As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
5Who
[is] like the LORD our God, causing to be high to dwell,
6the
One causing to be low to look on the heavens and on the earth?
Verse 5 asks, “Who is like the LORD our God?” That is one of
my favorite questions. It is actually the meaning of the name Michael –
Mi-cha-el = Who?-like-God? I’ve always found it interesting that is the name of
the good angel Michael – Who is like God?, while Satan, the bad angel, says in
his heart, “I will be like the Most High.” A part of Satan’s downfall was that
he could not embrace that he was not like God. That leads my own heart
to the conclusion this is no trivial question. Who is like God? There needs to
be in our heart of hearts the settled conclusion that, in fact, our God is high
above all else, that there is no one like Him, that He is God and we are but
angels and men and raccoons, always, always, always dwelling ourselves in a
very small, very limited perspective of the totality of reality.
I sincerely believe all of this is fundamentally critical to
a right view of our existence. However, having said that, I acknowledge I could
have derived all those observations from verse 4, “High above all of nations [is] the LORD, His glory above
the heavens.” Verses 5 and 6 would consent
to all of this but then lead us on to one of the most sublime truths our hearts
can ever ponder.
And what is that? Can this High God ever trouble Himself
with anything so mundane as our pathetic little world? “Surely not,” some would
say. The deists of old held that the Lord simply set in motion the laws of nature,
then retreated back to His high and lofty home to see how it would all work
out. Such is invariably the case with men. The “higher” they rise, the less
willing or interested they become in the affairs of those “below” them. One of
the things that endeared Diana to the British people was that, though herself a
princess, she seemed to care about common people. But notice that Her gentle,
genuine, and personal attention endeared her specifically because it was so
unusual. Men simply aren’t usually like that.
Is our God? Can He who sits infinitely high above all
nations, who spoke a universe into being, genuinely care about the minor
details of that universe? Hear what He says, “For this is what the high and exalted One says -- He who lives
forever, whose Name is Holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also
with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the
lowly and to revive the hearts of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). “Look at the birds of the
air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26). “You open your hand and satisfy the
desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways
and faithful in all He does. The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
to all who call on Him in truth” (Psalm 145:16-18).
So says our passage before us today, “Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to
look on the heavens and the earth?”
The “High One” stoops down! Yes, He does care intimately about the most
minute and seemingly mundane details of not only our existence but even that of
birds and flowers.
Wonder of wonders! He who is infinitely
great extends that infinity not only to the furthest star of our universe but
also to the smallest atom. He who minds the spinning of galaxies knows the
number of hairs on each of our heads!
How can this be? Because He is God, not
man. We are incorrigibly prone to measure Him by us, to only understand Him in
light of understanding us; but to others He has said, “You thought I was such a
one as you are!” He is not. He is God.
Our God is not only great, greater, and
greatest, He is so great that His greatness reaches back to include us.
And what is the supreme example of this
High God’s “stooping down?” Is it not when “God so loved the world, He gave His
only Son” … when “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” – Jesus, our
Immanuel, the One who “was with God and was God” but “thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, but made Himself nothing” and was born a helpless baby, one
of us, to live with us, to walk with us, to die for us, to be our Savior? Jesus
ought to be the end of any doubts the world ever entertained whether the High
and Lofty One still cares about His universe.
This all leads me to conclude we really,
seriously have nothing to worry
about! It is one of the wonders of grace to know that our God infinitely cares
about the most minute details of our every second. As I sit here, my heart
tells me, if I could just keep this view of God in my head, I could lay worry
aside forever and live out my days in endless joy. And I should. I’m also quite
sure I won’t pull it off. If somehow in His great grace, He would grant such a
change in me, it could happen in a heartbeat. But I have no confidence in me.
God help me. I do believe; help my unbelief.
Who is like the LORD, our God?
How privileged we are that our God, our
Creator, is, even in His infinite greatness, love personified. He is infinite
love, great enough to create a beautiful universe, and great enough to include
the tiniest atom – and somewhere in the middle there, to actually care about
rebellious, broken worms. The High One stoops down!
No wonder the Psalm begins and ends with “Praise
the LORD!”
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