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In the phrase 'Glory be to God' the use of 'be' is in place of 'is' or is it a subjunctive? In full it is:
Glory should be to God.
OR
Glory is to God.
If it is 'is' then what if we place 'be' before 'glory'? Like, 'Be glory to God'? Although, I feel this [Be glory to God] isn't right.
It is subjunctive. It is an example of a "language fossil", an example of an older style of English (from when the subjunctive was more common) still in use in a standard proverb. The particular source of this is the book of common prayer and the English translations of the Gloria Patri prayer.
We don't ask questions in the subjunctive. It might have been possible when the Book of Common prayer was written but "Be glory to God?" cannot be considered correct modern English.
