God Holds the Deep Places
The Bible says, "For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also" (Psalm 95:3,4). How hard to conceive that the hand that made and reigns Sovereign over His universe submitted to the cross of Calvary and the treatment surrounding it. I think of those precious hands that were folded within the swaddling clothes: those hands that gently touched the face of Mary in that wondrous first Christmas and His first year upon earth, those hands that learned the trade of carpenter in Joseph’s shop, calloused from a hard day’s work. Those same hands came up out of Jordan after baptism, to heal to bless, and point the way of truth. Then those hands were bound and finally pierced through for our sins.
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once..." (Romans 6:9,10). Sad as it is, Christ’s death has caused the death of death, which has provided eternal redemption for us. The Lord Jesus was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, that never housed a human remain before, held the Prince of Life (Acts 3:15). Even here in His death the hand of God is holding the deep places of the earth. It is not said that the earth has our Lord - most emphatically, our Lord has the earth! Psalm 89:4 says, “In his hand are the deep places of the earth….” "The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them" (Psalm 89:11). "The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice..." (Psalm 97:1).
1. God holds the deep places where I cannot stand.
In every area of life and nowhere more than the matter of salvation, Christ had interceded for you and me and given us a standing. If it had not been for God’s grace that took His Son to Calvary, we would all have been lost and doomed to an eternity without Him, without heaven to come and without peace on earth in the present time. Do you feel you once had life under control and it has become a monster and is taking you under its control? Then please make this Easter a true personal resurrection Sunday! Through God’s power, stand where you have not been standing.
"I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me" (Psalm 69:2,14,15).
2. God holds the deep places I cannot see.
As children, most of us experienced the fear of the dark. Even as adults the dark can be unnerving, for in the dark we cannot see where we are going. The Bible teaches that the light and the dark are the same to God; He can see just as easily in one as the other. The Lord is afraid of nothing, not even the dark. He lives there and makes even the darkest, most remote a place of purpose and illumination. "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was" (Exodus 20:21).
Am I addressing someone who is stumbling because you cannot find your way? I’ve got some good news for you! God sees the places you cannot see and will be very happy to lead you to your personal destiny of bright and shining future! You have tried your way without Him; try and trust God. "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death" (Job 12:22). God’s wonders are waiting for you if you will trust Him with your life! "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep" (Psalm 107:23,24). In the midst of the world’s waste, God will show us wonderful things!
3. God holds the far off places I have not been.
The Bible says, "Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" (Psalm 42:7). In the picture God has before us in this passage of Scripture, the idea of a churning waterspout, a tornado over water, if you please. As the winds expose a depth that normally is not experienced, He is reminding us even there He is in control. Do you feel your dream has turned into a nightmare? When you are drowning financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually and you cannot go any deeper, then the Lord in His sovereignty sends the waterspout over you and you are plunged to even deeper depths. At the very moment of your deepest, darkest desperation, God is holding you who trust Him, and yes, even the waves beneath you. God does much more than become a bridge over our troubled waters; He lifts us up when the bridge has washed out beneath us and we have no human lifeboats nearby. In your calamity you cry out, “Somebody help me; I’ve never been here before!” Please be aware, God has. The Psalmist said, "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psalm 139:9-12).
There is not a better way to celebrate Easter than to make it personal. Christ died that you might live. He lives that you might never die. Listen to the sermon this morning and when the pastor extends the invitation, leave your seat, walk down the nearest isle toward the front. There the pastor who is looking for you will greet you and have a student of the Bible take just a few moments to share with you in our counseling room just off the main auditorium how to know Christ personally. Your family and friends will not mind waiting. Come today; let the God who holds the deep places of the earth hold you in the hollow of His nail-pierced hands. God cares for you because He loves you! You will discover that the rest of the verse is true, “…the strength of the hills is his also" (Psalm 95:3,4). The hill of Calvary becomes your “Rock of Gibraltar.”
- Pastor Pope -