God’s Surpassing Fame

 

“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love…”

—Psalm 138:2a

Have you ever known a really famous person? It is sometimes interesting to meet such a one and see if his or her actual behavior stands up against the image that his or her fame has created.

Many years ago, during a Christian radio station annual fund drive, I had the opportunity to meet one of the premier Christian broadcasters. He had been on the air since the late 1940s and was in his mid-70s at the time I met him. He had developed a program that uniquely reached out to young people and he had gained popularity and a sterling reputation during the 1950s and 1960s.

At the time I met him in the late 1970s, his program had become quite outdated. But in certain circles in the Midwest and South, he still had quite a following. I think at the time I met him, his program was aired on about 700 radio stations.

I should have learned by that time—having met other well-known individuals—that some famous people actually begin to believe their press releases. This man was no exception. He spoke with a gruff arrogance and did quite a bit of barking orders to the staff of radio station. “After all,” he said, “I am here to increase the giving to this station. So, let’s get with it!”

Instead of the humble, kind, loving person that I had hoped to meet, he was pompous and rude and even quite nasty. Instead of ministering to the staff and speaking in an encouraging way to the volunteers who had flocked to the little studio to help with this once-a-year event, he ended up causing confusion and more than a little discouragement.

In contrast, the very next year, the guest speaker at the annual radio station banquet—a man whose ministry had engendered even more acclaim than the fellow described above—turned out to be one of the kindest, most helpful individual’s I have ever met. In fact, he became my spiritual mentor and I now have the privilege—after more than 37 years of friendship—of working as his assistant in his ministry to pastors.

“It is good when Christians can find someone who is truly worthy of honor and praise.” That would be my key sentence if this were a sermon instead of a blog post. “It is good when Christians can find someone who is truly worthy of honor and praise.”

King David has more or less set the direction that all of us who believe in the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ should follow. David worshipped God with a sincerity and an intensity that is hard to match. He recognized that in God he had found someone who truly was worthy. In many ways, David devoted himself to worship. At least King David really knew how to write a Psalm of Praise. Notice these words from Psalm 138:2:

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.

We believers would do well to remember that the God who loves us is worthy of our worship and praise. He should become, more and more, the delight of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We should love God with a deep devotion and look forward to sharing with others what He has done for us.

Let’s begin this day with praise on our lips and a deep love and affection in our heart for the God who loves us and who gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to die in our place on that cruel Roman cross of torture and death.

 

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