SERIES: Our Great and Awesome God
The Greatness and Smallness of God
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
PLACE: Dallas Theological Seminary
DATE: October, 1996
There is no audio available from Mike’s sermon in Dallas. I have attached a sermon on the same scripture preached in Wichita just after Christmas in 2021.
Thank you, Dr. Gangel, for that kind introduction. This is an honor I never expected to receive. Preaching at Dallas Seminary is like singing at the Met, playing tennis at Wimbledon, or skiing at Vail. I graduated in 1971 and, frankly, was not on the best of terms with the administration of the Seminary. You see, I was the first and last Chairman of the Student Academic Committee. It was the height of the Viet Nam War and I think Dr. Walvoord had visions of this Committee trying to take over the whole Administration building. Well, we were actually much less ambitious than that—the first floor would have sufficed.
The Seminary has changed a lot in the 25 years since I left; more importantly, I have changed a lot. Perhaps my case will serve to remind the faculty that their input in a person’s life may bear fruit eventually, even if not immediately.
Perhaps a word about my family would be in order. I have one wife and two sons. My older son, Eddie, is 25 and is married to a fine Christian girl. They live in St. Louis and are active in our church. Our younger son, Andy, is a month shy of 13. He’s a neat kid and a champion ping-pong player. My wife for the past 32 years is my best friend and my partner in ministry.
I would like to speak to you today on the greatest theme in the Bible from the greatest chapter in the Bible. The greatest theme in the Bible is our great and glorious God. Strangely, however, it’s not a theme that occupies a great deal of time in most pulpits today. We are much more likely to hear sermons on how to have our emotional needs met, how to solve relationship conflicts, how to resolve the enigmas of prophecy, how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (or, in some cases, as J. I. Packer observed, how to avoid receiving it).
The great preachers of previous generations, however, knew how to focus the minds of their hearers on the awesomeness and majesty of God—the Jonathan Edwards, the A. W. Tozers, the George W. Truetts, the R. G. Lees, the Donald Grey Barnhouses. The greatest need in the church today—even the greatest need on the Seminary campus—is to know God.
If the greatest theme in the Bible is “Our Great and Glorious God,” then the greatest chapter in the Bible must be Isaiah 40. Will you turn there with me? I wish we had time to read the entire chapter before we begin, but we will read only the first 11 verses now and then read the rest as we progress in our exposition.
Hear the Word of the Lord from Isaiah 40:1-11:
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
By way of introduction, I suggest to you that some of us err in that our God is not big enough. Oh, He is greater than we are, to be sure. We pray to Him and we worship Him. But the crises in life almost always knock us for a loop. Our God is not big enough. For others God is not small enough. Sure, He created the heavens and the earth, and He controls human governments, but we hardly expect Him to be concerned about our daily decisions and problems. Both positions are inadequate; in fact, both are equally dangerous. Both certainly deny Scripture.
What is God really like? Well, He is incomparably great and incomparably small. Both are clearly taught here in the 40th chapter of Isaiah. Let’s begin with a brief examination of the background of this great chapter.
The Background of Isaiah 40
A whole sermon could be preached on the connection between the terrible judgment of the Babylonian captivity announced in Isaiah 39 and the comfort that is offered at the beginning of chapter 40. So stark is the contrast between these two chapters that liberal scholars have universally argued that two different prophets must have written these two chapters. That, however, is a very unnecessary conclusion. All through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we have side-by side the themes of judgment and blessing, of the consequences of sin and the joy of experiencing God’s forgiveness upon repentance.
The prophet speaks to people who are close to losing hope and tries to comfort them. He speaks to the despondent, to the despairing, to people who are wondering where God is. I am reminded of R. G. Lee’s words in what may be the greatest of all twentieth-century sermons, “Payday Someday.”
Where is God?
Is He blind that He cannot see?
Is He deaf that He cannot hear?
Is He dumb that He cannot speak?
Is He paralyzed that He cannot move?
Where is God?
Well, He is still there, and the comfort offered by the prophet is based upon more than blind optimism. Looking way into the future—past the Babylonian captivity he had predicted in chapter 39—Isaiah predicts that peace will follow chastisement. That peace would be based upon pardon for Judah’s sins, which in turn awaits Messiah’s coming. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all identify “the voice crying out in the desert” as that of John the Baptist and the Lord whose way he is preparing as Jesus Christ. He is the one who will atone for the people’s sin. He is the one upon whom their hope is based. He is the One who will comfort Judah, and all those who turn to Him in repentance.
But how can God’s people be sure that their captivity will be short-lived, that their iniquity will be pardoned, and that the Lord Himself will come to His people? The answer is found in the last phrase of verse 5: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” That should be enough for God’s people, because God’s promises are certain. A contrast is given in verses 6-8 between grass, flowers, and people, on the one hand, and the Word of God, on the other. “Here today, gone tomorrow” is a phrase we often use of the transitoriness of life. But it does not apply to God’s Word. It stands forever. You can count on it. You can take it to the bank. It will never let you down.
Who is this God, anyway, who judges sin but pardons the repentant, and who comes to dwell among His people? It is time for God’s people to give careful consideration to the character of this God of theirs. It has been said (and I firmly believe it) that every theological error and spiritual shortcoming in human history can be traced directly to some inadequacy in man’s conception of God. So critical are the truths which are about to be delivered that the prophet begins with …
A call to attention
“Here is your God!” If Isaiah were standing in this pulpit today, he would say,
Men and women, I am about to share with you the most profound truth a person can possibly know! Listen up! Quit daydreaming! Don’t let you mind wander! Wake up from your drowsiness, even if you stayed up all night for an exam! I am about to introduce to you the great and glorious God of the universe!
Then in the next two verses, 10 and 11, Isaiah uses a literary device to help his readers grasp his message—he shares his theme in microcosm. In other words, he preaches the first point of his sermon in verse 10, and the second point in verse 11. Then in the next 15 verses he expands upon the first point, and in the final 5 he expands upon the second.
The theme in microcosm (10,11)
Isaiah’s theme is the greatness and smallness of God. The theological terms which correspond to “greatness” and “smallness” are “transcendence” and “immanence.” The transcendence of God refers to the fact that He transcends or surpasses everything else. He is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent—none of which is true of anyone else or anything else in the entire universe. He is greater than everything put together.
The immanence of God, on the other hand, refers to the fact that while He is greater than anyone or anything in creation, He is intimately involved with His creation. He is present with us and concerned about us.
You know, great persons are not always small persons. In the course of my life, I have had the opportunity to meet some very famous people—powerful people, wealthy people, brilliant people, great athletes, and experts in various fields. It has been fascinating to me, and sometimes hurtful, to observe how some of these “great” people respond to ordinary people like myself. Some of the great have time only for other greats—wealthy only for other wealthy, brilliant only for other brilliant. But God is both great and small, both transcendent and immanent.
His transcendence is first broached in verse 10:
God is transcendent (10). “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” There are five terms in this verse which help develop the concept of God’s transcendence: sovereign, power, rules, reward, recompense. These terms describe God’s absolute right to exercise dominion and authority, and to dispense justice. That’s the kind of God we worship. But that’s not the whole truth about Him. He’s also an immanent God, verse 11:
God is immanent (11). “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Here we also find five terms that describe the character of God, only they deal with His smallness: shepherd, tends, gathers, carries, leads. These show God to be one who provides for the likes of dumb, helpless sheep—like us.
Time has now come to develop in detail the themes already given in microcosm.
Beginning in verse 12 and continuing through 26 we have a most profound presentation of the fact that …
God is incomparably great. (12-26)
The methodology used by the prophet is to call upon his readers to examine six major categories of reality and to compare the infinite God to these categories. He rightly starts by challenging us to
Look at the created universe itself! (12-14). A number of rhetorical questions are asked in verse 12, all of which have as their implied answer, “No one but God.”
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
Do you know anyone who can do that? God can, and God alone.
But the created universe not only reveals the omnipotence of God; it also reveals His omniscience: “Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor?” Have you ever visited a major aquarium, or better yet, gone scuba diving in the Caribbean? There’s no better place to be reminded of the incredible creative genius of our God. I guess we get used to the weird-looking creatures that walk on land, but the ones under the sea are almost unbelievable. The shapes, the sizes, the colors, and the functions are so unique that the most creative artist could not even conceive of them. Isaiah’s point seems to be that He who has measured the creation cannot be measured by it.
The theme continues in verse 14: “Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?” The most intelligent man on earth uses only a fraction of his brain power. But even if he used it all, he would only be able to scratch the surface of things as they are. Human knowledge comes only by observing, generalizing, deducing, and interpreting. It is always contingent knowledge. But not God’s. At no time did He depend upon consultation, instruction, or outside information. The created universe speaks clearly and loudly of the greatness of God.
Look at the nations (15-17). “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.” A bucketful of water can be of some significance, especially to a thirsty man or a dry radiator. But a drop from a bucket is of no significance for any purpose.
Even the slightest weight will move the scales, but the dust that rests upon them does not affect them. As great, imposing and magnificent as the islands appear to us, to God they are just fine dust (“atoms” in the original). Please understand that Isaiah is not alleging that God has no concern for the nations; Scripture attests the contrary. What he means is that in comparison with God’s majesty they are totally insignificant.
A beautiful word picture bears out this fact in verse 16: “Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.” Isaiah is here asking us to imagine a scene:
Nature is the temple
The country of Lebanon is the altar.
The world-famous cedars of Lebanon, of tremendous quality and quantity, constitute the wood pile for the altar.
The countless beasts that roamed those forests are the sacrifice.
Now here’s the prophet’s conclusion: the Lord is so high and exalted that even a sacrifice like that is in no way worthy of Him. In fact, according to verse 17, “Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.” In other words, if you put all the nations together collectively it would be as though they didn’t even exist in comparison to God. The term “worthless” is the Hebrew word “tohu,” used in Gen. 1:2 to describe the pre-Adamic world: it was “tohu ve bohu,” formless and void. The phrase “less than nothing” is very picturesque in the original. The Hebrew actually reads, “a part of nothing.” Since a part of anything is less than the whole, a part of nothing is obviously, “less than nothing.” That’s what the totality of nations are in comparison to God.
Look at the gods of men! (18-20)
To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains of it.
A man too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple.
Here we read that when the spiritually impoverished man wants a god, he has to search for a special kind of wood—one that won’t rot. After all, no one wants his god to rot on him! The satire continues: he finds a skilled craftsman to work on this god, one who will be smart enough to make the base larger than the top, so the wind won’t blow it over. After all, no one wants his god to fall over on him! It’s amazing, but there are actually people who bow down to such idols rather than to the infinite, eternal, immutable God of Scripture.
Look at the world’s inhabitants! (21,22)
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
Here the point is being made that men are without excuse when they fail to believe in almighty God. They are without excuse because they have heard the truth. Nature itself has spoken to them, according to Psalm 19 and Romans 1: “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” The next chapter goes on to state that revelation about God is available not only in nature but also in conscience: “The requirements of God’s law are written on our hearts, our consciences also bearing witness.” There is no excuse for being ignorant of who God is.
The world’s inhabitants, according to verse 22, are like grasshoppers. This is not meant to demean redeemed man’s value to God, but rather to show us that without Him we are worth no more than the peskiest insects.
Look at the world’s great leaders. (23-25)
He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?
Presidents and Prime Ministers, Supreme Courts and Parliaments are powerless before God. A few years back I made a list of the chief executives of major nations of the world who lost their positions within one year—some through assassination, some through political upheaval, some through scandal, others through revolution. It was amazing. Eight of the ten greatest nations in the world had a turnover at the top in one year! Great world leaders are like saplings that haven’t yet taken root in the ground; very little exertion is needed to pull them up. In fact, all God has to do is to blow on them and they’re toast.
Look at the heavens! (26)
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
no one of them is missing.
According to the prophet, when you lift your eyes and look to the heavens there is a question that inevitably confronts the thinking person: “Who is responsible for all this?” That some do not ask the question, and others attribute what they see to blind forces of chance, is due to their own incredible spiritual bankruptcy and blindness.
The stars are presented here as creatures. God knows not only their number, but also their names. That is, He has given each of the billions and billions of stars its nature, its characteristics, and its function.
Now the profound stress which Isaiah has given to the transcendence of God, creates for the reader a potential hazard. It would be possible for someone to respond to all that has been said in this fashion: “If God is as great as all that, then surely He’s not concerned about my situation and myproblems. After all, if I’m nothing but a grasshopper, what hope is there?” Recognizing that such is a possible deduction, Isaiah hastens to return in verse 27 to the theme of immanence first mentioned in verse 11.
God is incomparably small. (27-31)
When I speak of the smallness of God this morning, I do so reverently. What I mean is that He has condescended to visit a small planet like ours and to reach out to very small creatures like us. Why? Because He loves us. Why does He love us? Just because. Notice here in verse 27 that …
Man is often tempted to question God’s concern and justice. (27)
“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God’?”
Perhaps these assertions are made by some godly Jew who has learned of the pending captivity and feels it’s not fair for the whole nation to suffer because of the sins of some. We, of course, have our own questions:
“Why did this happen to me?”
“Why didn’t I get my prayer answered?”
“Why doesn’t good fortune ever come my way?”
“How come I never win the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes?”
“Why did I get stuck with such a loser for a spouse?”
“Why, why, why?”
Whoever it is who is complaining, the complaint is ill-founded, for Isaiah proceeds to prove that God does indeed care.
The proof that He cares is found in His character. (28)
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Here Isaiah shows the folly of such complaining. God is everlasting, so He is not limited by time. He is also the Creator, so He is not limited by space. And He doesn’t become weary or tired. I have been extremely tired a few times in my life. I have also been mentally tired, as all of you have. But God does not grow weary or tired. So any suspicion that He has abandoned me and doesn’t care about me cannot be traced to weakness in His character. Rather it must be traced to weakness in my understanding of His character. “His understanding no one can fathom.” Try as I might there is no way I can fathom God’s reasons for allowing certain things to happen and not allowing others. But that doesn’t justify my complaints.
Then Isaiah offers a second proof that God cares.
The proof that He cares is also found in His actions. (29). “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Have you experienced the cool refreshment of God’s power and strength? I have, and I’m going to tell you about a particular example of it tomorrow, an example that changed my life.
Conclusion (30-31). This great chapter closes with these well-known and beautiful words:
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
The analogy is, of course, drawn from the athletic world. Young men are the most fit. Yet despite their strength and training they nevertheless become weary at times. Did you see Pete Sampras three weeks ago at the U.S. Open—the very picture of total exhaustion. But what may happen to strong young men does not happen to those who hope in the Lord, i.e., who wait in patience for God’s purposes to be carried out. Instead they will gain new strength, literally they will “exchange strengths”—their own for God’s.
The richest man in the world, Croesus, once asked the wisest man in the world, Thales, “What is God?” The philosopher asked for a day in which to deliberate, and then for another, and then for another, and another, and another—and at length confessed that he was not able to answer, that the longer he deliberated, the more difficult it was for him to frame an answer. The fiery Tertullian, the early Church Father, eagerly seized upon this incident and said it was an example of the world’s ignorance of God outside of Christ. “There,” he exclaimed, “is the wisest man in the world, and he cannot tell you who God is. But the most ignorant mechanic among the Christians knows God and is able to make him known unto others.”
We know God because He has revealed Himself. He has revealed Himself as incomparably great and incomparably small.
Prayer: Father, we bow before You in awe. We are in awe of who You are. We are in awe that you could love us. And we are in awe that You have called us to serve You. We give you all the glory and honor. Amen.
Tags:
Transcendence
Immanence
Creation
Idolatry