On Remembrance Day we’re reminded by the two minutes silence of the suffering and sacrifice by ordinary men and women in the interests of their nation and cherished values. It’s also appropriate to link Remembrance with the Persecuted and Suffering Church. Here in Britain the Christian Church isn’t persecuted but this is far from the case in many countries. So with the joint themes of Remembrance and the Suffering Church in mind, I’d like us to think about the opening verses of Psalm 103, because we like David have much to be thankful for.
Do you ever talk to yourself? In Psalm 103 King David is addressing himself. “Bless the Lord”, he exclaims, “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. It’s clear that he’s holding a conversation with himself. This isn’t by any means a unique experience for a believer. In fact it’s often a sign that a Christian thinks deeply about the realities of life and that he or she doesn’t take them for granted.
We seem to have caught David in one of these private moments of making known his innermost thoughts. He’s suddenly become aware of God’s great gifts to him and his whole being wells up in an expression of thankfulness.
David issues himself an instruction, “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. So let’s step within earshot as David begins speaking to himself. Let’s listen as the inspired poet opens his heart on the most important relationship a person can have – with God. David knew how easy it was for him to forget the gracious way in which the Lord had blessed him. This was despite his failings, so he recalls five great blessings the Lord grants to all who put their trust in him. Five benefits the Lord has bestowed upon us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
David records that his relationship with God has revealed him as:
THE GOD WHO FORGIVES
“Bless the Lord” he urges his whole being, “the Lord, who forgives all your iniquity.” David knew his need of forgiveness. Although he was a great man who had done much good for his country, he had fallen into temptation and had committed some terrible sins that are recorded in the Bible, in addition to the lesser failings common to all. And yet he’d found that the Lord was merciful to those who repented and looked to him for forgiveness.
When God forgives, he really forgives. I read that a former Mayor of New York, Ed Koch, kept this saying on his desk calendar: "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names!" But God isn’t like that. David goes on to say in this psalm, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (12). How was this made possible? Jesus came to make atonement for our sin on the Cross. The Lord Jesus has borne the penalty that we should have suffered. In fact he offers a free pardon which is even better than being forgiven.
No wonder that David urges himself to bless or praise the God who forgives. He then turns to praise:
THE GOD WHO HEALS
Does God heal today? Yes, indeed he does. There can’t be many Christians, who at a time of physical weakness haven’t lifted up their hearts to God in earnest, believing prayer. The fact that their recovery may not have been instantaneous or that the sickness appears to have run its course or that medical aid has been used, is no argument against divine healing. God doesn’t bind himself as to how he operates. Jesus didn’t come into the world to stop suffering, nor to explain it, nor to take it away, but to fill it with his presence. But having said that, we can also take heart that he has given us specific promises in his Word to encourage us to look to him for healing - for indeed he is able.
Healing is a gift from God. He is sovereign in its distribution. We might be tempted to think it would be so much simpler if the gift of healing could be received on request like reaching out for a bottle of medicine. But that isn’t so. It isn’t God’s way. A balanced view of Scripture indicates that God plans for us. He has the best in mind for us and, in his permissive will, may allow health and strength, or weakness and suffering, long life or short life. It’s not for us to question his decision. C S Lewis wrote that God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. Sickness can be God’s megaphone to draw our attention back to him.
Remember how an oyster makes a pearl? When a grain of sand gets into its shell and irritates it, instead of resisting and resenting it, the oyster wraps it in a layer of beauty until a pearl is formed. God works through all our circumstances, for our good and to his glory. How does this square up with David’s confident assertion that the Lord is he "who heals all your diseases"? It would seem that the reference here is primarily to the healing of our souls. Conversion is but the start of the journey of faith. We need the work of the Holy Spirit to heal our soul’s diseases - our failures and faults. But we have a responsibility to live positively.
Let’s be like David, urging ourselves to bless and praise the God who heals, and then go on to praise:
THE GOD WHO PRESERVES
The hand of God was on David, but that didn’t mean he was free from trouble. In fact, quite the opposite, for he aroused the fierce jealously of King Saul over several years leading to severe persecution. Now this is nothing unique in biblical history both in the Old and New Testament. Think how Moses was maligned, the prophets of Israel were persecuted - Amos was ridiculed and Daniel was thrown to the lions. In the Acts of the Apostles we read how the religious authorities were filled with hatred of the believers in Jesus. We read that "they were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail" (5:17,18).
That was nearly 2,000 years ago, but nothing has changed over the centuries. Think of the Reformers and the godly men who wanted the common people to have the Scriptures in a language they could understand. They were burnt at the stake. How about the treatment meted out to the Evangelicals? John Wesley and the early Methodists were cruelly treated, and the same happened to William Booth and the early Salvationists.
Nothing has changed except for the worse. Some of you may have heard of the Christian organization called ‘Open Doors’. It’s ministry is to support persecuted Christians in what is known as ‘the Suffering Church’. In many Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Communist countries there are anti-conversion laws which means that it’s illegal to convert from the national religion to Christianity upon penalty of severe punishment or even death! Here are a few quotes I’ve read, typical of what happens, illustrating the persecution of Christians. From Egypt: "Three Coptic priests have been stabbed, one of them fatally, in an attempt by militant Muslims to purge the region of Christians. Another priest was shot." From India: "Hindu fundamentalists attack Christian pastors. The Hindu militants, accompanied by local police, attacked a group of Protestants gathered for a leadership seminar. They were taken to the police station and kept in a cramped cell with no food or water for eight hours. No explanation was given of their offence." From Vietnam: "The authorities have refused the Evangelical Church to include in its assembly any minority language group. Police have persecuted these tribal churches severely by tearing down church buildings and attempting to force the Christian believers to renounce their faith."
What do we make of this? What Biblical principle is involved? David could praise God who "redeems your life from destruction". David didn’t claim that he was automatically preserved from being troubled by dangerous circumstances. What he’s saying is that, in these circumstances, God watches over him. Does this mean that the Christian is always protected from harm and danger? No, but rather that the Lord uses persecution to purify his people and to work to the advancement of his Kingdom.
The Apostle Paul confirmed this when he wrote, "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him" (Rom 8:28). Sometimes God has to allow unpleasant things to happen to bring us back into the line of his will or to further his purposes that are beyond our understanding. They may be perplexing but allowed by a God of love. David recalled the events of his life and realised how time and again God had "preserved his life from destruction" and so he gave thanks to God who preserves.
David’s theme of God’s gracious dealings with him is far from exhausted, and he goes on to tell of his Lord as:
THE GOD WHO PROVIDES
David praises his God who "crowns you with steadfast love and mercy". He had been crowned as king but his subjects were fickle and apt to lose their loyalty as he grew old. He contrasts this with God’s abiding provision for him. It was steadfast and unchanging. This privileged status is extended to all of God’s people. We have a relationship with Jesus, who never changes. He is "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8).
The famous preacher, C H Spurgeon, visited a farm and noticed that the weathervane was made up of the words "God is love". He asked the farmer, tongue in cheek, "Does this mean that God’s love is as fickle as the wind?" "No" replied the farmer, "on the contrary, whichever way the wind is blowing, God is love!"
God does supply our spiritual needs as we look to him in prayer and by reading his Word. He cleanses us from the defilement of this world as we confess our need. He directs us as we look to him for guidance. He’s in control if only we will trust and obey him. We need to be in the position of a pilot of an aircraft coming in to land. Air traffic control guides the pilot through various holding positions; he can’t just please himself if he is to land safely. We need to have the same trust in our God who will never let us down.
David made some dreadful mistakes that had bitter consequences. But God didn’t abandon him and it was God’s gracious dealings with him, which caused him to bless and praise God who provides and not forget all his benefits. But there was yet another aspect that called for David’s thankful praise. It was in respect of:
THE GOD WHO SATISFIES
God, he declares, "satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." David was thanking God for the temporal blessings of life that he enjoyed. He didn’t take them for granted, but thanked God for the abundance of his provision. We live in a part of the world that is especially favoured with a plentiful supply of food and the necessities of life, but there are many others where the reverse is the case. Let’s join David in returning thanks to God for his provision of our material needs.
God knows what we need. One of my favourite texts is "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you" (1 Pet 5:7). I read the story of a man riding down the road on a horse and cart when he saw a stranger struggling under a heavy load. He stopped and offered him a ride that was gladly accepted. But as they rode along together, he noticed the stranger still kept carrying the huge sack on his back. So he said, "Why don’t you just lay it down?" The stranger replied, "Oh no, it’s good of you to carry me. I couldn’t expect you to carry my burden too!" We can smile at the simpleton, but that’s what we do if we don’t allow God to take care of us.
God has his way of giving us strength for the journey of faith. The psalmist likens it to what nature provides for the renewal of the eagle. He’s thinking of how the eagle’s bill through constant use gets long and crooked with the result that the bird finds it difficult to eat. But nature has provided that the eagle may cast its bill, and so is revived and strengthened, and so to speak, becomes young again. This is exactly what can happen to the Christian. Times come when we are low in spirit, when the stream of spiritual life is at a low ebb. But the Lord intervenes with a season of spiritual refreshing and the believer becomes aware again of the presence of God, and is revived. We cry out, "Do it again, Lord. Do it again".
In these few verses David has been recounting his indebtedness to God for all his mercies and blessings that have been granted to him. He shows us how to be thankful not only in a general way, but to take trouble to review the specific benefits we receive from our loving heavenly Father. But David has discovered and drunk deeply from this fount of blessing. We, too, have much to praise God for.
On this Remembrance and Suffering Church Sunday we must surely return thanks to God for preserving us from the perils of war and remember with gratitude those who have been called upon to make such sacrifices and those who still bear the scars of war and their loved ones. We in Guernsey have been spared from religious persecution but this doesn’t mean that we won’t have to bear, in more subtle ways, what the writer to the Hebrews refers to as "the reproach" or "stigma" of the Gospel (Heb 11:26). For example, if you’re not "one of the boys" in enjoying some doubtful story or if you’re not willing to be "economical with the truth" in the interests of business.
I remember one of my former employers referring to a Christian colleague as "a bit of a Methodist!" It was meant as a "put down" but I regarded it as a badge of honour! O yes, persecution in various forms still exists! We must be willing, if need be, to be ready to accept rejection and ridicule from those opposed to the cause of Christ. David found his discipleship costly, but we, like him, will find it will be worth it all.
It reminds me of a story I read in the biography of a missionary concerning an Indian law student who became a Christian. He asked the missionary if he could be baptised secretly as, if he was baptised in a public service, his Hindu father would cut off his allowance and disown him. The missionary insisted that baptism must be an open confession of faith in Christ or nothing. The student accepted the condition and was duly baptised. His father did cut off his allowance and he had to leave university and he became a clerk instead of a barrister. When the missionary was returning to England the young man came to see him off at the station. The missionary told him how sorry he was that his conversion had meant such a sacrifice, but the young man gripped the missionary’s hand and said, "But it is worth it!"
I like the words of the hymn:
"How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend!
His love is as great as his power,
And knows neither measure nor end!
’Tis Jesus, the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home;
We’ll praise him for all this is past,
And trust him for all that’s to come."
(Joseph Hart)
Let’s follow David’s example in praising the name of the Lord, his and our God, who forgives, who heals, who preserves, who provides and who satisfies. "Bless the Lord, O my soul".
