Psalm 113 brings together two realities about God that surprised me. Because I needed to be surprised.
There’s the power of God.
The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
That is, God is great and powerful and rules over all.
So …
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
God is so powerful that we see his compassion and care for the weak. I would not have put these together – but they’re perfect.
They work well together because God has total, ultimate power. The powerful in our world always need to shore up their power. A president could lose out at any moment – so needs to curry favour with all the other powers of the world. This works for presidents political, corporate, sporting, or whatever.
But God’s power is permanently and eternally perfect. He has no challengers or weaknesses – so his love for the weak runs free, unconstrained. If we love God’s compassion, we must always love his awesome power and kingdom.