We often repeat the prayer, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto your name give glory." (Psalm 115)
But we are quite likely to forget a part of it, at least. We feel willing that God should have the glory, instead of ourselves; but when it comes to the question of whether the glory--the credit--should be given to us or to some other person, we are quite inclined to claim it for ourselves. We seem to think that if the Lord is not to receive the glory, we might as well have it.
But we should remember that the glory--all the glory--belongs to the Lord, and that we have no right to it, even if He does not receive the glory due unto His name. We have no right to stolen property, even though our refusal of it does not restore it to the owner.
So when we say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto your name give glory," (Psalm 115:1) we should hold to the first part of it even though somebody else, and not the Lord, gets the credit of that which the Lord has done by us, and not by that other.
To arrive at this state however, involves the complete crucifixion of human nature.--Present Truth, May 17, 1900--Original title: Back Page--Psalm 115:1.