None Greater

“For I know that the LORD [is] great, and [that] our Lord [is] above all gods. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, [that] did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (Ps 135:5-6 AV)

As a reminder, the word ‘gods’ does not suggest there are lesser deities.  That is a common misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the use of the word.  It is popular among contemporary Christianity and apostate fundamentalism.  When using the word ‘god’ or ‘gods’ with a small ‘g’, the word of God is referring to either idols or those with greater stature than common man.  The small ‘g’ ‘god’ could mean rulers of men like politicians, kings, etc.  The word could refer to created angelic beings.  Because the use of the word above suggests the ‘gods’ are real individuals and not an idol of wood or metal, we can assume the psalmist is referring to human rulers or people of great stature.  The ‘gods’ of this world believe themselves to be mightier than God.  It doesn’t matter how much man flexes his muscles; God will do what God will do.  There is no individual, nation, or world that can do to stop Him.

There is a program I like to watch.  The program is a bit of history with a bit of tinkering.  Old world craftsmen and women repair and restore family treasures.  One craftsman is a clockmaker.  His name is Steve.  Steve can fix just about anything.  His specialty besides clocks is any mechanical device.  Recently, he was tasked with repairing and finishing a handmade clock started, but not quite finished, by a man’s grandfather decades earlier.  It was a gravitational clock, which derived its power from a marble that would roll down a tilt table.  It took exactly thirty seconds for the marble to descend.  Then the tilt table would flip and the marble would go back to the other end.  The thing that fascinates me about non-electrical clocks is the precision involved in making a timepiece that keeps perfect time.  The mind that it would take to build such a device must be a brilliant one.  The littlest thing can throw the timing off.  One bent or worn tong among thousands and the clock would be off.  Any wear and tear can and does affect the precision of the timepiece.  All things must be perfectly aligned and assembled or the clock does not work.  So too are the universe and the events of mankind.  They are all perfectly aligned and assembled so that the will of the Creator is accomplished.

It appears the statement above is from experience and from theology.  To say that he knows means more than a head-knowledge.  To know above means to know it with the heart but also see it with the eyes.  This means the writer’s worldview was in the context of a sovereign God who controls all things.  He knows that God controls all things because that is how he observed the events of life.  Creation is so vastly complicated that no matter how well someone might know how things work, he or she can never comprehend it all.  Never.  God is infinite.  He is infinite in scope.  His creation, although it has mass and size, involves infinite principles.  For mankind to think it can match or exceed an infinite God is preposterous on its face.  The writer above knows God is in control because that is how he sees the world.  There is no such thing as chance.  There is purpose, design, and control.