“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”
(Romans 11:33)
God is not like us. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His judgments are not open to examination, nor are His ways subject to the scrutiny of reason or inquiry. He does not ask for counsel. He does not require insight for He acts in perfect wisdom from the depth of His eternal perfection.
All of Scripture unfolds the seamless harmony of God’s covenant purpose across time. Every act in history, every word of prophecy, every judgment and mercy, every death and deliverance fits into the glorious orchestration of the sovereign God who governs all things.
And yet, to the finite eye, certain portions of God’s work often seem contradictory. The rejection of the Messiah by Israel is a supreme example. The very people God chose, called, and bound to Himself by covenant crucified their promised Redeemer. But this too was part of God’s eternal plan. The blindness of Israel was ordained by God before time began. So the crucifixion of Christ was not God’s plan thwarted, but fulfilled.
Paul, in Romans 11, does not shrink from the difficulty of such a truth. He presses into it to expounds on it. And then he worships. “Oh, the depth of the riches!” is Paul’s awe-filled conclusion. The more he understood of God’s purpose in election, reprobation, salvation, and judgment, the more he was drawn to adoration.
The mystery of God’s plan is not meant to confuse the mind but to humble the heart. What can be known must be studied. And what cannot be known must be worshipped. His riches are bottomless. His wisdom infinite. His knowledge without boundary. His judgments are unsearchable and His ways unfathomable.
Because He is God, His providence is not always explained. He often hides His purposes in Himself. And He is under no obligation to disclose what He chooses to withhold.
And yet, He has revealed Himself in His Word, and above all, in His Son. Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature. In Him we see God. Through Him we come to know the Person of God—not exhaustively, but truly.
Still, we must acknowledge that the fullness of God’s wisdom and will remains unreachable to us finite creatures. Therefore, we are to adore what we cannot master and bow before what we cannot explain.
Thomas Wilson wrote, “The deep and unsearchable counsels of God… His blessings or punishments are all unsearchable (Ps. 145:17). The Lord is righteous in all His ways; this is the way of God’s providence. His word in the promises and precepts of Scripture are there to teach sinners His way…”[1]
Our place is not to demand answers, but to receive His revelation with trust, honor His silence with faith, rejoice in what He has made known, and rest in what He has hidden.
Contemplation:
- God’s unknowable fullness. Lord, how can I search the depths of Your attributes? It is impossible. I’m thankful for Jesus Christ who declares You to me, so that I can adore Your greatness through Him. Help me see that no matter how diligent I may study You and Your truth, I cannot fully understand You because You are unsearchable and past finding out.
- The vastness of Your ways. Lord, You are full of mysteries and secrets which I cannot understand. Your ways are higher than the heavens, deeper than the sea, and more vast than the expanse of space (Prov. 25:3; Job 38:16).
- Contentment in revelation. As I strive to know You more and more, I have to be content with what I can discover about You in Your Word and through Christ. You are the great God, and Your greatness is affirmed by the depths of Your works and ways (Ps. 145:3), Your judgments (Rom. 11:33), and the very riches of Your Son (Eph. 3:8).
- Adoring what I cannot reach. Lord, help me understand that what cannot be known of You because of Your surpassing greatness, or inquired into because of my limitations, should instead be adored and worshipped.
Prayer (Adoration):
O Lord Most High, You are infinite in wisdom, eternal in knowledge, and perfect in judgment. Your ways are beyond understanding, Your counsel beyond comprehension. I lift my heart in worship because of the depths of who You are.
You do not reveal Yourself to satisfy my curiosity. You declare what is needful and conceal what is too high. I bless You, not only for what I understand, but for what I do not, for Your silence is as pure and holy as Your speech.
I adore You for the mystery of Your will. You have decreed all things from eternity past. You govern nations, orchestrate history, and bend all things to the glory of Your Son. I marvel that You allowed Israel to stumble so that the Gentiles might be brought in. I tremble at the weight of Your purpose and rejoice in the scope of Your grace.
Lord, I adore You that Your ways are always right, even when I do not see how. I adore You for Your providence which is always active, though often veiled. I adore You for Your patience in sparing sinners, extending mercy, and withholding judgment. I adore You for Your sovereignty, for none can stay Your hand. I adore You for Your deep mercy, undeserved yet freely given.
You are the God whose riches never run dry and whose knowledge encompasses all things—past, present, and future. I adore You for revealing Yourself in Christ, the radiance of Your glory and the express image of Your person. Through Him, I see what can be seen and known of You and trust what cannot.
You have made known to me the mystery of salvation. I have seen the slain Lamb, the risen Lord, the reigning King. And though I still see only in part, I adore You in full.
Let me live in constant awe. Let me read Your Word as a servant ready to listen. Let me pray in childlike faith. Let me walk in this world with eyes lifted high, praising the God whose depths are infinite and whose ways are holy.
May my heart never grow dull to wonder. May I never demand what You have not revealed. May I worship You for who You are, not only for what I receive. To You be all glory, for from You and through You and to You are all things.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Romans 11:33:
Job 11:7; Eph. 3:10; Col. 2:3; Job 5:9; Isa. 40:28.
[1] Thomas Wilson, A Complete Christian Dictionary (London: E. Cotes and are to be sold by Thomas Williams, 1661), 713.
