REJOICING IN GOD’S GREATNESS

“He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:21‬)‬‬

God is great and greatly to be praised! God is the source, substance, and sum of our praise.  We praise Him for Who He is.

We know this great God personally, for He is “your God.”  Often we think of those who are great as being detached from all those who are lesser—and that is how humans generally act—but, not God.  He is never aloof!  Instead He is actively working on our behalf.

He does great and awesome things, for He is great!  This certainly means that He responds to our cries for help, but more—even before we cry He is at work accomplishing His will for our good and His glory.

We need to see and testify of His activity.  The world needs to know of His wonderworking power—so sinners will have saving faith and saints will have strengthened faith.  Heb.11:6 tells us this is the secret to pleasing God. I want to please Him, so I am going to praise Him!

GLORIFYING OUR GREAT GOD

“You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.” (Deut.10:20)

We respond to the greatness of God by giving Him glory.  As we consider Him, we are to “fear the LORD your God....”  To fear Him is to hold Him in reverence.  The outgrowth of fear should be the fruit of faithfulness.

This brings faithfulness in service, “you shall serve Him….”  He is the Great King and we are to be His loyal subjects.  You don’t disobey or delay when He commands.
 
Then, there will be faithfulness in steadfastness, “to Him you shall hold fast….”  Our life will not be wishy-washy or half-hearted.  His greatness means we do not abandon Him for another, for Who else can compare to Him?

Further, this means faithfulness in speech, “take oaths in His name.”  Because the very nature of our great God is truth—His attribute called immutability—then our word is to be our bond.  Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)  If we have treasured God in our hearts—stored up an awareness of His greatness—then we would want nothing to come from our lips or our lives that would cause men to diminish Him in their eyes.  Certainly, we will not take His name in vain—a fundamental commandment.  His name is too great and sacred.  What we say and our commitment to following through is a reflection of our apprehension and acknowledgment of God’s greatness or it will be a denial of it.

THE LENS OF GOD’S GREATNESS

I am to see the world through the lens of God’s greatness. This attribute of God is to give me perspective on my worldview. Here is an implication of God’s greatness, we may not have anticipated. Those who are not great in this world—and therefore powerless and needy—receive attention from this God who is great and without partiality.    In particular, those who were orphans, widows, and immigrants were often in want.

“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”  (‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:17-19‬)

There is the practical application of this principle and how we ought to respond to such people.  I recognize in our current political climate this is a polarizing statement. Without being detoured, let me say that I believe a nation must have borders and determine who its citizens are. God has established government to protect us, but we must also be wary lest our stand on principle become a matter of prejudice.

If we are children of God, then we should be as our Father.  We must recall the grace extended to us so we may extend it to others.  The Jews existed as a nation because God in His sovereignty opened up Egypt to them where they prospered.  By doing the same for these immigrants, they were reflecting God’s glory.

The reality is that none of us can add anything to God—we all might as well be orphans spiritually who need a Father to adopt us; we may as well be widows who need a Bridegroom to love us; we are strangers who need a King to welcome us.  This is what God does for us in the greatness of His grace.

GOD IS GREAT

As a child, I was taught a simple prayer containing a profound truth: “God is great; God is good...” and so it began with an acknowledgement of the greatness of God. It is a fundamental truth—“God is great.” This one verse is God’s testimony to His greatness, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:17‬). We see four aspects of the greatness of God.

His greatness is displayed in His might.  The great God is, “mighty.” He is Almighty God Who can do all things.

His greatness is demonstrated in His majesty.  The great God is, “awesome.” Those who know Him best understand how little they grasp and are in turn grasped by the truth of His greatness in a way that produces awe. God staggers our mind and takes our breath away—bringing us to our knees in worship!

His greatness is discerned in His morality.  The great God, “shows no partiality.” He does not treat men with prejudice.  So, God loves all, and judges all by one standard—His infinite holiness—but has provision for all in His Son Jesus Christ, Whose righteousness is ours by faith.  He is Judge of all mankind for He is above all.

His greatness is declared in His self-sufficiency.  He will not take a “bribe.” What does a God Who is everything and has everything need from us?  How can He be influenced by us?  There is no bargaining with God.  We need Him, but He does not need us.

God is great; God is good.  Let us thank Him!