I Can't See From Down Here
Notes
Transcript
/Scripture
/Scripture
Bless the Lord, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Ordinary things often trigger the most extraordinary thoughts and memories. When I step into an elevator, for instance, I often think, I wonder how things look from God’s point of View?
I remember years ago, we were visiting my Aunt in Chicago and we when to the Sear’s tower. Now this building was 1454 feet or 110 story, its height surpassed the World Trade Center by 100 feet and was, according to Sears " as tall as the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) will let be built." For more than twenty years after its completion in 1974, Sears Tower remained the tallest skyscraper, and it is still the largest.
The connection becomes clear when you know that elevators recall memories of my son when we was about three or four years old. I always was traveling while in the Navy, so when we had the chance we would also take the family on trips when we had the opportunity.
I would remember my son view in a crowd was limited to a field of knees, and belt buckles. And some times he would get tire when walking.
You see some people battle a fear of close places or get tired during their journey of life.
Have you ever thought about the view available to the typical people in this situation. I will never forget the sight of he reaching upward and the way his eyes sought me out in quiet desperation. He was saying, “Pick me up” but actual he would say “Pick up” I can’t see from down here. There has to be a better perspective than the one I have where I am.
Worship is the process of stretching your arms to the heavens in the universal sign of surrender and desperation. It is the way earthbound creatures river the attention of their heavenly Creator. When you worship, it is as if you look at your heavenly Father and say, “I don’t like the ways things look down here, Daddy. Would You life me up? I want to see things from Your point of view.”
Elevators always remind me that the ways things looked to me and the way things looked to other were two totally different things. That helps me understand that the way things look from our earthbound position is totally different from the way they look from God’s-eye view. His throne is “high and lifted up.”
God never intended to limit your vision to the low point of view. He always intended for you to view things from the highest perspective, and worship is His ways of lifting us above the mundane press of our enclosed space to see things from His point of view.
If all of this seems overly complicated, return to the mental picture of a nervous child with their arms lifted straight toward their daddy’s face: this is the posture of worship.
In our text this morning
The psalm opens and closes with a call to praise in a way that is well known in the hymnic literature of the Psalms, although this psalm is the first to use it. That said, verses 3–5, which are addressed by the psalmist to himself, appear to be reflecting on God’s act of forgiveness and healing in his life, which leads us to consider the psalm as a thanksgiving prayer. The psalm begins as the prayer of an individual, but eventually the individual speaks on behalf of the community. As Broyles points out, the contrast between individual and corporate prayers is not a strict one, since ‘Israel’s worship was primarily public. In this public setting, a liturgist would lead the singing of psalms and speak on behalf of both the corporate body and its individual members’ (Broyles 1999: 394).
While other psalms open with a call for the assembled faithful to praise God, the psalmist here urges himself to worship. He desires that his praise not be pro forma, but to emanate from the deepest recesses of his heart (soul/inmost being). Of course, by exhorting himself publicly to praise, he encourages others to join in. To motivate his worship, he cites all the benefits that come to the faithful, in a series of participial clauses in verses 3–5. He begins by remembering that God forgives sin. Sin creates a barrier between humanity and a holy God, but God will forgive the sin of a contrite heart (Ps. 51:17).
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise
What Benefits!
Forgiven,
Healed,
Redeemed,
Crowned,
Satisfied
Indeed, the connection between forgiving sin and healing may indicate that the psalmist himself is thanking God for healing him from sickness that he believed was connected to his sin (a connection made explicit in Ps. 38:1–8; Brown 1995: 150). This sickness was serious, because God redeemed his life from the pit, the pit being a metaphor for the grave/underworld. But God does more than save him from death; he also crowns him with love (or loyalty; ḥesed) and compassion.
David adds, “Do not forget all his benefits,” which is the first phrase of many that echo Moses (cf. Deut 6:12; 8:11). It’s vitally important for believers to remember the blessings of God and to live in constant gratitude to God. Ingratitude flows from an arrogant heart and is something we should repent of (see, for example, Hezekiah in 2 Chr 32:25).
We often talk about the “benefits package” when discussing jobs. If you do the work, you get the package. Here, we find undeserving people receiving the most important and most glorious benefits package ever! These benefits don’t come from a heavenly employer but a heavenly Father. Consider this list of “hymnic participles” (Allen, Psalms 101–150, 19): “forgives … heals … redeems … crowns … satisfies” (vv. 3–5). What benefits! We need to remind ourselves of these blessings constantly, for David tells us that by doing so we will experience eagle-like spiritual renewal (v. 5b).
Scripture shows us numerous examples of the how the Lord forgives and heals. In the days of Moses, rebellious Israel certainly needed to be forgiven of wicked idolatry (Exod 32). In the days of David, the king certainly needed pardon (e.g., 2 Sam 11; Ps 51). In our day we need forgiveness repeatedly. In Psalm 25 David reminds us of the God-glorifying nature of divine forgiveness: “LORD, for the sake of your name, forgive my iniquity, for it is immense” (Ps 25:11; cf. v. 18). God forgives, and God gets the glory for that.
Next, David reminds us that the Lord redeems our lives from the pit (Ps 103:4). At one level this expression could refer to rescue from deadly dangers in life, but David probably has in mind the idea of being rescued from death itself (resurrection). We find examples of this longing in Psalm 49 (vv. 7–9, 13–15) and Psalm 16:9–11. As we widen our gaze even more to the New Testament, the redemption experienced through Jesus Christ gives us an even greater appreciation for the Lord who redeems sinners from the pit (Rom 3:24; Col 1:13–14).
The Lord not only redeems us but also crowns us, exalting us by granting us undeserved royalty. Even though we deserve humiliation because of our sin, our gracious Redeemer makes us part of his royal family. Such an act is attributed to the Lord’s “faithful love and compassion” (v. 4b). It’s not attributed to our goodness, faithfulness, or achievements. In our culture one gets crowned for exceptional performance; in the kingdom of God, we get crowned because of Jesus’s performance and his bestowal of grace (Eph 2:7).
David rounds out the opening section by reminding himself and the community that the Lord satisfies and renews his people (103:5). He satisfies us with the best of things—that is, forgiveness and a right relationship with him. He satisfies our thirst for joy, meaning, significance, and beauty. Like a strong eagle, he renews our spirits (Isa 40:31), as we ponder who he is and what he has done for us. The eagle is a picture of tireless strength—quite a picture of renewal!
Closing
Renewal of strength, amounting to a grant of a new lease of life, was granted to the Psalmist; he was so restored to his former self that he grew young again, and looked as vigorous as an eagle, whose eye can gaze upon the sun, and whose wing can mount above the storm. Our version refers to the annual moulting of the eagle, after which it looks fresh and young; but the original does not appear to allude to any such fact of natural history, but simply to describe the diseased one as so healed and strengthened, that he became as full of energy as the bird which is strongest of the feathered race, most fearless, most majestic, and most soaring. He who sat moping with the owl in the last Psalm, here flies on high with the eagle: the Lord works marvellous changes in us, and we learn by such experiences to bless his holy name. To grow from a sparrow to an eagle, and leave the wilderness of the pelican to mount among the stars, is enough to make any man cry, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”
Thus is the endless chain of grace complete. Sin is forgiven, its power subdued, and its penalty averted, then we are honoured, supplied, and our very nature renovated, till we are as new-born children in the household of God. O Lord, we must bless thee, and we will; as thou dost withhold nothing from us so we would not keep back from thy praise one solitary power of our nature, but with all our heart, and soul, and strength praise thy holy name.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not faint.