Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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The remnant returned to rebuild Jerusalem, and were met with scoffing and attacks.
But they wanted to declare their victory before their heathen neighbors and give God the praise because the Lord had granted this victory to them.
Where is your god, their neighbors would have asked if they had visited the exiles who had returned and seen their restored temple.
Both the temple and the city were empty of idols.
(See Acts 17:16 for contrast.)
The question allowed the Jews a chance to compare the true and living God of Israel with the false gods of their neighbors.
This psalm was composed as a litany, with verse 1 serving as the leader.
The people then responded in verses 2–8, the choir in verses 9–11, and the people again in verses 12–13.
The priests or the choir spoke in verses 14–15, and the people closed the litany in verses 16–18.
It's possible that the psalm was sung during the second temple's dedication (Ezra 6:16).
It describes not just the location of the God of Israel but also the characteristics of that God.
I.
The Reigning God
(vv.
1–3)
The God of Israel is not present, they think.
But, He is the omnipotent God of the universe, ruling from His glorious seat in heaven.
His reign is based on love and faithfulness (mercy and truth), which serves as a reminder of His covenant with Israel.
Deuteronomy 7:7–11 explains that He chose them out of love and made a covenant with them that He faithfully upheld.
All of God’s people can shout as they will in Rev. 19:6 “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
II.
The Living God
(vv.
4–8)
Idolatry had always been Israel's most common and costly sin, and despite the prophets' mockery of these man-made gods and the Lord's frequent chastisement of Israel, the people persisted in breaking God's laws.
Israel did not appear to have learned its lesson until Babylon captured the people after destroying Jerusalem and the temple.
Two or three generations of Jews witnessed idolatry and the society it produced firsthand in the great city of Babylon.
This healed them.
They needed to remember that they were servants of the living God, and the church today needs to remember this as well.
Because God is a Spirit with no physical body, when theologians speak of His eyes, ears, hands, and feet, for example, they are using what theologians call "anthropomorphisms."
(anthropo= human; morphos = form, shape).
This is a literary method in which human features are used to describe divine characteristics.
God uses the familiar to teach us about the unfamiliar and unknowable.
Because the dead idols lacked the attributes of the living God, they couldn't perform good or evil, but people still worshiped them!
They lack the ability to communicate to their people, make vows, make pledges, provide counsel, or encourage them.
Our God communicates with us!
No eyes—They offer their followers no protection or oversight.
Our God’s eyes are upon us (Ps.
32:8; 1 Peter 3:12) and we can trust Him.
No ears—No matter how much the idolaters pray, their gods cannot hear them!
Remember Elijah on Mt.
Carmel (1 Kings 18:20ff.).
Our God’s eyes are upon us and His ears open to our cries (Ps.
34:15).
No noses—This speaks of God receiving our worship (Gen.
8:21) and being pleased with what we bring Him.
No hands—The workers whose hands made the idols have more power than the idols they call “gods.”
Our God is able to work for us as we seek to serve Him.
His fingers made the universe (Ps.
8:3)
and His arm brought salvation
No feet—The people had to carry their idols
but our God carries us and walks with us.
(See Isa.
41:10, 13.)
The greatest tragedy, though, is not what the idols can't do, but what they can do to those who worship them.
We transform into the God we worship.
As we worship the genuine and living God, He opens our ears to hear His truth as well as to hear the cries of others in need.
He provides us eyes to see His Word, His world, and the path He desires for us to take.
Our “spiritual senses” develop and we become more mature in Jesus Christ.
But those who worship false gods lose the use of their spiritual senses and become blind to the light and deaf to God’s voice.
III.
The Giving God
(vv.
9–15)
“Trust the Lord and He will give His blessing” is the theme of this section, and how the discouraged remnant needed that assurance!
They needed His blessing on their crops, and they wanted their number to increase (v.
14).
Of course, the Lord had stated this in His covenant with Israel, and all they needed was His reminder.
In verses 11 and 13, “those who fear God” were not the Gentile “God fearers” that we meet in the New Testament, but the devoted Jewish believers in the nation of Israel .
God had been Abraham’s “help and shield” (Gen.
15:1),
and He will also protect us and provide for us (Psalm 3:3; 28:7; 33:20
Because Jehovah God is the “Maker of heaven and earth” v15
we should worship Him and not what He has created or what we manufacture ourselves.
IV.
The Worthy God
Who Deserves Our Praise
(vv.
16–18)
The word “bless” is used five times in verses 12–15, and we cannot live without His blessing, but it is also good for us to bless the Lord (v.
18).
To “bless the Lord” means to ascribe all glory and praise to Him, to delight His heart with our joyful and willing thanksgiving and obedience.
(Psalm 16:7; 26:12; 34:1; 100:4; 103:1; 134:2.)
Men and women were given the planet by God which He created in order to provide for their needs and give them work to do while cooperating with Him in the growth of plentiful resources.
The people who worship dead idols are dead already, but we are alive in Jesus Christ and ought to praise the Lord!
After all, if we expect to praise Him forevermore, we had better start now and be ready when we see Him!
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