Praise the Lord

In the beginning God…

Genesis 1:1

In his book Glimpses of a Greater Glory David Kim wrote, “In the opening sentence of the Bible, we are immediately introduced to the main character of this drama of redemption. The Bible establishes from the very beginning that before anything in creation existed, God existed for all eternity. He is the preeminent Sovereign, and like any artist, His creation reveals much about who He is.”[1]

I’ve heard people say that the Bible stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. In other words, the main purpose of the Bible is to teach people how to live successfully in this life and how to prepare for the next. Such a view misses the mark. The Bible is not primarily about us and how we can “live our best life now.” The Bible is about God and what he is doing in his creation. He is the hero of the story.

I was thinking about these things when I came to Psalm 103. What a grand portion of Scripture these verses are. How beautifully they reveal the character of God. Take a few moments and read the Psalm. See what it tells us about the nature and character of God.

• He forgives our sins and heals our diseases (v. 3).
• He redeems our life from the pit (v. 4).
• He crowns us with love and compassion (v. 4).
• He satisfies us with good things (v. 5).
• He works righteousness and justice for those who are oppressed (v. 6).
• He is compassionate and gracious, he is slow to anger, he abounds in love (v. 8).
• He does not accuse nor is he angry forever (v. 9).
• He does not treat us as our sins deserve (v. 10).
• His love for us is as high as the heavens are above the earth (v. 11).
• He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west (v. 12).
• He shows compassion for us like a tender, compassionate father (v. 13).

What wonderful things David shows us about God! From this list, what are the things that most resonate with you about who he is?  There are two that stand out to me more than the others:

• God limits his anger toward us and his correction of us. They are not forever; they come to an end. But there is no limit to his love. He abounds in love for us. His love is endless. David wrote that that love is as high as the heavens are above the earth. Just how high are the heavens above the earth? Where do the heavens end? They don’t. There is no end to the heavens. And there is no end to the infinite love of God for you and me.
• He does not remove our sins as far as the north is from the south, he removes them as far as the east is from the west. North and south are finite. If you start from the north pole and go south, you will reach a point where you cease going south and start heading north. But if you start going east around the globe you will never reach a point where you cease going east and start heading west—it too is infinite.

God’s love for us is infinite and he has infinitely removed our sin from us. How wonderful is that?

The Psalm also tells us that God is a healer, a redeemer, and he is gracious. He is good and just and compassionate. Meditate on these truths. Let them sink deeply into your soul.

 Then let praise for the Lord rise up out of your soul and join with the praise of angels and heavenly hosts and all his works of creation.  Praise, exalt, and worship the Lord! 

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

-Psalm 103:20-22

Life is often hard and confusing. Many times, things don’t make sense, things don’t turn out the way we expect or think they ought to be. Then there are other times when everything falls into place and life is good.

Whichever we are experiencing, let us remember, that life is not primarily about us. We are not the main character of the story. Life is about God and what he is doing. Let us pause and reflect on who he is, on his greatness and his majesty, and let that move us to praise, exalt, and worship our Lord.

[1] David H. Kim, Glimpses of a Greater Glory: A Devotional through the Storyline of the Bible, Crossway, p. 1.