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Glory of God

 

God’s Glory

        God’s ‘glory is how we describe the sum effect of all of his attributes. Grace, truth, goodness, mercy, justice, knowledge, power, eternality—all that he is. Therefore, the glory of God is intrinsic, that is, it is as essential to God as light is to the sun, as blue is to the sky, as wet is to water. You don’t make the sun light; it is light. You don’t make the sky blue; it is blue. You don’t make water wet; it is wet. In all of these cases, the attribute is intrinsic to the object.

        In contrast, man’s glory is granted to him. If you take a king and take off all his robes and crowns and give him only a rag to wear and leave him on the streets for a few weeks, when put next to a beggar you’ll only glory a king has is when you give him a crown and a robe and sit him on his throne. He has no intrinsic glory.

        That’s the point. The only glory that men have is granted to them. The glory that is God’s is his in his essence. You can’t de-glory God because glory is his nature. You can’t touch his glory. It cannot be taken away. It cannot be added to. It’s his being. ── Michael P. GreenIllustrations for Biblical Preaching

 

God’s Glory

        Almost everything said of God is unworthy, for the very reason that it is capable of being said” – Pope Gregory the Great

 

God’s Glory

        In 1715, Louis XIV of France died. Louis, who called himself “the Great,” was the monarch who made the infamous statement “I am the State!” His court was the most magnificent in Europe, and his funeral was spectacular. His body lay in a golden coffin. To dramatize the deceased king’s greatness, orders had been given that the cathedral should be very dimly lighted, with only one special candle set above his coffin. Thousands waited in hushed silence. The Bishop Massilon began to speak. Slowly reaching down, he snuffed out the candle, saying, “Only God is great!” ── Michael P. GreenIllustrations for Biblical Preaching

 

GLORY, of God

         J.S. Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."

         He headed his compositions: "J.J." "Jesus Juva" which means "Jesus help me."

         He ended them "S.D.G." "Soli Dei gratia" which means "To God alone the praise."── Kingdom Conflict, J. Stowell, Victor, 1985, p. 77ff.