The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of All over Germany you will find swans on church .. ven that they would determine the rest of his life: the majesty Under Christ, Augustine's influence on Luther and Calvin was The soul of men shall hope under the shadow of Thy.
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- Reader Interactions
- A. Believing in the person of God (91:1–2): The psalmist employs four names for God:
- Prayers and Praises for Various Occasions
- Celebrating Common Prayer
We either think we can manage the little affairs of life, or we neglect them. Our strength against both little and great perils is in Christ. Adapted from the late Canon Melville. The marks and tokens of these are set forth here. They have set their love upon the Lord. Numbers of people feel a passing affection for Christ; their hearts burn within them for a while; but the fire soon dies down and out. But these have set their love, not their mere thought or approval, upon him. They have known his name. This is a higher degree. Their love has led to their keeping near to him, and to constant intercourse with him; and so now they have come to know him, as we say we know a dear and honoured friend, whom we have tested and tried and never found wanting.
And they have power in prayer—their prayers are answered. This cannot be said of all or most prayers, of which, so often, nothing seems to come. But it is otherwise here. In their troubles the Lord is with them. They will have trouble. Therefore trouble cannot be escaped. But bearing it alone may be, and is, by these people.
See Paul and Silas in the dungeon at Philippi, and the experience of all the saints in all the ages all along. How could it be otherwise? See the golden cross on the top of St. All the nations praise him. The vision of the salvation of God. For himself; for those dear to him; for the world. What this response is. That God will answer prayer. But on this, note: God will always give to them what is best; but that may be far different from what they have thought.
He will be with them in trouble. God is always with us; but in our trouble he is more especially with us. This is shown sometimes by his providential help, or by his grace sustaining us. He will deliver and honour. See this in such histories as that of Joseph.
What follows from it. That to the man of God the following things are impossible: Disappointment ; because God will answer. Loneliness ; for God is ever with him, and especially in trouble. Disgrace ; for how can that be to those whom he honours? Defeat ; for God will deliver. The construction of this psalm is peculiar see exegetical notes.
Ewald gives the best suggestion concerning its structure. Partly the poet expresses his own feelings as from himself, and partly as if they were uttered by another. He seems to listen to the thoughts of his own spirit till they become clear and distinct, like some prophetic words, or some Divine oracle speaking to him from without, and giving him thus the assurance and the consolation afresh which had already sprung up in his heart. The associations of the psalm, and the authorship, cannot with any certainly be traced, but the Jewish idea that it belongs to the age of Moses deserves consideration.
Certainly the experiences of the wilderness-life give the most effective illustration of both the figures and the sentiments of the psalm. As Moses would be impressed by them. Dangers of pestilence by remaining too long in a place. Local difficulties, as from serpents. Temper of the people. Influence of mixed multitudes. Wearying effect of constant changes, etc.
We seldom fully realize the persistent and exhausting anxieties of Moses. Sometimes even his life seemed to be in danger. He must often have yearned for a renewal of those restful hours. Finding various names is a common device of love. The names seem to express the many-sidedness of our relationship. It must be specially true of God that we stand in various relations to him, and are helped by a variety of terms and names, which express those relations.
There are four names given to God in vers. We commune with him reverently, for he is the Most High. We rest in him as the Almighty. We rejoice in him as Jehovah, or Lord. We trust in him as El, the mighty God. Unaffected by them in such sense as can weaken his relations to them.
We cannot interfere in disputes and difficulties without prejudice. Often we cannot keep calm to form good judgment. They can never be so complicated that he cannot unravel them; never so desperate that he cannot master them. The fact is patent. God does not always give protection from bodily evils to his saints.
Other good men were not thus protected. To us the faith is rather that whatever betides us of outward fortune cannot touch the true life which is hid in God. Temporal good attends upon piety. The world is constructed and arranged to give this law a sphere. Just so far as natural relations are kept simple, the law does work. Chastity does secure health. The fear of God does prove to be practical wisdom. The man of wise and restrained habits does stand the best chance in time of epidemic disease. The diligent in business do succeed. These occasion the distress of men like Asaph, who are too keen to detect the dark side of things.
The wicked are in great power. He makes his law cross the Divine law. Then arises the necessity for modifications in the working of the Divine law. The allegiance of the good must be tested. The results of that testing must be used as persuasive example to others. The Book of Job really wrestles with this difficulty.
He is their Defence, both in little perils and in great ones. Get at the thought suggested by this expression of the text, by realizing what our absolute confidence in the integrity of an earthly friend and fellow-worker does for us. Take the case of a trusted servant in a house of business.
It shields him from anxiety and care. It shields him from over-pressure of toil. It shields him from all robbery and wrong.
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So, too, with the faithful and honoured wife. Apply this to God. We may get beyond all mere promises, and assure our hearts in what God is. On returning home, he found the house shut up, as if some one was dead in it, and his wife dressed in mourning. Long as God lives—and he lives for ever—he surely is the Hiding-place and Shield of his people. To remove God, to bring down our high thought of him, our absolute confidence in his eternal truthfulness and integrity, would be to take away our shield, and leave us helplessly exposed to the assaults of all our foes.
It was a common belief, even among the heathen, that human beings have each their guardian genius; but the psalmist here does not appear to refer to any such belief. God has redeeming angels, afflicting angels, destroying angels. Illustrate from the time of the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn. Or refer to the preservation of Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua in the times of sudden pestilence in the desert.
These were in the angel-charge. Or take the case of Elisha at Dothan, when, seemingly in the power of the Syrians, he was really safe in the angel-charge. Or see Peter in prison, likely enough to follow James to his fate. He really was in the angel care and deliverance.
A. Believing in the person of God (91:1–2): The psalmist employs four names for God:
Or take the case of the Covenanter, who, escaping from his foes, climbed into the hollow of an old tree, over the hole of which a spider at once spun a great web, which made the pursuers feel sure no one could have crept inside. The conditions of the angel-charge. These the tempter kept back when he urged Jesus to rely on, or rather presume on, the angel-charge. We have no claim if we want to do wrong.
Those dealt with may be read in the light of wilderness-experiences. The common Eastern terror of the night, both as time of insecurity and time of spread of disease. Thieves work at night; sudden attacks of enemies are made at night; the angel of pestilence strikes at night; wild beasts roam at night; fires mostly break out at night.
The diseases that breed in unsanitary conditions, and gain force to sweep thousands away. The open and subtle attacks of the animals of the desert. The lion that attacks in front; the adder that bites the heel. Now what of spiritual peril may these typify? The perils that connect with the consciousness of helplessness. At night we can do nothing to ward off evils. So there are times in life when we feel to be in circumstances which we cannot even try to control. The good man would be hopelessly distressed if he were compelled to think he was at the mercy of circumstances.
The psalmist knows that darkness and light are both alike to his protecting God. The perils that come through the overmastering of our efforts. In the day we can watch, we can resist, we can order our conduct wisely, we can act promptly; and yet we are constantly finding the forces round us are bigger than we. That which happens is permitted.
The perils that come to us vicariously. We are constantly suffering from the sins and neglects of others.
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If we do right and our neighbour does wrong, both may have to suffer the consequences that result. As in case of infectious diseases. So national troubles reach the evil and the good alike. The perils that come through wilful wrong-doers. The possibilities of our feeling toward God. We may feel toward God all we can feel towards our fellow-men—faith, admiration, devotion, etc. Such things as 1 cherish the thought of them; 2 seek their company; 3 try in every way to please them. This response is found indicated in the assurances of this passage. He gives to them an answering affection.
He guards them with an ever-watchful defence. He accomplishes for them mighty deliverances. He grants them gracious exaltations. The Divine favour comes on men because: They make him their choice. Because they are ever making signs of their dependence on him. The signs being their daily and their special prayers. That friend may be unable to help, and yet the best of help comes from that friendly presence.
If God is with us in trouble, we are sure he can help and deliver. If he does not, it can only be because he is doing kinder things for us, by letting the trouble stay. The strain of feeling alone in time of trouble may be illustrated by a lonely walk through a strange and dangerous country. You can remember each time you stumbled in the weary darkness against a stone, how the pain seemed to shoot hotly through every nerve; and the lack of light, and the uncertainty lest each step might bear you over the precipice,—all this unnerved you.
But how different if a loved friend had been with you! All we can need is included and involved in it. He really need not tell us what he will do for us; it is enough if he will be there. God with us in trouble is the fact; but everything for us depends on our sensible realization of the fact. The Dwelling-place of the good man—God.
In such an abode we find: The safety of this abode. Omnipotent love encompasses him. The power of the good man to convert all things to his welfare. The guards and servants of the good man. God employs innumerable invisible ministries to serve us. I will set him on high, because he hath known my Name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
What are the qualities that God values most in character?
The knowledge of his Name; i. The setting our love upon him. Because he is what he is, and because our love is the surest pledge of obedience to his will. Expressed by the habit of prayer—calling upon him.
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In what way God honours and rewards those qualities. He will deliver him in trouble. By giving him strength superior to all his trials. We cannot escape trouble, but we can conquer it by the aid of the Spirit of God. He will exalt him to the possession of high honours. Give him a position of great security —high above all danger. And of great influence and usefulness. This is high honour. He will answer his prayers. In the only ways in which a supremely good and wise Being will answer the prayers of the erring and sinful—by giving them what they need, and not always what they ask for.
In this companion poem to Psalm 90 the psalmist sings a noble song of trust, but he has a didactic purpose as well. The prophetic oracle at the close adds a note of authority to the confidence expressed throughout. The depth of trust and the quiet confidence suggest that this is the meditation of an individual. However, its possible use as an antiphonal song adapts it for congregational use. He is my refuge and my fortress. The writer opens with a powerful presentation of his theme—the security of the one who trusts completely in God.
The secret place may better be translated the shelter , which meaning better parallels the concept of the shadow. Surely he shall deliver thee The basic idea of protection is expanded to include many acts of providential care as well as active deliverance. Because of the references to pestilence and disease, many commentators treat the entire psalm as a polemic against the use of magic formulae for warding off demons. Indeed, the Talmud suggests that the psalm be used in the case of demonic attacks.
The terror by night may refer to the night demon Lilith, while the arrow The snare of the fowler is a reference to traps set by adversaries cf. Noisome pestilence is literally, death of destructions , perhaps referring to a violent death. Because thou hast made the Lord The psalmist, reverting to his main theme, carries forward the idea of reward alluded to in verse 8. The man of faith is assured that God will send guardian angels to protect him from plagues and stumbling. Satan quoted these words in tempting Jesus Mt 4: According to the Talmud, every man has two ministering angels beside him during his entire life.
Because he hath set his love upon me. The authority behind the idea of reward is heightened by the oracle from God. The promise includes the blessings of deliverance, exaltation, answer to prayer, long life, and victory. These blessings and more are promised to the one who has come to love and trust God. The deliverance of God is promised for the one who loves and knows him God will protect his own against danger and attack It is a general principle, seen in the Wisdom Literature of the Bible, that the righteous will be spared unnecessary and avoidable difficulties.
Satan quoted Psalm A great truth laid down in general, That all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all times v. He that dwells, that sits down, in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he that by faith chooses God for his guardian shall find all that in him which he needs or can desire. It is the character of a true believer that he dwells in the secret place of the Most High; he is at home in God, returns to God, and reposes in him as his rest; he acquaints himself with inward religion, and makes heart-work of the service of God, worships within the veil, and loves to be alone with God, to converse with him in solitude.
It is the privilege and comfort of those that do so that they abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he shelters them, and comes between them and every thing that would annoy them, whether storm or sunshine. I will say of the Lord, whatever others say of him, "He is my refuge; I choose him as such, and confide in him. Others make idols their refuge, but I will say of Jehovah, the true and living God, He is my refuge: He is a refuge that will not fail me; for he is my fortress and strong-hold.
There being no reason to question his sufficiency, fitly does it follow, In him will I trust. If Jehovah be our God, our refuge, and our fortress, what can we desire which we may not be sure to find in him? He is neither fickle nor false, neither weak nor mortal; he is God and not man, and therefore there is no danger of being disappointed in him. We know whom we have trusted. Surely he shall deliver thee. Those who have themselves found the comfort of making God their refuge cannot but desire that others may do so. Now here it is promised,. That believers shall be kept from those mischiefs which they are in imminent danger of, and which would be fatal to them v.
This promise protects, 1. The natural life, and is often fulfilled in our preservation from those dangers which are very threatening and very near, while yet we ourselves are not apprehensive of them, any more than the bird is of the snare of the fowler. We owe it, more than we are sensible, to the care of the divine Providence that we have been kept from infectious diseases and out of the hands of the wicked and unreasonable. The spiritual life, which is protected by divine grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is the noisome pestilence.
He that has given grace to be the glory of the soul will create a defence upon all that glory. That God himself will be their protector; those must needs be safe who have him for their keeper, and successful for whom he undertakes v. He shall cover thee, shall keep thee secret Ps. God protects believers, 1. With the greatest tenderness and affection, which is intimated in that, He shall cover thee with his feathers, under his wings, which alludes to the hen gathering her chickens under wings, Mt.
By natural instinct she not only protects them, but calls them under that protection when she sees them in danger, not only keeps them safe, but cherishes them and keeps them warm. To this the great God is pleased to compare his care of his people, who are helpless as the chickens, and easily made a prey of, but are invited to trust under the shadow of the wings of the divine promise and providence, which is the periphrasis of a proselyte to the true religion, that he has come to trust under the wings of the God of Israel, Ruth 2: With the greatest power and efficacy.
Wings and feathers, though spread with the greatest tenderness, are yet weak, and easily broken through, and therefore it is added, His truth shall be thy shield and buckler, a strong defence. God is willing to guard his people as the hen is to guard the chickens, and as able as a man of war in armour.
That he will not only keep them from evil, but from the fear of evil, v. Great danger supposed; the mention of it is enough to frighten us; night and day we lie exposed, and those that are apt to be timorous will in neither period think themselves safe. When we are retired into our chambers, our beds, and have made all as safe as we can about us, yet there is terror by night, from thieves and robbers, winds and storms, besides those things that are the creatures of fancy and imagination, which are often most frightful of all.
We read of fear in the night, Cant. There is also a pestilence that walketh in darkness, as that was which slew the first-born of the Egyptians, and the army of the Assyrians. No locks nor bars can shut out diseases, while we carry about with us in our bodies the seeds of them. But surely in the day-time, when we can look about us, we are not so much in danger; yes, there is an arrow that flieth by day too, and yet flies unseen; there is a destruction that wasteth at high-noon, when we are awake and have all our friends about us; even then we cannot secure ourselves, nor can they secure us.
It was in the day-time that that pestilence wasted which was sent to chastise David for numbering the people, on occasion of which some think this psalm was penned. Here is great security promised to believers in the midst of this danger: God by his grace will keep thee from disquieting distrustful fear that fear which hath torment in the midst of the greatest dangers.
Wisdom shall keep thee from being causelessly afraid, and faith shall keep thee from being inordinately afraid. Thou shalt not be afraid of the arrow, as knowing that though it may hit thee it cannot hurt thee; if it take away the natural life, yet it shall be so far from doing any prejudice to the spiritual life that it shall be its perfection. It is also under divine direction, and will hit where God appoints and not otherwise.
Every bullet has its commission. That they shall be preserved in common calamities, in a distinguishing way v. When multitudes die round about us, though thereby we must be awakened to prepare for our own death, yet we must not be afraid with any amazement, nor make ourselves subject to bondage, as many do all their life-time, through fear of death, Heb. The sprinkling of blood secured the first-born of Israel when thousands fell. Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the just reward of the wicked, which perhaps refers to the destruction of the first-born of Egypt by the pestilence, which was both the punishment of the oppressors and the enlargement of the oppressed; this Israel saw when they saw themselves unhurt, untouched.
As it will aggravate the damnation of sinners that with their eyes they shall behold and see the reward of the righteous Lu. Here are more promises to the same purport with those in the foregoing verses, and they are exceedingly great and precious, and sure to all the seed. The psalmist assures believers of divine protection, from his own experience; and that which he says is the word of God, and what we may rely upon.
The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises; it is much the same with that, v. They are such as make the Most High their habitation v. It is our duty to be at home in God, to make our choice of him, and then to live our life in him as our habitation, to converse with him, and delight in him, and depend upon him; and then it shall be our privilege to be at home in God; we shall be welcome to him as a man to his own habitation, without any let, hindrance, or molestation, from the arrests of the law or the clamours of conscience; then too we shall be safe in him, shall be kept in perfect peace, Isa.
To encourage us to make the Lord our habitation, and to hope for safety and satisfaction in him, the psalmist intimates the comfort he had had in doing so: The promises that are sure to all those who have thus made the Most High their habitation. That, whatever happens to them, nothing shall hurt them v. It is not an evil, an only evil, but there is a mixture of good in it and a product of good by it.
Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection: There shall no plague come nigh that, nothing to do thee or thine any damage. That the angels of light shall be serviceable to them, v. This is a precious promise, and speaks a great deal both of honour and comfort to the saints, nor is it ever the worse for being quoted and abused by the devil in tempting Christ, Mt. He who is the Lord of the angels, who gave them their being and gives laws to them, whose they are and whom they were made to serve, he shall give his angels a charge over thee, not only over the church in general, but over every particular believer.
The angels keep the charge of the Lord their God; and this is the charge they receive from him. It denotes the great care God takes of the saints, in that the angels themselves shall be charged with them, and employed for them. The charge is to keep thee in all thy ways; here is a limitation of the promise: This word the devil left out when he quoted the promise to enforce a temptation, knowing how much it made against him. But observe the extent of the promise; it is to keep thee in all thy ways: Wherever the saints go the angels are charged with them, as the servants are with the children.
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They shall bear thee up in their hands, which denotes both their great ability and their great affection. They are able to bear up the saints out of the reach of danger, and they do it with all the tenderness and affection wherewith the nurse carries the little child about in her arms; it speaks us helpless and them helpful. They are condescending in their ministrations; they keep the feet of the saints, lest they dash them against a stone, lest they stumble and fall into sin and into trouble. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder. The devil is called a roaring lion, the old serpent, the red dragon; so that to this promise the apostle seems to refer in that Rom.
It may be applied to that care of the divine Providence by which we are preserved from ravenous noxious creatures the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee, Job 5: He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he had in store for them, v. Some make this to be spoken to the angels as the reason of the charge given them concerning the saints, as if he had said, "Take care of them, for they are dear to me, and I have a tender concern for them. To whom these promises do belong; they are described by three characters: His nature we cannot fully know; but by his name he has made himself known, and with that we must acquaint ourselves.
They are such as have set their love upon him; and those who rightly know him will love him, will place their love upon him as the only adequate object of it, will let out their love towards him with pleasure and enlargement, and will fix their love upon him with a resolution never to remove it to any rival. They are such as call upon him, as by prayer keep up a constant correspondence with him, and in every difficult case refer themselves to him. What the promises are which God makes to the saints. That he will, in due time, deliver them out of trouble: I will deliver him v.
If God proportions the degree and continuance of our troubles to our strength, if he keeps us from offending him in our troubles, and makes our death our discharge, at length, from all our troubles, then this promise is fulfilled. That he will, in the mean time, be with them in trouble, v. If he does not immediately put a period to their afflictions, yet they shall have his gracious presence with them in their troubles; he will take notice of their sorrows, and know their souls in adversity, will visit them graciously by his word and Spirit, and converse with them, will take their part, will support and comfort them, and sanctify their afflictions to them, which will be the surest token of his presence with them in their troubles.
That herein he will answer their prayers: He shall call upon me; I will pour upon him the spirit of prayer, and then I will answer, answer by promises Ps. That he will exalt and dignify them: I will set him on high, out of the reach of trouble, above the stormy region, on a rock above the waves, Isa. They shall be enabled, by the grace of God, to look down upon the things of this world with a holy contempt and indifference, to look up to the things of the other world with a holy ambition and concern; and then they are set on high.
I will honour him; those are truly honourable whom God puts honour upon by taking them into covenant and communion with himself and designing them for his kingdom and glory, Jn. That they shall have a sufficiency of life in this world v. With length of days will I satisfy him; that is, [1. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him?
A man may die young, and yet die full of days, satur dierum—satisfied with living. A wicked worldly man is not satisfied, no, not with long life; he still cries, Give, give. But he that has his treasure and heart in another world has soon enough of this; he would not live always. That they shall have an eternal life in the other world.
This crowns the blessedness: It is more probably that the word refers to the better country, that is, the heavenly, which the patriarchs desired and sought: All these promises, some think, point primarily at Christ, and had their accomplishment in his resurrection and exaltation. Psalm 91 , a psalm of trust, does not identify its author. The psalm is sufficiently similar to Ps. Alternatively, the experiences and ideas of Moses could have been used by an anonymous writer. This poem has a very strong messianic thrust, and God Himself speaks in vv.
The development of the psalm is in four main sections: The person who trusts in God is the one who lives close to Him. The images of a bird trap and various types of disease are a general description of dangers that might come to helpless people. God is described as a mother hen under whose wings the psalmist can come for refuge Shield and buckler indicates complete protection from all harm.
God is an all protective shield for the believer. Terror, arrow, pestilence, and destruction together refer to evil in general. Like the Israelites in Egypt who were spared the danger that touched their neighbors Ex. The punishment of the wicked is as sure as the deliverance of the righteous. This person is the coming One. My refuge is the same word used in v.
Dwelling place is the same word used in These words were used by Satan to tempt the Savior Matt. The animal and snake imagery in this verse pictures all kinds of evil that might threaten the coming One. The Father will protect Him no matter what the danger. He has known My name speaks of an intimate, experiential knowledge of the Father John 1: Psalm 92 , a psalm of descriptive praise Ps. The psalm also includes several wisdom themes. Consideration of these references shows that Shaddai see niv mg.
The emphasis here is on things which come unasked upon us. We should isolate the psalm from the rest of of Scripture if we understood it to promise immunity. Here, as elsewhere e. Shield … rampart , two different sorts of protection summarizing every possible protection.
Indeed you, Lord, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling. These verses stress the dangers that we encounter in all your ways , out and about in life. Note how these reach from initial saving action rescue right through to fully enjoyed salvation and cover all intervening needs. There seems to be so much injustice in the world men lie, cheat, steal, and kill all the time with no seeming repercussions , but true justice is not meted out in this earthly realm, but in the true realm the eternal heavenly realm.
In the end, each man will receive his just deserts at the hands of an immutable God who cannot be persuaded or bribed. Christ will look at each man's heart and if it is the least bit corrupted by sin, that man, not being pure, will receive the justice of hell. The believer too would fail this test, if he were not already made clean by his baptism into Christ's death. Thus he is rightly judged clean by Christ and enters into eternal Sabbath.
In God's justice, we can find a comfort for all the wrongs perpetrated against us and against mankind. We know that our cruel boss who cheated us for so many years will receive what he deserves. We know that the politician who did wrong to gain personal power will receive justice. We know that killers like Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot will receive justice. And we know that we will receive justice as well.
That can be scary for one who truly knows his heart's deceitfulness and is not a believer, but the Christian rests in his sweet faith in Christ, knowing that he is judged in Christ cf. We all have a basic understanding of what love is, but we are unable to comprehend the depths of True love. This is the love that God embodies. God is the genesis of love; He is its source; and it is by Him that we experience love.
God's love is based in a supreme desire to glorify Himself, for He is the being most worthy of love. By seeking His own glory, God pours forth His love upon His creation that it might better give glory to Him. God loves His creation and better than His creation, God loves His people — those whom He will take with Himself into eternal glory! This is one of the greatest truths of Scripture: Mercy is when that which is deserved is withheld to the benefit of the object of the mercy.
God has demonstrated this attribute in abundance with respect to mankind. We from nearly the beginning of our existence have deserved nothing but wrath; having sinned and fallen short of eternal life in glory, we can do nothing to commend ourselves to or defend ourselves before God. But thankfully, God has been so amazing in His mercy. Over and against merely having the mercy to allow us to live out our miserable lives without destroying us instantly, God has chosen us to greatness and glory by the hand of His Son.
The believer finds himself in Christ and enjoys full well the fruits of God's mercy. God has the unlimited power to accomplish anything that can be accomplished — this is termed omnipotence. The things God does are neither difficult nor easy for God; they are only either done or not done. This is because difficulty is a factor that comes about only through the potential for not accomplishing a task. This does not apply to God for potentials do not apply to Him — only actuals.
God's power to do all that He desires is the fuel for the engine of sovereignty, which accomplishes His providence. A senseless challenge to God's sovereignty is the question of whether He can make a rock so heavy that he couldn't lift it. This is a senseless question because the feat requested is not a thing to be accomplished through power, but rather by contradiction of reality — the equivalent of asking whether Homer could write an epic so long that he couldn't read it.
By omnipresence — also referred to as "ubiquity" — we mean that God is everywhere present in the fullness of His being. This allows Him to interact in any places at any times even in multiple places simultaneously. Being in all locations present in the whole of His being, there is no place we can go and not be in His presence; this is a comfort for Christians and a torment to nonBelievers. God is not spatial or dimensional in existence as we are; if He were, we would constantly be bumping our heads on Him.
While it is beyond the scope of our understanding to work out how it is that God can be ubiquitous but act locally, we accept it in like manner as many other recalcitrant ideas: When we say God is omniscient, we mean that He knows all that there is to know. There is nothing that is outside the scope of His conception, understanding, or attention. God neither studies nor learns for one cannot increase a knowledge that is already insurmountable. Neither does probability exist for God; all things either are or are not in His perspective.
There is no maybe. There are no potentially infinite realities as the faux-hip coffeehouse philosophers and comic book writers are so fond of speculating. There is one reality and God knows it in its entirety, as it exists by, through, and for Him. God is neither surprised by the way the world works itself out, nor shocked by the choices we make.
Omniscience is the passive end of His providence — the working out of God's predetermined purpose via His sovereignty that is, His mastery over all that is — in that it is the means by which providence can exist, but neither the engine nor the fuel that brings about His action. Righteousness is similar to goodness and holiness, but differs in that it requires works to establish it. Something like Adam can be holy, but not righteous if good works do not accompany it. God is good, but He refers to Himself as righteous because He works the good as well.
Christians are called righteous, not because they have any ability to accomplish good works, but because they reside in the good works or righteousness of Christ. Christ's obedience is transferred to us and God grants us eternal life as a result! By self-existence, we refer to that unique attribute of God by which He has existed eternally and will always exist so. Unlike all other things that relate to our existence, God does not owe His being to any other thing. I owe my existence to my mother and father and all my varium of ancestors. My computer owes its existence to Compaq employees and a host of subcontractors.
And our earth owes its existence to God who through whatever means and processes he saw fit, created the world. All events have causes. All creatures have been created.
Celebrating Common Prayer
God is the uncaused cause and the uncreated creator. God did not depend upon anything outside Himself for His existence, nor will He ever depend upon anyone for it. Sovereignty tells of God's divine control over everything that happens. There is nothing outside the control of His loving Hand: God's sovereignty is a huge source of comfort to the believer, for it helps him to know that no matter how chaotic any situation may seem, he really need not fear for God is still in charge and on the throne and that combined with His love is unassailable.
Transcendence refers to the fact that God is unlike any other being in our experience and so no analogy or comparison can come close to perfectly describing Him. His ways are so other than our ways that we cannot predict Him, categorize Him, or comprehend Him with any sort of accuracy. You encouraged me with strength in my soul. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber. It will be 4 years this week since my Mom died and I had to turn 40!!! God bless you and your sweet family.
Thank you, I feel much better. I am really going through tough times but I trust and believe it will all be over soon. I am currently going through a retrenchment at work and things are not going so well in my relationship… Stressful is an understatement… My situation seems hopeless and I am so tired… my heart and my mind and my body…. I asked God for help, a sign that things will be okay… Thank you…. I can totally relate! A sign , some small sign any sign… still waiting! Hope things for you are better? I feel somewhat okay after reading this piece you hav collected…i am in a new stage of life and i nid a hand terribly but anytime i think of the source of help i feel:
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