The Grounds of Glory

God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn once again one more time to the Book of Romans
to Chapter 11. Into arguably one of my favorite
verses in all of Scripture. I can remember it was very early
in my walk with the Lord. I had probably not even been
a Christian a year when I first came across this passage, and
I can remember liking it, but I can remember not even knowing
why. I can remember seeing a depth
and a significance to this passage that I was ill-equipped to really
be able to begin to measure. Lloyd-Jones said of this passage,
it is beyond any question One of the most glorious, wonderful
and exalted statements, which is to be found anywhere in the
Bible. I knew that it was a deep passage.
I knew that it had great significance. And even last evening, as we
talked with some of God’s people, we were meditating and really
thinking on The desire of the human heart is to know God, and
that’s what this passage teaches. The desire of the Christian is
to get to know his or her God better. And theology, theology
proper, is the fitting means to that end. The study of God
is what enriches us and enables us to really begin to function
as God designed us to be. Another set of this passage that
few passages in the scriptures are to be compared with this
in the force with which it represents the idea that God is all and
that man is nothing. Remember when we started this
section of scripture chapter 11 several weeks ago my title
was God and grasshoppers. God doesn’t mean to belittle
anyone. God sent his own son to die for
the very people that he’s speaking to. But he wants to put things
in perspective, and he wants us to know not so much the littleness
of man, although it’s there. He wants us to see the greatness
of God. These passages, this verse, specifically
verse 33 through 36, You could say that Paul is looking
directly back at chapter 11 or perhaps even at the latter verses
of chapter 11 and is appending this doxology in verse 33 to
36 is kind of a direct statement in support of what he had just
said. That’s certainly possible. I would say though that what
Paul is pointing to is He’s looking back over the entire truth laid
out in this entire epistle. Think of the depth of this doxology
as you think of such subjects as the condemnation of sinners
as we saw in chapters one through three the just condemnation of
sinners. Think of God’s plan of redemption
that is unfolded to us in chapters four and five. Think of God’s
work of sanctification that is detailed explicitly in chapter
6 through 8. Think of the exercise of divine
sovereignty as we have just reviewed in chapters 9 through 11. And
when Paul says the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God. To him be the glory. You begin
to see that what Paul is doing is summarizing all of what he
has said thus far. And he literally calls us to
worship because of it. In dealing with the problem that
Paul has just dealt with. The waywardness of the nation
of Israel. The thoughts that Paul brought
us to is just how infinite and how merciful a God he is. that he would use a wayward nation
to bring heathen who really didn’t even know and believe in God.
The very people described in chapters one and two that he
would bring them to repentance and faith out of his abundant
mercy and then ultimately he would use them to bring the nation
of Israel to repentance and faith ultimately. One said that these
verses contain at once a profound confession of faith in the goodness
and wisdom of God. Goes on to say that something
has been said of the purposes and ways of God but not all.
Perhaps like me you look at even the deep study of chapters 9
through 11 chapters 1 through 11 really. And you see that God has indeed
imparted to us truth but not a one of us would say that we
have the final word on truth. Something has been said of the
purpose and ways of God but not all. Enough to confirm faith
and to awaken worship and praise but not to explain everything.
And that’s what brings Paul to this point. That’s what brings
Paul to this doxology is the fact that not that Paul has everything
figured out. Not that Paul has been revealed
everything. But the sudden realization of
how great his God is. If you would look at verses 33
through 36. Where Paul writes all the depth of the richest
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and unfathomable his ways. For who has known the
mind of the Lord or who became his counselor or who has first
given to him that it might be paid back to him again. Well
from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be the glory forever. Paul gives us in this passage
the grounds of glory. That’s the simplest thought.
You know that my habit is to find first the simple sentence
and the simple sentence in this verse is somewhat complex. The
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how
unsearchable his judgments and fathomable his ways to him be
the glory that’s the simplest thought. Paul takes us as it
were before the very throne of God. And he shows to us the character
and the nature of God and says, what else can we do but give
all glory to him? Paul has wrapped up his argument.
Paul has wrapped up his discussion of sin, his discussion of salvation,
his discussion of sanctification, his discussion of the exercise
of God’s sovereignty to the nations. Paul has wrapped it up. And in
doing so, Paul has justly and effectively vindicated God against
the attacks and against the criticism that God faced
over the waywardness of the nation of Israel. Paul looks at the human accusation
of injustice on God’s part. Paul has taken us before God
to show us that God is indeed And basically, in the course
of this, he has shown to us that it’s our lack of knowledge and
not God’s lack of goodness that should be criticized. And
in response to that, Paul can do nothing but burst forward
with a doxology. If you know Paul’s writings,
and I know that you do, you know that doxologies occur frequently
in Paul’s writings. and as such they are majestic
pieces of alleged literature. But I would suggest to you that
a doxology is really born out of an act of worship. It is Paul
bowing suddenly before the throne of grace bowing before Almighty
God and not only exercising an act of worship but in doing so
calling others to the same. It is not only an active worship,
it is a call to worship. This particular doxology is just
as throughout Paul’s use of these doxologies. is an indicator not
of our own happiness as humans. It certainly isn’t for our glory.
The ultimate purpose of these doxologies is to focus all glory
upon God himself. One referred to this as an eloquent
expression of wonder and adoration. It’s not that Paul sat down and
pondered what words might be effective to communicate an act of worship. It wouldn’t surprise
me that Paul found himself suddenly on his knees before Almighty
God. At the close of this detailed discussion, the very mysteries
that still surround divine truth, the divine truth that was revealed
that only seemed to beg more questions One said this doxology is prompted
by what we do not know about God rather than what we do know. Even what he has revealed we
do not fully comprehend. Paul is not breaking into praise
because he has been able to give a final and complete solution
to some very difficult problems. He has certainly given some of
the answers but some very important questions the answer is still
not revealed. That’s what Paul responds to. And so, what is Paul’s attitude
as he utters these words? Is it an attitude of academic
pride? Is it stoicism? Is it a pensiveness
that draws others in out of curiosity? I shared with one this week,
I think Paul is absolutely stunned before God. He’s awestruck. He’s amazed at the death of God
and he’s humbled to the core of his being. It wouldn’t surprise
me in the least if Paul wrote these words from his knees as
he struggled to see the page through tear filled eyes. If
you would ponder for a moment the grounds of glory. Go back
if you would to verse thirty three where Paul says oh the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The word depth there just points
to the almost the impenetrable depths of human thought it’s
beyond our ability to even plumb those debts inexhaustible described
another of this word. This word has been used throughout
the scriptures beginning in the songs and elsewhere as a an indicator
of what is absolutely immeasurable and in our day and age. We almost
we’ve almost lost sight. We’ve been seemingly to the furthest
reaches of the depths of the ocean. We’re approaching as such
in space. It seems from time to time we
don’t even know what the word immeasurable means anymore. Except
with regards to God. We haven’t even begun to figure
God out completely. Psalm 36, 6 says, Your righteousness
is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great
deep, O Lord. Paul used this word death with
regularity. We’ve already seen it in chapter
eight or height or depth nor any other created thing. There
isn’t anything that can come between us and our God. First
Corinthians 210 Ephesians 318. We will be able to comprehend
it all the same. What is the breadth and length
and height and depth. Paul uses that imagery to point
to the absolutely immeasurability of almighty God. Now. The grammatical form of the words
that follow, those three little words, riches and wisdom and
knowledge, all indicate that they are modified by this little
word, depth. It’s as if Paul says, the depth
of God’s riches, the depth of God’s wisdom, and the depth of
God’s knowledge. Consider each just briefly. When
he says the depth of the riches of God, he’s obviously pointing
to not just the wealth that God possesses. We know that God owns
the cattle on a thousand hills. We know that God’s resources
are completely unlimited. What he speaks of here is what
we feared that we lacked back in Romans 8. We feared that God
might run dry on his wellspring of grace. We feared that we might
run out, that God might run out. We see here that Paul speaks
of infinite resources, the depth of God’s riches. It is absolutely
inexhaustible. There isn’t anybody who is beyond
the pale. There isn’t anybody that can
run out the supply. God is talking here, laying out the
depth of God’s mercy, the depth of his kindness. arguments up till now that in
these preceding chapters pointed not only to the love and the
wisdom of God. But here Paul points to the way
in which God brings about these things that is absolutely beyond
our ability to even comprehend, and there is absolutely no limit
to the way that God can exercise his grace. Not only is there
a depth to his riches, there is a depth to his wisdom. Wisdom
has been described in many different ways by people. One described
it as the broad and comprehensive survey of things. The wisdom,
said another, which informs God’s purposes. I love the way one
said it simply. It is the ability the most noble
goal together with the surest means of attaining that goal.
That’s God. That’s the depth of wisdom that
sees the beginning and the end. It’s not just knowledge. It’s
the ability to apply that knowledge in the best possible way. One great theologian said the
wisdom of God may be regarded as the particular aspect of his
knowledge. It is quite evident that knowledge
and wisdom are not the same. They do not always accompany
each other. An uneducated man may be superior to a scholar
in wisdom. Knowledge is acquired by study,
but wisdom results from an intuitive insight into things. God is not
only knowledgeable, he is not only omniscient, but he is wise. Sometime ago, I considered Proverbs
8, which looked at the subject of wisdom and wisdom here is
speaking of God. God is all wise. God not only
is all knowing, but he is supremely wise in his ability to apply
that knowledge. Listen to Proverbs chapter 8. The Lord possessed me, that is,
wisdom, at the beginning of his way, before the works of old.
From everlasting I, wisdom, was established, from beginning,
for the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths,
I was brought forth. When there were no springs abounding
with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills,
I was brought forth. That he had not yet made the
earth and the fields, nor the dust of the world, when he established
the heavens, I was there when he has inscribed a circle on
the face of the deep when he made the firm skies above when
the springs of the deep became fixed when he set this for the
boundary when he set for the sea its boundary so that the
water would not transgress when he marked out the foundations
of the earth. Then I wisdom was beside him
a master workman and I was daily his delight rejoicing always
before him. Wisdom is part of God himself. Wisdom is exemplified in God. God not only has all the riches
of his grace at his disposal, he has all wisdom. And not only that, all knowledge.
Behold the depth of the knowledge of God. Knowledge, this is where
the information, the all-inclusive, the inexhaustible awareness of
people and things, ideas, concepts. There isn’t anything that escapes
God. As the Psalm said, Thou dost know when I sit down and
when I rise up. Thou dost understand my thought
from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path
and my lying down. and are intimately acquainted
with all my ways. What child of God doesn’t love
those words? But what sinner doesn’t hate
them? God knows everything. God knows
everything future and past, large and small. Nothing is hidden
from God, whether it’s good or evil. As the writer of Proverbs
said, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. and only to a
Christian is not a good thing. The eyes of the Lord are in every
place, watching the evil and the good. No matter how covert, no matter
how clandestine, God knows. The ways of the man, Proverbs
521, are ever before the Lord, and he watches all his paths. The knowledge of God is absolutely
inexhaustible. That’s Paul’s point. Paul’s point
is that the depth of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, God
knows absolutely everything. God is absolutely omniscient. None describe it as the perfection
of God whereby he has, in an entirely unique manner, knows
himself and all other things possible. We can’t even conceive
what it means to know all things possible. But God knows everything. Everything there is possible
to know. Actual events, potential events, creatures. God knows. Oftentimes those words,
wisdom and knowledge are blended. But in this particular case,
you go too far to begin to pull them apart. What Paul is telling
us is not just the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the
knowledge of God. He’s telling us of the inexhaustible
nature of God himself. He’s telling us of the nature
of the deity to whom we come. Look down at the second part
of verse 33 is Paul is laying the grounds of glory. What is
the cause for the believer to bring God glory? The second phase
where Paul says, how unsearchable are his judgments? Typically,
this word judgments is a legal term. We’ve seen it throughout
the book of Romans already. And it’s often used to pronounce
judgments, just or unjust on others. In God’s case, it’s always
just judgment. When God moves and God passes
a judgment, it’s always just because of the nature of God.
But it’s not the word is not confined to that particular use
of the idea of judgment. Paul is simply pronouncing on
the impossibility of us ever really figuring out and finding
out what God is doing absolutely. We can see glimpses of God’s
plan of redemption. We can know what he has revealed
to us. that there are indeed the deep
things of God. There are the secret things of
God. These judgments that he points
to here are not so much judicial decisions, but we might even
speak of them as the decrees of God, his purposes, God’s ways
of doing things, God’s sovereign decisions. One described it in
these terms, he said, these referred to God’s judgments, the judgments
of the merciful God to further his purposes of mercy. And so,
if God wants to lay out a particular plan of redemption, that’s his
prerogative and that is what Paul refers to here as his judgments. It’s God’s ways of doing things.
And Paul just says, these judgments, These decisions in the mind of
a sovereign God are completely unsearchable. The word is a common word in
scripture. It just means that we can’t come
to, we can’t figure it out. We can’t completely come to grips
with why God has done certain things. Charles Hobbes said that
we are incapable, these are the things that are incapable rather
of being investigated after their grounds or reasons. They’re beyond
finding out. God’s judgments have been the
subject of this entire epistle. God’s judgments in the plan of
redemption. God’s judgments in sending Christ.
God’s judgment in effecting justification by faith as the means of salvation. They’re beyond finding out. Proverbs
twenty five three is the same. Sentiment when it says this to
the heavens as the heavens for height and the earth for depth. So the heart of the kings is
unsearchable. Jeremiah seventeen nine the heart
is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick who can
understand it. That’s the mindset that Paul brings and he says
you can’t figure out. You can’t completely figure out
the way that God does this. You can’t do it. The Bible often
presents God as incomprehensible. Job said, Can you discover the
depths of God? God grants us glimpses of his
nature. Just as to Moses on the mountain,
he presents himself as immortal, not subject to death. Jesus ultimately testified of
the deity that God is spirit and those who worship must worship
him in spirit and truth. As a spiritual being, God is
invisible, Paul declares, and he dwells in inapproachable light. Who can figure him out? Who can
pin him down? And Paul says the same thing
in another way. Not only unsearchable are his
judgments, but how unfathomable are his ways. The ways is just
another way of referring to his judgments, the way in which he
accomplishes things, the ways in which he goes about things,
his methods, his procedures. One pastor said, the ways of
God refer to God’s dealings with men and to be understood inclusively
of the diverse providences which His decreed will is exercised
in other words we stand back and we look at things and we
have a tendency to wonder why did God give someone in that
particular way. Why did God not exercise his
mercy towards them. Why did God bless me the way
that he has. We can’t figure it out. We can
notice sometimes the diversity but we can’t figure it out. That’s
what he says when he says that it’s unfathomable. One pastor
pointed out the fact that this literally refers to footprints
that are untrackable, if that’s a word. I’ve never had the occasion to
hunt. Maybe I’ve had the occasion. I’ve never gone hunting. Let’s
put it that way. I’m not against it. I’m not against
guns or weapons. It just has never been an opportunity
that has been available to me. talk about their exploits in
the hills as they literally tracked a deer or an elk or some creature. Perhaps it was unaware that it
was being tracked or perhaps it had already been wounded and
now made tracking the creature easier. What it points to here
though is a set of footprints that suddenly begins to dissipate
and ultimately vanishes. You can notice the ways of God. You can look at the ways of God.
You can see sometimes what God is doing, but it’s beyond us
to figure out how and why. We don’t know God’s reasons for
doing things. Job spoke of this deity when
he said that he is He does great and unsearchable things, wonders
without number. Job 9, 10. He does great things,
unfathomable, wonderful works without number. That’s our God. That’s the nature of our God.
And as we come to Him, Paul, as I said, is laying before us
the grounds of glorifying God. That’s what he’s calling us to.
The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable are
his ways. You see, this is the proctor
to worship. This is what Paul says is the occasion to come
before him in faith. What Paul calls us to is what
Paul has already expressed a love for. The unsearchable knowledge
and wisdom of God. He sees God as far more than
just meeting his petty little needs day-to-day. He sees a God
that is overlap. He sees a God that is God. And
I wonder that in this day and age, when so many have lost sight
of the true nature of God, remember theology. Theology is the very
purpose that causes our heart to beat. causes us to desire
to take another breath, causes us a desire to live and to please
him. It’s a knowledge of God that
we love, isn’t it? Paul wants to undergird these
statements, these grounds for glory, and he does so in verses
34 and 35. Can I stand up and just briefly? When he says, who has known the
mind of the Lord? But who became his counselor?
It’s nearly verbatim in Isaiah 40 verse 13. We looked at Isaiah
40 at Christmas, you may remember. We considered that passage in
depth. And we looked at the fact that
God’s omnipotence is asserted there in verse 12 of Isaiah 40. God’s omniscience. God’s omnipresence. If you would turn back as we
just have a very quick review. Isaiah chapter 40. Some really
rich food for the soul. Theology proper as we look to
our God. Look at verses 12 through 17
this morning. Just those few verses. Who has
measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the
heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the
measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in
a pair of scales? Who has directed the spirit of
the Lord, or as his counselor has informed him? With whom did
he consult, and who gave him understanding? Who taught him
in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and informed him
of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like
a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on
the scales. Behold, he lifts up the islands
like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to
burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations
are as nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less
than nothing and meaningless.” Now as I remind you, here in
these particular verses, God addresses the foolish thought
that he would have any need ever of some intelligent assistance.
I mean can you imagine the thought of God having to go to school,
right? That’s really what the writer
is doing here. He’s making a point that is so
utterly absurd we almost want to chuckle, don’t we? Who has
directed the spirit of the Lord? Can you imagine God accepting
a work list from us? A to-do list? A honey-do list?
God, this is what I’d like you to take care of. We don’t approach
God like that. We shouldn’t. Who told God what
needs doing? God, we’d like a few more trees
scattered upon this hill on Creation Day. Who is this counselor who’s
informed him? Did God ever come to anyone and
say, you know, this weather thing? I don’t really have this weather
pattern thing figured. Could you help me with that?
This idea of redemption. I’m thinking that you people
are pretty bad, and I really would like to be friends with
you, but I’m really stymied at how to affect some kind of plan
of redemption. It’s so utterly absurd. That’s
exactly the purpose of it, and that’s exactly the purpose that
Paul uses these verses. Who has known the might of the
Lord? Who has God completely figured out? Who has served as
his counselor? Come, lie down on my couch, God. Let me inform you. Let me psychoanalyze
you and tell you what your problems are, your deep-rooted problems,
so that you can be freed of them and rid, and you can function
with greater effectiveness. With whom did he consult? Verse
14. Who gave him understanding? Where
did God get his degree? That would be a more modern way
of asking her. Where are your letters, God?
Who taught him in the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge
and informed him in the way of understanding? Who served in
the capacity of problem solver for God? Does God need a think
tank? Who taught God propriety? Who
taught God right from wrong? Who provided God’s pool of intelligence? Who indoctrinated God? Who acted
as God’s schoolmaster, his professor, his tutor? It’s absurd. It’s absurd to even think it. That’s exactly why Paul says
this. Who’s known the mind of the Lord? Which one of you thinks
that You have God completely figured out. Which one of you
thinks that you know the plan of God unfolding from eternity
past to eternity future? Who has become his counselor?
That little word counselor, it implies great wisdom. And you want, the child of God
wants counsel from time to time. We all seek and need counsel
from time to time. that superior wisdom, another
perspective, particular insight. We get it from our life. We get
it from, we even get it from our kids from time to time. Just
a different way of looking at things. We get it from our brothers
in Christ. We get it from our shepherds. But God, God, God doesn’t need
a counselor. God doesn’t need to sit at the
feet of anybody and be instructed on anything. I love the way one
pastor said many talk is that they were not only the Lord’s
counselors, but also his inquisitors, his judges, the Lord has moved
and said and done. Scripture does not unfold the
reason of things that refers us to eternity. I’ll come back
to that thought in a moment. God doesn’t explain himself fully
at every occasion. God doesn’t detail to us why
he does what he does. So that’s for the start. Look at verse thirty five. Who
has known the mind of the Lord or who became his counsel or
who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him
again. That is such a that is such a stunning profound thought. You know what? That’s true God. Nobody’s ever given God anything.
Because the second you say that we have to give God something,
God had a need, God had a lack, God’s no longer God. Who was
first given to him that it might be paid back to him again? Nobody
ever put God in debt. Remember what we said last Wednesday? We tend to think of owing each
other a cup of coffee. We tend to think in those terms.
It’s our turn to have you over, right? We talk about this. We’ve
never done anything for God that put him in the debit column. We never did anything for God
that meant that he owed us anything. Job said it, if you’re righteous,
why do you give to him the leptis he received from your hands?
Job says the same thing. Where does God need anything?
Who gives to him so that he puts himself in obligation to us? What Paul means by this little
statement is that it’s absolutely impossible to put God in debt. We don’t have anything to give
him. We can’t put God under any kind of obligation. We can’t
make him perform for us, nobody has ever been in a position that
makes God move. 1 Chronicles 29, 14, who am I
and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously
as this, for all things come from you and from your hand.
All we do when we offer up an offering to God is we return
back to him. We pray that way all the time,
right? We return back to him a portion. small portion of what
he gives in such great abundance. God doesn’t owe anyone anything,
not the least of all in salvation, which Paul has detailed throughout
the scriptures, right? Throughout the entirety of the
Romans, the epistles of the Romans, Paul has made it abundantly clear
that salvation is by grace alone. One pastor said, men are justified
not on the ground of their own merit, but on the merit of Christ.
They are sanctified not by the power of their own good purposes
and the strength of their own will, but by the Spirit of God.
They are chosen and called to eternal life, not on the ground
of anything in them, but according to the purpose of Him who works
all things after the counsel of His own will. It’s God, or
it’s nothing at all. Either God moves or nothing happens. There’s no obligating God. And
Paul wants to explain that. Paul wants to make it absolutely
clear that it’s utterly impossible. Look at verse 36. Who has known
the mind of the Lord who became his counsel? Who was first given
to him that it might be paid back to him? Paul draws us deeper
into the theological lesson when he says, from him. and through
him and to him are all things.” How can we have anything to give
him that he doesn’t already have, but it’s oriented from him in
the first place? Glance down at the passage, from
him and through him and to him. God is the orientation point
of all things. God is the creator. When he says from him, it points
to the fact that he is not only the creator, but he is the giver.
He’s the one that first gives to us that we might give back.
He’s the source of all things. God is the creator, and they
have proceeded from God the creator of things. And it isn’t in this
pantheistic sense that God is of things, that all things orient
from God, as if you’re just seeing different forms of God as these
things come out. It’s a Christian idea. This is
a thoroughly Christian concept. That God is the ultimate source
of every good thing, every good and perfect gift, right? But
not only are they seldom, but they’re thoroughly. This has
the idea of sustenance. This has the idea of God functioning
not just as a giver, but as a sustainer. That God is not only the source,
but he’s the means of all things. And to him, from him, and through
him, and to him, he’s the ultimate end of all things. He gives so
that we might, out of worship, give back to him. It’s worship.
When one said it this way, he is to himself the prime or cause
of all his works. He is greater, higher, nobler,
and more precious than his own creation. I mentioned this a
couple of weeks ago. I just want you to, I want you
to just enjoy it. I’m not going to read the full
song, but I want you to see that God is a, you know, a things
are from him and through him and to him. Something. Look at the response. Psalm 104 verse 5, he established
the earth upon its foundations. Thou didst cover it with a deep
as with a garment. At thy rebuke, pardon me, the
waters were standing above the mountains. At thy rebuke, they
fled. They literally took off, says
the scriptures. At the sound of thy thunder,
they hurried away. The mountains rose. The valleys sank down to
the place which thou didst establish for them. God is the one from
whom are all things, says Solomon of Hora. And the amazing thing
about Solomon of Hora, we have this idea that God has set creation
in motion, right, and stepped back and let it spin through
the universe. God is intimately related to
his creation. God not only creative things,
God sustains things. Go to verse 18. The high mountains are for the
wild goats. God’s concerned about goats? God made a place for them. It would have been good to have
seen some several weeks ago. Who else but a goat could climb
that rope? The church saw a refuge for the rock climbers. Who would
think of that, God? He made the moon for the seasons.
The sun knows the place of its sun and never does the point
darkness and it becomes light in which the beasts of the forest
pout about the young lions. The young lions roar after their
prey. They seek after their food from
God. You see, God is seen throughout this passage, throughout this
entire song. God not only created the world,
He is sustaining it moment by moment, day by day, hour by hour.
And not just for us, but even for creatures that live in rocks
and on hills. Oh Lord, verse 24, how many are
they works. He lives and thou hast made them
all. The earth is full of thy possessions. You see, even the psalmist begins
there to do exactly what Paul does, from him unto him, and
to him. It’s worship. And in Psalm 104,
that’s where the whole psalm starts, is worship. Go back to
verse 1. The Lord, O my soul, O Lord my
God, thou art very great, thou art clothed with splendor and
majesty, covering thyself with light as with a cloak, stretching
out heaven like a tech curtain, and he begins to detail the work
of creation. From him, and through him, and
to him, and all things, God is the basis of everything that
exists. Everything comes from him, it
all is sustained by him, and it’s all oriented to him. Remember, Pope, after this theology
lesson, which, as I already suggested, took place on his knees before
God, know the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, and unfathomable
his ways. For who has known the mind of
the Lord, or who became his counselor? Who was first given to him that
it might be paid back to him again? For from him, and through
him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. You see, Paul has taken many
tractors, eleven, to give us reason. Paul has taken great
pains to build doctrine upon doctrine, and thought upon thought. And Paul has absolutely eradicated
the idea of human merit, the idea that we would put God in
obligation for anything, or for anything. But he comes now to
this final thought, and looking at the unfolding plan of redemption,
the plan that was extended to sinners, not deserving a single
thing. but ultimately pointing them
to Christ and that through faith alone and Christ alone we could
have the righteousness of Christ and not only have it, but begin
to grow in grace and flourish and enjoy the process of God’s
sanctifying grace. What else could Paul say but
to God be the glory? To God indeed be the glory. One beloved commentator said
this. He said, the theme of verses
33 and 34 may be stated as the incomprehensibility of God’s
counsel. It’s a mistake, however, to think
that God’s incomprehensibility applies only to his secret, unrevealed
counsel. The most significant aspect of
the incomprehensibility is that it applies to what God has revealed. What constrains the doxology
is the revealed counsel, the unfathomable depths of the scheme
of salvation. Do you see what he says? He says,
don’t stand back and you know, have a worship service built
upon what God hasn’t revealed yet, and build this construct
that, oh, well, God must be really amazing, because he’s hidden
a lot of really neat things. This is the reason for a worship
service, is what God has revealed, that we are sinners, and that
God has sent Christ, and that faith is the mechanism that establishes
that relationship. that we enjoy the righteousness
of Christ because of our faith in him only. Another pastor said
it is not the countless unrevealed things about God which Paul is
speaking, but the depths of the things which we do know through
his self-revelation. Even these partially knowable
truths conceal elements that are far beyond our comprehension.
Even what God has revealed we can’t fully understand and embrace,
and that too causes us to bow our knees in worship, but it
should. I say it should. There’s this tendency with people,
mean people, there’s this tendency that we get a little bit of knowledge, And we begin to build these constructs. We begin to fit everything into
systems, and we create and cultivate these systems. I remember hearing
in seminary, the professor said, you can always tell a seminarian. You just can’t tell him very
much. Because almost as soon as we get some knowledge, we’re
human. We begin to pigeonhole everything. We begin to think
that we’ve got it all figured out, and we don’t. We all do
this. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians
4, 7, what do we have that we did not receive? No wonder another
brother of mine said, a proud theologian is a contradiction
of terms. Knowledge of God should humble
us, not exalt us beyond measure. I love the thoughts expressed
in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 3.11, he has made
everything appropriate in its time. He has also said, eternity
in the heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which
God has done from the beginning to the end. What is expected
of us is all. What is expected of us is to
come before God on knees of worship for what he has revealed and
what we are able to grasp and beyond that, for what is so far
beyond us figuring out, One of my favorite commentators
of those poems is certainly not provided all the answers to the
bathroom questions which arise in the subject matter of these
three chapters. He was certainly not swept away
all the difficulties, but he has given us enough to enable
us to repeat the men. in joyful confidence that the
deep mystery which surrounds us is neither a nightmare mystery,
nor meaningless, nor a dark mystery of arbitrary omnipotence, but
the mystery which will never turn out to be anything other
than the mystery of the altogether good and merciful and faithful
God. It’s God. Letting us in on His
revealed plan of redemption, and we don’t know it all. There’s cause for great humility,
and there’s cause for absolute worship. Let’s bow before Him. Our merciful King, we bow before
You, and thank You for the depth of Your word, for the depth of
Your revelation to us. And Lord, we humble ourselves
before you with the privilege of being let in in the mysteries
of God. In Jesus’ name we pray.