2-11-24 Sermon

Psalm 50:1-6

This morning I'll be reading Psalm 50 verses 1 through 6. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Psalm 50:1-6 The setting for this psalm is like a courtroom with God Himself as the Judge,,, Israel as the defendant,,, and heaven and earth as the witnesses. But we shouldn't ignore,,, or overlook this courtroom scene by thinking that this was some obscure trial that took place long ago in Israel’s history; -- instead,,, we should look at it as God’s continuing evaluation of His saints throughout the world. Psalm 50:1–6 (HCSB) 1 Yahweh, the God of gods speaks; He summons the earth from east to west. 2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance. 3 Our God is coming; He will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes Him, and a storm rages around Him. 4 On high, He summons heaven and earth in order to judge His people. 5 “Gather My faithful ones to Me, those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” 6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God is the Judge. Selah The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Isaiah 40:21-31,,, and we learned that during the time that Isaiah gave them this message of comfort,,, Isaiah’s original readers,,, those who trust in the LORD,,, were believers who remained faithful to God.

They were the ones who would be restored.

For his readers in captivity,,, this looks forward to a future time,,, when the captives would be released and would return to their land.

Even though while in captivity they were weary,,, but the LORD would help them renew their strength and soar,,, like eagles,,, to be uplifted,,, emotionally and spiritually.

Today as we read these scriptures,,, we have the same chance that the faithful believer's had.

For those of us who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

Without our faith in the LORD,,, we are not capable of doing anything for long without giving out.

But if God has given us something to do,,, He will supply us with everything that we will need.

"If",,, we will trust Him!

And if we trust Him,,, we will be uplifted,,, emotionally and spiritually!

We learned,,, what wonderful words these are to hear today as we continue to fight our way through everything that we face in this world,,, whether it's through sickness,,, financial problems,,, no matter what it is,,, just knowing that God will give us the strength to get through it,,, "if",,, we will trust Him.

Because as always,,, we can't do very much on our own,,, but,,, nothing is impossible for God.

And as these words comforted the Israelites then,,, if we pay attention like we should,,, they will comfort us today,,, as well.

This morning we will look at these verses in Psalm 50:1-6,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 1 said: 1 Yahweh, the God of gods speaks; He summons the earth from east to west.

Asaph,,, the author of this psalm,,, described a scene in the heavenly courtroom in which the Lord will examine His people.

He then declares later in this psalm,,, that the Lord had indictments against two sins of His people: formalism in worship,,, and,,, hypocrisy in living.

To please God,,, His people must bring sacrifices of thanksgiving from obedient,,, trusting hearts.

In a court room,,, you will usually hear from the judge first.

And in this verse,,, the Judge is heard as He summons all the people in the entire land of Israel—from east to west—to stand before Him.

What gives authority to the Judge’s voice,,, is the fact that,,, He is the Mighty One,,, our Creator and theirs,,, God Almighty.

___________________________________ Verses 2-3 said: 2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance. 3 Our God is coming; He will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes Him, and a storm rages around Him.

Next we see God,,, as Judge,,, as He leaves His chamber in the temple on Mount Zion in the form of a dazzling,,, brilliant glory cloud—the Shekinah.

He will no longer keep silent about His people’s sin.

He comes down as He did at Mount Sinai,,, with a great jet of fire sweeping before Him,,, and a great storm with thunder and lightning all around Him.

But this time He comes,,, not to present the law,,, but to interpret its inward,,, spiritual meaning.

___________________________________ Verses 4-5 said: 4 On high, He summons heaven and earth in order to judge His people. 5 “Gather My faithful ones to Me, those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

As He takes His place on the judgment seat He subpoenas the heavens and the earth to stand by in the witness box.

Then He commands His attendants to bring in the defendants.

First He is going to try the saints of the nation of Israel,,, whom He describes as those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice.

(This refers to the covenant of the law made at Mount Horeb and ratified by the blood of sacrifices,,, as seen in Exodus 24:3–8.)

The trial of His faithful ones is found in verses 7–15.

Later,,, He has a special session with the wicked,,, in verses 16–19.

___________________________________ Verse 6 said: 6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God is the Judge. Selah

The heavens are called to bear witness to the righteousness of God’s judgments.

The fact that God Himself is the Judge means that He has perfect knowledge of all the facts,,, that He is absolutely impartial,,, that all of His verdicts are wise and equitable,,, showing His ability to make things right,,, and,,, to establish things as they should be.

God himself is judge,,, over all as we know it,,, the psalms frequently portray God as the righteous judge over the world.

___________________________________ If you read further into this psalm you will see that God lets them know that He doesn't need their sacrifices,,, especially when you understand that they were offering these sacrifices without their hearts being in the right place.

They were going through the motions without trusting God the way that they should,,, which is what God really needed from them.

What He was trying to do,,, was to show them what He truly wanted from them,,, and He wants to show us today as well,,, and we must have our hearts in the right place.

We don't need to just go through the motions of worship,,, God doesn't want that!

No more than He didn't want the sacrifices from the Israelites if their hearts weren't in the right place.

___________________________________ God wanted the people to give from the joy that they experienced once they truly understood what God meant to them.

He wants us to give from our joy as well.

And that giving needs to be genuine,,, not fake,,, just for show.

___________________________________ We have Lent beginning Wednesday,,, and this is a time when we really want our focus to be on God as we try our best to show Him where our hearts are today.

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter.

It is a time of self-examination and reflection.

In the early church,,, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians.

Today,,, Christians focus on relationship with God,,, growing as disciples and extending ourselves,,, often choosing to give up something,,, or,,, to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.

Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter."

This is why you will see the designation "Sunday in Lent" rather than "Sunday of Lent" in the naming of these Sundays.

On each Lord's Day in Lent,,, while Lenten fasts continue,,, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.

___________________________________ As a result,,, of this time of year that we prepare for Easter,,, we must remember to keep our focus on God,,, be true in our worship,,, and honest with ourselves and others about what truly matters to us!

Spending these days preparing our hearts for the celebration to come,,, must involve honest evaluation of ourselves and what God is expecting from us.

Prayer will answer many questions going forward,,, seek His guidance as to what you need to do,,, what you need to give up,,, or what you need to do to help others,,, or,,, yourself.

Use this time to draw closer to God each and every day,,, as we get closer and closer,,, to that celebration day,,, called,,, Easter!

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