In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” and then he tells them a parable that could easily be described as one achieving the American Dream and refusing to be generous. Instead he was full of greedy thoughts about me, my, and mine.

The different translations of the first few words give us an idea of the warning, the NIV, “Watch out! Be on your guard,” and the NLT, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed.”

I have never had someone come to me and say, “Pastor, my problem is greed!” I heard Tim Keller say, blindness to the condition of greed is an intrinsic part of the condition…it hides itself from you.

I was reading a poem by Rumi earlier in the week and there was a line at the beginning where he said,

“How could I have known a whale would rear its head, gulp down the sea, and leave a desert behind?”

That idea of whale swallowing the sea and leaving a desert made me think of greed and I wrote the following,

Greed is like an enormous whale living in the sea

It swallowed up all the water it could see,

And was left to die in the desert of his own making.

This all comes from my study of 2 Tim 3:1-9 where Paul is talking about the last days and the characteristics of those times. He seems to be saying…the last days will be hard and here is why…people will act like this…the opening description is, “For people will be loves of self, lovers of money” and he closes with this, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

So, my warning is this—beware of greed. It creeps up on you and allows a tool to become a god. Maybe I’ll write more about this next week. Thanks for reading.

In verses 5-7 we find a third fact about Jesus—He is King, He is Priest, and He is the King Returning. Verses 1-3 speak of His exaltation, verse 4 speaks of His ministry, but in the last section we move from the Throne to the Battlefield and in doing so we move from the book of Hebrews to the book of Revelation.

The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses;

he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.

He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.”

Verse 5 tells us Jesus will shatter kings on the day of His wrath, verse 6 says He will execute judgment, fill the nations with corpses, and will shatter chiefs over the earth, and then he closes with verse 7.

Let’s go over to Revelation for a moment and see verses 5-6 fleshed out for us as we wait for this final event in human history. Revelation 19 describes the loud voice of a great multitude in Heaven rejoicing, and then in verses 11-21 John said,

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head, are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”

Both David and John see the same event…John just gives us greater detail! Revelation 20 tells us of Jesus’ 1,000-year rule on earth and then chapter 21 tells us of the New Heaven and the New Earth, and chapter 22 closes with a description of the river of life and the promise that Jesus is coming soon.

In our Psalm, David closes with these words, “He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up his head.” Many have tried to tie this into Jesus’ drinking of the cup of wrath and the cross where He bowed His head and died, but the entire context of this Psalm is set in the time after the crucifixion and resurrection…if you follow the flow of the Psalm…this is after He returns to establish His 1,000-year rule.

I think we might understand this if we go back to 1 Samuel 30. David and his men return home to discover raiders had come and they took everything and everyone, including their wives and children, with them. They pursue them and come to the brook Besor…the men are worn out…in fact 200 of them stayed behind. I think you have to picture David, tired and worn, kneeling at the brook Besor and drinking, he refreshed himself, lifted up his head and continued to pursue the enemy.

Jesus, in our Psalm, is pictured as the King enthroned, the Priest ministering, and as the King returning—Kidner says the third point is Jesus the Warrior. He will not stop until His kingdom is established, until His will is accomplished, and until His children are glorified.

So, you and I are here between the first and second coming. The OT predicted His first coming and predicts His second coming and the NT promises us that the One who came is returning. Here we are and as Maclaren said,“The choice of every man is, being crushed beneath His foot, or being exalted to sit with Him on His throne.”Which will it be? He is coming and when He comes He will find you as a part of His Bride or as an enemy…it really all depends on what you do with Jesus now!

As we come to verse 4 of Psalm 110, we see Jesus is the Priest Ministering.

“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,

“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

“The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind…” We move from a Divine Oracle in verse 1 to a Divine Oath…nothing will change this and nothing changed it…once again, we are looking back at what David saw as future, but we see as a present reality.

God the Father says to God the Son, the King of verses 1-3, “You are a priest forever.” Kings of Israel could not be priests, but this King is the King of kings and He is the great High Priest. Notice, you are a priest forever. Kidner said this is the most significant clause of all—He is the eternal priest providing our eternal salvation.

In Hebrews 7, we find Jesus is not a priest on the basis of legal requirements concerning bodily descent but He is priest by the power of His indestructible life. And not only is Jesus the priest—Hebrews 7:24 says He holds that position permanently because He continues forever and therefore He is able to save to the uttermost because He is always at the right hand of the Father making intercession!

The priest of Israel came from the line of Levi and from Aaron, but Jesus isn’t from that line…He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Who is that? He is an obscure figure who appears in Genesis 14 and then 1,000 years or so after he appears in our Psalm and isn’t mentioned again for another 1,000 years where he shows up in Hebrews.

There is much said about him, but I think it would be safe to say he is a type of Christ…not a pre-incarnate Christ, but a type...he is a real man, but he shows us what Christ will be like. Go to Genesis 14. Abram rescues Lot and on the way back Melchizedek appears in verse 18.

First, his name means King of Righteousness.

Second, we are told that he is the king of Salem—that is literally, the King of Peace.

Then we are told, He was a priest of God Most High. This is before the Tribes of Israel were born and yet he is a priest of God.

Then in verse 19, we find he blesses Abram and then in verse 20 Abram gives him a tithe.

He is greater than Abram and greater than Abram’s offspring and he is superior to Aaron and his line of priests. Hebrews tells us in Heb. 7:3, “He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.” Now, what he means is we don’t know his genealogy, we don’t know his beginning or end, but that points us to Jesus who had no beginning and has no end and who as the eternal priest offers the final sacrifice and who offers a superior covenant.

Jesus is the great High Priest…He offered the great sacrifice, He paid the great price, He made real atonement, and when He finished He sat down at the right had of the Father and is even now serving as priest as He makes intercession for us…He isn’t a priest in the line of Levi…He is the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace, after the order of Melchizedek.

What an amazing Savior we have—exalted King and eternal Priest. But His exaltation back to glory isn’t the end of His story. We get a hint of this in verse 1 where the Father says, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” A day is coming when that will happen!

As we dig into Psalm 110, first, notice that Jesus is the King Exalted. In verses 1-3 we find God the Father addressing God the Son.

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.”

We find a Divine Oracle here…God is speaking and in these words, we find truth about our King.

For David, it was a future look, but for us it is a present truth. David was looking forward to that which we now look back upon and at the same time are impacted by its current reality. Who is Jesus? He is the God Man. The One who came to us from Heaven. He is both David’s son and David’s Lord. How is that possible?

The NT writers go out of their way showing Jesus coming from David’s line…that is the fulfillment of God’s promise to him about having someone on the throne forever.

But Jesus isn’t just man…He came from Heaven…He is the God Man so, He isn’t just David’s son…He is David’s Lord. And ours!

We see the incarnation, but we also see the exaltation of Jesus…, “Sit at my right hand.” In Ephesians 1:20ff, Paul said, “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” In Acts 2:32ff Peter said, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing…” and then he quotes this verse.

Jesus is exalted…seated at the right hand of God in a place of honor from which He is ruling. The One who the Father gave a name that is above every name is ruling and will continue to rule until the Father makes all of His enemies His footstool.

We see in verse 2 that Jesus rules in the “midst of His enemies.” Most kings establish a kingdom, surround themselves with power, and from that power go out to their enemies, but God is sovereign and rules even in the midst of those who oppose Him. How does He currently rule?

He is ruling through His people in verse 2…those that the Father has given to Him are freely offering themselves to Him and are being used by Him to advance His kingdom. His rule isn’t limited to us, but He does use us to accomplish His purposes. He dresses us in holy garments…robes of righteousness given to us by Jesus’ finished work on the cross. He will one day come and rule visibly and totally.

Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalms in the NT and it is totally about Jesus. Some of the Psalms we have studied point us to Jesus while also referencing the king of that particular time, but this Psalm is written by David and it is about Jesus and no one else. In fact, Jesus refers to it in Matthew 22:41-46.

In those verses Jesus asked the Pharisees a question, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” The Pharisees answered, “The son of David.” Jesus said, “How then is it that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?’ If David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” The religious leaders couldn’t answer him.

Now, let’s point out a couple of things. First, Jesus acknowledged the source of this Psalm as being David, but He said he wrote it ‘in the Spirit.’ In other words, Jesus believed in the Spirit’s inspiration of the Scripture! So, should we!! But Jesus also asked a question we must wrestle with…who is the Christ? Who is the Messiah? Who is Jesus? Our eternity is settled by how we answer these questions! I want to share three things from this Psalm regarding Jesus…worship must be based on God’s revelation…we must see Him as He is revealed in the Word so that we can worship Him as we are called to worship.

Let’s dig into the first stanza tomorrow!

In Psalm 13 we find David’s desperation and David’s song, but there is one more thing in the last two verses, David’s Song,

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

I don’t think this was overnight…four “how longs” show that it was a while, David keeps praying, and God brings him out. You’ve heard, “a little dab will do you,” but that isn’t true with prayer. Paul spoke of his friend wrestling in prayer for the church…we must wrestle, fight the good fight, and like Jacob, cling to God and trust Him to deliver us!

The valley is never easy. The dark nights of the soul are truly dark nights, but we must press on. I’ve shared in previous posts about a particularly long dark night I went through…I didn’t feel like doing the spiritual disciplines, I didn’t feel like going to church, but I had to…I am the pastor! I didn’t find joy in studying, in preaching, but I kept on doing it because it was what God had called me to do.

I was on a retreat with some friends and was coming off a bout with pneumonia. I had a cough that would not go away. I coughed so hard that I actually cracked a rib. On top of all of that I have a hiatal hernia which often gives me terrible reflux. So, imagine it…cracked rib from coughing, reflux that caused vomiting…not a pleasant spot, but I was there, lying in the bathroom floor of the cabin where we were staying, pleading for God to just “Help me.”

I found myself praising Him in the midst of the hurt, the depression, the darkness, and the sickness and suddenly the dark night was invaded by His light. My rib was still cracked, the reflux was still there, but the depression was gone…it was just gone.

I am not suggesting this is true with all kinds of clinical depression, but mine was spiritual…I wondered where God was, but I kept praying, I kept singing, I kept reading through the Psalms and it lifted. It was over a year, but the light came back and the joy came with it.

If you are there…don’t give up. Don’t stop, don’t run from God…run to God. He is there and He is teaching you a lesson…He is preparing you for something along the way that you have no idea now that you need what you are getting, but you can trust Him.

Yesterday we looked at Psalm 13:1-2 and saw David’s Desperation…today in verses 3-4 we find David’s Prayer. When we despair, we must turn to prayer…Paul said, pray without ceasing.

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.”

David asks God to do three things:

Consider me…that’s another way of saying, look at me. He wants God’s face to turn back…he wants God to look.

Answer me…I’m calling God…answer me.

Enlighten me…light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death…I love David’s relationship with God!

Do you remember when a child wanted your attention, they would take your face in their hands and turn it toward them…when you were looking, they knew you were listening…David says…look at me God, answer me, and show me…

He isn’t being self-centered when he asks God to move so his enemies can’t rejoice…he is being God centered…God is his God and he is God’s king! It is ok to ask God to “Look at me!” It is ok, to plead with Him to listen. He is listening, but it’s ok when you don’t feel it. Just keep praying!
Support J

In Psalm 13 the first thing we find is David’s Desolation,

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?”

I remember as a child…I was 6 or 7 and my dad was stationed in Oklahoma. We left Ocean Springs, MS and with our family of four and drove…all I remember is Texas…over and over again I asked, “Are we out of Texas yet?” Four times we see a very similar question, “How long?” This shows us David’s problem wasn’t a bad day…this wasn’t a long drive…this is prolonged…he is struggling.

Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemies be exalted over me?

David is a man who continually seeks the face of God and yet the face seems to be hidden…this is a lack of apparent blessing. He is struggling with dark days and dark thoughts…he is restless and feeling ignored.

Have you been there? What do you do when you face what the saints called the Dark Night of the Soul? David isn’t confessing sin…this isn’t a matter of sin and repentance…God’s fellowship has been withdrawn and David is suffering. But he doesn’t stay there.

We will pick up with the next stanza tomorrow, but are you in a Dark Night? God isn’t gone, but He might be leading you somewhere. The “right paths” of God, the “paths of righteousness” include the mountain and the valley of the shadow of death. Trust Him…the valley is the place of growth…don’t waste it…cling to God and praise Him through it and in it.

In Psalm 13 David wrote,

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt abandoned? We often hide those feelings…especially if they are spiritual. I mean, we hide it if we think God has abandoned us. Spurgeon spoke of the Psalms and he said, when you dive into David’s psalms, you will somewhere or other see yourself. You never get into a corner, but you find David in that corner. He said, I’ve never been so low that David wasn’t lower, and I’ve never been so high that I couldn’t find David still higher. That’s what I love about David…we can see him at the top and we can see him at the bottom. Today’s psalm is one of those bottom times, but while it begins with winter it ends with summer!

Kidner said the three pairs of verses in this psalm climb up from the depths to a fine vantage point of confidence and hope. Each set of two verses takes us up from David’s sorrow to David’s song. Let’s walk through these six verses over the next few days.

“Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that a spring was breaking out in my heart. I said: Along which secret aqueduct, Oh water, are you coming to me, water of a new life that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that I had a beehive here inside my heart. And the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey from my old failures.
Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that a fiery sun was giving light inside my heart. It was fiery because I felt warmth as from a hearth, and sun because it gave light and brought tears to my eyes.
Last night as I slept, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that it was God I had here inside my heart.”
Antonio Machado

Today we come to the last stanza where we find the Psalmist moves from worshiping, offering, and now waiting for the King. The King came to the earth He created to save His creation, He ascended back to His throne, but He is coming back to rule once and for all. How are we to respond? Verse 10 tells us to announce it,

“Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; He will judge the people with equity.”

Announce it—announce the fact that He is King and He reigns. When reading through the Gospels and Acts, it’s amazing how much the Apostles spoke of Jesus as King and of His Kingdom. Make it known that He is coming and that we will stand before Him. Announce that His offer of salvation will not last forever…today is the day of salvation. We are not promised tomorrow...the promises of God are for today!

Rejoice in it. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth.” Rejoice in it…remember when Jesus was received into Jerusalem as the King that He was, but the religious leaders complained and Jesus said—if they don’t do it the rocks will cry out.

Here we find creation which Paul said is groaning for redemption now rejoicing in redemption.

The heavens, the earth,

the sea, the creatures of the sea,

the land, the creatures on the land,

the trees, the forest…it all sings and rejoices in the coming of the King…what about the very ones who were created in His image? We are to rejoice in the coming of the King.

Finally, we are to prepare for it. Three times we find, “He will judge the peoples with equity,” “for He comes to judge the earth,” and “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.” His judgment will be fair, but not like we think of fairness—He will be the standard. He will give everyone what they deserve:

(1) those in Christ will find mercy because their sins have been atoned, but

(2) those who reject Christ will find justice, perfect justice, and they will pay for their sins according to the holiness of God.

He does not grade on the curve—He judges righteously and faithfully. Ultimately, when He judges we will do one of two things—

(1) we will be in great terror, Revelation 6:16 describes the kings of the earth, the great ones on earth, “calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.’”Great terror or,

(2) we can have great joy. Revelation 19:6-7 describes the reaction of those who were in Christ, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Are you ready to meet your holy God? Don’t let the enemy convince you that you have plenty of time…Today is the day of salvation.

Are you ready to worship Him face to face? How can we expect to worship for an eternity if we can’t worship now? Worship the King, give offerings to the King, and remember to live your life waiting on the King!

In Psalm 96 we’ve seen the what and the why of worship in verses 1-6, but but in the next section we find the psalmist calling us to make offerings to the King. Look at verses 7-9,

“Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!”

The word ascribe is also translated as giving…we are not giving God something He doesn’t have, but we are acknowledging who He is. Here in verse 7 we are called to give God glory.

We are prone to take glory…we use our talents, we use our gifts and then, if we are not careful, we take the glory, but the Word calls upon us to give God glory. He is the all glorious One and we are to do nothing to try and take away His glory…the spot light is always to be on Him. He enables us to do the very things we do—it is by His strength…give God glory and strength. Don’t take the credit…give credit where credit is due…give God glory.

Give God thanks, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name, bring an offering, and come into His courts.” David declared he would not offer to God something that cost him nothing…we like to give what we do not have or at the least we like to give what requires little sacrifice.

When you see all that you have is from God—you eagerly give back to God. Not because He needs it, but because we want to show gratitude. Because we want to make much of Him. Because we want to do whatever is necessary to spread His fame abroad. We give thanks by offering back to Him a portion of what He has given us.

We do this through our tithes and offerings and through our time. I’m amazed at the number of people who refuse to tithe—they say, that’s OT, that’s Law, we are under grace now…are you telling me we should give less under grace than was required under Law? It is all His—give Him an offering as a part of your Worship!

And then give God the awe He deserves, “Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.” It is the same word for worship that we see in Psalm 95, it is to bow down with your forehead on the ground, to prostrate yourself before Him in humble worship—to be in the splendor of His holiness is to tremble before Him…to be in awe of Him…to reverence Him and to call on others to join you!

Yesterday we saw the What of worship, but this morning let’s look at the Why. Psalm 96:4-6 gives us a clue…first, look at the attributes of God in verse 4,

“For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised.”

When you look at the attributes of God, the character of God, the very nature of who He is…you can’t help but worship. Little knowledge of God will lead to little worship, but great knowledge of our great God will lead to white hot passionate worship. Those attributes of God will lead to fear…holy awe drives our worship, “He is to be feared above all gods.” Nothing is to be above Him.

Verse 5 speaks of the sovereignty of God, “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” He sits on the throne as Creator…over and over again the Bible points us to the creative powers of our Creator and expects that to lead us to worship. The attributes of God lead to fear, but the sovereignty of God is based on fact—all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols. This is one of the most politically incorrect verses in the Psalms—other gods are nothing—only God is God and that fact leads us to worship.

And then in verse 6 we find the majesty of God,“Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” Before Him is splendor and majesty…it simply oozes from Him—it is His essence, but strength and beauty come from Him. He is both omnipotent and the beautiful One! The majesty of God leads us to fame of God…we worship Him and seek to make Him known.

We worship based on holy fear,

we worship based on revealed fact,

and we worship because of His fame. That’s the what and why of worship, but in the next section we find the psalmist calling us to make offerings to the King. We will pick up there tomorrow.

In Psalm 96:1-6 we find the call leading us in worshiping the King. Two things about worship here…we will look at the first one today.

First, we find the what of worship. Sing, sing, sing…sing a new song. New has more to do with a freshness of worship that matches the mercies of God which are new every morning. “Fresh mercies demand fresh expressions of thanksgiving.”[1] God is constantly moving in our lives, constantly doing new things in terms of provision, protection, and manifesting His presence and we should be constantly finding new ways to express our praise and thanksgiving. Sing a new song.

But not just a new song…worship demands that we seek our song to be a universal song, “sing to the LORD, all the earth!” We want people from every nation, tribe, and tongue to join us as we praise our Savior and we are not to be content until they do! This is a song that is missional!

And then in verses 2 we find, “Sing to the LORD, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day.” That indicates that our song is to be a salvation song…we are singing of His amazing grace,

we are singing of His incredible mercies, we are singing of His shed blood,

His cross,

His death,

His burial,

and His resurrection. We are to sing of His salvation and to make it known…this song is to be evangelistic!

And then notice, “from day to day…” Our song is to be a continual song. We rejoice, we sing, we make much of Jesus continually…without ceasing. In the good times, in the hard times, when it is easy and when it is bad…we sing and make much of our King.

But there is something else to the what of worship and that is the call to proclaim. “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” Worship is never content with just singing…you see, when we continually look up toward our King it will not be long before our King will turn our gaze out to those who don’t know Him. Remember, we do missions and evangelism because worship does not exist among all the nations. We do missions because we want others to join us in worshiping our King.

This week I want to walk through Psalm 96. In Revelation 15:3, John described those who had conquered the beast and its image and he said,


There is coming a day when a people beyond number from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue will sing that song on the other side in glory, but in Psalm 96 we find an international anthem calling us on this side of the sea of fire to ‘Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.’

Psalm 96 is in the midst of a series of Psalms that give mankind an ultimatum…worship God. We, who are heavenly citizens and members of the King’s kingdom are called, commanded, and expected to worship our King. There is a sense in which this Psalm could be summed up in nine words: sing, sing, sing; give, give, give; and wait, wait, wait! It appears, at least in part, in 1 Chronicles 16 when David brings the Ark into Jerusalem and so some think he wrote it, but we aren’t sure, but one thing about the Psalm is it looks toward the future and literally throbs with the hope of the Messiah’s coming!

Yesterday was an incredible day of worship at FBC Pell City. Both services were packed, the usual folks were there, family members came home, and we had several guests. There were different nationalities there and we lifted up the name of Jesus. It is like that almost every week, maybe a few less people, but I can’t wait to see what it is going to be like in Heaven. Read over the Psalm this week and let’s get ready to study it!

The first two stanzas of Psalm 46 lead to the last stanza where we find the purpose of God. Verses 8-11,It is amazing—we find God’s invitation in verse 8, “Come, behold the works of the LORD, how He has brought desolations on the earth.”  Come behold—the word speaks of seeing with the eyes of your heart…look at what God has done in the past and know that He will do it again.  That’s the invitation but notice God’s plan in verse 9.
Since the Fall man has fought and rebelled and sought autonomy and he has abused, manipulated, and schemed his way to the top, but it won’t always be that way.  We’ve heard of the war to end all wars, but that was followed up by more wars.  There is really only One peacemaker…God will one day say enough is enough and He will make wars cease to the end of the earth; He will break the bow, shatter the spear, and burn the chariots.  The weapons of man will be useless against the plans of God.  That’s His plan—He is working toward the Day when Jesus will come and rule the earth with an iron scepter.  All rebellion will be useless.
But notice His glory,Everything God does is moving toward this end.  Every trouble that comes our way, every blessing, every providence, and every plan—it is all moving us to the day when He will be exalted, and His glory will be seen and every knee will bow in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father!  What a day that will be!  You and I are called to prepare for that day and to prepare others for that day.
From His invitation to see, from this plan for peace, and from His glory we move to the conclusion…two times we find these words—here and in verse 7.  Look at as we close, “The Lord of hosts,” Luther said,Lord Sabaoth is another way to say the Lord of Hosts…He is the mighty One, the commander of angel armies and Lord of all.
He, the LORD of hosts, is with us.  Immanuel, God with us.  John Wesley was almost dead—his voice was all but gone and you could barely hear him, but at the end, he mustered all the strength he could and cried out, “The best of all is, God is with us.”  He raised his right hand and waved it in triumph and said again, “the best of all is, God is with us.”
But church, who is this God who is with us?  He says, “The God of Jacob is our fortress.”  Why Jacob?  Why not the God of Abraham?  Jacob was a deceiver, a swindler, a cheat—he shared the womb with a twin brother, Esau, and the Bible says they struggled together in the womb…he came out of the womb holding onto his brother’s heel…his name means, he cheats…he deceived everyone he ever met, but over his life he came to know the God of his father.  God even changed His name to Israel.  That’s a story of grace!
You and I are more like Jacob than we want to admit, but God will be our God if we will come to Him in faith and then we have a story a tell to the nations.  Luther said, “The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.  Let goods and kindred go, this moral life also, the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still.  His kingdom is forever!”  The best of all is God with us!

Yesterday, we looked at the first three verses of Psalm 46 and saw the protection of God, but today I want to call your attention to verse 4-7,In this stanza of the psalm, we move from the protection of God to the presence of God.  It is interesting to see the chaos of verses 2 and 3 and then to compare it with the calm of verses 4 and 5.  
I wrote recently on the rivers we find in the Bible coming from the Temple, but I think the point here is that we can rest in the joy that comes from the presence of God.  Joy is in this city because God is present.  Look at verse 5,In verse 4 we see the provision of God.  Water is abundant for many of us, but place yourself in the dry and arid land of the psalmist.  Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4:14) On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “‘If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38) God provides.
Look at the stability of God in verse 5—everything seems to be falling apart, but God is still seated on His throne, and He is still in control.
In verse 6 we find the power of God.  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; but God utters His voice and the earth melts.  Don’t fear what man can do—look at the power of God.  The very voice that spoke this world into being can speak the word and it will all melt.  
Then in verse 7 we see the defense of God...He is with us…He is our fortress.  This a different word than the word for refuge in verse 1.  It speaks of a fortress that is inaccessibly high…no one can reach us when we are in Him.  
We will look at the final stanza tomorrow, but rest in the presence of God today.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been memorizing and meditating on Psalm 46.  Elizabeth Elliott lost two husbands—one to martyrdom and the other to cancer.  She said,

I talk to a lot of people who are shaken by the events going on in the world around us.  I hope this psalm with offer you some comfort today.  There are three stanzas and we find them with the little word “Selah.”  It is simply a word that encourages you to stop and consider what you’ve just read.
First, we see the protection of God in verses 1-3.  


I’d suggest that when He protects us He does three things.  First, as our refuge, He hides us.  He is strong, He is secure, He is our shelter…He hides us.
He is not just our refuge—He is our strength.  He is omnipotent.  Whatever we face He is able…you and I will never face a single thing that He is not able to do something about it.  He hides us.
He also holds us.  When trouble comes, we can hide in Him as a refuge and know that He holds us and keeps us.  He is “a very present help in trouble.”  
It would be tempting, like the preachers of old, to say, God hides, God holds, and God helps, but that isn’t what the psalmist is saying…He doesn’t say God helps us; rather, he says God is our help.
He is the support, He is what we need because we are vulnerable and we are helpless. It is true—all we need is God.  So, we must simply say, God hides us, God holds us, and God simply is…He is all that we will ever need.  He is our only help!
Notice the extent of verse one as he lays it out in verses 2-3…We do not have to fear natural disasters of extreme calamities.  That doesn’t mean we don’t take shelter when storms come…we don’t stand on the beach and shout at the hurricane, we don’t stand in the yard and laugh at the tornado, but when the storms of life come, we don’t cower in fear.  
I think the psalmist is taking us beyond the normal storms of life—this the stuff of revelation—this is a picture of the end of times.  The earth gives way, the mountains fall into the sea, the waters roar and foam and while the mountains which seem unmovable tremble we take refuge in God.  He is able to hide us, He is able to hold us, and He is simply our help regardless of the situation.  
We will look at the second stanza tomorrow, but for now—work on this…Keep your eyes on Him.

I love reading through the Bible each year…I really don’t know how many times I have done it, but each time I learn something or notice something new.  Earlier this week I was reading Genesis 9, the flood is over, the water has receded, and Noah and his family and the animals have left the ark.  God makes a covenant with Noah, but in 9:10 we find, “and with every living creature that is with you and your offspring after you, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every breast of the earth.”  God established a covenant with man and with creation to never again strike down every living creature as he did with the flood.

He gave a rainbow as a sign of the covenant, but what struck me this time was that He also made the covenant with the animals, the birds, the beasts, the livestock…every beast of the earth.  

I was thinking about this covenant with Noah, about the sign of the covenant, and then about the Throne scene in Revelation 4.  There is a Throne in heaven with One seated on the throne and around the throne we find a “rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”  

There we also see the twenty-four elders, but then we find four living creatures and one like a lion, one was like an ox, one was like a man, and one was like an eagle.  Isn’t it interesting that before the Throne we find reminders of God’s covenant. He made it with man…one was like a man.  He made it with birds…one was like an eagle.  He made it with livestock…one was like an ox.  And He made it with every beast of the earth…one was like a lion.  And there before all of them was a rainbow.

One writer said, “These creatures are represented perpetually before the throne of God, because the Lord is concerned about His creation. They remind us that all creation worships and praises the God who provides for His creatures and rejoices in their worship.”

God made a covenant that He keeps and before Him are reminders of the covenant.  I wonder…would it help us to have reminder of our covenant with God always before us?  
What do you think?  Leave a comment.

For the last 20 days we have looked at these amazing words,

Today is the day we have set aside to remember His birth, but by now it is quite possible that His birth has gotten lost in the shuffle. We are so busy giving and receiving gifts that we often forget about the greatest gift ever given to man. I hope somehow we will remember the long journey Jesus took to redeem us and be motivated to take the longest mission trip in the world—the trip across the street. If you can witness to your neighbor or those in your family you can witness to anyone.

Merry Christmas!

Paul said, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” His supreme position involves a recognition of His great work. No one will come to the Father except through Him. His name is above every name and every single knee will bow before Him—every single tongue will confess Him as Lord. Who will this involve? Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth—no one will be excluded. The great question is when will you confess? On this side of eternity through the Spirit’s confession and your choice or on the other side of eternity?

I pray that God will give us a passion for the spread of His glory. A passion like the two Moravian brothers who desired to reach an island of slaves. The owner would not allow anyone to start a church or even preach on the island so the two Moravians sold themselves into slavery so that they could reach others. As they got on the boat they held up their hands and said, “May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering.”

Oh that we would treasure others to that point. There are many who curse the name of Jesus and if you come to them they will curse you. There were those who called for His death and if you come they will call for yours. There were those who nailed his hands and feet to the cross and if you come they will kill you. Here is the dilemma—will we seek safety and comfort or will we follow the footsteps of Jesus and go. It just may be that through our bloodshed there will be a Saul holding the coats of those who throw the stones. Christ-likeness says their souls are worth our death. Christ-likeness says our suffering can be endured for the joy set before us. Humble yourselves before God and trust Him for the “therefore.” Suffer for the cause of Christ and live eternally exalted. The choice is yours. Choose you this day whom you will serve…

For the last few days, we’ve been looking at the word “Therefore” in Philippians 2:9. Do we have people like the brothers and sisters in Christ described in Hebrews 10:32-34. Here is the scene—some in the church were thrown in prison. Those who were free were faced with a decision. Their brothers and sisters were depending upon them for the physical needs to be met, but to identify with them meant certain danger.

What did they do? The writer says, “You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property.” Because they sympathized their property was confiscated and they reacted with joy. How could they do that? They sought the “therefore.” Listen to what the Bible says, “Because you knew that your yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” Do we really believe that? If we do, why do we (and notice I said we) live our lives so focused upon the temporal possessions?

What happened to Jesus? He assumed a supreme position. He suffered, therefore God exalted Him. He endured, therefore, God exalted Him. Death could not hold Him in the grave and it won’t hold you either! Why do we fear death? Would you fear a wasp that couldn’t sting? The sting of death is gone. He was given a name that is above all names. If you are a child of God your name is written in His book.  It’s all because of what Jesus did and that is explained in our text.

J. Oswald Sanders tells the story of a missionary who walked barefoot from village to village preaching the Gospel. One day after a long day of many miles and much discomfort he came to a village and preached. The people rejected his message so he went to the edge of the village and lay under a tree and slept. When he awoke the whole village was gathered around him. The head of the village told him that they came to look at him while he was sleeping and noticed his feet. They were willing to hear his message because he had suffered so much to bring it to them. That is the great need of our day—a willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ knowing that He will be glorified.

We need more men and women like Raymond Lull. He was born in 1235 in Spain to a wealthy family. At the age of 79 he began to enjoy the fruit of his labor and was encouraged to end his days in the peaceful comforts of friendship. He had other plans. His ambition was to die as a missionary rather than as a teacher of philosophy. At the age of 79 he left for North Africa to serve as a missionary among the Muslims. For the first year he served underground secretly teaching and encouraging the church and its leaders, but he felt he needed to do more. He presented himself in the open market and preached of the coming wrath of God if they stayed in their sin. He pleaded with them to come to Christ. They seized him and stoned him to death. Some would say—what a tragedy. I say what a way to go!

Spending your last breath, like Stephen, calling people to Christ. We need more men and women like that:

Philippians 2:5-11 is about the incarnation and exaltation of Jesus, but according to verse 5 it is given as a practical application to us. Here is the point—God will do in our lives what He did in the life of Jesus. This is not to say He will give us a name above every name—that name is reserved for Jesus, but when we humble ourselves and embrace the call to suffer for the Gospel we do so knowing God will reward us.

Are we willing to follow the example of Christ? Are we willing to refuse the notion of a country being closed to the Gospel? Are we willing to reject any people group as being beyond the saving work of the Holy Spirit? If we are to become Christ-like we must be willing to suffer with a ‘therefore’ in mind. Listen to Paul’s words in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of the body, which is the church.”

Paul was not saying Christ suffering lacked something in terms of the atonement. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” it was finished, but Paul is speaking of the suffering he still had to endure for the cross (Acts 9:16) and he is speaking in reference to the fact that the sufferings of Christ were not known and felt by those who were not there at the cross. When people see our willingness to suffer for the sake of the cross they will see the suffering of Christ on the cross.

Yesterday we started looking at Philippians 2:9 and stayed with the first word, “therefore.” Do we have any people reading today who will join the likes of Judson and Carey, Lottie and Annie, and the Hudson Taylor’s of our great history. Taylor suffered and agonized for years in China and yet said, “I never made a sacrifice.” Why could he say something like that? Why could the Massai warrior Joseph endure such a beating? Why could Edmund sell a horse and give it all to God rather than keep even enough to buy a shirt? It happened because they understood the “therefore” of verse 9. When we humble ourselves and live according to God’s plan—He will glorify Himself in us and we will be exalted.

Study the life of Jesus and you’ll find two themes—suffering and exaltation, humility and glorification. WE want to jump to the exaltation and glorification and bypass the suffering don’t we? Whole theologies are built upon that desire, but the call of Jesus is to take up the cross. The call of Christ bids us to come and die. Are we willing in light of Jesus’ great sacrifice to trust God for the “therefore” in our lives?

As a side note, years ago I was in China and as we stopped at a church, the driver casually mentioned, “Hudson Taylor built this church.”  That got my attention.  The Gospel continues from the seeds he planted.