(We opened by playing Chris Tomlin’s “Forever” song found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjrAeWCOg6Q&feature=fvwrel. Immediately after the song, I read Psalm 118 in its entirety, and prayed.)
APPLY: The Psalm we’ve read today has inspired numerous hymns and contemporary songs.
· One of the best known is called “This is the Day that the Lord has made”
· And of course, it inspired the song by Chris Tomlin that we played during the offertory time. And I noticed this morning that it also was the basis for the first verse of “In Christ Alone”.
· When I was at camp we sang another song based on this Psalm: “My Lord, my God, my strength my song, has now become my salvation”
· And it has inspired many lesser known songs including one by a Reggae singer named Bob Marley called “Corner Stone”.
The 118 Psalm is part of a group of psalms called the "Hallel Psalms" which were sung during the festivals of Passover and Feast of Booths. There is some reason to believe that this was the Psalm that Jesus and His disciples might have sung right after their last Passover meal.
In addition, the 118th Psalm - is a Messianic Psalm. The part of the Psalm that talks about the cornerstone that was rejected by the builders was quoted by both Jesus and Peter as being about Christ.
This is a POWERFUL Psalm of praise. In fact, it’s so powerful, that one of the preachers in our group – as he was preparing his sermon on this Psalm – found himself being so consumed by it as he read it aloud, that he thought it was a shame he couldn’t just read it with all the power he could put into it... and then close with a word of prayer and send everybody home.
This is a great Psalm of Praise. You can almost sense the Israelites dancing in joy as they sang it.
(PAUSE)
But lying behind the Praise in this Psalm there appears to be a great deal of pain.
In verse 5, David writes “In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.”
Then in verses 10-13 he says:
“All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.
And then in verse 18 he says
“The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.”
Now, this Psalm doesn’t tell us what had happened to David that had caused him so much pain, but a couple of possibilities come to mind. And the one that appeals to me concerns the time in David’s life when he’d been a servant in King Saul’s palace. Because of David’s heroics as a soldier for Israel, King Saul sensed that this young man was a threat to his throne and sought to kill David on several occasions.
Realizing he had to run for his life, David fled into the wilderness for safety. Ultimately, he fled to the cities of the Philistine’s (Israel’s arch-enemies) to hide out… and at one point feigned madness to avoid being imprisoned by the town leaders.
In time, David drew to himself several hundred men who were either in debt, in distress or discontented with King Saul’s leadership. And his small army eventually made an alliance with the Philistines for protection from Saul. Part of that alliance apparently involved pledging to attack the cities of the Israelites to prove their loyalty. But David “fudged” a little on that agreement. He would attack cities… but they were Philistine cities. And when he returned to the Philistines who were protecting him, he claimed the plunder from his raids came from Israelite cities.
This was a very difficult time in David’s life.
And I’m told that it was during this dark period in his life that he wrote the fewest number of his Psalms.
Now, the reason I’m focusing on the background of this Psalm is because there are believers out there who see others who’ve suffered in this life, and they want to help. In our preachers’ group a couple of the men noted that one of the things that irritated them when this would happen was that well meaning Christians would often tell those suffering heartache, that what they needed to do was to just praise God.
Apparently it was hard for some Christians to identify with the pain of others, so they simply say something like:
“It’ll be ok. You just need to focus on what you have left in your life. After all, the Bible does say: “Be thankful in all things”
Now, they’re right.
The Bible does say that.
Ephesians 5:20 says we should be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything…”
And I Thessalonians 5:18 says “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
But even though such statements are Biblical, they can seem trivial and heartless…
· If a person has just lost their job
· Or their home
· Or they’re going through a divorce
· Or they’ve lost a loved one.
· Or they’ve been told they have a life threatening disease…
Those are NOT good times to remind someone to be thankful for all things.
Those ARE TIMES… to just sit with the person and cry with them.
ILLUS: Charles Swindoll told the true story of a man who had just found out his wife had an incurable disease. The man said “That afternoon I had gone to a friend’s house and had taken a fifth of whiskey of theirs home with me. After I put those kids to bed and prayed with them, my little Cathy saw me cry for the first time in her life.
She said: "Dad, I’ve never seen you cry before." I think that night she learned some things about her dad. That I was a man, that I was human, that I was hurt, alone and lonely.
I bathed, put on some pajamas, and headed for the icebox to mix a drink. At that very moment I think I acknowledged I was through with God for good, through with the Christian life I’d known because I had given everything to him and had now ended up with nothing but a hurt, lonely, confused wife and nest of problems. I was really angry, knowing once again that I had hurt Carolyn deeply.
As I went to the refrigerator, the doorbell rang, and an unbelievably wonderful man, Jack Johnston, was standing in the doorway.
As Jack walked into the room, he grabbed me & hugged me tight for maybe 10 or 15 minutes,
He hugged me so tight and with such strength of caring, that my anger, bitterness, and disappointment seemed transferred from my fragile soul to his very being.
He never quoted verses, he never said everything was going to be all right; he just blessed me with a short prayer and walked out the door, carrying my hostilities into the night.
(Charles Swindoll "Improving Your Serve")
My point is this: Psalm 118 was written AFTER David encountered a difficult time in his life, not during. David’s praise came after he went through that dark time.
Psalm 30:5 says: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” NJKV
The Bible is very clear on the fact that even in the lives of the finest Christians, there will come times when there will be sorrow and weeping. And in those times - psalms of praise and thanksgiving will not come easily.
But in the midst of those difficult times, there is danger
That danger is that we might turn away from God rather than turning toward Him And without an effort to seek God in our sorrow, there might NEVER come a time of joy in the morning. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”
Sorrow and pain can – and has - driven some people away from God. But for the people who refuse that temptation there exists the promise that they’ll find that the Good Shepherd comes along side to comfort them
That’s why, when David wrote the 23rd Psalm 23:4 he declared “Yea though I walk through the VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. Thy Rod and Thy staff – they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
ILLUS: One doctor who has dealt with people who’ve had leprosy find his patients have two ways of responded to their disease: Leprosy is a terrible disease where people can not even feel their pain, and so go about mutilating their bodies because their bodies’ warning system, namely pain, does not function for them. This doctor noted that he noticed that his patients responded to the horrible effects of their disease in one of two ways:
· One type of patient bitterly turned away from God and because of that, were always filled with despair.
· But others looked for God’s help, And because they looked to God, these people faced life with hope and refused to let their disease control their lives.
ILLUS: In a sermon shortly after the sudden death of his wife, one preacher said: "I don’t understand this life of ours. But still less can I comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God’s name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too? You people in the sunshine may believe in the faith, but we in the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else." (Arthur John Gossip)
W. E. Vine once wrote: “To reject God, to turn away from the light, naturally brings darkness.”
What I’ve noticed about many people in this congregation is that many of you have come through difficult times in your lives and you’ve determined you don’t want to reject God. You don’t like the darkness. You prefer the light of God’s presence and you cling to it as unto life itself.
(PAUSE) And that was how David lived his life. He may not have written many Psalms during this time of his life but he was always seeking God’s leading and wisdom. He refused the temptation of turning away from God and instead sought to have God guide him and protect him in his time in the wilderness.
For example:
· When he was looking for a place to hide - he followed the advice from one of the prophets whose name was Gad, and found safety because he listened to him.
· Another time, he was about to go to battle, and he asked a priest to inquire of God’s will. He didn’t want to go into a fight unless God approved.
· When he was hungry, he turned to the priests at the Tabernacle for food.
· And when he had the opportunity to take revenge against King Saul saying:
"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 1 Samuel 24:6
David refused to fling away his faith in God. He wanted God’s guidance and approval even during these dark moments of his life. And because that God was so important to him in night of sorrow, he was able to write these powerful words of praise:
“Let Israel say: ‘His love endures forever.’
Let the house of Aaron say: ‘His love endures forever.’
Let those who fear the LORD say: ‘His love endures forever.’” (vss 1-3)
“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.” (vss. 6-7)
“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: ‘The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!’
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.” (vss. 14-17)
“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.” (vss 19-21)
You can almost sense David’s excitement as he sings this song. He’s not just singing … He’s literally SHOUTING!!! He wants everybody to know what God has done in his life.
And WHY is David shouting?
Why is he so excited?
Because God brought him through his night filled w/ weeping into a morning filled with joy.
It was David’s time of darkness that gave birth to this Psalm, because it was during that dark time that God showed David how much He loved him.
Someone once wrote:
“Only God could turn
A TRIal into a TRIumph.
A VICTim into a VICTory.
A MESS into a MESSage.
A test into a TESTimony.”
If it weren’t for those trials, those messes, those tests in our life, we wouldn’t have any messages or testimonies of God’s triumph in our lives.
I’ve got some great stories about how God has done mighty things in my life. But those stories came about when I was going through the roughest and most uncertain times in my life.
And I love those stories. Mostly I love them because they don’t brag on me - they brag on God and what He’s done in my life.
Now, one more thing I want you to notice about this Psalm.
This is a very special Psalm.
It’s a “Messianic” Psalm.
It predicted something about Messiah.
It told us that this Messiah (Jesus) was going to be the chief cornerstone of the bldg God intended to build.
Psalm 118:22-24 says “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
ILLUS: At the corner of any major building of that day, a builder would place a foundation stone. This was a very large and carefully shaped rock, and the builder was so careful about this stone because the stability of the rest of that building depended upon how solid that rock was.
All the rest of the building tied into that one huge stone.
Now in this Psalm God was declaring that the Messiah –Jesus – would be foundation of our faith. Without Jesus, there would be no Christianity.
ILLUS: Years back a group of “scholars” got together in what they called the “Jesus Seminar”. They didn’t approve of what they’d read in the Gospels and they were determined to strip those books of anything they felt hadn’t really been done or said about Jesus.
They had a very elaborate method of voting on each incident or statement in these stories about Jesus, but ultimately they stripped the Gospels of many of Christ’s teachings and miracles.
Why?
Because so much of Jesus’ teachings focused on the fact that HE WAS the Son of God and the only way to come to God.
Jesus was the CORNERSTONE that those Scholars rejected.
They didn’t like the idea that He was the cornerstone.
They wanted teachings that would please them… not a Savior who would change them.
You CANNOT take Christ out of Christianity and still have Christianity
o You can still have Buddhism without Buddha.
o You can still have Islam without Mohammed.
o You can still have Hinduism without the gods of the Hindus.
But if you take Christ out of Christianity… there is NO Christianity
Jesus IS the foundation of our faith. He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to Father… except thru Him!!!
And you know, what’s really cool about the 118th Psalm is that God allowed David to make this declaration about Christ. And the reason David got to share this truth with us, was because David stayed faithful to God through the darkness of his life and once his night of weeping was done David shouted with joy about how faithful God had been.
David’s time of testing gave him a testimony.
And the mess in his life gave birth to a message.
Is that true in your life?
Have you been able to lean on God in the midst of your trials and hardships?
If so… then realize that your faithfulness in that dark moment in your life gives you the power to have a testimony. A message. A message that can change the lives of others for ever.
CLOSE: Her name was Charlotte Elliott and she’d been an invalid from her youth.
Her handicap filled her with resentment and anger. And one day, when a preacher was visiting her home, she let loose on him about her bitterness at what she had to live with.
The preacher listened to her but – instead of comforting her - he challenged her. He told her that what she needed to do was give her life totally to God. To come to Him just as she was, with all her bitterness and anger.
As you can imagine, she didn’t like that. She resented what seemed to be an almost callous attitude on his part, but God spoke to her through him, and she committed her life to the Lord. Each year on the anniversary of her decision, that preacher wrote Charlotte a letter encouraging her to be strong in her faith.
But even as a Christian she had doubts and struggles. What bothered her most was her inability to effectively get out and serve the Lord. Her brother had become a successful preacher and evangelist. But Charlotte felt that her health and physical condition prevented her from helping him.
Then in 1836, on the 14th anniversary of her conversion, she decided to write a song about her faith in God.
One of the verses goes this way:
“Just as I am, tho’ tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”
“Just As I Am”
That hymn of faith has become one of the most powerful invitation songs of the church.
Years later, her brother said this: "In the course of a long ministry I hope I have been permitted to see some fruit of my labors, but I feel far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister’s, "Just As I Am."
Charlotte’s time of testing gave her a testimony.
And the mess in her life gave birth to a message
(Used "Just As I Am" as our invitation song)
