I read Psalm 36 this morning preparing for tomorrow’s Bible study, and verses 5-6 outline a few of God’s attributes. Mercy vast as the heavens, faithfulness beyond the clouds, righteousness like mountains and justice deep as the sea. All of these are poetic images used to convey the idea that God is limitless. He is infinite. That’s one of the simplest ways to distinguish God from the rest of us. I am constantly aware of my limitations. I get tired, irritated. I fail in my dealings with others, withholding mercy at times, crossing a line from justice to vindictiveness on other occasions. I know my righteousness doesn’t measure up to a dirt clod, much less a mountain.
Thankfully, the psalm goes one more step and includes God’s precious unfailing love, and as an outworking of that He offers shelter and provides for us, satisfying the deep longings of our souls.
Sometimes, in my quest for intimacy with God, I lose sight of His uniqueness, His God-ness, of everything that makes Him God alone. It’s good to be reminded regularly, because it is in recognizing that separate-ness of God that I begin to grasp how wondrous, how beyond description, His desire for a relationship with me truly is.