God and Humanity: Isaiah 40 and Psalm 8

It is really difficult to grasp the supremacy of God. Being as finite and small as we are, God’s supreme power is nearly impossible for our minds to comprehend. How do you grasp a concept of the perfection, glory, and honor that God exemplifies while we are far from worthy. As David writes, “what is man that [He] is mindful of him, the Son of Man that [He] care for him?” (Ps. 8.4). It blows my mind that God would take an interest in making me “a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned [us]... in glory and honor” (Ps. 8.5). As I meditated over Isaiah 40 and Psalm 8, I was overcome with awe and wonder of God’s supreme power and unyielding love for a humanity that is far from deserving.

I look back on each of my days with disgust at my incapability of abstaining from sin. How simple it is to fall away, and how quick I find myself asking, “How did I get to this point again?” It’s a daily battle from repentance to sin, from closeness to God to crawling back for forgiveness. Despite all my weakness and all my failures, Christ pays my debt two-fold for all my sins (Is. 40.2). Like David, when I think of all “the work of [God’s] fingers” and then I look at myself, I am reminded of how little I am in comparison to the Almighty God I serve. I am reminded of His greatness demonstrated in His creation. It astounds me that Christ would still crown me in glory and honor and let me bare part in His name when He is so much greater than I will ever be (Ps. 8.5).

I see myself as in control of my life and the people around me, but it is frightfully humbling to recount, “all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them… and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff” (Is. 40.6-7, 24). I envision myself in the chaos of our culture, running around, trying to get control of my life. No matter how fast I move, I am never fast enough to catch up with the world around me. Then there’s God. I envision Him holding the chaos in “the hollow of his hand” and taking in a deep breath (Is. 40.12). With a calm, yet swift, exhale, I can imagine Him exonerating supreme power in the midst of confusion, to create peace or a “whirlwind [that] sweeps them away like chaff” (Is. 40.24).  

Imagery and metaphorical phrases like these are painted all over these passages in what seems like the authors’ best attempt in trying to understand God’s overwhelming power. Christ’s power is most often described in images and similes. As He is “enthroned above the circle of the earth…He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spread them out like a tent to live in” (Is. 40.22). No one, other than God, can stretch out the heavens. No one can raise valleys, lower mountains, make rough ground level, or “rugged places… plain” (Is. 40.4). No one can “measure [the earth’s] waters in… His hands” or “weigh the mountains on… scales (Is. 40.12). No one can call each star “by name” and by “His great power and mighty strength, [leave] not one of them… missing” (Is. 40.26). For the LORD Almighty said, “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” (Is. 40.25). No one God, You are greater than all, and your majesty surpasses all.  

This power can be frightening. It is clear that God holds each of us within His power and might. However, God is a loving God, and “his understanding, no one can fathom” (Is. 40.28). God is not only understanding, but also tremendously merciful. After all that we had done (and continue to do), He made us ruler over the earth, the “works of [His] hands” (Ps. 8.6). Meditating this principle struck chord in my heart. I am awed that God handed us His perfection to do with it what we will. What do we do with what is given to us? What do I do? He has given me all that He has created. I know I struggle with trying to make the most of each day and not settling for mediocrity, but this too is a daily battle. I want to carefully hold onto all that God has blessed me with and learn to embrace it. I want to learn to glorify Christ in His creation and let all that I do direct all attention and praise to Him.

I can also envision Christ as “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He fathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…” (Is. 40.11). Even though God is the Sovereign LORD with absolute power, he still humbles Himself and cares for us gently and carefully (Is. 40.10). In God’s holiness, He could have chosen to distance Himself from our sinful natures. Instead, God chose to love us in a way that is incomparable to anything we can find outside of Him.

      When thinking about God’s love, I reread one of my favorite chapters in The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer called “The Love of God.” Tozer describes the love of God as “one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing, too. God does not love populations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men. He loves us all with a mighty love that has no beginning and can have no end...” Just as a lost sheep, I was wondering, and God sought me out. In His supreme power and majesty, He chose to love me and care for me deeply. I can find rest and hope in Him knowing that He will “renew [my] strength” (Is. 40.31).