Great and mighty, and splendor and glory….though easy enough to pronounce, they should be reserved for someone uniquely qualified to wear them. These traits of God are mentioned throughout scripture (dozens of times), so the author of these contemporary praise verses (Todd Pettygrove) could have been reading from among any number of incidents in which God is called upon in this way. From Moses through Paul, writers lauded Him with these terms, recalling their encounters with Him and reacting as any one might – with terror and profound humility, but also with great confidence in His ability to rescue and protect those who belong to Him. It began in creation when He formed everything out of seemingly nothing, including humanity (see the image here, Creation of Adam, from Michelangelo’s imagination of what this looked like, in one of his 16th Century works). “Great and Mighty Is He” might be words from any of us in various circumstances, but it certainly would not be too frequent to say these words just once more.
Sometime around 1987 Todd Pettygrove perhaps was reading about this awesome being we call God, or maybe he and another or several others were sharing about His character. We don’t frankly know what spurred Todd to convert these few attributes of Him into a praise chorus, but it nevertheless hits the bullseye for believers, because it connects us with centuries-old fellow believers. Some of those believers felt so strongly about Him and their contact with Him that they couldn’t keep this too themselves. We might take it for granted today that they wrote poetic words about their experiences, but what they had to say was something that was overflowing about Him whom they’d experienced. Perhaps it was like someone who sees something so amazing, like an unidentified flying object, something other-worldly that just makes it impossible for you to move on and approach your day with a sense of normalcy. It’s life-changing. He was that way for Moses, the Israelites’ leader who had an especially closeup experience with Him, such that when he spoke about Him, it was often with these traits about him on his lips (see Deuteronomy 3:24; 4:34; 7:19; 9:26; 10:17; 26:8). Or, how about David, who also had an especially close relationship with Him, and instructed others in how to regard Him (see 1 Chronicles 16:29; 29:11), including his own son Solomon who likewise told others how to think of Him (see 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Chronicles 6:32). Pick out any of the prophets to see how this was carried on through successive generations. Centuries later, these characteristics had not worn off, not even a little bit. He transformed an enemy of His son into an obedient servant, who then spent the rest of his life exclaiming His qualities while facing hardships most of us cannot imagine and went to his death to do so – that was Paul (see Ephesians 1:19). He’s not done.
So, maybe Todd was reading any of the passages that underscore this God’s majesty, and how He might terrify and send shockwaves through those who’ve not accepted Him. Or, how about those who have accepted Him, and have tried to coax others that it’s great to be on His side, versus the alternative? It is admittedly pretty difficult sometimes to appreciate what an encounter with Him would be like when He’s still physically invisible. But He’s made all of it that I can see. And, some of it’s really amazing, and there must be so much more that we’ve not yet seen that speaks of Him, too. For example, are there other-worldly things that we’ve not yet understood? Check out the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as I did the other night, and imagine how people might react to an experience with something terrifying and yet fantastically awe-inspiring. Our world seems to be coming to grips with the possibility that other things or beings, perhaps originating beyond our planet Earth, have been visiting. (Read at the following link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-files-pentagon-3rd-release-documents-videos/ ). Are you and I ready to encounter them? It makes one think for a few moments, doesn’t it? The only way I have to respond is that God must have made them too, if my bible is true. Encounters with the incredible could be in earth-dwellers’ future. Some of our ancestors have already had such encounters, with Him.
See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo,_Creation_of_Adam_04.jpg.... The author died in 1564, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. …found inside this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God
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