Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
Parallel translations
- WEB Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
- KJV Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
- NKJV Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
- NASB Not to us, Lord, not to us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.
- NLT Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalm opens by refusing self-glory and directing all praise to God's name for the sake of his steadfast love and faithfulness. It matters because worship rightly centers on God, not us.
Overview
Israel pleads that glory belong to Yahweh alone, grounded in his covenant loving kindness and truth rather than any merit of theirs. This God-centered humility is the heartbeat of true worship and stands against all human pride. The gospel deepens it: salvation is 'not of works, lest anyone should boast' (Eph. 2:9), so that grace alone receives the glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 79:9–10Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
- Isa 48:11For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another.
- Ps 96:8Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and enter His courts.
- Ezek 20:14But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Ezek 36:32It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD—let it be known to you. Be ashamed and disgraced for your ways, O house of Israel!
- Ezek 36:22Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.
- Eph 1:6to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Ps 89:1–2A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
- Rev 4:10–11the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
- Ps 61:7May he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness to guard him.
- Dan 9:19O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”
- Josh 7:9When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
- Rom 15:8–9For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
- Mic 7:20You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- Ps 74:22Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 115:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.