The Blessed Life: God is our Salvation
Notes
Transcript
12/06/20
Dominant Thought: The blessed life relies on God alone for salvation.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to see their life as a story of God’s leading.
I want my listeners to find ways to bless God for His salvation this week.
I want my listeners to feel comfort that God carries our burdens.
I was four years old and our family lived in a trailer park in Colona, IL. I started to ride my big wheel to catch up with the older kids in the neighborhood. My mom had told me, “No.” But later, I snuck off and joined them at Hennipen Canal. After some time swimming and playing with the big kids, they all left one by one and I was all alone. A summer afternoon storm had come up. The skies grew dark. My parents called on everyone they knew to help look for me. After some anxious moments of searching, one of my dad’s coworkers, Merv, found me. He picked me up on his shoulders and carried me home to my family. I’m not sure what my parents said, but they were relieved to have their son home. In some ways, they were blessing God for this turn of good fortune. I’m sure that I endured some consequences after the relief of my safety was confirmed.
This story helps us understand that blessing can come in two different forms. Blessing can come in receiving a gift. In this case, the lost son was brought home to his family. That’s a blessing. What my parents did in response—thanking others and giving thanks to God is also a blessing.
In our series, The Blessed Life, Psalm 68 transitions the blessings we receive from God to our responsibility to bless God. There are two words in the Hebrew Bible that we use for our English word bless. The first word, we have spent several weeks on is the word for blessings, good things, flourishing, some even describe it as happiness. We would say, “I am blessed by God.” In other words, God is giving me all that I need. He protects me, He guides me, He disciplines me. God blesses me.
There is a second word for bless that may be better understood as “praise.” It could also be used to describe God’s goodness to his people. This second word, mostly in the Psalms, is our response back to God.
We find this second word for bless in the final verse of Psalm 68 in Psalm 68.35
Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
It is also found Psalm 68.19 which is our theme verse today:
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah
In our time today, I simply want to take those three phrases from Psalm 68 and show that The blessed life relies on God alone for salvation.
First, Blessed be the Lord.
The first time we encounter this word, “blessed,” God is blessing the sea creatures to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1.22). A few verses later after creating male and female in His image, again “God blessed them” and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1.28). God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Gen. 2.3). Every use of this word for blessing God presumes “God is either the author (of blessing) or the receiver (of praise) (Michael L. Brown, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology, 1:763). In other words, “God blesses people by conferring good on them; we bless God by praising the good in Him” (Brown, NIDOTT, 1:764).
“Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
In Psalm 68, David recounts the journey of God’s people out of Egypt (Ps. 68.6), through the wilderness (Ps. 68.7) and into the mountain of God in Zion or Jerusalem (Ps. 68.16).
David invites the people to bless God for his mighty actions to rescue them from slavery, provide for them in the wilderness wandering, and lead them to the promised land. Psalm 68 is a story of rescue.
God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!
As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!
We have a reason to bless God because He has rescued us. A couple of weeks ago, we attended the Student International Conference on Missions. At the missions conference, one of the mission spotlights was “Rapha International.” Rapha International provides aftercare for survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. They work in Cambodia, Thailand, and Haiti. Rapha comes from the Hebrew word for healing. Don’t you think those girls bless God as a result of the rescue from human trafficking?
As God rescued his people from Egypt, and as He rescues girls from Cambodia, Thailand, and Haiti, He has rescued us. What do you say when someone rescues you? You say, “Thank you.” In the case of God, “We bless you.” “We praise you.”
Listen to how David invites his people to bless God.
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
Second, Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up.
Not only do we bless God because He has rescued us, but we bless God because He daily bears us up. If the first image of blessing is the rescue from Egypt, then this next image could be how God cared for His people during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. He provided food from them, their sandals did not wear out, and He gave them water to drink.
Here is how David recounts God’s care for His people in their wandering in Psalm 68.7-10:
O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
The New Living Translation interprets our phrase from Psalm 68.19, “each day He carries us in his arms.” Mark Futato suggests that it is our burdens that He carries. The picture of carrying burdens is when the sons of Jacob journey to Egypt, they loaded their belongings on their donkeys. Think about loading your car for your next road trip. God carries those burdens.
Let’s be honest, many of us have carried burdens for a long time. We still carry hurts and wounds from years ago. Frustrations from yesterday and fears for tomorrow seem to be our constant companions. David reminds us that God carries those burdens. And God carries them every day.
That’s an important insight. God is not somewhere far away with little care for you. God is daily active in your life. God cares for you each day. Literally. Did the sun come up today? God cares for you.
Jesus invites you to come to him and find rest for your souls and to lay down your burdens. Listen to the invitation from Jesus in Matthew 11.28-30.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Are you worn out and beat down? Jesus wants to give you rest. I invite you to learn from him and carry his yoke which is much lighter than the man made rules of religion. The thing about a yoke is that it look a little bit like a cross. Jesus invites His followers to daily pick up their cross and follow Him.
What is one thing you’d like to lay down at the feet of Jesus today? He wants to carry your burdens each day. What do we say in response to that? We say, “Thank you!” Or, “God we bless you, we praise you!”
Third, Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah
God has led his people out of Egypt through the wilderness and into His presence on His holy mountain. David declares in Psalm 68.19-21, “God is our salvation.”
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah
Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
Twice in these verses, we read, “God is our salvation.” He delivers people from death. God delivered David multiple times from King Saul who was bent on killing David.
I wonder as David wrote this Psalm if he reflected on the day in the Valley of Elah when he grabbed five smooth stones and his sling and went off to face that giant, Goliath. The last thing David says before placing that stone into his sling is recorded in 1 Samuel 17.47.
and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
The word for “saves” is the word “Yeshua.” We recognize it better in English as Jesus. Jesus’ name means Savior. David wants to remind his people that God is “our” Savior. Much like we pray, “our Father.” Jesus is “our Savior.”
In Psalm 68.21, David tells about God striking the heads of the enemies.
But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
This image from Psalm 68, that was foretold in Genesis 3, found fulfilment in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Jesus crushed the head of evil. Jesus defeated the enemy and won the war.
Anytime there’s a great victory whether in history or modern times, you’d celebrate with a parade. In Psalm 68, we have this image of a victory parade…out of Egypt, through the wilderness and up to Jerusalem. David gives us another picture of the victory parade in Psalm 68.18.
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
When a king would conquer a nation, they would have a victory parade back to the capital city. As part of the parade, the people and many times the king that was captured would be in the parade along with the spoils of victory. It could be a picture of the victory parade going up or ascending to the mountain of Jerusalem.
The apostle Paul picks up on this Psalm in Ephesians 4.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
Paul connects this Psalm to the victory of Christ when He ascended into heaven, but then he tweaks the quotation. In addition to Christ receiving gifts of worship. He also gives gifts. Paul goes on to talk about the spiritual gifts that Christ gives to unify and build up the church. In this season of Christmas, we have gift giving on the brain.
Could this Psalm serve as a reminder the next time you’re on Amazon or think about that next gift, that those who are in Christ have the greatest gift that money cannot buy? We have a gift of salvation that is free, but was not cheap. God is our Salvation in Jesus.
The blessed life relies on God alone for salvation.
Matt Stafford, worship professor at Ozark Christian College asks this question as we reflect on Psalm 68, “What your victory parade story?” What’s your story from Egypt to Sinai to Zion? Exodus, wandering, destination.
5 Day Devotional Guide on Psalm 68
Dominant Thought: The blessed life relies on God alone for salvation.
You may want to refer to the sermon notes for further discussion. Take a moment to read the assigned Scripture and then reflect or discuss the questions. Customize this outline to your situation. Here are some questions to ask from the Discovery Bible Method:
What are you thankful for today or this week?
What challenges are you facing?
Have 2 or 3 people read the scripture out loud.
Can you summarize this passage in your own words?
What did you discover about God from this passage?
What have you learned about people from this passage?
How are you going to obey this passage? (What is your “I will” statement?)
With whom are you going to share what you have learned?
Based on this passage, what can we pray about?
Day 1: Psalm 68.1-6
Day 2: Psalm 68.7-14
Day 3: Psalm 68.15-23
Day 4: Psalm 68.24-27
Day 5: Psalm 68.38-35