The Greatness and the Goodness of God

Pastor Richard Blake
19th June 2011

Isa. 40:12-17; 27-30

It may seem to us that certain circumstances of life display one characteristic of God while other circumstances display another, as if they were incompatible or contradictory. The love and the wrath of God seem that way to many. So it may have seemed to the ancient Hebrews when Isaiah warned them of coming judgment in the form of Babylonian captivity. Yet, even in this circumstance, the Sovereign Controller of the universe still ruled from a throne of grace and would help them in their time of need. Likewise, no matter how great our difficulty God is greater still, and at His throne of majesty we may always find mercy. This text reminds us of significant truths about the nature of God and His ways of dealing with us.

I. HE IS INCOMPARABLE IN HIS GREATNESS (vv. 12-17)

The prophet asks a series of questions intended to awaken a sense of wonder at the greatness of God. His greatness may be seen in the magnitude of His works. Isaiah compares the smallest of measures with the greatest of weights to express the relation of God to His creation. He considers the vast collection of the waters of the earth and says that God holds them in the hollow of His hand. He looks at the vastness of the heavens and says that God measures them as if they were but the span between a thumb and finger, an insignificant measurement. Then the prophet scans the horizon and observes the mountains. Like a jeweler weighing out a tiny gem in a pan balance, even so God weighs as it were the mountains. God’s greatness is also evident in the perfection of His wisdom. Human rulers could not govern without a host of counselors, yet the God who rules the whole universe is entirely independent of any instruction and can be trusted to rule with wisdom and justice. God’s greatness is also evident in the independence of His nature. He is the Sovereign Potentate over all the earth, needing nothing to validate His rule. In comparison to Him, all the nations of the earth are as a drop hanging in the rim of a bucket when poured out; they are as a fine speck of dust that settles on a scale without making it uneven. God is even independent of the worship of His creation. All of creation testifies that God is incomparable in greatness.

II. HE IS INEXHAUSTIBLE IN HIS GOODNESS (vv. 27-31)

With our minds now full of this expression of God’s greatness, the prophet reminds us of His relation to us. He is unwearied that He may do good. This everlasting God was not wearied in the work of creation and He is unwearied in sustaining His creation. And this unwearied God of creation does good to wearied man. The One who holds the seas in the hollow of His hands, who spans the stars with His fingers, who weighs the mountains as dust—He gives power from His inexhaustible supply to those who are weary and fainting. Surely, the world has little to offer to the weary and fainting person. Yet in the midst of life’s storms, when we feel we’re almost gone, we can turn to the great God of creation and find He is as good in the moment of our need as He is in eternity. The power He gives to the faint is greater than that which hold the stars in place, for they are held by an act of power brought to bear on them. Yet God brings strength to us not by exertion from without but by infusion within. Yet this assurance is offered only to those who wait upon Him. When we turn to Him, we exchange our spent strength for His power. He waits for you to wait upon Him.