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.