It is once again time to prepare our hearts for worship. The last two weeks we have been thinking through something that Ligon Duncan said. He said this: “Reflect on and pray through the attributes of God. Consider what makes Him worthy of our worship. Consider yourself, and spend time in confession of sin. Pray that God would prepare your heart to hear the proclamation of His Word.” So, we have been looking at one attribute of God each week to help us prepare for worship. The first week we looked at God’s immensity and last week we looked at God’s omniscience. This week I want to look at God’s power.

Stephen Charnock said: “God’s power is like Himself: infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature.” Psalm 18 says: “The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.” Every thunderstorm should remind us of God’s power and as Charles Spurgeon says a storm should also “assure us of the real power of him who is our Father and our friend,…” A.W. Pink says: “There is infinitely more power lodged in the nature of God than is expressed in all his works.” He goes on to say that: “Not a creature in the entire universe has an atom of power save what God delegates. But God’s power is not acquired, nor does it depend upon any recognition by any other authority. It belongs to him inherently.”

Psalm 89 says: “For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him? O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord,” Psalm 50:1 says: “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Isaiah 40 tells us: “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

What are some practical implications of God’s power? I think one would be a holy awe must come upon us as Matthew Henry says: “A holy awe of God must fall upon us, and fill us, in all our approaches to God, even in secret…” Another implication of His power would be that we should trust Him fully. A.W. Pink says: “He is worthy of implicit confidence. Nothing is too hard for Him. If God were stinted in might and had a limit to His strength we might well despair. But seeing that He is clothed with omnipotence, no prayer is too hard for Him to answer, no need too great for Him to supply, no passion too strong for Him to subdue, no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from, no misery too deep for Him to relieve. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). 

God’s power should also remind us that He can do far more than we ask or think. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 3: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Lastly, I think we should be stunned that the Almighty God of the universe, who is infinite in power has adopted us into His family and He is our Father! As 2nd Corinthians 6 tells us: “and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Let’s be sure to pray for Ian, Erin, and Molly as they will lead us in worship tomorrow. Let’s also pray for Allen as he will be leading us in a time of confession. Let’s also be sure to pray for Mark as he will open up God’s Word to us. Mark will be talking about the authority of scripture tomorrow and we will look at Genesis 49. The link to the ESV text is below:

Genesis 49