God said. I will make my goodness. My grace. Pass. Before you.
[12:46] So God. Speaking about his grace. Is God. Revealing. Something. Of his glory. The glory. Of his character. The beauty.
[12:58] Of his covenant. Love. His willingness. To be gracious. Is God. Being. Glorious. The beauty.
[13:08] Of his love. Is God. Being. Supremely. Glorious. Right. Through. Scripture. And. Again. And again. The Old Testament. Makes that point.
[13:19] We don't have time. To look at it. But God. Reveals. His mercy. And we're told. That he is glorified. In that. God. Redeems. And God. Ransoms.
[13:29] And we're told. That God. Is glorified. The picture. Is there. Right through. The Old Testament. Every time. God. Shows. His pity. And his mercy.
[13:40] And his grace. He is revealing. The glory. Of his character. And. Of his love. So.
[13:50] The Old Testament. Tells us. About a God. Who shines. Through his creation. Who shines. When he appears. In glory. To people.
[14:01] But above everything else. He shines. In his beauty. And his splendor. In his willingness. To be merciful. To sinners.
[14:12] In steadfast. Covenant. Love. The glory. Of Jehovah. Let's come secondly. To think of.
[14:23] The glory. In the New Testament. As we're told. The story. Of Jesus. And the glory. That appears. When Jesus.
[14:33] Comes. Perhaps. That's especially. Vivid. At the beginning. Of the story. When. John's gospel.
[14:44] In chapter one. And verse 14. Tells us. That the word. Was made. Flesh. And tabernacled.
[14:54] Among us. And we beheld. His glory. The glory. As of the only. Begotten. Of the father. Full. Of grace.
[15:05] And truth. And that. Of course. Is. Referring back. To the Old Testament. Story. Of the tabernacle. And the Shekinah.
[15:15] Glory. And it's saying. That when. The eternal. Word. Was made. Flesh. That those. Who had. Spiritual. Vision.
[15:25] To see. Saw. The glory. As of the only. Begotten. Son. Of the father. And what. Was the glory.
[15:36] That they saw. It was the glory. Of grace. And truth. Now that. Takes us back. To Exodus.
[15:47] And it. Takes us back. To Exodus. 34. And verse 6. Where. I'm suggesting. To you. That part. Of the glory. That Moses.
[15:57] Is privileged. To see. Is the glory. Of God's. Love. And faithfulness. In verse 6. You have the language. Of steadfast. Love. And faithfulness.
[16:08] You could almost. Translate. That. Grace. And truth. So when. Jesus. Comes. It is the. Supreme. Demonstration.
[16:20] Of the grace. And truth. Of Jehovah. It's grace. And truth. Come. In the flesh. And in the love.
[16:31] That brings Jesus. Down to earth. And in the beauty. Of his character. And in his mercy. And in his pity. And in his faithfulness.
[16:42] And in his loyalty. To his mission. And in everything. That he is. And in everything. That he does. He reveals. The glory. Of the God. Who is glorious.
[16:53] In grace. And glorious. In truthfulness. Of course. Jesus reveals. Glory. In other ways. Too. John tells us.
[17:04] In chapter 2. That Jesus reveals. His glory. Through miracle. And sign. At the end of the. The narrative. About changing water. Into wine.
[17:16] We're told. That Jesus. Thus. Revealed. His glory. glory. And his disciples. Believed in him. That when they saw.
[17:27] This evidence. Of who he was. And the difference. He could make. And how powerful. He was. Their faith. Was deepened. As they saw.
[17:38] Something. Of his glory. His power. As God. Sometimes. Of course. The glory. Breaks right through. You have that. Appearance.
[17:49] On the Mount. Of Transfiguration. When. Jesus. Shines. In splendor. And in glory. The glory. Of his person. And the glory.
[18:00] Of heaven. Coming down. In two others. Who appear. With him. In glorious. Splendor. The glory. Of Jesus. On the Mount. Of glory.
[18:11] As. His deity. Shines. Through the flesh. If you want. To use that. Kind of language. But I think. That above. Anything else.
[18:22] In. The story. Of Jesus. As told. In the Gospels. It is. The cross. That reveals. Glory. Now.
[18:33] Again. Not everybody. Would agree. With that. Because. They say. Well. Is it really. Said. That explicitly. That the cross.
[18:45] Revealed. Glory. Well. If you read. John's Gospel. In the first half. Of the Gospel. Jesus. Is speaking. About. His hour.
[18:56] That has not yet. Come. Referring. To the cross. But then. Halfway. Through the Gospel. When he's coming. Very near. To the cross. He's.
[19:07] Keeps saying. That his hour. Has come. And. As he speaks. About the hour. Coming. He also speaks. About. Glory.
[19:18] And that he. Is going. To be glorified. For example. In chapter 12. In verse 23. He says. The hour. Has come.
[19:30] The hour. Has come. For the son of man. To be. Glorified. And then. He speaks. About his death. And verse 27. He says.
[19:41] What shall I say? Father. Save me. From this hour. No. But for this purpose. I have come. To this hour. Father. Glorify. Your name.
[19:52] Then a voice. Came from heaven. I have glorified it. And I will glorify. It. Again. And. There are lots of other. Verses. Like these.
[20:02] Leading. Towards the cross. In the second part. Of John's Gospel. And I believe. That what these passages. Are saying. Is. That in the cross.
[20:13] Of Jesus. Dark. As it was. And. And ugly. And shameful. As it was. There is also.
[20:24] A glory. And a wonder. And it's the glory. Again. Of love. And faithfulness. It's the glory. Of mercy. And pity.
[20:35] It's the glory. Of grace. And truth. The splendor. Of a God. Of love. Shining out. In the midst.
[20:45] Of all the horror. And brutality. Of Calvary. As the innocent. Takes our guilt. And dies. In our place.
[20:56] For our sins. There is no darker moment. In history. There is no greater horror. In history. Than Calvary. But from another point.
[21:07] Of view. Of course. There is no more. Glorious place. And there is nowhere. Where the glory. Of God's love. Shines more brightly.
[21:20] Than as the son. Of God. The Lord. Of glory. Dies. For our sins. We have been. Over this weekend.
[21:31] Remembering. The glory. Of Calvary. And the wonder. And the beauty. And the mystery. Of the love. That is revealed there.
[21:42] Revealed there. As nowhere else. In scripture. Or in history. Of course. That's not the end. Of the story. And the language.
[21:52] Of glory. In the New Testament. Associated with Jesus. Is also. Associated. With his resurrection. And his ascension.
[22:03] And his exaltation. He is raised. From the dead. He ascends. To heaven. And he is given. Glory. He prayed.
[22:13] For that. In John 17. Father. Glorify me. In your presence. With the glory. Which I had. With you. Before. The world.
[22:24] Was. It was promised. In Daniel 7. That passage. About the son. Of man. The son. Of man. Led into the presence. Of the ancient. Of days.
[22:35] And given. Dominion. And glory. And a kingdom. That will never end. And when somebody. Like Saul. Meets Jesus. On the Damascus road.
[22:47] It's. The glory. Of Christ. That he meets. When John. Has a vision. Of Jesus. In Revelation. Chapter 1. He falls down. As dead.
[22:59] Before the glory. Of the exalted. Jesus. He's in glory. Now. He is the glory. Of that world. Above. And one day. We're told.
[23:09] That he will return. And how will he return? In glory. He will return. With the father's glory. He will return. In his own glory.
[23:20] He will return. With the glory. Of the angels. And with the glory. Of the clouds. Everything. About him. Will be glory. When he returns.
[23:31] To wind up history. And bring in. The new world. So. The whole story of Jesus. From beginning. To.
[23:42] Well there is no end. The whole story of Jesus. In his life. In his death. In his exaltation. And in his eternal future.
[23:53] Is a story. Of glory. In all kinds of ways. In all kinds of things. I want you now. Thirdly. To think about the glory. Of the gospel.
[24:07] Glory. In the gospel. Man lost the glory. That he had.
[24:17] At the beginning. The glory. That Adam had. That was lost. In sin. But God. God purposes. That there will be.
[24:28] A revelation. Of his glory. And that that will be. For the whole world. Good news. A gospel. Of glory. For the whole world.
[24:42] Isaiah prophesied it. In the last chapter. Of Isaiah. Verse 18. And 19. The time. Is coming. To gather.
[24:53] All nations. And tongues. And they shall all come. And shall see. My glory. And I will set a sign. Among them.
[25:04] And he says. To the coastlands. Afar off. Those that have not. Heard my fame. Or seen. My glory. And they shall declare.
[25:15] My glory. Among. The nations. Glory. For all nations. In good news. That will go. To the whole world.
[25:27] Now that glory. Of the gospel. Is. Explained. I think. In the New Testament. In a couple of key passages. That I want you to think about.
[25:40] The first is in Ephesians. Chapter 1. Where there's a reference to. The glory. Of his grace. To the praise.
[25:51] Of the glory. Of his grace. And that passage. Is saying. That the gospel. Is glorious. And that God's grace.
[26:03] Shines. With his own. Divine. Glory. And. Before that verse. Paul has spoken about. Election.
[26:15] And adoption. And then he speaks about. The glory of grace. And then he speaks about. Forgiveness.
[26:26] And redemption. The forgiveness of sins. Through. The blood. Of Jesus. And all of these things. And other things as well.
[26:36] In that amazing passage. Ephesians 1. Verses. 1 to. To 14. Is it. Or to 18. The whole of that passage. Is about the glory.
[26:48] Of God's grace. That. Election. Is glorious. And adoption. Is glorious. And forgiveness. Is glorious. And the blessing of the spirit. Is glorious.
[26:58] And the seal of the spirit. Is glorious. You know. Everything about the gospel. Is amazing. And beautiful. And shines. With the glory. Of God.
[27:10] There's another passage. That's. Also I think. Very important. In this. Where in. Second Corinthians. In. Chapters. Three and four. Paul speaks.
[27:22] About the gospel. And. The gospel. As revealing. To us. The glory. Of the face. Of Christ. Second Corinthians.
[27:33] Four. Let me read. Verses. Four and six. In their case. The God. Of this world. Has blinded. The minds. Of the unbelievers. To keep them.
[27:44] From seeing. The light. Of the gospel. Of the glory. Of Christ. Verse six. For God. Who said. Let light. Shine. Out of darkness.
[27:56] Has shone. In our hearts. To give the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory. Of God. In the face. Of Jesus Christ.
[28:07] It's the most amazing. Passage of scripture. In all kinds of ways. That when somebody. Hears the gospel. And when somebody.
[28:18] Sees the truth. And comes to faith. In Christ. By faith. We see. The glory. Of God. In the gospel. And by faith.
[28:30] We see. The glory. Of Christ. And we even. See. The face. Of Christ. We see. The beauty. Of the face.
[28:40] Of Jesus. As we trust. In his gospel. And we are. Privileged witnesses. Of the glory. Of God. As it shines.
[28:51] In the freeness. Of his grace. Offered to us. In Jesus Christ. So many people. When you speak to them.
[29:01] About the gospel. Just think of it. As something. Human. Just another story. Made up by. Men and women. Just another religion.
[29:13] That people. Talk about. But we know. Because the Bible. Tells us. That. The gospel. Is unique.
[29:24] Because the gospel. Is divine. This is not. A human message. This has come. From God. And those. Who believe it. See.
[29:35] God. In the gospel. And they see. The face. Of God. In the gospel. They witness. The glory. Of God. In the good news.
[29:47] And they have. Knowledge. Of God. And a relationship. With God. And the forgiveness. Of God. And belong. To the family. Of God.
[29:58] Because God. Has given them. The glory. Of his grace. In the gospel. Of his own son. And of course. When Jesus.
[30:08] You remember. Promised the Holy Spirit. To his disciples. Do you remember. That he used. The language. Of glory. When he said. That the spirit.
[30:18] Would come. And would. Glorify. Me. Would glorify. Him. What he was saying. Was that when the Holy Spirit. Came. In power.
[30:31] The spirit. Would shine. On Jesus. So that people. Would see. The beauty. Of Jesus. Would see. More of Jesus.
[30:43] Would trust. In Jesus. And would continue. To trust. And to love. And to know. And to follow Jesus. So Jesus. Was saying. That the spirit. Ministry.
[30:53] Is a spirit. Of glorifying. Jesus. Bringing people. To see. The beauty. Of Christ. And keeping. Christians. Focus. On Christ.
[31:05] As they see. More of his glory. As their. Pilgrimage. Goes on. In this world. So there is glory. In the gospel. And the glory.
[31:15] Of the gospel. Is the glory. Of Jesus. Who's at the center. Of the gospel. To see Jesus. Is to see. The glory. Of the face.
[31:26] Of God. In his face. The glory. Of the gospel. But I want. Also. Just take a minute. Or two. Fourthly. To think. About the glory. Of our destiny.
[31:36] In scripture. The destiny. Of Christians. In. A world above. And a world to come. For one thing.
[31:48] The language of glory. Is used to speak. About. The kind of characters. That we will have. In. The world. Beyond this one.
[32:00] Remember. Towards the end. Of Romans 8. Where. We're told. That God. Has. Predestined. Us. To be conformed.
[32:10] To the likeness. Of his son. And then. The next verse. Concludes. And them. He. Glorified. So. There.
[32:21] In these verses. Glorified. Means. Being like. Jesus. One day. Conformed. To the likeness. Of Jesus.
[32:31] Us. It's an amazing thing. Isn't it? Even just to say that. If you are a Christian. Tonight. One day. You will have a perfect.
[32:43] Character. That can only be compared. With the character. Of Jesus. You will be conformed. To the likeness. Of Jesus. And you will never.
[32:55] Sin. Again. You will be. Like him. That's glory. That's part of the glory. To come. But we're also told. That the glory. Will be physical.
[33:06] With the new body. Remember in 1st Corinthians 15. The passage. Where it talks about. The body being. Sown in one way. And raised in another. Well it says there.
[33:16] That the body is. Sown. In dishonor. And will be raised. In glory. But even more amazing. Than that. At the end of. Philippians chapter 3.
[33:28] The passage. If you know the AV. It refers to. The vile body. Or the. Other translations now. Would say something like. The body of his. Humility. Of our humiliation. That passage.
[33:40] Says. That the body. Of our humiliation. Would be transformed. When Jesus returns. To be. Like. The body. Of his. Glory. Glory.
[33:51] So. The risen body. Of Jesus. Is the pattern. And prototype. For your. Risen body. Of glory. One day.
[34:02] So. Your character. Will be transformed. Into the likeness. Of the sun. And your body. Will be transformed. To be like. The body. Of his glory.
[34:13] And then. We're also told. That there will be. A whole creation. That will simply. Speak. Glory. Everywhere. You go. The beauty. Of God. Will shine.
[34:24] Everywhere. Again. Romans 8. Speaks about that. When it. It says. That our present. Sufferings. Can't be compared. With the glory. That will be revealed. In us. And then.
[34:35] It tells us. About this present. Creation. Groaning. But one day. The creation. Will have the liberty. The freedom. And the glory. Of the children. Of God.
[34:46] The glorious. Liberty. Of the children. Of God. So a creation. That. At present. It's a creation. Of groaning. In the future. It's described.
[34:56] As a creation. Of glory. That everywhere. You will go. In that creation. Everything. Will simply. Be glorious. Everybody.
[35:08] And everything. Will shine. With the glory. Of God. And will do so. Forever. And forever. Forever. And that destiny.
[35:19] Is eternal. And this is stressed. At the end of 2nd Corinthians 4. A passage. That we all know very well. The word glory.
[35:30] Often in the Bible. Has the idea. Of weight. And that's the. What Paul is playing with. At the end of 2nd Corinthians 4. For our light. Afflictions.
[35:41] At the moment. Are preparing. For us. An eternal. Weight. Of glory. That far. Outweighs. Them all. We look to the things.
[35:52] That are unseen. The things. That are unseen. Are eternal. Paul is saying. To people there. I know. That you feel. That in this world. You suffer.
[36:02] So much. And it's real. And you do. But he's saying. If you can just think. Of what glory. Will be like. It will be so weighty.
[36:14] So heavy. So solid. So real. That your present troubles. For this short time. Will just seem like. Like a feather.
[36:25] That's going to blow away. Present troubles. Will seem so light. In comparison with. The weight. Of glory. That will be eternal.
[36:37] Forever. And forever. And Paul is encouraging. Christians there. To hang on. In the present. Through whatever. They face. Because there's.
[36:48] An eternal. Weight of glory. That far. Outweighs. Anything else. It's beyond. Comparison. And everyone. And everything.
[36:59] Will be beautiful. Forever. And forever. But finally. Let me. Say something. About our response. To all of this. And go back to.
[37:10] Psalm 29. How should we. Respond. To what we read. In the Bible. About the glory. Of God. In the Old Testament.
[37:21] And the glory. Of Jesus. In the New Testament. And the glory. Of the gospel. As it brings. Grace to us. And the glory. Of our destiny. As we look. Beyond death.
[37:32] Psalm 29. In verse 2. Ascribe. Ascribe. Ascribe. To the Lord. The glory. Due his name. Worship. The Lord. In the splendor.
[37:43] Of holiness. Just two things. And then. I'm done. The two ways. In which. We're called there. To respond.
[37:54] To the glory. Are. Worship. And holiness. First of all. Worship. You know.
[38:04] The language. Of worship. Is used. Again. And again. When the word. Glory. Is used. We are to. Ascribe. Glory. To God.
[38:15] To give God. The glory. That is. Due. His name. Simply. Acknowledging. That God. Is glorious. And that God.
[38:27] Deserves. Is worthy. Of our praise. And our worship. And so we. Ascribe. To him. Glory. We give him. The praise.
[38:38] That is. His due. In the New Testament. You often have. Passages. That are called. Doxologies. And the word.
[38:48] Doxology. Comes from the word. For glory. And so. Paul. For example. More than once. In Romans. And in other letters. Too. And other books. Of the Bible.
[39:00] Will have passages. That say. To you. Be glory. Forever. And ever. And that's what we're called. To do. In our worship. And in our lives.
[39:10] To be people. Of doxology. People. Who give glory. And praise. And worship. To God. From the heart. Because we love him.
[39:22] And because he deserves it. And we cannot say. Often enough. That he is glorious. And he is gracious. And we love him. And we want him to know it.
[39:33] That's how to respond. In worship. But the other important thing. Is that we respond. In lives. Of holiness. Psalm 29.
[39:45] In verse 2. Says that. To worship the Lord. In the splendor. Or the beauty. Of holiness. If I can read again. From what we read earlier.
[39:56] In 2 Corinthians 3. Which ties together. The idea of glory. With that of holiness. And sanctification. Verse 18.
[40:08] Of 2 Corinthians 3. And we all. With unveiled face. Beholding now. The glory of the Lord. Are being transformed. Into the same image.
[40:20] From one degree of glory. One degree of glory. To another. That's speaking of sanctification. As glory.
[40:31] Because. Sanctification. Is becoming more like Jesus. And. Any likeness to Jesus. Is a degree of glory.
[40:44] And the sanctification. Goes on. That is being transformed. From one degree of glory. To another. It's never perfect. In this life. But it's real.
[40:55] Holiness. And glory. Go together. A holy life. Is a life. That is. Showing. The glory of grace. The glory of Jesus.
[41:07] In the way that we live. Seeking to be like Jesus. To his glory. God. And. Paul. In other places. Speaks of this. In relation to other parts.
[41:19] Of our lives. He says. For example. In first Corinthians. That you're bought with a price. You're not your own. Therefore. Glorify God. With your body.
[41:31] Or later. In first Corinthians. He says. Whatever you do. You know. Whether you eat. Or drink. Or whatever you do. Do everything. To the glory.
[41:42] Of God. That's the life of holiness. Seeking. With the body. Wherever I go. And whatever I do. Seeking to do everything.
[41:54] In my life. With the strength of the spirit. To the glory of God. Because all I want. Is to be more. Like. Jesus. And that would be a great way.
[42:06] To end a communion. Season. To want simply. Every day. That I live. From now on. To be more like Jesus. Knowing that one day.
[42:18] I will really be. Like Jesus. When I am. With him. And see his glory. And will be like him. In glory.
[42:30] And everything around. Will be glory forever. In Emmanuel's land. Let's pray. Lord. Amen. Amen. Lord.
[42:42] We thank you. For the glory. Of your grace. For the glory. Of the gospel. Help us to. Worship you. In response.
[42:52] To this. And grant to work. In our lives. So that as we behold. And see more. Of your glory. we might be transformed from one degree of glory to another, moving towards our destiny, which is glory forever.
[43:10] Receive our thanks then and bless us. In Jesus' name, amen.