“But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased”
Psalm 115:3 [KJV]
I’ve recently been studying a course on miracles in the Bible. While I was familiar with some of the great Bible miracles, I’ve been in awe of the hundreds of other miracles – supernatural interventions of God – recorded in the Bible. I’ve also been reading some biographies of Christians in more recent times, and seen the incredible way God has worked in their lives. I can look at my own life, at the history of my family, other Christians and my church and see what God has done too.
The Bible tells us to remember God’s works. The Psalmist says, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands” (Psalm 143:5). Perhaps the Psalmist was thinking of great acts of God’s power from generations before such as the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7-12), or the walls of fortified Jericho crashing down at the sound of a trumpet blast (Joshua 6). Or maybe he was thinking of events in his own lifetime and was encouraging himself with these reflections.
I don’t always look at events in my own lifetime or recent generations with this perspective. Sometimes reflecting on the past leaves me dissatisfied with the present, just like the Israelites lusted after the fish and leeks of Egypt (Numbers 11:5). I forget the many happy events and remember instead the traumas, the struggles and the pain associated with strong negative emotions. Sometimes sufferings seem pointless. Sometimes looking at the past when we have current infirmities or difficulties is frustrating, as we realise how limited we are now. Many older Christians find thinking about great missionary endeavours or revivals of yesteryear painful. Congregations that once numbered in the hundreds are now handfuls; preachers reject the doctrines they once declared; and soul-winning efforts today reap just ones or twos when once dozens of souls were saved. My hometown of Adelaide was once called the ‘City of Churches’, but many historic church buildings are now studios, shops and private homes.
God just doesn’t seem to work in the same way, or to the same scale anymore. How can we look back on His works in the past in the way the Psalmist did, without being discouraged about God’s apparent lack of working in the present?
I think the answer to this question is found in Psalm 115:3; “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”
“Our God is in the heavens”. Never lose sight of who God is. “God is in the heavens” speaks of His majesty and supremacy as the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” (1 Timothy 6:15). It reminds us that He is the Creator (Genesis 1:1). It reminds us of the glories of the Lord and His heavenly throne described in the book of Revelation. It also speaks of the sovereign, merciful and just Lord who knew our inability to save ourselves. He provided the solution; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The right perspective on God frames our understanding of the rest of the verse.
“He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” In the Gospels and Acts, we read of many great healing miracles performed by Jesus Christ, or by the Apostles in the name and power of the Holy Spirit. But by the time the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he was suffering from a chronic health issue he described as a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Rather than moaning that the great age of healing gifts seemed over, Paul accepted God saying he would not be healed, and continued his ministry. God also acted in different ways to give Judah and Israel victory over their enemies. In 2 Chronicles 32, the Angel of the Lord destroyed the army of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, without Israel having to fire a single arrow. But King David, described as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), spent years fighting his enemies. We might be tempted to ask, if God’s angel could instantly destroy a godless army, then why did David’s men have to fight and even die for victory? We could ask many similar questions too. If God took that person out of that difficult situation, why am I stuck in mine? If God opened Hannah’s womb in 1 Samuel 1, then why is that godly Christian woman childless? If God sent wave after wave of revival around the globe in the last few hundred years, then why doesn’t He do the same today? We could rationalise these seeming conundrums from every angle, examine doctrines on living in a sin-cursed world and discuss at length end-times Biblical prophesies. But ultimately, we should bow our heads and acknowledge that God is God. God can repeat the miraculous wonders of the past. Sometimes He does. But He is not a slave to our desires or expectations. He has the authority to choose how His works are manifest in every age and circumstance. What happens is for His Glory, and God knows best how to ensure this will happen: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8). In Psalm 115, the Psalmist is focused on honouring God. “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake” (v1). He contrasts God’s majesty and power with the deadness of the idols worshipped by the surrounding nations. It’s a thought echoed by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:17, “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” God is glorified and heaven rejoices when one soul is saved (Luke 15:7). God is glorified by words and deeds, however small they may appear to others, that are done in Jesus’ name (Mark 9:41, Colossians 3:17). And God is glorified every time His child prays, “Lord, I can’t see the way through, but I’m trusting you to work in this situation and bring honour to your name.”
One thing God is pleased to do is remember His children. In Hebrews 6:10, Paul declares, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” God is not some abstract being who created the world and now ignores it. Nor is Christ a lifeguard who saved us from drowning then left us to cough ourselves back to consciousness on the side of the pool. He sees and blesses faithful service. Psalm 115:11 declares, “Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.” God sees the faithful devotion that humans don’t. God declares “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). There are ultimate rewards as described in this verse. There are also ongoing rewards promised to those who are faithful. For example, God promises to answer our prayers (1 John 5:14-15), guide us (Proverbs 3:5-6) and to “work [all things] together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28b).
May the Lord help us to rejoice in both His big works in the past, and all His works in the present. Like the Psalmist, may we humbly but boldly declare, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”
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