Christ Church

Psalm 147: God of the High and Low

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INTRODUCTION

On the one hand, we know that God is far above us, higher than the highest heaven. But we must also confess that He is beneath our feet, supporting us in every possible way. He is the God of the macrocosm, but He is also an infinitely skilled miniaturist, folding enormous libraries of information into trillions of cells—and that is just in one body. He is the God of general, natural revelation, and He is the God who reveals Himself in the propositions of human language.  

THE TEXT

“Praise ye the Lord: For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praise upon the harp unto our God . . . Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 147:1-20). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The one thing we can say about praising the God of Heaven is that such praise is fitting (v. 1). The builds up the city where He has set His name, and He does it by gathering up the riff raff (v. 2). He heals the broken-hearted, and binds their wounds (v. 3). He knows how many stars there are, and He names each one (v. 4). The Lord is truly great; His knowledge is infinite (v. 5). He lifts the meek, and throws down the wicked (v. 6). Sing to Him; play the harp for Him (v. 7). He fills the sky with clouds, and gives rain to the earth (v. 8). He feeds all the beasts of the field; He feeds the young ravens as they cry (v. 9). He is not impressed by horse power, or by man power (v. 10), probably a reference to cavalry and infantry. When people fear Him, the Lord is pleased. He is pleased by those who look to Him for mercy (v. 11). Again, praise from Jerusalem and Zion is fitting (v. 12). God has built up her defenses, and given lots of blessed children (v. 13). He gives peace along the border, and He bestows abundant crops (v. 14). The world does not run on impersonal natural law, but rather God sends forth His commandment, which runs swiftly (v. 15). He gives us snow; He gives us rime, or hoarfrost (v. 16). He scatters ice, and brings in the freezing cold (v. 17). After giving the ice, He melts the ice (v. 18). He grants the chinook, and everything melts (v. 18). He reveals His laws to Jacob, His commandments to Israel (v. 19). He hath not dealt so with any nation: And as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord” (v. 20). 

A HALLELUJAH SANDWICH

The first and last word in this psalm is hallelujah—“praise Yah.” Each hallelujah is a piece of bread, and one goes on the top and the other one on the bottom. But in some circles, Christians want to sing hallelujah over and over, like a Hindu mantra. But in biblical terms, this is like making a bread sandwich, bread on each side and bread in the middle. Biblical praise is modeled for us in this psalm—we have here a biblical Dagwood. There is the bread, then salami, then ham, then cheese, then onions, then prosciutto, then a different kind of cheese, and then the other piece of bread. There is substance in the middle. The bread frames the praise, but the actual praise is the content of what we say. And if you look carefully at this psalm, you see all different kinds of content.   

DISTINCTION WITHOUT SEPARATION

One of the perennial temptations that theologians have is that of thinking that the necessary distinctions they must make are distinctions that somehow create a division or separation. For example, we may distinguish the love and justice of God, but these two attributes are not separated in Him. We distinguish them for our sake, because Scripture does, but a distinction does not require separation. Here would be another example. A small child can distinguish height and breadth and depth. It is easy to distinguish them, but impossible to separate them. If you remove the height of this pulpit, you do not have a very flat pulpit, but rather no pulpit at all. 

The reason for addressing this is that theologians are fond of distinguishing natural revelation and special revelation. Natural revelation is the way in which the created order reveal the majesty and nature of God. Special revelation is given to us in the words of Scripture. We distinguish them, and it is good that we do so. But look at the two together in this psalm. He speaks through the stars, through agriculture, through His providential care of ravens, and He shouts whenever He gives us rime. But woven through all of this, He is also the one whose commandments run swiftly (v. 15), and He reveals His laws and commandments to Israel (v. 19).

THE WORLD IS NOT IMPERSONAL

Too many Christians assume that the world is just the kind of impersonal place that Voltaire thought it was, only we believe that God is at the top, along with some angels, and we are down here at the bottom, with our souls tucked away under the sternum. Everything else, we think, is just atoms banging around. Or, if we are more Deistic than materialist, we think it is a cold, impersonal clock, following its pre-programmed routine. But the world is not like that at all. Christ is the one who holds all things together, not gravity (Col. 1:17-18). What we call natural law is simply God being kind to us. Most of the time the car keys are right where we left them yesterday. But the universe does not have an autonomous or independent existence apart from God. In Him, we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). 

WHY GOD IS PLEASED WITH YOU

We are evangelical and Calvinistic enough to know that everything I am about to say is all of grace, and nothing but grace. We have not earned or deserved anything on our own. But because of Christ, and through Christ, and in Christ, what does God think of you? You have fled to Christ for mercy, and what is God’s disposition toward those who do this? “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” (Psalm 147:11). You come to Him for mercy because you sinned. God takes pleasure in receiving you. You look to Him as a God-fearing woman or man, or girl, or boy. And what is God’s response? Because of Christ, He takes pleasure in it. 

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Christian Conversation (Troy)

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SERMON TEXT

Proverbs 12:18

INTRODUCTION

As human beings there are many things that differentiate us from the animals. First and foremost, we are made in the image of god. Our penchant for creativity and our desire to invent is derived from this. We make things, design things, prototype things, tweak, bend, and reassess. And we end up with something on our work bench or computer screen or cast iron skillet that didn’t exist the day before. We have flesh like the animals, but we also have a soul. We have been given a conscience, and an innate sense of our place in the universe. And I also think that most men are aware that our purpose in this life has something to do with each other. 

PART I – NEGATIVE TENDENCIES IN CONVERSATION

  1. Complaining

Whether you go to school, work in a corporate environment, own your own business, or you’re a stay at home wife, you can always find common ground in a conversation by complaining about something or someone. Relating to one another is fundamental to relationships. We want people to celebrate our successes, empathize with our struggles, and feel sorry for our losses. But we as human beings are inclined to focus on the negative. 

  1. Corrupt Speech

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths.” I don’t think we as Christians have much difficulty discerning what is wholesome and what is unwholesome in our speech. The difficulty is restraining the tongue in the first place. For most people the latency between saying something stupid and realizing it was stupid is low. How we all wish we had the ability to instantly retract a statement said in haste. In many cases, saying nothing at all would be an improvement. 

  1. Gossip

Proverbs 20:19 says, “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.” The ESV puts it this way, “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.” Walter Winchell once said, “Gossip is the art of saying nothing, in a way that leaves practically nothing unsaid.” Again, there is subtlety here. God isn’t placing a cap on the amount of words we can use in a single day. Some people talk more, some people talk less. And talking about a person when they are not there is not inherently sinful either. The content of what we say is the issue. Does the information spread stop with you? Or, are you ground zero?

PART II – POSITIVE INTERSPERSIONS 

  1. Listen and Build Up

We are to say only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. If our tongue has a tendency to be divisive, cutting, disrespectful, or full of lies, then getting it to do the opposite, encourage, complement, assist, inspire, teach. This is going to be an enormous undertaking, that will require discipline, hard work, rigor, restraint and most of all prayer. As much as we would like to saddle a wild horse and ride into the sunset, the reality is, it’s not going to co-operate until we take the time to break the horse.

  1. Season with Salt

Matthew Henry said, “We are to make our conversation savory and palatable to others, so that it may be profitable to them.” We’ve all known the argumentative person who uses browbeating as a conversational cudgel. We know what it’s like to speak to someone who has no patience or is forceful. And if we don’t like it, what makes us think that the unbeliever will be attracted to it? We must be kind and gentle and loving.

  1. Slow to Speak, Quick to Listen

Ecclesiastes 5 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” And from Proverbs 10, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” And from James 1, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Whatever your opinions are about Elon Musk, It cannot be denied that he is a dynamic figure on the world stage. One thing that I’ve noticed about him, is that when he is questioned in an interview, he often will not respond right away. Sometimes the pause is so long that it’s a bit awkward. But the silence communicates a few things. It says, “I’m thinking about your question. I’m thinking about the best way to phrase my answer, I’m thinking about the implications of my answer, and I’m more concerned about giving your question the attention it deserves than I am about not appearing socially awkward.

  1. Address Each Other with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

I commend to you the practice of memorizing scripture, but I am also quite happy to say the obvious, some verses we should prioritize. I’m not saying don’t memorize Nehemiah, it’s the word of God too, but Paul specifically says, “Address one another with these songs.”

  1. Be Gentle

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” If you were to ask a Christian, “Who do you love the most?” The answer would be, “My wife, husband, my children, my parents.” And yet, the most vitriolic statements of anger and rage are often reserved for these relationships, the people you love the most.

CONCLUSION

As we draw to a close, I’d like to encourage you in one more aspect of Christian conversation. And that is, to initiate a conversation. There are families that are new to the area. Let’s reach out and make them feel welcome. Some of them have no family nearby. There was a time when we first moved here to Troy, there was no one out here and we went through periods of loneliness. We had no family and didn’t know anyone. If we went through it, maybe somebody else is going through it. If we see a new face on Sunday morning, let’s be sure to greet them. Send texts to your friends. Ask them how they’re doing. Let them know you’re praying for them. Call your mother. Facetime your sister. If you say you’re going to call someone back, do it. If you say you’ll text someone later, keep your word.

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Come Unto Me

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INTRODUCTION

A perennial problem that comes upon the people of God is that they choose to die in the desert rather than come to the source of Living Water. Israel refused to enter into the land flowing with milk and honey. So that generation spent their lives wandering east of the Jordan until their corpses filled the wilderness. Isaiah 55 is designed that we might not go the way of that old generation. It is designed that we would come to the Lord and live. 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Isaiah 55:1-13

The thirsty are summoned to come to the waters. They do not need money. But they do need to have an appetite. They must also buy and eat. But marvelously, they must make this transaction without spending (v. 1). There is no good explanation for doing the opposite, which is spending all of your money in an attempt to eat the wind. The wine and milk the Lord supplies is far better for the belly, good and fat. But the only way to be satisfied with the good is to come to the Lord diligently (v. 2). This coming to the Lord means actually hearing Him, and His message to you is a covenant word secured by the Son of David, the master and commander who has been given as a sure bond to God’s people (v. 3-4). 

God will glorify His people such that nations start running their way (v. 5). And running is wise because there is a time limit on when men can seek the Lord (v. 6). In order to buy the Lord’s milk and wine, man must give up on his own foolish thoughts. The Lord’s thoughts are not only different than ours. They are higher than them as the heavens are the earth (v. 7-9). We could never climb up to hear God’s thoughts in the heavens. But He has sent them down like snow and rain. And like the snow and rain bring forth seed and bread, so God’s Word accomplishes what He plans for it (v. 10-11).

Because of our Father’s heavenly covenant rain-word, His people will go out with joy and peace. The mountains clear their throat and sing before you and the maple trees start clapping their hands as you pass by (v. 12). Thorns and thistles are replaced with evergreens that stand as never-ending witnesses to the Lord’s faithfulness (v. 13).

COME, YE THIRSTY

Nothing could be more natural than being thirsty. We are human. We are finite. We are dependent creatures. What is manifestly not natural is that you would be thirsty and not come to drink. What is downright silly is that you would go spend all of your money on that which is not bread. Why would you do that? The way to milk and wine is straightforward. Come to the Lord. Man, in his fussiness, would like to claim that he doesn’t know the way. But God is not far from us. In Him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:27).

AND I WILL MAKE AN EVERLASTING COVENANT

When man comes to the Lord to drink, He finds God making a covenant with him. The terms and conditions are clear. God promises eternal life and blessing, milk and wine without price. The conditions are that we would trust Him and obey Him. And the surety of this covenant is the Son of David. This covenant is never-ending, but it is continually renewed. David was in Isaiah’s past. This was no new covenant, but a renewed covenant. So it is today. If you would have life, then you must renew covenant with the Lord for it is in that covenant that life is found. 

FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS

The spirit of the age insists that you figure out all of your thoughts. But God’s word says that you are supposed to do a different thing, forsake them. Many think that if they can sort out all of their emotions, then the mountains will sing for them, and trees will clap their hands. “Where did that thought come from? Why did I think that? What kind of horrible person thinks the thoughts I think?” This person thinks that he can get all of his thoughts to fit together like a 1,000-piece puzzle and all will be pretty at the end. But God says that your thoughts simply aren’t that important, and the puzzle pieces don’t actually fit. So, burn the puzzle pieces and go listen to God’s thoughts. Think His thoughts after Him. His thoughts in your head are perfectly fine thoughts for you to have, you should keep those around.

AS THE RAIN COMETH DOWN

God tells us His thoughts by His Spirit whom He has given us—”For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). But notice that the Spirit helps us know the things freely given to us of God. He does not help us to know the things God hasn’t given us. The mystics who would close their Bibles and go searching for mysteries within will find that they discover no mysteries. They will not find prosperity either. For the Word that goes forth from the mouth of God is the mystery, the life, the bread, the seed, the wealth.

LED FORTH WITH PEACE

That is why God’s people will go forth with joy and peace. God’s covenant word always brings forth covenant fruit. And that fruit is everlasting like the Son of David himself. He is your peace and your joy. The purchase of the wine and milk has already been made. He has paid the cost at Calvary. All you need to do is come to him and drink. No money necessary.

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