Courageous Worship - [Psalm 115]

What a joy it is to sing to the Lord and be reminded of a Lord's grace and mercies and in singing. The title for today's message this evening message is courageous worship and the text is found in Psalm 115.

Courageous Worship in Psalm 115

So if you want to turn there we are also going to be looking at some passages in Daniel as Illustrations of the truth that we're going to be studying in Psalm 115. When you think of courageous worship, I?

Want you to begin by asking yourself that question? Are you bold in your worship of God. And As you reflect on that you might you might think how do these two things come together? Why does where does courage and worship?

In what circumstances are they conjoined when we think of courageousness? You know in the face of adversity in the face of fear well, we want to press on to do what is right what is God honoring. And when we think of worship typically we think of Corporate worship gathering together as an assembly and exalting our Lord.

But the kind of worship that we are going to be looking at is the worship that we do in the quietness of Our hearts in the circumstances where you may actually be alone. But may still need to lift up and exalt your God.

In the way in which you act in those circumstances and like I said, we will look at Daniel's Several chapters in Daniel's for some illustrations on how we can worship God with boldness and courage. When God places us in those circumstances, I?

Hope you are in Psalm 115. I would like to actually read the psalm first and then get into the message. Because I expect us to get to about half of this this evening in the message itself. Psalm 115 verse 1.

Not to us O Lord not to us, but to your name give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness. Why should the nation say where is their God? Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear Noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel feet.

But do not walk and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them. So do all who trust in them. Oh Israel trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Oh 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 remembered 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 both the small and the great. May the Lord give you increase, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. The heaven are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to the children of man.

The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. Let us pray. Our loving and gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, for giving us your word, your revelation to us.

And even this evening, as we open this word, give me strength, O Lord, to proclaim it faithfully by your Spirit, O Father. Use it in the lives of each of us here this evening, that we would be clear in terms of your call to us and that we would be empowered by the Spirit to live out the life that you've called us to.

In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Okay. I mentioned that Daniel is one of the books that we're going to be turning to. So keep your fingers in first Psalm 115. We may not actually have to turn to Daniel, but we're going to be looking at some illustrations of what it means to live courageously in the face of adversity, what it means to worship God with courage and boldness.

In fact, if you remember the stream throughout the book, you may pick up Daniel as a young person who was carried off into captivity. And even as a young child, he would worship God with what he ate. When the king's food was offered, he would say, no, may I please have vegetables and water, food that is not intended to make you strong and well-built.

But in order to honor God, Daniel and his friends would take a bold step in order to obey God rather than eat the food that was offered possibly to idols, but from the king's table. And then as we go further on, we will see many events.

And then finally, even in this very old age, we see Daniel who would continue his lifestyle of prayer. Even when the king's edict comes alongside and wants to divert people from praying to God, Daniel would still remain faithful, still remain bold and courageous and live out the faith that was begun a long time ago.

And hopefully we will learn some insight from these examples, how we want to press on in our bold worship of God. And this worship needs to extend into all aspects of our life. And that's my goal today.

It is for sanctification of believers. So those of you who call yourselves Christians, I hope that this would give you just that shot in the arm. When you go back into your work spaces, when you go back into your homes to trust in the Lord and to worship him with boldness.

The history of the Psalm is a little uncertain. We don't exactly know the context and the circumstances that surround this Psalm. One thing we do know, it was written in a time of humiliation in the nation.

So if you look at verse two, why should the nation say, where is their God? There is a context in which the nations that surround Israel are possibly mocking Israel for its state. Once again, we do not know what the status, but the commentators seem to think that this could be a time where the nation was either defeated in war or surrounded by enemies who are stronger, or it could actually be even in captivity.

The commentators couldn't decide if this was something that was pre-exilic. So for example, when Sennacherib comes from the time of Hezekiah and says, what God can protect you? We've destroyed all the gods in this land as we've overrun nations.

So it could be pre-exilic, or it could be during the time of exile, like in the time of Daniel. It could be possibly that this nation, which was once strong and mighty, has now gone into captivity. There is no longer a king ruling in Israel.

And then these nations could be mocking Israel and say, where is your God? The God that was supposed to keep a king on your throne. Or it could be post-exilic, more like in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, during the rebuilding of the walls.

Here you have a mighty nation. All you have are these ruins. And here are these people, a remnant, a small group, trying to somehow feebly build up this wall. And then here are all the other people outside looking and mocking, where is your God?

We do not know what it is. One thing we do know is that this was a time where the nation was humbled. And it is quite likely that it might have been a result of apostasy. As we look through the Old Testament, you see several circumstances in which the nation of Israel walks away from God and God brings judgment to it.

So whatever the circumstance is, we see the psalmist in this humiliating circumstance exalt God and then give us that same kind of courage when the chips are down, when everything is going not so great.

In fact, this psalm is actually one of the Hillel psalms. It is one of the praise psalms that are sung during major festivals, especially the Passover. The psalms from Psalm 113 to 118 actually form one of those groups of Hillel psalms that are sung right after the Passover meal.

So you can actually almost picture Jesus after the Last Supper singing this psalm with his disciples. So let us quickly break down the psalm and then we will get into this text itself. The psalm breaks down into three groups.

The first one is from verses 1 through 8, and that is most likely what we will cover this evening. And the focus of that section is that you must worship God, the God of heaven, and not idols. And then verses 9 through 15, we see that you must trust God who is your provider.

And then the rest of the psalm from 16 through 18, your God deserves your worship. So with that, let us get down into Psalm 1. We are going to look at this section, which I have themed, you must worship God and not idols.

Worshiping God and Not Idols

And the reason is God alone deserves worship. And we see this in verse 1, not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Some of the psalms actually open up with a trumpet call.

And when you read this verse, you should just get that wake-up call, clarion-like in your ears. Not to us. In fact, when I read the psalm over and over again, the image I get is something like this.

Here is the psalmist saying, not to us, not to us, O Lord, but to your name, to your name. There is just this stark contrast in the way in this psalm is poetically written with the repetitions to just exalt God and to take the psalmist and the Israelites out of the picture.

And a question for us this evening is this, when we think of worship, we have a choice. The choice is, is that, am I going to live my life worshiping myself and what surrounds me, or am I going to keep God as the focus of my worship?

We want to be very clear about this because very often we, as Christians, kind of amble through life. We do this thing, we do that thing. And then when you just step back and look, it's like, why did I do these things?

What is it that describes my life this day, this week, this year? Is it something that is just completely centered around myself or are these actions that I commit, committed in order to glorify and honor God?

And for the psalmist, the answer is very clear, not to us, not to us. In fact, when you look at the history of Israel, they didn't have a lot really to boast about. When they began, when, when they were chosen by God, they were a small people, but when they were chosen and favored by God and God built them up and exalted them, they were not the kind of people that you would say, oh, here is my class model student.

These were a people that were stumbling and falling. When God was putting his hand upon them and leading and guiding them, they would constantly waver and turn and fall. And so the psalmist here makes this stark contrast to say, if we had to boast in ourselves, especially in this time of national humiliation, we really don't have anything to boast about.

And we do not want us to be the object of glory, but we want you to be to be glorified. And why is that? Why should God's name be glorified? The psalmist gives a few things here in verse one. The first thing is the name of God, but to your name, give glory.

It is in the name of God. You're talking about the character of God to the attribute of God, who God is that deserves the glory. And in fact, when you think of this term that to your name, be glory, you probably want to remember Moses and Joshua.

If you remember when Moses was leading the people of Israel under God, there was a time when the Israelites were just getting so, so difficult to deal with. God would be faithful. He would lead them, but they would just constantly grumble.

God would show, give them food and provision, but they would constantly walk away into adultery. And God at one point discloses to Moses, his friend, I'm going to destroy this people. And then you hear the cry of Moses back to God.

And this is what Moses intercedes for the people. He says, these people deserve the judgment, but we want, I would, I want your name a lot to be exalted. I want the people, the nations that are surrounding not to say their God just brought them out of Egypt to destroy them in the wilderness.

But we may your name be exalted as you bring them forth into the promised land. And, uh, and that is the kind of mindset that the Psalmist has here as well. We want your name to be glorified, even in the state of humiliation in which we are today.

And then he brings forth two attributes in verse one. The one, the first one is a steadfast love. And the second one is God's faithfulness. When you think of the steadfast love of God, you want to think of the covenant keeping love of God.

And for us as Christians post, uh, Christ, we can think of how God in Christ has covenanted with his people. So when you become a Christian, you have seen a powerful demonstration of the love of God that has been emblazoned forever in history.

And in your life, when God in Christ has forgiven you and demonstrated his love to you. And then when we think of the faithfulness of God, um, and this is, I think, very key for us as believers. There are times when we walk, uh, in great strength and confidence, and there is a great joy that comes when you obey the Lord, when you follow after him.

And then there are times when, uh, you sin and you, you struggle with a certain area in your life. And then you think, um, do I deserve God's love, his mercy, his forgiveness. And, uh, those are the times like in this time of Israel's humiliation to remember, it is not your faithfulness that guarantees your relationship with the Lord, but it is the faithfulness of the God who called you out.

Just like when Israel was called out by God, God was the one who was faithful in leading them to their destination. And likewise in our lives as well, it is the faithfulness of God that guarantees you finishing the race successfully.

And we want God to receive all the honor and the glory because it is his love and his faithfulness that will bring us through to the end. Let's now step back a minute and then look at our own lives. Um, what are some of the ways in which we can tend to draw the glory to ourselves rather than pointing that glory rightly toward God?

Um, far too often, um, boasting is one of those terms that comes to my mind. Um, all of us are probably skilled in various different, uh, things gifted maybe in, in certain aspects. And it is not uncommon as you live in the world to be able to say, you know, I'm good at this or I'm, I excel at this.

And especially if you're talking with unbelievers, it is very common to disconnect the God who gave us that gift or gave us that ability and say, well, you know, here is what I am good at. And, uh, uh, one of the challenges I think for believers today is what I call a presumption.

We, we somehow implicitly think that, yes, I know my God gave me, but I don't need to really acknowledge him for what he has given to me. So I, I speak as if what I have is mine as if it was not given to me.

And here in the Psalm, we are exhorted to remember firstly for ourselves that every single thing that we have is from God and God alone deserves the glory for what we have because it comes from God. And we want to be also unashamed of proclaiming that glory back to God and say, God, I acknowledge before these people that I am, that it is you who have given me, um, whatever it is that I am glad for, thankful for.

So for example, if it is your job, it is your family, whether some skills, whether the way you look, your strength, and just your confidence in life, whatever it is that you have that you want to be thankful for, you want to make sure you acknowledge God for that, uh, skill and for that goodness that he has given to you.

Let me just give you a very brief example from Daniel. And then we will move on to verse two in Daniel chapter two. Uh, you have a very, uh, an interesting circumstance, and I want you to think of this courageous worship.

Once again, um, you have the circumstance where King Nebuchadnezzar has this dream and he has called upon all the people in the land to tell him what the dream is and what it means. And the people throw up their hands and say, King, you are asking an impossible task.

No man can actually tell you the dream. You give me the dream and I'll interpret it for you. And the King says, no, you are fooling me. And I'm going to kill you all because you are just cheats and liars.

And then Daniel and his friends were young and just brought into this company, um, are part of this group who are supposed to be killed. But now, um, we will see more about this passage later, but here is Daniel with a, with a dream and its interpretation right before the King.

And I want to just read you from verse 26, what happens? And I want you to be thinking of Psalm 115 verse one, while we read this, the King declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar. Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?

And I want you to think this here is Daniel and his friends slaves in a foreign land. Here is the one big moment in time before this King of this mighty powerful King in this whole world, as you will.

And here is the opportunity to shine, to make himself big. And here is the answer of Daniel. And he says, no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologists can show to the King, the mystery that the King has asked, but that is Daniel who can answer the King.

Is that what he says? But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days, your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these.

And he goes on to explain what the dream was. And, uh, and that should be the overriding thought process in our minds. As we think of sanctification, we want to be bold in worshiping God in those circumstances that God has placed us.

And we want to be unashamed of giving God the glory in the circumstances where God has blessed us with, in this case, wisdom from above. Let's move on to the next verse, which is verse two and three. And here we are going to look at a different circumstance.

And verse one, it was a Psalmist looking at his heart and where he stands before God and verse two and three deal with the marking that comes from the outside. Verse two, why should the nation say, where is their God?

Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases. As I said, this Psalm is written in a time of humiliation. So you have two aspects of, um, if you will, a trial that is going on, one is from the outside, which is the mockery of the people that are observing Israel.

And then in response to the mockery of this people, the nation of Israel, you also have doubt that comes from within the land and maybe even within the Psalmist own breast. So we're going to look at those two aspects and how do you respond with worship to God?

So one of the things that could be going on is, is this, and we have this phrase, where is their God in a few places in the old Testament and all of those times. And those, that phrase is one of those phrases that is just, um, uh, the juice hated that because here is this mockery.

The one thing that defined them as a nation, this God who has called them and led them. And here are these, these, uh, the peoples, the nations, those that do not know God are mocking these, this nation Israel.

And like I said, sadly, this is probably in a time of, um, uh, humiliation because of sin that has, that has creeped into the land. But here are some things that they could have been asking. So you are defined as a people who worship this, this God of heaven and earth.

And where is your God right now? You have no nation or you are completely powerless under me. I'm the one who has authority over you. What kind of a God do you worship? Um, you know, you, the land that you speak so highly of is completely in ruins.

What kind of a God leaves his people that way? Do you really think there is a God? Look at our gods. They give us all this power and strength. Um, and you, and as I'm speaking, you can probably think of the various circumstance in the nation of Israel where this actually happens.

And, uh, such as the mockery that comes from outside and the Psalmist has no evidence, if you will, to say, Oh, there is the secret plan. You just wait and see in two years, we are going to take over Babylon.

No, there's, there's really nothing that the Psalmist has in terms of what's going to happen on the ground, but he has a, he does have a response. Um, uh, before I get to the response, let me go a little further in terms of the mockery.

So as these nations surrounding Israel are mocking, you have people possibly within Israel who are walking away this morning, we heard the issue of the Samaritans, and that's a different context because you had people brought in to this land by the Assyrians who would actually intermingle.

And then you have this, um, mixed race, but you have actually people who are already apostate. They are being chastised probably for, uh, idolatry and walking away from the God of Israel. And now they are in a completely pagan nation if they are in exile and when they are taunted and mocked and possibly, uh, attracted by these false worshipers around them.

Um, there are probably many who are actually walking away from the God of Israel and following after these nations. So you have this, this doubt and, uh, internal questioning, where is their God? So it's not just people outside asking, where is the God of Israel?

But you have people asking themselves, where is my God in all of these circumstances? And could it be that the Psalmist himself was dealing with this question because there is really no visible sign of God or his help at this point in time.

And then you have verse three and that's the response of the Psalmist. And he says, our God is in the heavens and he does all that he pleases. What a response of faith. And this is what I mean by bold, courageous worship.

When you have nothing else to hang on, except your trust in the Lord of heaven and earth, who has called you and who will lead you even through these times. And the answer is essentially this. While the world is successful, the world is looking down upon the Israelites, uh, and upon you and saying, what, what is it?

What is the basis of your confidence? When I cannot see your God and I cannot see circumstances in your life that will justify your faith. The answer of faith is this. There, my God is in a place where you cannot go.

He is ruling from heaven. He lives in heaven. Your eyes are completely blind to the fact that there is a heaven and my God is a ruler and he does exactly as he pleases. He is in heaven, in glory, and your eyes are not open yet to see it.

But I do even when I can see the plight in which I am today. And he acts sovereignly. He has no one to question him or demand of him that he show himself in each one's time and choosing. He will, he, he does what he, what is pleasing to him.

And I think for us, one of the images that should come to mind is Jesus on the cross. Here is Christ, the King of the universe in the utter state of humiliation before all the nations as people are walking by and mocking and saying, well, if you are the son of God, why didn't you come down?

Could God, could Christ have come down? Absolutely. But did he know because he, his sovereign will is what is accomplished, not to just satisfy the questions of the people around. And I, and as we turn this, what was happening in the nation of Israel to ourselves, we want to probably ask ourselves, what are some of the times when the people around you mock you about your faith, about the God whom you worship, and how do you respond with courage?

How do you worship your God in those circumstances? And I think the Psalmist response is helpful for us to just remember who is it? What is it that you trust? Where is your faith grounded upon? Do I trust my sight, the circumstances that I see around myself?

Do I trust the enemy of God who has his eyes blinded to the truth and the words that I, that I hear from him, or do I believe in the unseen? Do I believe in the God who has drawn me out of darkness and brought me into his kingdom of light?

Do I believe in the God who has changed my heart inside out, the God who has redeemed me from the pit? Maybe I can give you a few more examples just to keep, bring this to the ground. Maybe some, someone could be asking you, um, hey, you know, I read in the Bible about the church.

Maybe Christ was, was a powerful person. When I see the New Testament church, you know, I see like tongues of flame on the people. You know, I see the building shaking when, when the spirit of God comes there.

Um, and, and that, that tells me that there was a real movement of God among the people then. You guys, 2 ,000 years later, you're just singing old hymns and, um, I don't see any evidence. Is your God really here as you worship?

Is your God really here? Is our God really here when we worship? And how about yourself? You say that you are a believer. You have the spirit of God in you. When I look in the New Testament, I see people like speaking in tongues when the spirit of God came upon them.

How do you even know that God dwells in you? Do you? Obviously, I just picked these two examples as, uh, actually you could probably get those questions from charismatics as well. And, uh, and I just want to emphasize the difference between what is seen, observed, and experience on the outside versus what truly goes on on the inside.

Now it is true. There could be people who just claim to be believers whose lives do not, uh, uh, demonstrate the power of God in their lives. And you probably should examine your lives to make sure that you are indeed a believer.

But if you do know the God of heaven who has done work in your soul, who has opened your eyes to the scriptures. So the scriptures are no longer just a textbook that you're reading, but the very word of God from heaven speaking to you.

If you have a relationship with God that is stronger than the most intimate of relationships that we have, that of a husband and a wife, if, if this God has changed your life in the past, that this moment in time, no matter what that circumstances, maybe it is a circumstance of humiliation.

You can still respond like the Psalmist does in verse three, my God is in heaven and he does exactly as he pleases. Um, God's presence is here in, in the earth and yet he is in heaven with glory and he works here on the earth.

Although his workings are inscrutable to the unbeliever and he works from heaven and will wrap up all things when he comes back. Let me give you an illustration on this from Daniel chapter three. And here we have the other example of Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

And, uh, you have the circumstance where the King has erected an idol, a statue of himself. And this is a national occasion. This is a place where the entire nation is going to come down and celebrate this great King and all that he has accomplished.

And Daniel and his friends, as you know, are now part of the state. They are working for the King. They are exemplary citizens. They are expected to do the kind of things that all the nation does. And here, while the whole nation is bowing down and celebrating this national event, we have three men who would refuse to do so.

And that brings up this issue of courage and worship. In chapter three, verse 14, Nebuchadnezzar said to these men, is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?

Now, if you're ready, when you hear the sound of all these musical instruments to fall down and worship the image I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? Where will your God be when I am in control? Here is the most mighty, powerful King in that entire world. And he wants to have his will done and he will not permit another God to challenge his power and authority.

And listen to the response in verse 16. These men answered and said to the King, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. The matter is settled in our heart. This issue doesn't even question what we think, what we believe and what we know to be true.

That's what they're saying. If this be so, which is the threat that they face from the King, our God whom we serve, he is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King.

But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. And again, just an illustration, a very familiar story of what happened in the lives of these friends of Daniel.

And the point is this, in a circumstance, and that's one of the problems with familiar stories, we kind of walk through them very quickly. What I want you to remember is this entire nation is worshiping the false gods and they're bowing down before this idol.

And here is the most powerful King of the world standing before you and asking these men. And these men are not just looking, going by their eyes and saying, this is the most powerful man, but their eyes are open to heaven and they can acknowledge their God and say, my God is the one who is more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar.

And he is the one I'm going to trust. And I have no problem glorifying my God in the face of this danger and adversity, because there is really no danger that comes to my life that is apart from my God who brings it.

And my God is able to rescue. And as you know, in Daniel 3, how God does deliver Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and brings glory to himself as Nebuchadnezzar himself acknowledges God. Let's move on to verses four through seven.

The Idols That Cannot Speak, See, Hear, or Save

So now we move to a section of this Psalm, which is called a polemic. So the Psalmist has endured the assaults from the outside. Now you have the response of the Psalmist back to the unbeliever. And essentially the world goes by what it sees and its sight is pretty dim.

And the Christian now responds with the truth that exposes the darkness and the falsehood that is endemic in the world. So verse four, let me, I won't read the verses, but I'm just going to speak through them.

So he says their idols are silver and gold, silver and gold, maybe a little more expensive than wood and stone, but what are they? They are the work of human hands. Here are people who make objects and bow down to them and give honor and respect and worship to their own creation.

And contrary wise, you and I human beings are the work of God's hands and our right responsibility is to worship the God who created us. And that's the contrast. That is the truth that needs to be exposed while the unbeliever is mocking the God who made us and the circumstances in which we are, where God has sovereignly placed us.

And then he says they have mouths, but do not speak. What are mouths supposed to do? Mouths speak. It communicates. We have a God in heaven who reveals the truth from above. He has given us the scriptures by which we know what he wants us to know.

On the other hand, all that these idols can have is a fashion mouth that cannot communicate from these false gods to the people who worship them. They have eyes, but do not see these, these idols can have these fashioned eyes.

In fact, some of the Hindu idols have a very elaborate ceremony of opening those eyes in terms of giving that vision by human hands to this God who can now see, but they have no knowledge. These idols cannot see, cannot observe, cannot know what is going on in their devotees lives, far less come to their aid.

But our God is in heaven and he observes the actions of men. They have ears, but they do not hear. These devotees of these false gods can beat themselves up, run around, cry, sing, chant, do whatever they want toward their God, but their God, their idol has no ears to hear.

He cannot answer, hear the prayers of his devotees, but our God is in heaven and listening to the prayers. There is not one prayer that comes from the mouth of a believer that is not heard by God and responded in love.

They have nose, but do not smell. It is just cosmetic. They have hands and feet, but cannot act. These gods on which they trust are incapable of any action in the lives of those who have committed themselves to him.

But we have a sovereign God from heaven who not only orders the circumstances according to his perfect pleasure, but he acts and intervenes and responds to prayer in the lives of his loved ones and who is alive, as we will see.

These false gods, they cannot make a sound in their throat. It is said that some of these idols, the false priests would make some sounds to make it look like these idols were speaking. And all that you have are these fake sounds, but you have a God.

We believe a God who is alive and truly well, and he does not need these gimmicks for people to be cheated. So what is the idol's alternative that we have here on earth today? So you and I are not challenged by pagan nations that are worshipping these idols, these physical idols that are being sold.

Instead, we have a lot of things that make up for idolatry in the hearts and lives of the world, which can again encroach in the life of a believer if you are not careful. As I began in verse 1, I said there is a choice in worship.

And one of the key choices that we make is, do I want to worship the God of heaven and earth? Do I want to give glory to my God, or do I want to let myself be the center of the life that I'm going to live?