Our Great God
Like so many other topics of discussion, greatness generally rests in the eyes of the beholder. We all recognize greatness to some degree when we see it, but how a person defines or measures greatness may differ greatly from how someone else views it. In athletics, for example, there is a lot of arduous and ridiculously passionate debate about which players are the greatest of all time (GOAT) in their particular sport. Listen to sports shows long enough and you will hear plenty of fanatical debates on the subject. Naming the greatest sports figures may be up for debate, but it must be emphatically stated that there is only One who is undeniably great, and He is no mere athlete. He is the almighty Creator of the universe. Psalm 147:5 boldly declares this truth: “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” In one cohesive sentence, the psalmist confidently declares the untouchable, irreplaceable, unconquerable omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of our awesome God. There is none greater than the One who created the magnificently mysterious universe in which we exist.
Psalm 147:5 is also a powerful reminder of God’s faithful love and care for those who trust in Him. His omnipotence is described in verse 4 where the psalmist declares that it is our Creator who determines the number of stars shining in the heavens, and personally names each and every one of them. He truly possesses an incalculable level of power that is and forever will be unrivaled. His awesome greatness is evident by His sustaining power over the universe. The almighty One who assembled the host of stars and planets is certainly powerful enough to carry us through the inevitable turbulent and troublous times we all face. In the second verse, the psalmist provides two concrete examples of God’s power at work. First, he built up Jerusalem by His mighty hand. Second, He gathered the outcasts of Israel and returned them to the land following the long and traumatic years of captivity. Assuming this Psalm was written after Israel’s captivity in Babylon, God’s power was on full display as He brought the people home to Jerusalem.
Verse 3 describes God’s omniscient understanding that surpasses any other being. The psalmist writes, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” What an encouragement to know that the almighty Creator of the world cares enough for His people that He will personally heal the brokenhearted and bind up the wounds this sinful world inflicts upon us. It is the Lord who uses His unlimited knowledge to compassionately heal the brokenhearted and tenderly bind up all of their wounds. This astonishing description of God’s power and lovingkindness proves He is worthy of all our praise as the Psalm’s opening verse boldly asserts.
It is safe to assume that many of the returning exiles would have experienced emotional distress during the trials of the exile, but God was eager to help and care for them in their time of weakness. No matter what pain, discouragement, or loss your soul may be experiencing right now, your Heavenly Father knows every detail. He possesses the power to uphold you, and the understanding to resolve the challenges you are facing according to His perfect will. In the vastness of the cosmos, the psalmist reminds us that even the smallest matters are not too minute for the Creator of the universe. Like a caring Father, God meticulously names the billions of stars hanging brilliantly in the night sky, and He knows your name too. If He knows the precise location and size of every heavenly body, He certainly knows everything there is to know about you.
Your distress, hardship, and grieving are not too heavy for the Lord to bear. Rest in the fact that “the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (v. 11), and will not forsake those who faithfully obey Him. His delight rests on those who reverentially fear and trust Him. As Tremper Longman rightly observes, the “fear of God is not the type of emotion that causes someone to run away, nor is it mere respect. It is the emotion that causes our knees to knock and our heads to bow. To fear God is to acknowledge His supremacy and one’s own subservient position, and to place one’s hope in God, rather than in oneself.”[1] In our liquid world populated with so many self-oriented plastic people who believe they can craft themselves into an image of their own design, all of us could use a stern reminder that as creatures created in the image of God there is only One who can be categorially trusted, and it most certainly is not the one we see in the mirror each morning. The triumphant self that so many create in their illusionary minds is no match for the true Sovereign over this world. Our almighty God is not impressed with the skills of the high and mighty, and His delight does not rest upon the radically self-sufficient. God’s care emanates from His promises and from His divine care and affection for His people. Hopelessness dies in the presence of faith in God’s omnipotence and omniscience, providing the courage and strength we need to press on for the Lord in this hyper-individualized world intent on denying God rather than fearing Him.
This powerfully insightful Psalm reminds us of the goodness, power, and compassion of our Creator. It is comforting to know that the same God who sustains creation has the authority and capability to care for us during times of need and heartache. The impressive scope and scale of God’s divine power and care should invoke effusive, heartfelt praise, adoration, worship, wonder, and trust in us all. Our great God is abundant in power, and His divine understanding is beyond measure. Knowing these comforting truths should drive us to our knees in humility and reverential awe of Him.
Is your soul weary? Come to the one who “gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Even in times of weariness, God gives those who wait on Him the necessary strength to “mount up with wings like eagles” (v. 31).
Are you spiritually vulnerable? Come humbly before the God who “is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). No matter the vulnerability, you are not alone. The Lord is an ever-present help when we are exposed and susceptible to Satan’s fiery arrows. Friends and even family may forsake us, but our good and gracious Father will never leave our sides.
Has spiritual blindness overtaken you? Bow before the Sovereign Savior and ask for His healing “salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Revelation 3:18). Only Jesus has the power to open your eyes, and restore your vision. If temptation has clouded your vision, seek the One who gives the blind sight and directs the paths of the righteous.
Are you spiritually thirsty? There is only One who can quench the deepest thirst of the parched soul. Jesus promised that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Your spiritual thirst can only be satiated through the divine source of this living water, which only the Good Shepherd can supply.
Is your soul starving for spiritual food? For those who are hungry, it is time to seek Jesus; the One who boldly declared “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). What the world has to offer your hungry heart will never satisfy the deepest hunger of your soul. The plastic people of this confused age believe satisfaction is found through pursuing every whimsical desire and emotion the soul can concoct to create a version of self that can be worshipped. This is a fool’s errand. Only Jesus can satisfy every craving of the soul with the spiritual food necessary to find lasting joy.
Are you wounded deep in your heart? Remember the soothing words of David in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” God, through David, reminds us that His power to heal is unlimited. The Lord is mighty enough to heal all wounds, including the ones that cut the deepest and leave the longest scars. No matter how deep our wounds may run, none of them is beyond His awesome healing power.
Are you ill from the effects of sin? As Jesus proclaimed in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” We all sin, and sometimes do so with magnificent effectiveness. But even our most spectacular failures never exorcise God’s mercy and forgiveness from our lives. No sin is greater than God’s willingness and ability to pardon. The greater the sin, the more desperately we need to seek the mercy and forgiveness our Heavenly Father offers. There is no one like God. He alone is capable of pardoning iniquity and casting them into the depths of the sea. He will always show mercy to the brokenhearted and abundantly forgive all who repent.
Have you been taken prisoner by the sins of the flesh? According to Jesus in John 8:34, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” When a Christian is entrapped by a life-dominating sin, Satan enjoys magnifying the vileness of this sin while adding a heavy dose of accusatory condemnation of his own. The great deceiver wants you to believe that God will shower His mercy on everyone else but not on an abhorrent sinner like you. Convincing you that God will pardon others but not you is an effective way to rob you of the joy, peace, and confidence your Heavenly Father wants you to enjoy. Satan’s ploy to amplify your sin isolates you, keeping you floundering in despair and discouragement. This is certainly not how God desires for His people to live. Rather than living in captivity, rest in the Sovereign Savior who declared in Luke 4:18 “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives.” Through repentance, this liberty can be yours.
Psalm 147:5 is a powerful description of God’s faithful love and care for those who fear and trust in Him. In response to this Psalm, take a moment to bow your heart and knee before your Sovereign Creator in reverential awe of His splendor and express your praise and worship to Him. Our God is abundantly great. He has no rival and never will. In Him, you will find rest for your weary soul in His power, goodness, and lovingkindness.
[1] Tremper Longman III, Psalms (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014), 472.
Psalm 147:5 is also a powerful reminder of God’s faithful love and care for those who trust in Him. His omnipotence is described in verse 4 where the psalmist declares that it is our Creator who determines the number of stars shining in the heavens, and personally names each and every one of them. He truly possesses an incalculable level of power that is and forever will be unrivaled. His awesome greatness is evident by His sustaining power over the universe. The almighty One who assembled the host of stars and planets is certainly powerful enough to carry us through the inevitable turbulent and troublous times we all face. In the second verse, the psalmist provides two concrete examples of God’s power at work. First, he built up Jerusalem by His mighty hand. Second, He gathered the outcasts of Israel and returned them to the land following the long and traumatic years of captivity. Assuming this Psalm was written after Israel’s captivity in Babylon, God’s power was on full display as He brought the people home to Jerusalem.
Verse 3 describes God’s omniscient understanding that surpasses any other being. The psalmist writes, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” What an encouragement to know that the almighty Creator of the world cares enough for His people that He will personally heal the brokenhearted and bind up the wounds this sinful world inflicts upon us. It is the Lord who uses His unlimited knowledge to compassionately heal the brokenhearted and tenderly bind up all of their wounds. This astonishing description of God’s power and lovingkindness proves He is worthy of all our praise as the Psalm’s opening verse boldly asserts.
It is safe to assume that many of the returning exiles would have experienced emotional distress during the trials of the exile, but God was eager to help and care for them in their time of weakness. No matter what pain, discouragement, or loss your soul may be experiencing right now, your Heavenly Father knows every detail. He possesses the power to uphold you, and the understanding to resolve the challenges you are facing according to His perfect will. In the vastness of the cosmos, the psalmist reminds us that even the smallest matters are not too minute for the Creator of the universe. Like a caring Father, God meticulously names the billions of stars hanging brilliantly in the night sky, and He knows your name too. If He knows the precise location and size of every heavenly body, He certainly knows everything there is to know about you.
Your distress, hardship, and grieving are not too heavy for the Lord to bear. Rest in the fact that “the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (v. 11), and will not forsake those who faithfully obey Him. His delight rests on those who reverentially fear and trust Him. As Tremper Longman rightly observes, the “fear of God is not the type of emotion that causes someone to run away, nor is it mere respect. It is the emotion that causes our knees to knock and our heads to bow. To fear God is to acknowledge His supremacy and one’s own subservient position, and to place one’s hope in God, rather than in oneself.”[1] In our liquid world populated with so many self-oriented plastic people who believe they can craft themselves into an image of their own design, all of us could use a stern reminder that as creatures created in the image of God there is only One who can be categorially trusted, and it most certainly is not the one we see in the mirror each morning. The triumphant self that so many create in their illusionary minds is no match for the true Sovereign over this world. Our almighty God is not impressed with the skills of the high and mighty, and His delight does not rest upon the radically self-sufficient. God’s care emanates from His promises and from His divine care and affection for His people. Hopelessness dies in the presence of faith in God’s omnipotence and omniscience, providing the courage and strength we need to press on for the Lord in this hyper-individualized world intent on denying God rather than fearing Him.
This powerfully insightful Psalm reminds us of the goodness, power, and compassion of our Creator. It is comforting to know that the same God who sustains creation has the authority and capability to care for us during times of need and heartache. The impressive scope and scale of God’s divine power and care should invoke effusive, heartfelt praise, adoration, worship, wonder, and trust in us all. Our great God is abundant in power, and His divine understanding is beyond measure. Knowing these comforting truths should drive us to our knees in humility and reverential awe of Him.
Is your soul weary? Come to the one who “gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Even in times of weariness, God gives those who wait on Him the necessary strength to “mount up with wings like eagles” (v. 31).
Are you spiritually vulnerable? Come humbly before the God who “is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). No matter the vulnerability, you are not alone. The Lord is an ever-present help when we are exposed and susceptible to Satan’s fiery arrows. Friends and even family may forsake us, but our good and gracious Father will never leave our sides.
Has spiritual blindness overtaken you? Bow before the Sovereign Savior and ask for His healing “salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Revelation 3:18). Only Jesus has the power to open your eyes, and restore your vision. If temptation has clouded your vision, seek the One who gives the blind sight and directs the paths of the righteous.
Are you spiritually thirsty? There is only One who can quench the deepest thirst of the parched soul. Jesus promised that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Your spiritual thirst can only be satiated through the divine source of this living water, which only the Good Shepherd can supply.
Is your soul starving for spiritual food? For those who are hungry, it is time to seek Jesus; the One who boldly declared “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). What the world has to offer your hungry heart will never satisfy the deepest hunger of your soul. The plastic people of this confused age believe satisfaction is found through pursuing every whimsical desire and emotion the soul can concoct to create a version of self that can be worshipped. This is a fool’s errand. Only Jesus can satisfy every craving of the soul with the spiritual food necessary to find lasting joy.
Are you wounded deep in your heart? Remember the soothing words of David in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” God, through David, reminds us that His power to heal is unlimited. The Lord is mighty enough to heal all wounds, including the ones that cut the deepest and leave the longest scars. No matter how deep our wounds may run, none of them is beyond His awesome healing power.
Are you ill from the effects of sin? As Jesus proclaimed in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” We all sin, and sometimes do so with magnificent effectiveness. But even our most spectacular failures never exorcise God’s mercy and forgiveness from our lives. No sin is greater than God’s willingness and ability to pardon. The greater the sin, the more desperately we need to seek the mercy and forgiveness our Heavenly Father offers. There is no one like God. He alone is capable of pardoning iniquity and casting them into the depths of the sea. He will always show mercy to the brokenhearted and abundantly forgive all who repent.
Have you been taken prisoner by the sins of the flesh? According to Jesus in John 8:34, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” When a Christian is entrapped by a life-dominating sin, Satan enjoys magnifying the vileness of this sin while adding a heavy dose of accusatory condemnation of his own. The great deceiver wants you to believe that God will shower His mercy on everyone else but not on an abhorrent sinner like you. Convincing you that God will pardon others but not you is an effective way to rob you of the joy, peace, and confidence your Heavenly Father wants you to enjoy. Satan’s ploy to amplify your sin isolates you, keeping you floundering in despair and discouragement. This is certainly not how God desires for His people to live. Rather than living in captivity, rest in the Sovereign Savior who declared in Luke 4:18 “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives.” Through repentance, this liberty can be yours.
Psalm 147:5 is a powerful description of God’s faithful love and care for those who fear and trust in Him. In response to this Psalm, take a moment to bow your heart and knee before your Sovereign Creator in reverential awe of His splendor and express your praise and worship to Him. Our God is abundantly great. He has no rival and never will. In Him, you will find rest for your weary soul in His power, goodness, and lovingkindness.
[1] Tremper Longman III, Psalms (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014), 472.
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