We devote far too little time to reflecting on the glory of God, and as a result our “God is too small.” Our prayer life suffers and our faith suffers as a result. The psalmist did not make that mistake. In his reflection he said, “The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens.”
Lately I have had opportunity, as no doubt you have, to see photographs of earth from space. Not very far in space, of course, but far enough to see earth, the nations and man from a different perspective. To us on a day to day basis, man looms large, the nations are important and earth is everything. But just a few hundred miles aloft, earth is about as significant as a tennis ball, the nations are indistinguishable and man disappears into oblivion. “The Lord is high above all nations”—and high above the orbit of our space junk.
Most recently I viewed a striking presentation on the theory of “black holes.” The graphics were stunning, the dimensions awesome and the thoughtful viewer had an impressive look at the glory of the heavens. In terms of immensity, complexity and baffling beauty, it was quite overwhelming, whether real or imagined. But the Psalmist reflected, “His glory (is) above the heavens.”
The glory of God is beyond the inspection of our feeble spacecraft or the vaunted Hubble telescope. The only “telescope” that will give us the faintest glimpse of His glory is the written word of God opened under the illumination of the Holy Spirit. When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1), he was moved to humility crying, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts [Isa 6:5].”
When Jeremiah was introduced to God through His word he said, “Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child (Cf. Jer. 1:4-6).” When Ezekiel beheld “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” he said, “When I saw it, I fell upon my face,… [Ezek. 1:28b].” And when Daniel got just a glimpse of that glory, he said, “I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comliness was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength [Dan. 10:8].”
Then there is Saul, in the New Testament. “Breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,” he was making his way toward Damascus to arrest Christians when he saw “a light from heaven (and) fell to the earth…trembling and astonished” and was blinded by the light of that glory, emerging from the experience a new creature. (See Acts 9:1-22). And finally, John the great New Testament prophet, while exiled on the Isle of Patmos, having a splendid vision of the exalted Christ, “fell at His feet as dead (See Rev. 1:10-17a).”
What all of this illustrates is the paradox that the closer we are to God the more difficult it becomes to pray! Prayer, in fact, comes to most of us all too easily. If we catch but a glimpse of His glory, we will be overwhelmed by His majesty, ashamed by His holiness, broken and speechless before Him. The only proper posture is on our faces, and the only proper exercise is worship. Oh, how sorely that humility and awe is wanting in the church today!!
The psalmist continues, noting that God’s position is so lofty that He has to “(humble) Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in earth.” Nowhere was that more vividly illustrated than at the tower of Babel in the post-flood world when man, still defiant of God, set out to “build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and …make us a name…” When the project was well under way, the next verse declares, “The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded [Gen. 11:4-5].” Man’s proudest accomplishments, individually or collectively, are insignificant in the sight of his Creator and Lord, of whom it is said, “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity [Isa.40:15].”
Recently I heard again a gospel chorus which contains the line, if not the title, “Without Him I would be nothing.” It is a solemn truth when reflected against the background of this “nugget.” Indeed, less than nothing. Meditate upon this great text. It could change your prayer life. It might change you!
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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