God Promises His Greatness

Psalm 36:5-7 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
 
ONE of the patterns of David’s psalms is to contrast sinners to God’s greatness. For example, he wrote of the sinner in v 4 he commits himself to a sinful course. But it is good to turn our minds from those who despise God, so we can turn our attention to God’s greatness.
   David does so as he points us to God’s high, priceless love, expansive faithfulness, immovable righteousness and ocean-deep justice. He prays that God will grant us the privilege to find refuge in the shadow of (his) wings. This is a very holy, personal image for the Jews. God had shown to them a literal view of God’s wings. He designed the cherubim’s winds to spread across the mercy seat atop the ark of the covenant. To be under the shadow of his wings is to be under God’s great mercy. He is loving, immovable, faithful and just to shelter his people. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not take refuge under God’s wings: Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  
   Have faith in God’s greatness, and you will v. 8a feast on the abundance of God’s house. How often might you wonder, “Is God enough? Is there something more?” Know in your heart he is more than you need. O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. (Psalms 89:8) He invites you V 8b to drink from God’s river of delights.
   What a wonderful image. Imagine God’s greatness abundantly flowing into your life. His love, righteousness, faithfulness and justice shape your every thought. God’s high, immovable, deep character changes you when his greatness flows through your life.
   Even more, God’s greatness V 9 is the fountain of life; in his light we see light. Our joy is knowing there is no way around God’s incomparable greatness. He is far too excellent for our meager means to affect his character. We know we trust God’s greatness when we pray,  v 10 “Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.”  Faithfully live under God’s great wings.