His Glory shown in our praise

"The Bible is replete with commands to praise God. God commands it because this is the ultimate goal of all He does—'to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed' (2 Thessalonians 1:10). Three times in Ephesians 1 this great aim is proclaimed: 'In love He predestined us to adoption as sons…to the praise of the glory of His grace' (vv. 4–6, NASB); we have been predestined and appointed to 'be to the praise of His glory' (v. 12, NASB); the Holy Spirit 'is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory' (v. 14). All the different ways God has chosen to display His glory in creation and redemption seem to reach their culmination in the praises of His redeemed people. God governs the world with glory precisely that He might be admired, marveled at, exalted, and praised. The climax of His happiness is the delight He takes in the echoes of His excellence in the praises of the saints. But again and again I have found that people stumble over this truth. People do not like to hear that God is uppermost in His own affections, or that He does all things for His own glory, or that He exalts Himself and seeks the praise of men. Why? There are at least two reasons. One is that we just don’t like people who are like that. The other is that the Bible teaches us not to be like that." Read more at desiringGod.org // Link in profile.

A photo posted by Desiring God (@desiringgod) on Jan 6, 2016 at 1:33pm PST