Based on a series of sermons preached in PCC Prayer Meetings in 2020
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Isaiah 40:12
We spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ as a gentle giant previously. We saw His gentleness as a shepherd. He feeds His sheep, and takes special care of the lambs and the sheep with young.
Why did we call Him a giant? Well, how would you describe someone, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span” (v. 12)? This is how Isaiah describes the shepherd!
Now, if verse 11 is about the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man, then verse 12 must also be about Him. Of course, our text cannot possibly mean that the Lord Jesus Christ is physically a giant. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He had an ordinary human body like the rest of us.
Therefore, our text must not be understood in physical terms. Nevertheless, it speaks of the greatness of Christ Jesus, for He is no mere man. He is the Lord GOD who came with a strong hand (v. 10).
He is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. He is distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. And yet He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is equal in power and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is equally involved in all the external acts of the Godhead, including creation and providence. Nevertheless, it is remarkable, isn’t it, that Isaiah is explicitly speaking of His greatness?
He was, is, and will be infinitely great and powerful. Look at the imagery that Isaiah paints for us in our text. Notice how he uses the past tense throughout, so he is likely alluding to the creation event. The apostle John says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jn 1:1-3).
Isaiah’s description appears to be a step-by-step elaboration of how “all things were made by him [i.e., Christ].”
He “measured the waters in the hollow of his hand.”
“The waters” may refer to all the water in the earth, regardless of whether they are in the oceans, rivers and lakes, or the clouds. It is estimated that there is 1,386,000,000 km3 (cubic km) of water in the world. Of this, 1,338,000,000 km3 is in the oceans. Do you know how much water is 1 km3? Well, if you spread 1 km3 of water over the surface area of Singapore (assuming our 728 km2 land is completely flat), we will be covered in more than one metre of water everywhere.
Christ, according to Isaiah, measured more than a billion cubic kilometres of water in the hollow of his hand!
He is speaking metaphorically, of course. Christ, as it were, poured out the billion cubic kilometres from the hollow of his hand on that first day of creation.
He “meted out heaven with the span.”
A span is the breadth of the hand, the distance between the thumb and the index finger. The heaven is only as big as our Lord’s hand!The word ‘heaven’ in Scripture could refer to the entire spiritual realm or to the expanse of the physical universe. In our present context, it is most certain that the LORD through Isaiah is referring to the latter.
How big is the expanse of our universe? When we look up at the night sky, we may have the sense that space is unlimited. But even then, we are seeing only a tiny, tiny corner of the universe.
How big is the universe? According to current estimates, the diameter of the observable universe is about 93 billion light years. That means it will take light about 93 billion years to travel from one end to the other end! Current estimates are that there are two trillion (i.e., billion, billion) galaxies1, each of which has a hundred million to a hundred trillion stars!
It is hard to imagine such numbers and such distances. But remember that our Lord is greater, far, far greater. “The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him,” says Solomon (2 Chr 2:6). If you ever look up at a clear night sky, and are awed by the greatness of the expanse of space, remember that Christ your Lord is greater than the entire universe.
He “comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure.”
A measure is a basket for measuring grain. All the dust, soil, mud and sand of the earth can be contained in a basket which our Lord can easily carry. If you have ever been to the desert, and you behold the vast expanse of sand and realise how small and insignificant you are, then remember that you are smaller than what you think, for you are smaller than a grain of sand in the basket of our Lord.
He “weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.”
Our Lord knows the exact weight of every mountain and hill, for when He moulded them, He, as it were, weighed them in scales and balances. If you have ever been to a national park overseas, you might feel tiny in the presence of the mountains. Remember that you are even smaller than what you think, for our Lord weighs the mountains in His balance!
This is our Lord who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, who refused to cling to a manifestation of His glory that befits His divine glory, but took upon Himself the nature of man to be our redeemer.
How shall we respond to this reminder of His greatness? May I recommend three responses?
1. Wonder
Firstly, let us respond with wonder at how truly great our Lord and Saviour is. Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God. But because He came as the Last Adam to redeem us, it is needful that He appears as a man.
Thus, it was His humiliation and weakness that were manifested for much of the thirty-three years of His life. He appeared as a baby, as a child, and as a man. Though He did many miracles, they were limited, and He continued to appear as a man to men. The only time He revealed something of His glory was at the Mount of Transfiguration to three of His disciples. At all other times, He was cloaked in lowly human flesh with all the natural weaknesses associated with man.
Therefore, when we think of Christ, we tend to think of Him as being limited in greatness. And it is not wrong too, for He would have us know how deeply God loves us that He humbled Himself so drastically to redeem us.
But we must never forget how truly great He is. So, it is good that our text reminds us of His greatness, even as we are reminded of His gentleness.
2. Gratitude
Secondly, let us respond with gratitude to our Saviour for what He has done for us, despite the reality that He is truly great and we are truly insignificant.
We tend to think of ourselves as great and as the centre of the world. This is why our mood fluctuates day by day and moment by moment according to how much we are recognised, how much we accomplish, how much we accumulate, how much our desires are being fulfilled, etc.
You are your greatest idol, whether you recognise it or not. I am my greatest idol, even if I deny it. That is why we get upset when things do not go our way.
Our text reminds us just how small and insignificant we are. You are one of about 7.7 billion people in the world. But you know what? There are a billion trillion stars in the universe. Christ knows every one of them by name. He orders the course of each one. And yet He cares for you!
He cares for us so much that He laid His life down for us that we may have life.
If gratitude is not our response, then we can only be described as ungrateful blobs of cells.
3. Confidence
Thirdly, let us respond with confidence that our shepherd, friend, elder brother, is unquestionably great. He took on our nature to be our compassionate, great high priest. But having laid down His life for us, He ascended as the God-Man to the right hand of the throne of God, where He is appointed as the governor of the entire universe for the sake of His people.
His greatness, which Isaiah highlights, is just a tiny aspect of His greatness. He is not just greater than the mountains, the ocean, the earth and the universe. He has been appointed heir of all things and is directing all things in this universe for the glory of God and the good of His people. He is doing so today as the God-Man.
He has been, since the creation of the world, doing so as the Son of God. But since His resurrection and ascension, He has been doing so as the God-Man, as your king and your compassionate great high priest. He is concerned about your problems, even though your problems are but insignificant wrinkles in the fabric of space and time. He is pleased to hear your concerns and deal with them because of His love for you.
For this reason, we can have infallible confidence that all things will work together for the good of all whom He laid His life down for, and that our prayers—which are offered in accordance with God’s will—will be heard and granted.
Conclusion
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who but the Lord Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us that our hearts may be filled with awe and wonder, gratitude and confidence!
Let us pray that we may, as individuals and churches, appreciate just how great the Lord Jesus our God and Saviour truly is. Pray that He may increase while we decrease. Pray that we may cease to see Him as an optional part of our life, but submit to Him as our King in all aspects of our life. Pray that we may truly relate to Him in wonder, gratitude and confidence through all the changing scenes of life that He leads us through as our good shepherd. Amen.
—JJ Lim
- https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/how-many-galaxies/; last assessed 6 Aug 2025 ↩︎