Hope Continually, Praise Yet More!
Notes
Transcript
Dear Ann, Kim & Todd, Kevin & Anne, Darryl & Kelly - grand children ,family friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,
There is something so holy about life - you felt it. First breath - of a new born baby - - breathe of life, the breath of God who sustains life. And last breath, how precious that memory - yes struggle - but Ann you described that holy moment, - Go John, release - go to your Saviour - And not in defeat but in peace he took leave from us from you for awhile and let go. But this Psalm that you read with him in his last days, speaks like the great poem read at funeral the Dash - what counts is not how long or short, how much we own, and we always wish more made to live not die, but what counts is not the dates but the Dash - the living in the middle. How we spend our dash, counts forever!
And you probably heard that word - Continually - 3x, all the day & from my youth 3x. This Psalm, and our brother John’s life speak powerfully of living by true hope in God in the dash. But his life now that he has passed from into life, now like this Psalm also speaks of another time - one that often filled his lungs while on earth - I am talking about the end of v.20 and 21: Psalm 71:20-21
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.
The Psalmist, the nation of Israel in the OT, from the grave, form the depths of the earth - experience foreshadow of what Christ did in his life and death - resurrection. And now John’s life now with the Lord, Christ having taken the poison of death for him, John raised up with Christ more fully, now this Psalm and John’s life after life - call us to contemplate not only the dash and living by hope in that dash; but beyond the dates, and beyond the dash the realization of the Christian hope, even life eternal with the Lord and His people in the Kingdom of Light!
Key Truth: Those whose hope is continually in the Lord during the dash, will praise yet more and more after it!
It is quite an awesome thing -to survey a person’s whole life - no matter how good or famous, how bad or forgotten - significant story - story communicates where did this person run to in the trails of life, what where they running after in life, what where they running from. And how can you tell that about a person - what is a persons mouth full of -
I met John first at hockey rink, never seemed to have a lack of words, either cheering, ;maybe ref, no loss of words for his grand children, afterword in friendly greeting with Ann. In serving with John very passionate well thought out words about a course of action. In passing conversation interesting stories of work, leadership points of view of government. But listen that’s not when his and mind were gushing with words - when he sang and when from time to time respond to God's Word - deep truths of justice and mercy God’s wrath absorbed by the precious Lord Jesus Christ - truths of forgiveness - and when he would sing those in his deep strong voice - My mother used to repeated Jesus words to me often in my teen years - my mouth just gushed basketball, And she would say to me Out of the overflow of the mouth the heart speaks! Ann you know what gushed out of John’s heart, what you’d sing in the car together. You who have sung with John - you know what lived in his heart. Hope not in signing - but hope in the Lord to whom He communed with in that singing.
A. What We Hope In is our Refuge
I only knew John to have a loss of words once - what stopped the gush of his own voice. In circle just weeks before he contracted Covid.... asked each council member how are you doing how been coping - openly shared how hard loosing dear friend, and dear cousin in Holland, speak to widows almost daily.
And this is the where the refuge and the continually part comes in. When the brokenness and evil and death in this world - lay us low - speechless, when dark clouds block out light of Lord in our souls -
Like the disciples and Peter speaking for them, you going to leave me, in this world To whom else can we go for you have the words of everlasting life! Psalm 71:3
Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
The Psalmist looks at the worst that this world can throw at him, he looks even at the grave - he looks at the worst enemies that have turned his earthly glory to shame - And he says, I didn’t just receive life from you God, I didn’t just trust in you once - know you are the God who is as near as my voiceless groan and cry - . You are the Rock that is higher than all. I continually come in faith and hope to you!
And what was that continual hope based on for John? Like the Psalmist look at it in v.15 and then v.16 Why hope continually even when body failing in either old age like the psalmist and earthly glory unraveling, why hope in God when Covid laying us low? Psalm 71:16
With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
John says the family with a knowing smile, never approached his Lord as saint the way the world thinks of saints. He knew his sin and his flaws and there was no holy roller pretentiousness about him. I never knew John to boast as if his acts and deeds, and there where many of them - And it is good to give thank for them.
John was not one who worked hard and worshipped hard and made a commitment in his youth, only then like a big tall tree in his older age - just consumed grace from God and inspiration from church - and was a net-taker, not a giver. That would be a tree that towers but eventually just rots from the inside. But in the dash, and to the end - He bore fruit for the Lord and for Lord’s people! We’ll sing that song that Ann and Him in their 50s contemplating missionary service - Here I am, Lord. But don’t think for a moment that John ever turned to God - on the record of his own deeds, or shrank away from living in fellowship with God because of his sins!
We sing a song here often around Easter. Its number 400 and every time you jump on that 400, think of John, John and Ann singing: and look at 400’s words: Our work faileth, Christ's availeth; he is all our righteousness. He, our Savior, has forever set us free from dire distress. Through his merit we inherit light and peace and happiness. 400 Praise the Saviour Now and Ever. John’s religion was not about all the rules though you may have thought him strict. It was about the gospel: Christ fulfilling righteousness for you and me. Christ dying n our place. Christ rising and breathing his Spirit upon us - so that as we live by faith and repentance we - can live life even through the struggle flying with God, protected with Him as our Refuge!
One of the greatest joys of John’s life was to look back towards the end of life - and say I taught I reminded them of that Righteousness of Your God in Christ - catechism of countless teens. Lenn Noordegraaf - recent birthday party - thank you for teaching me the faith.
Look at verse Psalm 71:17
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
One who continually hopes in the LORD, is continually taught - and continually shares those great realities of God's wondrous deeds!
But that brings us to the conclusion of the Psalm, this second half, yes God will be refuge to us in life all the way through the death, right to gray hairs, even when life gets so tough in this broken world. What can we know by faith about those whom though they too must pass through grief and death itself, when they have made God in Christ Jesus there refuge and all their righteousness!?
B. When the Christian Hope has been Realized, Life will be praise yet more and more!
And the Word of God puts a question at the very center of his Word to us this day. Psalm 71:19
Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
Why the question? Because in the psalmists present experience on a broken earth, even in his family relationships - he sees that his righteousness faileth, his work can’t see him through this time. The Psalmist has no bragging in himself or in this world. He has only praise for God and God’s wondrous saving deeds!
There is God who reigns in heaven and on the earth - and in Jesus Christ His great works of righteousness, of salvation, justifying you and also sanctifying you - His righteousness will not fail. Question we all ought to ask ourselves at a Christian funeral - what does my life , his life, our lives amount to, will death finish them all, will our faulty righteousness stand before a holy God - will I?
Look at the answer: Psalm 71:20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
You and I don’t need to pretend that COVID and death - and the real troubles we face in life don’t hurt. The Lord says to his people in all your affliction, I was afflicted, He says He records our tears as in a bottle. Lord knows these troubles and calamities - in Christ carried them especially death - shows us neither suffering, nor evil is ultimate for His children of faith. God knows it, God ultimately over-rules it in our lives. And so as with Christ, - evil did its worse , God raised Him from the cross of curse, death, - and there is the promise realized in completeness: revived again, from the depths of the earth the grace.
We will live again, He will bring me up again. It’s not life after death, really for us, but life after life! We go to Christ our head. To the saints in light. We go to a fellowship so out of this world, and yet our very bodies, as it were re-constituted from the dust of the earth or sea … raised up and not some ethereal spirit heaven - but new heavens and new earth - raised up bodily with Christ.
And then look what the Psalmist says to us: Psalm 71:21
You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.
I can’t help but think of Ann and John’s wedding text. About welcoming Jesus into their new home. Words of Jesus about Zacheus - today salvation has come to this house. Provocative, but also subject to making that connection that John like Zacheus - I wouldn’t say wee little man. But short in stature. And the great truth of Resurrection is that those whose hope is not in this world, but is in the Christ in heaven, those who have the anchor of their life fixed in the Person of Christ representing us in heaven, having fulness of perfected and Resurrection life that He shares with us now from there. It is like ancient mariner’s anchor pull us in, through the dangerous rocks, safely to port - cargo intact, hull undamaged. And when we get to that shore in Christ
All that sin and weakness, and limitation that clinged to us battle against on earth - picture it as we pass from this life to the next - shrinking shrinking gone! At arrival on the other-side of the shore - our statue our greatness - all that God blessed us in our uniqueness to be to shine for God and to benefit those around us - perfected! And look what else will increase - in this life for God’s people no matter how much comfort you get in the Lord, always mixed with shadow of sorrow, veil of tears. But there on that other shore - on the other side of the vale - when we have known not only the comfort of belong to JESUS IN LIFE, BUT IN DEATH even as we experience in part on threshold of death now, then that comfort of belonging to Jesus will increase with no measure. And watch it the death, the sin, the hard times - shrink away into nothing, just a distant memory if that, even death - completely undone, every tear wiped - yes this is the heritage and the comfort and greatness of those who die in the LORD.
And what do you think will be one the greatest skills to increase, not only in John but in God’s people? Psalm 71:22
I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
That’s what our text means: I will hope continually in you.. live with my strength to get even through death in you Lord Jesus, and then the result - I will yet praise you more and more. There will be no end to experiencing that faithfulness of God’s fulfilling all His good plain for us, perfect in heaven, bring us to new heaven and new earth. And as we experience that fullness of life - we will not only sing but be more fully than we can imagine in our working playing, worshipping our friend-ing … this life and more to the full - trumpet goodness of the LORD
That’s what that praise is - you experience the reality of life with God - and you sing it out with your life! Let me illustrate. How would John react to this picture - interesting look at it from the outside, well done , but I know I don’t participate in that coolness that the artist Ken Danby was portraying, and in a sense praising.
But look at this other Ken Danby painting - how would John van Shubert react to this picture - he’s lived inside of it - millisecond of the release of that shot - attentiveness - the rush of Adrenalin - picture himself butterfly save - well that what the praise of God’s people and John praise in heaven like - experience all these promises fulness, from within - recount your faithfulness enjoy this more and more! Do you get that the same way John could experience the goaliness of that picture stand in awe praise, it.
But goaliness was not John’s big deal, not his security or hope - It was His great God and that salvation that life to the full in the Lord. REDEMPTION … Can’t show you a picture - no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has entered into the imagination - what God has prepared for those who love Him. And in heaven experiencing the fulness of life in God - participating it - we’ll appreciate that from God - we’ll live it out - and it will be a praise to God! And we will do that together!
My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.
Someone pictured it this way: “when I see you again on the gold street, I always knew you could be like this, saw flashes and glimpses before, but seemed like a distant dream, when walk through door… … so we wait for now, till the day has arrived … won’t be long, WE WILL HAVE TIME … leave behind, so much left to say … but with forever there is another day! Not sure what it means, but I now that it will be better than we ever dreamed! This is our great Christian hope - in which we live continually - together, with the Lord, a universe of love and praise! Amen!
Here I am Lord