William G. T. Shedd once said, "Will the eagle that has soared in the open sky, that has gazed into the sun, endure to dwell in the dark cavern of the bat? If the vision of God were glorious to our minds, wouldn't a return to the things of earth be reluctant?"
Is your vision of God glorious? It won't be if you are one who "makes God in your own image" - if you create a God who suits your desires. But if you allow God's Word to show you a vision of God, chances are you will see something dazzling that will catch your eye for eternity.
Our passages today offered us glimpses of that glory. Consider the following:
1. Psalm 97:2-3 - Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around.
2. Psalm 97:5 - The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
3. Psalm 97:9 - For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
4. Psalm 98: 1-2 - O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and HIs holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed HIs righteousness in the sight of the nations.
5. Isaiah 40:7-8 - The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.
6. Isaiah 40:11 - He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
7. Isaiah 40: 12-18 - Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.... All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
8. Isaiah 40:225-28 - Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
9. Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power not one is missing.
Is your vision of God glorious? It won't be if you are one who "makes God in your own image" - if you create a God who suits your desires. But if you allow God's Word to show you a vision of God, chances are you will see something dazzling that will catch your eye for eternity.
Our passages today offered us glimpses of that glory. Consider the following:
1. Psalm 97:2-3 - Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around.
2. Psalm 97:5 - The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
3. Psalm 97:9 - For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
4. Psalm 98: 1-2 - O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and HIs holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed HIs righteousness in the sight of the nations.
5. Isaiah 40:7-8 - The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.
6. Isaiah 40:11 - He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
7. Isaiah 40: 12-18 - Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.... All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
8. Isaiah 40:225-28 - Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
9. Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power not one is missing.
10. Isaiah 40:28-29 - Have you not known? Have you not heart? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of heaven and of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.
Take a moment or more and dwell in the light of the glory of our Lord as revealed in His Word, and as you do this day by day, you will find the things of earth, so diminished in glory, will not attract you like your God. May this vision of God also keep you from the idols of this world which may glitter for a moment but have no lasting glory. God help us to keep our focus, always looking into the glorious Son.
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