Praise God for Who He is, Not Just For What He's Done

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
    praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
    praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
    praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 150:1-6 ESV

After 150 entries, the psalter comes to a close and a crescendo with this relatively short but emphatic psalm that contains 13 calls to praise Yahweh for His transcendence, mighty deeds, and excellent greatness. This psalm contains a simple message delivered in a rapid-fire form that leaves no question as to the author’s feelings about his God. 

He views Yahweh through awe-inspired eyes and doesn’t even bother to provide specific reasons for his relentless calls for unbridled praise. For him, Yahweh's praiseworthiness required no explanation or basis of proof. He felt no compulsion to defend Yahweh's honor or elaborate on His praiseworthy attributes or actions. What other being occupied the holy sanctuary located in the heavenly realm? While the psalmist had never seen Yahweh's throneroom, he had read descriptions of its glory and majestic splendor from the pages of Scripture.

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the LORD. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. – Isaiah 6:1-4 NLT

The prophet Isaiah was so shaken by this vision of Yahweh in His heavenly throneroom that he responded, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies” (Isaiah 6:5 NLT). 

The prophet Ezekiel was also given a similar, virtually indescribable glimpse of Yahweh in all His glory.

On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.… – Ezekiel 1:1 NLT

He saw a great storm that glowed with fire and emanated flashes of lightning. This spectacular display of divine power was accompanied by the appearance of “four living beings that looked human, except that each had four faces and four wings” (Ezekiel 1:5-6 NLT). These strange-looking creatures “looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them. And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning” (Ezekiel 1:13-14 NLT). 

As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings.  As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them. – Ezekiel 1:24-25 NLT

This incredible scene must have left Ezekiel in a state of awestruck wonder. He had difficulty putting into words what he saw, and his description takes on a surreal and distinctively ethereal tone. It seems far-fetched and out of this world. But Ezekiel wasn’t fabricating this scene; it was a divinely inspired vision of Yahweh in His heavenly sanctuary. In his limited human vocabulary, Ezekiel described seeing a surface that glittered like crystal. 

Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. – Ezekiel 1:26-28 NLT

Daniel also provided his own first-person description of Yahweh in all His heavenly glory.

I watched as thrones were put in place
    and the Ancient One sat down to judge.
His clothing was as white as snow,
    his hair like purest wool.
He sat on a fiery throne
    with wheels of blazing fire,
and a river of fire was pouring out,
    flowing from his presence.
Millions of angels ministered to him;
    many millions stood to attend him.
Then the court began its session,
    and the books were opened. – Daniel 7:9-10 NLT

These incredible depictions of Yahweh are the desperate attempts of mortal men trying to use human language to describe the inconceivable and inexpressible. The apostle John had a similar experience when he was given his own vision into the heavenly realm. In his case, he was privileged to see his resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. – Revelation 1:12-17 NLT

John had no difficulty recognizing his former Rabbi, teacher, and friend, but he saw him in a whole new light and from a dramatically different perspective. His vision of Jesus left him awestruck and speechless.

In chapter four of the Book of Revelation, John records another vision he received, this one of the throneroom of God.

I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.…From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. – Revelation 4:2-3, 5 NLT

In front of the throne, John saw the same “living creatures” that Ezekiel described. But John adds an important detail.

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” – Revelation 4:8 NLT

Accompanying these praise-singing creatures were 24 elders who fell down before the throne and worshiped, saying, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased” (Revelation 4:11 NLT).

The psalmist begins his song by properly locating Yahweh in His heavenly realm. Yahweh is “in his sanctuary…in his mighty heavens” (Psalm 150:1 ESV). The psalmist's depiction was not meant to make Yahweh unapproachable or distant, but to remind his audience of Yahweh's transcendence, holiness, and distinctiveness. The “otherness” of God should never be taken lightly.  He is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. That is why the 24 elders took off their crowns and laid them before the throne of God. That is why the four living creatures declare God’s glory “day after day and night after night” (Revelation 4:8 NLT). 

They say familiarity breeds contempt. But over-familiarity with God can produce a far worse outcome. In humanity's desperate attempt to make God approachable and knowable, He becomes less God than a slightly improved version of man. We tend to reduce the Almighty’s glory so we can feel more comfortable in His presence. But John fell at Christ's feet as if dead. When Ezekiel saw the glory of God, he fell to his face in fear. Isaiah put words to his encounter with the Almighty.

“It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” – Isaiah 6:5 NLT

The psalmist's call for praise was predicated on an awareness of Yahweh's splendor, majesty, glory, transcendence, and holiness. Proper praise begins with a proper perspective. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote, “praise his unequaled greatness” (Psalm 150:2 NLT). When the psalmist speaks of Yahweh's mighty deeds, he provides no specifics. He doesn't bother to give examples because all that Yahweh does is mighty and beyond compare. 

What the psalmist calls for is unapologetic, full-throated, heartfelt, and boisterous praise that knows no bounds because Yahweh has no equal and deserves the praises of His people. It was David who said of Yahweh, “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (Psalm 21:3 NLT). The Hebrew word translated as “enthroned” is yāšaḇ, which means “to dwell, inhabit, sit or abide.” In a sense, God inhabits the praises of His people. In other words, when people offer sincere and heartfelt praise to God, He manifests His presence among them. The transcendent God becomes immanent. He draws near. 

That is the message of this psalm. The unidentified author calls his audience to sing Yahweh's praises so that they might better experience His abiding presence. They were to use every means at their disposal to enhance their praise, including lyres, harps, tambourines, strings, flutes, cymbals, and even dancing. They were to hold nothing back in their impassioned praise of Yahweh's glory and greatness. This psalm portrays equal measures of intentionality and intensity. Thirteen times, the psalmist calls for praise, but he goes out of his way to ensure that the praise comes from the heart and is based on an awareness of God's unquestionable worthiness.

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD! – Psalm 150:6 NLT

Father, what better way to end the psalter than with a call to praise You. Too often, I reserve my praise of You for those times when I think You have done something praiseworthy. In other words, I wait until I have something to praise You for. But You are praiseworthy all the time because of who You are, not just for what You do. The psalmist provides no examples of praiseworthy acts on Your part. He doesn't mention Your creation of the heavens and earth. He doesn't point out Your past acts of deliverance. He simply states, “Praise the LORD!” That is how I want to live my life. I desire to praise You, not for what You've done but for who You are. When I praise You for Your character, I am focusing on what really matters. When I praise You for the good things You have done for me, I tend to focus on the gift rather than the Giver. Show me how to praise You properly and, like the four living creatures, regularly. Because You are worthy. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Join the Chorus

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
    praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
    and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD!
    For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
    he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
    stormy wind fulfilling his word!

9 Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
    creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
    old men and children!

13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his saints,
    for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 148:1-14 ESV 

This is the third in a series of five psalms that close the psalter and share the theme of praise for the goodness and greatness of Yahweh. In this psalm, the author focuses his attention on Yahweh’s role as the Creator God. He begins his song by calling on the residents of the heavenly realm to join in praising the LORD. 

Praise the LORD from the heavens!
    Praise him from the skies!
Praise him, all his angels!
    Praise him, all the armies of heaven! – Psalm 148:1-2 NLT

If this psalm was written after the exiles returned to Jerusalem after their 70-year-long captivity in Babylon, the author was likely familiar with the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah before Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. This was a time of great spiritual apostasy in the land of Judah, and Yahweh used prophets like Isaiah and Micah to call His chosen people to repentance or face certain destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. As part of his prophetic ministry, Isaiah was given the privilege of seeing a vision of Yahweh in His heavenly throneroom surrounded by the angelic host.

I saw the LORD. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!” – Isaiah 6:1-3 NLT

This fascinating scene must have struck a chord with the psalmist as he considered the glory of Yahweh and tried to imagine the angels in heaven responding to the grandeur of His presence. There is no idolatry in heaven. No one is worshiping false gods or tempted to share their adoration and allegiance to anyone other than Yahweh, the LORD of Heaven's Armies. The angels enjoy the all-pervasive presence of Yahweh and are privileged to bask in the light of His undiminished glory. 

The apostle John was given a similar vision of the heavenly throne, and he did his best to describe what he saw in the Book of Revelation.

Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” – Revelation 4:1-8 NLT

The psalmist imagined the sun, moon, and stars joining in the chorus of voices lifting their song of praise to the One who created them. 

Praise him, sun and moon!
    Praise him, all you twinkling stars!
Praise him, skies above!
    Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!
Let every created thing give praise to the LORD,
    for he issued his command, and they came into being. – Psalm 148:3-5 NLT

Yahweh deserved the praise of His creation because He alone was responsible for their existence. “He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked” (Psalm 148:6 NLT). Yahweh was their creator and sustainer; He spoke and they appeared, and He guarantees their continued existence. 

The psalmist personifies the planets, stars, and clouds participating in the never-ending praise of Yahweh. In one of his psalms, David wrote of the heavens declaring God’s glory without the need for words, and yet their message was loud and clear.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth… – Psalm 19:1-4 NLT

During His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus painted a similar image when He addressed the Jewish religious leaders who demanded that He order the adoring crowds to stop praising Him.    

When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” – Luke 19:36-60 NLT

The inanimate stones would burst into cheers because God deserves glory. His creation can’t help but echo His glory and greatness because they are a byproduct of His power. The same is true of God's people. As Paul told the believers in Ephesus, “We are his workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV). The apostle Peter reminds us that we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 BSB). 

The psalmist shared Peter's view and called his contemporaries to join in the chorus of praise to Yahweh. Their voices would join the rest of creation in declaring Yahweh's greatness and goodness to the ends of the earth. 

Praise the LORD from the earth,
    you creatures of the ocean depths,
fire and hail, snow and clouds,
    wind and weather that obey him,
mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all livestock,
    small scurrying animals and birds,
kings of the earth and all people,
    rulers and judges of the earth,
young men and young women,
    old men and children. – Psalm 148:7-12 NLT

From the psalmist’s perspective, the praise of Yahweh was not an option or a choice; it was the natural response of the creative order. According to His own assessment, all that Yahweh made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). His creation was a reflection of His power, holiness, creativity, goodness, and grace. Everything He made was an extension of His character and intended to echo His glory. This is what leads the psalmist to demand that his audience lead the chorus of praises to Yahweh. 

Let them all praise the name of the LORD.
    For his name is very great;
    his glory towers over the earth and heaven!
He has made his people strong,
    honoring his faithful ones—
    the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the LORD! – Psalm 148:13-14 NLT

As the chosen people of God, they owed Him their praise, adoration, sold-out commitment, willing obedience, and unbridled worship. 

This psalm reminds us of just how great a God we serve. He is not a mere concept or force, but a being of immense power and intelligence. He is a loving creator who made all that we see by simply speaking it into existence, and He sustains it all with ease. When we consider the immensity of God, it seems ludicrous to trust in men. God alone has the power to rescue, redeem, and restore. He brings healing to the brokenhearted, sight to the blind, support to the fatherless and widows, food for the hungry, freedom to the captives, support to the afflicted, and favor to those who fear Him. As followers of Christ, those phrases should sound familiar. On a visit to His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus stood in the synagogue and read the following words from Isaiah chapter 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come" (Luke 4:18-19 NLT). Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God's grace and mercy. He is the honest answer to oppression, illness, disease, inequity, spiritual blindness, hunger, affliction, fear, and even death.

God does not offer just temporary relief from life's cares and concerns; He offers eternal salvation from the rule of sin and the penalty of death. He has provided a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Him, despite their sin and rebellion against Him. He has made possible a way to remedy the results of the fall and restore mankind and the earth to their former glory. He not only created the world and all it contains, but He will one day recreate and restore it to the way it was intended to be all along. Only God can do that. Any attempts by man to improve the earth and our lives on it are fleeting and temporary.

In many cases, our attempts at improvement have resulted in greater devastation. From nuclear power that resulted in nuclear weapons to the combustion engine that has polluted our atmosphere, every "improvement" by man has ended up having a negative impact. God alone is our salvation. He alone has the power to provide us with hope and healing. So the Psalmist reminds us to praise Him. From the oldest to the youngest, the rich to the poor, the wealthy to the needy – everyone and everything should praise the Lord. "Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven!" (Psalm 148:13 NLT).

Father, only You are worthy of our praise. Only You have the capacity to do anything about our neediness and hopelessness. I can praise You even before You answer because I know You will – You always do. You have sent Your Son as the answer to every single one of our problems and as the solution to all that's wrong with our planet and the people who occupy it. Even as I read the news this morning I am amazed at all that is wrong in our world. Earthquakes, riots, rebellions, murders, genocide, war, hatred, greed, and immorality of all kinds. But I can praise You because one day You are going to make all this right. You are going to restore Your creation to the way it was meant to be. And even in the midst of all this, You have given me hope through Jesus Christ, Your Son. He is the ultimate expression of Your favor to man. So I praise You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Praise the LORD!

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 146:1-10 ESV

The last five psalms are anonymous and form the final Hallel (praise) section of the Psalter. Due to the similarity of their content, they were likely written by the same author. Each begins with the same call to action: “Praise the LORD.” This imperative statement is not intended as a suggestion, but as a command to give Yahweh all the dignity, honor, worship, and praise He rightly deserves. The psalmist calls for wholehearted worship on the part of the people of God, and he sets the tone by declaring his sold-out allegiance to the Almighty.

I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. – Psalm 146:2 ESV  

His statement of devotion to Yahweh is reminiscent of the address Joshua gave to the Israelites near the end of his life. Ever since the death of Moses, Joshua had served as the God-appointed leader of the Israelites, helping them cross the Jordan River and begin their conquest of the land of Canaan. Over the years, Joshua led the Israelites in their effort to conquer the inhabitants of the land so they could take possession of the inheritance promised to them by Yahweh. They had fought and won many battles, and successfully occupied a large portion of Canaan, but Yahweh reminded them that He had been behind it all. 

“It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.” – Joshua 24:12-13 NLT

Despite his leadership role, Joshua knew that he had been little more than an instrument in Yahweh’s hands. He had led the people into battle, but the victories had been the LORD’s doing. So, Joshua commanded the Israelites to show their gratitude to Yahweh by treating Him with honor and unadulterated reverence. 

“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14-15 NLT

Like the psalmist, Joshua tried to spur the people’s obedience by using himself as an example. He declared his intention to live out his final days in total submission to and reliance upon Yahweh, and he committed his family to follow his lead. 

Joshua warned the Israelites about the dangers of idolatry because he knew their history of spiritual infidelity. He had been there when Aaron made the golden calf in the wilderness, and he had witnessed the people’s response to this false god they had crafted from the plunder taken from the Egyptians.

The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. – Exodus 34:6 NLT

Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and given them victory over their enemies, but they gave their allegiance to a nonexistent god they had made with their own hands. 

The psalmist stressed a different problem facing his peers. He was less concerned about idolatry and the worship of false gods than their tendency to worship men. 

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
    there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
    and all their plans die with them. – Psalm 146:3-4 NLT

While idolatry continued to be a problem for the Israelites throughout their existence as a nation, their real struggle was the worship of men. Ever since the day they rejected Samuel's leadership and demanded, “Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT), the people of Israel had exhibited a preference for human kings over the King of kings. Yahweh would repeatedly warn them about their tendency to replace His authority with that of mere men.

This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.” – Jeremiah 17:5-6 NLT

The psalmist knew his people well and wanted them to think twice about putting their trust in powerful men who could never measure up to Yahweh’s standards. As far as the psalmist was concerned, there was no comparison between mortal men and the infinite, all-powerful God of the universe.

He made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them.
    He keeps every promise forever.
He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
   The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down.
    The LORD loves the godly.
The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
    He cares for the orphans and widows,
    but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. – Psalm 146:6-9 NLT

No man could ever hope to compete with Yahweh. No king who ever lived could claim to hold a candle to Yahweh's glory and greatness. The anonymous author of Psalm 2 exposed the futility of earthly kings trying to oppose the one true King. 

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the LORD
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The LORD scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury. – Psalm 2:1-5 NLT

The prophet Isaiah declared Yahweh’s superiority and supremacy over all mankind.

God sits above the circle of the earth.
    The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
    and makes his tent from them.
He judges the great people of the world
    and brings them all to nothing. – Isaiah 40:22-23 NLT

In Isaiah’s estimation, the worship of men was unwarranted and a waste of time. They would always be poor substitutes for Yahweh because they couldn't measure up to His glorious standards. Even Yahweh declared Himself to be incomparable and irreplaceable.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. – Isaiah 40:25 NLT

The psalmist understood that Yahweh’s immensity and eternality set Him apart from all false gods and every man with god-like aspirations. He deserved man’s praise because He was praiseworthy. Yahweh wasn’t a figment of man's fertile imagination and had not been formed by human hands. He was the maker of “heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” (Psalm 146:6 NLT). Yahweh is the uncreated Creator of the universe who has no beginning and end. He is eternal and all-powerful. He is holy and wholly righteous. He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV). With those thoughts in mind, the psalmist closes his song in the same way he opened it, with a call to praise the eternal, always-present, forever faithful God.

The LORD will reign forever.
    He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 146:10 NLT

Father, I must confess that I do not always recognize and honor Your greatness. I say I believe in it but, far too often, my actions and attitudes reflect something altogether different. I don't praise You enough. I fail to trust You fully. I tend to put my hope in men, even in myself, rather than trusting in Your proven track record of greatness and goodness. While I could easily deny any worship of false gods, I know it would be a lie. My idols are far more subtle than those of the Israelites, but they are idols all the same. Anything I turn to instead of You is a false god that will always provide false hope. No man or human institution can replace you. No idealogy, political party, or human leader can replace You or hope to compete with You. Yet, it is so easy to put my trust in those things that will always prove untrustworthy. Help me to heed the psalmist’s call and learn to praise You for who You are and all that You have done. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Singing Yahweh's Praises

A Song of Praise. Of David.

1 I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The LORD is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. – Psalm 145:1-21 ESV

David loved the LORD, and talked about Him and to Him constantly. Maybe it was because he knew how much he needed Yahweh — for everything. David had much to be grateful for, and he continually praised God for who He was and for all He had done. He didn’t treat God flippantly or casually and refused to take Him for granted. In David’s estimation, God was great and greatly to be praised. As a matter of fact, God’s greatness was unsearchable; you could never plumb its depths. Just when you think you know how great God is, He surprises you. God’s greatness is unlimited and inexhaustible. He doesn’t run out of wonders or miracles to perform – a fact that David had experienced personally, time and time again.

Here was David, the king of Israel, acknowledging Yahweh as his God and as his King. David was a king himself, and he knew well the implications of that title. God is sovereign and rules over everyone and everything, including David. God is not just a deity to be worshiped, but a King to be honored and obeyed. God’s word is final, and His majesty is incomparable. There is no other king who could compare to Him, including David. 

But for David, Yahweh's greatness was not just something to be admired; it was to be declared. In verses 4-7, he emphasizes the importance of passing on the news of God's glory and goodness to the next generation. According to David, the only time we should be silent about God is to meditate on the splendor of His majesty and on His wondrous works. But those times of meditation should provide us with food for thought and then words of testimony and praise. Our thoughts about God and His greatness should be transformed into words that inform and influence others. 

Yahweh deserves praise, and we are intended to use our voices to verbally acknowledge who He is and all that He has done. We are to commend, declare, speak, pour forth, and sing aloud. Of all people, believers should have the most to say about God. We tend to praise that which we appreciate. We talk about what interests us. When we see a beautiful sunrise, we feel the urge to share it with someone. When we take a memorable vacation, we can’t help talking about it. When we are proud of our children, no one can stop us from bragging about them. We unashamedly testify to others about what we find meaningful in our lives. It could be a delicious meal at a local restaurant, a good book, a movie, a newly discovered musical group, a recent Facebook post, or a personal achievement. But how often do we declare the greatness of God? How many times do we commend Him to others? How frequently do praises concerning God come from our lips and to the ears of those we meet? Are we prone to sing God’s praises out loud and outside the context of a Sunday morning worship service?

David states that the heavens declare the glory of God. We can see it in a sunrise or sunset, a cloud formation, a night sky filled with stars, or the gentle breeze on a warm summer night. God’s creation constantly praises Him. The angels in heaven never cease to offer Him verbal praise and adoration. But as human beings, the pinnacle of His creative energies, we remain silent far too often. Rather than commend God to others, we complain. Instead of declaring the mighty acts He has already done, we demand that He do more. We speak, but do the words that come out of our mouths concern God? Do words of praise, thanksgiving, and honor for God pour forth from our lips? Do we sing aloud of His righteousness?

David found no shortage of reasons to praise Yahweh. 

The LORD is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The LORD is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation. – Psalm 145:9 NLT

He knew from firsthand experience that Yahweh was gracious, caring, merciful, and forgiving, and he was not shy in declaring his amazement and gratitude. He was blown away by the fact that the God of the universe not only showed an interest in him, but showered him with love and compassion. David was a firm believer that God's creation was a living testament to His glory. In an earlier psalm, he wrote, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known” (Psalm 19:1-2 NLT). People can look at nature and see the power and creativity of God, but creation does not necessarily display His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. But when they look at a child of God, they can see a sinner transformed into a saint by the priceless gift of God’s grace. When they hear us talk about all that God has done and continues to do for us, they hear a different side of His glory and greatness. But for them to hear, we must speak; we must make God known. We have a responsibility to act as God’s personal press agents, telling everyone we meet of His glory, grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. 

David puts it plainly. Those who have been blessed by God will brag about God.

…your faithful followers will praise you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they will give examples of your power. – Psalm 145:10-11 NLT

As a king, David understood the importance of establishing an enduring kingdom. No king wants to be a one-trick pony whose kingdom dies with him. He dreams of establishing a long-lasting dynasty that will carry on his legacy through the generations. When David thought about Yahweh, he couldn’t help but think about the everlasting nature and incomparable power of His Kingdom. 

For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    You rule throughout all generations. – Psalm 145:13 NLT

David was amazed at the sheer size and scope of Yahweh's dominion. He ruled and reigned over all. David couldn’t help but compare his own reign with that of God, and when he did, he realized that God’s Kingdom was far greater and His responsibilities were more extensive. Yet, God was faithful in all His words and kind in all His works. Everyone looked to Him to provide their food and fulfill their desires, whether they acknowledged Him as King or not. David recognized that it was God who opened His hand and satisfied the desires of every living thing. God is gracious and merciful to all. 

From David’s perspective, Yahweh was the perfect model of a king. He always keeps His promises and is gracious at all times. He assists the fallen and bears the burdens of the oppressed. He provides food for the hungry and water for the thirsty. He is righteous in all that He does and filled with kindness. When called upon, He answers. When needed, He shows up. Yahweh was the consummate King who ruled over His extensive Kingdom with righteousness, compassion, mercy, grace, and love. 

Unlike human kings, God always does what is right. He always keeps His word. He doesn’t lie, deceive, renege on a promise, or act unjustly. We may not always understand His actions, but we can never question His integrity. Based on what we see happening around us, we can easily conclude that God is either indifferent or incapable of doing what needs to be done. It can appear as if the wicked are winning. The psalmist felt that way and cried out, “Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” (Psalm 94:2-3 ESV). Ethan the Ezrahite wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!” (Psalm 89:46-47 ESV).

There are times when it feels like God is either out of control or out of earshot. It seems as if He is not listening to our pleas for help or seeing the gravity of our situation. However, God is a righteous King who is always in complete control of the circumstances. Yes, it may appear as if the wicked are prospering and the unrighteous are getting all the breaks, but God knows exactly what He is doing. He is not fooled or duped by the ways of men. He knows that “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV). No one deserves the benefits of rain or crops. No one has earned God’s favor through their acts of righteousness. The fact that any of us exists at all is a testimony to the enduring patience of God.

But David reminds us that “The Lord is close to all who call on him” (Psalm 145:18 NLT). He would have us know that God is always near. He always hears. He always preserves those who love Him. But how God does so may not coincide with our own expectations. We rarely go to God without some well-thought-out idea of what we want Him to do for us. In fact, most of our prayers consist of clear-cut instructions for God, telling Him exactly what it is we want Him to do and when we want it done. If we have a bone to pick with God, it is because He doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we desire. But His job is to do His will, not ours. He knows what is best for us.

Paul gives us some timeless counsel: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). It is perfectly okay to tell God what we need. It is even OK to share with Him what we want. But at that point, we have to let go of our wishes and come to grips with the fact that His will may not be the same as our wish. He may choose to do something different altogether. And if His answer comes back in a different form or on a different schedule, it DOES NOT mean He is not near or that He does not hear.

Like David, we must learn to trust Him because He is trustworthy. When we look back on our lives, we will be able to see that He is a righteous, loving, and compassionate God who knows what is best and always does what is right. Then we will say with David, “I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:21 NLT).

Father, You are worthy of praise because You are the righteous King of the Universe. You are mighty, majestic, incomparable, holy, just, and without equal. But that is not the extent of Your praiseworthiness. You have given me ample reasons to praise You because You have shown up in my life in tangible ways that have proven Your love for me. You have saved me, redeemed me, guided, disciplined, and loved me through thick and thin. You have patiently put up with me and graciously forgiven me, time and time again. You have listened to my prayers and endured my complaints. You have watched me stray and graciously led me back. But despite all You have done for me, I remain far too silent when it comes to singing Your praises and expressing my gratitude. I want that to change. Give me a heart like David had and a passion to praise You to the next generation and beyond. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give Thanks Where Thanks Is Due

Of David.

1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
    for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands. – Psalm 138:1-8 ESV

There are times when I don’t even know myself. I do and say things that surprise even me. I can never be certain how I will react to a given situation. I may respond in calmness and patience one day, then explode in anger and impatience the next. I have a limited understanding of what motivates me and why I act the way I do. Sometimes words come out of my mouth that catch me off guard. I can be disappointed in my own response to people and circumstances. There are those moments when I can appear as a stranger – even to myself.

But God knows me. In fact, He knows me better than I know myself. David understood this prescient aspect of Yahweh's character. He knew that God was all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present. He knew that God was always there, and that God knew every single detail of his life, including what he was thinking and what he was going to say, even before the words came out of his mouth. In the following psalm, also penned by David, he expresses his astonishment regarding Yahweh's omnipotence.

O LORD, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, LORD. – Psalm 139:1-4 NLT

David also understood that God had a plan for his life and was orchestrating that plan every day.  From David's perspective, things might not have always looked like God was in control, but he had learned to view his circumstances through the lens of Yahweh's faithfulness.

Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me. – Psalm 138:7 NLT

This psalm is a song of thanksgiving from a grateful God-follower. In reflecting on his life, David had seen ample reasons to give Yahweh praise for His unfailing goodness and grace. 

I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honor of your name. – Psalm 138:1-2 NLT

David’s recollection of Yahweh's faithfulness prompted him to declare his thankfulness in tangible ways. Despite being surrounded by nations that worshiped their false gods with equal enthusiasm, David was willing to sing Yahweh's praises in their hearing. He wasn't afraid of the pagans and their idols hearing his adoration and elevation of the one true God: Yahweh. 

One of the ways David displayed his reverence for Yahweh was through worship. He made it a habit to come before the LORD, offering prayers, offerings, and sacrifices in His “holy temple.” At this point, the Temple was still an unrealized dream in David's mind. He had desired to build a house for the LORD, but it would be his son Solomon who would construct the Temple. The Hebrew word David used is hêḵāl, and it can be translated as “sanctuary” or “palace.” When David moved the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, he ordered that a tent be erected in which to house this focal point of the Israelites’ sacrificial system. It remained there until Solomon completed the construction of the permanent and more palatial Temple. 

But David didn't allow the humble nature of his hêḵāl to diminish the quality of his worship. He approached it as if it were the palace of the King and a holy sanctuary where the God of the universe chose to dwell among His people. It was to this hêḵāl that David went to pray to Yahweh, whom he found to be attentive and quick to answer. 

As soon as I pray, you answer me;
   you encourage me by giving me strength. – Psalm 138:3 NLT

One of the reasons David was willing to praise Yahweh “before the gods” (Psalm 138:1) was so that the kings who worshiped these false gods might understand that “the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him” (Isaiah 4:35 BSB). By singing Yahweh’s praises and verbally declaring His greatness, David hoped to influence those who placed their hope in non-existent, impotent figments of their imaginations. He envisioned a day when “all the kings of the earth” (Psalm 138:4) would give Yahweh thanks. 

While David didn't see this happen in his lifetime, his son Solomon did. The Book of 1 Kings records that Solomon's fame spread throughout the known world, even reaching the throne room of the Queen of Sheba. 

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. – 1 Kings 10:1 NLT

She had heard rumors of Solomon's wisdom and wealth, but when she saw it all with her own eyes, she was blown away. The size of his kingdom, the beauty of his royal palace, and the opulence of the Temple to his God left her breathless, but not without words. 

“Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” – 1 Kings 10:6-9 NLT

When she witnessed the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom, she praised Yahweh. She attributed Solomon’s success to his God. She even viewed Solomon's reign as an expression of Yahweh's love for His people. She sang “about the LORD’s ways, for the glory of the LORD is very great” (Psalm 138:5 NLT).

David knew he had been greatly blessed by Yahweh, and he wanted everyone to know about it. He was determined to sing Yahweh's praises so everyone, from the lowliest peasant to the highest officials in the land, could understand that there is no one like the LORD. 

But David provides a warning to all those who discover Yahweh's superiority and supremacy. 

Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud. – Psalm 138:6 NLT

This great God is no respecter of persons. “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11 NLT). He is not impressed by anyone's credentials or accomplishments. In fact, according to James, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 NLT). James expanded on this idea in the opening chapter of his letter.

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. – James 1:9-11 NLT

David understood this aspect of Yahweh's nature, having experienced both the blessings of Yahweh as a lowly shepherd and the righteous judgment of Yahweh as a mighty king. David had learned the invaluable truth that humility was a non-negotiable requirement for those who want to experience Yahweh's presence and promises. 

Even as a king, David had experienced many trials and setbacks. His crown did not immunize him from difficulty. His power and wealth could not inoculate him from suffering and sorrow. He had his fair share of enemies, problems, setbacks, roadblocks, disappointments, and moments of discouragement, but he had learned to lean on God.

You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me. – Psalm 138:7 NLT

A humble king is a blessed king because he is willing to submit himself to the one true King. He had learned the same great truth that James included in his letter: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor” (James 4:10 NLT).  Despite his apparent success, David had become increasingly dependent on the LORD. He didn't allow his palace, power, and possessions to feed his pride and boost his ego. He understood that, without Yahweh, he was nothing, which prompted him to pray:

The LORD will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me. – Psalm 138:8 NLT

Father, I want to become increasingly more dependent upon You., but not is some weak and passive sense. You have blessed me with gifts and abilities, and you expect me to use them — for Your glory. You have provided me with wisdom through Your Word and power through the presence of Your indwelling Holy Spirit, and You want me to put them to use. But I don't ever want to become cocky or overconfident in what appears to be my own strength or capabilities. David knew he was nothing without You and I want to share his perspective. I want to sing Your praises for all to hear. I want them to know that I am completely reliant upon You because You have been incredibly gracious to me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Common Grace. Communal Praise.

1 Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 117:1-2 ESV

This extremely short psalm is addressed to “the nations.” The author uses the Hebrew word gôyim, which typically referred to non-Israelites. But in this case, he seems to have in mind all nations, including Israel. The second Hebrew word he uses is 'ummâ, which refers to a “people, tribe, or nation.” 

The psalmist calls people of every tribe, nation, or tongue to praise the LORD. Regardless of their ethnicity or religious proclivity, they should extol the greatness of Yahweh because they have enjoyed the benefits of His common grace. As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, God “gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45 NLT). He also stated that God “is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked” (Luke 6:35 NLT). This addresses one of three points of God’s common grace as outlined by the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and adopted as the doctrine of common grace at the Synod of Kalamazoo (Michigan) in 1924.

Yahweh shows undeserved favor to all those He has made. David highlighted this amazing reality in one of his psalms. 

The LORD is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The LORD is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation. – Psalm 145:8-9 NLT

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium on one of their missionary journeys, they attempted to persuade the pagan Gentile crowd of God’s love for them by highlighting this feature of His common grace.

“In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” – Acts 14:16-17 NLT

The second point of common grace is God’s sovereign restraint of sin among humanity. Since God has a plan of redemption and that plan has a timeline, He intervenes on behalf of fallen humanity and prohibits the extent of their sin so that His plan can unfold according to His divine schedule. You see this point played out in the promise He made to Abraham. In Genesis 15, God told Abraham, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth” (Genesis 15:13-14 NLT). God was informing Abraham of the 400 years his descendants would spend in captivity in Egypt. But God clarified that the story would have a positive ending.

“After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” – Genesis 15:16 NLT). 

God had everything under control. He was orchestrating all the details concerning the creation of the Hebrew nation, which included their four-century-long captivity in Egypt and the restraint of sin among the Amorites. When the time came for the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan, the guilt of the Amorites and the other inhabitants of the land would have earned their elimination. In fact, prior to Israel beginning their conquest of the land of Canaan, God provided Moses with a lengthy list of prohibitions against sexual sins and abominations. Then He added, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out” (Leviticus 18:24-25 NLT). 

Through His common grace, God restrained the behavior of the Canaanites long enough for the Israelites to become a great nation, experience deliverance from Egypt, and arrive at the border of the promised land. 

In Genesis 20, Moses records a less-than-flattering moment from Abraham’s life, when the father of the Hebrew nation sought sanctuary in the land of Gerar. In an ill-advised plan to protect himself from harm, Abraham told his wife Sarah to introduce herself as his sister. His fear was based on the fact that she was beautiful, and one of the inhabitants of Gerar might be tempted to kill him to have Sarah as his wife. Abimelech, the king of Gerar, was taken by Sarah's beauty and decided to make her a part of his harem. But God intervened and protected Sarah from being sexually violated by Abimelech. In a dream, God warned Abimelech of the danger he was in.

“You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” – Genesis 20:3 NLT

Having not consummated the relationship, Abimelech pleaded with God.

“Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” – Genesis 20:4-5 NLT

In the dream, God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6 NLT). God graciously intervened and prevented Abimelech from committing adultery. 

The third point of common grace involves the ability of the wicked to do acts of righteousness. God's grace makes this capacity of the unrighteous to do good deeds possible. Even with unregenerate hearts, they can show kindness, extend mercy, express love, and do good deeds to others. 

Speaking to a group of pagan unbelievers, Paul said, “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it” (Romans 2:14 NLT). Their actions demonstrate God's common grace, allowing them to do good even when their hearts remain unrepentant and unregenerate. 

So, for the psalmist, his message of praise is directed at all nations and includes every people group on the face of the earth. Every Jew, Gentile, pious Hebrew, and pagan heathen was obligated to praise Yahweh for His steadfast love and faithfulness. All men benefit from God's goodness and grace. They breathe the same air, enjoy the bounty of God’s creation, experience the joy of human relationships, and are allowed to exist on this earth despite their sinfulness and open rebellion to their Creator. 

While the psalmist had no concept of Jesus as Messiah when he wrote this abbreviated psalm, he foreshadowed the very words of Jesus when He gave His farewell address to His disciples.

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

God's grace was to be available to all mankind, regardless of their ethnicity. Jesus' death and resurrection opened a way of salvation to anyone who would receive God's gift of grace. Paul described this message of God's grace as “good news” to all who would believe it.

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:16-17 NLT

In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John describes a vision he received of the heavenly throne room. In it, a heavenly host was singing the praises of “a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders” (Revelation 5:6 NLT). The song they sang highlighted the sacrificial death of Jesus and its gracious impact on the nations of the earth. 

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.
And you have caused them to become
    a Kingdom of priests for our God.
    And they will reign on the earth.” – Revelation 5:9-10 NLT

John was given a second vision of the heavenly throne room, in which he saw “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language” (Revelation 7:9 NLT). They were standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And the song they sang echoed their common experience with God's undeserved grace.

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!” – Revelation 7:9-10 NLT

This is the message of this short but powerful psalm, and the day is coming when all the gôyim and 'ummâ will praise God for who He is and all He has done for them. People from every tongue will proclaim their gratitude for His steadfast love and faithfulness with one voice, and they will do so for eternity.

Father, You are a good and gracious God. Your love never fails and Your mercies are new every morning. There is not a day that goes by in which we fail to experience Your common grace. You bless all mankind with life and breath. You shower us with rain. You give us light in the form of the sun. You provide us with food. You bless us with children. And You provided us with the gift of Your Son, as the sole means by which we can be restored to a right relationship with You. Every human being owes You a debt of thanks. But all who have found salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone own you their never-ending praise and adoration for eternal life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Worthy of Our Worship

1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
    Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice.
    You have established equity;
you have executed justice
    and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
    worship at his footstool!
    Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
    they kept his testimonies
    and the statute that he gave them.

8 O LORD our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them,
    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the LORD our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain;
    for the LORD our God is holy! – Psalm 99:1-9 ESV

The psalmist opens his song with a statement of God's kingship and sovereignty.

The LORD reigns… – Psalm 99:1 ESV

This statement is not up for debate or open to discussion. It is a matter-of-fact declaration of a non-negotiable reality. Yahweh rules over all and is worthy of worship, reverence, and obedience. His unprecedented power and authority are without question and demand the fear of all men. That is why the psalmist states, “Let the peoples tremble!” (Psalm 99:1 ESV).

To illustrate Yahweh's majestic holiness, the psalmist describes Him as “enthroned above the cherubim” (Psalm 99:99:1 NLT), a reference to the Shekinah glory of God that appeared above the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The instructions for constructing this earthly “throne” were given to Moses by God on top of Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:17-22 NLT

Once the Tabernacle was completed, God agreed to inhabit it with His glory and dwell among the people of Israel.

“I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.” – Exodus 29:42-43 ESV

“I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.” – Exodus 29:45 ESV

The promise was meant to reassure His people by guaranteeing His abiding presence. But it was also intended to instill in them a reverential fear because of His holiness. The entire Tabernacle was an elaborate symbol of Yahweh's glory and greatness. It was adorned with gold, silver, expensive fabrics, and finely crafted furnishings that testified to the majesty of its divine inhabitant. This was no ordinary tent but the dwelling place of Yahweh, the God of the universe and the all-powerful King who loves justice and establishes equity on earth. That is why the psalmist demands a response of awe and reverence from the people of God.

Praise the LORD our God.
Worship before his footstool.
He is holy! – Psalm 99:5 NLT

As if to drive home his point, the psalmist recalls how Yahweh appeared to the people of Israel as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to guide them during their journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan. They were never without His abiding presence and never lacked His protection and provision for their needs. When they prayed to Him, He listened. When they sinned, He punished. When they grew thirsty, He provided them with water to drink. When they ran out of food, He graciously gave them manna and quail. And all He asked for in exchange was their worship.

But let's be honest. Most of us need a good reason to worship God, which usually has more to do with us than Him. We'll worship Him if He has been good to us. We'll worship Him if He has met our expectations and fulfilled all our desires. We'll worship Him if our life goes as we expected it to go. But let one thing go wrong, and all bets are off. We find it hard to worship God amid difficulties. Singing His praises is difficult when we're busy singing the blues.

But the Psalmist reminds us that our praise of God has little to do with what He has done for us lately. It has everything to do with who He is. He is God, and He is holy. So we should exalt or lift up His name, simply because of who He is. Our praise should be motivated by His character and essence, not His ability to meet our laundry list of needs or wants.

God is not worthy of our praise or worship because He meets all our desires and answers every one of our prayers. We worship Him because He deserves it.

God rules. On your toes, everybody!
He rules from his angel throne—take notice!
God looms majestic in Zion,
He towers in splendor over all the big names.
Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!
    Holy. Yes, holy. – Psalms 99:1-3 MSG).

He is KING! He is mighty, majestic, powerful, and deserving of our honor, respect, fear, awe, obedience, gratefulness, and worship. Worship is a recognition of who God is. It is an awareness that He is God and we are not. When we come to God only for what we can get from Him, that is the farthest thing from worship. In doing so, we turn Him into a glorified slot machine. We pull the handle, hoping to hit the jackpot. We want Him to deliver on our desires for happiness, success, popularity, peace, comfort, and contentment. And when He doesn't come through, we express disappointment rather than worship.

But again, the psalmist reminds us, "Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the LORD our God is holy!" (Psalm 99:9 NLT). We are to worship Him simply because He is holy. He is set apart, distinct, different, sacred, one-of-a-kind, unique, and without equal in all the world. And if that doesn't get us to worship Him, then the psalmist reminds us that one day God will judge the earth. He will send His Son back to set things right and restore the world to its original splendor. He will judge the nations. He will put an end to sin and establish His Kingdom on earth. That's the God who deserves our worship, praise, honor, glory, and full attention.

Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale—

A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right. – Psalm 98:4-9 MSG

Father, You deserve my praise and worship, not because You do things for me, but simply because of who You are. Forgive me for the many times I hold back on my praise because I am waiting for You to meet my needs on my terms. I fail to recognize Your holiness and so I fail to give You the honor You so rightfully deserve. Open my eyes to the reality of Your uniqueness. Let me see You in all Your splendor and holiness, and shout Your praises simply because of who You are. Anything You do for me is like icing on the cake – an extra bonus from the hand of the Almighty God. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

You Reign Above It All

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
    the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
    mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the LORD on high is mighty!

5 Your decrees are very trustworthy;
    holiness befits your house,
    O LORD, forevermore. – Psalm 93:1-5 ESV

This psalm is short but packs a punch. In it, the psalmist declares Yahweh's sovereignty and eternality. His reign is everlasting and overwhelming in its power and influence. The God of Israel is without equal, ruling over all creation, including the waves of the sea and the kings of the earth. But unlike human rulers, King Yahweh doesn't derive His power from men or rely on regal attire to define His glory and greatness. The psalmist describes Him as “robed in majesty” with “strength as His belt.”

Yahweh needs no throne, scepter, palace, or royal raiments to set Him apart from His peers, because He has none. His unbridled power and sovereignty are evident in the natural world, and all nature declares His undiminished majesty and might. King David shared the psalmist's vision of creation displaying Yahweh's glory.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat. – Psalm 19:1-6 NLT

In the ancient world, the ocean was considered a place of mystery and dread. It was filled with sea monsters that threatened the lives of men, and its waves could destroy the strongest of ships. Despite their close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the Israelites were not a seagoing people. They feared its power and associated it with evil. For their ancient ancestors, the Red Sea had served as a barrier to their escape from Egypt. But Yahweh parted the sea and allowed them to walk across on dry land. 

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. – Exodus 14:21-22 ESV

When the Israelites finally arrived in the land of promise, they found it inhabited by Canaanites, who believed their god, Baal, had overcome Yamm, the god of the seas. Yet, Yahweh aided His people in conquering the land and defeating the Canaanites and their powerful god.

The psalmist describes Yahweh as “mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore—the LORD above is mightier than these” (Psalm 93:4 NLT). No power in heaven or on earth could stand before the God of Israel. 

The waters of the ocean were no match for Yahweh, and the armies of earthly kings were powerless before Israel's God. His kingdom was everlasting, and His royal decrees were binding. He could not be defeated or dethroned. And the psalmist found comfort in the truth that Yahweh's reign was “holy forever and ever” (Psalm 93:5 NLT).

The contemporary hymn, “Reign Above It All,” paints a vivid picture of God’s sovereignty and power as revealed through Jesus Christ.

The reign of darkness now has ended
In the kingdom of light
In the kingdom of light
Forever under Your dominion
You're the King of my life
You're the King of my life

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all

On the cross, the work was finished
God, You poured out Your life
Just to give us new life
Now from the lips of the forgiven
Hear an anthem arise
'Cause Jesus You're alive, oh

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
Let all of Heaven and the Earth erupt in song
Sing hallelujah to the Everlasting One
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
You reign above it all

You sent the darkness running
Out of an empty grave
Now seated alone in glory
Enthroned on the highest praise

You reign above it all, You reign above it all
Over the universe and over every heart
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all
Let all of Heaven and the Earth erupt in song
Sing hallelujah to the Everlasting One
There is no higher name
Jesus, You reign above it all

– Paul McClure, Reign Above It All lyrics © Essential Music Publishing

Father, You reign above it all. You are great and greatly to be praised. May I never forget just how powerful, majestic, and worthy of praise You are. Never let me forget that You alone are God, and that no power in heaven or earth can stand before You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Enter His Courts With Thanksgiving

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
    the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you! – Psalm 84:1-12 ESV

This psalm was written by the sons of Korah. The significance of this fact will mean little to the contemporary reader without further investigation into Korah’s dark history. The Book of Numbers records the sordid details surrounding his role in an uprising against the leadership of Moses and Aaron during Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan.

One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?” – Deuteronomy 16:1-3 NLT 

Korah was a grandson of Kohath, one of the three sons of Levi. God had appointed the tribe of Levi to serve as assistants to the priestly line of Aaron.

“Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle. They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites. Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to serve as their assistants. Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death.” – Numbers 3:6-10 NLT

According to the Book of Numbers, the Kohathites were responsible for transporting the various pieces of the Tabernacle whenever the Israelites broke camp.

“The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.” – Numbers 4:15 NLT

God gave further instructions to Moses and Aaron to ensure that the Kohathites carried out their responsibilities faithfully and in keeping with His commands.

“Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.” – Numbers 4:18-20 NLT

But somewhere along the way, Korah became disenchanted with what he believed to be the subservient role assigned to his clan. Because they were not sons of Aaron, they were forbidden from serving as priests. They weren’t even allowed to enter the Tabernacle or look at the holy objects. Their sole responsibility was to transport the ark, the table of showbread, the golden lamp stand, the altars, and the curtains from one location to another. But Korah suffered from delusions of grandeur and became jealous of the more prominent roles of Moses, Aaron, and his sons. Having aligned himself with a group of malcontents, Korah grew increasingly more frustrated and eventually led a coup to disrupt the leadership model God had given the people of Israel. Moses was forced to confront Korah for his actions. 

“Korah, he [God] has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?” – Numbers 16:10-11 NLT

But Korah and his 250 companions were unwilling to listen to Moses’ call for repentance. Instead, they stood their ground and forced God to step in and pass judgment on their actions.

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned. So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel. – Numbers 16:32-33 NLT

God punished Korah and his companions for their rebellion,  but the Book of Numbers reveals that God graciously spared some of the sons of Korah.

This Dathan and Abiram are the same community leaders who conspired with Korah against Moses and Aaron, rebelling against the Lord. But the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, and fire devoured 250 of their followers. This served as a warning to the entire nation of Israel. However, the sons of Korah did not die that day. – Numbers 26:9-11 NLT

This is what makes the content of Psalm 84 so significant. These undeserving survivors of God’s judgment are expressing gratitude for the privilege of being able to enter the courtyard of God's sanctuary. They are no longer complaining about their diminished role or inability to serve as priests. In fact, because the Tabernacle had been replaced by the Temple, they no longer had the responsibility of carrying its sacred items from one location to another. The Temple was a permanent structure, and so their role had been changed to that of doorkeepers and musicians.

This psalm reflects a remarkable change in attitude among the sons of Korah. Unlike their disgruntled ancestor, they are fully content with being able to enter the courtyard of the Sanctuary. The restrictions on their entering the holy places were still intact, yet they were satisfied with being able to worship Yahweh from the courtyard.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing
    to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
    I will shout joyfully to the living God. – Psalm 84:1-2 NLT

The author marvels that sparrows can build nests in the courtyard's recesses and enjoy God's presence and protection. These common birds were welcome in God’s house and need not fear rejection. The psalmist expresses his deep joy at being accepted into God’s presence.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion. – Psalm 84:4-5 NLT

O LORD of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you! – Psalm 84:12 NLT

There is no hint of jealousy or dissatisfaction in his words. He is content to serve in whatever capacity God ordains, as long as he can enter the courtyard and enjoy the abiding presence of Yahweh. Overwhelmed by the grace and mercy of God, he pens one of the most well-known phrases in all of Scripture.

For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness. – Psalm 84:10 ESV

What a remarkable contrast to the words spoken by his disgruntled ancestor. This son of Korah is no longer wrestling with dissatisfaction and jealousy. He isn't battling discontentment or disillusionment with his lot in life. Instead, he is rejoicing in his undeserved privilege of entering God’s house and enjoying all the blessings it affords.

The psalmist even considers the annual pilgrimages the Israelites were required to make to the Temple in Jerusalem. These could have been long and arduous journeys that required sacrifice and suffering on the part of the pilgrims. But the psalmist paints a more positive picture by reminding his readers that the destiny will be well worth the journey.

What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
    it will become a place of refreshing springs.
    The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem. – Psalm 84:5-7 NLT

Korah had grown discontented and dissatisfied with his God-ordained role. Rather than rejoice in the privilege provided to him by God, Korah allowed jealousy and envy to infect his heart and influence his decision-making. He coveted Moses' leadership role. He saw the priesthood as a more enviable and prestigious position that would garner him praise and equip him with power. But he completely overlooked the joy of serving God in humility and gladness. As a result, he suffered an ignominious death and had his rebellion recorded in God's Word as a powerful warning to others.

At least one of his sons learned a valuable lesson from Korah’s mistake. His gratitude for God's grace and mercy has been recorded for posterity, providing a powerful reminder that the pursuit of personal glory is no match for recognizing the blessing of living in God's presence.

Father, the history of Korah is painful to read, but it makes this psalm make sense. Korah's actions were based on jealousy and dissatisfaction. He wasn’t content with serving You. He wanted more. His focus on himself and his frustration stemmed from a relentless need to feel more important and recognized for his accomplishments. How easy it is to let dissatisfaction infect my life and think that I am not getting all I deserve. Lke Korah's son, I want to find joy in the privilege of entering Your presence. I am welcome in Your House, not because of who I am and anything I have done, but simply because of the finished work of Christ. May I always be satisfied with the marvelous reality that I can enter Your presence at any time, not based on my title or accomplishments but because of Christ. Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Glory on Display

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:1-14 ESV

David opens this Psalm by comparing two aspects of God’s revelatory nature. First, he speaks of “the heavens” or “the sky,” which “proclaims His handiwork. His use of two different words helps to differentiate between the earth’s atmosphere and outer space. The heavens contain the sun, moon, stars, and planets, while the sky is home to birds, clouds, rain, thunder, and lightning. During the day, David could look up at the sky and be amazed at God’s creative prowess. The sound of the wind and the songs of the birds declared God’s presence and power. The clouds that traveled overhead and brought refreshing rain to the earth were reminders of God’s glory and gracious provision. 

At night, a whole new scene unfolded as the moon and stars became visible and provided a reminder of God’s majesty and greatness. The incalculable number of stars visible to the eye provided another unspoken lesson about the Creator’s glory. Another Psalmist wrote, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names” (Psalm 147:4 ESV).

Isaiah described God as “enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22 BSB). In the Book of Job, God confronts His suffering servant and asks a series of rhetorical questions designed to highlight His power and expose Job’s arrogance.

“Can you direct the movement of the stars—
    binding the cluster of the Pleiades
    or loosening the cords of Orion?
Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
    or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
Do you know the laws of the universe?
    Can you use them to regulate the earth?

“Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?” – Job 38:31-38 NLT

God’s power and glory are clearly evident in His creation. His greatness is mirrored in the vastness of the universe, the inexhaustible energy of the sun, and the countless stars in the sky. But when it comes to revealing Himself to man, God didn’t stop there.

David knew God through His written word, as found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible penned by Moses. This is the second aspect of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. David had discovered the greatness of God as revealed in the Mosaic Law. He had learned that God’s Law revives the soul, gives the naive much-needed wisdom, brings joy to the heart, and helps men see life more clearly. He viewed the Law as God’s communication to man, providing insights into His righteousness and making holiness practical and tangible. The Law had been given by God to Moses so that the people of Israel would have a clear and non-debatable understanding of His expectations for them. If they listened and obeyed, they would be blessed. If they chose to disobey, they would suffer the consequences.

They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant,
    a great reward for those who obey them. – Psalm 19:10-11 NLT

David found the words of God more desirable than gold and more appetizing than his favorite sweet. As king of Israel, David had access to wealth and great food, so he knew what it meant to satisfy his desires through materialism and hedonism. Money doesn’t last and a great meal only leaves you hungry and desiring more. Nothing satisfies like the word of God.

One of the things David learned about God’s word is its ability to penetrate the heart and reveal what’s hidden there.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
    Cleanse me from these hidden faults. – Psalm 19:12 NLT

God’s Law has the unique capacity to expose the soul (like an X-ray) and reveal sins — even those committed unknowingly or unintentionally. David would have agreed with God’s assessment of the human heart found in the Book of Jeremiah.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.”– Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT

But David understood that God’s word not only revealed sin, it provided a means of cleansing. Obeying God’s Law protects us from committing sins out of presumption or sheer arrogance. David knew that his righteousness depended on God’s faithful, reliable, pure, trustworthy, correct, and sound Law. It was only through time spent reading and meditating on God’s word that David could live a life that was pleasing to God.

The heavens and the sky provided tangible reminders that God was there and that He was powerful. They declared His glory and greatness. But His Law declared His holiness and righteousness in ways men could understand and emulate. The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), but the Law of the LORD revives the soul (Psalm 19:7) and enlightens the eyes (Psalm 19:8). It encourages, convicts, teaches, warns, and rewards. And, for David, it produced an understanding of God that resulted in an ever-increasing desire to please Him.

May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:14 NLT

Father, Your Word is invaluable and irreplaceable. There is nothing else like it in the universe that can transform my life and bring joy, peace, wisdom, direction, and satisfaction. Continue to increase my love for it, obedience to it, and dependence upon it. Let me love it like David did. Use Your Word to see into my heart and reveal what I can’t see. Transform me by it. Equip me with it. Convict me through it. And never let me walk away from it. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Name You Can Trust

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.

9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O LORD!
    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah – Psalm 9:1-20 ESV

This Psalm opens with what appears to be a musical notation: According to Muth-labben. The exact meaning of this phrase is unclear, but the NIV translates it as “The Death of the Son” and treats it as the name of a tune to which the Psalm was to be read. 

This Psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God opens with David declaring his intentions.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart. – vs 1

I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. – vs 1

I will be filled with joy because of you. – vs 2

I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. – vs 2

No timeline or details are provided that might explain David’s excited declaration. It’s impossible to know what event may have prompted this impassioned promise to sing God’s praises, but David does give a list of reasons for his joy and gratitude.

1. His enemies had retreated because God had defeated them.

2. God’s defense of David had vindicated his right to rule as God’s vice-regent.

3. As the true King and Judge of the earth, God had decided in David’s favor.

4. God had “rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked” (NLT)

5. In His sovereignty, God had blotted out their names forever.

6. The victory of God had been complete and comprehensive.

It seems likely that this was a compilation on David’s part. He was looking back on his life and recalling the numerous occasions when God had intervened and rescued him from difficulty. This wasn’t about one isolated incident. From David’s perspective, God had a proven track record of faithfulness that showed up in His sovereign intervention in the affairs of his life.

David may have been the king of Israel, but he viewed Yahweh as the King of the universe, who “reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne” (Psalm 9:7 NLT). As the Judge of the world, God was just, fair, compassionate, and righteous in all His judgments. He never showed partiality or ruled unjustly. His verdicts were always accurate and free from corruption or coercion. God could not be bought off or deceived by the clever arguments of men, and David found God’s integrity to be a source of joy in a world filled with uncertainty and populated by untrustworthy men who could not be trusted.

David was intimately familiar with Yahweh’s character because he had seen it in action. He knew and understood God’s nature because he had witnessed it throughout his life. But the Psalms are more than a personal journal of David’s experiences, they are an expression of his grasp of God’s greatness and goodness. In this Psalm alone David reveals that his God is all-powerful, just, eternal, righteous, faithful, merciful, sovereign, impartial, holy, and wrathful.

David’s understanding of God’s nature produced in him a growing sense of trust and confidence. With each trial he encountered, David saw God show up and pour out His justice, mercy, and compassion. That is why David could say with confidence, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you” (Psalm 9:10 NLT).

To know God’s “name” is to be familiar with His reputation. Those who follow and trust God do so because they know Him to be trustworthy and reliable. He has proven Himself to be powerful and present in their lives. The Hebrew word translated as “name” can also mean “reputation” or “fame.” To trust in the name of God is to trust in who He is – His nature, character, and reputation. It is to stand on His past accomplishments and to rely on His track record of reliability. God had proven Himself to David time and time again, and had shown Himself to be faithful, powerful, righteous, just, trustworthy, merciful, and holy. So David trusted in the name of God. When in trouble, he appealed to the name of God.

But for David, recognition of God’s goodness and greatness was not enough. He was emboldened to turn his gratitude into songs of praise, and he wanted everyone to join in.

Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.
    Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. – Psalm 9:11 NLT

David wasn’t a one-man band, he was the director of a massive choir made up of fellow Israelites who lifted their voices in praise of their gracious, all-powerful King and Judge.

God was worthy of praise because of all He had done in the past. David had found God to be a shelter and a refuge in the past, so he knew God would be so in the future. He was faithful, consistent, reliable, and unchanging in His nature. David knew he could turn to God and find mercy and help no matter how difficult the situation. He knew from experience that God had a special affinity for the helpless and the hopeless, rescuing and restoring them in His grace and mercy.

David had seen God judge righteously and justly, bringing judgment on the wicked and avenging the righteous, and he was confident that God would do it again. For David, God's works were “unforgettable” and “marvelous.” They were worth singing about, talking about, and relying upon. No matter how bad things got, David knew he could trust in his God because he knew Him well.

Father, I want to know You like David did. I want to trust You like David did. I want to understand the full scope of Your character and be able to rest in the integrity of who You are based on all You have done. Give me eyes to see Your reputation all around me. Help me know You better and better with each passing day. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Glory of God

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth! – Psalm 8:1-9 ESV

The opening description of this Psalm refers to the “Gittith.” There is no consensus on the meaning of this Hebrew word but some have speculated that it relates to a Gittite harp. It is likely a musical notation meant to provide instructions concerning the song’s tempo or style. Perhaps it was meant to be played by the accompaniment of a certain instrument.

But while this notation is unclear as to its meaning, the Psalm itself is straightforward and impossible to miss. In eight short verses, David praises God's glory and majesty. He opens his Psalm by using two of the primary names for God: LORD and Lord. The first is God’s personal name used by the Israelites alone. He is Yahweh, the ever-present God who has made an unbreakable covenant with His chosen people. He is also Adonai, the sovereign, all-powerful ruler of all creation, including His covenant people. The name of God figures prominently in this Psalm as David calls out to His majestic LORD and Lord.

But unlike the previous Psalms, this one is reverential rather than penitential. David is not petitioning Yahweh for anything. Instead, he glorifies God for His unparalleled greatness. He refers to God as “majestic” using the Hebrew word 'adîr, which carries the idea of immensity, power, glory, might, and excellence.

David uses this rich and multifaceted word to describe the name of God. Having never seen God face to face, David can only speak of His name (šēm), which encompasses His reputation or fame. Everywhere David looked, he saw the evidence of God’s glory. It was visible and tangible, but you had to be able to recognize it all around you. This former shepherd could see it throughout the earth and even in the night sky.

O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens. – Psalm 8:1 NLT

Even children have the innate capacity to recognize God’s glory and greatness in the world around them. Jesus spoke of His Heavenly Father’s intention to make Himself knowable to the innocent and pure.

“O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” – Matthew 11:25-26 NLT

David’s awareness of God’s majesty revealed in the world around him produced a sense of humility and awe-struck wonder.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them? – Psalm 8:3-4 NLT

God’s glory – His reputation, renown and fame – was all-pervasive to David. He couldn’t look out the window and not see the majesty of God revealed. He couldn’t look up into the night sky and not be reminded of the greatness of God. To David, God’s reputation was not only based on His miraculous interventions in the affairs of Israel—His victories in battle, divine provision, and protection—but was also evident in the everyday affairs of life. Everything around David screamed the praise of God, because that is the way God designed it. Even Jesus understood what David was talking about when He quoted this Psalm in an exchange with the religious leaders.

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” – Matthew 21:15-16 NLT

From birth, man was made to praise God. We are appointed for that purpose. But the effects of the fall and the influence of sin have a way of hijacking our purpose and blinding us to the majesty and greatness of God. We lose the ability to see Him all around us. Our eyes become blind to His presence and power.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem just days before His crucifixion, the crowd of disciples following Him cheered wildly, proclaiming, “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!” (Luke 19:38 NLT). The Pharisees were appalled at what they heard and demanded that Jesus tell His disciples to cease and desist. Instead, Jesus replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (Luke 19:40 NLT).

Jesus knew what David knew. Everything in creation shouts God's praise and glory. While all men were created to praise God, most do not, but creation does. God’s glory is not relegated to man’s recognition of it. God’s reputation is on permanent display in His creation—at all times.

David found it difficult to comprehend that this glorious, majestic, mighty, all-powerful God would give any thought to men. We are insignificant when compared to creation. Yet God not only takes note of us, He has given us a job to do. He has appointed us as stewards of His creation, with the responsibility to care for all that He has made. In doing so, God shared a bit of His glory with humanity. Made in His image, we have the capacity to display His creativity and caretaking abilities, and that gives us glory and honor. We get to care for what He has created—an honor and privilege that no other created being shares.

Yet you made them only a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents. – Psalm 8:5-8 NLT

The recognition of that vital role given to us by a mighty God should rock our world and cause us to exclaim with David, “O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalm 8:9 NLT). We should recognize the greatness of God’s reputation and desire to do everything in our power to protect it, proclaim it, and live up to it.

Father, give me eyes to see You all around me. Don’t let me look past Your divine presence in creation as I search for You elsewhere. Like David, may I be able to look out the window or up into the sky and see You. Let me be blown away by Your majesty, might, and glory. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Elyon

1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
    let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
    and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
    the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
    before the LORD of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
    who make their boast in worthless idols;
    worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods. – Psalm 97:1-9 ESV

YHWH-ʿelyôn – “The LORD Most High.” Here, the Psalmist combines two names for God designed to set Him apart from all the other “gods” ('ĕlōhîm). This is not an admission of the existence of other gods, but a declaration that there is only one true God. All other gods are imposters, the fabrication of men's fertile imaginations.

The ancient Hebrews used one word, 'ĕlōhîm,  to refer to all gods, but they also used it to refer to their own deity, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The ubiquitous nature of this name could make things confusing because the different variations of the word 'ĕlōhîm were widely used to refer to any and all gods. The name 'ĕlōhîm is the plural form of 'ĕlôha, which was commonly abbreviated to 'ēl. Each of these names originates from the Hebrew root 'ālā, which can be translated as “exalted one.” Two of these words are used in verse 9 alongside the personal name of Israel’s God, Yahweh or Jehovah. There is one other designation for God in this verse; elyôn or “the most high.”

For you, O LORD (Yahweh), are most high (ʿelyôn) over all the earth;
    you are exalted ('ālā) far above all gods ('ĕlōhîm). – Psalm 97:9 ESV

The first use of this name for God is found in Genesis 14, where Abram encounters  Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The text refers to him as a “priest of God ('ēl) Most High (ʿelyôn). This priest-king ended up pronouncing a blessing on Abram in the name of 'ēl ʿelyôn – God Most High.

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
    who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” – Genesis 14:19-20 ESV

Melchizedek was affirming the superiority of the God who had called Abram out of Ur and led him to the land of Canaan. Prior to Abram's first encounter with this 'ĕlōhîm, he had worshiped other 'ĕlōhîm. Now, Melchizedek was letting Abram know that this deity was ʿelyôn – the supreme 'ĕlōhîm who had no equal and was worthy of Abram’s worship. According to Melchizedek, it was 'ēl elyôn who had given Abram the victory over Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. In a sense, Melchizedek was declaring that 'ēl elyôn had defeated the 'ĕlōhîm of these pagan kings. Their gods had been no match for God Most High.

The Psalmist picks up on this name for God but adds another important distinction. He adds the name Yahweh. Five times in nine verses, he uses the personal name of Israel’s God, the name God used to refer to Himself when He spoke to Moses from the burning bush. On this momentous occasion, Moses received a commission from God, commanding him to return to Egypt and deliver the Israelites from their captivity and lead them to the land of Canaan. Upon hearing the details of this assignment, Moses replied, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13 ESV). Moses knew that the Israelites had long ago turned their backs on the 'ĕlōhîm of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had been in Egypt for four centuries and had gradually adopted the 'ĕlōhîm of their masters. Now, Moses was expected to show up and inform the Israelites that the 'ĕlōhîm of their fathers expected him to lead them out of Egypt and back to Canaan. So, he asked God for a name. If he simply used the term, 'ĕlōhîm, the Israelites might become confused and assume that he is talking about one of the many Egyptian gods they worshiped. 

God’s response was simple but not exactly clear. He told Moses, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14 ESV). In Hebrew it reads, hāyâ 'ăšer hāyâ. The word, “hāyâ” is where the name Yahweh comes from. The Hebrews did not include vowels when putting their language in writing. So, the name Yahweh became YHWH. The Latinized version became JHVH, from which the name Jehovah is derived.

When God called Himself, “I am,” He spoke of the nature of His being or existence. He is the “existing one,” which refers to His eternal, non-created state. God is, was, and ever shall be. He is self-existent, having no predecessor or creator. He is self-sufficient and dependent upon no one.

To further clarify His identity, God told Moses to inform the people of Israel, “The LORD (Yᵊhōvâ), the God ('ĕlōhîm) of your fathers, the God ('ĕlōhîm) of Abraham, the God ('ĕlōhîm) of Isaac, and the God ('ĕlōhîm) of Jacob, has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:15 ESV). In other words, this wasn’t just any 'ĕlōhîm, it was Jehovah-God, the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the intimate and personal God who had heard their cries and responded to their suffering by providing a means of deliverance.

This was the same God the Psalmist wrote about and each time He mentioned this God, he used the name Yᵊhōvâ or Yahweh.

The LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) reigns – vs 1

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ),
    before the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) of all the earth. – vs 5

Zion hears and is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O LORD (Yᵊhōvâ).
For you, O LORD (Yᵊhōvâ), are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods. – vs 8-9

Yahweh is superior and supreme. He rules over all, and He does so with righteousness and justice (vs 2). The very heavens which He created declare His righteousness (vs 6). Yahweh is elevated high above all the gods ('ĕlōhîm) of the earth. These man-made gods are impotent and no match for YHWH-ʿelyôn – The LORD Most High. They stand no chance against the God of Israel, the 'ĕlōhîm of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, they are unworthy of man’s adoration and attention. That’s why the Psalmist closes with a call to worship.

O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
    He preserves the lives of his saints;
    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name! – Psalm 97:10-11 ESV

He is exalted. He is high and lifted up. He is superior and without equal. And He is worthy of honor, reverence, and worship.

In his gospel account, the apostle John records a heated exchange between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. It began with a simple statement that Jesus delivered to a group of Jews who had “believed in Him” (John 8:30 ESV).

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32 ESV

This led them to respond, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33 ESV). Jesus, knowing that the Jewish religious leaders were in the crowd and sensing their growing animosity, responded, “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father” (John 8:37-38 ESV).

His words hit their mark, incensing His adversaries and sparking a heated interchange. What they didn’t know was that Jesus’ use of the term “father” was a reference to Satan. He was accusing them of being in league with the enemy and not with Yahweh. Unaware of His slight, they declared their status as the sons of Abraham; he was their “father.” By declaring their descendence from Abraham, they claimed their status as heirs to the promises God made to Abraham’s seed. But that’s when Jesus dropped the bombshell that left them reeling and enraged.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” – John 8:44-45 ESV

Angered by His words, the religious leaders declared him to be demon-possessed. In doing so, they not only rejected His words but defamed His ministry. Yet Jesus calmly replied, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56 ESV). This made no sense to them. Jesus was a young man and had not lived long enough to see or be seen by Abraham, who was long dead. 

This is when Jesus shocked them by making a claim that they would view as blasphemy and worthy of death.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” – John 8:58 ESV

It’s clear how angry this statement made them because they immediately attempted to stone Him to death. But what did Jesus say that escalated their anger to such a high degree? Why were they intent on killing Him? The answer is found in those two simple words: “I am.”

They knew exactly what Jesus was saying and claiming. He used the very words that God spoke to Moses at the burning bush. He claimed to be Yahweh and, in so doing, set Himself up as YHWH-ʿelyôn – The LORD Most High. He wasn’t just a man, an itinerant rabbi from the backwater village of Nazareth. He was Jehovah God, the self-existent one and the most high ('ĕlōhîm) of all.

Just minutes earlier, Jesus had made the claim, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’” (John 8:54 ESV). With this statement, Jesus claimed His divine sonship and declared that God considered Him glorious and worthy of worship, honor, and obedience.

Everything the Psalmist said about Jehovah was true of Jesus.

…you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods. – Psalm 97:9 ESV

When John the Baptist was preparing the Israelites for the coming of Jesus, he told them, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the LORD,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23 ESV). He claimed to be fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah recorded in Isaiah 40:3-5.

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ);
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God ('ĕlōhîm).
Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) has spoken.” – Isaiah 40:3-5 ESV

Jesus was the Son of God and the Lord Most High, and after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He returned to His Father’s side where He sits enthroned and awaits His return. The Book of Revelation contains a vivid description of that day when Jesus, the LORD Most High, will make His appearance and set up His Kingdom on earth.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. – Revelation 19:11-16 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Kenna

10 The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you. 11 But listen carefully to everything I command you today.…12 Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. 13 Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.”– Exodus 34:10-14 ESV

In Genesis 22, the story is recorded of Abraham preparing to offer up his own son as a sacrifice on a hastily constructed altar. This disconcerting tale makes for difficult reading, especially when you realize that Abraham was following the commands of Elohim, the God who had miraculously enabled his barren wife Sarah to give birth to Isaac years earlier. Yet, in obeying the command of God and trusting the future of his only son to the faithfulness of God, Abraham was given the privilege of seeing God work a miracle of redemption, delivering his son from certain death. Rather than requiring Abraham to go through with the sacrifice, God provided a ram to serve as Isaac’s substitute. This led Abraham to call the place upon which he built the altar, Jehovah-Jireh, which means something to the effect of “God sees and provides.”

Abraham had experienced this aspect of God’s character for the very first time and it led him to memorialize his newfound awareness of God’s foresight and gracious provision with an appellation worthy of God’s glory. In the Genesis account, Moses adds the note, “To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:14 NLT). This indicates that Abraham shared this story and it was passed down from one generation to another. But, even more importantly, Moses’ aside also serves a prophetic role, foreshadowing another day when God the Father would offer up His sinless Son as the substitutionary atonement for the sins of mankind. That fateful event would take place on the very same mountain. God saw the helpless and hopeless state of humanity, enslaved and condemned by sin, and facing divine judgment, and He responded by providing a Savior. He sent His Son to serve as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:9). 

But how did humanity end up in such a sad and desperate state? It was the result of their own disobedience to God; their refusal to recognize Him as the one true God and worship Him alone. The apostle Paul describes humanity’s downward trajectory and its consequences.

…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! – Romans 1:21-25 NLT

In today’s passage, we have another name of God that describes an aspect of His character that gets often overlooked. It may even come across as an ungodly and unacceptable way to refer to God; yet, the Exodus 34 passage reveals that this is God’s self-revelation; His way of describing His divine nature to fallen mankind.

He is “the LORD, whose name is Jealous…” (Exodus 34:14 ESV). He is YHWH-qannā'. But this is more than just a name; it expresses His character. This self-designation is an extension of the commandment God gave that prohibits the worship of anyone or anything other than Himself.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:4-5 NLT

Yahweh is a jealous God. This thought may sound strange to us and leave us feeling uncomfortable. In part, this is a result of our own love-hate relationship with jealousy. We tend to view jealousy in a negative light, associating it with sin. Even the apostle Paul lumped jealousy in with a list of other egregious behaviors that are the byproducts of man’s sinful nature.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

It’s difficult to associate such an unflattering character quality with our Holy God. Yet, God refers to Himself as being jealous and even designates it as one of His names. It is not a reaction or a temporary trait; it is an expression of His very nature.

We tend to associate jealousy with envy and covetousness. When we read God’s command, “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 17 NLT), we substitute jealousy for coveting. But jealousy and covetousness are two different things. To covet is to wrongly desire that which belongs to someone else. It doesn’t belong to you and you have no right to possess it. It is closely associated with stealing. When King David saw Bathsheba bathing on a nearby rooftop, he lusted after her. When he was informed that she was a married woman, his lust turned to covetousness. He knew she was off-limits but it did not stop him from sending for her so that he might commit adultery with her.

The Hebrew word, qannā', which is translated as “jealous” is only used of God in the Bible, and it almost always associated with His judgment against the worship of false gods.

“Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” – Deuteronomy 4:23-24 ESV

“You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 6:14-15 ESV

These passages are not inferring that God is jealous of us. This does not describe the jealousy of a husband whose wife shows affection to another man. God’s jealousy is not about His need for our affection or adoration; it is about the integrity of His name. The people of Israel were His chosen possession. He had created them and they bore the responsibility of living as the children of God. Their actions and behavior were to reflect their position as His earthly representatives.

When Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he pleaded with the people of Israel to swear allegiance to Yahweh, stating, “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NLT). The Israelites, eager to complete their conquest and occupation of the land of Canaan, declared their willingness to serve Yahweh only.

“We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.” – Joshua 24:16-18 NLT

But Joshua wasn’t buying what they were selling. He knew them all too well and voiced doubt in their sincerity. After having served as their leader for years, he was convinced they would continue to rebel against God and face future judgment as a result

“You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” – Joshua 24:19-20 NLT

When the people assured Joshua of their sincerity, he demanded proof, instructing them to, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23 NLT). He was not suggesting that God needed their undivided attention and affection. Yahweh is not desperate for our attention. He isn’t jealous that we share our affection with other gods. He is jealous and protective of the holiness of His name.

“Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord…” – Ezekiel 36:22-23 NLT

Our spiritual infidelity is not about unrequited love but about the unacceptable dishonoring of God’s name and character.  In the Exodus 34 passage, Noses reminds the Israelites that Yahweh is “a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14 ESV). That relationship was to reflect their awareness of His glory, holiness, and worthiness of their undivided worship and attention. When they devoted their time and attention to false gods, it did nothing to diminish God’s self-esteem or worthiness; it dishonored His name among the nations.

He had set His name upon the people of Israel. In the Book of Isaiah, He refers to them as His children and promises to “bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created” (Isaiah 43:6-7 ESV). Their identity was based on their identification as children of God who bore the name of God. When they showered their affections on false gods, it was not their lack of love that brought down God’s anger and judgment; it was their lack of respect for His name. That’s why God demands that their affection be accompanied by allegiance to His glory and greatness.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

As the bearers of God’s name, the Israelites bore the responsibility of loving and living in keeping with their status as the sons and daughters of God. And God makes it clear that their obedience and obeisance would demonstrate to the world that they belonged to Him.

“The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord…” – Deuteronomy 28:9-10 ESV

God is YHWH-qannā' – Jehovah-Kanna. He is jealous and protective of His name and, as His name-bearers, we have a non-negotiable responsibility to preserve the integrity of His name as we dedicate the entirety of our lives to His glory alone.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Greatness of God

We serve a great God who is worthy of our praise, worship, devotion, and obedience. He is the one true God whose character is flawless and whose interactions with mankind are always just and righteous. In our efforts to define and understand God, we tend to minimize His greatness by making Him more approachable and manageable. We domesticate Him by fashioning Him in an image that makes Him more “human” and, therefore, more tolerable and relatable. But in our attempt to transform God into our own likeness, we end up worshiping an idol of our own making.

“The god of American popular culture is an indulgent heavenly spirit who is little threat to our lifestyles and luxuries – a god consistent with a consumer culture and rampant immorality. This god might wish that human beings would behave, but he is powerless when they do not.

“A vast majority of American claims to believe in God, but most believe in an idol of their own imaginations. This deity is always there to be called upon in times of trouble, but he would never intrude upon our own personal space, judge our sins, or hinder our happiness.” – R. Albert Mohler, Foreward to Made in Our Image by Steven J. Lawson

The sad reality is that many evangelical Christians have bought into the devastatingly dangerous God-rehabilitation plan without even knowing it. Slowly and subtly, we have ended up with an emasculated and virtually impotent deity who looks very little like the God of the Bible. We have turned Shaddai, the Almighty who permeates the pages of Scripture into a “user-friendly” god who is little more than a slightly improved version of ourselves. And this downsized god exists for our glory rather than the other way around. But this is not the God that David, Moses, Abraham, and the prophets worshiped. Isaiah understood the immensity and incomparability of God.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice? – Isaiah 40:12-14 NLT

God sits above the circle of the earth.
    The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
    and makes his tent from them.
He judges the great people of the world
    and brings them all to nothing.
They hardly get started, barely taking root,
    when he blows on them and they wither.
    The wind carries them off like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. – Isaiah 40:22-25 NLT

God has no equal. He is incomparable and incapable of being domesticated, downsized, or diminished in any way. We can attempt to recreate Him in our own image, but it will only produce a false god who offers false hope. We don’t need a slightly improved version of us; we need the God of the Bible. Our world doesn’t need a politically correct and socially relevant God; it needs the fear-inducing, holiness-demanding, universe-creating God whom the prophets and apostles worshiped. 

The apostle Paul also grasped the greatness of God and refused to allow his fellow believers to minimize Him in any way.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. – Romans 11:33-36 NLT

We cannot even begin to comprehend the greatness of God, but we should try. While He remains far beyond our capacity to fully understand, He still expects us to desire and pursue an ever-increasing awareness of Himself. The apostle Paul prayed regularly that the Colossian believers would grow in their knowledge of God.

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. – Colossians 1:9-10 NLT

Paul prayed a similar prayer for the believers in Ephesus.

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. – Ephesians 1:16-18 NLT

God is infinite and eternal, having no beginning or end. To attempt a study of God is to attempt the impossible. We will never fully know Him. We will never plumb the depths of His greatness. But that does not make it an exercise in futility. The pursuit of the knowledge of God is the calling of every child of God. The Bible is the Word of God, His revelation of Himself to mankind. Every page contained in the Scriptures provides a glimpse of His glory and goodness. He desires that we read His Word, not as some kind of self-help manual full of tips for living the good life, but as an indispensable resource for discovering Him. But the Bible isn’t just a compendium of helpful insights into God’s character; it’s a divinely inspired roadmap to redemption and restoration. Man was made for God’s glory but sin destroyed that relationship and drove a wedge between the Maker and the masterpiece of His creation. Ever since that fateful day when Adam and Eve sinned against Him, God’s plan for restoring fallen humanity to a right relationship with Himself has been in place, culminating in the arrival of His Son in human flesh. This great, majestic, holy, and transcendent God already had a plan in place to fix the problem that sin created. But God wasn’t interested in restoring man’s knowledge of Him; He wanted to restore man’s broken relationship with Him.

It’s interesting to note what Jesus prayed in the garden on the night He was betrayed. In one of His last moments on earth before His crucifixion and death, Jesus spent time alone with His heavenly Father pouring out His heart.

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” – John 17:1-3 ESV

Jesus came that we might have eternal life. But eternal life is far more than just a promise of a life free from death. While the thought of a place where there will be “no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4) sounds very appealing, those things are not what makes eternal life well worth the wait. No, Jesus makes it quite clear. He states that “this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

The essence of eternal life is an intimate knowledge of God and His Son. Heaven will remove the blinders and barriers that prevent us from knowing God well. The presence of sin in our lives prevents us from seeing and knowing God clearly. It is like looking at a beautiful landscape through a dirty window or trying to view a beautiful sunset through a pair of glasses with foggy lenses. The glorious view is obscured and distorted by our flawed vision. The apostle Paul reminds us that the day is coming when those limitations will be removed, leaving us completely free to know God in all His glory.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NLT

Getting to know God better should be the overarching desire of every child of God – to know the One who made us, saved us, and has an eternity in store for us. This all-knowing, all-powerful God has planned a future for us in which we will enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him. Yes, it will be a place free from pain, sin, sorrow, and death. But the real joy of heaven will be found in our ability to know God intimately and fully.

The truly amazing thing is that God considers us His children right here, right now. Despite our ongoing struggle with sin and our persistent habit of disobeying His will, God calls us His own. He is the forever faithful, always loving, ever gracious, and consistently merciful God who never fails to keep His promises. The apostle John would have us remember that our loving heavenly Father has adopted us into His family and has great things in store for us.

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. – 1 John 3:1-13 NLT

So, why wouldn’t we want to know our great God better? The alternative is not attractive because, as Steven J. Lawson points out, it will produce a less-than-powerful God and a far-from-impactful church.

“We need a vision of God who is different from us, someone who is truly worthy to be worshiped and adored. In short, we are in need of a fresh dose of the majesty of God. Only as we return to our principle calling, that of displaying the true greatness of God, will people eagerly return to Him – and to church. Such a fresh vision of God will transform us from the inside out and empower us to fulfill His calling upon our lives. That is what is missing in this day of trendy, low-commitment, user-friendly Christianity. And until we recover the true picture of God, we will languish in spiritual impotence.” – Steven J. Lawson, Made In Our Image

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Boast in the Lord

32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge
    and has made my way blameless.
34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your gentleness made me great.
37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
    they fell under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets. – 2 Samuel 22:32-43 ESV

Whether we want to admit it or not, we have other gods we worship, and it has always been that way. While some of our national currency still carries the phrase, “One Nation Under God,” it has never said, “One God Over the Nation.” Like every culture and generation before us, we Americans have always had a predisposition toward idolatry. The people of Israel were no different. That’s why God gave them the Ten Commandments, the first four of which deal with their relationship with Him.

God prefaced His list of commands with the statement, “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2 NLT). He was telling Moses and the people of Israel that He was to be their God, their one and only God. Then He clarified exactly what He meant.

“You must not have any other god but me.” – Exodus 20:3 NLT

In other words, unlike all the other cultures around them, they were to have only one god, not many. They were to worship one deity, not a plethora of gods as the Egyptians did. They were to give their allegiance to the one true God. It was not as if God admitted that He had real competition and demanded their undivided attention. God didn’t have to worry about competitors, but He did have to be concerned about man’s natural tendency to create false gods, man-made substitutes, or stand-ins for Him. That is why the psalmist wrote:

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and noses but cannot smell.
They have hands but cannot feel,
    and feet but cannot walk,
    and throats but cannot make a sound.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 115:4-8 NLT

But the fact that these gods are false has never stopped men from placing their hope in them. While the psalmist was obviously referring to actual 3-dimensional idols made to represent a false deity, we 21st-century human beings have moved to a much more sophisticated, yet sinister, form of idolatry. Our gods come in a variety of forms. They don’t sit on a shelf where we offer literal sacrifices to them but they demand our worship nonetheless.

We have made gods out of everything from work to entertainment, the television in our home to the money in our bank. There are so many things in our lives that demand our undivided attention or, to put it another way, our worship. We revere these things and sacrifice our time, attention, and even our money to them. We turn to them in times of trouble, hoping they will rescue us. We lean on them for a sense of contentment and happiness during the dark days of our lives. We seek satisfaction from them. We put our hope in them. But God would remind us:

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold
    and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
    Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders,
    and when they set it down, it stays there.
    It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
    It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.” – Isaiah 46:5-7 NLT

David understood that there was no reliable source of help and hope in his life, but God. This is why he rhetorically asks, “Who is God except the Lord?” The answer is obvious: No one. There is no god but God. He has no real competition. We may attempt to find help in someone or something else, but those substitutes will always come up short. They can’t deliver. That is why David said, “This God is my strong refuge” (2 Samuel 22:33 ESV). It was God alone to whom he turned for help, hope, safety, security, rescue, rest, strength, and victory. This God and no other.

In this passage, David weaves together an interesting mixture of pronouns, repeatedly referring to both himself and God. He was not putting himself on the same level as God but was simply trying to show that his life was totally dependent upon God.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer… – vs 34

He trains my hands for battle… – vs 35

You have given me your shield of victory… – vs 36

…your help has made me great… – vs 36

You have made a wide path for my feet… – vs 37

It was God who had done these things for David and, as a result, David was able to say:

I chased my enemies and destroyed them… – vs 38

I did not stop until they were conquered… – vs 38

I consumed them… – vs 39

I struck them down… – vs 39

I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth… – vs 43

David had done his part, but only because God had made it possible. David knew he was not a self-made man, so he could take no credit for his victories. He was in no place to brag about his exploits – apart from God’s help. Anything he had accomplished in his life was attributable to God. He gave God the glory because God deserved the credit. This is why David was able to say to God, “Your help has made me great” (2 Samuel 22:36 NLT).

He had no problem acknowledging God as the reason for all his victories and the source of his own self-worth. David knew that, without God, he was just another man. His reign would never have happened. No songs would have been sung about him. This lowly shepherd boy would have remained in the company of his father’s flocks with no aspirations of leaving the pasture for the palace. Apart from God, David would have accomplished nothing of lasting note or significance. It was as if David was saying, “This God has made this man who he is.”

How easy it is for us to take credit for what God has done. We boast about our accomplishments and well up with pride when we consider our own success. But we’re not completely selfish; sometimes we share the glory with others, freely admitting their support role in our lives. But, in doing so, we can easily end up giving unnecessary credit to someone or something else for what is clearly the work of God in our lives.

For some of us, luck plays a more dominant role in our lives than God Almighty. We explain our good fortune as a product of fate when we should be giving God the praise He deserves. But God warns us about the danger of misdirecting our affections or misapplying the credit for our success.

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:5 NLT

God will not share His glory with anyone or anything else. He will not tolerate faithlessness and infidelity among His people, which is why He repeatedly referred to the people of Israel as adulterous. They cheated on Him regularly. They repeatedly shared their attention and affection with others. They refused to give Him the credit He deserved and the honor His status as God demanded. But we can be guilty of the same thing. David provides us with a sobering reminder that this God of ours is worthy of our praise, glory, honor, gratitude, worship, and undivided attention. For who is God except the Lord?

It was the great reformer, John Calvin who wrote, “The heart and mind of man is ‘a perpetual forge of idols’” (John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion). Timothy Keller would expand on that idea, stating, “The human heart is an idol factory that takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them” (Timothy Keller, Counterfeit God: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matter).

David understood that God was the sole source of his success and significance. It wasn’t that David was entirely immune to idol worship. Just like us, he could make a god out of just about anything. He could deify his children by placing their well-being over obedience to the will of God. He allowed his obsession with the opposite sex to distract him from his love for God. David was anything but a saint, but he did have enough self-awareness to recognize that any success and significance he enjoyed was the work of God. He had no reason to boast, but he had every reason to bask in the glory and greatness of God.

Like the apostle Paul, David reminds us to give credit where credit is due. We owe all that we are to the one true God.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” – 1 Corinthians 26-29, 31 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Awe-Struck By God’s Glory

1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
    my stronghold and my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.

8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
    coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
    and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;
    lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
    the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. – 2 Samuel 22:1-16 ESV

It was A. W. Tozer who wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy).

When studying any man's life, we can easily become obsessed with his accomplishments, failures, actions, and apparent attitudes about everything from life to leadership and family to financial success. David is no exception. In fact, when looking into David’s life, we are provided with so many painfully transparent details that we can assume to know him all too well. But the one thing we can never really know about any man is the true state of his heart. God had to remind the prophet Samuel of this fact when he was searching for the man to replace Saul as the next king of Israel. Seeing that the prophet was using external criteria as a means to determine the right man for the position, God told him: “The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT).

We can’t see into a man’s heart, but in the case of David, we are given a glimpse into his thoughts and feelings at different points in his tumultuous life. The closing chapters of 2 Samuel contain a literary gem from the pen of David that reads like a personal and very private journal. The words it contains are almost a verbatim recounting of Psalm 18, a psalm that bears the following description:

A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

It is important to keep in mind that the closing chapters of 2 Samuel serve as a kind of appendix to the entire book. They are not in chronological order, but function as a summation of David’s life, providing the reader with a more holistic image of David as a man, leader, father, husband, and servant of God.

Based on the description that accompanies Psalm 18, it can be assumed that this particular psalm was written early in David’s life. It clearly states that it was written after David had been delivered from the hand of Saul. So it is not a late-in-life exposé written as David lay on his deathbed, looking back in regret or in a fit of nostalgia. These are the words of a young man who found himself in the early days of his God-ordained role as the king of Israel. In those inaugural days of his reign, David faced a litany of difficult circumstances that seemed to contradict both God’s call and the promises He had made to David. And yet, these words, which prefaced the rest of his long and storied life were not negative or filled with complaints and fist-shaking diatribes against God. Yes, they are blunt and highly transparent because David was not one to mince words or attempt to hide his true feelings from God. He is open and transparent but also respectful and reverent in the way he talks with God. He was willing to tell God how he felt, but he didn’t let his feelings influence his thoughts about God. Notice how he starts out:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
    my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
    and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
    the one who saves me from violence. – 2 Samuel 22:2-3 NLT

All throughout this psalm, he speaks to and about God with reverential awe and honor. He sees God for who He really is: His rock, fortress, deliverer, savior, shield, refuge, and the all-powerful, praise-worthy, transcendent God of the universe. David knew from personal experience that his God was almighty and yet all-loving. He was an ever-present God who was fully aware of David’s plights and heard his cries for help. His God was not distant and disinterested in the trials that David faced. His God was not unresponsive or unapproachable, even though His dwelling place was in heaven. David knew he could call out to God and not only be heard but receive help in his time of need. His God rescued and redeemed, and not in some passive way that left him wondering if it had really been Him at all.

David describes God’s actions in terms that appeal to the senses and leave little doubt as to His power and majesty:

…the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the heavens shook; they quaked because of his anger… – vs 8

Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. – vs 9

The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. – vs 14

David’s descriptions of God are figurative and not meant to be taken literally. They are meant to convey an image of the Almighty that conveys His transcendence and incomparable power. David describes God in otherworldly, supernatural terms that evoke the one-of-a-kind aspect of His divine nature. His God is not only active and alive, but He is also awe-inspiring and fear-inducing. David’s verbal portrait of God is intended to inspire a sense of reverential respect and humble submission in all who read it. God is not to be taken lightly and His gracious involvement in the affairs of daily life should not be dismissed or treated carelessly.

David had never seen God face-to-face or witnessed His providential power firsthand. Yet, he knew that the Almighty's fingerprints could be found on every aspect of his life. God had delivered Goliath into David’s hands and had repeatedly rescued David from the threats of King Saul. God had orchestrated all of David’s victories over his enemies. David viewed these miraculous and inexplicable acts of salvation as the work of an all-powerful, fire-breathing, earth-shattering, voice-like-thunder God.

In a sense, David is attempting to describe the indescribable. Encumbered with the limits of human language to describe the invisible and incomprehensible God, David turned to the natural world for help. He uses creation to convey the greatness of the Creator. For David, using natural phenomena like thunder, lightning, wind, earthquakes, and fire was the best way to put God’s majesty and might into words. His attempt to somehow make the indescribable God visible and relatable was virtually impossible but he did the best he could do within the limits of human language.

A. W. Tozer describes the challenge faced by all the authors of the Holy Scripture when they attempted to make God known.

“The effort of inspired me to express the ineffable has placed a great strain upon both thought and language in the Holy Scriptures. These being often a revelation of a world above nature, and the minds for which they were written being a part of nature, the writers are compelled to use a great many ‘like’ words to make themselves understood.” - A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

David had never witnessed the parting of the Red Sea or the divine manifestation of God’s presence on Mount Sinai in the form of smoke, fire, thunder, and lightning. But he had heard the stories and he believed that God was still fully capable of revealing Himself in supernatural and inexplicable ways. For David, the lack of visible manifestations of God’s power was not a disappointment or a setback to his faith. He fully believed that his God could still shake mountains, divide the seas, rain down fire from heaven, and deliver His people through unprecedented acts of power and providence.

David had a high regard for God and it was this unique, personal relationship with God Almighty that set David apart from so many of his contemporaries. In reading this passage and so many of the psalms that bear his name, we are left with the inarguable conclusion that David really was a man after God’s own heart. As we work our way through the remainder of chapter 22 of 2 Samuel, we will see that David not only knew and understood who God was, but he was comfortable with who he was in his relationship with God. David had no delusions about his own sinfulness and God’s holiness, but he could say, “he rescued me because he delights in me” (2 Samuel 22:20 NLT).

David was a man at peace with his God but he never took his relationship with the Almighty lightly or treated it flippantly. He remained awe-struck by God’s glory but equally amazed by God’s goodness. David was confident, guiltless, content, joyful, grateful, free from fear, and happy to praise his God for who He was and all that He had done.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Greatness of God’s Glory

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” – 1 Samuel 4:12-22 ESV

There is a not-so-subtle play on words that runs throughout this passage. Eli, the high priest and father of the recently deceased Hophni and Phinehas, is described as “old and heavy” (1 Samuel 4:18 ESV). The Hebrew word for “heavy” is kāḇēḏ and it can also be translated as “great” or “massive.” It would appear that Eli had enjoyed a long life characterized by self-indulgence and a lack of self-control. Perhaps his struggle with obesity had been fueled in part by his sons’ abuse of the sacrificial system. They had “treated the offering of the Lord with contempt” (1 Samuel 2:17 ESV) and God had accused Eli and his sons of growing fat and happy by violating His commands.  

“…you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” – 1 Samuel 2:37 ESV

Eli’s weight (kāḇēḏ) is highlighted because it is meant to stand in stark contrast to God’s “glory” (kāḇôḏ). The similarity between these two words is obvious and is meant to juxtapose God’s “weight” with that of Eli. The Hebrew word kāḇôḏ conveys the idea of weightiness but from the aspect of greatness or glory; it has to do with honor, magnificence, and splendor.

Eli, the high priest of God, had become an overweight, self-indulgent shell of a man. For years, he had allowed his sons to abuse the sacrificial system over which God had given him authority and the responsibility for its protection and preservation. He had stood by and watched as his sons grew fat off the sins of the people, and he had benefited from their gluttony and greed.

Centuries later, the prophet Hosea recorded God’s stinging indictment against the priests of Israel.

“Since you priests refuse to know me,
    I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
    I will forget to bless your children.” – Hosea 4:6 NLT

These priests were guilty of the same sin as Eli and his sons.

“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.
    So the priests are glad when the people sin!
‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’
    So now I will punish both priests and people
    for their wicked deeds.” – Hosea 4:7-8 NLT

The prophet Malachi would also pen a similarly worded accusation from God against the disobedient priests of Israel.

“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Malachi 2:7-8 NLT

The all-glorious God refused to tolerate the weighty impact of priestly impropriety. These men were doing serious damage to the spiritual well-being of God’s chosen people. In the case of Hophni and Phinehas, God had already weighed in and fulfilled His promise to remove them from office – permanently. Now, He was going to deal with their overweight and under-performing father, the high priest of Israel.

When news of the defeat at Aphek reached the town of Shiloh, Eli was seated by the road “watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God” (1 Samuel 4:13 ESV). It seems that Eli knew his sons would not be returning so he focused his attention on the status of the ark. Nearly blind, Eli couldn’t see the arrival of the messenger who had run all the way from Aphek to Shiloh but he could hear all the commotion taking place around him.

Anxious to know what had happened, Eli demanded a status report from the exhausted messenger, who declared, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured” (1 Samuel 4:17 ESV). In recording the details surrounding this event, Samuel specifically states that it was news of the ark’s capture that caused Eli to faint.

As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. – 1 Samuel 4:18 ESV 

It is impossible to know what went through Eli’s mind and heart when he received this devastating news. If the ark was captured, he knew his sons were likely gone as well. But the loss of his sons paled in comparison with the prospect of the ark being gone forever. The “weight” of this news was more than Eli could bear; he fainted in disbelief and broke his neck as he fell.

Years later, when Samuel recalled this fateful day and recorded it for posterity, he provided an explanation for Eli’s deadly reaction. When the pregnant wife of Phinehas received the report that her husband was dead, she went into early labor and gave birth to a son. What should have been a happy occasion was marred by the death of the boy’s father. Even the healthy birth of her son could not prevent her from grieving the loss of her husband, and her choice of a name for her newborn baby reflects her understanding that was far worse than anyone could imagine.

…she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. – 1 Samuel 4:21 ESV

In one day, she had lost her husband and her father-in-law, but her primary concern centered around the loss of the ark. For the Israelites, the ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s presence. It was above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim, that the glory of God was said to have dwelled. This was in keeping with the promise
God had given to Moses when He gave the instructions for the making of the ark.

“…you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:21-22 ESV

Eli and his daughter-in-law both believed that, with the ark gone, so was the presence and power of God. The glory (kāḇôḏ) of God had departed and Israel was left all alone – or so they thought. But this conclusion was false and their sense of hopelessness was ill-founded. God was not restricted to a single place and could not be stolen or kidnapped by enemy forces. He was the all-powerful, omnipresent God of the universe who had orchestrated Israel’s defeat so that they might repent and give Him the glory He deserved.

This woman’s pessimistic outlook reflected the thoughts of all the people of Israel, including Eli. With the ark in enemy hands, Eli believed that God had abandoned His people. They were on their own. For 40 years this man had judged the nation of Israel and served as their high priest. Nearly half of his life had been dedicated to the service of God and now, their God was gone.

But little Ichabod would grow up to learn that his poor choice of a name had been unnecessary. The glory of God had not departed. The “weight” and worth of God had not diminished in the least. He was still there and He was working out His plan to bring about a much-needed revival among His disobedient and demoralized people. The Philistines may have captured the ark of God but they would prove no match for the God of the ark. As chapter five unfolds, the real battle will begin and the God of Israel will display His glory and greatness for all to see.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give God Glory Rather Than Advice

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
    and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
    and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
    and the number of your days is great!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
    or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
    and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
    on the desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
    and to make the ground sprout with grass?

28 “Has the rain a father,
    or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
    and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
    and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
    or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
    or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
    that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
    and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
    or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
    Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
    and the clods stick fast together?

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
    or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
    or lie in wait in their thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
    when its young ones cry to God for help,
    and wander about for lack of food?” – Job 38:19-41 ESV

God finally speaks. Job has heard from his three friends and Elihu, the young, arrogant upstart. But now he hears from the only one who matters; God Himself. And God's response is full of not-so-subtle sarcasm as He peppers Job with rhetorical questions designed to accentuate His divine nature. He starts out His response to Job by saying, "Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them" (Job 38:3 NLT). God tells Job to brace himself like a man because He has a few questions for him. "Who are you...?" "Where were you when..." "Have you ever...?" "Can you...?" "Do you know...?"

At one point, God's sarcasm becomes painfully clear and pointed. He sardonically states, "But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!" (Job 38:21 NLT).

God is questioning Job’s right to question Him. Who is Job, a mere man, to question the intentions and integrity of the holy, righteous, all-powerful, God of the universe? Every one of His questions is a statement of His sovereignty and superiority. He is providing Job and his four friends with a much-needed reminder of His surpassing greatness. God’s emphasis on nature is intended to get Job’s focus off of himself. His myopic and rather morbid perspective has tainted his view of God, and produced faulty reasoning and a fragile faith.

“The function of the questions needs to be properly understood. As a rhetorical device, a question can be another way of making a pronouncement, much favoured by orators. For Job, the questions in the Lord’s speeches are not such roundabout statements of fact; they are invitations, suggestions about discoveries he will make as he tries to find his own answers. They are not catechetical, as if Job’s knowledge is being tested. They are educative, in the true and original meaning of that term. Job is led out into the world. The questions are rhetorical only in the sense that none of them has any answer ventured by Job. But this is not because the questions have no answers. Their initial effect of driving home to Job his ignorance is not intended to humiliate him. On the contrary the highest nobility of every person is to be thus enrolled by God Himself in His school of Wisdom. And the schoolroom is the world! For Job the exciting discoveries to which God leads him bring a giant advance in knowledge, knowledge of himself and of God, for the two always go together in the Bible.” – Francis I. Andersen,
Job

By drawing Job’s attention to the wonders of creation, God is showcasing His power and providential care. There are wonders surrounding Job that reveal just how great and good God really is. The presence of light and dark are the handiwork of God. From the human perspective, these elements simply appear in the sky and little thought is given as to their source. But God demands that Job explain where light comes from and where the darkness goes in the morning. Then He sarcastically adds, “But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!” (Job 38:21 NLT).

God is not being mean; He is simply driving home the extents of the vast gulf between His own reality and man’s infallibility. He wants Job to contemplate the inconceivable greatness of the One who controls the entire universe and all it contains, including Job. 

Job wants answer from God. He demands to know the source of his own pain and suffering, but God asks him, “Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?” (Job 38:24 NLT). God is letting Job know that there are greater questions to consider other than the ones he keeps asking. If Job wants to understand the nature of his circumstances he needs to know his God, and a quick look at the creative order would provide Job a masters-level course in theology.

King David had graduated with honors from God’s divine school of wisdom, having learned the lessons of God’s greatness found in the world around him.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world. – Psalm 19:1 NLT

And it was Jesus who used nature to teach His disciples the wonder of God’s providential care so that they might understand His unwavering faithfulness and their need for enduring faith.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” – Matthew 6:25-30 NLT

God turns Job’s attention to the clouds that produce rain, ice, hail, thunder, and lightning. These everyday, commonplace meteorological events are not the result of chance but are the handiwork of God. The very presence of rain is a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Without it, nothing on earth would survive. Yet, God can turn life-giving rain into crop-destroying hail. He can transform a gentle rain into a torrential, flood-producing downpour that takes away life and livelihood. These kinds of occurrences are an inexplicable yet inescapable part of life on this planet, and so is human suffering.

God’s point seems to be that there are some things men will never fully comprehend. Despite our modern scientific capabilities and our incessant obsession with solving the riddle of the universe’s creation, there are certain aspects of God’s creative order that will remain a mystery to us. Job was earth-bound and suffered from a limited understanding of the heavens. He could see the stars and even know some of them by name, but he could not explain their existence or comprehend the magnitude of their number.

In a sense, Job had been trying to give God directions concerning the future of his own life. He wanted to provide the God of the universe with some helpful guidance regarding his future state. But God asks Job if he has any insight into the “the movement of the stars” (Job 38:31 NLT). If Job knows that is best for himself, can he also “direct the constellations through the seasons?” (Job 38:32 NLT). And the answer is clearly, “No!”

Job has no business giving God advice. He is in no place to tell God what to do. And to ensure that Job understands that point, God asks, “Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” (Job 38:33 NLT). If the answer is no, then why does Job seem to believe he knows the laws concerning his own universe and how they should be used to regulate the affairs of his life?

Sometimes, a simple upward glance will help take our eyes off of the worries and concerns we face in this world. The prophet Isaiah echoes the words of God and provides a much-needed reminder to reminder to acknowledge the greatness of God rather than attempt to advise Him.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice? – Isaiah 40:12-14 NLT

And Isaiah recommends that we consider a bit of star-gazing before we resort to advice-giving. God doesn’t need our recommendations, but He is worthy of our veneration.

Look up into the heavens.
    Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
    calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
    not a single one is missing. – Isaiah 40:33 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

You Don’t Have to Understand God to Trust Him

5 The dead tremble
    under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before God,
    and Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon
    and spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea;
    by his understanding he shattered Rahab.
13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;
    his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
    and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?” – Job 26:5-14 ESV

Job is convinced of God’s greatness and that is what motivates his cries for the Almighty’s help. He is calling on the only one who is able to assist him during his time of need. His God was majestic and mighty in power and that is exactly why Job was willing to place himself at God’s mercy.

Job understood that God was all-knowing and all-powerful. This great God knows things that no human being could ever hope to know. His knowledge is far beyond anything the human mind can comprehend. Just take a look at some of the Hubble Telescope images of the universe and the scope and size of God's knowledge starts to become clear. Job seemed to have a solid grasp of the greatness of God and could see it reflected in the world around him.

“By his hand the north is stretched out in space, and the earth is hanging on nothing. By him the waters are shut up in his thick clouds, and the cloud does not give way under them. By him the face of his high seat is veiled, and his cloud stretched out over it. By him a circle is marked out on the face of the waters, to the limits of the light and the dark.” – Job 26:7-10 BBE

Job tells his friends that while they seem to be speaking for God, they have no clue what what they are talking about. They are ignorant of the ways of God, and are presumptuous to think that they have figured out the mysteries of life. These men have repeatedly made assumptions about Job's guilt as if they know for sure what has taken place, but they don't know. Only God does.

We can't understand the ways of God; our understanding is limited. We can't fully comprehend or explain what God does or why He does it, and He doesn’t explain Himself to us. For Job, all he could rest on was his own integrity and his hope in God’s rescue. He stood firm on his claim of innocence and, as he states in the very next chapter, he would go to his grave knowing he had done nothing wrong. 

"Let it be far from me! I will certainly not say that you are right! I will come to death before I give up my righteousness. I will keep it safe, and will not let it go: my heart has nothing to say against any part of my life." – Job 27:5-6 BBE

Job didn't understand why he was suffering. He couldn't explain the reasons for all his losses. All he knew was that he had done nothing wrong to deserve any of it. And when it came to his understanding of God, Job was relegated to examining the world around him. He could not see God but he could gather insights about God from nature.

The apostle Paul provides insight into God’s divine display of His glory through His creation. The universe bears the mark of its Maker, giving ample proof of His existence and providing visible illustrations of His power, immensity, creativity, and sovereignty.

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. – Romans 1:19-20 NLT

At the end of the day, all any man can know about God is what He chooses to reveal about Himself. Job could see aspects of God’s power and creativity in nature and within the world around him, but he couldn’t fully comprehend how it all worked.

As modern human beings, we can look into the design of the human cell and appreciate its intricacy and complexity, but we can't explain how God made it. There is so much about God that we don't understand but we do know that He is powerful. His creation provides a daily demonstration of His power. From the sun, moon, and stars hung in the night sky to the storms that rage on this singular planet floating in the vastness of space, we have been given ample evidence of God’s existence and essence.

King David recognized this cosmic display of God’s glory and immortalized it in words.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world. – Psalm 9:1-4 NLT

Yet, fallen man has a way of looking past the signs of God’s glory that surround him. In his pride and arrogance, he tries to write God out of the script by providing his own explanations for the existence of the universe. Yet, humanity would have a difficult time answering the probing questions that God directed at His servant Job.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?” –Job 38:4-7 NLT

No man was there when God created the universe. Yet the creature still tries to explain away the Creator. Man, in his huberis, attempts to play god by providing answers to all the mysteries of life. But God exposes the absurdity of it all.

“Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!” – Job 38:19-21 NLT

When all is said and done, all we can really know about God is what He chooses to reveal about Himself. He is the unknowable, unsearchable God. He is beyond finding out and impossible to comprehend and yet He has made Himself known through His creation. And Job knew this God. He knew of the power and majesty of God. But He also knew of God’s love, sovereignty, righteousness, and justice. He knew that God was always watching.

Job knew these things and he rested in them. While knowing these things did not stop his pain or eliminate his suffering, it did give him a sense of hope in the midst of it all. Job's approach to his situation is similar to that of King David reflected in another one of his psalms.

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do
    and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
    when the ungodly are around me.”
But as I stood there in silence—
    not even speaking of good things—
    the turmoil within me grew worse.
The more I thought about it,
    the hotter I got,
    igniting a fire of words:
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”

We are merely moving shadows,
    and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
    not knowing who will spend it.
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
    My only hope is in you. – Psalms 39:1-7 NLT

My only hope is in You. Is God where you put your hope? Is He the first place you turn to in times of trouble? There is much about life we will never understand, but we can know that God is faithful, just, righteous, merciful, powerful, and completely in control of any and all circumstances. We can trust Him.

Father, I want to trust You, but I struggle so often with wanting to understand first. I want to have everything explained to me, THEN I'll trust You. But You aren't obligated to explain Yourself to me. You don't have to justify Your actions to me. Part of trusting You is learning to rely on You even when I don't understand You. You've never proven Yourself untrustworthy, Lord, so I'm not sure why I struggle so much with trust. But thank You for your patience. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.