Give Praise for the Lord's Compassion - Psalm 146
Notes
Transcript
Based on Sermon Series SRBC 18 Psalms of Praise; for the Lord’s compassion Psalm 146
Focus on praising God for his loving compassion; you will avoid the disappointment of trusting in human rulers and maintain a healthy perspective.
Scene 1/ It seems to me that there are some years when lots of famous people die.
In fact as you get older you notice more and more famous people die.
And then you realise that most of the famous people from your childhood are dead.
2016 was one of those sort of years for me.
Debbie Reynolds the famous movie star from the classic “singing in the rain” and mother of Carrie Fisher, another famous movie star from Star Wars fame who died the day before.
George Michael the 1980s music star.
Some time before that the artist known as Prince and numerous others.
Most of whom I thought were really really really weird.
An ABC News article from that year was titled “the year the music died”, it quoted the BBC obituary editor Nick Serpell who as early as April of that year made the comment that the number of significant deaths in 2016 is "phenomenal".
In the first three months of 2016, the number of obituaries published across the BBC jumped considerably — with an almost five-fold increase since 2012.[2]
Now there are a couple of things that strike me about all this.
Firstly that the BBC has an obituary editor!
Apparently he prepares between 3 & 4 obituaries a week, just in case!
And the BBC have increased his end of year news session from 30 minutes to an hour.
The second thing that caught my attention was the fact that there are a lot more famous people now days.
It is a result of the baby boom generation, social media and the impact of popular culture on society.
There are simply more reasons to be famous today.
The third thing that struck me was that most of these deaths are of people whose impact isn’t as big as we might think.
These are popular entertainment figures, in a hundred years their legacy will be minimal, even though for many people of my generation they may seem significant now.
A couple of other people died that year, people whose legacy is much more significant.
Fidel Castro, communist revolutionary and President of Cuba.
His legacy will impact the nation of Cuba for generations; thousands died, hundreds of thousands or more nearly did as a result of his rule and the western response to it.
King Bhumibol of Thailand also had an enormous legacy, he was the very astute behind the scenes power which held Thailand together through some very turbulent times; he died in October 2016, having reigned for 70 years and 126 days.
People revered him as almost divine.
And while people put their trust in Castro and King Bhumibol for very different reasons.
Throughout history people have put their trust in princes & presidents; forgetting that these people and their dreams will die just like everyone else.
Psalm 146:3-4 reminds us of this when it says; “
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. 4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.
Scene 2/ Scripture presents a very different perspective of where our trust should be
Psalm 146:5 reminds us
5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
Through Scripture there is this constant refrain.
Trust God, not the king.
The people of Israel forgot this truth when they approached Samuel the prophet around 1000 BC and asked for a King.
1 Samuel 8:6-7 identifies the problem with trusting a king, “Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.” (NLT)
The result was near constant war, greed and political intrigue and assassinations of rivals to the throne.
Trust God, not your wealth.
Jesus spoke about the futility of trusting in wealth in Luke 12
15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Trust God, not your own strength.
Samson is the great example of this.
God had given him his great strength to serve the Lord and his people but he fell short because of his sin and disobedience[3]
Trust God, not a foreign army to come to your rescue
Egypt is the great example of this.
Numerous times Israel relied on Egypt to come to their rescue.
Numerous times it didn’t work.
The Lord in Ezekiel 29:6 describes Egypt as a staff made of reeds.
When you lean on a staff you expect it to support you.
If your staff is made of reeds, it will break and stab you as Ezekiel 29:7 tells us.
7 When Israel leaned on you, you splintered and broke and stabbed her in the armpit. When she put her weight on you, you collapsed, and her legs gave way.
Jeremiah 17:7 reminds us that,
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
Scene 3/ The Scriptures constantly remind us to put our hope and trust in God because God is omnipotent (Psalm 146:6), compassionate (Psalm 146:7-9) & eternal (Psalm 146:10).
A few years ago I went on an adventure training activity with the Army.
Now I like flying foxes and high ropes courses, although now days they do take a toll the next day.
I am even OK with abseiling off a cliff; well at least I was about 20 years ago last time I did it at Kangaroo Point Cliffs.
In all of these activities you have to trust your equipment.
I can do that, as long as I can feel the tension on the rope.
If I have something to hang onto, then there is no problem.
If I have to jump off something then, up to a point, that is OK.
You know that the net will catch you.
Or if jumping into the water you know the landing is OK.
Where I struggle is stepping off into nothing.
Falling backwards off a platform, hoping the harness does take up the slack.
Or stepping into nothing in the hope that the mechanism on the fall arrest system does actually work.
I cheated on those last two, I really wasn’t comfortable.
If you focus on the fear, you will refuse to complete the activity.
If you focus on the fact that the equipment is reliable, has been tested and the person in front of you didn’t die then you will be OK.
In a similar way we can focus on trusting things and people and find disappointment.
Or we can focus on God and find a healthy outlook on life.
When we look at creation we will see God’s omnipotence.
We will see his power in creation.
6 He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever.
When we look at acts of mercy and compassion expressed through his people we will see the compassionate heart of God.
We will see the example of Christ lived out in our world.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. 8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. 9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
Scene 4/ When we focus on praising God we gain an eternal perspective, one that helps us to avoid the disappointment that comes from trusting in human rulers and celebrities (Psalm 146: 1-2, 10).
Warren W. Wiersbe, is a famous pastor & theologian who is regarded as the Pastor to Pastors.
Speaking of a visit he made to the historical home of John Wesley the great revivalist he said,
“One of the most moving experiences of my life came when I stepped from John Wesley’s bedroom in his London home into the little adjacent prayer room. Outside the house was the traffic noise of City Road, but inside that prayer chamber was the holy hush of God.
“Its only furnishings were a walnut table which held a Greek New Testament and a candlestick, a small stool and a chair. When he was in London, Wesley entered the room early each morning to read God’s Word and pray.” The guide in Wesley’s home told me: “This little room was the powerhouse of Methodism!”[4]
Wesley like all great Christian leaders knew what it was to focus on God.
Not the opposition they faced,
Not the incredible physical effort required to keep going.
Not the failures of those around them or event heir own.
They focused on God.
They were able to say to with the Psalmist.
...“The Lordwill reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 146:1–2 , 10 NLT)
1 Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
10 The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!
Scene 5/ Let’s start the second half of this year with our focus on praising God which will give us a healthy perspective on life and a more effective witness.
Ask yourself, in what areas of my life do I put me trust in people when I should be trusting God?
Ask yourself, when do I forget to praise God for what he has done and instead take what I have for granted.
[1] Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Ps 146). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
[2]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-27/the-year-music-died-remembering-the-icons-we-lost-in-2016/8135692
[3] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., & Harrison, R. K., Thomas Nelson Publishers (Eds.). (1995). In Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
[4] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 1039). Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.