Sermon Psalm 67 God Has Blessed Us

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 67 God Has Blessed Us

August 6, 2017

Today I am preaching my final sermon in the series entitled Psalms of Summer.  I hope you have enjoyed listening to these as much as I have enjoyed writing them.   The psalms are such a beautiful way to spend the summer, meditating on all that God does for us.   And what better way to spend a Sunday morning in the summer than by praising God with the original songbook.    Today we will turn to Psalm 67 which is unique.   This psalm is a blessing, probably said by a priest asking God to bless his people.   That’s why we are here.  We hope to receive a blessings from 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 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.

There are two gifts we receive from God.   One is salvation.  The other is blessing.   Salvation is an  historical event.  It occurred on the day Jesus died.   With his death on the cross all who believe in him were saved.  Our sin is forgiven.   Our relationship with God is restored.   We begin a new life.   We are assured of eternal life.   And this salvation is received by all who make Jesus their lord and believe in their hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Earlier today we sang this verse from It Is Well with My Soul:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul

This is salvation.   And I can tell you that if you believe in Jesus you are saved.

Salvation is a gift believers receive from God.   But there is another gift from God.  And this one is called blessing.   Unlike salvation, blessing is not limited to a particular place and time.  Rather blessing is an ongoing continuous act of God’s grace.  And unlike salvation,  blessing is not limited to only believers.  Blessing is available to all of creation.   We see this in the very first chapter of the Bible.

Genesis1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply ...”.

Everything in creation needs God’s blessings.   The book of Job is about a faithful believer, who was saved, but had God’s blessings taken away.   Job’s friends all thought that this had something to do with salvation.   They thought that Job was being punished for sin.   But this was not the case.  Job was faithful, forgiven and had a right relationship with God.  He was saved.   His loss of blessing had nothing to do with sin and salvation.   God chooses who to bless and who to curse.   And thankfully, our God is loving and chooses to bless his creation.

In ancient times blessings were passed down from father to son.  God blessed families with land.   Ownership of land was passed from father to son.   Sometimes God would give a particular blessing to a whole group of people.   We see this in Genesis 12 when God blessed Abram, Sarai and their family and descendants.

Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

This blessings to Abram and Sarai was part of a covenant.  God promised to bless them.  They promised to bless others.   This covenant is open to us too.   God will bless us abundantly.   We need to be be blessings to others.  But God’s offer to bless Abram and Sarai’s descendants was not exclusive.   Remember God wants all of creation to be blessed.  And so he told Abram and Sarai this.

Genesis 1:3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We have been adopted into Abram and Sarai’s family.   God has blessed us richly.    So, we are to be a blessing to others.

Nothing can prevent God from blessing those he chooses to bless.   In the Book of Numbers there is a story of the Israelites passing through the nation of Moab.   King Balak of Moab wanted the gods of Moab to curse the Israelites.   So he asked his priest/prophet Balaam to issue a curse.  But God wouldn’t allow it.   If God wants someone blessed God will not permit a curse.   Here is what happened when Balaam tried to curse Israel.

Numbers 23:7 “Balak has brought me from Aram,
   the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me;
   Come, denounce Israel!’
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
   How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

One of the greatest blessings we receive from God is the blessings of the law.   The law God gave to Moses helps us to live blessed lives.   Moses put it this way.

Deuteronomy 7:12 If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; 13 he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14 You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock.

As the people of God settle in cities and farms they began to receive a new kind of blessing from God.   They were blessed with worship.   In worship they could come closer to God and know more about him.    Worship consisted of festivals and sacrifices.   Priests would bless the people with these words:

Numbers 6:24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

By New Testament times people were acknowledging the blessing they received for God with blessings said a mealtimes.    When Jesus hosted a meal for four thousand he did this:

Mark 8:6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed.

Also when Jesus hosted a dinner for disciples in Jerusalem he said this:

Mark 14:22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

It is a good thing to follow Jesus’ example.   We too should pray for blessing before each meal.  Grace and I do this each meal thanking God for all the blessings we have received.

Early Christians realized that God had blessed them with the Holy Spirit.  And with this blessing from God they felt the need to bless others.   They did this by caring for the poor and needy.  The Apostle Paul talked about these spiritual blessings.  Here is what he said:

Romans 15:26 … Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. 28 So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain; 29 and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

It would be good to listen to Paul about this.  We have been blessed richly in both material and spiritual matter.   And as response we should give to the church and to the needy in our community and around the world.

Paul also believed that the prayers he received from the churches were blessings.  He told the church at Corinth this.

2 Corinthians 1:11 as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Following the example of the Corinthian church we should bless others by praying for them.  This is why we pray for the sick, and those looking for work, and those with relationship problems.  We pray because we want them to be blessed by God.

But we must always remember from where our blessings come.   Blessing come from the grace of God who freely chooses us to receive a blessings.  Paul put it this way.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

I think we can echo that.   We have been blessed with abundance by God.   And we are called to share our blessings.

So what have we learned about blessings today?   God freely chooses to bless all of creation.   And God blesses us to be instruments of blessing for others.  No one can curse someone who God has chosen to bless.   God has blessed us abundantly with the good earth and the food that come from it.   God has given us the law, which if obeyed, will bless us richly.    God has bless all who believe in Jesus Christ with salvation.   We need to remember our blessings when we pray at mealtimes and in service to one another.   Let’s pray.

Psalm 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.  Amen.

Sermon Psalm 138 “Thanks and Praise”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 138 “Thanks and Praise”

August 6, 2017

We have been looking at the Psalms of Summer.   We have learned to jubilantly praise God.  We have learned about God’s concern for the poor.    We have learned that we are to praise God for his love and faithfulness.   We have learned that whenever we have problems we can turn to God in prayer and humbly ask God for what we need.  And God gives us everything we need,  especially instructions for living our lives in the Bible.   Today we will continue to praise God with thanks and praise.  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)

The psalmist is on his way to Jerusalem.  He is going there to thank God for the blessings he has received.  As he makes his way to the holy temple he rehearses in his head what he is going to say to God when he gets there.

Psalm 138:1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
   before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
   for you have exalted your name and your word
   above everything.

The psalmist lives in a pluralistic culture.  There are many faiths.  Many gods are worshiped.  But the psalmist knows that there is only one God who answers prayer.  And that is the Lord, the God of Israel.  And so the psalmist worships this God alone, with his whole heart.

This is the same with us.   Fifty years ago we were all, at nominally Christian and went to church on Sunday.   I can remember only one Jewish friend.   But today there are so many religions to choose from here in America.   We have the established world faiths, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.  There are many news one.   And there are religions that disguise themselves as something else.   Humanism is one of these.   In humanism, there is no need for God because human progress will lead us where we need to go.   But as Christians, we are called to worship only God, with our whole hearts.  

This can cause problems in a pluralistic culture.   People who worship other gods will expect you to do the same.   For example, a coach might want players to worship good performance on a soccer field and demand that players worship this god on Sunday morning at practice.   Should faithful Christians worship the soccer god?  I don’t think so.   Christians should worship the true God here in church on Sunday mornings.  Another example, there are those who worship money.   They insist that Christians work on Sunday mornings to make more and more money.   Should faithful Christians worship the God of money by working every Sunday morning?  No!   Christians should be in church on Sunday mornings worshiping the God who created them and who listens to their prayers.  I think Christian should defy these other gods and refuse to work or practice sports on Sunday mornings.

Psalm 138 is a psalm of defiance.   The psalmist will not be coerced into worshiping other gods.  He will remain faithful to his God.  And we Christians should do the same.  The culture around us is pulling us away from church.  It demands that we worship the things it values.   But we are people of God.   We worship God and do what God tells us to do.   This will cause problems for us.   But we must remain faithful.    

As the psalmist approaches Jerusalem he thinks about all the things he is thankful for.   He is especially thankful for answered prayer.   Hear what he said.

3 On the day I called, you answered me,
   you increased my strength of soul.

God answered the psalmist’s prayers by strengthening his soul.    He must have experienced some soul diminishing things in his life.    We know what diminishes souls.   Knees hurt when walking up stairs will diminish your soul.   A pink slip from your employer will diminish your soul quite a bit.  A doctor telling you that you can’t do what you have always done will diminish your soul.   Lots of things diminish souls.   What strengthens them?  Well, the only thing that strengthens a soul is God.    When you turn to God in worship and prayer and daily devotions your soul is strengthened.   And the way God does this is by answering your prayers.

Now, we all know that God’s doesn’t answer all prayers.   I have prayed to win the Powerball Lottery and God did nothing.   But the more I have worshiped God, the more I have gotten to know him through the Bible.   The stronger relationship I have with God through prayer, the more I am able to see God at work in the world answering my prayers.   I began to realize that God has been answering my prayers all my life, but I just didn’t know it.   Now I see what God is doing and God is answering so many of my prayers.

I have prayed for years that Grace’s English language skills would improve to the point that she would be able to serve an American Church.  She came to America seventeen years ago.   Five years later we were married.   For the last seven years, we have been on the eastern shore.   And throughout this time she has been working on English.   Last April, we moved north, at your invitation.    My prayer was that Grace would find a church to serve.   And those prayers are being answered.   She is now preaching regularly helping churches with no pastor.   Today she is at Calvary Presbyterian Church.  And she has an interview scheduled at a church in the area that needs an interim pastor.   I am praying everyday that she will get this call.  I would appreciate your prayers too.

According to the psalmist answered prayer is the cure for a diminished soul.   False gods never answer prayer.   And depending on them leads to a diminishment of your souls.   But depend on a God who loves you and cares for you strengthening your soul.   So I urge you to worship that God every week, study his word in groups, and pray to him every day.    Do this and your eyes will be opened to all the answers God is giving to your prayers and your soul will be strengthened.

The psalmist arrives at the temple in Jerusalem.  He beholds the majesty and splendor of the buildings and reflects on what all this might mean.  Let’s listen in.   

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
   for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
   for great is the glory of the Lord.

The psalmist realizes, with amazement, that the God who answers his prayers and strengthens his soul is the one God over all the earth.   And the day will come when everyone on earth will realize this reality.   This will come about through the preaching of the word of God all over the world.   God’s spirit is already preparing people to receive God’s word and to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ.   All that is needed are preachers and Bibles in languages people can understand.   Missionaries do this very work and depend on our generous support.   By bringing the word of God to the farthest reaches of the world we can bring everyone to our prayer answering, soul strengthening faith in Jesus Christ.

But how do we know that all of this is true?    How can we be sure that God answers prayer and strengthens souls?    The proud would never acknowledge this.   They trust in themselves.  They are their own god.    But for the lowly, the poor and needy, the widow and orphan, and the alien in the land, they need God’s help and recognize it when it comes. Here is how the psalmist put it.

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
   but the haughty he perceives from far away.

Notice that the psalmist does not praise God for something God did.   He is not offering up praise for prayers answered or blessing received.   Rather the psalmist is praising God for who God is and what God does.  God is high.  God cares for the lowly.   He praises God for God’s love and faithfulness.  Then he receives blessings.

I would like to tell you a story about Tony.   If you saw his overused clothes stained with paint and dirt you would see in them a lifetime of hard work.  Tony needed a long shower and some time to rest, but first he had to go to the bank.   In his hands he held a check from the church.   This check was what he needed to keep his family from being evicted from their modest apartment.  As he walked to the bank he wondered about what words he could use to express his gratitude for this gift from a caring church.  Tony was deeply grateful for what the church had done.  As he made his way through the crowded streets he mumbled, “Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord, on the day I call on you, you answered”.

The psalmist, like Tony, expressed his gratitude this way.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
   and your right hand delivers me.

For those who need God, God is loving and faithful.   God answers prayer.  We need to give up our pride and humbly ask God for what we need.  God will hear us and answer our prayers.   And we will be blessed.  Then we respond with thanksgiving.

When I was moving to Delaware I loaded up an old I had with all our clothes.   Grace got in the driver's seat and headed north.   But she and the car never got out of Ocean City.   A head gasket blew on 113.    Grace made her way to Kia dealer and a friend gave her a ride to Bear.    We decided that the car was not worth fixing.  So we gave it to cars for kids.    With Grace not working we were unable to buy another car.  So we prayed.   God heard our prayers.  Grace’s son goes to a Korean church in Philadelphia.    At that church a family had a car they needed to get rid of.  So they gave it to us.   And now Grace has a car to go to and from the churches for preaching.   God answers prayers.   Grace and I respond with thanks and praise.  Let’s go back to the psalmist.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
   your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
   Do not forsake the work of your hands

The psalmist has taught us that even though we live in a pluralistic world there is only one God who answers prayer.   This is the God we worship.  This God is loving and faithful.  He hears your prayers and answers them.   And the only appropriate response from us is to the give him thanks and praise.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven.   There are so many things we need.   And in our pride we think we can do these things ourselves.   But we can’t.   And so humbly we turn to you, our loving God, with our petitions.    We know that you answer prayer.   And so we have gathered today to thank and praise you.  We do this in yours son’s name.    Amen.

Sermon Psalm 145 Praising God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 145 Praising God

August 6, 2017

In our look at the Psalms of Summer, we have learned that we are to praise God jubilantly because of his love and faithfulness.   God loves everyone especially the poor.  We have learned that whenever we have problems we can turn to God in prayer and humbly ask God for what we need.   Last week we looked at one of the greatest gifts God gives us, instructions for living our lives.   Today we turn to our response for all of this.   And the only appropriate response is to praise our creator.  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)

We have many psalms of praise.  And we have many psalms of David.  But we have only one psalm of both praise and of David.  This is Psalm 145.  According to the Jewish Talmud, Rabbi Elazer said, ““who ever says the Psalm which we call 'ashrei' (psalm 145) three times a day is a person who can rest assured that he will inherit the next world.”  This is good news.  But why would someone inherit the Kingdom just by reciting Psalm 145 three times a day?

One reason for this, according the Talmud, is that each line in the psalm starts with a Hebrew letter in alphabetical order.  Like psalm 119, psalm 145 is an acrostic poem.   Another reason is that the psalm says “16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. “   So if God opens his hands and satifies the desires of those reciting this psalm then certainly our desire for eternal life must be satisfied.    And since we too expect eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ let us turn to this ancient psalm and use it to offer up our praise to God.

Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
   I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
   and extol your name for ever and ever.

According to David we are to lift up and praise God every day.  Daily prayer and meditation on scripture is vitally important for spiritual growth.   You must set aside a certain time every day to pray for yourself, your family and friends, and your church.   Grace and I get together every morning at 7:30.  For one hour we read together, out loud and responsively, two chapters from the New Testament, two chapters from Old Testament, and three chapters from the Psalms.  Then we pray for New Covenant Church and our family.   I urge you to start your own daily practice of Bible reading and prayer.   There are many good Bible reading plans you can use or develop your own.   Copies of Our Daily Bread are available in the narthex.  You can use this for a daily meditation.   Or use today’s bulletin.   In it you will find prayers, scripture reading, and things to pray for.   Let’s return to the psalm as see why we should praise God.    

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
   his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
   they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
   and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
   and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
   and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

We are to praise God ourselves and we are to teach our children to praise God so that God will be praised forever.  Why do we praise God?  One reason is that as we look around the world God created we see his marvelous works and his great majesty.   We praise God for the miracle of the abundance of growing corn in the fields around the church.  We praise God for the beauty and abundance of the Chesapeake Bay and the sacrifices of our ancestors digging the canal.  Everywhere we look we see God’s splendor and majesty.  And this leads us to praise our God every day.

So the work of God’s good creation leads us to praise him.  But some people can’t praise God every day.   Their lives are corrupted by sin.  And sin blocks us from praising God as we should.   Let’s go back to the psalm.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
   slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
   he has compassion on all he has made.

Sin blocks our access to God.  With sin in our lives a close relationship with God becomes impossible.   But God still wants our praises.  And so he graciously wants to forgive us.  God is not angry at us.   He is good to us.  God loves us.   God wants the best for us and he blesses us abundantly.   All we have to do is turn toward him and accept his love.  We receive his forgiveness and compassion.   And with the Holy Spirit in our heart we no longer desire to sin.   Anyone who has experienced God’s grace in their lives can’t help but praise him.   And so we, forgiven sinners, join our voices with David’s and sing praises to God in gratitude for God’s love and forgiveness.  

We are not only ones who praise God.  There are others.   Let go back to the psalm.

10 All your works praise you, Lord;
   your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
   and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
   and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13a Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures through all generations.

According the psalmist all the works of God praise him.   We usually think that only people praise God.  But in fact everything in creation praises God.  One Easter Sunday at a sunrise service, I was preaching from a pavilion on the Pocomoke river.  When the service began a flock of geese was in the river and the geese were making a lot of noise.  But when I began to speak the geese came out of the river and lined up along one side of the pavilion.  It looked liked they were listening to me.   As I proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead the geese gathered, with us and all creation, to praise God.

When we experience God’s love and forgiveness we praise him with thankful hearts.  But that is not the only thing we do.   The other thing we gratefully do it to tell other our stories of what God has done for us.  We give testimonies about God’s abundant blessings in our lives.  This gives others hope when they realize that God loves them too.   When you bless others by telling them about God you are inviting them into the same relationship you have with God.   And this opens the door for them to experience God’s love for themselves.   There is nothing greater you can do in your life that to bring someone else to faith in Jesus Christ.  

Nancy Willis has a writer’s ministry in this church.  She is a professional author and will help you to develop your testimony of what Jesus has done in your life.   With the help of the writers ministry you develop your story about what God has done for you.   And by sharing your story with others you help them to find God for themselves.   A celebration of the writers ministry will be held here at the church on Sunday, August 27.    People from the writers ministry will share their stories with you.

So out of gratitude for God’s abundant blessings we praise him and share our stories with others.   Let’s go back to the psalm.

13b The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
   and faithful in all he does.

14 The Lord upholds all who fall
   and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
   and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

We live in a world stained by sin.   So many of us don’t experience the abundant lives that God has promised.   Maybe we are too far in debt.   Maybe we have to change careers.  Maybe our health is failing.  Maybe a loved one is addicted to alcohol.   We have all experienced trouble from time to time.

  Our experience, as Christians, is that we can turn to God and ask for help.    And we have experienced God’s love in our lives at times like these.  This experience of God when we need him is an important part of our faith.   And this is what we can offer when we talk to others.    The promise of God to everyone is that God gracious love is available to them.   No matter what trouble we experience God is right there to help us.   God blesses us richly with love and forgiveness.   And through this we are filled with hope.  Let’s praise God.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
   and faithful in all he does.

What, if we praised God three times a day with these words, what would happen?   

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth.

What if we believed this in our hearts when trouble comes?

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
   he hears their cry and saves them.

What if we experience this in our time of need?

20 The Lord watches over all who love him,

What if we said this three times a day?

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.   Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

What if we shared our stories with others until the whole world was praising God?

I think the answer to these questions is obvious.   The world we live in would be a much better place.   So I urge you to praise God in your daily devotions.   Consider the love and forgiveness you have received from God and give thanks.    And share your stories with others so that they can experience a gracious God for themselves.  Let’s pray.