Make a Joyful Noise (Ps 95)

Welcome, welcome to all 5:30 service here at St. George's, I'm really grateful that you can join us and that you are here to worship with us. As Andrew was saying, we are in this season in which we are looking through the Psalms Psalms that have been appointed for a lectionary reading. And I'm, as I have put up up on the screen, you can see that entitle today. So I can make a Joyful Noise of the sea based on the salmon. So but this is a call to worship about God. And I'll King, Andrew talked about it as a season of repentance and it is it's the time of self-examination. But it's also actually a season of renewal. It's meant to be like a spiritual spring cleaning Chinese contacts for Chinese New Year, to clear out the house in preparation for the new year because you sometimes too much in the home. But the idea of length is to intentionally reorient, our hearts toward God. And the way we do it, it's through practices like prayer and fasting. And alms-giving, which are common practices that we as Christians use, lent time to do to help ourselves. Refocus or recalibrate as it were Alliance according to God's. What? I asked us to bio, I decided that we were going to do a series in the Book of Psalms because you know the sounds what actually Israel's him know, they were the way in which we can worship and praying the same way that Jesus did. Unfortunately, not often do churches preach from the Sam's, you know, part of it is I reflected on this because it's Hebrew poetry and I don't know, I may be in the last generation that have to do literature in secondary school. Some of you who are younger than me, you probably never did literature. And even then it was just very cursorily and we didn't spend a lot of time in poetry. I am the first to admit I have not ready for the come to fully appreciate poetry in and it's that but you know, when I have enjoyed a poem realized it is is meant to convey a whole range of human emotions and experiences. And in life, you know, it's it's certainly the case in the Psalms some of the songs I lament where you crying out to God and asking God, why, you know, why is this happening to me? All it's crazy but we are looking at Here and Now But Martin Luther the great reformer said that the Psalms were not words to be read. Rather they were meant to be words to live and it's, it's in the Psalms that you do. We find how we ought to live a quick question. I don't know how many of you ever thought about this whose life was most extensively narrative in Scripture. Jesus, because of the gospels, but may I suggest you even Jesus didn't have his life, you know, fully narrated in scripture like this one character does not matter than King David. Because David, you know, you you followed him over many, many years and his experience and you see all the things that he gone through. You know, Jesus's life is mostly condense into the three years of his public Ministry. But in terms of David's life, you see whole lot and David was, of course, known as a man after God's heart. It's no accident that about half of the 150 Psalms in the Book of Psalms were written by David and, you know, it's a win which we can actually go.

David ugly. It's hot when we read the Psalms. Unfortunately, this isn't some of David but nonetheless.

The songs we learn how to live life, but also the Sam's Point us to David's greatest, son. That is Jesus in Luke 24, verse 44, after Jesus had risen from the dead. And is he at the pier to the disciples before he was preparing to ascend to the father, he was teaching them and he said this to them. This is what I told you while I was still with you, everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets. And the sounds, you will notice every time we expound and the Old Testament, we always come back to Jesus because you know, they were meant to point us to him. Show us more and more about him, but let's get to the song itself that we have interviews on. 95 is part of what is broadly, scholars believe is booked for the song. Break it down to five different books and book for the theme of the songs from Psalm 92. Psalm 106, is basically that God is still King, right? No matter. What else goes on in the world. God is Sovereign he rules. He's the one who is still raining on high and this Farm in particular is really an order worship. And we see three Things that happened with first mean bus 1. The Simon says to come, let us sing. You know what to use? A mouth to worship and praise God. Come let us borrow to use posture. I will ask you to watch him but ultimately today let us hear that you know, these three things need to happen in worship. So let's look at the first point, how we celebrate by singing joyful songs and to the king, we have to call to sing joyfully to the king. It starts in bus 1 come. Let us sing for Joy to the Lord. Let us not allowed to the rock of our Salvation. Let us come before him with Thanksgiving and stall him with music and song. You know. It doesn't fully capture the the depth of emotion that Thomas is calling for because, you know, yeah, I sing for Joy. Sunny well maybe I don't shout so much, you know, it's not so nice to do that in church when I saw him do every week, isn't it? I lost sometimes to use Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of the Bible, is his version of the translation of the Bible call the message because sometimes he puts it in very clean PP language. He can translate VS1 into this way. Come let's shout Praises To God. Raise the roof for the rock Crusaders. Let's March into his presence singing praises lifting, the rafters without hymns. That means, you don't come sing so that the Timber on the top of the roof starts ticking. The phrase, the Samus is calling for, and why is he saying this? But Siri says, for the Lord is a great, God, the great God, the great king above all gods, that the reason for this exuberance is because God is on his throne. That he continues to rule and reign. And if he makes it clear by in Verses 4 and 5, he says in his hand, at the depths of the Earth, the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his fault. He made in his hands. Full name, the dry land. He points to the fact that God is the one who not only created that not only does, you know,

He... The world is in his hands, but he found it. That he is the one who has everything in his hands on reminder of this chorus. We used to sing in my childhood. I don't know if you're familiar with it, He's Got The Whole World in His Hands, just got the old lamps. Pay you, but you know, that idea that God's got it. He's got this, he's got us. But he's got the whole world that nothing is happening. That is beyond his control about some reason. I was thinking of this, you know, and you know, why are we struggling oftentimes with Such exuberance, maybe it's because we're not so sure. It's a good thing to have God in control. What I mean. Right? You look at the world and the world seems kind of messed up right now, isn't it? I just texted my brother this morning and he finally made it back from Dubai. You will suck there the whole week and he, he, he managed to catch a plane out on Emirates and, and he's landed on after this. When a meeting for dinner at my mom's house. My mom insisted must have dinner together in order to give. Thanks to God. That he made it back and we was in no danger whatsoever. He said it was a peaceful but none, the less, you know, it.

Wow, if he's really got it in his hands. How do we answer the fact that the world seems like in such a mess? And as I thought about it, you know, somehow my other my mind went back to the book of Joe If you've never met Joe, you know, I want you to do that because it's a very interesting book, 42 chapters about a guy who is miserable. It's believed to be the earliest book in the Bible is the last book that was composed in scripture and how he loses everything, you know, and his four friends come to comfort him, but not much of a comfort because they basically blame him and say it's all your fault. You know, you need to repent of your sins. All this has been you brought upon yourself and Joe cry out to Garden at the end of the book, God answers joke in the world wind, but he doesn't answer in a way that job was asking. Right. He's asking God, why why God are you doing this? And God doesn't. All he does, is he takes him on this Cosmic 2 a.m. to look at the things that he has done a sweep of creation innocence and and the awesome creatures, Leviathan and Behemoth and the like and he shows him is awesome. As I was reflecting on it, I was written by a man named John Walton and he doesn't explain why righteous people suffer. And then ultimately the cosmos was not designed to prevent righteous people from suffering, the job you, no question, God's design, but God was pointing out the job that, you know, he had insufficient knowledge to ask that sort of question or even to answer or to be answered and explained what I things work, the way they do that, God's justice doesn't require got to respond, he just asked at a job to trust him. And not try to domesticate God by his own. You do finite ways of looking at the world and the things and I done wanted to show you. And, you know, this Michelangelo's, this is the hand of God, creating Adam and and he's got the whole world in his hands. But I want to show you the text from John Walton. He says this, as we have learned from Joe, we should be hesitant to believe that we can identify reasons for suffering or explanations for God's actions. All job is to trust not to explain. Objective is Faith and perseverance. Not relief. A determination is to refrain from reducing God to a manageable size by confining him to a philosophical box of our own design. And I'll commitment is to respond with humility rather than to defame his character, or dismiss him know, God is God, and he's on his throne, then we shouldn't try and reduce him to a human-like proportions and try and explain things away. Now, I'm not saying there's no place for apologetics all ways to reason with people out to try and answer the questions that we struggle with, and I believe that it's a good thing to do, and it sits right? And the answers, but you do a ultimate Lee. The posture of worship is to just acknowledge who God is and sing aloud to and it continues actually in the rest of the summer. Because not only do we worship him with a voice, we also called to worship him with all whole being a body to borrow with heartfelt reverence. Invest 60 continues. The Simon says come. Let us Bow Down and Worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, I'll make it for me, is our God and we are the people of his pasture the flock under his care. What does Thomas then continues to say? You know, why are we to Bow before him borrowing and kneeling are both acts of submission? Acknowledging, who the person is that we bow before? I think those of us who grew up watching, Chinese kung fu movies of ancient Chinese culture. You understand this, you need to fall on your knees before him and your face, right? You need to acknowledge his greatness because you know with the word he could end your life and the life of your entire lineage, right. But the point is not what what is pointing to his not only is he a great God Ultimately, he is our God. He is a God for us. He is our God and we are his people of his pasture. We are the flock under his care via the Sheep of his hand. That God is Not only far above us in his greatness. John starts his

He is yet close to us in his goodness.

That the reason we worship him, we bow in submission to him is not just because of his greatness, but it's also because of his goodness to, what's us? Now, I just started talkin about suffering and suffering in the world, but suffering is not just an academic thing is, it is not just something that out there. It's something that I think each and every one of us at some point in our life, be encountering ourselves, And you know, when we go through suffering, whatever form it takes, it's sometimes very hard to believe in the goodness of God. Simone Weil. Set this that the extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a super natural remedy for suffering by the supernatural, use for it. That suffering itself has a purpose. Write that God often uses suffering. To shape has a reading from the Epistle of Romans, which is designated in the lectionary actually points us today. Paul and speaking to the Roman Christian says to them. Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord. Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace, in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. I'm not going to need to be bossed in his glory. He continues and bus 3. We also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces character. Produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has being given to us. That God has demonstrated his love, but he's also parties. Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of love into our hearts. To give us the power to comprehend, not only his greatness, but also his goodness. Am I go back to Walton's commentary on Job? You know, when we talk about God on his throne oftentimes the way we would think about it. Is this a knife? I found myself saying to myself and sometimes to others that, you know, when we see God is Sovereign, it's basically God saying to us is, I am God. And you are not.

I'm gone and you are not which can be aware to comfort. But sometimes, depending on how you look at it, or how you received it, it may not be that comforting or what because sometimes to stop text, maybe I am gone. So you mind your own business. Right? You don't meddle in things. I'll try and get behind it or I am God. We may think God is saying to us. I can do what I want, right? People who are bosses, I like that. I find myself as a parent sometimes being that child. Why? And I said, because I say so, I'm your dad I say so just do it right? And then we we we project that on to God as well or what still I am God and you are just a worthless puny human being But that is not what God is saying. That's not what he says in the Book of Job. That's not what he's saying in scripture. I go back to Walton's common tree in it towards the end of his commentary. He says this. In light of the book of Jobe, the only acceptable elaboration would be. I am God, I care deeply and I want you to trust me, even when you don't understand. By affirming, such a fear of God. We do not dismiss, suffering is meaningless, but try to understand it in the larger context of God's wisdom and the world in which we live.

To submit to his divinity, in the fact that he is gone. And that's why this time, you know, if, if you read it at first glance, you know, it seems like quite the sun in the first half is like, so full of praise. The second half is a warning. Quite a dire warning right now. Believe that, you know, and worship we not only sing to God. We also bow in, reverence, probably also need to listen to hear his voice and what he's saying and his call to obedience in bus 7, the second-half continues today. If you only would hear his voice, do not Harden your heart that you didn't matter about, as you did that day, at Masa in the wilderness is pointing back to the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness. Is a means contention, right? In in Hebrew and Masa means-testing that in the wilderness, the began to come out with one another, of course they argue with each other, but ultimately the problem with their contention with God, you know, and by saying to Moses B perfectly well in Egypt. Why why why are we out here in the way in which they spoke against God's anointed, in that sense? And where your ancestors test me, the pharmacist says. They tried me though, they had seen what I did. This was a generation who saw God's Mighty Deliverance. They forgot. The song God's hand that what Liz greatness right causing a scene ever been done before and then closing it on the chasing hearts of Egyptian pharaohs chariots to deliver 10. and he still, When is Trey, and this is what he says to them for 40 years, I was angry with that generation. I said they are people whose Hearts forestry. They have not known my ways, so I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest.

Why did they do that? You're not easy. Sometimes for us when we sit in our comfort zones here in 2026 in Singapore to read scripture and say he'll never be like them. But seen such marvelous Deeds, there's no way I would have had unbelief that lived when Jesus walked the Earth, you know, my strength and my face would have been faithful be so much stronger.

But the reality is this human nature tells us that you know, we are actually no different from them. What drives it? If you remember, Jesus often called out the religious leaders of his day. And what he did was he would quote, Isaiah, 29, verse 13 through them. The Lord says, these people come near to me with your mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me. Is based on merely human rules. They have been taught right in Matthew's gospel chapter 15, Mark's gospel chapter 7 in both instances. When Jesus was calling out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, you know, how they were so obsessed with ritual cleansing. Jesus have to call them. I said, because, you know, why are you so concerned about, what's on the outside, when what's on the inside, really matters? What's the condition of your hearts? You, you honor me with your lips, but your hearts that far for me. And I think that's precisely what was going on in the wilderness as well. That, you know, you have an out with following of God, but inwardly, your hearts are not given to him, and it's all about inner motivation.

Not just about out with obedience, I'm not saying obedience is unimportant. It is. But where does that obedience come from? What motivates us. I don't know if you ever thought about it, but the what motivates a motive and motor come from the same Latin root Right? That a moto causes an engine and an engine that drives a car that we can think of it as motivation is similarly, the engine that drives. Our, what is our motivation? I think as I think back to Jesus's day and probably in the days of even Moses when he was beating, the people of Israel that was often this thinking I obey that's why I'm accepted. Because I've been a good boy. Why don't I get a good reward?

But the gospel tells us that I am accepted. therefore, I will be obedience comes from the motivation of understanding who we are in Christ and what he has done for us.

You know, this past week. I like to listen to sermons podcast especially when you doing things which don't require you to really concentrate or think about anything like walking the dog sometimes even driving a car with automatic going through a loan place but you know it feels the hour but now so I feel bad if I didn't, I was just listening to the sermon by Tim. Keller was one of my favorite preachers and he pointed out how motivation Works. That all of us will always have a spot in your life, whenever you've made a decision if you stopped and you think about it and you look back, you have always chosen to do the thing you most wanted.

the old choices are driven but what we want most widely value the most Some of you may say, hey, that can be true. I was coerced right? And maybe lunch. Singapore, it's an illustration he use. So probably New York City. It's more true, but you were held. And a person says, you know, either hand over your money or you lose your life, your money, or your life, And how can you say I did? I chose to do what I Most Wanted I was coerced to do that. But the point he makes is this. If you go down and you do right down to it, it's because you value your life more than you,

Your possessions. Right? What is most important to you? You will choose to do because of your life. Goes without saying. But what about, you know, in business and you find yourself Having to sort of scattered around the truth or change the things you say. Because if you actually told the truth, You can lose $20,000. Right? Maybe it's a penalty that you'll have to pay or you will have to give back some of the money that they prepaid you or whatever the contract, and you feel coerced to do that to lie. But the truth is, the reason you choose to tell a lie is because you value $20,000, for whatever reason. Don't you know, it goes to the fact that I'll definitely what, we what motivates us is, what determines how we believe. And why do I say that? Because I come back again to text in Romans, Where Paul was talking about, you know, suffering and perseverance, and character, and hope. And then ultimately the Holy Spirit, pause his love out on us so that we can do what we need to do. And we can enjoy your what is needed, 20 or, and he points out what this love is in verse 6. He says you see at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely, will anyone die for a righteous person do for a good person? Someone might possibly Dare To Die. Demonstrates his own love for us in this while we were still sinners. Christ died for us.

That if anything needs to change, it is all in a motivation. And they say, my motivation is not a Will To Power as Nietzsche said, exercising your your will power to change your life. It's not even know what Huey Lewis said The Power of Love pet transform. So I know it is the power of his love.

You see, when we come to the foot of the cross. And we see God's great love for us. We find ourselves bathing in an ocean of love. You know, changes how we look at life and how we look at what's really truly important, about truly truly matters. That this is the god, who is not only great and able to do all things. This is a God who is for us.

And you know how we enter into the rest, is this? We hear Jesus's invitation in Matthew 11? Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for. I am gentle and humble in heart. You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. And my burden. You slight.

This Lent. Why don't you lay down your burdens before him? The burdens of that have been inflicted on us by life and suffering. But the burden of sin also, where we pursued our own wishes, and we've gone astray.

And take on what Christ office us.

Receive his invitation. And enter into his rest with our heads and pray.

A gracious loving Heavenly Father we do thank you once again. For your word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light to apa. I like that. Not just shines on the world around us but shines right into our interview. To show us the area is the deep dark Corners that sometimes remain hidden even to us.

In Lourdes. We shine the light of your love into our lives. I pray, Lord, that you will clear out all those cobwebs. You help us load to lay down all our burdens before you. So that we can come and lift our voices in praise to you, wholeheartedly, with great exuberance. That we may bow down and kneel before you in submission. but also that we may hear, An OB. Austin Peay all these things in your son's most precious name. Amen.

Thank you Jonathan for that, thought provoking but also encouraging Lenten message to open our hearts to the Lord Jesus and give our burdens. To him and let that be the basis of all worship of him. So can I