The Nation that Fears the Lord

Introduction:

Yesterday around the country, people celebrated the 250th anniversary of American independence. I was astonished, though I shouldn’t have been, to scroll through social media and find an article that said that after polling people, many Americans didn’t know what the 250th celebration was all about.

Now to be fair, I seriously doubt the credibility of that article or either they were polling in an area of the country that must live in a bubble, but it did prompt another thought. How many of our citizens really know the details of the founding of our government and the principles that the government was founded upon?

You see, that is something that many people have been moving away from in education, because to teach these principles would be to inform that public and many of the policies that government leaders try to shove down the throats of Americans today would not have been possible with America’s founding Fathers in leadership.

Principles specifically spelled out in the Declaration of Independence for the United States were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are noble things and many seek them. However, to be a truly blessed nation takes more than simply being the good ole USA. God does not bless the nation because we sing patriotic songs or put America first. He doesn’t bless us because of what we’ve done in the past, but by the relationship that we the people continue to live in with the one true God. The further away we move from God, the less we can expect God to bless the USA.

This morning, I want to take us to a Psalm that speaks of God’s blessing on His people. Remember that when the Scriptures speak of God’s people in the Old Testament, it is referring to the covenant people known as true Israel. In the New Testament, that nation is not just one ethno-centric group of people in a specific territory or region, but the kingdom of God scattered around the world and sent into all the world with the gospel of Jesus as its rallying call.

We are united by His blood and part of the family of God. Still, God uses nations and peoples and America has been one of the nations God has used to bless the world and help advance the spread of His gospel. Therefore, we need to know what it takes to be a nation that fears the Lord in order that we might receive His blessing.

Psalm 33 ESV

1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Pray

1. What does it mean to be blessed?

Close proximity to God and His purposes

Can be prosperity and peace, but these are not required to be blessed by God

see Deut 28:1-14

2. When does blessing come?

When we draw near and seek the Lord (vv 1-3)

Psalm 33:1–3 ESV

1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

When we obey His Word (vv 4-5)

Psalm 33:4–5 ESV

4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

When we love each other (v.5, Micah 6:8)

Micah 6:8 ESV

8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

When we trust Him (vv13-17)

Psalm 33:13–17 ESV

13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

3. How Can We Be His Chosen People?

To Fear Him (v.18) - i.e. reverence Him

Psalm 33:18 ESV

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

To Hope in Him (v.18-19)

Psalm 33:18–19 ESV

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

To Be Called by His Name (v.20-21; Is 44:5)

Psalm 33:20–21 ESV

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Isaiah 44:5 ESV

5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Jeremiah 31:33 ESV

33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Conclusion

As we wrap things up, we need to keep in mind that God uses nations and He is the one who sets the boundaries of the peoples. However, God is not the God of America or England or any other nation only. He is the one, true King. Jesus is the One to whom all rule and dominion and authority is given.

Psalm 2 tells us

Psalm 2:6–8 ESV

6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

I taught on this Psalm on Wednesday and shared that what this Psalm teaches us is that we are called to join Jesus in prayer and ask God for the salvation of the nations. God grants this request through our prayers and through our evangelism.

God’s kingdom will not come by force, but by sharing the good news of the Gospel.

Our King laid down His life for His people, but He rose again victoriously and conquered what no nation, king, or president has ever been able to do. He conquered death itself.

Jesus invites us not to be the best nation we can be so that American glory might be on display. Instead He invites us to be His people that is not bound by any nationality or language.

When we sing the patriotic songs we know and hold dear, sing them as a prayer to God, for that is what they are. Sing them as one saved and called to a higher kingdom and realize that our payers are for God to use this nation to continue to help spread the gospel.

We are not asking for prosperity as a nation for our own benefit, but so that we might go abroad with the mission God has given to us and that is to fulfill the Great Commission.

However, remember that it can never happen if we do not first as a people know the Lord as our God. Nations are made up of individuals, so take the first step and make sure you personally have come to know the Lord by saving faith in Jesus Christ.