Our Sovereign God
Notes
Transcript
Hello! Welcome to Psalms of the Saviour, Devotions for His Sheep. I’m Joshua VanZandbeek, and today we are going to be diving together into Psalm 115. As we read the Psalm together, consider this: Where do you turn when things get tough?
Let’s read Ps 115 together:
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.
The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
To what or whom do you turn when things get tough? Do you turn to yourself, someone close to you, maybe what you have in the bank account, or perhaps a particular skill you possess to fall back on? What do you do if it feels like the world is against you?
Psalm 115 is all about how God is with His people, and protects them. The nations around Israel ridiculed them asking, “Where’s your God?” when they saw the suffering in Israel. Yet the Psalmist’s response is to call God his help and shield. He has complete confidence that God will be with Him, and His people (if they continue to follow God’s way) and will look after them.
The Psalmist sees God as “in the heavens.” God is sovereign and powerful, and orchestrates the entire cosmos. It is in His hand to set things right in His timing. Christ, as the sovereign Lord, will bring about a time of complete restoration. He will usher in the Kingdom of God for his people. Yet until then we must trust Christ with our lives, knowing He cares for us and watches over us. Even in hard times, God does not leave us alone. We when we face hard times, we need to, like this psalm says, trust in the Lord! He is our shield and help!
In whom do you place your trust?
How has God sustained you through hard times? What has he taught you in these times? How can you praise him now?