Calvary Baptist Church

Psalm 123

6-28-09

It has been a good and busy week for me getting settled back into some semblance of a routine after our Haiti Mission trip.  This week I was privileged to attend some of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.  For those of you who may be unaware, we are an autonomous church in friendly cooperation with other Baptist churches who make up the Southern Baptist Convention.

The simplest way of explaining that is to say that we govern ourselves under Scripture and Christ, but we join with other churches to support the work of missions.  The Southern Baptist Convention holds no authority over us; rather the convention is a way for us to cooperate with others.  Once a year messengers from over 40,000 churches that make up the SBC gather to do some business, to encourage each other, and occasionally to fuss with each other.

Honestly, I don’t usually enjoy the annual meeting or find it particularly edifying, but this year was quite a happy surprise for me.  I did enjoy the time spent at the meeting and I found it edifying and helpful.  I enjoyed meeting up with friends in the ministry, being challenged to evangelism and missions, and particularly I heard some really well preaching.

One young pastor particularly encouraged me in my own walk with the Lord.  As this young pastor stood up to preach he began by admitting that he doesn’t know how to be a pastor.  In a deliberately self-deprecating manner, he acknowledged his own inadequacy for the work of pastoral ministry.   Now, this young pastor is unusually gifted and one wonders if he’s quite as inept as he claims, but to hear such humble confessions was a great encouragement to me.

I can identify with a sense of inadequacy.  Most days I feel as though the duties with which I am confronted are over my head.  How am I to know what to preach, or how to counsel, or how to inspire as a leader, or what will promote peace in the body, or what to say to a grieving family?  And while the young pastor did not provide answers to those questions, he encouraged me that I am not the first or last pastor to think this way.

But then I thought about you.  Maybe I’m not the only one to feel limited or inadequate or unable to meet the challenges of life.  Perhaps as you listen this morning you can identify with a sense of inadequacy.  How do I discipline my unruly child at home?  How do I deal with an impossible supervisor at work?  How do I overcome great peer pressure at school?  How do I know what major to choose or what career to pursue?  How do I deal with losing memory in old age?

Surely, there would be few among us who would claim to be capable of meeting all of life’s challenges with never a moment of inner struggle.  And, even if you would never admit it publicly, would you not admit within your own soul that you don’t have it all figured out?  I tell you this morning, I sure don’t have it all figured out.

The depths of our own limitations, however, merely serve to highlight the marvelous truths found in the 123^rd Psalm.  Psalm 123 was one those Psalms sung by the Jews as they walked up to Jerusalem for their annual feasts and it is filled with encouragement for those who stand in need of help as many of the Songs of Ascents do.

Psalm 123 teaches us that we can look to God for help.  We can look to God when we can look to no other and when we look to God we will see His throne, His hand, and His scorn.  God sits on a throne ruling His people.  God reaches out His hand extending mercy to His people.  And God has endured scorn to save His people.  O what hope and joy is to be found in God for all who will humble themselves before Him and by faith look to him through His Son Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther wrote of Psalm 123, “This is a deep sigh of a pained heart, which looks round on all sides, and seeks friends, protectors, and comforters, but can find none.  Therefore it says, ‘Where shall I, a poor despised man, find refuge?  I am not so strong as to be able to preserve myself; wisdom and plans fail me among the multitude of adversaries who assault me; therefore I come to Thee, O my God, to Thee I lift my eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens.”

Let us come in this hour to God Himself, not as strong and able people, but as the poor and needy sinners that we are.  And let us trust that in our God enthroned in the heavens we will find mercy and assistance for living lives that please and honor Him.

I.  Look to the throne of God (1).

Now it is important to recognize that this hymn must have been written at a time when God’s people were brought low and in a deplorable condition.  Many think that Psalm 123 must have been written while the Jews were in exile in Babylon, suffering as captive people in a foreign land.  The people of God having fallen under the judgment of God were made slaves of those who worshiped false gods.  In their captivity the Jews were mocked for their faith and the pagan Babylonians would point to their domination over the Jews as evidence of the domination of their gods over the God of Israel.

Nevertheless, there came a day when from the very pit of despair the Psalmist sang “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heaven!” (Verse 1). Here is an important reminder for all of God’s people in every age; the God we worship, the true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only God, is not subject to the gods of the nations, but sits where He has always sat, on His glorious throne in heaven ruling His universe.

Look up, dear believer, to the heavens and see your God seated upon His sovereign throne.  Jesus taught us to begin our prayers by addressing God as “Our Father in Heaven” (Matt 6:9).   This is not to say that God is not present and active on earth, He is, but to remember that God inhabits eternity and manifests His glory more fully in another dimension, in heaven itself, from whence He rules over all His creation.

We are told these days that Christianity is failing in America, that we are now the fourth largest lost nation on earth.  Around us we look and see sickness, death, disease, violence, perversion, and lawlessness.  If we could only look around us at our nation, our neighbors, and our news, we would be more than discouraged every day.  But this good word reminds us to look above us.

The pilgrims sang the songs of ascents as they headed up to Jerusalem, but they were looking not merely to the holy city but to the God of the city.  James Montgomery Boice said that “The goal of the pilgrim is not Jerusalem, as important as that city was, or even the temple in Jerusalem, as important as it was, but God himself, whose true throne is not anywhere on earth but in heaven.”[1]

There is a time in life to look to friends for encouragement and counsel.  There is a time in life to read books and study.  There is a time act and to work.  But brothers and sisters, there is a time in life to look nowhere but the God who sits on the throne of heaven.  A time when you do nothing but cast yourself upon the God who rules from heaven recognizing that He overrules every other person or cause in the universe.

You’ve looked to friends.  You’ve looked to finances.  You’ve looked to family.  You’ve looked to fortune.  But at some point none of these can save you.  It’s time to look to the Father.  Have you looked to God Himself?  Have you cried out to by faith?  Have you prayed?  Have you immersed yourself in His own word?  Have you cast your soul upon Him?

This Psalm encourages us to look to the throne of God.  Our God is not standing in the newsroom of heaven wringing His hands over current events.  Our God is not running through the hallways looking for an advisor.  Our God is not anxiously browsing through Webmed to learn more about your health condition.  No, no, our God is enthroned with power and authority, glory and honor.  Look to the throne of our great God.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4.16).  Look to the throne of God in order to find help from the hand of God.

II. Look to the hand of God (2-3).

Notice verse 2. The Psalmist draws an analogy between the way in which a slave or a servant in the ancient world looked to their master and the way Gods’ people of any age should look to the Lord.  Just as a slave looked to the hand of his master for guidance, help, protection, and discipline in complete and utter deference and dependence, so the believer is to the look in utter humility to the  hand of God; and we look to the hand of God especially for mercy.

Notice verse 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.  Here is the great need for us today, mercy from our God.  A.W. Pink said “Mercy…denotes the ready inclination of God to relieve the misery of fallen creatures.  Thus mercy ‘presupposes’ sin.”  We need mercy from God to relieve from the misery of our falleness brought on because of our sin.

Thus, from these verses we learn that our greatest problem is not our health or our past or our coworker, no that which plagues us most in our inner propensity to rebel against God, to go our own way, to be concerned and consumed with self rather than loving God supremely and loving others sacrificially as Scripture commands.   And, yet, notwithstanding our rebellion, we can look to the hand of God and find mercy.

If you think that God’s mercy means that you can sin all you want and God will not judge you, then you are sadly mistaken.  If you think grace means that you are not accountable to God or to His church, then you simply haven’t understood what it means to be a Christian.    We live in a day of cheap grace and soft judgments and we must be on guard lest we believe false view of God’s mercy.

Looking to the hand of the Lord for mercy presupposes the fact that we know the holiness of God, that we acknowledge the sinfulness of our sin, and that we humble ourselves before God knowing that He ought to give us judgment, He ought to give us hell.   And yet, though this is all very true we have a God who is merciful toward those who humbly repent before Him.

I was refreshed just this week to read once again of Ahab the wicked King of Israel.  We are told toward the end of 1 Kings that “(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.) And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.” (1 Kings 22:25-29).

Ahab was the wicked King of Israel.  He worshiped false god, he murdered the innocent for his own gain, and he persecuted and killed the prophets of God.  And, yet, when he heard the preaching of Elijah, Ahab humbled himself before God, repented of his sins, and found a measure of God’s grace.

Even though it is true that we need to guard against cheap grace and soft judgment, nevertheless, we must also remember that if God was merciful to Ahab, He can most certainly be merciful to you.    Have you thought that your sin is too shameful?  Have you thought that your sin has gone on too long?  Have you thought that your sin too perverse?

If you’ve thought that God can not be merciful to your particular sin, then you’ve misunderstood the depth of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.  Yes, your heart is filled with murder, meanness, mischief, and madness, but God’s hand is full of mercy.  Look, this morning, not to the haughty eye of hypocritical believers.  Look, this morning, not to the harassing of your own conscience.  But look, this morning, to the hand of Holy God extending mercy to you if you will only receive it by faith.

III. Look to the scorn of God (4).

As we move down to verse 4, the scorn of God may seem a bit out of place, but think carefully with me about this verse for a few minutes.  Read verse 4.  The writer of this Psalm expresses a sorrow that godly people have always felt.  Our soul is filled up to overflowing with the scorn or the mocking of those at ease the contempt or being despised by the proud.  This verse expresses what every godly person has experienced in one way or another.  Proud unbelievers who will not bow before the authority of Christ, especially those who are momentarily comfortable in this life will mock, laugh at, scorn, and deride those who entrust themselves to the Lord God by faith.

Do not be surprised if you find yourself saying, “My soul has had of being mocked, dear Lord.” My friends at school mock me for my faith and for my desire to keep myself morally pure, O God my soul is full of being mocked.  Even among professing believers it is possible to feel derided for a more zealous commitment to Christ to the point that we cry out, “O God my heart is weighed down with being misunderstood for my convictions which I am sure have sprang up within me through the study of your own word.”

Do not be surprised if you are mocked, teased, slandered, for your faith in Christ.  As a matter of fact, if you are scorned in some way, then you should rejoice for your life is giving testimony to the fact that you are a citizen of another country.  God’s people have always experienced this to one degree or another and that being so we may trust that God permits it in our lives for His own good purpose.

Able was murdered by his brother because of his righteous sacrifice.  Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because of the favor God has shown him.  Moses endured rebellions and insurrections because the Lord gave him an exalted leadership role. Peter was mocked at the trial of Jesus, so severely that the brave man denied his acquaintance with the Savior.

And throughout church history the faithful have been scorned.  Martin Luther during the Reformation was lampooned in cartoons as a monster with seven heads.  George Whitefield preaching during the Great Awakening would endure food being thrown at him, slapped in the face, and mobbed.  And what is more intolerable in our pagan society today than an Evangelical Christian who still believes that marriage is a covenant commitment between a man and a woman.  Watch as movies and television programs portray the committed Christian as a religious zealout filled with ignorance and hatred.

Friends, we need to pray for a generation of young people, teenagers and children who are growing up in an age in which to be a faithful Christian is to endure scorn and derision.  I wonder how many teenagers are hesitant to follow Christ simply because doing so would mean to endure the greatest fear many of us have; being mocked by others.  Or how many men will not refuse to participate in pornography at work because if you do your coworkers will laugh at you?  Or how many preachers will not preach with tears because to do so would invite the ire of the respectable citizens in the congregation.

We must remember that the faithful will be mocked and scorned because the God of the faithful is mocked and scorned.  The unbelieving heart secretly, and sometimes, openly mocks the living God.  And when Jesus Christ gave His life as a sacrifice for sinners He endured the mockery, scorn and derision of sinners.  “And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:31).

Jesus was endured being stripped of clothes and mocked in his nakedness for your sin.  Our precious, holy, righteous Savior was mocked so that our sins would be put away forever.  Look to the scorn of our God.  See him there our blessed Christ naked and scorned.  If He endured so much for you, will you not endure a little bit of suffering for Him?

Jesus said, “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). Men, if you will not endure a little bit of mockery to abstain from the filth of pornography at work then you are not worthy of Christ.  Young people, if you will not endure a little bit of rejection to walk pure and upright at school then you are not worthy of Christ.  And I would say to myself, as a minister of the gospel, that if I would not endure a little bit of scorn to preach the whole counsel of the word of God, then I am not worthy of Him.

The One who was mocked for us is worthy of our complete devotion, when you are mocked look to the One who was mocked for you.

This Psalm has been called “The Psalm of the Eye” because of its emphasis to look to God; look to His throne, look to His hand, look to His scorn.  Therefore, we must determine in our hearts not to gaze outward upon this world, and not to gaze inward at our own corrupts hearts, but to gaze upward upon our great Lord and God.  C.H. Spurgeon said, “We must use our eyes with resolution, for they will not go upward to the Lord of themselves, but they incline to look downward, or inward, or anywhere but to the Lord.”

Because of our falleness, we are prone to look downward, inward, or outward.  We will never just sort drift into a godly gazing upon Christ.  Like Peter walking on the water we are prone to look away from the Savior, especially when the seas of temptation and trial are raging about us.   Psalm 123, however, urges us to look to our Lord God.

So I ask you, this morning, where is your gaze?  What has your attention?  Upon what or whom have you set your eyes?   And I urge you, turn away from any of those things that distract you from looking to our glorious Savior who gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

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[1] James Montgomery Boice, The Psalms volume 3, page 1088.

Psalm 124
7-5-09

We have been celebrating, this weekend, Independence Day.  Probably most of us spent a good deal of time yesterday grilling out, relaxing, and watching fireworks.  Independence Day is one of our national holidays.  We get a few of those throughout the year and I suppose they’re meant to help us remember.

I suppose those fireworks that we watched are supposed to help us remember those blasts through the night that led to our independence from Great Britain and that ruthless King of England.

I wonder, ‘Do you think it is good for us to stop and remember the fact that we established freedom as a nation?’   I am personally very thankful for our freedom as American citizens, especially in terms of the free exercise of religion.  Religious freedom is most valuable indeed and it is good to remember the great privilege it is.

Our holiday is somewhat akin to those Holy Days of ancient Israel.  Of course, our word ‘holiday’ stems from those words Holy Days, The Jews had three Holy Feasts every year upon which they traveled up to Jerusalem.  Their Holy Days would last for several days, however, instead of only one day.  Perhaps, you can lead a movement that our holiday would be extended to multiple holidays and we can just make a great feast out of the event.

As the Israelite made their way up to Jerusalem they would sing the Songs of Ascent of which Psalm 124 is the fifth.  They sang this song on their holy days to remember the great deliverances of God in their past as a way of encouraging their own souls to trust God’s providence in the future.

This picture of faithful Jews singing these very words as they went up for worship can be a powerful witness for you and me today.  Why did God require those holy day experiences in the first place?  Why did he want his people to make such a pilgrimage?  Wouldn’t their time have been better spent continuing to work in order to grow their economy?  Why holy days?

It seems that God ordained the Jewish Holy Days as a way of addressing one fallen humanities fundamental problems.  God knew that his people would have memories.  And the Lord knows that we still have short memories today.  We tend to forget, don’t we?  We forget our mother’s birthday.    We forget to pay the bill.  We forget to feed the goldfish.     We forget to water the flowers.  But wait this isn’t a time for my personal confessions for just this past week is it?

We are a forgetful people and worst of all we tend to forget the Lord.  We forget what the Lord has done for us in the past and we forget, therefore, that we can trust what he has promised to do for us in the future.  Like the Israelites traveling up to Jerusalem, this morning we can turn to Psalm 124 and be reminded of the faithfulness of our great God.  Indeed, Psalm 124 can help us to obey the command of Psalm 103:2 to “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Yes, from this passage we learn to remember the Lord and trust the Lord.

I.  Remember the Lord’s Past Deliverances.

David, writing this Psalm, recalls a time or times when the people of God were under grave threat, but were finally delivered by the Lord.  So, this is a congregational hymn as it were.   It was written for all the people to join in singing together.  But David wrote it as one with a deep personal experience with the Lord.   Surely it was out of his own very personal experience of the Lord’s deliverance from grave dangers that he wrote this song.

David uses four distinct images to describe the dangers from which he had been delivered.  First, a devouring beast (verse 3).  Second, a torrential flood (verse 4-5) a Tsunami.   Third, a hungry lion (verse 6).  Fourth, a fowler’s snare (verse 7).  Each of these describe the enemies of Israel who were hell bent on their destruction.   David, understood these images very well.  He had faced the mouth of the bear and the teeth of the lion as a boy shepherd and he had stood before giant Goliath as a boy warrior.

Yet, as he thought back over these many dangers, David remembered that the Lord had delivered him from every single one.  So too the Israelites could remember that the Lord had delivered them from the oppression of Pharaoh, from the wrath of the Assyrians, from the captivity of the Babylonians, and from the attempt at extermination by wicked Haman about which you can read in the book of Esther.

God had delivered both David and Israel from some deep and dangerous perils, but remembering the depths of their dangers only served to promote their devotion to the Lord.  They could say in verse 1 “if it had not been the Lord who was on our side … they would have swallowed us up and swept us away, but … that sentence demands a ‘but’ doesn’t it?  But they did not swallow us up.  They did not sweep us away.  These people, who had once faced annihilation, were filled with joy as they traveled up to worship the living God, alive, together, and delivered.

Do you know what it means to be delivered?  Can you recall a time when the Lord delivered you?  Delivered you from depression?  Delivered you from debt?  Delivered you from panic attacks?  Delivered you room gambling addiction?  Delivered you from life destructive choices and habits?  Do you know what it means to be delivered?

Remembering the past deliverance of the Lord is not simply a good thing to do, it is vital for a living and growing faith.  Our souls need to be able to look back and see that we are connected, we are rooted.  Our souls need to be grounded in something.  My generation has been described as a rootless generation.  We are a people without a past.

In the past, a man would work for the same company for 30 or 40 years and his family would live in the same town, sometimes in the same house for their entire lives.  But my generation will work for a dozen different employers and live in several different cities often far from our childhood homes.  And so we’re rootless you see.  Perhaps this is why I keep getting those family tree invitations on Facebook that I don’t know how to delete.  And people are very interested in tracing back their genealogies, because we feel so disconnected from our roots.

Well, if we by faith embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we become rooted in Christ.  We become rooted in the God who made us.  We become rooted in God’s work of redemption down through the ages.  We come to experience many deliverances in our lives as believers, but our greatest deliverance is from sin and God’s wrath directed at our sin.

You see our great deliverance comes because on the cross the great Deliverer himself died for our sins.  Our deliverer rose up from the grave and now rules in heaven watching over our souls forever.

And, this is the great deliverance that your soul needs. Many of us have experienced this great deliverance.  Many of us know the great Deliverer and we are thankful.  But, though you may say that your soul has not been delivered and you are still in bondage to your sins, let me say that the Deliverer is here and his deliverance is available for you.  You need only turn to him in repentance and faith at this very moment.  Christ will deliver you from the wrath of God toward your sin and from the domination of sin in your life.

If you have never known the deliverance of Christ, today you can by faith and turn from sin and trust in Christ even now and be delivered.

But it is most urgent for those of us who have been delivered to remember, as Paul wrote to Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:   Notice in verse 1, that David says “let Israel now say.”  Israel.  Who is Israel?  The people of God?  Yes.  But remember that the patriarchs were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel at that moment of his deliverance, was also given a gift so that he would never forget.  The angel of the Lord with whom Jacob wrestled touched his hip wrenching it out socket.  And, Jacob taking his new name, Israel, he walked away with a limp which he may very well have had for the rest of his life (Gen 32).  .

At times the Lord brings us through great hardships and dangers safely but with a limp.  Just because the Lord delivers us doesn’t mean we aren’t scarred by the experience.  Even the Apostle Paul could say, referring to the physical beatings he endured for his witness, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal 6:17).  So, don’t resent your limp or marks, but let them be a reminder of the deliverance of God in your life.  Yeah, it hurt and it may still hurt, but God has used it to deliver your own soul, to transform you and he wants you to remember.  Remember the past deliverances of the Lord in your life.

The deliverances of the Lord can run the whole range of human experience.  For me, I can recall praying for about eight years for a godly wife.  I began to pray this way as soon as I became a Christian at the age of 20 and there were many lonely nights and deep longings until I met Laurie at the age of 28.   For me, Laurie is one of the most wonderful blessings the Lord has ever bestowed upon me and remembering those long years before we met can help me to appreciate her and love her and serve as the sweet gift of God that she actually is for me.

Remembering the Lord, that is the important thing.  God wants us to remember and Limps can help us to remember, but so can a spiritual journal if you’re hoping for a less painful option.  Writing down important movements of God in our life can be an important spiritual exercise and going back and reading about those deliverances can encourage us as we face new challenges, new lions, new Tsunamis.  Remembering the Lord’s deliverances in the past can help to trust the Lord’s deliverance in the future.

II. Trust the Lord’s Future Deliverances.

Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that this Psalm teaches us to live in the past.  It would be a mistake to be stuck in the day of yesteryear thinking, with a sense of nostalgia, that all was perfect back in the good ole days.  Our remembering God in the past should serve to encourage us to trust for the future.  So, we want to remember the past, without living or longing for the past.

God has so designed things that we who believe will be growing in him for an unending future.  We are made to move forward, to grow, to change, forever and ever.  Wish as you may but you can not stop the hands of time.  And though the future can be frightening to us, God means to give us grace to face the future triumphantly.  He means to encourage us by past deliverances that he will deliver us again in the future.

Indeed, God means to give us confidence in him so that we would have no fear as we face temptation, disease, loss, death, eternity.  Do you have confidence when you think about the fact that you must someday leave this world?    You must die and face eternity and there is nothing you can do about it.  Do you have confidence about that?

We can have confidence if we know one thing; verse 1 “The Lord is on our side.”  If we know that “the Lord is on our side” then we can face whatever the future holds for us including suffering and even dead.  Indeed, “if God be for us who can be against us?”

I was reminded of this idea one evening on our recent Haiti mission trip.  We had ridden over to the orphanage after some work projects to meet the orphans.  While Kurt and some of the others were spending time with the children, several Haitian men who were part of our work team began to kick a soccer ball around.  I began to watch and I was amazed at their skill with a soccer ball.

The children grow up playing soccer in Haiti and so develop excellent skills with their feet.  Finally, the group decided to walk up to a field and play a serious game of football.  Now, our Upward soccer league here at Calvary has been a big help to me in learning the game of soccer, but I grew up playing baseball and have zero skills in soccer.  Beyond that I’m well on my way to forty years old now and I simply can’t do what I used to be able to do.  Not that I was ever an outstanding athlete, but at least I could put two feet in front of another and keep from falling down when I try to run.

Nevertheless, I really wanted to play and they decided to allow me.  As I walked onto the field, I tried to overcome the language barrier to acknowledge up front that I had no skills and to express the fact that I thought the opposing team was stacked with talent.  They pointed across the field to my teammates and assured me that our team had plenty of skills, though they were handicapped with me on the team.

So, as we began to play two things became quickly apparent.  First, that I was way out of my league, so much so that they didn’t even bother paying any attention to me unless they wanted to take advantage of me and take the ball at will.  But the second thing that became apparent was that we had Mario on our team.  Mario was an absolute monster soccer player.  He dominated the field and scored several goals.  They said the final score was 3-2 good guys but we felt sure that Mario himself had scored 5-6 times.

It really was a lot of fun notwithstanding my humiliation.  From that moment on I had a new found appreciation for Mario.  He is just a great guy as well as a fantastic athlete.  We had talked about playing again and one of our opponents swore to take out vengeance on me, but I had utmost confidence to play again because we had Mario.  It would be something like going down by the river to play a pick up basketball game with Michael Jordan.  You just have that feeling of confidence that no matter how bad you are, you know that with him on your side you are going to win.

Now, take that and multiple it times infinity and you’ll know what David had in mind when he said, “our help is in the name of the Lord.”  David had absolute confidence that the Lord can never be defeated and neither could he because the Lord was on his side.  David knew that Lord placed him on the throne though Saul tried to murder him.  David knew that the Lord restored though Absalom attempted a cue.  David knew that the Lord gave him victory over Goliath and that he gave the Philistines “into his hand” as he had promised.

As a matter of fact, after one victory over the Philistines David and his friends named the place of the battle “Baal-perazim” which means “the Lord bursting through” (2 Sam 5.17-21).  This is the thrust of Psalm 124.  When the forces of darkness threaten the people of God so powerfully as to leave them hopeless, then the Lord himself bursts through on their behalf, delivering them like the sun rising up over the horizon in the morning dispelling the darkness of the night sky.

David knew what it meant for the Lord to burst through in His life.  So he could say, in verse 8, “our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  The Aposle Paul put it this way, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).  If the almighty architect of the universe be for you, who can possibly be against you?  What great confidence for the future.

But to whom does this confidence belong?  Who is it that God will be for?  On whose side is the Almighty?  And how can you know that God is for you?  Is it because you’re an American?  Is it because you’re a Baptist?  Is it because your good citizen or a successful business person?

The answer to this question is found in the book of Romans where immediately following the question, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”  We find these words, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” (Rom 8:31-33).

This hope of deliverance is the promise of all God’s covenant people.  God’s covenant people securely held in the sovereign hands of God forever.  And God’s covenant people are those who trust in God’s own Son whom He gave for their deliverance on the cross and through the resurrection.  Matthew Henry said that Psalm 124 pertained to “the great work of redemption by which we are rescued from the powers of darkness.”[1]

As we look back to the past, we see a faithful God, and if you can see nothing but the cross you can see a faithful God.   On the cross  we see a sufficient Savior so that we can turn back and look to the future with faith and assurance that, though all hell should stand against us “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37.

A soul that has been delivered from the darkness of sin will be a soul that is filled with gratitude and willing to sing the words of this song “Blessed be the Lord” (verse 6).  Have you been delivered?  Do you trust that you will be delivered?  Is your soul singing for joy at the deliverance brought to you by the great Deliverer, Jesus Christ?

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[1]Matthew Hentry, “Commentary of the Whole Bible” Psalm 124.

Psalm 126

6-21-09

The Psalms are the hymns of the Bible.  Written by the ancient Hebrews they were songs originally sung as expressions of worship of God.  Psalm 126 is the 7^th of 15 Psalms known as the Songs of Ascent.  They are Psalms within the Psalms.  These fifteen Psalms were sung by the Jews as they made their way up to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts; Passover,

Introduction:

Haiti- A church/impact upon the nation.

Psalm 126 is a song that expresses a desire for God to restore His own people and bless them in such a way that the effect would be felt among the nations around them.  So, what we have here is a prayer that we can pray for God to bring a spiritual renewal in our own congregation and renewal that will spread out and make an impact to the farthest ends of the earth.

It’s sort of like asking God to start a fire in our church, a spiritual fire, that will spread across our city, across our county, across our state, across, across our nation, and then around the world.  This Psalm presents us with a vision for a great and surprising work of God that results in a thunderous missionary impact.  So, we can trace the surprising work of God by noting the missionary vision of a revived church and the missionary commitment of a revived church.

I.  The missionary vision of a revived church (1-3).

1. A. A vision of God’s grace (verse 1).

The psalmist recalls a time of revival or renewal among the people of God.  Many think this might be a reference to the return of Israel from Babylonian exile.  It might also simply be a recollection of some other time when the Lord worked mightily on behalf of His chosen people.  Either way, notice that the Psalmist is celebrating what God had done; God and no other.

The Lord did it; the Lord and no other.  The Lord’s work was so astounding that it felt like a dream to the Psalmist.  Now, that it is a vision to desire and to work toward.  That God would so move upon us as His own people that we would wonder if it were all some glorious dream.

Haiti: The Lord working to restore in Haiti

God has done great things in surprising ways for his people in the past.  We can have great hope that He can do it again and might be pleased to.  A revived church is the great need not only in Haiti, but also in America.  I read recently that North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing.[1] Perhaps history is arranged, in the providence of God, for a surprising renewal church in America.   Perhaps we can be a part of new and fresh wind of the Spirit blowing in our own day purifying and reinvigorating the church in American.

This is a vision of God’s grace.  The Lord can do this and only the Lord can do this.   Let us look to Him for it and be encouraged that He has surprised us in the past; He may surprise us in the future.

1. B. A vision of God’s glory (verse 2-3).

Notice the words “laughter” and “shouts of joy.”  The Psalmist recalls a time when the blessings of God were so real upon His people that they were filled with unspeakable joy so much so that they were overflowing with expressed gratitude.  The people of God did not simply feel gratitude inwardly; they were moved to express gratitude to God outwardly.  They told the nations “God has done great things for us; we are glad!”  They had a vision of God’s magnificent glory and they declared God’s glory to all the nations.

Illustration: Joy in Haiti

“It is the repenting reforming people that are, and shall be, the rejoicing people” (Matthew Henry).

Through the word of God and through the gospel of God our eyes are opened to the most magnificent vision in the universe; God Himself.  We can hope for nothing greater than to see God and to know God.  When we see Him and when we know Him through Jesus Christ, we will rejoice!  And our rejoicing in Christ is the compelling declaration we can make in our town and in our world.

Though we have the same problems and challenges and struggles as our unbelieving friends yet we have found a vision that enables us to stand in our hardships and not only stand but stand with great joy.  When our friends ask us “What is the source of your joy in life?”  We will “The Lord has done great things for us and nothing greater than sending His own Son to die for ours in and rise for our justification and eternal happiness.  ”

1. C. A vision of God’s goal (verse 2).

This is the culmination of a missionary vision.  A church that recognizes its eternal blessed state through the gospel will cause the nations to marvel.  Verse 2 “The Lord has done great things for them.”  Here at Calvary we spend a lot of time, money, prayers, and effort to go and to send others to go to the ends of the earth telling people about Jesus Christ.  I’m glad we do and I pray that this will only increase.  But why should we be so committed to missions?

Haiti: Illustration of nations

We go to the ends of earth because God has made our hearts glad through Jesus Christ.  We desire that people of every nation come to know this same joy.  We believe that God has called us to go and share our joy in Christ.  God does the work among the nations and He does His work through His own people.  Our joy compels us to go, to share, to suffer if necessary that others may have the same joy in Christ.

II. The missionary commitment of a revived church (4-6).

This brings us to the missionary commitment of a revived church.  A missionary vision is greatly needed in a local church, but a vision is never fulfilled without commitment.  Any vision takes commitment to fulfill and the missionary vision requires and demands great commitment on behalf of God’s people.  There are three commitments that we must make in order to express an appropriate missionary commitment consistent with a revived and renewed church.

1. A. Prayer (verse 4).

“Restore our fortunes.”  This is a cry for God to work for His people to renew and restore them.  It is a recognition that only God can ultimately do the great work of restoration.

Haiti: Prayer/Need for God to work/sense of dependence.

All around us are souls that need to be saved.  Souls that are living in the misery and sorrow of sin.  But sin so blinds the human soul that it can not see the freedom and joy that is to be found in Christ.  Even our greatest efforts to evangelize and to do mission are vain if God Himself does not open blinded eyes to the glory of the gospel.  Therefore, perhaps our most important work is to pray to God that He will do what only He can do.  Only God can open blinded eyes.  Only God can save a soul from sin and death.  Whether its up the street at Presidential or across the Gulf in Port a Prince.  We must pray that God will save.

1. B. Sacrifice (verse 5-6).

But to our prayers we must tears and service.  Notice verse 5. So, there is a balance here, we must pray knowing that only God can save, but we must also give and go knowing that God will only save through the efforts of His people.

Haiti: Tears and Sorrow

In America material things are so easy.  Everything is so convenient for us.  I’m not complaining!  Upon returning from Haiti, I want to thank God for the simple things; (hot showers, fresh food, refrigeration, air conditioning, etc.).  We should thank God for all these things and receive them with gratitude.

But I’m afraid we’re in danger of being seduced by our conveniences.  I’m afraid we’re in danger of losing a willingness to suffer and sacrifice for anything at all including the glorious missionary call that God has given to us in his word.   God has ordained that some things will be accomplished only with tears and sorrow.

O how often do we complain and contemplate giving up when something gets difficult.  Our American infatuation with convenience threatens to destroy us because if something gets difficult we just quit.  Job is hard, just quit.  Marriage is hard, just quit.  School work is hard, just quit.  Fighting sin is hard, just quit.

Life in Haiti, but they can’t just quit.  There’s no where to go.  Friends, the Christian is hard, but you can’t quit.  The alternative is hell.  Hell is hard, much harder than any trial in this life, and nobody can quit hell.  .

Are you weary in the Christian; don’t quit, sow in tears.  Weary in marriage; sow seeds of faithfulness in tears.  Weary in your fight with aging; don’t quit, sow in tears.  It won’t last forever.  “The troubles of the saints will not always last” (MH).

Would you be willing to join the effort to build a strong, healthy, holy church and to fulfill the missionary mandate of Jesus Christ even if its hard?   Matthew Henry wrote, “Weeping must not hinder sowing; when we suffer ill we must be doing well” (MH).

Verse 6 concludes this Psalm with the image of sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting.  As Christians we are called to plant the seed of the word of God.  Planting isn’t easy or glamorous work.  We quietly sow the seed of God’s word into our children’s hearts through family worship, or morning devotions.  We steadily sow the seed of the word of God in conversations with coworkers and neighbors.  We faithfully sow the seed through Sunday school lessons, bible studies, and sermons.

And sometimes we can’t see the fruit of it all.  Sometimes it appears as though our work is in vain.  But God has made us a great promise in this verse.  “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him”

Keep the sowing the seed.  Keep planting the gospel.  In the hearts of your children, your neighbors, your bible studies, and God will give the increase in His own time and in His own measure.

Conclusion: Notice verse 4 “like streams in the Negeb.”  The Psalmist has in mind a place that is parched and dry and barren, so much so that person could die of thirst for want of water.  Yet, this barren wasteland is turned into a place covered with pristine streams able to satisfy the land and the weary traveler with fresh water.

Haiti: Water

I’m reminded of the immoral woman who came to the well to fill her water jar one dry afternoon.  She met the fountain of living water when she saw Jesus at the well.  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

(John 4:13-14).

The greatest need in Haiti and every other corner of the world is for the living water that only Jesus can give.  Only Jesus can satisfy the thirsty longings of the human soul.  As a congregation we have the great joy and privilege to take the living water to the people who are living in spiritual wastelands.  This is our missionary vision; to take Jesus to thirsty souls.  This vision is so compelling that we must give every ounce of effort and sacrifice to it.

But I close by asking you this morning, “Is the thirst of your soul satisfied?”  In America we are blessed beyond our ability to recognize.  We can turn on a spicket and any moment and drink clean cool thirst satisfying water.  But none of our material blessings can slake the thirst of our souls.  Just like the Haitians or the Africans or the Asians or the Europeans or the ancient Israelites our souls thirst for the water of life who is Jesus Christ.

“Is the thirst of your soul satisfied this morning?”  Have you drank from the water that Jesus gives?”  Come this morning and drink of Him by faith in what He has on the cross and in His triumphant resurrection.

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[1] Churchplantingvillage.com