"Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness."
(Psalm 29:1-2)
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One meaning of "ascribe" is to "give" or "write up" a character trait to someone. We might ascribe genius to Einstein, courage to Lassie, undiscriminating justice to Atticus Finch. But in man, these traits are all displayed or held with imperfection. The world can only ever measure man against man, and say one has more of a certain admirable quality than the others.
But with the Lord? Rather than He falling short of the traits we ascribe to Him, our words fall short of Him! They can never even begin to describe His character in its perfection.
Though we're welcome to try. :)
However, there's a second meaning of the word "ascribe"! It is:
"to credit or assign, as to a cause or source".
For the Scriptures to ascribe something to God means that not only does He display these qualities, but that He is, in fact, the root source who causes these things to exist, and to be good. Yet for those of us whose eyes have been opened to His glory and beauty, we must become not only speakers, but living illustrations of the truth and beauty of His character, displaying in our lives those qualities which are a direct result of drawing Life from its source.
Is He the most glorious being in existence?
Let us not be enthralled by anything or anyone less than He!
Is He strong?
Let us throw the weight of our burdens upon Him alone and trust Him to carry us through the storms and troubles of life--full of confidence in His ability to deliver and keep us.
Is He holy?
Let us live lives of holiness and godliness by His power and in His strength, because He is holy.
Let's not stop at "ascribing" characteristics to God through Scripture, let us follow it with true worship--the living sacrifice of lives lived in accordance with who He is"in the splendor of His holiness" !
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"And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts....
"For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."
(2 Cor. 3:3; 4:5-7)
