TOPIC:“Limiting the Unlimited God”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Psalms 78:36-42
“Yea, they turned back and tested God, and limited the Holy One of Israel”
(Psalms 78:41)
Paul S. Rees, in an article entitled, God in Shackles, writes these words: “It is we who put shackles upon God. We cannot keep Him from managing the stars above us, but we can prevent Him from managing the soul within us.” What a description of what modern man has done with the God who created him and the God who wants to work His will within him.
We limit the unlimited God. The word “limited” as used in our text means “to set a mark upon” or “to set boundaries upon.” It is putting God in a neat little box so He won't interfere with the way we live our lives. It is confining Him to a straight-jacket so He can't carry out His divine and dedicated purpose within us. It is drawing a boundary line beyond which He must not pass. Think of it: God hangs the planets in outer space, but He has a difficult time managing the human heart because of man's resistance. Imagine, the human heart, a throne-room that was meant for God, uprooted by man's pride to control his own life.
We do indeed have a great God. Nothing is impossible with Him. By His mighty power He is able to accomplish all things. He is not bound by our human limitations such as time and place. He is completely unrestricted by anything in His sovereign will He desires to do. But though God is not restricted in Himself, He is restricted in us. This is precisely what Israel did according to the words of our text: “They turned back and tested God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” They restricted what He wanted to do for them.
In the Psalm before us Asaph recounts the history of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the time of the reign of King David. He did this in order that the Jewish people would remember God's faithfulness in providing for them and God's mercy in protecting them throughout their existence as a chosen people. But also in this Psalm we discover the various ways Israel limited God from carrying out His plan and purpose for them.
Let's think together how this was done by Israel of old and may be done by us of today. Though there are many ways Israel limited God as found in this lengthy 78th chapter of Psalms, permit me to lift out three of them. They limited God by their disobedience, by their disbelief, and by their deceitfulness. Do we not do the same?
I.
. . .