For Thou Art Great

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. (Psalm 86:10)

Truly God is great! Out of nothing He created the heavens and the earth and all that exists therein. He created the angels as ministering servants. He created man, perfect and holy, to live in His Holy Communion forever.

But mankind fell into temptation and chose the way of destruction rather than the way of life.

God has demonstrated the extent of His greatness by going far beyond the marvelous works of creation. For God has done a far greater thing in the redemption and salvation and sanctification of sinners. God has redeemed that which could not be redeemed. He bought back His sons from the condemnation of their rejection of His goodness. Those who were lost and beyond redemption, those who had entered again into the chaos of unbelief and sin, God redeemed with His own blood. Having redeemed them, He also called them out of the darkness of their sin and unbelief to be recreated again in His image. He established for them His Church on earth so that they would have a place of gathering into which He would continually gather them to receive the means by which He regenerates them and renews them. In this Church He washes them and gives to them new spirits that live in His holiness, thus sanctifying them through the justification that He declares in connection with the atonement of the cross of Christ crucified. He feeds them with His Word and with His own body and blood to keep them in this new life that flows from Him.

Truly this is far greater even than calling into existence out of nothing the cosmos. For in this He takes filthy sinners who have been corrupted in their very nature and regenerates them with new hearts of faith to live again in that which their corrupted nature despises and hates. He takes enemies and makes them His friends. He takes the irreconcilable and reconciles them to Himself.

Truly it is marvelous that in the beginning He made a perfect world from nothing, a world that He declared to be in every way, good, including the first couple of the human race. But how much more marvelous it is that from those who had become completely evil, God has brought forth those whom He once again may and does declare to be in every way, good! Even more marvelous still is that He works this in His Church on earth where His little congregation is continually persecuted and opposed by the world!

Yes, truly Lord, Thou art Great!