Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Psalm 145:5 the glorious honor of God's majesty

There are many passages of Scripture that teach us about the majesty of God. Today's verse deals with this, but we will look at others to see the harmony of the Word of God in regard to the revelation of God, which, if I do my job well, will lead you to praise, honor, adoration, and great love for the Creator of all things and His salvation of sinful man. But first, the text for the day:

Psalm 145: 5 KJV
"I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, 
and of Thy wondrous works."

This verse correlates with verse 4, so instead of repeating myself, I thought I would bring in other Scripture in regard to the majesty and glory of God. The first passage that comes to mind is one that I knew for years, but truly understood after reading R.C.Sproul's book, "The Holiness of God". That passage is Isaiah 6: 1-7

 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, 
high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, 
and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: 
the whole earth is full of his glory.

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried,
and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,
 and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: 
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, 
which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; 
and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

As I consider the "glorious honour of Thy majesty", and the explanation of the vision of Isaiah here, we cannot help but be humbled once again that the Creator, the King, the thrice Holy (other, separate, transcendent) God would reveal Himself to mankind in such a way. Truly, the images one sees in their mind as they read through this is absolutely breathtaking. And such was the case when witnessing this vision. Isaiah, a prophet of God, a trustworthy, faithful, and persecuted man of God would say that his lips were unclean, not because of some exposure of sin by God's words or the vision, but in view of the Holy God who stands as Creator, Ruler, and Judge over all Creation, but because of the glorious majesty of that God. He spoke of the uncleanness of himself, specifically his lips, BECAUSE his eyes had seen the King, Yahweh of Hosts. And yet, Isaiah's response of self-analysis and loathing of his sinfulness and that of his people, was not the end. God mercifully went on to cleanse Isaiah's lips, to burn away the sinfulness and then send him off to tell others of the glorious vision of the majesty of God, that they might also repent and follow the one true God. 

In Revelation chapter 4, we see a similar seen given to John, the aged disciple and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this revelation of Jesus Christ, after issuing warnings and chastisement along with encouragement to repent, we transition to a scene in Heaven. Here is John's account:

"1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice 
which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, 
Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, 
and one sat on the throne.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: 
and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats:
 and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, 
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: 
and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, 
which are the seven Spirits of God.

6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne,
 and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, 
and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him;
 and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying,
 Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, 
who liveth for ever and ever,

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

Here, we see similar descriptions of the majesty and glory of God. The repeat of "Holy, Holy, Holy" and the additional descriptor: "Which was, and is, and is to come" speaking of the eternality of this glorious majesty, the unending reign of the Creator over Creation, and yet despite the sinfulness of mankind, even after regeneration, God has allowed redeemed mankind into His presence. To consider the majesty of an earthly king's coronation, where the invited guests are not the members of Congress or Parliament, the rich and the powerful, but the treacherous and wicked sinners whose only reason for invitation is the mercy of God in calling them out of darkness and into His marvelous light, is to challenge the human mind's ability to think rationally. 

Why, after all, if God is so glorious and majestic, holy and awesome, would He not choose to reveal Himself only to the men like Isaiah whose lives were dedicated to proclaiming the truth of God (though Isaiah was indeed one of God's chosen people) and instead chooses to use Jacob the deceiver to be the father of God's chosen nation? Why would God use Saul of Tarsus to be the proclaimer of divine revelation of not only God's justice, but also His mercy and love? Why, and for that matter, HOW, could God invite men to His presence, adopts them as His children, and gives them eternal life with Him? The answer is found in the love, mercy, patience, grace, and compassion that God shows to us freely through the sending of His only begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, as the Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God. Jesus is the only way that sinners such as inhabit this earth can see and understand the majesty of God. And when God's majesty is revealed to the human heart through the work of regeneration, or being born again of the Holy Spirit, the work is always completed. He who began a good work in His people will be faithful to complete it. 

As we continue to ponder the wonders of this psalm, we will find other character traits of the Holy God, we will be led to worship and praise, and when the love of God overflows the boundaries of our hearts and minds, we will pour forth these wonderful truths to others, that God will be glorified, and that others may enjoy the glorious praise and worship of our majestic God, who sits enthroned in the heavens, and yet also cares about me, my worries and fears, the needs of my family, the need of my heart to know Him more and love Him more deeply. This is just another step on the journey to knowing God, experiencing His grace each day, and drives the receiver of God's grace to go and spread the message the world around. To God be all glory, honor, majesty, and praise, both now and forevermore! 

Soli Deo Gloria