Sunday Morning, November 29, 2020 AM

Well, let's pray together. Father, we thank you for gathering us together today for this meal from your Word. You are a good Father, a good Heavenly Father that knows all that we need. And we thank you for providing this most necessary food.

That your Word is not only a light to our path, but is bread for our souls. And we ask for the refreshing water from Christ through his Spirit to fill us today as we respond to your Word. That you will be glorified in all that occurs here.

We ask that you would give us a clear view of your Son, Jesus Christ. See him in this Word. We may show him in this world. We ask for these graces looking only to Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased.

Amen.

The Great Hillel and the Call to Worship Psalm 115

So I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 115. Psalm 115 is part of the Great Hillel, the Great Hymn. The Psalter is organized in such a way that there are often Psalms of a certain theme.

Of a certain importance. Gathered together in five books making up the Psalter. Basically the hymnal of believers from many, many different generations. And in this particular section we are looking at a collection of Psalms that are instructing the worshipers how to worship God.

How God receives praise. How God receives worship. Psalms 111 and 112 are alphabetical acrostics. The Aleph, Beth, Gimel's of praise. The ABC's of praise. What it's all about. And then Psalms 113 through 118 is called the Great Hillel.

A hymn that the worshipers of God would sing throughout their worship of God at Passover. And so Psalm 115 is part of that. And as we look at this text you will see that the themes of 113 and 114 are only emphasized here.

Looking at the greatness of God. The power of God. The glory of God. In stark contrast to the pagans false understandings of their gods and their idols. The contrast is drawn extremely sharp here in this Psalm.

So I invite you to stand with me as I read this Psalm. For Psalm 115 here we are to praise the Lord who is our help and our shield. This is the word of the Lord. Not to us O Lord.

Not to us.

But to your name give glory. Because of your loving kindness. Because of your truth. Why should the nation say where now is their God? But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold.

The work of man's hands. They have mouths but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they cannot see. They have ears but they cannot hear. They have noses but they cannot smell. They have hands but they cannot feel.

They have feet but they cannot walk. They cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them. Everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel.

He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord. The small together with the great. May the Lord give you increase. You and your children. May you be blessed of the Lord. Maker of heaven and earth.

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord. But the earth he has given to the sons of men. The dead do not praise the Lord. Nor do any who go down into silence. But as for us, we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forever.

Praise the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Praise be to God. You may be seated. One of the early chapters in Tom Sawyer. Features Tom and all of his regalia. Meeting the new boy in town. Who couldn't be more of an opposite.

To Tom Sawyer in appearance and in habit. And Tom instantly loathes the new boy. And they square off. Their hatred is so thick they know immediately they must fight. There is no other way to resolve this situation.

And so they circle about and they talk tough. Eventually the talk gets around to this new boy's big brother. And how this new boy's big brother is going to come and whip Tom. And Tom of course begins to talk about his big brother.

How his big brother is going to whip this new boy's big brother and this new kid. And they talk back and forth for a very long time about their big brothers. And how strong they are and how good they are in a fight.

And how this whole thing is going to be resolved. And of course it is noted in the story by the narrator. These two big brothers don't exist. They're just preamble to the fight. When it comes down to it Tom has no big brother to help him out of this scrap.

It's just going to be all up to him. And in some ways Mark Twain is making a point that I'll leave to a literary discussion some other time. But the reality of the matter is these are what idols are. They're big talk but they're just hot air.

And when it comes down to it the people who trust in them are left severely disappointed. This is why every type of pagan religion, all pagan religion, is a religion of despair. Of every kind. In contrast to this, as we are instructed in this psalm, our trust is to be in the Lord.

Who is our help and our shield. A self-ward look. A self-reliant focus. Will lead us in the same place as every pagan. In a place of perpetual disappointment. And protracted despair. Now if we're going to trust in the Lord as our help and our shield.

If we're going to claim the Lord's power and the Lord's consistency. His goodness and His glory as our help and shield. How do we get started? Well it begins by praising Him accordingly. Trusting in the Lord as our help and shield.

Begins with praising Him accordingly. We begin with exalting our God. This is what verses 1 -3 show us. The exaltation of our God. Notice verse 1 shows us that God glorifies God in His worship. God glorifies God in His worship.

Listen to what the worshippers say. They say, not to us, O Lord.

Not to us.

But to Your name give glory. Not to us. Not to us. You hear the repetition. You hear the emphasis. Not to us but to Your name give glory, O Lord. Now who is the us? Well we read a little bit further on.

We hear the worshippers talking to one another. In an antiphonal way they say, O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and shield. So the Levites speak to the Israelites at their day of worship.

As they gather together for Passover. And the Levites call out to the Israelites. The worship leaders to the congregation. And they say, O Israel, trust in the Lord. And Israel responds, He is their help and shield.

And then Israel, the congregants, the worshippers, they call back to the Levites. And they say, O house of Levi, O house of Aaron, O you Levites, trust in the Lord. And then they respond, He is their help and shield.

Isn't that encouraging? Don't we do that around Easter? He is risen. We talk to each other in our worship of God. And then you hear that it's not even to be contained and restrained to Levi and Israel.

But notice the grandeur of the worship plan of God. O you who fear the Lord.

Not just Israelites.

Not just Levites. O you who fear the Lord. For the word was to go to the nations. The seed of Abraham was to bless all the families of the earth. And so the word goes out farther beyond the walls of Israel and the Levites.

Beyond the temple, beyond Jerusalem, beyond the borders of the promised land. Expansive as they are to all the earth. All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord. He is their help and their shield. And so when we see the word us here in verse 1.

Not to us. Well it's the worship leaders. It is the worshippers, the congregation. Anybody who fears the Lord. Anybody who glorifies God and fears the Lord.

Not to us.

They all say, they're all in agreement about this point. And this is a most fundamental point. It is the beginning of this psalm. It is to be at the beginning of all of our considerations of worship. This is the most fundamental basic starting point for worship.

Is this.

Not to us O Lord. Not to us but to your name give glory. That's where it has to begin. True worship. Genuine worship. Righteous worship. Worship that pleases God. That's where it has to begin. It's often noted that being made in the image of God.

We are created in such a way that the worship switch is hardwired on. We never stop worshipping. It's impossible based on our design. And so we're always going to be worshipping something, someone, somewhere.

But righteous worship. God pleasing worship. This is how it works. We say not to us. Not to us. Let not the focus be here O Lord. But give glory to yourself. Give glory to yourself. In particular you notice that they say.

Not just to you in general. But notice particularly they say. Not to us O Lord. Not to us but to your name give glory. To your name give glory. Now we understand something about the weightiness of a name.

We could list a brand name. And we say oh yeah. There's a lot of money behind that name. You could list the name of a corporation. Or list the name of a business. Or even just the name of a person. And you could immediately sense the political or the financial weight of that name.

So when they say to your name give glory. What are they meaning? They ask that the Lord give glory to his name. But what is his name? His name is his self-revelation. When God sent Moses down to Egypt to tell Pharaoh let my people go.

Moses essentially asks and who shall I say is calling. What name am I to give to Pharaoh. To say in the name of God. Let his people go. And of course Pharaoh said something to the effect of. Who is the Lord that I should listen to him.

And then God showed him who he was.

Extensively.

So the worshippers of God say we don't want you to give glory to us. But we want you to give glory to your name. To your self-revelation. Now what is the name of God? Now the name of God in the Hebrew is four letters.

But it's not the only name he uses. It's just we have several names of God don't we? Why doesn't he say to your names give glory. But the idea is to the self-revelation of God. He gives a name to his worshippers.

So that this name will bring to their mind. To bring to our mind the character of God.

In all of his goodness.

To bring to our mind the nature of God.

In all of his glory.

The character of God. Such as his love and his truthfulness. His faithfulness. To bring to our mind the character of God. That he is holy. But then also to bring to our mind the nature of God. That he is everywhere present.

Eternal. Unchanging. The character and the nature of God. As we've talked about before. One of the most splendid things to do in worship. In the worship of God. Is to take apples of gold. And to place them in settings of silver.

To bring these together. Consider the holiness of God. And the eternality of God. He is everlastingly holy. And there we've combined both the character of God.

And the nature of God together.

And you see this happen again and again in scripture. This is the main course of worship. To take the character and the nature of God. And bring them together. And manifold praises to him. And this is what the worshipers are saying.

Give glory to your name. For everything you are and everything you stand for. All of your power and all of your promises. All of your words and all of your works. All of your character and all of your nature.

Bring glory to that. And your name expresses that. Your name brings to mind all of those glories. And they are saying to the Lord. Magnify this self revelation. Make your name great. Make your name weighty.

Make your name renowned. May your name be the name that everybody is talking about. The name that nobody can think without having to deal with this. In other words. Bring such a weightiness and a magnification of your name.

That all will fear you. Notice the contrast. This necessarily means then what? If they are saying not to us, not to us oh Lord. But to your name give glory. They are necessarily then. The worshipers of God are necessarily then saying.

Not to our name.

Isn't that the case?

Not to us oh Lord. Not to us. But to your name give glory. This means by necessity. That the worshipers of God are saying. Not to our name.

Not to our identities.

What are they saying? They are saying God. May there be nothing in our worship. Nothing in you.

Oh God.

That would pay attention to you. Or give weight. Or give significance to my identities. My name should not be magnified. Let us not take up the various characteristics of my identity. And highlight them.

And give them weight and significance. And exalt them for all to see and deal with.

No.

In exact contrast to that. In contrast to intersectionality. In contrast to identity politics. In contrast to the self-focused, self-worshipping culture in which we live. The worshipers of God say magnify your name.

Not to us. Not to us. Magnify your name. The concern in worship. The very fundamental basic concern in worship. Is that God's name be exalted as all worthy. That he would display his power. In such a way that he is revealed as splendid.

And supreme. This is an order that God has established not only in creation. Having made us in his own image. So that we're all about him. Fundamentally all about him. But he's expressed it very clearly for our sakes in the scriptures.

Isaiah chapter 48 and verse 11 says. He says for my own sake. For my own sake I will act. For how can my name be profaned? Do you hear it? For my own sake. For my own sake I will act. For how can my name be profaned?

And my glory.

Note this.

And my glory I will not give to another. This is the way that God operates. And those who would worship him. Must worship him in spirit and in truth. Worshipping him as he has been revealed. And how has he been revealed?

How has his self-revelation been magnified? How is it that we come to know the character and the nature of God? Well no one has seen God at any time. But the only begotten God who was in the bosom of the father.

He has explained him. There is one mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus. How is it that we know who God is? Well Jesus Christ is the express radiance of God's image. The very stamp of who God is.

And so when the worshippers say not to us oh Lord. Not to us. But to your name give glory. We can say in absolute synonymous agreement. Not to us oh Lord. Not to us. But to Jesus Christ give glory. To your self-revelation.

As you express who you are to us.

Magnify Christ.

This is the very basic level of what it means to worship. Now this psalm was likely either written or at least organized into this form that we have it here in the Great Hillel. It's position secured during the time of Israel when they had returned.

Many of them had returned from exile to Jerusalem. To rebuild the temple. To rebuild the walls and so on. So this is the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Joshua the high priest. Zerubbabel the governor. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah.

And as you read about those times in the word of God. You find that they faced stiff opposition. As they tried to resuscitate their culture there in their promised land. They of course had been instructed by God to.

When they were in Babylon. To build houses.

Live in them.

To have their children.

Get married.

And have children. And continue. It was their job to multiply. To be fruitful.

And to multiply.

To prosper.

Because God says I've got plans for you. These plans involve the new covenant. And the new covenant is going to be forged back in your land. And I'm going to bring you back before that happens. So they had a job to do.

And they have come back. And they are trying to live in the land as God had told them to. In hopes and anticipating the arrival of the Messiah. And anticipating the new covenant. And they're trying to get things working again.

And they had many enemies.

Who mocked them. Who shamed them.

Who scorned them. Who did everything they could to frustrate their efforts to worship God. It was a hard road to plow. But notice how they praise God. How they worship. They do not say, make us look good and embarrass our enemies.

Not to us. Not to us, O Lord. But to your name give glory. They want to give God the glory due to God. They want God to give glory to God. Now that's a very dangerous thing to pray. Isn't it? Don't you have an agenda?

Don't you have plans? Don't you have expectations and desires and things? You like to have things the way that you like to have them, don't you? Or are you abnormal? When we worship, it takes us off center.

It takes our eyes off of ourselves. And puts our attention upon God. And we're saying, not to us, O God. Not to us, but to your name give glory. In his worship, God glorifies God. He does so through his people.

Those he has not only made in his image, but also redeemed. Given new life in Christ. Renewing us in his image. God doesn't only glorify God in his worship. But he also, God glorifies God in his works.

God's Loving Kindness and Truth in His Works

God glorifies God in his works. Notice how verse 1 continues. It says, because of your loving kindness. Because of your truth. So not to us, O Lord. Not to us, but to your name give glory. Because of your loving kindness.

Because of your truth. So the last half of verse 1 is establishing the motivation for this type of worship. Why do the worshipers of God want God to magnify God? Here's the reasoning. Because of your loving kindness.

Because of your truth. The reason why, O God, is because of your loving kindness and your truth. How is it that he will magnify his self-revelation? How is it that he will advance his glory for all to see?

He will do so through his loving kindness. And he will do so through his truth. These are two important words. Loving kindness and truth. In the Hebrew, they are the middle names of my first two sons.

Chesed and Emeth. Loving kindness and truth. Chesed is translated as faithful love. Covenant faithfulness. Mercy. And of course here it's translated loving kindness. It is referring to God's covenant love for his people.

Based on who he is. And not who they are. It goes back to Deuteronomy chapter 7. I love you because I love you. The logic of grace. I love you because I love you. God's covenant love for his people based on who he is and not who they are.

In partnership with that is Emeth. It's a Hebrew word for truth. It is often used to refer to the integrity of God. The integrity of God. What he wills and what he says and what he does.

All agree.

He faithfully acts upon his word of truth. His promises. So the worshippers of God in this psalm are saying. Not for ourselves. Not for our own sake. Not to our name. But your name. Give glory to your name.

Do so for the sake of your own Chesed and Emeth. Your own mercy and faithfulness. Do so according to your Chesed and Emeth. According to your loving kindness and truth. How does that manifest? These things are seen in God's works.

God remains faithful. Proves himself faithful. Acts out his faithful love in this world to his people over and over again. God's Chesed and Emeth are seen concretely. In God delivering his people and keeping his promises to them.

So the worshipper is confessing that this kind of kindness. This kind of goodness and truth. This magnifies God. This magnifies God. More of this God. This is what will magnify your name. This is what will bring glory to your name.

More of this.

Because of your loving kindness. Because of your truth. You see we exist to glorify God. God has made us in his image. We're all about him. We're to be magnifying him and glorifying him. And of course we know that there's a fundamental problem called sin.

Sin came in through Adam. And sin spread to all men. Death spread to all men. Because all men sinned. There is none righteous. No not one. There is none who understands. None who seeks after God. We're all in the same boat.

Dead and trespasses and sins. What do we need? Well we need the grace of God. So we may have faith in Jesus Christ. Who is the image of God and to whom we are being renewed. We need the new birth. Jesus says to Nicodemus.

One of the most holy men of all Israel. Religious credentials more than most. And he says to him. You must be born again. You can't even see the kingdom of God unless you're born again. We need the grace and faith of the new birth.

When that happens. Our lives are full of the chesed and emeth of God. Full of his covenant love. He loves us not because of who we are. But because of who he is. And we're full of the emeth of God. The truth of God.

That we believe in his promises. We trust that what he says he will do. And we live according to the word of God. And as these aspects of God's goodness. As his loving kindness and truth. As his goodness is mediated through us.

God's glory is manifested in us. That's what it means to be made in the image of God. How does it work? How do we glorify God? How do we live as the image of God? What does that look like? Well as his goodness is mediated through us.

His glory is manifested in us. And that's how we're the light of the world. But it's not to us. Not to us. To your name give glory. How does that work? By his hesed and emeth at work in our lives. He's working his purposes out through his people.

And in that way we live as the light of the world. Grace redounds as glory. So God glorifies God in his worship. He's the focus of our worship. Not us. Despite whatever songs have been written about. God is all about us.

God is our biggest fan.

And so on.

Actually the worship of God is. God is glorified in his worship. God glorifies himself in his worship. And then God glorifies God in his works. And thirdly, God glorifies God in his world. Verses two and three.

God's Sovereign Rule Over the Nations

God glorifies God in his world. Why should the nation say, where now is their God? But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. You may imagine what kind of joke this was. For the pagans living in the promised land.

And the Jewish exiles are coming home. And the tens of thousands. And they're all moving into Jerusalem. Trying to rebuild it. And they lay the foundation for the temple.

It sits there forever.

Collecting dust. Because the people get their focus off what they're supposed to be doing. And then the Haggai has to come along and preach them up to obedience. Meanwhile, the pagan nations, they're not making life easy on the Jews.

They're going to make things tough. Like what do you think coming back here? I don't care if the emperor said you can come back here and rebuild this place. We don't like you here. They're going to make things tough.

And what do they say? Where is your God? You're going to build a temple? I see your foundation.

Where is your God now?

I don't see him.

I don't see her.

Where is your God? You know, you're not much to look at. You've got a half broken down city and a stump of a temple. And, boy, you don't have much. Where is your God? And it's a joke, too. Because the pagans are like, they're using it in the singular.

Because they worship many gods. And they know these fools are claiming to worship only one God.

And you can't even see them.

No wonder they're in such poor straits. This is the kind of mockery that was often aimed at Israel. Because Israel was monotheistic.

One God.

They were mocked because when they were in peril and things were going poorly for them, the pagans always had more than one God to pray to. And sometimes, you know, you read about the descriptions of the ancient gods and goddesses.

Well, this one was for fertility. And that one was for fertility. And that one was for fertility. Why do you have to have three fertility gods and goddesses? Well, because the first one may not work. And your crops may be looking sickly.

And your herds aren't producing. So you've got to offer more sacrifice. Maybe it's this one over here that does the trick.

Or maybe it's this one over here.

It's just superstition.

Right?

Just trying to work the system to get what you want out of the gods. And they're the ones making fun of the Israelites. They can't see their God. Where is your God? We can't see him. Too bad you staked all your hope on one God you can't even see.

If he were otherwise, maybe you could depend on him. Maybe he'd do something for you. This is still a favorite taunt of pagans. Things go poorly for Christians. And this is even used by so-called atheists.

God doesn't believe in atheists. But so-called atheists in debates in our world where it's like something bad happens to a church. Church burns down. Or some Christian preacher dies of cancer or something.

And somebody quips on social media. And he's like, yeah, that prayer laugh really worked out for you, huh? What is the way they're saying it? They're saying, where is your God now? Oh, that looks like something horrible just happened to a believer.

We'll mock your God now. It's still a favorite. It's even more intense, though, with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Who live in Muslim-dominant countries and Hindu-dominant countries.

Communist-dominant countries. It's still the mockery of the believers. Bad things happen. Things don't work out. And God is mocked. This taunt was the substance of one Rabshakeh. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, marched with his mercenary armies down into Israel and wiped out the northern kingdom.

And was sweeping his way through Judah. Had just conquered the fortress city of Laish. Took out all of the chariots and cavalry of the Jews. And now he is planning to lay siege to Jerusalem. Before he gets there, he sends his messenger Rabshakeh to conduct a little bit of psychological warfare.

So Rabshakeh goes up there and begins to yell out in Hebrew. So that everybody in the city can hear and understand the taunts he's giving. And what does he say?

He says,.

Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. And do not believe him. For no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers.

How much less will your god deliver you from my hand? Do you hear it? Where is your god? Where is your god? Your god can't do anything. Same idea of Nebuchadnezzar's scorn. As he was talking to the three young Jewish men whom he had renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They refused to bow down to his idol. And he's got them on the precipice ready to put them into the fiery furnace. And what does he say to them? If you do not worship, you will be immediately cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

And what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands? Do you hear it? Where is your god now? What are you going to do? That's the mockery of the pagans. But Hezekiah does not capitulate to worship the gods of the Assyrians.

And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not capitulate to worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Hezekiah responds this way. He prayed to the Lord. And when you read the story, he prays to the Lord whom he says is enthroned above the cherubim.

God alone, God of all kingdoms, maker of all things. Our God is in the heavens. He does what He pleases. He's fully in control. This is the response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They said if God's able, our God is able.

If He's willing, He'll deliver us. Even if He doesn't, that's His business. Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases. The worshippers of God say, not to us, not to us, O Lord, but to Your name give glory.

And when the pagans mock and say, hey, where's your God now? The worshippers say, oh, He's in the heavens. He's enthroned above the highest throne. Our God has all power. In fact, all authority has been given to Jesus Christ in heaven and on earth.

He is a name which is above every name. King of kings and Lord of lords.

Our God is in the heavens.

He does whatever He pleases. Our God is too big and too powerful to be captured through the means of a physical image. He's not of this earth as if He should be depicted by wood or stone or precious metal.

He's in the heavens. Fully authoritative, highly exalted. Doing whatever He wants, not whatever we want. And so we see the point. Images are to worship, not be worshipped. We're made in the image of God.

But images are created to worship, not be worshipped. Not to us, not to us. But to God's name be glory. God is not limited by our designs nor by our demands. It's very good news that God does whatever He pleases.

That God does whatever He wants. That's really good news because all that God wants is righteous and good. Is just and holy. Is compassionate and merciful.

Perfect.

Everything that God wants to do is right and good and perfect. When He does whatever He wants, does whatever He pleases, we praise Him for that. If God's people prosper, it's because He wills it for their good and His glory.

If God's people suffer, it's because He wills it for our good and His glory. It's not because He lacks the power to help them. The passage in Isaiah 48, this time I'll read verse 10 before I read verse 11.

He says, Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you, listen, in the furnace of affliction. In the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake I will act. For how can my name be profaned and my glory I will not give to another.

Did you hear that?

Sometimes affliction is what we experience and then when the pagans say, Yeah, where's your God now? He's in the heavens. He's having His way with me. He's doing what is right and proper and good and I trust Him.

I trust Him. I don't have to explain it. But whatever He wills is good and it's glorifying to Him. And I know it is full of His loving kindness and full of His truth. So I give Him praise. Listen, God is our help and our shield.

That doesn't change. The reason why that doesn't change and God remains forever our help and shield is because He remains forever committed to His own glory. Our help and shield is eternally solid due to God's incontrovertible purpose to glorify Himself.

Since He will not fail in magnifying His name, He will not fail those upon whom He has placed His name. Our best guarantee that God will not fail us is that His primary concern is not set on us. That God will glorify God is our best guarantee.

Our unfailing guarantee. Hebrews says He is sworn by Himself. He has staked His gracious purpose upon His own name. Upon the verity and the value of His own name so we know He's not going to fail. So, at the very beginning of what it means to worship God is this fundamental posture, this orientation that we must have.

The very same that was expressed so very helpfully to us by John the Baptist. He must increase. We must decrease.

Let's pray.

Father, I thank You so much for our time in Your Word. You show us, Lord, that even the highest heights to which You may take us is not for us but for Your name. The lowest lows that we experience and we walk through.