Psalms 24:1-4 & 25:4,5,20
Ps 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Ps 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Ps 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
Ps 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Ps 25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Ps 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Ps 25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
I want to focus on:
1. Realizing God’s In Control
2. Releasing your control to God
3. Results in safe keeping
Psalm 24 This sacred hymn was probably written to be sung when the ark of the covenant was taken up from the house of Obededom, to remain within curtains upon the hill of Zion. Obededom’s house had been blessed and David was looking to God realizing that his blessing is upon all who abide with him. Obededom was probably a servant/worker in David’s kingdom.
The pleas of the Psalmist, should be our pleas
1. Realizing God’s In Control
John Smithson God is a mystery to us. His infinite wisdom, his power, his character. We pray to Jesus, we pray to the Holy Spirit [we need to] to give God the Father exclusive honor. [we need] to praise the King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Lion of Judah, The Balm of Giliead. [we need] to offer up our praise to God the Father.
We know him as names that show his power such as
1. Elohim—used 2,570 times, refers to God’s power and might
DIFFERENT COMPOUNDS OF THIS NAME
a. Elyon, the strongest strong One
b. Roi, the strong One who sees
c. Shaddai, the breasted One
d. Olam, the everlasting God
3. Adonai—Master, Lord. God owns all his creation
All these are awesome names of God but none are on a personal level. These would be words of praise, not worship.
The world knows him as God as all one day will call him Lord but what about us, his children. We should know him on a more intimate and personal level and that is his name, Jehovah.
We do this by first realizing he is in control of all.
a. Ps 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
MHC - the earth is his, and this lower world; and, though he has prepared the throne of his glory in the heavens, yet his kingdom rules over all, and even the worms of this earth.
b. Ps 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
TOD- The hungry jaws of ocean would devour the dry land if a constant fiat [a decree] of Omnipotence did not protect it.
c. Ps 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
d. Ps 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He-Whose actions and conversation are holy and unblameable.
Pure heart-Careful to approve itself to God, as well as to men; ordering a man’s very thoughts and affections according to God’s word.
Vanity-Who doth not value or desire the vain things of this life, such as honours, riches, pleasures; but makes God his portion.
With realizing God is in control of everything we have to submit to his will
2. Releasing your control to God
Steve Shepherd speaks of a recent trip of his to Graceland Home of Elvis and learned of the history of Elvis- Elvis started out his musical life in an Assembly of God church that preached Christ as the Savior and yet he searched all of his short 42 years for something else and never found it. What was he searching for? Why were his gospel roots not enough? Was something missing from his home life and church life? His daughter, Lisa Marie, said that he was always reading books, underlining statements, making notes, etc.
Shepherd says, As we went through Graceland they showed his desk in one room where there was a Bible that apparently Elvis read, but that wasn’t the only book that he read. There were other books about spirituality, which had nothing to do with Christ and Christianity. I thought, “How sad that he was looking for the meaning of life in places other than the Word of God.”
Apparently, Elvis never found spiritual joy or satisfaction in his church background. Why? I do not know, but something was lacking. And this just proves that even though some people are raised in something of a Christian background they may never find the true meaning of life if they don’t pursue it strongly enough.
It’s just my opinion, but I think Elvis didn’t pursue Christianity as strongly as he did other things in life. Consequently, he continued to search and his life ended abruptly because of an overdose of prescription drugs. So very sad. Such a well-loved and talented man.
Elvis never released the control of his life to God
e. Ps 25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
TOD - It is evidently a composition of David’s later days, for he mentions the sins of his youth, and from its painful references to the craft and cruelty of his many foes, it will not be too speculative a theory to refer it to the period when Absalom was heading the great rebellion against him.
ACC- Show me thy ways The psalmist wishes to know God’s way.
JWN - Teach-Teach me my duty, and cause me to keep close to it, notwithstanding all temptations.
f. Ps 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
TOD - Lead me in thy truth, and teach me. The same request as in the last verse. The little child having begun to walk, asks to be still led onward by its parent’s helping hand, and to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth.
Elvis never did hand over complete control of his life to God, He searched, read and studied, but never released control
With releasing all control to God your in safe hands
3. Results in safe keeping
Allstate’s slogan “Your in Good Hands” with Allstate
Let us rephrase that, “Your in Good Hands, with God!
g. Keep my soul vs. 20
Vs. 20 Let me not be ashamed
Ps 25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
ACC - "Let me not be confounded, for I put my trust in thee.”
TOD - Ver. 20. Soul preservation.
1. Its twofold character, "Keep," and "deliver."
2. Its dreadful alternative, "Let me not be ashamed."
3. Its effectual guarantee, "I put my trust in thee."
A superhuman keeping, a natural fear, a spiritual trust
It was a fog-shrouded morning, July 4, 1952, when a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island. She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her party. Several times sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam more than 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit. . . only one-mile from her goal.
Later she said, "I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it." It wasn’t the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was the fog.
Many times we too fail, not because we’re afraid or because of the peer pressure or because of anything other than the fact that we lose sight of the goal. Maybe that’s why Paul said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).
We can have confidence, God is there even through the fog.
We can trust in God and have a comfort that he is always there with us. We may not be able to see the shore, but we are in good hands with God. We need to realize God is in control, but we have to release our control to let him have control. Daniel knew that he was in good hands while he was in the lions den. Job knew he was in Good Hands when his family and friends turned against him. Gideon knew he was in good hands when it seemed foolish to have a few men and the horns and pitchers. Joshua marched around Jericho, to the scoff of onlookers, but he knew he was in God’s Hands. Instead of thinking your in good hands, lets change it to your in God’s hands….but it doesn’t happen till you release control to God. David saw the blessing on ObedEdoms house and realized God was in control and his blessing was on whoever had the Ark of the Covenant.
Richard Taylor’s book the disciplined life he quotes The communist Lennon who once said, “With a handful of dedicated people who will give me their lives, I will control the world” Just imagine if you and I give God total control of our lives, what could happen to our family, our neighbors, our community, our town, our state, our country, and ultimately the world.
Are you ready to be in Good Hands with God?
