Great Is the Lord Almighty
“He’s a great actor.” “That was a great book. I’ve read three others that were pretty good, as well this year.” “I just missed the turnoff—great.” We throw around the term great on a regular basis, and mean it in terms of “better than usual,” or in an ironic sense of something that’s pretty much the opposite of great. Great is one of many words in our vernacular which correspond to words used in the Bible, but we’ve made it devoid of the power and understanding that we need to grasp what the Bible is trying to relate to us.
While we may use the word great in a diminished capacity, when the Bible uses it regarding the Lord what it is trying to convey is the understanding that God is beyond peer, vastly supreme beyond any standard or norm we could establish, eminent or even preeminent. The Bible is saying that God’s character and nature (indeed everything about Him) are superior to anything else—far above all else.
There are many calls in the Scriptures for us to praise the greatness of our God. “Oh, praise the greatness of our God!” “Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.” “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom” (Dt. 32:3; Ps. 150:2; 145:3). But Scripture gets even more specific than that, and tells us many of the ways He is great and worthy of our praises.
One of the most prevalent ways His praiseworthy greatness is lauded is through His great power: “incomparably great power,” “Praise Him for His acts of power,” “They tell of the power of Your awesome works” (Eph. 1:19; Ps. 150:2; Ps. 145:6). Do we even come close to grasping the power that is contained in God’s greatness? Maybe we get a little taste of it when a strong storm comes along with terrifying winds and thunder, but can we fathom it truly? Can we conceive of the power it took not only to create our universe but to sustain every part of it, every day of its existence? Why is Genesis part of the Bible? Because it is the opening salvo in the war against the ignorance of mankind to the greatness of His God and Maker—The greatness of the power of God created light out of nothing; the greatness of the power of God created matter out of nothing; the greatness of the power of God created and filled the sky with planetary bodies and amazing beauty, and populated our world with a plethora of incredibly detailed and stunningly beautiful animals and plants. His great power, wisdom, knowledge, design not only created all these things, but sustains them to this day so that not even a sparrow falling to the ground goes unnoticed, nor the loss of a single hair from our heads!
If you want to be stunned into worship, browse the internet for photos of the wonders the power of God has created in outer space or microscopic inner space (HERE or HERE). Though many of the “scientists” who compiled these photos would still deny their obvious testimonies of Intelligent Design, to those of us who have the Spirit of God indwelling us, there is no doubt that “the heavens declare the glory of God” and His creation gives more than mute praise to the wonders of His greatness, we need only to pay attention.
The Scriptures also declare the greatness of God’s deeds. Not surprisingly there is an overlap between His deeds and His power, because His power fuels those deeds. Beyond His powerful acts of creation, the Lord’s other great deeds include the judgment of the great flood, the Redemption of Israel through the use of the plagues and Passover, the parting of the sea, and the shepherding of His people through the wilderness, providing for them and delivering them to the Promised Land. He then enabled them to cross over, caused the walls of Jericho to collapse, and empowered them to take the rest of the land from their enemies. His provision, rescue, and redemption of Israel has lasted throughout His ways with these chosen people, and are meant to be constant reminders to us of how He will deal with us as well. We need to regularly revisit His historic interactions with His people to remember what a great God He is.
Of course, His mighty acts include His act of redemption for us, as well. His salvation broke the power of sin and death, broke the curse that the enemy held over us. His great power raised Jesus from the dead, and that same great power is at work in us. These were demonstrations not only of His great power, but His great love, as well. This is not just a teaching of the New Testament. Take a look at what we learn about God’s love in the Old Testament: “In accordance with Your great love, forgive the sin of these people” (Nu. 14:19); “Show mercy to me according to Your great love” (Ne. 13:22); “For great is Your love, reaching to the heavens” (Ps. 57:10); “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail” (Lam 3:22).
Of course, the New Testament reminds us that God’s love is so great and unsurpassed that nothing can separate us from it (Rom. 8:38-39) and we need God’s powerful revelation to even grasp it (Eph. 3:16-19). And we are told that there is no greater love than that someone would lay down their lives for us (Jn. 15:13), and that is exactly what God did, so great is His love! “Whoever is wise, let him…consider the great love of the Lord” (Ps. 107:43), and His greatness of every kind. The more we consider it, the more we will be gripped by His greatness, have confidence in that greatness, and worship Him for it.
Recent Comments