“Go on up to a high mountain,..
lift up your voice with strength,..
say.., ‘Behold your God!’
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust…
It is he who… stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in…
“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.” Isaiah 40:9b-15,22-22, 25-26
In order to convey many of the qualities and actions of the Almighty, He uses anthromorphisms that liken Him to man so our finite human minds can at least somewhat grasp His greatness. Even with these descriptions, we are overcome with wonder at the scope of His majesty and strength, all His supernatural arms hold and uphold and orchestrate. From heavens to earth and sea to sea, including each personal life in between, the Lord’s arm rules.
Our God holds the King’s scepter, the Judge’s reward, and the Shepherd’s staff all while carrying His beloved flock close to His beating heart. How can this be? Because He rules! As Ruler He is perfect in power, upright in justice, and keen to know and care for and shepherd His own.
Our God scoops and turns and measures the sea, He shapes canyons and mountains and weighs their dust. He who is uncontained by and above the heavens spreads them out like a tent, shaking and arranging the cloth of clouds and wind, spinning the earth on its axis as He traces moments of day and night. He who placed each star in space upholds them by His power, sustaining all that is high and us below. Who is this Holy One? The incomparable Ruler! How vast His ways, how wide His saving arm! (2 Chronicles 6:18; Isaiah 59:1; Romans 11:33; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:3)
What petty grievances, cares for the future, long-borne sorrow, or needs for today, have we not placed in these vast, redeeming, loving arms?
Father, keep me in the shelter of Your mighty arms, upheld by Your righteousness, directed where You would have me go, and open-armed myself to Your will and the needs of others.
As the rain and snow 