Psalm 115 SRI Didnt preach yet
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Intro:
Intro:
Girls getting old enough to play cards
Essie competitiveness
Teaching her to not get so hyper focused on one thing that you lose sight of everything else
Our Psalm today is written originally to the Israelites and it’s apparent that they are struggling.
It’s unknown exactly when this was and what was going on but it’s pretty clear that things aren’t going well for them
Their enemies are mocking them, and mocking God
And the author is writing to the Israelites to remind them of their purpose
Essentially he says, don’t get so hyper focused on your circumstances that you lose sight of what matters most
Don’t get so hyper focused on your struggles that you lose sight of your blessings
Don’t get so hyper focused on your enemies success that you lose sight of your success
Don’t get so hyper focused on yourself that you lose sight of the superiority of God
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. 2 Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. 9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike. 14 May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind. 17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence; 18 it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord.
pray
For the believer, vs 1 of Psalm 115 ranks up there when it comes to verses we should memorize, repeat, and live out on a daily basis.
I believe we could simplify a lot of things if the church would live by this verse
If the church was full of people who every day when they got out of bed recited
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
And then they decided to live by that!
How powerful an impact we might make if we were to decide “Not to us, Lord, but for your glory.”
The second part of verse 1 tells us why God should receive glory.
God’s faithful love and truth are two attributes identified with God’s covenant faithfulness to his people.
His loyal love and truthfulness are sufficient reasons for us to live for God’s glory
There is not another who will love you greater and there is no other who has been or will be more faithful toward you
Then the author continues on and begins to show the struggle they face
It’s a taunt from some of their enemies
And then he provides a retort to the taunt in vs 3
Right so the taunt is: Where is their God?
And listen, concern for the Lord’s reputation among the nations appears all throughout the OT.
And so it’s not our job to defend but it is beneficial for the sake of the gospel to give an answer.
Does that make sense?
God does need you to defend Him but your neighbor may do well with a Biblical answer
Right? in other words, Christianity doesn’t hang in the balance, Jesus isn’t going to stop being Lord if you don’t step up and defend Him
But the gospel might be better understood if you have a Biblical answer to difficult questions
And this is what the author does
So the taunt is: Where is your God?
The answer is: He’s in heaven and He does what He pleases
Here is what the Psalmist confesses, God is soveriegn!
He is in heaven and He works out his sovereign will despite what one may think.
God’s mission and will is not constrained to your perception
The reality is, your vision is shortsighted
The fact is, God’s sovereign purposes are higher than many want to accept and greater than any can comprehend
For example: You can hear this sort of taunt at the crucifixion:
If you are the Messiah, why are you on the cross
Why don’t you save yourself?
Yet, in the midst of the agony of Golgotha, our God was redeeming humanity.
To the human eye, it was the worst day in history.
To the spirit it was the best!
We must learn to trust God despite the circumstances
Knowing that He’s working all things to the good of those who believe in Him
We would do well to remember that God doesn’t promise to stop all tragedies and sickness or resolve all evils until the return of Christ.
And He is free to act and free to delay, but one thing we must confess is that he reigns over all, and he does all that he pleases.
Now, the reality is, for some, this answer won’t do, but for those who have ears to hear, to the believer, it brings hope and comfort
Our God is reigning in the heavens, and one day he will correct all wrongs and reverse the curse.
And so just in these first few verses we are reminded of some things:
You were created for the glory of God
He is faithful and loving and worthy of all the glory
The wicked don’t ultimately prosper.
Psalm 73 told us a few weeks ago that they may prosper for a season, but we must take the long view.
God is still sovereign, and God will work out all things according to the counsel of his will
Then there are 2 sections that really work together or at least are meant to be understood together
verses 4-8 where he deconstructs idols
And then vs 12-15 where he describes in contrast the nature of the covenant keeping God of Israel
So, right after stating God does whatever he pleases, the psalmist tells us what pagan gods cant do.
Isa 44 and Isa 46 the folly of god making
The prophets and psalmist describe the foolishness of bowing down to handmade images
They cant walk, talk, or do anything for that matter!
It reminds me also of Ex 32. Moses goes to the mountain to hear from God and the people make a golden calf and begin to worship it
He comes down from being with the God of the universe to people who are worshipping a golden calf they just constructed with their hands
And we hear something like that and laugh and think it’s funny and pretty dumb because it is but we really aren’t much better!
We worship jobs, and money and fame and ourselves and all the things our sinful imaginations and conjure
Why worship man-made things instead of the Maker of all things?
The psalmist highlights for us the worthlessness of idols by showing how human they look but how lifeless they actually are.
So, let me sum up what he says about them: “they are nothing and can do nothing!”
You know why I think idols are so attractive to us?
Because they don’t speak like God speaks
It’s much easier to submit to a silent god than to a talking God who calls you to holiness
You know, there’s very few people in this world who reject God in theory, but there’s also very few who submit to the talking God of the Bible who makes demands on their lives.
It’s much easier to follow a substitute god who is silent
Than the real God who speaks
And so we may not construct golden calves in our bedrooms and start worshipping them but don’t be fooled, you still have idols
And it’s your job to slay the idols in your life.
How do we do that? well take note of this psalm.
What is the psalmist doing here?
He’s deconstructing idols
He’s showing us the stupidity of loving and trusting in anything other than God
So, you might need to verbally denounce your idol too
You may need to pray and the Lord to show you that money, power, sex, peer approval, entertainment, comfort, sports, xbox, alcohol, drugs, cannot satisfy, will not save, and will not bring you purpose and meaning.
You need to deconstruct your idols, see them for what they are
And then you need to elevate your vision of God, based on Scripture, that you may adore, praise, and worship God rather than idols
And if you don’t do that, vs 8 is your warning for what is to come
8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
G. K. Beale: “You become like that which you worship.”
The psalmist is warning us here that those who make the idol and those who worship it will become like them - worthless
In 2 Kings 17:15 the writer says that Israel “followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”
I don’t know about you guys but one of the worst insults I can think of is being called worthless
To be of no use, to add no value, can you imagine?
But listen closely to me this morning: the God of the universe offers us an invitation to grow into his image
Paul says 2 Cor 3:18
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
By constantly beholding the glory of Christ, we become more like Christ.
And that the goal! That’s what transformation looks like.
Pipa able to see the transformation before it happened
In the same way, the believer fixes their on Jesus because it is only by the picture of Him that we have the opportunity to transform into the image of God
So what are you doing to look at the Savior? Are you looking at him daily in Scripture? Are you looking at him weekly in corporate worship? Are you looking at him in your heart throughout the day?
The more we think on Him, the more we are reminded of His truth and who He is, the more we start to behave like Him the greater the opportunity we have to become like Him
Then in vs 9-11 the author encourages us to trust in God!
Instead of trusting in created things, trust in God!
We don’t have time to dive into everything that’s happening here but it’s probably done in a liturgical setting where someone might say or sing the first line and then the community would say the second line
9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.
Bottom line is this, this idea gives us insight into a thematic truth woven throughout Scripture
A heavenly Father asking His children to trust Him
This is like me looking at my girls and saying “trust me.”
I am here to help you and protect you
so even when it doesnt feel that way or seem that way trust me
And even more so for a perfect Father to ask for something we ought to freely do anyways
Trust Him!
And we are running out of time this morning but then vs 12-15 the psalmist describes God’s grace toward his people.
And I would just bring emphasis to the fact that the threefold call to trust in the Lord in vs 9-11 is then complemented by a threefold assurance of God’s blessing on each group
Israel, house of aaron, those who fear the Lord
So there is a direct tie between those who trust in God and those who receive His blessings
Both material and spiritual
So what I want us to see is: the blessings of God are preceded by trust in God
Then in conclusion, to both our Psalm and sermon this morning, vs 16-18 mirror what we see in vs 1-3
He reiterates God’s heavenly position in vs 16
And then gives a distinct contrast in vs 17&18
He doesn’t have the complete understanding of the eternal state, but he knows that the spiritually dead won’t praise God after death
And those who belong to God will praise the Lord now, and forever!
This is the authors main point in conclusion
Praise God while you have breath and you will praise him when you don’t
Don’t waste a single breath on substitute gods
Worship the one true God!
May this be our prayer
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.