Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We have been spending our Summer in the Psalms, and we have a few more weeks left of Summer.

Yes, it is August, and after Family Camp it always feels like Summer is basically over, but we will continue to enjoy the Psalms.

I read a few verses of our Psalm for today at the beginning of our worship this morning.

At times, this Psalm has been used as a way to engender and build patriotism - to say “God Bless America,” but the USA, as much as we love it is not the chosen people of God.

In fact, today, I believe that the chosen people of God are not a physical country with political borders.

The Kingdom of God is present wherever the people of God are gathered, no matter where on earth they may be.

God is our king, and we worship only Him this morning, because only He is worthy of worship.

I.

The role of a king: Kings come to power in different ways, and in our day, not many true kings that have all the political power and clout exist like they once did.

The power and the title is often handed down through bloodlines.

Even today there is talk about how the succession will work when Queen Elizabeth passes, even though the monarch in England doesn’t really have the power that they once did.

II.

The nature of a kingdom: The place where the king rules, the king provides and protects his people and his kingdom, the King is the defender and ruler over his people.

Body

I. Basic Background

A. This psalm moves from past, into the present and looks finally to the future.

And through it all - no matter what has happened or what may yet happen, God - our king, is always on the throne.

Every generation has reason for praising God for all that He does.

B. Situation: The author of this psalm is unknown, although there is some speculation that it may be David.

As you know, King David wrote many of the Psalms.

The situation of the writing is ambiguous, but clearly this is a song that was used in worship as the people of God gathered.

II.

Song of Praise

A. Giving praise to God is one of my favorite things to do.

We can do that in many different ways.

Just yesterday morning, I went out on our deck with a cup of coffee and watched the beautiful sunrise, and all of the struggles and problems of this life seemed so small in comparison to the God who created that sunrise - and I just sat there in awe and praise of our God.

We can praise God through prayer and contemplation, we can praise Him with the words of our mouths and the actions of our lives.

One of the church’s favorite ways to praise Him, though, is through singing.

Praise brings the presence of heaven down to earth.

David says in Psalm 22:3

One way to translate that is to say He inhabits or dwells in the praises of His people.

When we praise Him, the glory of God comes down and fills this place.

B. New experiences are reason for praise: God gives us new experiences in life, He is the reason that we live and that we have an abundance of life, every new experience that we have blends in to the tapestry of life, these are gifts from God.

III.

Perfection of God

A. The nature of God: The very nature of God is reason for praise, God is fully perfect and holy - and He is wholly other than humanity, and yet, He desires to have an intimate relationship with us.

We can be friends of God - and when I think about that, it just blows my mind.

The whole nature of God is perfect, only God is perfect and He sets the standard for the whole universe, God is faithful to all of His people

B. God is perfect in love: God loves His people fully and completely.

He loves unconditionally, and He loves even when His love is not returned.

And the love of God that we receive is the love of God that we, His people are to extend to those around us.

We are here to love like Jesus!

IV.

God is creator and Ruler

A. God is the creator of the universe: Nothing makes us feel more small than considering the massiveness of the universe that God has created.

These last several months, we have been blessed to experience some of the incredible pictures that have been shared from the Webb telescope.

These pictures tell the story of a creation that is greater than we could have imagined just a few years ago.

And yet, He is not just a distant and uninvolved creator, He is with us - present and closer than any human can be.

B. God is the ruler: God sits on the throne of heaven and He is the great King, yet, He is enthroned on our praises.

He is a ruler full of compassion, love, and mercy for His kingdom.

V. God and humanity

A. God works in and God works through His people.

He uses us to help change the world.

He chose the people of Israel as His chosen nation, but followers of Christ today are His chosen people.

When the Psalmist speaks of a nation, Christ followers from around the world are that chosen nation no matter where we may find ourselves living physically.

B. God sees the activity of the earth - He is not so aloof that He does not involve Himself in life - He is active and guides His people in all they should do.

He is our strength and our shield, our provider and our comfort.

VI.