The Greatness of God
Yael Eckstein | March 26, 2023
He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble. — Psalm 9:8-9
We start out every week with an inspirational lesson from the beloved Psalms. For centuries, these ancient poems of King David and others have been the foundation for Jewish and Christian worship. Enjoy!
I recently read a Gallup poll about faith in God in America. The good news is that the vast majority of Americans, over 80 percent, answered yes when asked the question, “Do you believe in God?” But in the same poll, one of the follow-up questions was, “Do you believe that God hears prayers and intervenes?” To this, only 47 percent responded yes.
Think about that. What does that mean for all those people who believe in God but don’t believe that He hears prayers and is involved in our lives?
I think that there are many people who simply don’t believe that their own individual lives are significant enough for God to play a role. They believe that God created the world. They may even believe that God has a plan for humanity. But they don’t believe that He intervenes in His Creation.
The irony is that once a person believes that there is a higher power, a God Who created and runs the world, limiting His influence and power to the “big” things actually diminishes our view of God. The greatness of our God is that He can show concern for each and every one of us at all times. He does not have limited attention like we do.
The Greatness of God
In Psalm 9, we read, “He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalm 9 is almost entirely about God’s justice and power over nations. But right there in the middle of the Psalm, David reminds us that God is also “a refuge for the oppressed.”
It’s important to note that in the Hebrew, the word for “the oppressed,” dach, is written in the singular. In other words, what David is teaching us is that the God Who judges nations and Who controls the sweeping forces of history is the same God Who looks after the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed individual who cries out to him “in times of trouble.”
We also see this in the Book of Isaiah: “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 heart of the contrite” (57:15)
God lives in the highest and holiest of places, and yet, He is with every needy person, in every place, at all times. That is the true greatness of God.
Your Turn:
Share in God’s work by partnering with The Fellowship to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and raise up those who are low in spirit.