Psalms 135:6

Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He.

The activity of God

I. God acts. He is the great worker,--never resting, never failing, never wearying,--the worker of all workers, the motor in all motions.

II. God acts everywhere. In the heavens He rolls the massive orbs of space; on the earth He maketh the grass to grow and clotheth the earth with verdure.

III. God acts from and for himself.

1. From Himself. Our activity is often excited and controlled by something external to ourselves. His never. Nothing is extra. No ruling principles or persons, not all the hierarchies of intelligences, nor the rushing forces and forms of universal matter can excite Him. His action is that of absolute spontaneity. He is responsible to no one.

2. For Himself. There is no other reason for His activity but what pleases Him. The chief measure of any moral intelligence is the gratification of His predominant disposition. In God this is love. Hence His pleasure in creating the universe and sustaining it is the diffusion of His own happiness. His pleasure is the pleasure of His creatures; His happiness and theirs are identical. (David Thomas, D. D.)