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Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, based on:
Sermon originally delivered March 6, 2011
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
This is the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, and the glory of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ, is seen in four “mountain” settings. The Old Testament lesson is from Exodus 24:8-18. God’s covenant with His people is sealed by the blood of sacrificed animals. Then Moses and Aaron and elders of Israel were allowed to go up Mt. Sinai and get at least a glimpse of God and eat and drink before the Lord, and they did not die. Then Moses himself went further up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, with the law and commandment from God. He was there 40 days and 40 nights, covered by a cloud, with the Lord’s glory looking like a devouring fire. (We eat and drink, too, in the presence of the Lord, in Holy Communion. We do not die, but are forgiven and are counted acceptable to God through Jesus and His blood shed for us and His robe of righteousness He gives to us in our baptism and the gift of faith in His Word.)
The Psalm is Psalm 2:6-12. God set David as King on Zion, His holy hill in Jerusalem, to lead His people. One greater than David, then spoke in prophecy from heaven above. God the Father identified Him as His begotten Son (from all eternity in the mystery of the Triune God) and promised Him the Kingship of all nations and the ends of the earth. He would come and bless all those who took refuge in Him (as Savior), but would bring a rod of iron and judgment to all those who resisted and rejected Him. He calls all leaders to be wise and serve the Lord with fear and trembling, with rejoicing, and to ”Kiss the Son,” giving the Son of God proper homage and respect. (See the Bible study on Psalm 2, also on the podcast site this week, for many more details.)
The Gospel lesson is from Matthew 17:1-9. Jesus took Peter, James. and John on a high mountain and was transfigured before them, where they too received a glimpse of His true glory as the Son of God. Moses and Elijah also appeared with Him and talked with Him. A cloud overshadowed them all, and God the Father identified Jesus as His beloved Son (as Psalm 2 predicted). Everyone was to listen to Him. The disciples were terrified by all this, and then they could only see Jesus again and were taken down from the mountain.
The disciples were not to tell anyone what they had seen on the mountain until Jesus had risen from the dead. We know from the Lenten season, starting on Wednesday, that they did not really understand about His death or resurrection, until it had all happened. The death and resurrection of Jesus changed everything. Peter now was eager to tell everyone, as he does in the Epistle lesson, 2 Peter 1:16-21, what he had seen as an eyewitness of Christ and His transfiguration and His glory and saving work as the Son of God. Peter did this and spoke from God Himself, by the power of the Holy Spirit. These were not his own ideas and interpretation but were produced by the will of God, as were all other Scriptures. The words of Scripture are like a lamp shining in a dark place to bring Christ, the Morning Star into the hearts of people, that they may be saved by faith in Him.
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
This week, we will look at Psalm 2, one of the most often quoted or referred to portions of the Old Testament. I picked this Psalm also because a portion of it, Psalm 2:6-12, is the Psalm reading for this coming Sunday in many churches. (You can read how this portion fits together with the other Scriptures assigned for this week, the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus, in the Preparing for Worship section of the podcast for this Sunday, February 19, 2023.)
This psalm also speaks to an issue that many Christians are troubled about in our world today - the attacks on Christianity by many people and groups and even government leaders and governments, these days. This is not a new problem. Psalm 2 starts with the reality of “nations raging,” “peoples plotting,” “kings of the earth setting themselves and rulers taking counsel together against the Lord and His anointed” (Psalm 2:1-2). This was referring to opposition to the people of Israel from peoples and leaders all around them, wanting to overthrow them and get rid of them. This was also opposition to leaders like David, who had been “anointed” with oil and made King of Israel and was an effective warrior king for his people against their enemies. In addition, this was opposition to the God of Israel, the Lord Himself, and the unique teachings and beliefs He brought to His people, that set them apart from others, through the writings of Moses and the other Old Testament Scriptures.
The people opposed to Israel and its God were saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:3). Read what a psalmist wrote in Psalm 71:10-12. “My enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together and say, 'God has forsaken; pursue and seize him for there is none to deliver him.'” Much of the Old Testament is about the struggles of God’s people against their enemies, whether smaller area people like the Philistines and Midianites, or great peoples like the Egyptians and Assyrians and Babylonians, and on and on. Sadly, God’s own people too often also wanted freedom from the “bonds” and “cords” of the Lord and His will and His love and plans for them, and they brought great trouble upon themselves.
Yet God still kept His promises and protected His people who had faith in Him, even though they were not perfect and knew they needed His forgiveness and His continual help. Think of David’s struggles that we read about in Psalm 38, last week. Hear his words in Psalm 31:13-16: “I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side! - as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me in your steadfast love.’”
Think of how the Philistine giant, Goliath, “came forward and took his stand, morning and evening, for forty days” mocking God’s people, and in fear, no one would stand up against him (1 Samuel 16:16). And what do we hear God doing in Psalm 2:4? “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds His enemies in derision.” See also Psalm 37:12-16, where the Lord is again described as “laughing” at the wicked, and Psalm 59:5-10. God was still in charge. God knew that he would raise up the young boy David to defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17:41-53). And God would “set” David as His “king on Zion, His holy hill, in Jerusalem” (Psalm 2:6).
Much more important, Psalm 2 is prophecy of the ultimate “Anointed One,” His own Son, whom God would send into the world to defeat the greatest enemies - sin and Satan and death - and be the Savior of the world. That Anointed One, the Son of God, spoke from heaven in Psalm 2:7-8: “I will tell of the decree: the Lord said to Me, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage and the ends of the earth Your possession.’” This passage is quoted by the early Christians in Acts 4:24-31 as fulfilled in Jesus, in spite of the opposition of ”Herod and Pontius Pilate and Gentiles and the people of Israel.”
Jesus was and is “the Son of God,” as predicted in Psalm 2. He was identified as such by God the Father at His baptism (Matthew 3:17) and transfiguration (Matthew 17:5) and so many other times by others, from John the Baptist (John 1:34) to Nathaniel (John 1:49) and on and on. See Hebrews 1:1-5 and 5:5, where Psalm 2:7 is quoted with regard to Jesus, twice more. Jesus was “begotten of the Father” from all eternity, as part of the mystery of the Triune God. Yet a special evidence of this reality is also the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. See Psalm 2:7 quoted again in Acts 13:30-35 and Paul’s words in Romans 1:1-4
Jesus was and is “the Anointed One of God” as well. The word for the “Anointed One” (Psalm 2:2) is “the Messiah” in Hebrew and “the Christ” in Greek. Over and over these words are used to describe Jesus in the New Testament. See John 1:40-41, where both terms are used of Jesus. See Matthew 16:13-17, where Peter identified Jesus as “the Christ” and “the Son of the living God,” and Jesus affirms that. (In contrast, see how the high priest, Caiaphas, asks Jesus in Matthew 26:63-65, if He is “the Christ, the Son of God,” which was true, as we have seen, and then quickly rejects that and condemns Him to die.)
See another Old Testament prophecy in Psalm 89:24-29, where Jesus would be “the Firstborn” from the dead, with an everlasting kingdom (Revelation 1:5). See also, at the end of the New Testament that “the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). See also Revelation 1:5, 17:14, and 19:16 and passages like 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, and Mark 16:15-16 and Acts 1:8, where the Gospel of Jesus as Savior would go to all the world, to the end of the earth, in fulfillment of Psalm 2:8. In spite of all the enemies and opposition, the victory will finally be God’s and that of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 2 ends with encouragement to the kings of the earth to be “wise” and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, with “fear and trembling and rejoicing” and to “kiss the Son,” giving Jesus the homage and honor and respect due to Him as our Lord and God and Savior. (Samuel, for example, kissed Saul as he anointed him to be “prince over Israel” in 1 Samuel 10:1, in honor and respect for him.)
Don’t overlook, either, the “warning” also at the end of Psalm 2 - v. 4, 9, 10, 12. The return of Christ on the last day will be one of great joy for all believers in Christ (Luke 21:27-28). But for those who are enemies of Christ and reject Him and His Word and will and saving gifts, there will be judgment and sorrow.
Jesus spoke often of a day of judgment at the end of this age. The image of judgment and “a rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9) is shown in numbers of other places in the New Testament, too. See Rev. 2:26-27, 12:5, 19:14-15, and even the Old Testament predictions in Psalm 110:1,2,5. This not what God really wants. “He desires all people to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). That is still possible for anyone. That’s why the last line of Psalm 2 is “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him” - in faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and what He already has done for us to rescue us.
Psalm 2 also gives us hope in Christ even when we see opposition to Jesus from many around us. People may ridicule Christians for advertising about Jesus at the Super Bowl. Whole countries may be strongly anti-Christian and even persecuting Christians. People in this country may even make it hard for us to speak openly and honestly about what we believe. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you… If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18-21).
But right before these words, Jesus also said, “These things I command you, so that you will love one other.” We still try to reflect God’s love and care for others, while speaking the truth in that love. Ultimately, the Lord is Lord and Jesus is King of Kings in this world, even though it may not look or feel like it. He will win the final victory for us and take all believers to eternal life. “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him” (Psalm 2:12).
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Sermon for the 6th Sunday after Epiphany, based on:
Sermon originally delivered February 13, 2011
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
The Scripture readings this week are very heavy on the Law and will of God. We are only about a week and one-half away from the Lenten season, and these Scriptures tell us very clearly how much we need the saving work and forgiveness and mercy of Jesus, in what He did for us, as our Savior.
The Psalm is Psalm 119:1-8, the beginning of 176 verses of praise of God and the importance of listening to and following His Word and His commands. Those are blessed who are “blameless,” who “seek the Lord with their whole heart,” who “keep His precepts diligently,” who “have their eyes fixed on all His commandments,” and who praise God with “an upright heart.” The psalm writer says, “I will keep your statutes,” but the last part of v.8 indicates that he is not so sure he can really do that. He prays to the Lord, “Do not utterly forsake me,” and he admits in the last verse of the whole psalm, v. 176, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant.”
The Old Testament lesson is Deuteronomy 30:15-20. In previous chapters, the Lord has presented the way of “blessing” for His people, of “life and good,” if they will “love Him and keep His commandments.” The Lord also warns of the way of the “curse, of death and evil,” if His peoples’ “hearts turn away from Him and they will not hear” and they “are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them.” Moses calls upon His people to continue to “choose life… loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your Life.”
The Gospel lesson continues readings from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21-37. Jesus quotes from a number of Old Testament laws and rules. The first is the 5th Commandment, “You shall not murder.” Then Jesus adds, “But I say to you” and explains that if we are “angry” with others or “insult” others or call someone a”fool,” we are also sinners, breaking that commandment and hurting people and are in danger of the “fire of hell” for our wrongdoing. Jesus uses example after example of how we can sin in thought and word, as well as in deed. He can say and explain all this, because He is the very Son of God. He is showing us our sins and helping us see how much we need Him, as He also reveals Himself as our Savior, who has come to save us from our sins.
The Epistle lesson continues reading from 1 Corinthians, from Chapter 3:1-9. Paul tells the Christians at Corinth, in Greece, that they are still “infants in Christ” and have much to learn and must battle their “sinful human flesh.” There is too much jealousy and strife and comparison of themselves with others and even comparing their leaders with one another. Paul says that neither he nor another leader, Apollos, are “anything.” They are only “servants” who “plant” and “water.” Twice Paul says that “only God gives the growth.” He is the truly important One in “his field,” “His building,” the church. Let us not compare ourselves with each other, as we are all sinners. Let us compare ourselves with our Lord and His Word. Then we will know that we are forgiven and saved and strengthened only by God and His work in Word and Sacraments, through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Last week we looked at Psalm 44, a psalm that describes the struggle God’s people sometimes have when they think they are faithfully trying to follow the Lord, and yet it seems as if God is not listening or helping or caring about them and the serious problems they are going through. Through this psalm and other Scriptures, especially Romans 8, we were reminded of God’s promise always to be working for our good, even though we may not be able to see or understand what He has been doing. We are called to keep trusting Him and His timing and to keep listening to His Word and promises that nothing, even great troubles, can separate us from His love. Our future is secure in Christ our Savior, no matter what is going on right now.
Psalm 38 reminds us, though, that sometimes we may have been fooling ourselves and bringing troubles upon ourselves and “our steps have actually departed from God and His ways” - different from what was said and thought in Psalm 44:8. We don’t know the exact situation, but there were times when David had done wrong to himself and others and God and couldn’t seem to recognize it or admit it. It took God’s prophets bringing God’s Word to him to help him recognize and admit his sins and failings. This is one of his “penitential” psalms, along with Psalms 32 and 51 and 143, where he had to cry out, “Give ear to my pleas for mercy… enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You” (Psalm 143:1,2).
The introduction to Psalm 38 says that it was “a psalm of David, for the Memorial Offering.” There were various Old Testament offerings that God’s people were to make to the Lord in the Tabernacle and later in the temple in Jerusalem. Look at Leviticus 2:1-2, where a “grain offering” was to be made in just a certain way, and then the priest was to take a handful of the grain and burn it as a “memorial portion,” which would bring “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” The Hebrew word for the “memorial” is related to the word
“to remember.” Scholars think this offering was a way of asking the Lord to remember us in a way that was pleasing to Him and according to His will, in the Old Testament. Psalm 38, then, was a plea from David to the Lord to remember him, in mercy, even though he had been very sinful.
Some think it is like the prayer of the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42. The thief had just admitted that he was rightly condemned for his wrongdoing, receiving “the due reward for his (evil) deeds.” Jesus, in contrast, had done nothing wrong, not deserving His punishment (v. 40-41). This thief humbly asked, “Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom” (v. 42). This was a pleasing response of faith to Jesus, and Jesus promised, though the thief did not deserve it, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (v. 43).
See also the story of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who “feared God” and prayed to Him and helped the needy (Acts 10:1-2). An angel was sent to Cornelius to tell him, “Your prayers and your acts of mercy have ascended as a ‘memorial’ before God” (v. 3-4). God had not forgotten this man, but now remembered him in the sense of acting on his behalf, and sent Peter to tell him about Jesus; and he and his family and friends received faith and baptism. “To the Gentiles also God had granted repentance that leads to life,” through Jesus (Acts 10:5-11:18).
See also the prophecy of Zechariah in Luke 1:68-79, where Zechariah said that God Himself would “visit and redeem” His people (in the Person of His Son, Jesus) “to show the mercy promised to our fathers, and to ‘remember’ His holy covenant” (v. 72). God had not forgotten, but now was the time for Him to act, through John the Baptist (v. 76) and especially through Jesus, “to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God” (v. 77-79). Or think of the gift of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion). Jesus told us to receive Communion - to do this - “in remembrance of Him.” We are to come in faith, remembering what Jesus has done for us and trusting that He will have mercy and forgive our sins.
In Psalm 38, then, David confesses his own sins, remembering his desperate need for God’s mercy. In v. 1, he asks the Lord not to rebuke and discipline him in His anger, though he knows he deserves that “wrath” of God. David uses very poetic language, for the psalms are poetry and hymns addressed to God. In v.2-8, David describes the agony of the guilt he feels for his sins and the “heavy burden” they are for him to carry. They are like “arrows that have sunk into Him” and “the hand of the Lord” pressing down upon him. He is drowning in his sins and guilt. Everything within him aches because of his sin and God’s “indignation” (disgust) at his “foolishness.” (Have you ever felt that way, maybe laying in bed at night, thinking about things that have gone wrong, sometimes your own fault, and parts of your body seem to ache and burn, and you feel very worn and crushed?) That is what David was feeling, when he was honest with himself and knew he had to admit to his sin. (Words and phrases like these appear in other psalms and other Scriptures, as everyone struggles with sin and its effects. See Psalm 6:1ff., Job 6:4, Psalm 32:3-4, Psalm 69:2-3,14-15, etc.)
David also realizes that he cannot hide his sin and problems from God or others. God already knows, and yet part of praying is being honest with God and confessing our sins and failings, as David knows he must do. Friends also may know, and may want to “stand aloof” (“far off” from him), as if he has a “plague” or leprosy. Some might even want to punish him themselves when “his foot slips” and he fails (v. 9-12).
David then becomes like a “deaf” and “mute” man. He tries not to hear what others say, and he cannot “rebuke” others, because he has no real defense for all that he has done in a wrong way (v. 13-14). David has enemies, too, who “rejoice” in his failings and are “vigorous” in their unfair attacks against him, and criticize him even for the “good” things he tries to do (v. 16,19-20).
For David has not lost faith in His Lord, even in his weaknesses and when he feels like he “is ready to fall” and “his pain is ever before him” (v. 17). He knows that ultimately, only His Lord can help him. He cries out, “But for You, O Lord, do I wait; it is You, O Lord my God, Who will answer" (v. 15). As he had already done in v. 3-4, David again “confesses his iniquity” (another word for wrongdoing) and expresses his “sorrow for his sin” (v.17). All he can do is throw himself upon the mercy of God; and so he says, “Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste (hurry) to help me, O Lord, my salvation” (v. 21-22).
Other Scriptures tell us that David was forgiven and restored and joy returned to him, because of God’s great mercy, even though there were sometimes consequences, as a result of his sin. David could say, in Psalm 13:5-6: “I have trusted in Your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
Of course, the greatest example of God’s mercy was in the gift of Jesus Himself, as our Savior. Walter Roehrs and others think that portions of Psalm 38 were prophetic of Jesus and what He went through for us, to be our Savior. Look again at verses 13-15 in light of what is said of Jesus in passages like 1 Peter 2:22-25. David was “deaf” and “mute” because of his own sins and his inability to defend himself. He was guilty. Jesus, in contrast, “committed no sin” of His own, but “he Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” of the cross. He was suffering the penalty of David’s sins and our sins, and “by His wounds, we have been healed” and forgiven. Jesus was “deaf” as He ignored the “reviling” and the accusations made against Him, and He was “mute” and did not “revile“ or “threaten” others. “No deceit was found in His mouth.”
Look also at Isaiah 53, another prophecy of Jesus. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities” (v. 4-5). “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth… he was “silent and “opened not His mouth” (v. 6-7). Jesus knew that “it was the will of the Lord to crush Him… as “an offering for guilt” (v. 10) - to suffer the guilt and consequences of the sin of David and us and the whole world.
The agony that Jesus suffered was so, so much greater than what David described in Psalm 38. But, He did this willingly for the sake of all of us, that we might be forgiven through Him and be “accounted righteous” (v. 11). As Peter said in 1 Peter 2:23, in life and death and resurrection, Jesus “continued entrusting Himself to Him (His Heavenly Father), Who would do all things justly and rightly, through His amazing grace and mercy and love and forgiveness for the world. That is the mercy that David also found from the Lord, because of what Jesus would eventually do for him and for us. May we, too, be honest about our sins and bring them also to our Lord Jesus for the full and free forgiveness and new hope that He has already earned for us. That is what He wants for us all.
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Sermon for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany, based on:
Sermon originally delivered February 6, 2011
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Jesus is “the Light of the world” (John 8:12), but we can be lights, too, reflecting His Light to others, as our readings for this week say.
The Psalm is Psalm 112. The praise goes to the Lord, but blessed is one “who fears the Lord” and “delights” in His commands! Such an “upright” person is like “light” that “dawns in the darkness” and seeks to mirror our “gracious, merciful, and righteous” God. Such a person acts justly and gives generously to the poor. Above all, “his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” The wicked are angry at him, but his righteousness endures, as an example and help to fellow believers.
The Old Testament lesson is Isaiah 58:3-9a and reminds us that people can look righteous by certain things they do, like fasting and acting very humbly and putting on ashes, (think about this on Ash Wednesday!) while they turn right around and “quarrel“ and “fight” and “oppress” others. Rather, one is called to help the “hungry” and “poor” and “naked“ and “loosen the bonds of wickedness.” “Then your light breaks forth like the dawn” and the Lord’s glory surrounds you.
In the Epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12(13-16), Paul talks about keeping the focus not upon himself and his “lofty” performances, but upon “Jesus Christ and Him crucified“ and “the power of God” and His Holy Spirit, who enables people to “understand the things freely given us by God.” The gifts of and from God are the key for us. This is not “a wisdom of this age and the rulers of this age,” who are focused on themselves and what they can accomplish and think that the wisdom and ways of God are “folly.” But in God and His wisdom and Word, “we have the mind of Christ” and what he has done for us in order to save us.
The Gospel lesson, Matthew 5:13-20, is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We are called to be “salt,” seasoning and preserving, and “light” for the Lord Jesus, showing that He is good, for the glory of our Heavenly Father. Jesus Himself is the true Light, not “relaxing” but “teaching” and “fulfilling” the law and will of God perfectly, in our place. (See Hebrews 4:15 and Matthew 3:15.) Through faith in Jesus, we are counted righteous in God’s eyes and enabled by Christ Jesus to “enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Today we look at another psalm of the Old Testament, Psalm 44.
Psalm 44 is one of those psalms that is never used in the Lectionary (the assigned readings) for the 3 year or 1 year series of readings that we use in our worship services. Yet it talks about an issue that we still struggle with today, at times, and is worth studying, as is every other part of Scripture.
Psalm 44 was written by “the sons of Korah” - who are identified in 1 Chronicles 6:22, 31 and 2 Chronicles 20:19, 21, as famous singers in the house of the Lord. The psalm begins as the psalmists remember what their forefathers had taught them about how God had “freed” them from slavery and “planted them” in the promised land (Psalm 44:1-2). (See also Exodus 15:17. Note the emphasis also on the children being taught by their parents, and fathers especially teaching and answering questions of their sons and grandsons in future generations. See also passages like Exodus 10:2, 12:24, 13:8, and Proverbs 1:8ff. Such teaching and hearing are very much needed, still today, along with what we learn in school and church and Sunday School.).
Israel’s enemies were also defeated, and this was done not by the “sword” and the “arm“ of the Israelites, but by the “right hand” and “arm” of God Himself, as “the light of His face” shone on them (Numbers 6:24-26) and He “delighted” in them (Psalm 44:3). The psalmist also knows that God is his “King,” and that “foes are pushed down“ only “through God’s Name,” not by Israel’s ”bows” and “swords” (Psalm 44:4-6). (See also Exodus 3:14-15 and Psalm 20:7.) The psalmists therefore “boast in God continually,” and “give thanks to His Name, forever” (Psalm 44:8).
And yet, in v.4, the psalmist also asks, in a way that is called an imperative - a strong wish, almost a command: “Ordain salvation for Jacob,” save Your people, the sons of Jacob! Why would the sons of Korah ask for this? They knew God’s help in the past, but now they were not sure they were seeing it in the present time. Read on in Psalm 44:9-16. We don’t know the exact situation or circumstances when these verses were written, but it seemed as if God had now “rejected and disgraced” His people (v.9). “Foes” were defeating and “scattering them among the nations” (v.10-11). God’s people seemed unimportant and not valuable to Him (v.12). Others were “taunting” and “reviling” and “shaming” God’s people (v.13-16). It was as if God had forgotten about them, they thought.
They couldn’t figure this out because they felt that they had “not forgotten God” or been “false” to Him or “departed from His ways” (v.17-18). If they had forgotten God or worshiped false gods, God would have known, “for He knows the secrets of the heart”
(v.20-21). But they knew better about themselves, they thought. God was “asleep” and needed to “wake up” (v.23). He was “hiding His face now from His people, and they were feeling very “beaten down” in their lives (v.24-25).
Have you ever felt this way? You trust God and yet everything seems to be going wrong. God seems far away from you and your problems, even when you cry out to Him. You pray: “Rise up, O God; come to our help!” (v.26) And you still don’t seem to find answers.
Finally, the sons of Korah just had to trust God and His ways, though they did not understand His plans. They knew God had loved them with a “steadfast love” and that He would still “redeem” them in His own way and time, if they would wait upon Him. The sons of Korah also wrote psalms like Psalm 42, which said, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5,11).
They wrote Psalms 45-49, including Psalm 46, from which Martin Luther wrote his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” And they wrote Psalms 84-85 and 87-88, which said, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you” (Psalm 84:12). The sons of Korah did make it through, in faith, by God’s grace. And we can, too.
In fact, Paul, inspired by God, quotes from Psalm 44 in a great chapter of comfort and hope for New Testament Christians in Romans 8. He quotes Psalm 44:22, where the sons of Korah and fellow Israelites felt they were “being killed all the day long, like sheep to be slaughtered” (Romans 8:36). Paul applied those words to Christian people who have many troubles and challenges in life and can even be persecuted on account of being followers of Christ and His Word. He reminds us that the sufferings of this life are not worth comparing with the joys and glories of heaven (Romans 8:18). He also reminds us that even when we are overwhelmed and don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and prays on our behalf to help us follow God’s will (Romans 8:26-27).
Paul also reminds us that whether we can see it or not, “for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We may never find all the answers we want, but we trust God’s mercy and promises, shown us most clearly in Jesus and His saving work and His willingness to die for us.
And Paul reminds us that Jesus our Savior, as our risen Lord, is interceding for us, and that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, even if we face “tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword… or anything else… ”(Romans 8:34-39). The answers and the hope are all in Jesus. This is true even if we or the sons of Korah or anyone else is not quite as good as he or she pretends to be, as we will hear in next week’s psalm, Psalm 38, another psalm of David. The Lord’s continued blessings and strength, whatever you are going through, too. See His love for you, too, in spite of your challenges.
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sermon for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany, based on:
Sermon originally delivered January 30, 2011