Sermon – Psalm 126 – Restore Fortunes

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 126 – Restore Fortunes

March 6, 2016

            Our Lenten Journey with the Psalms is coming to a close.  Over the last few weeks we have learned that we can trust God as our refuge and fortress in times of trouble.  Then we learned to trust God by seeking his face in worship, Bible study and prayer.  We saw in David an example of one who trusted in God as he fled into the desert from King Saul.  And last week we heard that our happiness is dependent on our trusting in God’s forgiveness when we confess our sin.  Trusting God has brought us this far.  But our journey is not yet over.

            Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  We will join Jesus and his disciples in a procession into Jerusalem, and around a table for the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday.  We will join with other churches as we walk with Jesus to the cross, Crosswalk on the Ocean City boardwalk on Good Friday.  And two weeks from today we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  But all of this is still in the future.  We are not there yet. We are still in our pilgrimage, and all we have is hope that comes from trusting God.  We turn to Psalm 126.  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 126 was traditionally sung by pilgrims making their way to the Jerusalem temple.  It is called a Psalm of Assent.  As pilgrims climbed up the fifteen steps leading to the temple they would sing psalms.  And on the seventh step they would sing the 126^th Psalm.

Psalm 126:1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

            The psalmist remembers a time when God had restored the fortunes of the people.   When the Bible speaks about restoring fortunes it is referring to the changing the conditions that brought about God’s wrath to conditions that bring about God’s blessing and mercy.  The Israelites had angered God by not caring for the poor and needy.  The result was a withdraw of God protection and a period of exile.  But then the conditions changed.  A new generation was born and they were willing to care for the disadvantaged.  God restored them to Jerusalem.

            The people of God had spent a generation in exile from their homes, farms and businesses.  They lived in a foreign land with a strange culture.  They had lost everything but their memories of joyous time past.  They were in an in-between time.  They experienced neither great joy nor intense agony.  But then, suddenly, they were allowed to go home and rebuild.  It came so suddenly it was like a dream.  They could hardly believe it.  God had actually intervened in national affairs with powerful kings.  God used the Persian Empire to free his people.  They were going home.

            As they journeyed back to Jerusalem, they with filled with laughter and joy.  People saw them and said that God had done great things for them.  They thanked God for all he had done. 

            As we look at our lives today we realize that we too have been blessed.  God has given us health and families and church and friends.  God had put us in a beautiful place with plenty to eat.

            But when Israelites arrived at Jerusalem and saw that it was nothing but a pile of rocks they realized that their fortunes had not yet been fully restored.  They realized that they had been freed from the hell of exile but had not yet arrived in heaven.  So they prayed.

           

⁴ Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

            The people of God looked ahead to the daunting task of rebuilding their lives.  It seemed almost hopeless. They needed a miracle.   And then they remembered a miraculous time when God had sent rain on the southern desert.  The wadis filled with water.   The desert began to bloom.  Seeds sown with little expectation of growth in a dry land grew into an abundant harvest.  What they needed was another miracle like that.

            The Israelites were living in an in-between time.  They remembered the joyful blessings of the past and hoped for more joyful blessings in the future.  Most of us today live in an in-between time.  We have plenty of memories of past joys.  And we hope for future blessing.  But today is neither good nor bad.  We want to experience joy once again.

            I once talked with a young woman about her relationship with her boyfriend.  They had been very much in love and were planning to marry.  But one thing led to another and they decided to break up.  Now though, they are getting back together.   They have past memories of joy together and they are motivated by a hope of restored fortunes.  But today, they have lots of issues to deal with.

            I have met many people in physical therapy.  They are thankful to God for the healing that has occurred.  But they know there will be long period of pain and rehab until they can resume normal activities.  Joy is far from their hearts, but they are filled with hope of restored fortunes.

            I know many people who were hurt in 2008 with declining stock prices.  Some had to delay their expected retirement.  Today’s stock market volatility concerns them and there is some fear of another stock market drop.  They remember the joy of accumulating wealth, but now they are not so sure.  All they have is trust that God will restore their fortunes.

            I know of people who left church during a personal crisis.  For some their prayers went unanswered, and they blamed God for their suffering.  But now they feel good being back in church, but they still struggle with unanswered prayer.  They hope that God will restore their joyful faith.

            I know a young man who graduated from college.  He got a good job in his field.  But his company is downsizing because of poor sales.  He doesn’t know if he will still have a job in six months.  He remembers God’s blessing in his life, but now he must rely on hope that God will restore his fortunes.

            I know people who have lived a long and happy lives.  But now they find that growing old is not as easy as it looks.  They wonder how their lives will end, with a bang or a whimper.   They have rich memories of the faithfulness of God, and now they are filled with hope that God will restore their lives.

            We experience these in-between times most of our lives.  We remember God’s faithful blessings in the past.  Today we live normal lives with normal problems.  What we need is hope for God’s restoration in the future.

            This is what the Kingdom of God is like.  Jesus came and said that the Kingdom of God was near.  He demonstrated its presence with signs and wonders.  But the Kingdom has not fully arrived and we still experience the power of evil in our world.    The Kingdom of God is both already here and yet to come.  The church exists in this tension of already but not yet.  We live in an in-between time.  Jesus has already come.  Jesus will come again.  And so we remember the joy of Jesus’ birth, and now rely on hope that he will come again as he promised.  And so like the psalmist we remember:

Psalm 126:1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

And we pray.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

            Restoring your fortunes requires changing the conditions that caused you to lose your joy.  So here is what you do.  Remember the blessings of your youth, the blessing of your family, the blessings of your career, and the blessings of your church.    And as you remember these blessings, be filled with hope in God, your refuge and strength.  Learn to trust in God’s faithfulness by seeking his face through worship, Bible study and prayer.  Know that God will protect you in the desert.  And God will let you experience happiness when you confess your sin.  Do these things and God will restore your fortunes and you will once again sing songs of joy.   Let’s pray.

            “Generous God, you have heard and answered our prayers and met our needs; and you have forgiven us our confessed sin; so we praise and thank you God for the way you respond to our prayers. We give thanks that you bless us every day with your mercy, and we rejoice that you have turned our tears of remorse into prayers and songs of praise and joy. What amazing things God has done for each of us, as we have been so blessed as members of a community of faith; and also as individuals who seek to love and serve our God. Praise be to God’s Holy Name. Amen.” 

(http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/pentecost22[30]b_2015.htm)

Sermon – Psalm 32 - Happiness

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 32 - Happiness

March 6, 2016

            When God created men and women he did everything he could to make us happy.  He put us in a garden where all of our needs were met.  He gave us animals to name and spouse to love.  God wanted us to be happy, but when sin came into the world, so too did guilt and shame.  And when sin causes us to experience guilt we are no longer happy.  Guilt is the enemy of happiness.  So as long as we experience guilt for what we have done, or what we have left undone, we will never experience happiness.

            The fifth century Bishop Augustine experienced this.  One of his earliest memories of sin was when, as a teenager, he stole some pears.  He felt guilty for doing this.  And this guilt stayed with him for years.  He also did many things he should not have done and experienced guilt for each.  Augustine found you just can’t be happy when you are experiencing guilt for the wrong you have done.  He tried to do many things to deal with this sense of guilt, but nothing worked until he found the answer in Psalm 32.  This psalm showed Augustine that there is only one way to be happy.  And it worked.  Augustine became a bishop and one of the most celebrated Christian writers of all time.  Psalm 32 was so important to his happiness that as Augustine approached the end of his life, he had it engraved on the wall facing his bed so that he could meditate on Psalm 32 continually until he breathed his last breath.

            What is it about Psalm 32 that is so important?  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 all experience guilt for the things we have done in our lives.  There are thing we are ashamed of.  There are things we wish we could do over.  And we carry around a sense of guilt with us all the time.  This guilt keeps us from experiencing the happiness God created us to enjoy.  But thankfully there is a way to experience happiness.  Let turn to Psalm 32.

Psalm 32: ¹ Happy is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ² Happy is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

            Our only source of happiness is to be forgiven.  We receive forgiveness from God for our sin by his grace and his love.  But first, we must honestly confess our sin.  Sadly, this is missing in many churches today.  It used to be that churches talked honestly about the reality of sin and our need to confess.  Conviction of sin and prayers of confession were ordinarily included in most worship services.  In that way Christians could confront the reality of sin their lives and make an honest confession.  But today, many churches today fail to talk about sin.  They think that people will be happier focusing only on the love and grace of God.  Many of these churches do not have prayers of confession in their order of worship.  But without a confrontation of sin and a spoken prayer of confession, Christians will continue to experience guilt.  They find no happiness in these churches.  Unhappy people sit in the pews.  Unhappy people look somewhere other than church for happiness.

            Some think that coming to Ocean City would make them happy.  But there is no happiness in a three hour drive with restless kids in the back seat.  There is no happiness sitting on hot sandy beach watching waves come ashore.  There is no happiness walking up and down the boardwalk, eating crabs, or even getting arrested for DUI on the drive from Seacrets to your hotel.  I suspect that many people look forward to getting back to work after a long and tiring Ocean City vacation.  (This sermon won’t be reprinted by the chamber of commerce). 

            People try to find ways of alieving the guilt they experience.  They try to minimize the importance of sin.  They medicate themselves with alcohol.  They engage in risky sexual practices.  They make as much money can.   But none of these things can eliminate the guilt that prevents our happiness.   Others try to do things to get right with God.  The come to worship, attend Bible studies and pray.  They volunteer at the cold weather shelter or food pantry or breakfast for international students.  They think that this will make them happy.  But it doesn’t.  Nothing we do can make us happy. 

            I am going to do something I rarely do.  I am going to bring politics into the pulpit.   I am not going to endorse a candidate or tell you how to vote.  What I am going to do is comment on a faulty idea of God held by one of the candidates, and which I believe is held by most Americans. 

            “After (Donald Trump) said, “I am a Protestant, a Presbyterian, and I go to church and I love God and I love my church,” a reporter asked him if he has ever asked God for forgiveness. He answered, “I am not sure that I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so. If I think I do something wrong…, I just try to make it right. I don’t bring God into the picture.” (http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/lent-4c/?type=the_lectionary_psalms)

            Donald Trump is just speaking what most people think.  Sin is not a big deal.  There is no need to confess to God.  Just try to do right and fix whatever you do wrong.  But this doesn’t lead to happiness.  The guilt for doing wrong just keeps growing.  Listen to how David described this.

³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

            Experiencing guilt for your sins is like having a chronic debilitating disease.  It eats away at you day after day.  And there is nothing you can do about it, except:

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”  And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

            According to scripture the only source of your happiness is in confessing your sin to God and receiving his forgiveness.  Let’s hear how this is to done.

⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

            What we are to do, and we do in worship every week, is confess our sin, both corporately aloud and individually in silence.  Then, after we have confessed our sins we hear the wonderful words of forgiveness, an assurance of God’s pardon.  As a result of this act in worship we receive, by God’s love and grace, the gift of happiness.  We respond to this great gift by singing a song of praise, the Gloria Patri.  David responded to his forgiveness by saying this.

⁷ You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

            Each week in worship we have the opportunity to confess all the sin in our lives.  We hear the promise of God that we are forgiven.  Then in the reading and proclamation of the Word of God we receive instruction about how we can now be happy.  Here is how David put it.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.  ¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

            And so filled with God’s love and gracious forgiveness our guilt is gone and we can experience happiness.  All we have to do to be happy is to come to church, honestly confess our sin, and hear the promise of pardon and instructions for happy living.  Do this and you will be happier than you could ever imagine.  Let’s pray.

            “Generous God, we gather together to share in our mutual experiences of personal and joint brokenness, failure and disappointment - as we know very well that we are guilty of sin. Even though this is a very unpopular concept these days, each of us are aware of the weight of personal and shared sin that presses down so heavily on us, and the knowledge that this sin separates us from our loving and merciful God.
            We each have a difficult lesson to learn, O God, and we need the encouragement and support of each other to give us the strength to throw away this heavy burden of sin. God of compassion and forgiveness, we ask that you help each of us in this struggle, so that we may once again know the joy of forgiveness, and the blessedness of being in a right relationship with our God.
            God of community and comfort, we give thanks for the love we have received this day, not only from within our community of faith, but especially from you, our God of hope and freedom. The weight of sin has been removed, and the joy and security that is ours cannot be under estimated – and we celebrate with thankful hearts and minds, the sense of shared release and liberty we are experiencing. Thanks be to our God. Amen.” (http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/lent1a_2011.htm)

            Brothers and sisters, our sins are forgiven.  The guilt we have been carrying is washed away.  Your relationship with God has been restored.  David tells us in verse 11:

  ¹¹ Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Let us stand and sing:  All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name #97

Sermon – Psalm 63 – Longing for God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 63 – Longing for God

February 28, 2016

            Today we are continuing with our look at the Psalms of Lent.  We have followed Jesus into the wilderness.  So far we have been reminded that God is our refuge, our fortress, the person we can count on when all else fails.  Last week we saw that to build up our trust in God we need to worship every Sunday, pray and meditate on scripture every day, and attend Bible studies.  Through these practices of piety the Holy Spirit causes us to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

            Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness where his trust in God was tested.  We don’t know what happened to Jesus in those 40 days.  All we know is that Jesus was with the Holy Spirit and had a conversation about Old Testament scripture with the Devil.  What else happened to him?  What would happen to a man in the desert for 40 days?  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)

            I have been in the Judean desert.  This desert is a vast expanse of sand.  Think of our beach on a summer day in full sun with the temperature over 100 degrees.  Think of our beach stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions.  There is nothing to eat or drink.  And the sun is beating done on your neck.  I visited Judean desert in an air conditioned bus with plenty of bottled water.  Jesus had neither.  And he was there for 40 days!  What happened?

            Rabbi Tani Prero leads a Jewish wilderness camp named Camp Yaalozu.  He knows what it’s like to live in the Judean desert.  First there would be no water to drink.  There wouldn’t be enough food.  So a person would experience deep hunger and thirst.   He would miss his bed and sleep on a few branches if he could find them.  His skin would dry out from the relentless heat and lack of shade.  If someone brought him some food, the wild animals that roam the desert would steal it.  His body would begin to fail.  His mind would weaken, and he would begin to hallucinate.  He would see visions, mirages.[i]

            We don’t know if Jesus experienced these things in the desert.  He may have, but he never told us what happened.  We do have a firsthand account from a man who did spend some time in the desert.  He was an ancestor of Jesus and was named David.  Let’s listen to David’s account of hiding in this desert from King Saul who was trying to kill him about a 1000 years before Jesus.  We read in Psalm 63:

1a You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;

            David is hiding in the Judean desert.  He has fled with his men as King Saul pursues him to kill him.  David is thirsty.  He has no water no water to drink.  His body is dehydrating.  He will die soon if he doesn’t find some water.  His skin is dry and brittle.  But notice that he doesn’t complain about the lack of water.  It’s not water that he longs for.  Rather, he longs for God.  He trusts that God will provide him with what he needs.  And he is confident that God will be his refuge and fortress.  Here is what David says.

1b I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

            And so David, experiencing great thirst, longs not for water but for the only thing that can save him, God. 

            Several days have passed, and with still no water David begins to see visions.  He is hallucinating.  His body is deprived of food and water.  His imagination is growing.  And he sees a vision of God in his temple.  Here is what he sees.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

            After a few more days David begins to realize that he is dying.  No one can withstand that kind of heat without food and water.  He longs for God.  He has seen visions of God in his temple.  And now he experiences God’s great love for him.  Even in the midst of his suffering God’s love is shining.  And if God loves you your life has meaning.  There is no reason to despair in suffering, because you are a child of God.  Here is how David described it.

³ Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. ⁴ I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

            David is in the wilderness with no food and water.  The sun beats down on him.  His body is dry and parched.  His life is coming to an end.  There is no guarantee the God will provide him with the necessities of life.  And that is when David begins to think about food.  He had never experienced hunger as he does right now.  And David then says a most surprising thing.

⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

            David’s body needs food and water to survive.  In the absence of both he will probably soon die.  But in this experience David is satisfied, not with the food and water he desperately needs, but with God, his creator, who remains with him and strengthens him.

            As the sun goes down, David experiences a little relief.  The cooler temperature feels good to his parched body.  The hot sand beneath his feat begins to cool.  And as he lies down to sleep he again begins to hallucinate.  He sees a vision of his own bed.  And he is next to it kneeling in prayer to God, a prayer that lasts the whole night long.  Here is what he says.

⁶ On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

            When the sun rises the next morning David’s first thought is not about his own hunger and thirst.  He does not think about his own dry body or even his death which may be very close.  Rather his thoughts turn to God.  And as the sun rises high in the sky, with no shade for protection, David begins singing because even if there is no physical protection from the rays of the sun God is still with him.  Here is what David says”

⁷ Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

            As the hot dry day continues David’s body begins to shut down.  The lack of water, the lack of food, the heat, the sun have all brought David almost to the point of death.  But even here David thinks about God.  God is with him.  God will protect him.  Listen to David’s confession.

⁸ I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

            And with that we have seen David’s full transformation.  He is no longer concerned with his physical body.  His hunger and thirst are no longer important.  All he cares about is that God is with him.  David trusts God with his life.

            But the immediate threat to David was not lack of water.  King Saul was continuing to search for David in desert.   He and his men were getting close.  And so God spoke words of prophecy and comfort.  Here is what David heard.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

            At God’s command the Philistines attacked Israel.  Saul ended his pursuit of David to meet this threat.  And in the following battle Saul died, in fulfillment of the prophecy, making David the new king.  God had saved David’s life.  And David, in gratitude for this salvation promised this to his God:

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

            And with that David is able to leave his hiding place in the desert.  He is ready to begin ruling as king.   His relationship with God is strong.  He knows that God saved him from certain death in the wilderness.

            Jesus also emerged from the wilderness after forty days.  Did he go through the same agony as his ancestor David?  I think he did.  I think he experience the relentless hot sun.  His body became burned and dry.  He experienced hunger and thirst.  He began hallucinating and seeing visions.  He saw God in the temple.  He imagined himself in his own bed.  And through this experience he developed his relationship with the Father.  The Father saved the Son’s life in the desert.  And Jesus knew that the Father would always be with him to strengthen him no matter what happens.

            This promise is for us as well.  No matter what happens to us we have a savior.  We can depend on God our refuge and fortress.  We develop this trust not by hiding in a desert but through worship, prayer and Bible study.  As we do these things the Holy Spirit fills us with confidence and trust which will sustain us throughout our lives. 

            So whatever wilderness you face, the wilderness of bad health, the wilderness of lack of resources, or the wilderness of loneliness remember that you have a savior.  You can trust God with your life, because Jesus knows all about the wilderness.  Let’s pray.

            “O God, you are our God; and we come to worship and thank you! Today, we come together to our sacred space, because within our souls, we have a deep longing and a craving thirst for God’s presence—so that we may personally know more clearly and truly experience God.  Our faith community has a yearning to learn about God in a new and intimate way, because we feel undernourished, as if we are starved of God’s presence. As individuals, and as a gathered people, we come; lifting our hands in praise to our God in anticipation of a blessing— and receiving from our God – the comforting warmth of words of grace. We yearn to follow God more closely, and to be guided by God’s hand.”  Amen. (http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/lent3c_2013.htm)

---

[i] Sermon based on:  Tani Prero, Jewish Bible Quarterly: Psalms Chapter 63: David in The Wilderness,  (2014), vol. 42,3, pp244-246.

Sermon – Psalm 27 – Seek God’s Face

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 27 – Seek God’s Face

February 21, 2016

            I am continuing today with our look at the Psalms of Lent.  Lent symbolizes, over a 40 day period, the time Jesus spent in the wilderness before the start of his ministry.   And so Lent encourages us to look inward and find peace in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  The first step in this was to believe that God is your refuge, the place you can go when you are in trouble.  Today we will hear that in order to arrive at this place of refuge it is important to seek God’s face.  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 27:1The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

            With this bold statement King David has declared that God is his refuge, his fortress, his stronghold.   Whatever happens, David has the confidence to act because he knows that God is with him.  We know this too.  Whenever we face trouble, hardship, illness, disability, financial distress, relationship problems, the death of a loved one, care of aging parents, or just growing old we have a God we can count on.  Let’s go back to David and see why he needs God to be his fortress.

² When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

            For those who have been Christian for a long time you have built up a large reservoir of trust in God.  Younger Christians need to follow your lead to develop that trust.  We need to trust God and be confident in his protection, when we are experiencing difficulties.  And so today we will see how to build up our trust in God. 

            The benefit of trusting God is that when you face difficulties you will be free from fear.   When non-Christians lose a job they are quite fearful.   But when we lose a job we are confident that God will lead us to a new one.  When non-Christians get sick they fear death.  But when we get sick we are confident in God who not only heals but also resurrects from the dead.  When non-Christians experience relationship problems they become fearful and angry.  But we worship a God of relationship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who actively works to restore relationships.

            All these benefits are for those who trust God.  This trust assures us of God’s continuing presence both now and in the future.  But how to we come to trust God?  What can we do to build up our confidence in him?  Let’s hear what David has to say.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

            The first thing we can do to build up our trust in God is to worship him.   We do this by coming to church each Sunday.   Here in worship we come to seek God’s presence.  We gaze on God’s beauty.  We hear God’s word.  We sing God’s praises.  We speak to God in prayer.  All of this helps us to trust God more fully.  In worship we develop the confidence that God will be there when you need him.  Listen to how David puts it.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

            And so worship is where we come to develop our confidence that God will be there when we need him.  But there is more that we can do.  We can go beyond worship to seek God.  We can pray.  We can offer up prayers any time of the day or night.  But it is crucial that you pray every day as a way to develop trust in the Lord so that you will not fear during your times of trouble.  Listen to David’s prayer.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.

            So far we have seen two things we can do to build up our trust in God.  First we worship every Sunday.  And second we pray every day.  But there is even more that we can do to build up our confidence in the Lord.  We can receive teaching from God.  Here is how David put it.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.

            We learn a lot from our parents and teachers in school.  But there is more we have to learn about God if we are to have a lasting relationship with him.  We need to study God’s word to receive instruction from him on how we should live our lives.  That is why it is crucial to attend Bible studies.  In Bible studies you have an opportunity to read scripture, understand what it means, and discuss practical applications with others.  Through this process you become more and more aware of what God is doing in the world around you.  You see what God did in biblical times and now you can recognize what God is doing in the world around you today.  Through this you learn to trust God more and more with your own lives. 

            King David learned to trust God.  He worshiped God in the temple.  He prayed to God daily.  And he learned about God from people knowledgeable of scripture.  And so when he experienced trouble in his life God was his stronghold.  Here is what happened.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.

            False witnesses are spreading lies about King David.  These are malicious lies, slander, designed to ruin his reputation and possibly bring down his kingdom.  But because of a lifetime of worship, prayer and Bible study, David is confident that God will protect him from these lies.  David has some wisdom for us.  Listen to the conclusion of the psalm.

¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

            And so this is what we are to do whenever we face troubles in our lives.  We sit back and wait, trusting God to do what needs to be done.  When the doctors say there is no hope, when the landlord demands money that you do not have, when your job seems like hell on earth, the thing to do is rest in the confidence that God is with you to protect you and show you the way.  Listen to this story about trusting God.

            “A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless:

            The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening.

            The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid?” This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain. Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something?

            The man laughed and took the sword out of its sheath. The woman was even more puzzled: What he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck, so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her neck.

            He said,” Are you afraid?”

            She started to laugh and said,” Why should I be afraid?  If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me.

            He put the sword back and said, “This is my answer”. I know God Loves me, and the storm is in His hands.”  (http://rishikajain.com/2013/01/22/inspirational-short-story-with-moral-trust-in-god/)

            So, whenever we experience difficulties in life we can trust with confidence in the Lord our God.  We develop this trust by seeking God’s face.  We do this by worshiping every week, praying every day, and attending Bible study regularly.  Do these things and God will become your stronghold.  Let’s pray.

            “Lord our God, blessed is the one who comes in your name! Gather us in your gentle presence as a hen shelters her brood beneath her wings. Finish the work you have begun in us so that we may show your glory; through Jesus Christ our peace.”  Amen. (PCUSA Office of Theology and Worship)

Sermon – Psalm 91 – God is Your Refuge

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 91 – God is Your Refuge

February 14, 2016

            This is the first Sunday in the season of Lent.  Lent is a forty day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter.  Sundays are not counted as part of Lent because Sundays are always set aside for a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  On Ash Wednesday Lent began with the stark reminder that we are mortal and were created from dust and to dust we shall return.  We learned that Sin was preventing us from eating from the Tree of Life.  And so confession was the first step in reconciling with God and receiving the gift of eternal life.  Today we will see that whatever happens to us in this life we can trust God who is our refuge, our fortress in times of trouble.  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)

            According to the church father, Athanasius, “If you desire to establish yourself and others in devotion, to know what confidence is to be reposed in God, and what makes the mind fearless, you will praise God by reciting the 91^st Psalm”. (Interpretation Psalms p.296)

            Listen to the good news from the psalmist.

Psalm 91: 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

            The psalmist wants us to think of God as a fortress, a refuge.  Whenever you experience trouble, whenever you have problems, whenever you can't pay your bills, whenever your relationships are on the rocks, whenever your health fails, there is one place you can turn.  You can turn to God.  God won't prevent all your problems.  There is just too much sin in the world for that.  But God will comfort and strengthen you in your difficulties if you turn to him. 

            Once I was planning a memorial service for a family.  They didn't know God and didn't go to church.  They were filled with grief and had no idea what to do about it.  Prayer was an alien concept for them.  But I did pray with them and they seemed to appreciate it.  And I designed a memorial service that would explain to them the benefits of knowing Christ.  My hope was that through this they would find Christ who would be a refuge for them in times of trouble.

            We are so privileged as Christians to worship God every Sunday and pray every day so that when we experience the loss of a loved one, our relationship with God will sustain us through the grief.  God is our refuge.  Here is how the psalmist put it.

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

            I was once talking with a young couple preparing for marriage.  The woman had grown up in a Presbyterian church.  She went to church every Sunday and prayed every day.  But she was concerned about her future husband.  He grew up feeling forced to attend church with his family.  Church was not a part of his adult life and prayed rarely.  But he knew about about his future wife's faith and was willing to go with her to church on Sundays.  He wanted to pray more, but he was uncertain about how to begin having a more fervent prayer life.  I suggested that the two of them could pray together before each meal they shared.  The woman's family had done this when she was growing up.  And the man agreed that this would be a good thing to do.  My prayer is that God will always be a refuge for them, somewhere they can go whenever they experience trouble.  Listen again to the psalmist.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

            Is this true?  Can we jump off the roof of the church with the assurance that angels will catch us?  Are the words “The Lord is my refuge” a magical incantation that will protect you from all harm?  There was one Bible scholar who interpreted Psalm 91 this way.  His name was Devil and he had a discussion about this psalm with Jesus.  Here is what he said. 

Luke 4:9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

            So is this true?  Will God prevent all harm regardless of what we do?  I think not.  That would be a very foolish thing to think.  And Jesus responded to the Devil's interpretation of Psalm 91 this way. 

Luke 4:12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

            God will protect you from evil, but not from your own stupidity.  I heard about a young woman who was learning to drive.  She was a good girl and very active in her church.  Her parents put her in a driver education class and gave her plenty of practice driving the family car under their supervision.  On her sixteenth birthday she got her driver's license and her parents gave her a used car.  For the next few months God protected her as she drove to and from school.  But then one day she was at a friend's house.  The friend was drinking beer and offered her some.  After a couple of hours drinking together they decided to go for a ride.   The young woman started driving recklessly.  Her car was going too fast around a curve and overturned in a ditch.  Both girls were hurt. 

            Why didn't God protect them from the accident?  God does protect us from the consequences of sin.  But we should not test his protection because testing God is itself a sin.   And taking God for granted is never a good idea.  God does not always protect us from ourselves.  So what should we do?  We should avoid sin and rest in the assurance that God is our refuge when trouble arises.  God will be in the hospital room after an accident.  God will be with you in physical therapy.  God will be there as you recover at home, because God is faithful and loves you.  Let's go back to the psalmist.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

            Last week Nancy and I visited Dora in the nursing home.  It's been a long journey for Dora since her strokes.  But throughout the healing process God has been with her.  Slowly her brain is recovering.  Last Thursday she not only remembered who I was she actually seemed like the old Dora.  We talked about the day when she could be with us once again in worship.  And I thanked God that he has been with Dora comforting her, healing her, and being her refuge.

            The promise of scripture is that the God you worship will be with you always.

            This Thursday we will have a memorial service for Irene.  Irene loved this church and loved the Lord.  But given her health problems over the last year she was unable to worship with us.  But her faith sustained her.  She knew God was with her in the hospital.  God was with her in physical therapy.   God was with her in assisted living.  And Irene rejoiced at news about this church because she loved all of you.  God was her refuge and strength.  And so this Thursday we will assemble to remember her and the God she worshiped.

            So I urge all of you to continue deepening your relationship with God because this relationship is your refuge in troubled times.  It is so important that you worship every Sunday and pray every day.  Through these practices your faith will grow.  This faith will sustain you in times of trouble.  You will then experience the presence of God as your refuge.  Let's pray.

            “Cherishing and Reassuring God, we come to worship and thank you for your goodness to us as individuals, and as a community of faith.  Each of us, at various times, have gratefully found shelter under your wings, and we have found a secure refuge in your invincible presence when battered by life’s storms, and for this we thank you. Intimate God, the Psalmist called you “...my refuge, my place of safety… my God…”, and invites each of us into that same intimate relationship of trust and acceptance. Satisfying God, help us to let go all that we cling to that belongs to this “world”, and to place our complete trust in the God of the ages, the God of millions of saints in light, and the God of our future.
            God of reliable promises, you said: “...This I declare: I will rescue you...I will shield you... I will protect you... I will answer you...I will honour you...I will be with you... I will satisfy you...” In humble thanks, we hear and we acknowledge these  gracious and generous gifts from you, our Loving God.  Help us to respond your love and trust all the days of our lives.  Amen.

http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/pentecost19[26]c_2013.htm

February 14, 2016

            This is the first Sunday in the season of Lent.  Lent is a forty day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter.  Sundays are not counted as part of Lent because Sundays are always set aside for a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  On Ash Wednesday Lent began with the stark reminder that we are mortal and were created from dust and to dust we shall return.  We learned that Sin was preventing us from eating from the Tree of Life.  And so confession was the first step in reconciling with God and receiving the gift of eternal life.  Today we will see that whatever happens to us in this life we can trust God who is our refuge, our fortress in times of trouble.  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)

            According to the church father, Athanasius, “If you desire to establish yourself and others in devotion, to know what confidence is to be reposed in God, and what makes the mind fearless, you will praise God by reciting the 91^st Psalm”. (Interpretation Psalms p.296)

            Listen to the good news from the psalmist.

Psalm 91: 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

            The psalmist wants us to think of God as a fortress, a refuge.  Whenever you experience trouble, whenever you have problems, whenever you can't pay your bills, whenever your relationships are on the rocks, whenever your health fails, there is one place you can turn.  You can turn to God.  God won't prevent all your problems.  There is just too much sin in the world for that.  But God will comfort and strengthen you in your difficulties if you turn to him. 

            Once I was planning a memorial service for a family.  They didn't know God and didn't go to church.  They were filled with grief and had no idea what to do about it.  Prayer was an alien concept for them.  But I did pray with them and they seemed to appreciate it.  And I designed a memorial service that would explain to them the benefits of knowing Christ.  My hope was that through this they would find Christ who would be a refuge for them in times of trouble.

            We are so privileged as Christians to worship God every Sunday and pray every day so that when we experience the loss of a loved one, our relationship with God will sustain us through the grief.  God is our refuge.  Here is how the psalmist put it.

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

            I was once talking with a young couple preparing for marriage.  The woman had grown up in a Presbyterian church.  She went to church every Sunday and prayed every day.  But she was concerned about her future husband.  He grew up feeling forced to attend church with his family.  Church was not a part of his adult life and prayed rarely.  But he knew about about his future wife's faith and was willing to go with her to church on Sundays.  He wanted to pray more, but he was uncertain about how to begin having a more fervent prayer life.  I suggested that the two of them could pray together before each meal they shared.  The woman's family had done this when she was growing up.  And the man agreed that this would be a good thing to do.  My prayer is that God will always be a refuge for them, somewhere they can go whenever they experience trouble.  Listen again to the psalmist.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

            Is this true?  Can we jump off the roof of the church with the assurance that angels will catch us?  Are the words “The Lord is my refuge” a magical incantation that will protect you from all harm?  There was one Bible scholar who interpreted Psalm 91 this way.  His name was Devil and he had a discussion about this psalm with Jesus.  Here is what he said. 

Luke 4:9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

            So is this true?  Will God prevent all harm regardless of what we do?  I think not.  That would be a very foolish thing to think.  And Jesus responded to the Devil's interpretation of Psalm 91 this way. 

Luke 4:12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

            God will protect you from evil, but not from your own stupidity.  I heard about a young woman who was learning to drive.  She was a good girl and very active in her church.  Her parents put her in a driver education class and gave her plenty of practice driving the family car under their supervision.  On her sixteenth birthday she got her driver's license and her parents gave her a used car.  For the next few months God protected her as she drove to and from school.  But then one day she was at a friend's house.  The friend was drinking beer and offered her some.  After a couple of hours drinking together they decided to go for a ride.   The young woman started driving recklessly.  Her car was going too fast around a curve and overturned in a ditch.  Both girls were hurt. 

            Why didn't God protect them from the accident?  God does protect us from the consequences of sin.  But we should not test his protection because testing God is itself a sin.   And taking God for granted is never a good idea.  God does not always protect us from ourselves.  So what should we do?  We should avoid sin and rest in the assurance that God is our refuge when trouble arises.  God will be in the hospital room after an accident.  God will be with you in physical therapy.  God will be there as you recover at home, because God is faithful and loves you.  Let's go back to the psalmist.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

            Last week Nancy and I visited Dora in the nursing home.  It's been a long journey for Dora since her strokes.  But throughout the healing process God has been with her.  Slowly her brain is recovering.  Last Thursday she not only remembered who I was she actually seemed like the old Dora.  We talked about the day when she could be with us once again in worship.  And I thanked God that he has been with Dora comforting her, healing her, and being her refuge.

            The promise of scripture is that the God you worship will be with you always.

            This Thursday we will have a memorial service for Irene.  Irene loved this church and loved the Lord.  But given her health problems over the last year she was unable to worship with us.  But her faith sustained her.  She knew God was with her in the hospital.  God was with her in physical therapy.   God was with her in assisted living.  And Irene rejoiced at news about this church because she loved all of you.  God was her refuge and strength.  And so this Thursday we will assemble to remember her and the God she worshiped.

            So I urge all of you to continue deepening your relationship with God because this relationship is your refuge in troubled times.  It is so important that you worship every Sunday and pray every day.  Through these practices your faith will grow.  This faith will sustain you in times of trouble.  You will then experience the presence of God as your refuge.  Let's pray.

            “Cherishing and Reassuring God, we come to worship and thank you for your goodness to us as individuals, and as a community of faith.  Each of us, at various times, have gratefully found shelter under your wings, and we have found a secure refuge in your invincible presence when battered by life’s storms, and for this we thank you. Intimate God, the Psalmist called you “...my refuge, my place of safety… my God…”, and invites each of us into that same intimate relationship of trust and acceptance. Satisfying God, help us to let go all that we cling to that belongs to this “world”, and to place our complete trust in the God of the ages, the God of millions of saints in light, and the God of our future.
            God of reliable promises, you said: “...This I declare: I will rescue you...I will shield you... I will protect you... I will answer you...I will honour you...I will be with you... I will satisfy you...” In humble thanks, we hear and we acknowledge these  gracious and generous gifts from you, our Loving God.  Help us to respond your love and trust all the days of our lives.  Amen.

http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/pentecost19[26]c_2013.htm