Psalm 145:3 - Our Incomprehensible God

Psalm 145:3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.

Message: Our Incomprehensible God

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Now the study shifts a little from the doctrine of God to thinking about God's attributes. As this study continues it is hard to not think of our culture and the way in which it approaches God.

As I look at these verses, they express words of God's character. I understand this. I notice often that I often come to God and the study of Him as to what I will get out of that study. Worship in church often is words towards God that connect how He has impacted us. But simply expressing these words - Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised and His greatness is unsearchable - are words I don't think I often express because these words describe a God that is out there. I know that God is meant to be praised but I often still think about Him only in understanding how he affects me.

So I will try to pause this morning to exclaim - Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable. As I do this, I will continue to reflect on the writings of men that have come before me.

The phrase - Great is the Lord - appears 10 times, all in the Old Testament, though 2 times it refers to the greatness of the Lord's anger. Like this verse in Psalm 145, what follows is the words that He is therefore highly to be praised. Lord here is Yahweh.

This is an interesting progression. The Lord is Great and therefore highly to be praised. This greatness is not so much unknowable for we are witnesses every day of the way we encounter His greatness. But it seems to me this idea of unsearchable means that we can never find or locate the end of his greatness. It is unsearchable in that it never ceases, it never stops.

I just wonder if I don't talk about God's greatness very much because I am being affected by the world in which I live that all to often is questioning God and His relevance to our lives. So my focus remains there and somehow defending this rather than taking the time to simply praise Him.

I don't think it is impossible to understand God and what He has done. We know God is great by what we have seen Him, yet the extent of His greatness will never be found out completely. I remember reading that in Genesis 1 all of the creation that God made was considered good. Man and his creation is good, but God is great.

Promise: God is unlike any other subject as we can never master the Lord. And we can never master how great He is and His greatness throughout our world.

Prayer: Lord, you are great. My words to You need to be more expressive. Yes, I am thankful for a new day and for all that you have done for me. I am so thankful for Your hand of providence in my life. But, I am also reminded Lord today of simply pausing expressing that You Lord are great. Your greatness is to be praised. Your greatness is without end. People everywhere comment of your greatness and Your impact on our lives and therefore, how that greatness is visible to us. I'm thankful that I can hear from people throughout this land, from people like Shiva and Martha and James - your greatness is far reaching. Lord, you are great. I see so much that You have done but there is so much more I do not see.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.