Sermon Tone Analysis

GOD ON TRIAL

This semester, we’ve been studying through the doctrines we hold to here at Grace Bible Church.

Today, we’re going to be looking at the sovereignty of God… the sovereignty of God.

If you were hoping to hear all about predestination and election, you’re gonna have to wait until next week.

But for now, we’re going to look at the sovereignty of God and divine providence… divine providence.

Not only is the Bible controversial to the world at large, but among Christians as well.

Can you guys think of any controversial issues in the Bible where Christians disagree?

This semester, we’ve been studying through the doctrines we hold to here at Grace Bible Church.

Today, we’re going to be looking at the sovereignty of God… the sovereignty of God.

If you were hoping to hear all about predestination and election, you’re gonna have to wait until next week.

But today, we’re going to look at the sovereignty of God and divine providence… divine providence.

By a show of hands, how many of you are guilty of ever putting God on trial?

I can think of one moment in particular when I put God on trial in my life.

It was December 2015, my senior year of high school.

Me and a buddy of mine were out on a Friday night, deep into the midst of our regular weekend routine: party, eat, sleep, rinse and repeat.

One night though, I got myself into a particularly dicey situation: I was driving under the influence, one of my front headlights was out, and I had enough illegal substances in my car to be in prison for years.

Not to mention, I was only 17, so if I got pulled over at all, then I would have to call my parents no matter what happened.

Obviously, not one of my brightest moments.

In that situation, I vividly remember holding my cross necklace (because I thought if I kept a cross on my neck, then God would be close to me) and saying this “prayer”:

“God, if you get me out of this situation, then I promise, I’m done with this lifestyle.

I’ll change my ways and live how I’m supposed to.”

Well, God delivered.

Somehow, I made it through that night without getting stopped once, even after driving past a total of 10 cop cars that night.

He fulfilled on His end.

As for me?

I retired from the party scene, but the Bible on my nightstand continued to collect dust until the Lord saved me 9 months later.

You see, when we treat God like our therapist, or business consultant, or whatever, we put Him on trial.

We essentially say, “God, if you’re really God, then prove it!

Do what I asked for!”

Then, when He doesn’t do exactly what we asked Him to do at the exact moment we asked for it, we get mad and think that this God guy our parents keep forcing down our throats isn’t so real after all.

The answer is obviously not.

But too often, on a practical level, we all have to admit that we act like that’s the case.

The sad thing though, is that there’s so much more to the sovereignty of God than we realize!

The reality is that that’s what every single person on the planet outisde

And now, we get to the fundamental problem at hand: God is sovereign.

This is a fact.

makes this clear, and He would not be God if He was not.

But most importantly - how we respond to this reality is one of the most important decisions we will ever make.

Why?

Because the consequences are eternal.

My goal today is for you all to

If you’re in that category, or used to be in that category, then my hope is that this passage will be an encouragement and an exhortation for you.

When I was thinking through our topic today, I considered going through a few different passages to see God’s sovereignty on display throughout the history of the world,

Turn in your Bibles, if you will, to .

Here, the Psalmist teaches us three obligations we have in response to the character of God: we must remember that He is sovereign, trust that He is sovereign, and rejoice because He is sovereign.

My goal for our time today is to show you that you can trust the Lord because He is the Sovereign King of Heaven.

CONTEXT

Let’s zoom out for a second.

As a whole, the Psalms were written to teach God’s people how to worship Him through every circumstance, whether the highest of highs or the lowest of lows.

We’re not given much information about the backstory of this Psalm, which is important to the main idea of the Psalm.

We don’t know the author, we don’t know the exact time period, but we do know that it was written for the people of Israel to sing as a congregation.

Now let’s zoom back in.

The situation in seems pretty bleak.

The enemies of Israel have the upper hand and they know it.

They are boasting about their conquests and mocking the God of Israel.

And because of this, the people of Israel are being tempted to doubt the sovereignty and character of God in favor of the traditions and idols of men.

In response to this less-than-ideal situation, was penned.

Why?

To encourage the people of Israel to trust in YHWH because of His sovereignty in providence and protection.

With that in mind, let’s dive into passage.

Follow along as I read.

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REMEMBER THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN ()

The first obligation we find in verses 1-8, and is this: We must remember that God is sovereign… Remember that God is sovereign.

Right off the bat in verse 1, we see that the Psalmist’s reverence for YHWH is massive.

In the midst of a humiliating season for the nation of Israel, where does his mind go?

He doesn’t pray for victory.

He doesn’t pray for military deliverance.

Instead, he prays for a different deliverance.

He prays for YHWH to vindicate His name.

“But to Your name give glory...”

This “glory” that the Psalmist is speaking of is referring to honor, splendor, or a state of high honor.

The Psalmist is imploring YHWH to ascribe high honor and splendor to His name, not to man.

I’ll admit, when I was studying this, I got convicted to the core after reading verse 1.

My prayer simply just doesn’t look like that when I’m in the middle of a trial.

More often than not, if I’m honest, my prayers are selfish!

Self-centered.

“Lord, oh Lord, how long will the wicked prosper!?”

And then the self-pity party continues in splendor.

But all that does is just reveal what’s really going on in my heart.

Contrast that with the heart of the Psalmist here!

He’s saying, yes, our nation is being maligned, yes, we are being humiliated, but all of that pales in comparison to the fact that the name of YHWH is being trampled on!

All of us need to make it a priority to cultivate a zeal for the reputation of the Lord that rivals that of the Psalmist here.

But what causes the Psalmist to have that zeal?

Two things: YHWH’s lovingkindness and YHWH’s truth.

You might be wondering, how exactly do I know Israel is being mocked, anyway?

Look at verse 2.

“Why should the nations say, ‘Where, now, is their God?”

The pagan nations around Israel are licking their chops here.

Israel is down, and now’s as great a time as ever to kick them.

However, that’s not even the worst aspect of the disrespect they are receiving.

These Gentile nations are mocking the God of Israel Himself!

You see, all throughout the Old Testament, YHWH is lauded, praised and worshipped for the deliverance He gave to Israel through the exodus from Egypt, the conquests of Joshua, the establishment of the nation under David, and countless other occasions.

And for good reason!

Constantly, Israel was reminded, as well as the surrounding nations, that Israel was worthy because YHWH made them worthy.

But here, whatever is going on in Israel at this time, the surrounding nations are more bold and brash than ever.

“Where is your God, Israel?

Looks like a no-show after all.”

“Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.”

Understand “lovingkindness” here as God’s grace!

The unfailing, ongoing, unprompted act of lovingkindness by YHWH that saves and sanctifies.