HIS IS THE GLORY
Psalm 115: 1-18
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Ever since the tower of Babel was raised, men have desired to raise a name for themselves. Recently I boasted unwisely at school that I would be teaching on the world wide web a hundred years after our buildings there had fallen in! Later in the week I saw an advertisement for a fictional book about solar flares that could decimate the electronic and electrical age in which we live. I realized yet once how transitory is the power and might of mankind. Even the lowly electron is dependent upon the providence of our Creator who allows us to use the technology upon which we have become totally dependent. And all it would take would be a solar event which occurs naturally every other century, to put our realized technology back seventy-five years or more.
Well might this psalm be appropriate for our day and age. The public attitude towards the power and wisdom of God certainly mirrors the reaction of the heathen nations in verse two of our psalm today. "Where is their God?" the doubters scoff as they remove the study and knowledge of our Father from public debate and witness! More than that, public funds have been used for unmentionable "art" projects which not only break the bounds of good taste but actually blaspheme the atoning sacrifice of our Christ.
In addition evangelical Christians are being denied public office as a matter of form. Senator Ted Kennedy once successfully opposed the appointment of a federal judge who had been a moderator of our own denomination. As we consider the growing influence of the ungodly pagans in our time we must realize that their hostility is directed primarily at our God. However, since we are active witnesses for our Lord, the hostility of the pagans will generally fall upon members of Christ's visible Church. The pagans detest not the saints themselves but He who causes our sanctification. Therefore it is necessary that we learn the proper prayerful attitude to take in the face of such opposition. This lesson, our psalmist is prepared to teach us, if we will but listen.
This one hundred and fifteenth psalm may be divided into five unequal portions. The first portion in verses one and two is an entreaty for God to vindicate his own honor. The second portion is a contemptuous description of false gods and their worshippers in verses three to eight. The Third portion in verses nine to fifteen contains an exhortation to the faithful to trust in God and to expect great blessings from him. Verse sixteen is an explanation of God's relationship to their present condition. The psalm is completed with a reminder that, not the dead, but the living must continually praise God here below!
Verse one sets the tone for our study this morning. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us" the psalmist instructs us. From these words we are to remember that it is not our battle that is ongoing in the universe. We are servants and not the Lord Himself. Our ultimate concern in ongoing earthly conflicts must not be for our own well being. Instead our psalmist shows us that the proper focus should be upon the glory due His name because of His love and faithfulness
We who have known and experienced that love and faithfulness find it difficult to understand how and why the nations should doubt the existence of our great Father God and King. And yet, the worldly do ask and do deny His existence and particularly His rule. These pagan emotions our psalmist would have us know are idle speculation. The worldly materialists will worship only things that they can sense. And while modern idols are different from the pagan gods and goddesses of ancient times, there is still a materialistic commitment which opposes the reign of our God.
Even so, our psalmist reminds us that our God is in heaven. Not only that, "he does whatever pleases him". By this assertion we may know that our God may accomplish whatsoever He pleases. And that He has been doing from the beginning of time. This fact sets our God apart from all material idols as our psalmist well observes in the next few verses. The idols of the pagans have carved representations of humanity and yet our psalmist rightly observes the complete and utter failure of materialistic dieties to accomplish anything at all. Not only are these idols absolutely useless, there is in verse eight a condemnation of those who worship them. From that assertion, the psalmist exhorts those belong to the Lord to trust in Him. The exhortation is threefold. The people, the priests and all together in verse eleven are exhorted to trust in Him who is their help and their shield. Our psalmist reminds us that not only does the Lord remember His own, but He also blesses all who fear the Lord.
In verses fourteen and fifteen our psalmist invokes God's blessing upon us who hear his witness these many centuries later.
"May the Lord make you increase, both you and your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
In verse sixteen our psalmist again asserts that this blessing is not in vain. After all, "the highest heavens belong to the Lord". It is our privilege to serve Him while we are on earth. This thought is much on the mind of our psalmist as he comes to the close of this precious psalm. He well notes that it is not the dead who praise the Lord, instead it is the responsibility of those who are living. "It is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore." Thus we see, even in spite of worldly opposition, we who belong to our God must publicly proclaim our witness. And that witness is to affirm the Hallelujah at the end of this psalm. Praise the Lord. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Anderson, A.A. |
The New Century Bible Commentary: Psalms 73-150. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. | |
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The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society (1973, 1978, 1984) | ||
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Psm 115a |
21 Apritl 91 & 28 September 97 | |