Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This is part of a song of Moses that he wrote—and maybe sang—at the very end of his life. Moses is looking back at all of the work that God had done in his life. He's probably remembering the burning bush. He's thinking about the exodus, the rescue of God's people out of Egypt. He's thinking about the food that God provided through the manna. As he summarizes at the end of his life, these are his words: "I will proclaim the name of the LORD."
What It Means to Proclaim His Name
Think about what that means—to proclaim the name of the Lord. That doesn't just mean he was going to say the name of God over and over again, because a name brings to mind all that a person is. A name refers to a person's character. When Moses says he's going to proclaim the name of the Lord, he has God's character in mind. He has God's reputation in mind. He has God's track record in mind. To proclaim His name is to really tell the story of who God is. The ESV uses a great word here, and that word is ascribe—to ascribe greatness to God. To ascribe means to give God the credit for being exactly who He is.
Think about a piece of art, a masterpiece in an art gallery. If you're standing there looking at that piece of art and you think it's really good, you don't walk up and say, "Here's some amazing paint." You don't look up and admire the canvas. No, you admire the painter. You ascribe whatever beauty you're seeing not to the canvas, but to the artist—to give credit to the one who actually did the work. To proclaim the name of God is to ascribe greatness to God, to praise Him for who He is.
God Gets the Credit
As Christians, we are meant to be a people who ascribe. We look at our lives, we look at our salvation, we look at the very breath that we have in our lungs—and we say, God did that. I didn't do that. God did that. He gets the credit. He gets the glory. Praise God. Let me read you a quote from Charles Spurgeon. He said, "To proclaim the name of the Lord is the joyful business of every believer. We are not to keep the goodness of God a secret. We are to tell it out, to sing it out, to shout it out, until the whole world knows that our God is great and greatly to be praised."
Here's a challenge: the next time you see something beautiful, or the next time you experience a mercy in your life, why don't you say, God did that? In that moment, where will your gratitude go? Will you praise God the way Moses did?