Reading in Psalm 109 today, I came across an interesting statement. David is writing this psalm when he says:
But you, Sovereign LORD, help me for your name’s sake;
Psalm 109:21
That struck me:
Help me.
For your name’s sake.
For whose benefit? For the benefit of David? No, for the benefit of God. David is saying that he wants God’s name to be lifted up. God will be glorified as a result of the help that He, God, will give to David.
David is asking that God would be made known, that God would be glorified as a result of what he has done for David.
Shouldn’t that be our attitude, that God would be glorified? Yes, of course it should, but so often it isn’t. Instead, our attitude is simply: Help me!
Help me so that I will be in a better position.
Help me so that I will be seen in a better light.
Help me so that I will have more money.
Help me so that my problems will go away.
But to his credit, that isn’t what David says. Instead, he says help me for your name’s sake. David wants God to be known. He wants God to be lifted up, for God to be glorified. Whatever God is going to do in this situation, David wants God to receive the credit for that which He will do for him.
May we also live our lives so that they will glorify God. Not for us, but for him. May God act in our lives and on our behalf for His name’s sake.