TITLE: THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
SCRIPTURE: PSALM 126
This Psalm, at first glance, appears perfect for this Sunday Morning message before Thanksgiving. What better holiday than the feast of pumpkin and sweet potato pie to read of shouts of joy and mouths full of laughter? What a great time of year to say, “THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US!” and to rejoice. Indeed, it is a great time of year for this, and for many of us it will be easy to give Praise to God for all that has done for us.
After a closer examination of this text, we find this was not the case. This Psalm was written not for a time of joy, but at a time when the only thing they had going for them was the memory of joy.
• It was written in a time of sowing seeds in Sorrow
• It was written in a time of weeping for all that has been lost
It was written long after the Israelites had been joyfully reunited with their homeland, and things had gone sour once again.
• It was written when the waters of wealth and blessings seemed to have dried up like DUSTY RIVERBEDS
• It was written in a time of Floods and Disasters
• It was written in a time of renewed violence in Israel
• It was written in a time of Economic Uncertainty and Political Unrest like in our nation
• It was written in a time of Harvesting what’s left of a drought-ridden field
This is a psalm of hope in what is likely to be only the beginning of winter. From where does this Hope come? In this Psalm, the hope does not come from the Hills — that’s PSALM 121.
• Rather, in this Psalm, it comes from Memory
• It comes from the recalling of the stories of their ancestors, whose faith brought them through one storm after another only to experience blessing and renewal once again
• It comes from faith in the cycle of life that teaches us that, even when we feel far from our God, it is only a matter of time before we will be reunited
• It comes from the belief that Trouble does not last always
• It comes from the belief that Joy comes in the morning
• It comes from the foolish but somehow trustworthy faith that, with God, you can sow seeds in the tears of winter - and reap a joyful harvest in the spring
I am not a farmer nor raised in the Country, but I have sense enough to know Winter is not the season for sowing seeds. Winter is a time of dormancy, where plants are recycling over but not growing comes with the falling temperatures and reduced day light that winter brings. But this Dormancy is much more than a period of suspending animation.
• It's part Survival Mechanism for plants
• It’s part housekeeping exercise
• All meant to help plants rejuvenate for warmer days ahead
Winter months is a season for Reaping, and, as our culture tells us, you reap what you sow.
• If you’ve been good, you get a lot of FOOD - TOYS - OR GIFTS
• If not, your crops are dry - your stocking will be full of coal - your plate will be empty
• The winter harvest is where you find out how you’ve been Judged
That might be what our culture tells us, and what advertisements work very hard to make us believe, but it is not what this Psalm suggests.
• This is a Psalm that tells us to go ahead and plant seeds in the Winter
• This is a Psalm that tells us to journey on, no matter what, because the harvest will be great
• Joy will come
• Laughter will bubble out
• Sometime, somehow, it will happen again
We know this because it has happened before, and we walk in the faith that our God will lead us there again. this psalm is a memory turned into prayer. I want you to think about that for a moment. It's a memory turned into prayer. You know what we often do - the memory is there even if it's faded in its vividness -- the memory is there -- and it turns us to nostalgia or to sentiment - but we don't let it take us all the way to prayer.
We like to sing that Song – but it is just a song to us because we don’t move from Memory to Prayer. You know the song we sing every now and then –
LOOK WHERE THE LORD HAS BROUGHT US FROM
HE HAS BROUGHT US OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO THE MARVELOUS LIGHT
PLACED OUR FEET ON STRAIGHT STREET AND GAVE US STRENGTH TO FIGHT
LOOK WHERE THE LORD HAS BROUGHT US FROM
If we really understood the words to this song we would be able to relate to this when the Psalmist proclaims they looked back on their Captivity and they did not cry or complain they thought about how many times in the past God had brought them through. Based upon a Memory -
• They began to Laugh
• They began to Sing
• They began to recognize if God did it before - no matter what it looks like He will do it again
• THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS
This Psalm is standing here like a stone of testimony saying, “Don't let those memories enter your mind without moving on to prayer because if God was faithful to you then, he will be faithful to you again. And he will leave you overwhelmed at his deliverance.”
• The Psalmist in this time of difficulty begins to reflect on that past deliverance
• As he reflects on that past deliverance - he reflects on the effect of the Lord's marvelous restoration of the hearts of His people
• He is saying since you did it for us in the Past, I am going to rejoice because although we are suffering - although we are still in the storm – although we still have tears - we trust you will do it for us again
Let me pause because I must admit - Thanksgiving can be challenging. For some, this is a season not filled with the joy of reunions and delicious food -- but darkened with the dread of –
• A Family Dysfunction
• Or Death of a dearly beloved
• Or a lack of ability to provide the meal so heralded by media and tradition
• It’s a season in which the glossy dream of a turkey is cut open to reveal the sawdust of dashed expectations
• It’s a season in which a summer filled with challenges and disappointments now weights you down
• If this is where you are this morning – this Psalm is for you
• We must rely on Memory
• THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
For others, this is a quiet time – a time to reflect on the gifts we have, and to practice the more-difficult-by-the-year discipline of believing that what we have is actually enough.
• It is one small but deep breath of gratitude that we hope will fill us with enough sanity that it will allow us to safely navigate the craziness of Black Friday without bankrupting ourselves in soul and wallet
• It is a moment to look around the table and notice that everyone looks beautiful in the candlelight. Yes, THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS
Still for others - this is already a joyous holiday. It may not be Norman Rockwell, but it is a time to reconnect with beloved family and friends, to share a meal that is mostly an excuse for gathering and then relaxing (or napping) in close proximity to those you feel most comfortable with. There might be football - or pie-making - or card-playing – or playing dominos - or mapping out the perfect shopping route for the next day.
• There will be mouths full of both Laughter and Turkey
• There will be shouts of Joy
• There will be Hot Chocolate and Whipped Cream
• Yes, THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS
So, can I tell you this morning as we move closer to Thanksgiving Day - your trials and your distresses don't belong to you alone. They belong to the people of God. And the lessons the Lord is teaching you in those things are lessons meant for all of us, and when He delivers you in those things He means for all of your brothers and sisters to rejoice in and with you and to Praise Him when those deliverances come.
• And so we ought to give Testimony
• We ought not let those memories fade
• We ought to retell those stories often
• It is a constant reminder the same God that delivered us in the past is the same God that will deliver today
It's why I enjoy so much the opportunity to talk to new members that I've not gotten to know before and hear how the Lord brought them to faith in Christ. That person you may not know sitting next to you – you never know their story until you take the time to get to know them.
• It never gets old hearing how the Lord redeems people out of sin and into His family
• It never gets old hearing how the Lord redeems out of darkness and into light
• Out of condemnation and into pardon and acceptance and adoption and new life
• But every deliverance ought to give us that kind of joy
We spend so much time complaining when challenges enter our lives. Sometimes we Christians complain more than those that are still out there in the world. The Psalmist in this text recognizes they are in another Challenging Season and are determined not to throw a pity party or Complain. So the Psalmist gets this memory vividly in his mind – i remember Lord!
• Whether it was coming out of Babylon in Captivity
• Whether it was finally coming out of Egypt after 400 years
• Whether it was a deliverance from Siege or Famine
• Whether it was a deliverance from going after other gods
• Whatever it was - there was a Deliverance
• And the Psalmist says, “I remember that. I know what that felt like to be delivered”
• He then goes from Memory to Praise
• THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
It is as though suddenly from that past the Psalmist comes back into a present in which he needs that deliverance just as much now as he needed it then, and the memory becomes a praise. The Psalmist was remembering how God had brought His people back from captivity. The people had been scattered and had no political power, but God made it possible for them to go back to the land that He had promised them. They thought they would never see Jerusalem again, yet they had marched back, and it was almost too good to be true. They felt as if they were dreaming. So the Psalmist said, “THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY.”
It’s always good to look back and remember the good things God has done for us.
• We must never forget the captivity from which Jesus has set us free
• We didn’t go back to an earthly land as the Israelites did
• In our case, we marched on to Spiritual Freedom
• Some of us could have died in our sins
• Some of us could have wrecked our lives going down the road we were traveling
• But Jesus found us and saved us by His Grace
• We were out there, Vulnerable and in Bondage
• But God himself set us free!
• THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
Many of us can look back to times when we’ve gotten into some really bad situations since we came to know the Lord.
• We’ve done things
• We’ve said things
• We’ve gotten involved in things we shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with
• Perhaps fallen away from the faith
• And only God knows how it could have all turned out
The fact is that we’ve all been disobedient at times.
• But even in our unfaithfulness
• God has been greater than our messes
• Turning around for good what could have meant our destruction when we have confessed our sins to our faithful and just God
• Anybody here ever make a mess out of your life – Trust God to put pieces back together
• Anybody ever say something you Regretted – Trust God to fix it
• Yes, THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US!
The problem with restoration is having to go through the desperation that calls it forth.
• If you restore the roof of your house - it is because you have been leaked on
• If you restore a friendship - it is because it was once broken
• If you restore a painting - it is because layers of grim have collected upon its surface for decades, muddying the bright colors and the intricate details
We should be able to relate to the Psalmist who stands with one foot in the past and one in the present, both of which are center on restoration. The psalmist begins by remembering the past, “WHEN THE LORD RESTORED THE FORTUNES OF ZION.”
• And right there, immediately we should say to ourselves, “Oh, these are people who know desperation”
• Their fortune has been restored, because it once was missing
So often, i think that is the life of faith, being restored but then needing restoration once again. And it is what I think can be so frustrating about God and faith.
• It so often feels fleeting
• Just when you think you are beginning to feel God’s presence in your life
• Just when you think you have enough faith you can cling to
• Just when you think you have some answer you can offer to people’s questions about God
• Someone or something comes along and tears a hole in your sail
• And you can feel the air gush out - deflating you
• A friend of mine recently said to me, “Doesn’t it seem like just when we start to feel a little bit better after one death, another sneaks up on us?”
Oftentimes we can’t enjoy Thanksgiving and coming holiday and holy days because we begin to think of that loved one that is no longer here and we terribly miss. But this Psalmist tapped into something here. He said during this time when darkness could have taken him he relied on memory –
• Memory of better days - did not make him Sad
• Memory of those that are no longer here - did not bring him to Tears
• Memory of the hard and difficult time we had growing up - did not make him Bitter
• Memory of not having enough money to pay your bills – did not make him Callous
• Memory of broken relationship – did not cause him to turn out the lights and shut the door
• THEN WAS OUR MOUTH FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, AND OUR TONGUE WITH SINGING
• THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
As we enter in this Holiday and Holy Day season - like the Psalmist, when we begin to think back over our lives and where and how the Lord has blessed us, we should begin to Sing and Shout because THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS.
--So, today, let’s not just think about our problems
--Let’s think instead about where God brought us from
--Let’s rejoice in God, because we were blind but now we see!
--Some of us may have been ruled by compulsive habits - but God ended the captivity!
--Perhaps we are not all what we are supposed to be - but we are certainly not what we used to be, or where we used to be
--Their liberation caused the Israelites to be filled with laughter and songs of joy
--And these songs have been sung for thousands of years
--Let us also rejoice in the God of our salvation
--For He has ended our captivity and has set us free!
--When I think back over my life about the times of difficulty
--I must rely on Memory
--My Memory takes me back to a song –
THERE IS A NAME I LOVE TO HEAR
I LOVE TO SING ITS WORTH
IT SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC TO MY EAR
THE SWEETEST NAME ON EARTH
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS
BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED ME
--THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US
