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February 21, 2004

No Capacity for Revelry

A voice says, "Cry!"
   And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass,    and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades    when the breath of the LORD blows on it;    surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades,    but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)

This is part of what Isaiah was told by God to comfort the people of Israel with. All flesh is nothing before the LORD. He merely blows and it fades. But His word will endure forever. He goes on in the rest of the chapter to convey more of His glory. Read it. Do you sense His mightiness? Can you even fathom His incomprehensible greatness, the strength of His might, the depth of His wisdom, the vastness of His presence? Does it not leave you in awe? One of my favorite parts is vv. 16-17.

Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
   nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him,    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

You could create the biggest sacrifice of all time... and it wouldn't be enough for Him. We are just nothing before Him. This is something I love to revel in, to meditate upon: God as He is in Himself, the inherent beauty of His manifold perfections... "O to lie forever here, doubt and care and self resign," says the old hymn. What has been noteworthy to me lately is how few there are it seems who find the simple fact that they are nothing and He is everything an incredibly and wonderful truth worth talking about and mulling over. In recent conversations I've had with people, I'm seeing a pattern. When I talk like Isaiah does, exulting in all His magnificence, it's almost inevitable that the other interjects with this statement: "Yet He loves even you and me." This is a true statement. And Isaiah will mention the fact that those who wait on Him will renew their strength and rise up with wings as eagles. We do have a wonderful relationship in all this. And yes, this mighty God does go through great, unimaginable pains to demonstrate His love for us. But yet I find that few have a capacity to join me in my reveling of the greatness of God. It's like everything centers around His love for me, to the near exclusion of the loveliness of Him apart from any relation to me at all. It's like someone who is given a gift certificate to a restaurant, and they spend the whole time thinking how special they must be to this other person that they don't even pay attention to their meal. Or someone standing before the Grand Canyon and thinking of little else but, "And yet I'm so special to be here and see this!" Can we not just enjoy the object for its own sake? That's what I'm wondering. It's like there's no capacity for extended revelry in the glory of God as it is in itself. I can hardly talk for 30 seconds about Him before I get interrupted with a reminder of "Yet He thinks we're pretty darn special." His love is just one of His many attributes. I'm not about to go around saying that anyone who interjects the thought of God's love for us is who Edwards is describing in this next quote, because the psalmist himself observes the greatness of God and then ponders what man's relationship with God is, and how in the world God allows man to be crowned with enjoying His glory (Psalm 8). But I do wonder why few can stop and enjoy His glory without any relation to themselves.

This is... the difference between the joy of the hypocrite, and the joy of the true saint. The [hypocrite] rejoices in himself; self is the first foundation of his joy: the [true saint] rejoices in God.... True saints have their minds, in the first place, inexpressibly pleased and delighted with the sweet ideas of the glorious and amiable nature of the things of God. And this is the spring of all their delights, and the cream of all their pleasures... But the dependence of the affections of hypocrites is in a contrary order: they first rejoice... that they are made so much of by God; and then on that ground, he seems in a sort, lovely to them. ~ Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections

I do wonder if maybe the widespread problem is that people have not yet tasted and seen that the LORD is good and their whole conception of the Gospel is in God making much of them, rather than enabling them to enjoy making much of Him forever. It's so wonderful to be lost in Him, for just a few brief moments, to totally forget me and be completely caught up in Him.... That's just a thought I've had lately that's bothered me. Maybe you can relate, maybe you can't. Maybe you think I'm off my rocker. Well, that's why we have comments!

Posted by rob at February 21, 2004 12:26 AM

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Comments

Rob, It’s very interesting what you are saying. I think often times I do overlook how great God is, just being Him. Thanks for encouraging us to look at God without looking at ourselves. ~Kristen

Posted by: Kristen at February 21, 2004 12:31 PM

Rob, thanks for this reminder/encouragement. Your thoughts have persuaded my mind to “think on these things” (apologies to Paul). Definitely needed for my recently despairing life.

Posted by: Doug at February 21, 2004 04:11 PM

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