“O God, Who Is Like You?”
(Ps. 71:19)
Mike Johnson
Psalm 71:19 says, “Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?” Earlier in Psalm 71, the writer has extensively praised God. He has spoken of God’s mercy, power, strength, might, and love. In verse 19, he praises God in two ways. He says God’s righteousness is “very high.” Then he says, You “have done great things.” Next, he asks a rhetorical question: “Oh God, who is like you?”
In 2 Samuel 7:22, David conveys a similar thought after expressing thanksgiving to God as he says: “Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
Earlier, in the Song of Moses, after crossing the Red Sea, the people sang:
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation (Ex 15:11-13).
Consider a case in New Testament times when Paul preached at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17). He had entered the city and was disturbed by it being full of idols. They even had an altar with the inscription “To the Unknown God.” He points out that the true God was the world’s creator and had made everything in it (24). In contrast with idols, he said of Jehovah (24-25), “Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” As Paul contrasts God with the idols of Athens, he answers the question, “Oh God, who is like You?”
The answer to the above question may be obvious to many. However, we would all do well to consider the magnitude of the answer.
Consider the first verse of the following song.”
Saints Life Your Voices.
There is none like Him, none can compare;
No god his equal, no prince His heir!
Chorus
Lift up our eyes and see His great might!
Soar like an eagle, on wings of flight!
Saints, lift your voices tho’ dark your days!
Lift up your spirits, sing out His praise!
Upward the calling, brighter the light!
Soaring like eagles, on wings of flight!
(R. J. Stevens Music)