5.4K
Downloads
683
Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
We will begin with our Gospel lesson for this week, John 14:15-21, as a theme for this week’s readings could be Jesus’ promise, “I will not leave you as orphans.” We are never totally alone, though it may seem like it, at times. Jesus is with us, though the world cannot see or recognize Him. Because He lives, we also will live, and He has given us “another helper,” the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever, too. We then show our love for our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by seeking to follow His will, by listening to the Spirit of truth, through His Word of truth, the Bible.
Peter reminds us, in our Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 3:13-22, that Christ Jesus “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.” We receive personally the blessing of Christ’s forgiveness for us through “baptism, which now saves us.” We also have a great “hope that is in us,” not from ourselves, but from our “holy Christ the Lord.” Even if we have sufferings for seeking to do good and God’s will, “we will be blessed,” by our Lord.
In our first lesson, Acts 17:16-31, from the history of the early Christian church, we see Paul facing much opposition and skepticism in the famous city of Athens, in Greece. He has just been chased out of another city, Berea (Acts 17:13-15), but he trusts that the Lord is still with him. The city of Athens is “very religious” but “full of idols” and false ideas. People always want to hear something new and even have an altar “to the unknown god.” Paul proclaims to them the one true God, “the God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth.” God cares about all people, even in their “ignorance” and confusion. Paul then calls them to repent and trust in His “appointed” Savior, Jesus, who died for them and has been raised from the dead. Some “mocked Paul” and some were willing to listen more, and the Lord brought some to believe in Christ.
The psalm is Psalm 66:8-20. The psalmist expresses his praise of God, even though God has allowed him and others to go through times of severe trial and testing, through fire and water and crushing burdens. God ultimately protected them and their souls and brought them out to a place of abundance. The psalmist has offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God in return, in typical Old Testament terms. He has not “cherished iniquity in his heart.” Though he was imperfect, he has trusted that God would “not remove His steadfast love from him” or abandon him, but would answer his prayers in the best way.
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Psalm 84 was written by someone from the Levite group known as the Sons of Korah. You can read about them in 1 Chronicles 6:31-38 and their descendants, as famous temple singers, in 1 Chronicles 15:17 and 16:41-42. Psalms attributed to them are Psalms 42,44-49,85, and 87-88, along with this psalm. The term “Gittith” in the introduction is likely a musical note, maybe encouraging the use of stringed instruments for this psalm, some think.
The psalmist longs for “the courts of the Lord” in the temple in Jerusalem (Psalm 84:1-2). The temple is called the Lord’s “dwelling place” because this is where God would sometimes show His glory and communicate with His people through His Word, as we have heard in previous studies. People knew that God was not limited only to being in the temple. Isaiah had written, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me?’” (Isaiah 66:1-2). The temple was also the place for God’s people to “sing for joy to the living God” in worship and to bring their gifts and sacrifices to the Lord (Psalm 84:2,4).
Though they were scattered in many places, every Jewish male was expected to come to the temple in Jerusalem three times a year, for the three major festivals: Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths.(See Exodus 34:23-24.) For some reason, though, the psalmist has not been able to get to Jerusalem as he should. He is envious of even the birds that are able to build nests for themselves near the altars or in the walls of the temple, close to the Lord of hosts, King and God (Psalm 84:3). He dreams of making the pilgrimage to Zion, (Jerusalem and the Temple), traveling the highways to Zion in his heart, as if he were with other pilgrims (Psalm 84:5). They would go through the Valley of Baca (which some translate as “the valley of tears”). The journey is long and hard, but the Lord provides springs and rain and continuing strength so that eventually they can appear before God in Zion, in His temple (Psalm 84:6-7).
The psalmist wishes he could be with those in Jerusalem. “One day in the Lord’s courts is better than a thousand days elsewhere," he says (Psalm 84:10). In fact, he would rather be a doorkeeper, just at the threshold of “the house of the Lord,” than to “dwell (maybe in a self-centered, lavish way) in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).
The psalmist knows that being in the presence of the Lord is such a great blessing. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield, bestowing favor and honor, and withholding no good thing from His faithful people” (Psalm 84:11). We have heard very similar words in many places about the “goodness and mercy” of our God, provided so generously to us (Psalm 23:6, Matthew 7:11, James 1:17, and Titus 3:4, etc.).
In fact, some think that portions of this psalm are prophetic of our Lord Jesus. The psalmist prays, in Psalm 84:7-8, that the Lord God would “give ear” to him and “hear his prayer.” He asks God to “behold our shield; look on the face of Your anointed!” Kings and prophets were anointed; but there does not seem to be reference to them in this psalm. More likely, this is a reference to the Anointed One, the Messiah whom God promised one day to send - Jesus our Savior.
Jesus was so eager to be in His Father’s House, in the temple, when he was 12 years old. He knew He belonged there and did not want to leave. He knew He needed to be there, talking and learning, especially at Passover, though His family did not understand (Luke 2:41-52). He also spent much time teaching in the temple in the days just before His last Passover meal and the giving of the good gift of Holy Communion. He went through many a “valley of tears” in His life and ministry and ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Sparrows had places to nest in the temple, but Jesus had to say, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).
Jesus also fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:2 of “the Sun of righteousness rising with healing in His wings” and of Luke 1:78: “the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high.” Jesus is our “Sun and our Shield,” providing us “the shield of faith” in Him, through the Holy Spirit (Psalm 84:11 and Ephesians 6:16). Jesus is the only one who “walked uprightly” all the time, “fulfilling all righteousness” for us, in our place (Psalm 84:11 and Matthew 3:15). Finally, we get the benefit of His perfect trust in His heavenly Father, so that we are saved by His grace through faith in Him that He provides for us (Ephesians 2:8-9). (Yes, “blessed is the one who trusts in Jesus above all - the Anointed One of God and our Savior” (Psalm 84:8-9, 12).
Much more could be said related to this psalm , but let me add just a few things. The New Testament, of course, takes the emphasis away from the temple in Jerusalem and puts the focus on Christ Jesus. Jesus, talking about Himself, said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up… He was speaking about the temple of His body” (John 2:18-22). Talking with a Samaritan woman, Jesus said, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain (in Samaria) nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:19-26). Jesus clearly identified Himself in this passage as the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.
Jesus also predicted the destruction of the temple, which happened in 70 AD, never to be rebuilt to this day. (See Matthew 24:1-2.) However, as Psalm 84 describes, believers still longed for and needed opportunities to worship their Lord and receive His blessings. The early Christian church was no different. Right after Pentecost, we hear that the baptized believers in Christ “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (God’s Word, the Scriptures) and the fellowship (gathering together to encourage one another) and the breaking of bread (fellowship meals and the Lord’s Supper - and more baptisms) and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). They met in the temple and in homes and later on in what we now call churches (places of assembly).
The importance of gathering together around God’s Word and the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) is still just as great today. The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day (the return of Christ) drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25). Especially in these post-Covid days, these words are very important. Many people got out of the habit of regular worship and still have not come back, even though they could. May we all be led to “long for the courts of the Lord,” as Psalm 84:1-2ff. says.
One last reminder. Our Lutheran Study Bible (ESV) notes say (p.929), “The unknown reason for the separation (of the psalmist from worship in the temple) makes the psalm more universal, aptly prayed by shut-ins, prisoners, travelers, Sunday workers, and all who have been temporarily separated from congregational worship.” There are other reasons, too. People are ill or disabled or don’t have transportation or they are in a place where there are few or no Christian churches or faithful Biblical churches, etc. That is why podcasts and streaming worship services and services on alternate days, etc., are being provided in many places these days. May we keep praying for people who can’t get to worship and think about how we can be of help to them, as we are able, and not neglect them. Everyone needs encouragement and the Word of God, centered in Christ our Savior.
Sunday May 07, 2023
Sunday May 07, 2023
Sermon for the 5th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 22, 2011
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
The Gospel lesson is at the heart of the readings we hear this week. Jesus had just told His disciples that He was going away. They do not understand and are clearly very upset. In John 14:1-14, we hear the confused responses of Thomas and Philip to what Jesus is saying, even though He is giving them very comforting words. Thomas wants to know where Jesus is going and how to get there. Jesus tells him that he is going to prepare a dwelling place for him, and He will come back to get him. Thomas does not need to trouble his heart about this, but just trust Jesus, who alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life and will bring him to the Heavenly Father. Philip just wants a chance to see the Father. Jesus tells Philip that if he has seen Jesus, He has also seen, as much as he needs to, the Father, who is in and with Jesus. Philip is also just to believe and trust in Jesus, and he will be led in the future to do greater things in the name of Jesus, for the glory of the Father.
Psalm 146 tells us that our hearts need not be troubled, if we simply trust, not ourselves and other fallible human beings, but our Creator God, in whom is our help and hope. He cares about people in all sorts of circumstances and situations in life, including us, whatever we are going through. Above all, He provides us with a Son of Man (our Lord Jesus), in whom there is salvation.
In the first lesson, Acts 6:1-9 and 7:2a and 7:51-60, we see that our hearts need not be troubled, as the early Christians were led by the Lord to care about both the physical and spiritual needs of people, as our Lord does. We are in the hands of the Son of Man, our living Lord Jesus, who forgives our sins and helps us in life and even in death and will “receive our spirits” to eternal life. In turn, we are called to be faithful to God and His Word as best we can, as Stephen was.
In the Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 2:2-10, Peter also calls us to long for “the pure spiritual milk” of God’s Word. Through it, we grow as God’s people and know that “the Lord is good,” and full of “excellencies” in His dealings with us. Our hearts need nor fear, either, for through Christ we have been called from darkness into God’s marvelous light and to belief in Christ. Once we were “nobodies,” but now we are “God’s people” and are covered by God’s “mercy” for us, and for our salvation.
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
I had noticed last week, with Good Shepherd Sunday, the reference in Psalm 80:1 to God as “Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock.” This follows right after Psalm 79:13, where God’s people say to the Lord, “We your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.” Psalm 80 seemed like a good follow-up to what we heard in worship last week and has other important messages for us all, too.
The author is someone from the line of Asaph and his sons, from the tribe of Levi. Asaph was appointed by David to provide music in the tabernacle in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:16-19, 16:4-5,7 and Nehemiah 12:46). Asaph’s sons later provided music and songs in the temple (1 Chronicles 25:1-9) and are called “prophets,” as their words were inspired by God and His Holy Spirit. This is a reminder again that all Scripture, including the psalms, is inspired by God and helpful for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83 are also mentioned as psalms by Asaph and his family group.
The mention of “Lilies” in the introduction is most likely a notation of the melody or musical setting for this psalm, when it was sung. The term “Lilies” is also found in the introduction to Psalms 45 and 60. (If you use the Lutheran Service Book, you can find some of these same type of notations with the hymns but also in the back of the hymnal on pages 998-1017. For example, you can find that the “tune” called “Old Hundredth,” “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow,” is used for 5 different hymns - 632, 775, 791, 805, and 923. See page 1015 in the Lutheran Service Book.)
Psalm 80 is a prayer that God, the “Shepherd of Israel,” would come to save His people, especially the Northern Kingdom of Israel, from threats at this time. (You might remember that after the time of Kings David and Solomon, the Kingdom split into two kingdoms, because there was disagreement over who should be king. Ten of the 12 tribes supported the Northern Kingdom. This is complicated history, which I won’t get into here, but the names mentioned in Psalm 80:1-2 are all connected mostly with the North and with Joseph. This northern kingdom tended to have leaders and people who were less faithful to God over time, and had many troubles as a result. We don’t know for sure, but this psalm was likely written when the North was being threatened by the armies of Assyria, which finally overran and destroyed the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. Even the Southern Kingdom of Judah was threatened at this time, too.)
There were people still faithful to God, though, and they were crying out to God to “give ear” and to “stir up His might and come to save them" (Psalm 80, v.2). They were calling upon the one true God, “enthroned upon the cherubim” in the temple in Jerusalem.
The cherubim were angels, and representations of two of them were placed on the Ark of the Covenant, according to instructions given to Moses by God (Exodus 25:10-22, especially v.22). Later on, when the temple was built, Solomon built two cherubim in the inner sanctuary, above where the Ark was placed (1 Kings 5:22-28). This is where God would appear in glory, at times, to communicate with Moses and later on with God’s people. (Parallel to this would be the altar area in churches today. We know that God is with us always and is not limited to one place in a church. Yet we respect this area, where we hear God’s Word and receive His presence and blessings in Word and Sacrament.)
In Psalm 80, three times the psalmist and people pray, “Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:3, 7, 19). They know that they are sinful people, who need to be “restored” by God and His mercy and forgiveness. They know that they do not deserve this mercy. God has a right to be angry with them, and they ask, “How long will You be angry with Your people’s prayers?” (Psalm 80:4). They remember how much God had blessed them in the past, taking them from being a small “vine” in Egypt and allowing them to grow into a strong nation (Psalm 80:8-11).
The mention of “mountains” and “cedars” and “the sea” and “the River” describe the boundaries of Israel in its greatest times. See Deuteronomy 11:24 as another example of that description. We could spend a whole study and more on how often the images of a vine and vineyard is used to talk about God’s people, too. See Old Testament references like Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6, Jeremiah 2:21, 12:10, and Hosea 10:1, and New Testament passages like John 10:4, Luke 13:6, Mark 12:1-12, and John 15:1-6.
Sadly, God’s own people had so often sinned and rebelled against Him and His will, including idolatry and worship of false gods, particularly in the Northern Kingdom, that the people had often experienced “the bread of tears” and “tears to drink in full measure,” as a result of their sins. There was “contention” with neighboring people and mockery and laughter from their enemies (Psalm 80:5-6). The trouble and sorrow all seemed to be happening again. God’s “vineyard,” the place of His people, was being “broken down” and plundered again by enemy peoples (Psalm 80:12-13, 16).
And so God’s people cry out, “Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine” (Psalm 80:14). They knew that their only hope would be in God’s “letting His face shine” upon them again with His mercy and peace and blessing (Psalm 80:7, Numbers 6:24-27). They could not “restore” and “save“ themselves, by their own power.
Sadly again, most of the Northern Kingdom continued to “turn back from the Lord” (Psalm 80:18) and finally the Assyrians conquered these people and killed many and carried most others away into captivity in other lands. Very few of these Jews ever returned to the land of Israel. God did not give up on His people, though, even after the Southern Kingdom also drifted from the Lord’s will and many were carried away into captivity in Babylon, in 587-586 BC. God preserved a remnant of His people and brought them back to the land of Israel and continued His promises to answer His people’s prayers “to come and save” them (Psalm 80:3).
Look especially at Psalm 80:15,17-18. Several of the things said here refer to our coming Savior Jesus. The word “stock” in v.15 could be translated “the shoot” or “the root” that is planted by God’s right hand, His most powerful hand. See how that same term is used in the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-2 and referred to in passages like Acts 13:22-23, regarding Jesus, from the line of Jesse. Notice in Psalm 80:15,17, “the son God has made strong for Himself… the man of God’s right hand, the son of man whom God has made strong for Himself.”
The term “Son of Man” is a reference to the Messiah in Daniel 7:13 and Psalm 2 and other places. and it is a term Jesus often used for Himself in the Gospels, for His saving work. (See Mark 10:45 and Matthew 12:8 and Luke 19:10, etc.) Hosea 11:1 is quoted by Matthew as referring to Jesus, called out of Egypt as God’s Son. Even a Jewish writing, the Targum, paraphrased Psalm 80:15b as referring to “the King Messiah whom Thou hast established for Thyself,” though the emphasis was simply on the Messiah coming from the Jewish nation.
Clearly, the New Testament says that Jesus was the answer to these many prayers of Psalm 80. He was the Shepherd of Israel and the whole world - the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). The psalmist prays, “Give us life, and we will call on Your Name” (Psalm 80:18). He prays, “Let Your Face shine, that we may be saved,” again and again (Psalm 80:3,7,19). John 1:1,4-5 tells that “the Word (Jesus) was God… In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The psalmist prays, “Stir up Your might and come to save us” (Psalm 80:2). That is exactly why Jesus came. John 3:16-17 tells us, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him… that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus is the Answer, and we are “restored” through Him (Psalm 23:3, Psalm 51:12, and 1 Peter 5:10, “The God of all grace , who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”).
Two final thoughts. We use the prayer, “Stir up your power and come to save us” (Psalm 80:2) also in the four weeks of the Advent season, as we prepare for a truly Christ-centered Christmas and its greatest gift, Jesus Himself. We can also use those words as a prayer for our churches, that Christ will do His saving work in and through the Word and Sacraments that we use, even in challenging days, when some seem more resistant to the faith. And we pray this prayer also as we await with confidence the return of Christ on the last day. As Revelation 22:20 says, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Finally, one last thought that Lutherans might be especially interested in. Pope Leo X, in 1520, wrote a papal document condemning Martin Luther and his teachings and giving him 60 days to appear in Rome. Pope Leo quoted from Psalm 80:13, saying that Luther himself was “the boar from the forest who was ravaging the Church.” In early 1521, Pope Leo then excommunicated Luther from the Roman Catholic Church, even though Luther was trying to proclaim Jesus as the one and only Savior from sin (John 10:9, 14:6) and the one who was seeking to draw all people together in one flock, with one Shepherd, Jesus Himself, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 10:16).
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 15, 2011
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
This Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and most of our readings have to do with Jesus as our Good Shepherd, in all that He did and still does for us.
The psalm is, of course, Psalm 23, David’s beautiful words about the Lord as his Shepherd. The Lord, in His wisdom, provides all that David really needs in a spiritual way. He restores David’s soul, after difficult times, and provides him with spiritual food and drink. Even in the shadow of death, when in the presence of enemies, the Lord gives him comfort and courage. The Lord will give him goodness and mercy, and one day, he will live in the house of the Lord forever.
That is the promise of God for all of us, too, with Jesus as our Good Shepherd. In the Gospel lesson, John 10:1-10, Jesus says that He is “the door for His sheep.” Those who enter into the sheepfold through faith in Him will be saved and find good pasture and have abundant life, now and forever. There are thieves and robbers who can endanger the sheep, but the sheep of Jesus’ flock will listen only to Him and His voice, in His Word. He knows us all by name and will care for us always.
The first lesson, Acts 2:42-47, tells how those who were brought to faith in Jesus and were baptized on Pentecost were able to stay in faith and were strengthened. They kept coming together in worship and fellowship and heard the apostles’ teaching through the Word of God and had “the breaking of bread,” including the Lord’s Supper. They also prayed for each other and helped with each other’s needs in a generous way, and the Lord added more people to them who were being saved.
Peter adds, in our Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 2:19-25, that we can also expect some suffering and trouble as sheep of our Good Shepherd, even when we are trying to do good and right things. We are following in the steps of Jesus, who suffered and was reviled and finally died for us, carrying our sins on the tree of the cross. By His wounds, we have been healed. We were like straying sheep, but now have been brought to our Good Shepherd, the Overseer of our souls, who will care for us.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Psalm 115 deals with a constant temptation for the children of Israel. The Lord had taught his people that there was only one true God, whom alone they should worship and serve. The foundation commandment of the 10 Commandments, the first commandment, is recorded in Exodus 20:3 and again in Deuteronomy 5:7 and repeated in many other ways throughout the Old Testament: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” An explanation of that commandment followed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9).
All around them, though, were peoples and nations that were polytheists, believing in many gods and goddesses, and making idols for themselves. Psalm 115: 4-8 ridicules the making and worshiping of idols, “the work of human hands.” These idols may have mouths and eyes and ears, etc., but they cannot speak or see or hear or do anything at all. There are similar descriptions and statements in other places in the Scriptures. Psalm 135 says much the same thing in v.15-18, along with other similar words we will touch on later in v.6 and v.19-20. See also Jeremiah 10:3-5 and 8-11, and most strongly in Isaiah 44:6-20, where God says through Isaiah, “I am the first and I am the last, besides me there is no god” (v.6) and “Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?”(v.10).
Still, the Israelites too often followed the temptation to be like so many others and follow false gods and idols like “the golden calf” in Exodus 32. A summary of the history of God’s people in 2 Kings 17:6-20 says things like this: The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians “because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God… and feared other gods… and walked in the customs of other nations… things that were not right… They went after false idols and became false… They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves images of two calves and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served Baal.” (All these were false gods and idols or objects of worship of other nations.)
“None was left but the (Southern) tribe of Judah alone. Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs Israel (the Northern Kingdom) had introduced (including idolatry)… And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel… until He had cast them out of His sight,” with the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians. During low times like these, others nations would mock God’s people and say, “Where is their God” who lets them have such trouble (Psalm 115:2). See also passages like Psalm 42:10, where the some of God’s people wrote, “As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” - implying that this “God” cannot be seen and thus did not exist.
Do we hear such challenges still today, as people attack God and Christianity at times? Our answer is in Psalm 115:3: “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” We trust our Lord. He is not like the false gods of the Greeks and Romans and others of old, who were very human-like, in doing both some good and much evil. They literally did whatever they wished, even if it was wrong. The God revealed in Scripture is always working for ultimate good, though He may have to “discipline” at times and we do not always understand His ways. (See passages like Hebrews 12:5-7.)
Thus, the call comes in Psalm 115:9ff.: “O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their Help and their Shield.” God did not give up on His people, and after a time of captivity, He forgave and restored them to the land of Israel. Some think that this psalm was written as a warning and reminder, in this later time in Israelite history, that Israel should not slip back into gross idolatry again.
There could also be other kinds of idolatry and false worship, though, besides literal use of idols. Psalm 115: 1 says, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love (mercy) and Your faithfulness.” The Scriptures warn that we can turn many things into gods, including ourselves and things we have or “covet,” if we make them more important that God Himself and His Word and will. Psalm 115:1 says twice that glory and honor should go above all to God and not to ourselves and what we are and accomplish. We are not to love and trust in our possessions and money (Proverbs 11:28) or our family (Matthew 10:37) or our own goodness (Ephesians 2:8-9), or anything else, more than God and His good gifts to us (James 1:17-18).
There are dangers here for us even today and even as God’s people. Our parents and family are very important. God even gave us commandments about them. We need some money and a place to live and on and on. But none of this is more important that our Lord. He is the One we are to trust above all, no matter who we are.
In Psalm 115:9-13, the psalmist especially speaks to “Israel,” the chosen people of God, and “the house of Aaron,” the priests who led the people in worship and learning, and faithful people, “small and great,” who “fear” and love God. All of them are called to “trust in the Lord” above all, and recognize that “being blessed by the Lord” is most important. It would be so easy to focus upon themselves and what they are doing or thinking or accomplishing, rather than giving God the glory and praise. (I have to watch out for that danger myself, as a pastor and teacher!) Remember the parable in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee, the religious leader, can only seem to talk about himself and the great things he is doing. He goes home not “justified,” while the struggling tax collector can only pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and goes home forgiven and blessed and right with God.
Think above all of our Lord Jesus, who did finally come from the people of Israel to be our Savior. See how He, too, was tempted as we are, yet did not sin, in Matthew 4:1-11. The devil tempted him with food and honor and fame and personal possessions and “glory,” if He would only “fall down and worship him,” instead of putting God first. Jesus simply quoted Scripture, ending with Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
The whole life of Jesus was one of service to His heavenly Father, doing everything right, in our place, where we so often fail. Finally, we sinners were redeemed and ransomed and forgiven by His sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins. See 1 Peter 1:18-21: “You were ransomed… with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a Lamb without spot or blemish… and God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” In Christ Jesus we now trust, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the one true God “who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15) - the complete fulfillment of the “trust in the Lord” spoken of in Psalm 115.
Two last comments on Psalm 115. Verse17 reminds us that we cannot take any of those things we cherish so much with us when we die. Our mouths will be stopped, and we can trust only in the “precious blood” of Christ, shed for us, and that will be enough.
But, as verse 18 says, and the New testament makes clear, “we will bless the Lord” - give Him all the praise and glory and honor, “forevermore” in a perfect way, in everlasting life “in the heavens” (v.3, too).
One more brief comment. Some churches understand Exodus 20:4 as a second and separate commandment, which forbids any kind of image or likeness of anything in a church building. Such churches are therefore very plain and have no artwork of any kind in them. Christians traditionally have understood v. 4 as an additional explanation of v.3, of having no other gods and forbidding worship and adoration of any objects or anything, that should be given only to God. We take this second view as Lutherans, and also believe that Scripture itself should help us to interpret Scripture. In the Old Testament tabernacle and later on in the temple, for example, the ark of the covenant had images of winged cherubs (a kind of angel) one on each side of the mercy seat (Exodus 25:18-20). The golden lampstand had “cups made like almond blossoms” (Exodus 25:33-34). The priestly robe had images of pomegranates and bells on it.
In other words, God Himself had commanded Moses to make these images of things for use in the temple. In the New Testament, John sees, in visions of heaven, seven stars and a two-edged sword (Revelation 1:16) and living creatures that look like a lion and an eagle, etc. (Revelation 4:6-8). All this is to says that many Christians feel that it is acceptable to use images and symbols and artwork in churches, for teaching purposes or for the glory of God, as long as these do not become sacred objects of worship, and we clearly worship only God Himself, as Psalm 115 indicates.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered April 22, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 8, 2011