“You are the God who performs miracles” (Psalm 77:14).

If there is one thing about God, it is that He is supernatural, whereas we, we humans, are natural. He is above, we are below. He is in heaven, we are on earth. He is limitless, we are sorely limited. The Bible, from front to back, is a testament to the power of God. From beginning to end, God is revealed as a God who does the miraculous, who defies the natural order of things, who intervenes in the affairs of men and does what men cannot do.

It is amazing how it is that many do not believe in miracles–until they need one, that is; then they are open to the idea. It also is surprising how many, having experienced the power of God, soon forget. Such was the case time and again with the children of Israel, and it is true in our day too.

I think if a person pauses for a moment he will see the hand of God in his life. So many of the wonders God does goes unnoticed by men. Who among us knows how many times we have averted tragedy and we were not even aware of it? The Scripture says, “To the Lord belong deliverances from death.”

And, if you take the time to think a little further, most every aspect of life is itself miraculous. Our bodies for example, are filled with wonders, the likes of which science is still unfolding and may never get to the end of. The world about us, the natural order, is awe-inspiring.

The miracles the Psalmist speaks of are, no doubt, at least those displayed by God in the redemption of Israel from the rule of Egypt. In reading through the Law-books of the Bible, then on to those of history, you see such things as the plagues inflicted upon Pharaoh, water coming from a rock, the sun standing still, and an axe head floating. You see the walls of a fortified city fall down with the mere shouts from a multitude of people, entire enemy armies wiped out without Israel having so much as to lift a finger. I could go on.

And then we have the revelation of God in Jesus Christ–and I mean thatGod reveals Himself fully, He gives us everything we need to know about Him in the Person of Jesus. And what, pray tell, do we see God doing in Christ? Going about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (see Acts 10:38). If you want to know what God is like, and what sort of things He does, all that need be done is to read the accounts of Christ Jesus in the four Gospels.

The miracles are said to be “attesting miracles;” that is to say, they are intended to point you to the one who does them. They attest to the Person and power of God almighty. If you are after a miracle, and you get one, and it doesn’t result in your placing your faith in God, then you have missed the purpose.

Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is too difficult for God. To think otherwise is foolhardy.

Not that God needs our faith to do what He wants, but for the most part, experiencing the miraculous requires belief on our part. Most of the wonders Jesus did in the New Testament were in response to a person’s faith. Where that was not present, as in our Lord’s hometown, He was not able to do much, but He healed only a few people; the rest were left un-helped, and it was not the Lord’s fault.

One thing to latch on to God about is His ability. Paul gives us a word we all do well to commit to memory:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God, you see, is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV), so why limit Him? Why not step out of our earthly mindset and the confines of science and agree with the holy writ? God is not bound by earthly standards, nor is He limited to the findings of science. He created science!

I don’t believe I have ever met a person who has not needed a miracle at some point in their lives. And, the thing is, there is one waiting for every person just on the other side of unbelief. God is the God who does wonders, who works miracles upon the earth. He makes the blind to see, the lame to walk, the demonized to be free, and the dead to rise. He makes the deaf to hear, the leperous to have clear skin, and even mere fevers to subside. These are things He does.

The greater miracle however, the miracle of all miracles is this: He reunites the sinner to Himself. He reconciles men. He forgives sin and invites those estranged from Him to become part of His family. What we call salvation, this is the greatest of all His wonders. And, if He can save the worst of men, making them whole again–as is true in my case, what then can He not do? God can do anything!

I think this is the conclusion God would want us to come to, this is the sum of the matter: the faith that pleases God, that evokes His response, is the belief that He is the God who can do anything. He is the God who can do anything God. This is the message, this is the faith that, when exercised, will bring about the miraculous in your life.

“And He answered them and said, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate’” (Matthew 19:4-6).

My thoughts are many this morning–all over the map, as when I read I think, and when I read often my emotions are aroused. So it is when I read these words, I think of my wife and our marriage, and I want to go and be with her.

Those who distort the created order do so to their own peril. Not only that, but they miss out on what is perhaps the greatest of all blessings this side of heaven. It is evident from the construction of the body, that God intended one of each sex to be joined to the other. And this in the confines of a singular relationship with each other that remains unbroken until death separates them.

What Jesus says here is a statement of fact. When a man and a woman come together and are thus joined; when their relationship is consummated by the act of intercourse, they verily become, as it were, one flesh. Though two bodies are visible, the truth of God says they are one. And that is the way God intends they function. As a unit.

These days so much of this has become perverted. Not only has sexual sin become the norm, and marriage itself being seen as unnecessary, even a thing of past, the relationship between a man and a woman is more about two independents than it is a unified whole. For this reason, and because there is so little knowledge of Scripture and the fear of the Lord, divorce is rampant.

When Barb and I were first married, we were not in the Lord Jesus. And marriage to us, or at least as it was to me, was something you could step into–and right out of if it didn’t seem to work out. We were guilty of all the things I’ve said to this point. We both had, and were until September 18, 1971, engaged in fornication. Yet God in His mercy and foresight, saw ahead; He knows the end from the beginning. He knew we both would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and so He kept our marriage.

That was nearly 49 years ago.

God’s intent for marriage is, “until death do we part.” His plan extends beyond the mutual happiness of the two parties; that being the production of godly offspring.

A man and a woman was never intended by God to be alone. Of course, at the first it was man, by himself alone. And God saw that that was not good, so He created the woman for him and to be with him. So the woman was for the man, and the man for the woman. They are made for each other.

I believe in God-ordained relationships. I don’t believe marriage partners are random; instead, as is seen in my life, He hand-picks who shall marry whom, each a perfect match for the other. Perhaps this is one reason there is so much divorce. People marry outside of the will of God. They marry for the wrong reason. And, once married, they do not acknowledge God in their relationship.

Barb and me are a perfect match. Who would have ever guessed? Though in sin before marriage and without Christ for three years after, our relationship was God-ordained. God joined us together, and God Himself has kept us together. For this I am extremely grateful.

Upon my fourth reading of this Psalm, and with all the thoughts that come with most verses, I decided to give my hand at briefly recording them. So, here I go . . . .

I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever.

That God is the King escapes most. Let me say this first off: We are talking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit here; specifically, in that God has named His Son, whom we know as Jesus, King, we are talking about the Lord Jesus Christ here–King Jesus.

We in our day, and especially in the United States, do not have as our ruler a king; but in those days, and in many parts of the world today, those set over nations are kings. They are sovereign authorities, having all power over people and regions. It is incumbent for those under their rule to submit to them, lest they fall under their judgment and surrender their lives. The point here is that God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is King; and it is best that we say, “We will have this Man rule over us,” instead of the converse, as we see what happens to the man who refuses his rule (cf., Luke 19:27).

As we read on we see what kind of King this Jesus is, and we find out why we would want to extol and bless Him forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

I was thinking just how great God is, and the thing is, I can’t. His greatness is unsearchable. You can’t get your mind around Him. He is just too big. But what we can see and know of Him inspires the same kind of response. I was pausing however and thinking of all that is, everything around me, even manmade things; from the sky and rain and trees and birds outside my window, to the chair in which I sit, the carpet, the notebook binders on my bookshelf. All things have as their origin, God. If a man discovers something, if he makes something, it is God who has given him to discover it, and to have the wherewithal to make it. Man, in his pride, thinks he is something when he is nothing; he enriches himself by reason of his inventions. But they all, every one, come from and have as their source, God.

One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.

That is, if they are keen to them. Thankfully, there are those who have been tuned into the Lord down through the ages and have not kept silence. I am here today because others in their faithfulness saw fit to be thinking generationally. They have declared the works of the Lord to me through their writings, their testimonies, and their examples.

The thing is, what God does is awesome, it is wonderful, it is good–as we shall see moving on.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

What better thing to fill our heads than thoughts of God’s splendor and majesty and the good things He has done. In that most mornings I am here and writing, reflecting on the the Lord and His word, I am doing what the Psalmist says here, meditating. My only wish is that my thoughts would be such all day long–instead of things having to do with this or that, things of little to no consequence. “You are my best thought by day or by night.”

Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness.

Here I think of the Gospel, in that it is the greatest of all God’s acts, the giving of His Son for the salvation of our souls. Of course, God does exceedingly great and awesome things, and these only can He do by reason of His limitless power; but the life, death, resurrection and enthronement of His Son, Jesus, is the greatest. I praise Him for those who preach the Good News, our evangelists; but also for the simple man or woman who conveys the truth to his family member, co-worker, friend, or neighbor. All, I think, would fall under the category of men spoken of here.

And this too: we ought all be quick to give the glory and credit to God. “Ascribe greatness to God, the Rock.” If we do a thing, and it is good and noteworthy and is a benefit to others and pleasing to God, let Him get the credit, and this with our lips.

They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

A man shouldn’t need to think too long and hard to recall some sort of good thing the Lord has done for him. In fact, with very little effort he can probably think of a host of things.

The word here is, “bubble over with.” That is, “They shall bubble over with the memory of Your abundant goodness.” Unless you are completely hard of heart and dull in your thinking, there is no reason why anyone would not fit the description of one bubbling over. How is this? Because God is good, and if we will just pause to consider it, and to look around, we’ll see it everywhere! If we will just get off our ’taking-it-for-granted’ horse and consider how blessed we are, then we too shall be talking about God’s goodness.

And then there is His righteousness! How much time do I have? Not nearly enough to tell of the righteousness of the Lord.

Here is the truth: The Lord is our righteousness. In that man is completely devoid of it, the reason for shouting is that He lovingly offers His to us. “He,” that is Jesus, “became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This goes back to the awesome deeds part. Filthy as we are, even at our best, and irreparably wicked and evil, He recreates us in His image and imparts His very own DNA, which is utterly pure, holy, good, and without stain or blemish. Good reason to shout aloud, eh?

The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

These words echo those among the first revelations of God in Scripture. We do well to notice them. In thirteen words they tell us pretty much all we need to know about God. This is who He is. Yes, He is a lot of things; but they all can be summed up and fit neatly into these four categories: 1) gracious, 2) merciful, 3) slow to anger, 4) great in loving-kindness. Upon these a man can plant his faith. With these he can go to the bank. No matter his circumstances and regardless of what may befall him, he can always, always revert back to these. Screw up? Do something stupid? For the umpteenth time? God is slow to anger! Need some grace? He is full of it. Loaded down with guilt and feeling condemned? He will show you mercy, again and again. Have a hole in your heart and feeling empty? He will fill it with His love.

The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.

It is a lie of the worst sort to think that you’ve been dealt the wrong hand. That of all the people on the face of the earth yours is the toughest of roads. That you are alive and breathing and have yet another shot at knowing the Lord–which, by the way, is eternal life–is God’s goodness at its best. All else is frosting on the cake.

I know, I know, it is easy for me to say this. It is, I know it is. There are others, even many believers, suffering greatly in this life. And while I have had my struggles and the things I face are often tough for me; still, this truth remains: God is good, and He is good to everyone and at all times. If you an unbeliever and still alive, you’ve still a chance. If you’re a believer and are suffering–I say this because it’s true and not because I can say I’ve mastered it, you share in our Lord’s sufferings. Which, if I understand Paul’s writings right, can be considered a privilege. If it is because of wrong choices you’ve made, then now is the time to repent and experience His mercies. Which, we see here, are over all His works. Including you.

All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and Your godly ones shall bless You.

It is good to give thanks–what is it to complain except to compound your problem and tick off the Lord? The word is, “Give thanks always.” It is, “Be thankful.” If you are laying hold of the words of this Psalm, you will see you have every reason to be grateful to God. Again, if your heart is beating and you’re taking in air, you’ve cause to give thanks. If you are on your death-bed and a believer, what joy and gratitude can be yours as you anticipate the glories of heaven! It is a verity that there is always something to give thanks for. Always.

We can be thanking God in advance for things. If He has said something, or made a promise to us, and we do not yet see or experience it, then because we know He is true to His word, we can be saying, “Thank You, God, for thus-and-such,” even when it’s not manifest in our lives . . . yet. In fact, if we adopt this practice, I think it will show up much faster than otherwise. God will do what He says regardless; however, gratitude inspires Him to speed it up!

I think Christians ought to make it their occupation to be blessing the Lord. Look at it this way: we get to. See how we are referred to? Godly ones. That’s us! So we should be blessing the Lord for this simple designation.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

You don’t hear much about it so I think it escapes most Christians, that when Jesus first showed up on the scene the first words out of His mouth were, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That is, the message of the Christ was the kingdom of heaven–or, as in the other Gospels, the kingdom of God. The Gospel, the Good News, is the kingdom of God.

I’ve often wondered how Paul’s gospel (cf., 1 Corinthians 15) corresponded with what we hear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is the gospel of the kingdom. Some teachers will differentiate the two and lament the neglect of the one. But I’ve concluded they are one and the same. The Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus is the gospel of the kingdom. It is not only the entry point, the gate, but the pronouncement –and the fulfillment of the prophecy seen in Psalm 2, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” This is exactly what happened at the resurrection of Jesus.

God’s kingdom is just that; it is entirely different realm. It is in heaven, yes; but Jesus brought it with Him when He came to earth. “The kingdom of God is at hand”–it has come near, come upon us; in short, has come.

For sure, it has touched upon earth and is not here in its fullness just yet. But it is here and is increasing. It is like the leaven Jesus spoke of; it is leavening now and will ultimately leaven the entire lump. Like the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds but, when planted, grows into a tree.

A kingdom, by nature of the thing, has a king, laws, and a culture all its own. Earthly kingdoms have borders. God’s kingdom of course has a king, Jesus. It has laws, chief of which is the Royal Law, love. And it has a culture, one which is characterized and spelled out in the writings of the New Testament. It does not have borders, except for the confines of the human heart. It extends from the center of the earth to the furthest reaches of the heavens, all of which is seen, or is material. But there is an entire unseen realm also. Over and in and through all of this, God, through His Christ, Jesus, rules.

It spans all of time and eternity. Let us not forget that Jesus ruled before He came to earth. That it was His glory as creator, ruler, and sustainer of the universe that He set aside to become a humble servant and bear the punishment of me. God’s kingdom is and has always been; it is an everlasting kingdom. There is never a time when it has not been, nor a time when Jesus has not been its sovereign–except, maybe, for that blip on the screen of His 33 years on earth. Yet the universe was not without a ruler though. The Father, over all–including Jesus, was and is still the Supreme authority.

The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down.

There is a special place in the heart of God for the fallen. We hear it in John 3:16 and see it in the sacrifice of Jesus. Like the boy Jesus, who in the movie The Passion of the Christ falls down, his mother rushing to His aid, so the Father has rushed to aid of those fallen in sin in the Person of His Son.

Yet here I sense a difference; instead it is the man who has failed, has had a major set-back, has received some really bad news; or, having tried his best to abstain from a sinful habit, gives way to it. Maybe he has just completely screwed up. God is here too. Like when Peter denied the Lord, Jesus never gave up on Him. Instead, He prayed for him that his faith would not fail. Or, maybe it’s like a man who all his life has striven to please the Lord, but so much in the wrong way, his way, in his own strength, and toward the end he finally collapses from all the effort. Here the Lord meets him and sustains him in his fall.

Then there is the person who is bowed down, has been humbled by the trials of life. Perhaps he is at the end of his rope. His heart and spirit broken, he is as low as he can go. Like Joseph in the bottom of a pit, feeling the pangs of helplessness, maybe even hopelessness; but God shows up and raises him up.

So is the lord toward us in our low estate.

The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time.

It is good to know that everything we have comes from God, and especially that which sustains life–our daily bread. Jesus teaches us to pray this way. I think it is because if we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” when we get it we’ll understand where it came from, who really provided it for us.

That God is faithful to feed us is, in part, the message of Matthew chapter six. If He feeds the birds of the air, aren’t we of more value than they? Indeed we are! So then, why worry? The Lord says, “Don’t.”

While God in His goodness feeds all, we learn here a valuable lesson: we are to look to God for our provision. Here in America most refrigerators are full, even those of the poor. It is easy to forget God for this reason. This is why it is all the more reason to lift our eyes to heaven, knowing full well Who it is that really feeds us, that stocks our cupboards.

The word is, “in due time.” That is, when we need it. Truth is, God knows our needs, and His timing is quite often different than ours. We learn here that we can trust God to meet our needs, but in His time, not ours.

You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Does He? Does He really satisfy our desires? I am here to say that He does. I recall to mind David’s words in another place: “He satisfies your years with good things.” Or, alternately, “He satisfies your desires with good things.” I can testify to this truth, as God has in my case given me everything I could ever want or need. Honestly, if I want a thing, God gives it to me. Such is the story of my life. “No good thing does He withhold from those who fear Him.”

Some think that God is stingy and wants to deny us our pleasures. This is a lie. The Lord is the embodiment of generosity; He created generosity. And pleasure? Who but God wishes His children to have and enjoy life. In fact, it was the Lord Jesus who said, “I came that they might have and enjoy life.” He is the God who gives us all things richly to enjoy. (cf., 1 Timothy 6:17).

The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.

If there is one thing you absolutely must know about God, it is that He is good. As such, everything He does is good. EVERYTHING. He is completely just, and all His decisions are right on spot. And despite the bad reputation some would place on Him, all His deeds are done in kindness. They may not always appear that way, or feel that way, but they are. The thing about God is that He has the big picture; He sees the end from the beginning. He knows how all His actions play out across history, both yours and mine as well as nations. His ultimate aim is that all men are saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. This may well mean some situations and people that rub us wrong. But God is in them. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.

I love this verse and employ it all the time. Here I am promised that if I call upon God, He is near me. He is a ‘phone’ call away. “Call to Me and I will answer you,” is what He promises. But let it be sincere, your call, and not some feigned response to someone’s else’s prodding.

If there is one thing I know about God, it’s that if I call on Him, He will answer me and come near me. It may well be the only thing I need know when facing anything.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

I spoke to the first part of this verse, and only mentioned the fear of the Lord. So many of the promises rest on the condition of our reverencing the Lord, having an honest-to-goodness and healthy fear of Him. What of this? It is the response you would have, the emotion you would feel, the thoughts that would run through your head, if you came face to face with the Living God. That, I think, would be the fear of the Lord. But since we don’t come face to face with Him, the fear of the Lord is an attitude we take on of our own free will. We choose to fear the Lord (cf., Proverbs 1:29).

God hears our hearts. Yes, He hears us even when we don’t utter a word. We may groan on the inside; God hears that. He especially hears us when we cry out in desperation for His help and salvation. This is seen all throughout Scripture. Even folks who have in disobedience defied Him, and then got themselves into trouble, when they cried out, He saved them. Its seen when men were faced with insurmountable odds; when they cried out, God intervened.

This is who God is. This is what God is like.

The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.

God causes His sun to shine on the evil and the good; that’s because He loves us. But for those who love Him–my, what special treasures He has in store for them! He knows them–as in really knows them. He takes up residence in such people. He sustains them all through life, leading up to and into the courts of heaven on their final day.

The wicked, on the other hand, ought tremble in their shoes. They have one expectation and one only: destruction away from the presence of the Lord. What a horrible fate awaits them! And all the time God in His mercy has His arms outstretched towards them. “Come to Me and be saved,” is His cry.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

So it is I’ve much to be thankful for, and much to praise God about. To top it off, I’ve an eternity to do so. And don’t I look forward to that!

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and earth has been given to Me’” (Matthew 28:18 Amplified).

That is to say, Jesus is not simply a historical figure, a great Man, or just a prophet. Nor is He but a Savior–though that He is. Indeed, He is all these things, but aye, far more. He is the Supreme Being, the ruler of the universe. He ought then be taken much more seriously than He is.

In fact, not only was the universe of both seen and unseen things made by and through Him (John 1:10, Colossians 1:16), the entire created order is held together and sustained by Him (Hebrews 1:3). There is no greater Personality in all heaven and earth than the One we know as Jesus Christ.

“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (the Father’s, that is) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:19-22).

What then does this mean, if these things be so? It means we must give Him His rightful place in our hearts. Meaning this: we not only trust Him as our Savior, but we obey Him as our Lord. Both are conditions upon which we experience the salvation Scripture promises.

Here’s the thing: if we do indeed trust Him to save us, we will certainly do what He says. What man in peril, who, crying out for help, when a rescuer comes to his aid, will refute his instructions? Will argue with his commands?

All that Jesus requires of we who name His name is for the purpose of our good and that of others. No command of the Christ is intended for our harm. As Lord, His law is love and all the requirements of His kingdom are born of His love and kindness for mankind. There is another kingdom, but one other, whose supreme ruler is that evil one, and all his regulations are aimed at our destruction.

It is often overlooked that recognizing–and confessing–Jesus as Lord is the basis for eternal salvation.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

The role of Christ in your life is intended by God to be that of Supreme Ruler. Jesus is to be Lord of your life. By this is meant your whole life, not just part of it. Life, as I understand and live it, is eating, drinking, sleeping, working, playing, relationships, buying and selling, money–everything we think, say, and do, including the reason for why we think, say, and do the things we do, all these God wants under the oversight and rule of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.