Sermon – Psalm 147 - Blessed by God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 147 - Blessed by God

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

February 5, 2012

Since the Feast of Epiphany, on January 6, we have learned a lot about God. We are to praise God, the creator of the world. We are to worship God, who has all power in heaven and on earth. We are to pray to God, who knows each of us individually and listens to our prayers. We are to trust that this God is present in our world even if we sometimes lack the ability to see him. Today we will see what we can do to be able to perceive God's presence with us. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 147 was written for the returning exiles coming home after their captivity in Babylon. When they arrived in Jerusalem they saw the ruins of their once great city that they had left decades before. And so when the priests assembled them together for worship and called out “Praise the LORD” they had to wonder what they were praising God for. Of course they knew that it was “good to sing praises to our God.” They remembered that praise is pleasant to do and certainly fitting for the LORD, their God. But it had to be difficult to praise God after all they had been through.

We experience this as well. We come to church each week and sing praises to God. But sometimes we wonder why we should praise him. Maybe our difficulty arises from a relationship problem. Maybe the problem is economic or health related. Maybe the problem effects you or a loved one. Whatever it is we sometimes experience problems and find it hard to praise God. Now think of what it must have been like for the returning exiles seeing their homes and businesses destroyed and their fields choked by weeds. Praising God had to be the furthest thing from their minds.

After a while, the exiles learned that God was there with them as they gathered the stones they needed to rebuild their homes and city. They also saw God as their friends and families began return from exile. As families were reconciled, God was seen in the mending of long broken hearts. At night God was seen in the countless stars of the sky. As the rebuilt city took form they marveled at the great power of God who could take a humble people, defeated in battle, living in exile and use them to do such marvelous things. So gradually they picked up their musical instruments and began singing praises to God.

That's what happens to us. When tragedy befalls us in any way we just keep going trusting that God is out there somewhere. We live our lives each day doing the normal things we do. And eventually we realize that God had been there all along to comfort us and guide us and give us strength. And when we realize that God is there we too are ready to begin praising God once again in thanksgiving for all the blessing we have received.

As days turned into weeks and months the people who had returned to rebuild Jerusalem became concerned about food. Their farms had been destroyed by the Babylonians. What would they do when they ran out of the food they had brought with them from exile? How would they survive the long winter? What would they eat without a harvest? They worried about their future, and this worry made it difficult for them to praise God.

Worrying about the future is possibly the biggest problem in America today, We worry about the economy. We worry about jobs. We worry about taxes and debt. We worry about our savings and pensions. Will we have enough to live on when we retire? Can I afford to live in this house if my spouse dies? What will happen if I become sick and can't work. For decades we have looked to government to provide us with a safety net. But with the government now burdened by high debt our anxiety grows. Politicians feed this anxiety to get elected. Radio and TV commentators feed this anxiety for ratings. And so our fears and worries about the future grow.

The exiles worried about their immediate future until they saw God in the clouds above and felt the gentle rain. They saw God in the grass growing on the hillsides. They saw God in the sheep, which had been left on their own, but now had plenty to eat. They saw God in their land flowing with milk and honey. And they realized that there was no need to worry about the future because God was there and God could be depended on. God's love is faithful. God will never default. God will never decline in value. You will never lose God.

With a God like this who brought the exiles home, healed their spirits, and fed them good food, what was there to fear? Having God with them should have been enough. But the people returning from exile had lots to be afraid of. Their city had no wall. They had no army for protection. They would be defenseless if anyone attacked. And so they were very afraid.

Of course we have our fears too. We fear crime in the streets. We fear mobs in our cities. We fear government regulation out of control. We have thought that our police and army would protect us. But now we are not so sure. We see evil each night on the news and we are afraid for our families.

The returning exiles knew that God was with them. They knew that God would protect them from all evil. So they held their God in great awe and reverence, remembering his unfailing love. They rested in the assurance that their God was a God of peace who would protect them and see that they had shelter, food and water. And they were blessed with God's commandments which guided them in being blessings for others and helped them live together in peace. The next winter they saw God in the snow, frost, hail and wind. And they saw God in the streams of melting snow and the cool breeze of spring. And they were comforted by God's presence knowing that whatever happens God would be with them.

The people who returned to a pile of rubble saw God because they had been immersed in God's word while in exile. By reading the scriptures of old they realized that their God was faithful. They knew of God's promises. They knew that God's love was unfailing. So when they arrived in Jerusalem they could see God all around, and knew how much they had been blessed. One of them wrote a poem and said this.

Psalm 147:1-20 ^NIV Psalm 147:1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! ² The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. ³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴ He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. ⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. ⁶ The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. ⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. ⁸ He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. ⁹ He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. ¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; ¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. ¹² Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, ¹³ for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. ¹⁴ He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. ¹⁵ He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. ¹⁶ He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. ¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? ¹⁸ He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. ¹⁹ He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. ²⁰ He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD.

Five hundred years later the people of God in Jerusalem were again fearful. They lived under an uneasy occupation and knew that the Roman Legions were powerful enough to destroy their city just as the Babylonians had once done to their ancestors. They worried about their futures. They were finding it hard to praise God. So God sent a teacher to help them understand their holy scriptures and learn more about their God. This teacher taught in synagogues, to small groups and to large crowds. He reawakened their faith and helped them to recognize God at work in their world. Though Jesus people began to see God once again in his healing and casting out demons. They began to trust God again. They began looking for God in the world. And they began to praise him.

They realized that in Jesus an epiphany had occurred. An epiphany is a sudden appearance of God. Though Jesus' healing and casting out demons the people realized that God had come. This led to a time of great rejoicing. Hugh crowds formed just to hear him speak. Their worries went away. Their fears abated. They saw God at work in the world, and realized that God was with them no matter what.

One of the great blessings that Jesus left behind for us is his Word. Through the Bible we hear the stories our faithful God. We learn his commands. We learn about Jesus and what he did and said. And through this we realize that God is always with us. We learn that God is faithful and his love will never go away. We learn that he gives us food to eat and healing for our bodies and spirits. So I urge you to hear this Bible proclaimed each Sunday, study it as much as you can, meditate on it every day and you too will see God in the world, and realize that he is always with you. And this will lead us to praising God.

The other great blessing that Jesus left behind was this table. At this table we remember that God is with us today. We see God in the breaking of the bread and the juice. As we eat we feel God's presence in us and working through us. We lift up our hearts to heaven to be in the presence of God as Jesus serves this meal to us. In sacrament and Word we are with God. This is our great blessing. So rejoice and praise God.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for bringing us around this table in the presence of God. Through this bread and juice help us to remember that God is always with us. Therefore we have nothing to fear. Praise be God. Amen.