"The glory of The LORD shall endure forever: The LORD shall rejoice in His works." [Psa 104:31]
Multiple times in the New Testament letters, this exultation and prayer is said regarding God, “to whom be glory forever. Amen.” [Rom 11:36] And again, “unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” [Eph 3:21] This cry of the Christians’ heart is not just a plea to God, but an assertion and proclamation of truth. For there is not an if when it comes to God’s enduring glory, for it shall endure forever and it is not possible that it should not. As it is written, “the glory of The LORD shall endure forever.” Yes, as the cry of heaven will rise in adoration of Jesus, even so it is always true: “worthy is The Lamb that was slain to receive…glory…” [Rev 5:12]
We can see this truth in Moses’ day too, who, after asking God, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory,” [Ex 33:18] then “The LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of The LORD.” [Ex 34:5] “And The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” [Ex 34:6] Through this interaction, we can see that there is a connection between God’s glory and God’s name. God’s name: His reputation, characteristics, and person, are His glory: God’s glory is who He is, and through what is written in the scriptures, we can see again that God’s glory/name endures forever. “Thy name, O LORD, endureth forever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations;” and, “His name shall endure forever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun;” [Psa 72:17] and again, “but thou, O LORD, shalt endure forever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.” [Psa 102:12]
Because God’s glory endures forever, we can have everlasting joy. Because God’s glory endures forever, we can forever have good hope and consolation. If our treasure is in heaven, our heart shall exult over this fact, as Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” [Mt 6:21] If our wealth is not on earth, but in heaven, if our mind is centered on “those things which are above,” [Col 3:1] where “in His temple doth every one speak of His glory,” [Psa 29:9] then when we remember that God’s glory is eternal and never fades, we shall be well pleased and rejoice. For it is as a man having stock in the stock market, who, based on the stock’s performance, is either happy or sad. When he has more accumulated wealth, through the stock’s good performance, he is happy; and when not, then sad. For us who trust in Christ, we can always have heavenly joy: for God’s glory is always enduring and growing and shining. It is the center of heaven, and The LORD endures forever. He shall never diminish, but only increase; never fade, but only grow stronger and more vibrant. And so, if our heart be in heaven, we always have reason to leap for joy: for God’s glory endures forever. May our stock ever be in heaven as it were, so that we rejoice and take heart at its eternally good performance: for again, “the glory of The LORD shall endure forever.” May we ever “set [our] mind on things above, not on things on the earth,” [Col 3:2] so that we might ever experience the unfading glory of God.