Isaiah 40:25. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Oh boy, when I opened my bedroom blinds on this first lazy-day Saturday morning in February, was I ever glad to see bright sunshine! But the best part is when I came down to the living area and opened the shutters at the eastern side of the house, I couldn’t see outside because I was blinded by the bright sunshine. The sun was shining directly in my eyes, blocking my vision of the area out there. And although it seemed somewhat chilly, I couldn’t help but say, ‘Thank You Lord!’ Yes, I was oh so thankful to see another day, especially one filled with glorious sunshine, to drive away the steady diet of damp and cloudy days we’ve recently been having and brighten up our winter doldrums and melancholies.
Now, let’s truly open up our hearts and souls to the Lord, as we offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And if you were sincere, then I’m sure that your spirit was lightened and lifted through God’s overwhelming, all-consuming presence. That’s the beauty of prayer; the Lord reasserts Himself in our souls and eases the pain, or whatever negative circumstance we’re going through. And NO other supposed deity can do that, because they are all false, inanimate, dead gods. The ONLY true and living God is the One of Abraham Isaac and Jacob! That’s why the psalmist could proclaim in Psalm 146:
‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgement (justice) for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth (gives freedom to) the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed: The Lord LOVETH the righteous: The Lord preserveth (watches over) the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down (makes crooked). The Lord shall reign for ever. Even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps. 146:5-10)
Yes friends, for all that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in Himself, and what He does for those who worship Him in sincerity and truth, it is indeed imperative that we praise his holy name. As the last verse of Psalm 145 declares (yesss!!!) ‘My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps. 145:21) Therefore, let’s shout ‘Praise ye the Lord! Hallelujah! How great is our God! The One who created the universe and all therein! There’s NONE other like Him!’ And that’s the glorious truth my fellow believers, there’s no other god like our God!
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to the prophet Isaiah tell it like it is, as he speaks of the Majesty and Power of God. ‘Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out (measured) with the span (a span of His hand), and comprehended (calculated) the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgement (justice), and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of (in) a bucket, and are counted as the small (fine) dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up (lifteth) the isles as a very little thing. and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing: and they counted to him less than nothing, and vanity (worthless).’ (Is. 40:12-17) Oh my people, that certainly tells us of God’s might and majesty, and how small, puny and insufficient we really are when compared to Him.
That’s why Isiah could continue: ‘To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth (moulds) a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and (the silversmith) casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation (no such offering) chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning (skillful) workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved (totter). Have ye not known? have ye not heard? Hath it not been told unto you from the beginning ? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he that sitteth upon (above) the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth (reduces) the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity (useless). Yea, they shall not (scarcely) be planted; yea, they shall not (scarcely) be sown: yea, their stock shall not (scarcely) take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.’ (Is. 40:18-24)
Yes mih bredrin, manmade idols are certainly no comparison to our great God! Note His omnipotence, His omniscience and His omnipresence! Consequently the Lord asks, through Isaiah: ‘To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might. For that he is strong in power, not one faileth (is missing). Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement (justice) is passed over from my God?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (grow weak).’ (Is. 40:25-31)
Now tell me, can any other supposed god do those things? Absolutely not! The Holy One of Israel has no equal, and only He has such omnipotence; that’s power to create, to take away and to regenerate! Oh my fellow believers, it’s time for us to wake up from the slumber induced in us by the evil and ungodly world and recognize that Almighty God rules, and that time is fast slipping away from us and we desperately need to appreciate His sovereignty, constantly praise Him and sincerely do His work, if we expect to live with Him for eternity! Much LOVE!
…the Lord God Jehovah created the universe…and He still sits upon His throne and rules it as He sees fit…remember that…
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