The Reflection on Life's Valleys
A Mirror for the Soul • Sermon • Submitted
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· 66 viewsThe Lord comes down to lift up His people from life’s lowest valleys.
Notes
Transcript
02/21/21
Dominant Thought: The Lord comes down to lift up His people from life’s lowest valleys.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to connect with these psalms as some of the final psalms Christ may have sung before his arrest and crucifixion.
I want my listeners to see how God came down in Christ to lift up His people from life’s valleys.
I want my listeners to find one specific way to praise God for His care for His people.
Augustine shared the following about the Psalms, “If the psalm prays, you pray; if it laments, you lament; if it exults, you rejoice; if it hopes, you hope; if it fears, you fear. Everything written here is a mirror for us.” Today, we begin a series from Psalms 113-118 that we are calling, “A mirror for the Soul.” Augustine recognized that the Psalms are a mirror for us. In fact, we’ve invited you to share some things that reflect your life as we dive into these Psalms.
Psalms 113-118 are a mini collection of Psalms with the 150 Psalms in our Bible. Derek Kidner gives a helpful introduction to this collection of Psalms (Psalms 113-118) when he writes:
A short run of psalms used at the yearly Passover begins here, and is therefore commonly known as the Egyptian Hallel (Hallel means Praise). Only the second of them (114) speaks directly of the exodus, but the theme of raising the downtrodden (113) and the note of corporate praise (115), personal thanksgiving (116), world vision (117) and festal procession (118) make it an appropriate series to mark the salvation which began in Egypt and will spread to the nations. By custom, the first two psalms are sung before the Passover meal, and the remaining four after it. So these were probably the last psalms our Lord sang before his passion (Mark 14:26), and Psalm 118 had already made itself heard more than once in the confrontation of the previous few days. There was more relevance in these psalms to the exodus—the greater exodus—than could be guessed in Old Testament times. (Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, pp. 435–436). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press).
Psalm 113 begins and ends with Praise God or Hallelujah.
Let’s read Psalm 113.
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,
who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
In Psalm 113, we find two reasons to praise God.
First, we praise God for His greatness (Psalm 113.1-5).
“Praise His name at all times and at all places” (James Bate, 1703-1775, in The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon).
The writer invites the servants of the Lord to praise the name of the Lord. Those who would pray this psalm would remember the generations of service and slavery their ancestors gave to Egypt. They knew what it meant to serve. Now, instead of the Egyptian taskmasters, they were called to serve and praise the name of the Lord for his goodness and kindness.
Three times in the first three verses we encounter the “name of the Lord.” The servants of the Lord are called to praise the Lord. They are called to praise the name of the Lord all the time. And they are called to praise the name of the Lord everywhere—from the rising of the sun to its setting. From the east to the west, followers are called to praise the Lord. It is interesting that our praise from east to west also reflects the forgiveness of God. In Psalm 103, we read about God’s great reach of forgiveness.
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
How can you praise God from the east to the west? What would it look like to praise God while you travel in the car, go out to eat, interact online, conduct your business? What would it look like if every time you see the compass reading in your car, you used that as a reminder to praise God?
Praise gets our focus off of ourselves. I think a reason we praise is that we recognize we didn’t do anything. We are amazed at how LeBron or Steph or Giannis can play basketball. We praise them because we realize they can do something that we can’t do.
If that is true with sports stars and celebrities, how much more God? Which leads us to the question in Psalm 113.5.
Who is like the Lord, our God? (Ps. 113.5). In each of these psalms, Psalm 113-118, you’ll find a question. The question in Psalm 113 is “who is like the Lord, our God?”
If this Psalm was regularly prayed and sung to begin the Passover meal, then the setting would be to think back to the cosmic battle that God raged against Egypt and Pharaoh. Pharaoh was consider son of the sun god. The Egyptians viewed their Pharaoh as a divine being whose power kept all the natural forces working in order. Thus, when God turned the Nile to blood or turned the sun to darkness or claimed the firstborn son of Pharaoh, it was a frontal assault on which God or gods were stronger. At the heart of Moses cry to Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”, was a cry to go and worship. God got the final victory when the Red Sea swallowed Pharaoh and his army. (See Anchor Bible Dictionary, “Egypt, Plagues In”).
The gods of Egypt and Pharaoh were not equal to our God. How about today? What are we chasing after for meaning and fulfillment? Money? You can lose it or spend it but it will not bring fulfillment? Relationships? We are broken people and cannot truly satisfy every need.
The good thing about this season is that it has stripped away many of our gods and left us open and raw to our need for the one true God.
In every era, people are looking for leaders to guide them. Some people look to kings or presidents. Others to local leaders or representatives. I want to affirm to you today, that God is the great king. The one who is above all. He is source of truth. He is above all gods. He is great and He is full of grace.
Second, we praise God for His grace (Psalm 113.6-9).
The Lord Stoops Down. In Psalm 113.6, we read, “who looks far down.” The word for far down could mean stoops low or humbles. It could mean that the Lord looks to the humble, but it may be a better reading that the Lord stoops down to look. The Lord comes down from on high.
The final part of the answer of who is like the Lord is that the Lord is above and and comes down. This answer is literally fulfilled in Jesus Christ where he did not consider equality with God something to be held onto, but emptied himself and became a man (Philippians 2.6-7). In Jesus, God stooped down to lift up His people.
On the same evening that Jesus would have prayed this Psalm, Psalm 113. The evening meal was in progress, so Jesus probably already had prayed Psalm 113. Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer robe, and wrapped a towel around His waist. Then, he stooped down to wash His disciples’ feet. We call that grace.
Evelyn Underhill wrote in The Spiritual Life, “When God comes to us, He comes with His work clothes on and His tools in hand.”
Then, in Psalm 113.7-9 we see two examples of how God’s grace changes challenging circumstances. First, he seats the poor with princes. Second, he gives the barren woman a family.
In Psalm 113.7-8, we see the great reversal of God lifting up the poor and need from the dust and ashes. In fact, some of the translations describe the ash heap as dung. This is the lowest of the low.
Job compares his life as cast down in the mire and like dust and ashes (Job 30.19). This past Wednesday, Christians around the world began the season of Lent. The first day of Lent is called “Ash Wednesday.” It is a day to grieve over our sin. People receive the sign of the cross on their forehead with a mixture of oil and ashes.
In the newer version of the movie, The Magnificent Seven, Ethan Hawke’s character, Goodnight Robicheaux, the ex-Confederate soldier, speaks to Denzil Washington’s character, Sam Chisholm. Goodnight knows that the odds are stacked against them in the morning when they will be attacked. He’s struggling from memories (think PTSD) from the Civil War. Goodnight is preparing to leave. Sam Chisholm seeks to console him by reminding him that the war is over and that he needs him to stay. Then Sam Chisholm says to Goodnight, “What we lose in the fire we’ll find in the ashes.”
Hannah was a woman who desperately wanted children. She poured out her heart to God. She prayed so hard at church one day that the priest thought she was drunk. But God enabled Hannah and her husband to conceive and have a son. Her story is recorded in the Bible in 1 Samuel. Listen to her prayer as she responded to God’s gift.
He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.
Hannah recognized God’s power to raise people up and sit them with royalty. We are talking about the kingdom in our Core 52 this week. As members of God’s family, we are children of the King.
Our Core 52 verse for this week is 2 Samuel 7.12. It is God speaking to David about the future of David’s kingdom. Listen to 2 Samuel 7.12 and then 2 Samuel 7.16 that further describes this kingdom.
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
Jesus is the one who would come in David’s family to reign as king.
Our king stooped down to meet us in our dust and ashes and seat us with Him in His kingdom. A kingdom that we join now and for eternity.
The second example of God’s grace is in Psalm 113.9. Not only are God’s people royalty, but they are family.
He gives the barren woman a home. I always wrestle with passages like these. I think about the couples who desperately want children and for some reason, they are unable to conceive. What do we do with passages like these?
The Bible is filled with women who were unable to bear children, and then God intervened. Women like Sarai in her old age, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mom—the wife of Manoah, and Hannah. In fact, as we heard earlier Hannah’s prayer to God in 1 Samuel 2 sounds similar to Psalm 113.
I can remember serving in Indonesia on a short term trip with our mission partners. After church service, they leader invited our group to meet and pray with this young couple who wanted to have a child and were unable. We prayed and I’m sure the words were translated into their native language. But I needed know translation to know what she was feeling. As we prayed, tears ran down her face. I always wondered if God answered that prayer and the prayers that she and her husband prayed. Whether God’s answered our prayers, I can tell you that she and her husband did have a family. They were members of the body of Christ, the kingdom of God, that praises God from the East in Indonesia to the West in New Berlin, IL.
In Psalm 113, we find, the Lord comes down to lift up His people from life’s lowest valleys.
That is true for the couple wondering if God will ever answer their prayers to the those who are still looking for work. God stooped down in Jesus to rescue us in our ashes and dust and emptiness to seat us with Him in His kingdom.
What do you say in response to that? Hallelujah!
5 Day Devotional Guide on
Dominant Thought: The Lord comes down to lift up His people from life’s lowest valleys.
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 113
Day 2: 1 Samuel 2.1-10
Day 3: Luke 1.46-55
Day 4: John 13.1-17
Day 5: Philippians 2.5-11
