Thanksgiving – The Fields are Ripe
Psalms 138
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
As thanksgiving approaches my mouth begins to water and stomach growl as I think about all the mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, carrots, dressing and turnip smothered in gravy and all the apple, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin pies I am about to eat. As I thank God for the abundant harvest I have received I can’t help but think about the “fields of the world that are ripe” and yet remain lost (John 4:35), dying in their sin! On the one hand the indignation of those given over to their reprobate minds to worship idols (Romans 1:28), the works of their “own sullied hands,” is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and should be outright rejected by God’s own … but on the other hand are not we His royal priests and ambassadors (1 Peter 2:9; 2 Corinthians 5:20) also obligated to proclaim to the lost that our thanksgiving blessings go way beyond physical food (Matthew 28:19-20)? While Scripture says we are not to “cast pearls before the swine” (Matthew 7:6) with all their idols and “glorification of their nonexistent merit,” surely we are obligated to sing to them songs of praise of the supremacy of our Kinsmen Redeemer? After all, in doing so do we not fulfil God’s command to be “a light unto the nations” (Matthew 5:14-16) by sharing with the lost “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3) we have in our Lord, Jesus Christ? The following sermon is going to review how in Psalms 138 David praised God to the lost of his time by pointing them to the radical transformation and blessings he had received from his King!
I Will Praise You Before the World (verses 1-2a)
Charles Spurgeon said, “there is a time to be silent, lest we cast pearls before swine; and there is a time to speak openly, lest we be found guilty of cowardly non-confession.” In the midst of the worldly sea of evil adversaries profaning the Most High, David did not fret or cower but stood firmly on the rock of his salvation and boldly declared with an “all absorbing zeal” “I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee” (verse 1). While the “gods” David referred to might have meant “angels,” “kings” or “judges,” he was most likely referring to “false gods” in which in full confidence he is prepared not to cast pearls of holy truth that might merely provoke arguments, but sing praises of Yahweh’s “supremacy over all other presumed deities” in hope that seeds might be planted in the furrows of their stony hearts! Even though to show his contempt for false gods was a dangerous exercise, because it would greatly offend his peers and all others who held them in high esteem, with great humility of a broken heart over his sins David boldly bowed with all his heart to “praise the Lord’s perfections” as the one and only true God! Let “praising and singing be our armour against the idolatries of heresy, our comfort in the face of insolent attacks upon the truth” but at the same time a beacon of light and powerful witness to those who are lost but ready to be found!
I Will Praise You Because of Your Word (verse 2b)
One of the most profound things we as Christians are to praise God for and share with the lost of this world is absolute truth as found in God’s glorious love letter. While the heavens (Psalms 19:1-4) and all of creation testifies to God’s eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20), His word surpasses creation as revelation in “clearness, definiteness, and fulness of teaching.” Contained in His word we learn that God’s unfailing love surpasses our expectations of mercy and justice! Since prophecy never had its origin in the human will but was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), we as Christians are to rejoice that God has without error “magnified His word in accordance with His name” (verse 2)! While some might choose to interpret His word through self-serving lenses, every “jot and tittle” are lamps unto the feet (Psalms 119:105) and “food for the souls” of those who genuinely embrace God’s love and submit to His authority to rule over their lives. God’s word “creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens and comforts us.” We are to meditate on His word day and night with the assurance of the “absolute correctness of every unfulfilled prophecy as being just as certain as certainty itself.” Above all David wanted the skeptics and kings of the earth to know that he continually praises God that while their dynasties would one day fail and all heaven and earth pass away, God’s word as absolute truth will remain forever (Matthew 24:35)!
I Will Praise You Because You Answer Prayers (verse 3)
In verse three David continues to witness to the lost by telling them of the power of prayer. Unlike their gods made out of wood, stone and bronze that were created by human craftsmen and as such are deaf, blind, silent and incapable of doing anything (Isaiah 44:9-20), David tells them that the Lord not only hears but encourages and sustains his very life (verses 3, 7). Spurgeon rightly stated “it is the distinguishing mark of the true and living God that he hears the pleadings of His people, and answers them, the gods hear not and answer not.” It is through the courage and strength of God that those enriched by His innumerable mercies can boldly say that their Father is not only able to interpret their tears and cries but always responds in a manner that works out for their good (Romans 8:28)! This of course does not mean that “God is a lackey to the free will of man, and that none of His purposes should be carried out unless man permits it,” but that the Lord loves, cherishes and protects His own and out of His glorious electing love, sovereignty and grace will never abandon or give them a stone to live on but the bread of life (Matthew 7:9). Let us praise God that “prayer is ultimately the central avenue in which God chooses to transform us” for it is when creation talks with its Creator that we learn and are given divine power to live right before the one, and holy true God of all things seen and unseen (Colossians 1:16)!
I Will Praise You Because I Know You are the Sovereign (verses 4-5)
In response to the skeptics vicious attacks on David’s belief in the one true God he chose not to seek retribution but to sing of his glorious Creator in hopes that in hearing God’s word in his song they might come to know Him. Though the kings of the earth often see themselves as gods and the narrow path as offering little to entice their carnal minds, David sang the words of God in hope that they might look past their own “presumed glory” to see, hear, adore and obey the One whose majesty and sovereignty has no equal. For those who choose to remain steadfast in their belief in false gods, David’s praise also serves as a warning that the “future in which human power goes unchecked and impotent individuals suffer under the oppressive rule of authorities” will end when the Messiah returns. On that glorious day Christ will “rule from His throne forever,” and “every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). While David looked forward to that glorious day in the mean time he was delighted to be a missionary through his verbal praises of His portion and one heart’s desire to serve the Creator. May we be like David and praise God for our salvation and opportunity to “go and make disciples of all nations!”
I Will Praise You Because You Help the Lowly (verse 6)
God is to be especially praised for His mercy. Though He is wholly other, “exceeding the loftiest soaring of our imaginations,” though heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool” (Isaiah 66:1), God is aware of and looks after the lowly, “weak, guilty sinners saved by grace through faith.” Remembering the humble beginnings as a shepherd boy and how God had saved him time and time again from the hands of king Saul, David could not but shout out praises for having received an abundance of God’s mercy and justice! Unlike the unbelieving kings of the earth David refused to have confidence in himself but instead found strength, salvation, and peace in the bosom of his Creator. While God has great compassion for the lowly David warned the kings of the earth that God also has great disdain for those who “vainly exalt themselves.” One glance from afar God not only knows of their emptiness and offensive ways of bowing down to false gods but also promises to vindicate the oppressed by setting the captives free (Isaiah 61:1). Let us praise God this thanksgiving that have not received what we deserve, His condemnation and wrath, but instead us lowly, sinners have received every spiritual blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
I Will Praise You Because You Preserve my Life Forever (verses 7-8)
David finished his song of praise by rejoicing that God saved him from his enemies with His right hand, vindicated him, preserve him, and would love him forever! Though many times David must have felt that God had “prepared a table in the presence of his enemies” (Psalms 23:5), he was confident that God would strengthen and preserve his life not based on his own merit or even based on God’s past deliverances but on the grounds of the character of Yahweh’s never ending love! Even though David knew Yahweh was the wholly other God of the heavens this absolute truth did not stop him from having faith that out of love God would raise His right hand against his enemies. And even if God chose to wait until Christ returns to crush his “many, malicious and mighty foes” David patiently stood on his Rock with assurance that He will continually revive and protect his very life. J. W. Burgon wrote wisely, “His creating hands formed our souls at the beginning; His nail-pierced hands redeemed them on Calvary; His glorified hands will hold our souls fast and not let them go for ever. Unto His hands let us commend our spirits, sure that even though the works our hands have made void the works of His hands, yet His hands will again make perfect all that our hands have unmade.” Above all this thanksgiving let us praise God that His love for us endures forever!
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is almost here and yes our mouths are watering and stomachs growling just thinking about all the mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, carrots, dressing and turnip smothered in gravy and all the apple, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin pies we are about to eat! After hearing David’s praise of God in Psalms 138 surely our thanks to God goes beyond an appreciation for our physical well being and we now feel we are this very day amidst a glorious obligation and opportunity to show our Creator how much we appreciate His grace, mercy, protection and love by planting seeds of righteousness in the ripe soil of the skeptic’s hearts! Even though telling those who believe in many gods, especially the god of self, will provoke their indignation and possible wrath, may every jot and tiddle of His glorious love letter guide our every footstep so that in seeing and hearing how His word creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens and comforts us the world might see our light shine and be drawn to its source, their Creator! May we boldly pray before the world not for our reputation’s sake but to show the lost that while their gods cannot see, hear or speak and though heaven be His throne and the earth His footstool; those bought at the price of His Son’s own life are to praise His name for having received the incredible blessing of receiving His protection, love, and deliverance both now and forever more!
Sources Cited
C. H. Spurgeon, “Open Praise and Public Confession,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 45 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1899).
James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005).
Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).
Robert L. Jr. Hubbard and Robert K. Johnston, “Foreword,” in Psalms, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012).
W. Dennis Tucker Jr., “Psalms 107–150,” in Psalms, ed. Terry Muck, vol. 2, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018).
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975).
D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018).
Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1991).
