For I know that the LORD is great,
Psalms 135:5-6 (ESV)
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
How great is the Lord (YHWH)? As Christians, we would likely answer that there is none greater. That YHWH alone is God, sovereign over all things. But in the ancient world, people believed that there were many gods, each responsible for different nations or aspects of nature. And the answer to which was the greatest would not be so simple.
But the psalmist, who likely accepted that there were a multitude of gods, had a clear answer. His Lord, YHWH, was above all the other so-called gods. There were none who compared to Him. He did not have to consider them when He acted. He did what He pleased.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does. That is a significant statement about God. He does nothing out of compulsion. No one can coerce Him to act contrary to what He wants to do. He is sovereign over all things.
God did not have to create this earth and the humanity that populates it. He did not have to create us with the potential to rebel, knowing that we would inevitably do so. He did not have to become human in order to redeem a fallen humanity. But it pleased Him to do so. He acted according to His sovereign will.
This is not to say that everything that happens in creation is pleasing to God. It most certainly is not. Much of what we do grieves God. But his response to us, and the plan He is working out through creation, is according to His will. He is doing what he wants—bringing creation to his desired end state. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does.
