The Bible is full of superlatives as in the ongoing quest to find the words to adequately describe God and the things of God. A place to begin is God’s word, but even there the psalmist declares his need for God’s help in the first step even to beholding the wondrous things out of His law.
Psalm 119:18 (ESV) — 18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Once Job was confronted by God and found he had nothing to say, other than everything about God was beyond understanding.
Job 42:1–3 (ESV) — 1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
Likewise, the psalmist declared in similar fashion his inability to comprehend the things of God:
Psalm 131:1 (ESV) — 1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
It’s a humbling prospect to be confronted with God, His word, His creation, His works of providence, etc. and rightly so. What is man, but dust? And how can man understand and adequately praise God?
Psalm 8:3–4 (ESV) — 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?
The more we consider about God, the smaller we feel – but don’t’ stop there. David declared how considering the marvel of the human body made him declare again the wonderful works of God.
Psalm 139:14 (ESV) — 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
It’s important to see, understand, and teach others, particularly our children about the wonderful works of God in the ways He delivered His people in biblical times, delivers us today, even how He has brought deliverance from the power of sin, Satan, and death through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 78:2–4 (ESV) — 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
1 Corinthians 15:1–6 (ESV) — 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV) — 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Now we are getting somewhere in understanding. Everything we have has been given to us, including any understanding of God from creation to His revealed word, to His gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, who brought us a complete understanding of God.
1 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV) — 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
John 1:17–18 (ESV) — 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Psalm 138:2 (ESV) — 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.
Psalm 19:7 (ESV) — 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
Job 37:14 (ESV) — 14 “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
This is why the psalmist David looked to motivate Himself to praise God, maybe to draw himself up from the doldrums of depression, or the slippery slope of neglect, or maybe just to prepare for worship:
Psalm 103:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
And David concludes Psalm 103 by again calling upon himself to bless the Lord.
Psalm 103:22 (ESV) — 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
To bless God, to praise Him, is beyond us but it’s worth trying because it draws us closer to Him and opens the door for fellowship with Him, which as David also said is the fullness of joy.
Psalm 16:11 (ESV) — 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
Check out Bob’s podcast, The PowerBreak podcast, wherever you download podcasts or from his website.
