Feb 9, 2020
Attribute: Soli Deo Gloria - God's own purpose
At the bottom of his musical compositions, Johann Sebastian Bach, would write three capital letters . . . SDG. George Frederic Handel did the same at the end of his writing "The Messiah" oratorio. The letters stood for the Latin words soli Deo gloria . . . glory to God alone. Bach and Handel knew that the purpose for music, like the purpose for all creation, is the glory of the Creator.
We know the answer to the well-known first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism … "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is … "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." We know from verses like 1 Corinthians 10:31 that we should do everything for the glory of God. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
What we might not often think about is that God does everything He does for His glory. There are scores of verses that reveal that wondrous reality to us. He called Israel to be His special people for His glory (Isa 43,6,7); He leads His people in paths of righteousness for His sake (Psa 23:3); He forgives our sins for His own sake (Isa 43:25); He grants salvation in Christ for the praise of His glory (Eph 1:13,14). All things were created for His glory (Rom 11:36).
God does everything He does for His glory. And the Scriptures explicitly link how we should live our lives to the glory of God. We should live in harmony with each other that we "may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 15:6). We should keep ourselves sexually pure for the glory of God (1 Cor 6:18-20). We should be zealous to do good deeds for God's glory (Mt 5:16). Being thankful to God is a way of glorifying Him (Psa 86:12). And categorically Paul declares that we should do everything we do for God's glory (1 Cor 10:31).