Since I was a boy, I’ve aspired to be a writer. That aspiration has waxed and waned in different seasons, but I’ve always returned to it. In recent years, that aspiration seems to have turned into a calling. God has pressed upon me that writing is not the only thing I am to do, but it’s definitely a thing I am supposed to do.
But before I could come to realize that, I needed to know why I write. As a boy, I thought I was to write stories filled with adventure. In college, I thought I was to write literary masterpieces (Ha!). Now, as I approach my 28th year (27th birthday), I know I am to write to the glory of the LORD.
God created us in His image, and one aspect of being made in his image is creativity. That creativity’s purpose is to point back to the One who gives us our meaning. We are made to worship God and glorify Him in all things! So my writing (which is a creative act) is first and foremost to God’s glory. I could write an adventure story that does this—yes. That adventure story could even be judged to be a literary masterpiece—wonderful! But if my main end, focus, and motivation in writing isn’t to exalt the LORD, then I shall not write.
Sometime in the last year, God gave me a passage from Scripture to guide my writing for His glorious end. I wasn’t looking for it, I hadn’t even prayed about it, but He called it to my mind, I went and found it, and I’ve held on to it since. That passage is Psalm 29. If you have a Bible nearby or on your phone, I encourage you to take a moment to open and read it.
Here are the first two verses:
[1] Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Ascribe means to assign or to attribute someone with something. Here, it is an imperative. God commands He be ascribed the glory due His name. I want to obey that command, not just because it’s my duty, but because it’s my delight (Ps. 16:11). This is what I want my writing to accomplish. This is what I want my entire life to accomplish!
Revelation 4:11 says it this way, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Give praise to God alone for he alone is worthy to receive it!
Isaiah 42:8 makes this even clearer when God says “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” The only way the LORD could give His glory to another is if He wasn’t the LORD. That's impossible! If He gave His glory to another, it would be the greatest injustice in the universe!
Psalm 29:10 affirms this near the end of the Psalm: The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. This truth will never change. He will be praised, worshiped, and ascribed glory to forever. He commands it!
Writing to this end is my duty and delight. It’s brought me satisfaction, peace, and much joy! This isn’t about writing for an audience, this is about writing for God. But if an audience is moved to praise God with me in response to reading this, then I am glad to share! And in doing so, my joy is made more complete!
As C.S. Lewis wrote in Reflections on the Psalms:
But before I could come to realize that, I needed to know why I write. As a boy, I thought I was to write stories filled with adventure. In college, I thought I was to write literary masterpieces (Ha!). Now, as I approach my 28th year (27th birthday), I know I am to write to the glory of the LORD.
God created us in His image, and one aspect of being made in his image is creativity. That creativity’s purpose is to point back to the One who gives us our meaning. We are made to worship God and glorify Him in all things! So my writing (which is a creative act) is first and foremost to God’s glory. I could write an adventure story that does this—yes. That adventure story could even be judged to be a literary masterpiece—wonderful! But if my main end, focus, and motivation in writing isn’t to exalt the LORD, then I shall not write.
Sometime in the last year, God gave me a passage from Scripture to guide my writing for His glorious end. I wasn’t looking for it, I hadn’t even prayed about it, but He called it to my mind, I went and found it, and I’ve held on to it since. That passage is Psalm 29. If you have a Bible nearby or on your phone, I encourage you to take a moment to open and read it.
Here are the first two verses:
[1] Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Ascribe means to assign or to attribute someone with something. Here, it is an imperative. God commands He be ascribed the glory due His name. I want to obey that command, not just because it’s my duty, but because it’s my delight (Ps. 16:11). This is what I want my writing to accomplish. This is what I want my entire life to accomplish!
Revelation 4:11 says it this way, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Give praise to God alone for he alone is worthy to receive it!
Isaiah 42:8 makes this even clearer when God says “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” The only way the LORD could give His glory to another is if He wasn’t the LORD. That's impossible! If He gave His glory to another, it would be the greatest injustice in the universe!
Psalm 29:10 affirms this near the end of the Psalm: The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. This truth will never change. He will be praised, worshiped, and ascribed glory to forever. He commands it!
Writing to this end is my duty and delight. It’s brought me satisfaction, peace, and much joy! This isn’t about writing for an audience, this is about writing for God. But if an audience is moved to praise God with me in response to reading this, then I am glad to share! And in doing so, my joy is made more complete!
As C.S. Lewis wrote in Reflections on the Psalms:
I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: 'Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?' The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.
The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.
So come, enjoy God with me!
Lastly, if you haven’t noticed yet, “Ascribe to the LORD” lends itself to a play on words in the English language. I want to ascribe to the LORD as a scribe to the LORD. I’ll explore that, a little bit of Ezra 7, and the rest of Psalm 29 in my next entry.
Doxological Extras:
1) If the angels are commanded to ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name (Ps. 29:1)—they who long to look into the Gospel (1 Pet. 1:14), they who will never experience God’s grace in Jesus Christ like we do as Christians (2 Pet. 2:4)—then how much more are we to ascribe to the LORD glory and strength? By grace through faith we are saved and clothed in Christ’s blood-bought righteousness so that we can worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness! Hallelujah!
2) As I wrote this, the Lord brought to mind a hymn we sang in the church I grew up in. It’s called “To God be the glory, great things He hath done” written by the prolific Fanny Crosby. It is the perfect note to end on as it captures much of what I was writing in its powerful lines. Here’s a link: To God be the glory, great things He hath done. Read it, listen to it, sing it! Worship the LORD (Ps. 29:1-2)!