Just a Thought or Four
INTRODUCTION – Psalm 40 – Eternity will not be enough time to fully consider the mind of God. That fact does not mean that we should not try to better understand the thoughts of God.
1. GOD’S THOUGHTS CANNOT BE RECKONED.
Psalm 40:5 – God’s thoughts are too numerous for us to count. The eternality of God plus His omniscience combine to overwhelm. Even though God is transcendent, we have no excuse not to try to comprehend the thoughts of God. David tries.
2. GOD’S THOUGHTS CANNOT CEASE.
Psalm 40:17 – God’s thoughts are not dependent on our circumstances. Note the conjunction “yet.” God does not turn His back on us and walk away when we are at our poorest and neediest. God thinks about us when no one else would. God is always consistent (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8); thus, God is always thinking about us. Psalm 139:1-18 shows that these thoughts are comprehensive, just like God Himself.
3. GOD’S THOUGHTS CANNOT BE LIMITED.
Is. 55:8,9 – Let us not extrapolate from our thoughts to God’s thoughts. Because we are created in the image of God, we can think. However, we are finite, limited in our outlook and understanding. God is infinite and thus without these limits. Always start with God; then move to men. Note where this characteristic of God leads in Is. 55:10-12. The thoughts of God give us the precious Word of God.
4. GOD’S THOUGHTS CANNOT BE EVIL.
Jer. 29:11 – This verse is not a direct promise to Christians. The context is clearly about God’s covenant blessings given to His people in the nation of Israel. Let us reject the heresy of replacement theology, the false idea that Christians have replaced Israel. This verse does reveal the essential character of God and how He thinks. Because God is holy, His thoughts must be holy.
CONCLUSION – Phil. 2:5-11 – Like David in Psalm 40, we are poor and needy. At our poorest and neediest, God the Son thought not of Himself but of us. Jesus desires that all of us call Him Savior. Have you asked Him to save you from your sins? If we are Christians, we must begin to think differently. Phil. 4:8,9 tell us to look at things differently – things like nature, music, literature, people, and God Himself. It is revelatory of the character of God that in the midst of a world of sin there remain many things that are good to contemplate. “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Prov. 23:7a
2019-09-02