The Attributes of God: The Solitariness of God

I was listening to the song "God of This City" from the most recent Passion release - great song by the way - and there was a line that resounded deep within my heart:

There is no one like our God.

I would love to throw biblical text after biblical text, psalm after psalm, that screams this very fact. Romans 11:33-38; 1 Timothy 1;17, 6:15-16; Isaiah 40:25 are all but a taste of this amazing truth.

Who is as loving? Who is as gracious? Who is as merciful? Who is as powerful? Who is as holy? Who is as faithful? Who is as sovereign? Who is as wise? Who is as patient?

I could rattle off all the attributes of God, and realise that nothing compares to our God.

And might I stress, 'our God'. Who is this God? This is the God who made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in it. The God who created man and women, in His own image, and gave them breath and life, and commanded them to subdue the earth. The God who easily crushes His enemies. The God who patiently bore with a corrupt Israel, who time and time again turned from Him.

The God who so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. The God who made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. The God who continues to graciously give us all that we need, sustaining us in our time of need. The God who lifts up the broken. The God who restores strength to the weary. And the God who will one day judge the living and the dead, and raise His redeemed people up to heaven where they will be forever satisfied in His presence.

The solitariness of our God is a funny thing. It evokes reverence for certain, and I might add a fearful reverence. But there's a kind of fear that creates both apprehension and comfort. And a kind of fear that induces terror in the very fibre of a man's soul. The first kind of fear belongs to His chosen people, the ones He has delivered out of the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves. It is a fear that makes us wary of approaching the glorious God, yet it is also a fear that assures us that if He is for us, who can be against us?

The second kind of fear belongs to those who remain condemned for their continued rebellion. It is the sort of fear that strips a man of his defenses, a fear so penetrating and chilling that he can but fall to his knees and beg for undeserved mercy.

But as of now, the first kind of fear only exists. The second sort we will see when Jesus returns.

And so it is a wondrous sort of fear. A fear that trembles before the magnificence of a God, who has no equal, yet steadies us with the warm reassurance of the gracious love of God, expressed through His Son Jesus Christ. Fear becomes mingled with profound gratitude. We never lose this sense of transcendence, nor should we, but there is an indescribable feeling that comes from the immanence of God. That God would draw close to us is incomprehensible, yet true. And our hearts expand as we are filled with the reality of His being, and we overflow with genuine joy and heartfelt thanksgiving.

There is no one like our God.