Whatever He Pleases (Psalm 135:6)

 


Friday, April 25, 2025


Psalm 135

Exodus 13:17-14:14

Mark 16:1-8


Observance: ANZAC Day


Whatever He Pleases (Psalm 135:6)


Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.


The Lord does whatever he pleases; so let us consider what he has done, and see how it tells us of what pleases him.


Pharaoh and his men wanted to enslave the Hebrews; so it pleased the Lord to drown them in the Red Sea. Were the Hebrews to pass through the main highway then they would be exposed to war; and so the Lord was pleased to lead them peacefully through the wilderness. The wilderness was a big place with not much to guide a traveller’s way, so the Lord was pleased to lead them himself, in pillars of fire and smoke.


The Lord is both creative and good, and so it pleased him to make a good creation. Sharing in the good work of creation pleased the Lord, so he made man and woman in his own image. Sin and death displeased the Lord, and so the Lord was pleased to destroy both.


The Lord loves his people, meanwhile, and so it pleased the Lord to destroy sin and death in himself in the person of his Son, Jesus, on the cross, so that his people may yet live.


Whatever the Lord pleases, he does. He is not like us, and he is his own self. This is cause for very great terror – that there is someone infinitely more powerful than us, and we cannot control him. Yet we know this awesome power is defined by holiness and love, and so this fear leads us through wisdom and into the peace he grants us in Christ.


Were we to create God in our own image, we would become like that which we create: mouths which do not speak, eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Let us flee from such idols, lest we become like them. For our Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!


Have you ever thought that you wished the God of the Bible were different in any way? What of God’s goodness is revealed in the fact that he is who he says he is?


Lord, your name endures forever, your renown throughout all ages. Vindicate us, your people, and have compassion on your servants, that we may stand in the courts of your house.

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