Your way, O God is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples.
Psalm 77:13-14
Where is that in the Bible? This is a question posed at Orthodox Christians for those outside of our faith tradition. What is amazing, and somewhat unknown, even by many faithful Orthodox Christians, is how much the Bible is quoted in our liturgical tradition. Psalm 77:13-14 is a great example. There is a hymn called a “Prokemenon” which is sung after the entrance hymn every day at Vespers. There is a Prokemenon for each day of the week. There are a few times a year, on the major feasts of the church, when the daily Prokemenon is replaced by a special one. On Pascha and Pentecost, the Prokemenon (sometimes called “The Great Prokemenon”) is from Psalm 77:13-14: Who is so great a god as our God? You are God, who alone does wonders! (In Greek it is Tis Theos Megas). This hymn is also sung at the procession on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
The concept of a “god” is not unique to Christianity. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans had gods. They had deities they prayed to in times of war, for rain, for beauty, for wisdom and lots of other things. People have created “gods” in order to fill spaces they cannot fill. There is an innate desire to “worship” a “higher power” or to feel like someone or something outside of us is guiding us, helping us, and favoring us.
In the modern world, the concept of a god is challenged by several things. One is that technology does so much for us. Artificial intelligence can now think faster than human intelligence. AI is becoming a god of sorts. Along with the phone, which can seemingly “do anything.” We look at things created by us all day long. In my office, there is furniture made by people, books written and bound by people, in a building built by people. It’s very easy to lose track of God in my office. Of course, this office hasn’t been here forever, it is not eternal. And the office I’m sitting in right now is slated for demolition in the next year, so it won’t be here forever either. There is the desire to look for someone higher than us, so we start looking for people who do things we can’t do, things that impress us. And we make gods of athletes, actors, singers and politicians. We forget that all of these have not been around forever, nor will they be around forever. The greatest athlete, actor, singer and politician will eventually die, and before that, will lose skills, voice, and mental capacity. It’s hard to believe that we cast people in the role of a deity.
Because we have distorted love, trust, technology, and relationships, there is now a tendency to make ourselves “gods.” We proclaim our own sense of righteousness and pronounce condemnation to those who don’t agree with us. We forget that righteousness is defined by God and condemnation belongs to Him as well. But even the most righteous idea or cause, proclaimed by the most righteous of people with the most noble intentions has a beginning and an end.
Which brings us to Psalm 77:13-14. Your way O God is holy. Why? Because God’s way is the only way to something that is eternal. God has no beginning, nor does His righteousness. God’s righteousness is not a fad, and God’s way is not temporary. God’s way leads us to holiness, to heaven. Every other way, no matter how attractive it might seem, has an end to the path.
This is why the Psalmist writes What god is great like our God? There is no other god who is eternal, who is not a construct. There is no other god who creates like our God. There is no other god who forgives like our God. There is no god who has mercy like our God. You are the God who works wonders. God created the earth; no other god did that. God paved the path to Paradise. No other god can do that. The “god” of money can make our temporary life enjoyable. The “god” of the phone can help us access information and communicate. The “gods” on the athletic field and the movie screen can entertain us. Following a political figure as if he or she is a god may give us something to believe in, but what about when that “god” dies or isn’t reelected? Can ideology be a “god”? I suppose it could, but even ideologies changes, the pendulum swings differently.
Our God has made known Your might among the peoples. We probably don’t think about the sun coming up every day as an act of God. But who came up with the idea of placing the sun in the sky, or a planet that spins on an axis, or a new day that begins each time the sun rises? We are so busy thinking about our own “gods” that we forget the continual work of God, that began before the creation of the world and continues today. One other thing that would suit us well is to be able to look back at our lives and to think of the amazing, unexplainable things that have happened to us—our talents, our opportunities, even some of our challenges—and to find where God was in those moments. Once we have placed God in His proper place—that there is no god as great as our God—then it is easier to keep ourselves in our rightful place—as His servants, and as pilgrims journeying through life on the way to eternal life.
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that He may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretch out without wearing; my soul refuses to be comforted. I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Thou dost hold my eyelids form closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, I remember the years long ago. I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit. “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Are His promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up His compassion?” And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; yea, I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will mediate on all Thy work, and muse on Thy mighty deeds. Thy way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? Thou art he God who workest wonders, Who hast manifest Thy might among the peoples. Thou didst with Thy arm redeem Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw Thee, O God, when the waters saw Thee, they were afraid, yea, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; thy arrows flashed on every side. The crash of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; Thy lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Thy way was through the sea, Thy path through the great waters; yet Thy footprints were unseen. Thou didst lead Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalm 77
Reflection question: What past moment of God’s faithfulness can I remember to strengthen me today?
