For my name’s sake, I defer my anger. For the sake of my praise, I restrain it for you that I may not cut you off. Behold I have refined you, but not as silver. I’ve tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory, I will not give to another.
– Isaiah 48:9–11
Did you hear the emphasis in those three verses? Four different times, we see this phrase. For my name’s sake, for the sake of my praise. For my own sake, for my own sake. God is not leaving any question in these verses as to why he does what he does among his people. “For my name’s sake, I defer my anger. For the sake of my praise. I restrain it for you. For my own sake, for my own sake.” He says it twice in a row right there. He says, “I do this.” God does what he does ultimately for his own glory.
Isaiah 48:9–11 teaches us God is ultimately working for His own glory.
God does all that he does ultimately for his own glory, which might rub us wrong like, “Is that self-centered? I didn’t think we were supposed to be self-centered.” Well, we’re not God. Of course, God glorifies himself because he is God. There’s no one greater than him. He’s worthy of all glory. It’s what he says at the end of verse 11, “My glory, I will not give to another.” If God were not to glorify himself, well, who would he glorify? At any point God were to glorify anyone or anything else, he would no longer be the God who’s worthy of all glory. It’s what it means for him to be God.
But here’s the beauty of what we see here in Isaiah 48 and all over the Bible. How does God glorify himself? What does God do? God loves sinners so much that he sends his only Son. He comes in the flesh to die for our sin and to rise from the grave so that anyone anywhere who trusts in him and turns from their sin will be forgiven of all their sin and be restored to relationship with God to know, enjoy, and what? Glorify him forever.
God glorifies himself by pouring out extravagant love on sinful people like you and me. And that’s what he’s saying here in Isaiah 48, what he does among his people. Even hard days that his people go through, it says in verse 10, “I’ve tried you in the furnace of affliction.” You can know that God, this is what we remember all the time in Romans 8:28, that God is working all these things together for his purpose.
Isaiah 48:9–11 reminds us God is working for our good.
And what is his purpose? His purpose is our good, the good of all those who trust in him, and ultimately his glory. It’s what Romans 8:29–30 goes on to say, that we might be conformed to the image of his son and that he might be glorified in us. And so we pray all of the time for all kinds of different things in our lives and others’ lives toward what ultimate end? We pray in all things for the glory of our God because we know that’s why he does what he does. That’s why we do what we do. Everything in the universe revolves around the glory of God and he deserves it all.
So we pray. God, help us to live, to speak, to pray, to think, to desire, to act, to make decisions, and to do everything we do today for your glory. Not for ourselves, but for you. God, we pray. Help us to live for your name’s sake in our lives. Lord, help us to live for your name’s sake and our families. Help us to live for your name’s sake in our churches, in our work, in our vocation. Help us to live for your name’s sake.
God, help us to live for the glory of your name in our cities. Help us to live for the glory of your name, oh, God, your name, Lord Jesus in our countries. Help us to live for the sake of your name, your glory in the nations, in all the nations of the world.
Prayer for the Ouargla People
We pray for the Ouargla people of Algeria, the small people group of Muslim women, men, and children. We pray for your glory, Jesus, among them, for the glory of your name to spread among them. Lord, we pray for the Ouargla and all the nations of the world.
Hallowed be your name in all the Earth. We pray for your glory above all. Lord, in light of John 3:30, may you become greater, Jesus. May we become less. Help us to live for your sake. And we pray that you would work in every way we need in our lives and others’ lives around us today for your sake.
God, we pray that your name’s sake and your glory would be the driving motivation in all that we do in all of our lives. We pray for this in light of your Word in Isaiah 48:9–11, knowing just like we pray, anytime according to your Word, that you will give us what we ask because you want your glory in our lives and our families and our churches and among all the nations. We pray this in Jesus’ name, in the name of the only Savior King who is worthy of all glory. In his name and for his name’s sake, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
