Sermon – Psalm 146 – God Remains Faithful Forever

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 146 – God Remains Faithful Forever

December 11, 2016

           

            We turn again today to the Psalm of Advent.  On the first Sunday of Advent we rejoiced with the psalmist as she found that the people of God lived together in peace and harmony.  Then on the second Sunday of Advent we heard God's command to the king and his people to care for the poor with justice and righteousness.  Today we look at the most important thing we do as God's people.  We praise God.  We will get to this, 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 146:1-10  NIV Psalm 146:1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.  2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,  6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever.  7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,  8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.  9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.

            Psalm 146 begins with the Hebrew word Hallelujah.   Hallelu means to praise someone or something.  Jah stands for Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.  So we sing in English, “praise the Lord”, or in Hebrew hallelujah.  In worship we sing praises to God.

            The psalmist teaches us that praising God is a life long activity.  We praise God from the moment of birth until we die.  We do this because we were created to sing praises to God.  And we are engaging in praise whenever we are doing what God has created us to do. 

            All too often though we praise something other than God.  The psalmist says that we sometime praise “princes”.  This would be our political leaders and government.  We praise government whenever we believe that government will ultimately save us.  If we lose our jobs government will will care for us with unemployment checks.  If we lose our health and have no insurance government will give us the health care we need.  If we lose our homes and churches in a storm government will be there to help us rebuild.  If our parents are getting old and can no longer live in their homes, government will help them get into a nursing home.  Government is very seductive.  It will offer us what we need, but it will demand our praises.  And so we are greatly tempted to sing praises to and worship our government.

            But the psalmist points out that all princes and governments are mortal.  They will not go on forever.  And if history is a guide, the moment you need government the most it will not be there for you.  Government, like any human institution is stained by sin.  And so you should expect corruption.  And if government is corrupt then it cannot save you.  So don't sing its praises, don't worship it. 

            So if we should not be praising government, whom should we praise, and why?  The psalmist reminds us that the only object of our worship should be the Lord, God of Jacob.  But why?  The psalmist gives us two reasons.  First, the Lord is the creator of everyone and everything.  Therefore God is our creator.  And as creatures of that God we were created to worship him.  Singing praises to God is as natural to us as breathing and eating.  It takes enormous amounts of evil to keep us from worshiping.  The second reason we are to worship God is that he is faithful.  God did not create us and then leave us.  God is with us still, guiding, nurturing and protecting us.  And this God is faithful.  Unlike government He will always be there when we need him.  So when you need help turn to God and rest in His faithfulness.

            So how do we know that God is faithful?  What evidence is there that God cares for us and will never leave us alone?  Let's look at some of the evidence we have.

            Shakeela Bibi attends a small Presbyterian church in Pakistan.  Recently while preparing bread for a Bible study she heard a commotion in the street.  A group of boys with sticks was heading to the church.  She ran to the church to warn those inside of the coming mob.  This angered the mob.  She was beaten and shot.  Shakeel Bibi is a Christian martyr.   The psalmist said, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed.” http://www.opendoorsusa.org/persecution/christian-martyrs-stories/shakeela-bibi

            Lemi is a four year old girl living in Tanzania.  In Tanzania 46% of the population is malnourished.  Her grandmother became concerned as Lemi became thinner and thinner.   World Vision came to Lemi's village with a plan.  The rice farmers were organized into a group and are now able to get higher prices for their crops.  As a result Lemi now eats “rice, banana, milk, beans, fish, meat, and vegetables”, and is now getting fat.  The psalmist said, “(He) gives food to the hungry”. http://blog.worldvision.org/stories/reclaiming-the-garden-of-eden/

            In 2010 Jeremiah Zigwa found out that he had HIV/AIDS.  Shortly thereafter his wife died in childbirth leaving him to take care of his eight children alone.  Jeremiah had no idea of what to do, and seriously considered suicide.  He reached out to community based Christian counseling organization for help.  They got him the medicine he needed.  And Christians provided for him ten chickens so he could start an egg business.   Jeremiah was also given a couple of pigs, but found them too difficult to care for.  So he sold the pigs, and some piglets and bought a young cow and bull.  He now raises cattle, chickens and ducks.  The psalmist told us, “The LORD sets prisoners free,  the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.” http://blog.worldvision.org/stories/jeremiah-dares-to-dream/

            Ferdoz lives in a tent in Lebanon.  She left her home in Syria with her five children to escape the violence of the civil war.  Her rent is $330 a year, which she cannot afford.  She owes $200 for plastic sheeting for the tent and another $40 to local shop keepers for food.  Dia is the wife of a shop keeper who gives eggs to Ferdoz when her husband is not looking.  But she know that her husband's business can't go on much longer.  Neither Ferdoz nor Dia know what to do.  Today a million refugees from Syria are in Lebanon and Jordan.  Another 300K are in Turkey.  It is estimated that if the conflict continues there could be another 6.8 million people fleeing Syria.  The United Nations says that it needs $1.5B, but this would not be nearly enough.  World Vision is raising $40M to feed as many children as they can.  The psalmist says, “The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.”    http://blog.worldvision.org/disaster-relief/crisis-in-syria-part-6-debts-difficulties-rise-for-refugees/

            So we know what God is doing in the world.  God is relieving the oppressed, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and is concerned for the poor.  This is the God we worship.  So how do we sing praises to a God like this?  We worship this God by doing what God created us to do.  And the implication is obvious.  We were created by God to participate in his work in this world.  And if God is concerned about the oppressed, the hungry, the sick and the poor then so should we.  So our work should be to find out what needs there our in this community, throughout the nation, and around the world.  And then we need to do something, even if it is just little, but something that advances God mission of Earth.  As a church we should look for ways to partner with Christian organizations doing God's work.  There are opportunities at Diakonia, Shepherd's Crook, the Cold Weather Shelter, and Ocean City Crises Coalition here in town.  We can partner with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to care for the needs of people hurt in the storms.  Many of the international stories I have told you today came from World Vision International, which is doing wonderful work all over the world.  The psalmist wants you to remember that the reason you do these good works is because they are how you sing praises to the God who created you and will be with you forever.  Let's pray.

            Father in heaven, we thank you for caring for us and the world we live in.  We know that your heart breaks over the oppression, hunger, disease, and poverty which sin has produced.  Use us and use our church to rid these problems from the world.  This we pray in your son's name.  Amen.