A Faith Lesson From the Past - Oct 26, 2014

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SERMON:

What did your report card look like in high school? Were you one of those hardworking and diligent students posting mostly A’s and only the occasional disappointing B? Or was your report card more like mine—good grades in the classes you liked, and not so good grades in the ones you didn’t?

Did you ever utter these words: “Why do I have to learn this stuff? It’s not like I’m ever going to use this.”

History is one class that produces this attitude in students. Why do we have to learn about what some guy did 900 years ago? How is that ever going to help me today?

But history IS very important. When we study the struggles, and failures of the people who came before us, we can learn how to avoid the suffering they experienced.

The Bible reading that we’re going to meditate on today is a bit of a history lesson from the book of Isaiah. But before we read that, and consider what it has to teach us, I’d like to set the stage for Isaiah.

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Our Sunday morning Bible study group recently began a survey of the Old Testament. The plan is to move quickly, to get a “big-picture” view.

When you step back and see the history as a whole, you see a clear pattern developing. Mankind does wicked things, and God rebukes their wickedness, but he also responds with compassion.

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For example, in the beginning of the Old Testament, God places the first two human beings in a gorgeous garden where everything is good, and it’s all for them. But Adam and Eve do the one thing that God tells them not to. By rebelling against God Adam and Eve bring sin and death into the world. As a result God kicks them out of the garden and curses the creation, BUT he also promises that one day a Savior will be born to rescue sinners from sin, death, and hell.

There’s the pattern. Man sins, and God rebukes, but with that rebuke comes compassion and love.

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As the Old Testament moves on, the history zooms in to view one family. The family of Abraham is chosen to be God’s special people. From this family the promised Savior was to be born. Judging from the stories that are recorded about Abraham’s family, God didn’t choose them because they were better than everyone else. Over and over Abraham and his family do foolish and wicked things. But God graciously continues to rebuke them, rescue them, bless them, and remind them that through their family every nation would one day be blessed.

The pattern continues.

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Eventually the descendants of Abraham find themselves enslaved in Egypt. When they cry out for help, God hears them and sends Moses to lead them out of Egyptian slavery, and into a good land that will become their own possession.

But on the way to this land, the Israelites show themselves to be rebellious sinners once again. When God has them on the edge of the promised land, they balk. When God says, “Go up and take the land, I’ll be with you.” But they say, “Not so fast. There’s big people there, and fortified cities. We’d better not.”

Through their disobedience, the Israelites show that they don’t really trust Yahweh to take care of them. As a result, God sentences them to wander around in the desert for forty years until the faithless generation is all dead. But still, God doesn’t abandon his promises. In due time, the descendants of Abraham move into the promised land and settle down.

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But there they show their rebellious hearts once again. On the way into the promised land God had told them to destroy the pagan nations that were living there. These nations had turned their backs on the living God and had begun to worship idols in all sorts of disgusting and evil ways. They bowed down to wood and stone. They sacrificed their children to false gods. They took part in all sorts of superstitious and immoral practices.

Instead of rooting these nations out like God had told them to, the Israelites allowed some to remain. Before long, their pagan neighbors were teaching the Israelites how to worship their gods right alongside Yahweh.

And so God again rebukes their sin. He sends foreign nations to raid the land of Israel and to oppress the people. But each time that happens, the people come back to their senses and called out to God for help. In response, God would send a hero to beat back the oppressors and restore peace to the land. But after each rescue, the people fell back into their old ways of wickedness and idolatry—and the pattern repeated itself.

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In time, the Israelite nation was split in two, a Northern kingdom called “Israel” and a Southern kingdom called “Judah.” Of the forty or so kings that rule over the God’s chosen nation during this period, only eight of them followed Yahweh. The rest of the kings sought to establish their own rule with murder and intrigue. They also led the people to abandon the true God and indulge in wicked idolatry once again.

It was an ugly time in the history of Israel. False gods were worshipped by the people. Kings set up pagan shrines in the temple of Yahweh. And Israel became just like any other nation: a place stained with murder, thievery, and injustice.

At this time, God used his prophets to reveal that judgment was coming for Israel. A harsh rebuke would fall on the people for their evil behavior. The nation of Syria would sweep in and completely destroy the Northern Kingdom. Then Babylon would enslave and deport the Southern Kingdom.

Yet God’s compassion would remain. Yahweh would not abandon his promises to Abraham. From Abraham’s family the Savior would still come. After 70 years of exile, a remnant of the Southern Kingdom would return from Babylon to settle in the promised land once more. And from that remnant, the Messiah would one day be born.

The Old Testament can be summed up in this way: mankind is wicked, but God is good. Mankind is constantly rebelling against it’s Creator, but Yahweh is ever faithful, rebuking man’s wickedness and holding out the promise of forgiveness and redemption through the Savior to come. 

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As I said earlier, our sermon reading for today comes from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah the prophet lived in the time of Israel’s kings, just previous to the exile to Babylon. As God’s prophet, it was Isaiah’s job to rebuke the people for their rebellion against God—but also to comfort those who still trusted in Yahweh.

In our reading for today, Isaiah uses a parable to warn the nation that God’s judgment was coming soon.

Isaiah 5:1-7 (NASB)

   1       Let me sing now for my well-beloved

A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.

My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

   2             He dug it all around, removed its stones,

And planted it with the choicest vine.

And He built a tower in the middle of it

And also hewed out a wine vat in it;

Then He expected it to produce good grapes,

But it produced only worthless ones.

   3             “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Judge between Me and My vineyard.

   4             “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

   5             “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;

I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

   6             “I will lay it waste;

It will not be pruned or hoed,

But briars and thorns will come up.

I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

   7             For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel

And the men of Judah His delightful plant.

Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;

For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

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Isaiah’s song is a parable designed to turn one’s thoughts inward. A parable to encourage self-evaluation and introspection.

The people of Israel knew all about vineyards. They would hear Isaiah’s description and agree. Wow, this man did everything right. And yet his vineyard failed. He was right to give up on the vineyard. If after all this work it only produced bad grapes, there really wasn’t anything left to do but give up.

But the parable was about them.

Yahweh had brought the descendants of Abraham out of Egypt. Israel was his precious vine (Psalm 80:8). He dug out the stones of the pagan nations and planted Israel in the promised land—a fertile hill (Psalm 80:9). Yahweh himself had been it’s mighty tower. Standing there in the middle of Israel was the Temple of the LORD. There his Word could be heard. There his promises could be praised. In Yahweh there was protection that no nation could penetrate.

Yahweh had every reason to expect this chosen nation to produce good fruit—good words and actions. Kindness. Compassion. Love. Faithfulness. Diligence. Peace. Justice. Righteousness.

But instead, Israel produced fruits like “bloodshed” and “cries of distress.” What more could have been done by the LORD? Nothing. Why did it produce worthless fruit? They had no satisfactory excuse.

And so judgment would fall on Israel.

Syria would sweep into the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. They would enslave the people, and the tribes of that kingdom would disappear forever. Those not killed would be absorbed into the nations where they were deported, never to return.

And then the Babylonian nation would flood into the Southern Kingdom. Jerusalem would fall in 522 BC. In successive waves of deportation nearly all the people would be removed from the land. Only a tiny population of farmers and tenants would tend the land.

They would look on actual vineyards abandoned and overgrown with briars and thorns. And each overgrown vineyard would serve as a reminder of God’s judgment on faithless Israel.

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And yet, Yahweh had not abandoned his promise to Adam and Eve. Nor had he abandoned his promise to Abraham. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the LORD proclaimed…

“¹⁵ Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land” (Jeremiah 12:15 NKJV).

The pattern would continue.

After seventy years of exile in Babylon, Yahweh, the God who always keeps his promises, brought a remnant back to the land. They settled in the desolate and overgrown country once again. And in time they rebuilt the temple of the LORD—though it was only a shadow of the glorious temple it had once been.

And in time, a young virgin by the name of Mary made her way to Bethlehem to take part in a census. And the long promised Savior of sinners was born. The descendant of Abraham came, at long last, to bless all the nations of the world—through the forgiveness and salvation won for them through his cross.

Though man is wicked, the LORD remains good. And he has kept his promise to bring us forgiveness and salvation. In Christ Jesus that is what we have, forgiveness and salvation for all our rebellious sins.

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A philosopher and author by the name of George Santayana once said…

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana).

The Bible says something very similar in the book of Romans. In Romans it says…

“⁴ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4 NKJV).

History is important, but Bible history is crucial. For it is in the Scriptures that we learn about sin, and what our great God has done about it. When we are weighed down with sin and guilt, it is the history of the Bible that brings us comfort. Even though mankind is totally sinful, and untrustworthy, our Creator is holy, and faithful, and through his compassion he has provided forgiveness and eternal life through the cross of Christ.

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People, we are not ancient Israel. But we can take warning from their history. We are not ancient Israel. But we have been planted on a fertile hill. We are not ancient Israel. But the God of the Bible stands as our mighty tower, our only refuge and protection from the world around us, and from ourselves. We are not ancient Israel. But the Master of the vineyard has hewn out a wine press here at Redemption. He expects good fruit.

If we are to produce that fruit, we cannot rely on our own vine—that is destined to fail. If we learn anything from the history of ancient Israel, we must not fail to learn that. If we depend on our own vine, and follow our own hearts, we will stray from the true God. We must be grafted into a better vine—through faith.

Jesus once told his disciples,

“15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:1-5 ESV).

Let us learn from the history of Israel. It was preserved for our learning, that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The Gospel of Christ is ours, people. We know what he did for us on that cross 2,000 years ago. We believe in him. He suffered our hell. He took our sins away. In Christ all our rebellious sins stand forgiven. Connected to him we can produce good fruit in the Father’s vineyard. Fruit like a humble attitude of repentance. Fruit like a strong faith in his sure promises. Fruit like justice, and righteous lives. But only if we remain in the vine. Apart from Christ, we can only fail.

The lessons we learn from history are sometimes sobering ones. Like the lesson we’ve pondered today. let us take warning from Israel’s history so that we don’t face the same fate. Let us forever cling to the cross of Christ, the source of our cleansing. The beginning and end of our faith. And may the Holy Spirit cause good fruits to grow in our lives, to the praise of our gracious and powerful God.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

Am I the Harlot, or the Hypocrite? - Oct 19, 2014

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SERMON:

Human beings are creatures of habit. As we go through life, we repeat things. We develop routines that we follow, good or bad.

What are your habits? Shower in the morning? Cup of coffee on the way to work? A favorite radio station talk show that you tune into everyday?

Besides the outward habits of everyday life, we develop inner habits too. Some of these are good. Praying to God each day. Taking time to think about God’s Word. Worshipping God in our hearts as we gather with fellow believers.

But there are also bad habits that we develop. Worrying about our problems. Endlessly fidgeting in our souls about uncertainties. Judging other people in a shallow way. Not putting the best construction on their words and actions. Gossiping about people around us. Responding to the unexpected problems of life with anger, or unkind words.

Bad habits like these are like ruts in an old gravel road. When we travel over them repeatedly, they get deeper, and harder to steer out of.

As sinful human beings we tend to excuse our bad habits. As bad habits are revisited we can start to think of them as “not all THAT bad”, or even “okay.” Like it says in Proverbs 21, 

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2 ESV).

Sometimes we need to see our sinful habits through someone else’s eyes before we wake up and see how wrong we really are.

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The Old Testament of the Bible relates a story from the life of King David. A story about a deep rut he had gotten himself into, and how God used a little story to pull David out of his rut.

David had committed adultery with a married woman. And then he had arranged for her husband to die in battle so that HE could marry her. Somehow David excused his action in his own eyes. He knew it was wrong. He hid it from the people around him. But God knew, and was not pleased.

So God sent his prophet Nathan to speak with David. Instead of confronting David directly, Nathan told him a story. There was a poor man who had one precious little lamb that he cared for. The lamb was like a little child to him. It ate from his hand, and sat in his lap. But when the poor man’s rich neighbor had some company visiting, the rich man took the poor man’s little lamb and prepared it for dinner (see 2 Samuel 12).

David responded to this little story with great anger. He was outraged that someone would do such a thoughtless and uncaring thing. David declared that the rich man deserved to die for his lack of pity.

It was at that point that Nathan said, “The rich man I was talking about, is you.”

And that was all it took to help David see his sin for the evil it truly was. David was filled with sorrow over what he had done.

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In our sermon reading for today, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. This group of men were entrenched in unbelief. They called themselves followers of Yahweh, but they refused to listen to the Word of the LORD. These men had opposed Jesus at every turn. But Jesus still reached out to them and told them a little story that was meant to jar them out of the rut of unbelief and help them to see the forgiveness and life that was theirs for the taking.

Matthew 21:28-32 (NKJV)

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

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Just like Nathan’s story to David, Jesus’ story was simple. Two sons were told to go work in the vineyard. One was openly defiant, but changed his mind later on. The other said all the right words, but didn’t go.

The answer to Jesus’ question was as simple as the story. Of course the son who actually went to work in the vineyard was the one who did what his father wanted. Even the Pharisees could see that. And so they convicted themselves.

They should have believe John the Baptist when he came preaching in the wilderness. John’s whole message was in tune with the message of the Old Testament—turn away from your sins, and come to God for forgiveness that he promised. It was really as simple as that.

But the Pharisees had long ceased to look to God’s Word for direction. Instead, they used pieces of the Bible here and there to justify the things they wanted to do. When the Bible talked about sinners, the Pharisees thought, that must mean other people. They believed that they had lived good enough lives to stand before God in the Final Judgment.

And so they only went out to John the Baptist  in order to see what was going on there in the wilderness. They saw no need to confess their sins, no need to be Baptized for the remission of sins.

In short, they didn’t believe John’s message. They didn’t believe God’s message. They didn’t need forgiveness. They were good.

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But even so, Jesus says that they should have reconsidered their position when they saw the effect of John’s ministry on others.

Tax collectors were known for being thieves. They were people who were contracted by the Romans to collect various taxes from the people. There wasn’t much oversight for these tax collectors, so they robbed the people. They routinely demanded excessive taxes, and pocketed the difference.

Harlots were also open sinners. They were prostitutes who committed sexual sins for cash.

And yet, when these open sinners heard John the Baptist preaching the truth that God’s judgment will follow human sin, they were convicted. They felt remorse for the evils they had committed. And when John reached out to them with the promise of cleansing and forgiveness from God, they believed it—and were Baptized for the remission of their sins.

And the changes that happened in the lives of these once open sinners should have opened the eyes of the Pharisees. These tax collectors and harlots were people the Pharisees considered beyond hope. They’d never change. But through John’s preaching of sin and grace, they did change.

In the home of Zacchaeus, Jesus heard the following confession from a tax collector…

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8 NIV).

On another occasion, a woman who was known to be an open sinner came to see Jesus. While Jesus laid beside the dinner table in the home of a Pharisee, this woman stood at his feet in tears. When her tears fell on his feet, she knelt down and used her very hair to wipe the dust from Jesus’ feet. Then she broke open a jar of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet. It may seem strange and foreign to us today, but this was her way of thanking Jesus for showing her the way to God—the way of repentance and forgiveness.

The Pharisees, with all their cold condemnation and formal observance of rules and regulations, had never experienced anything like this. Tax collectors and prostitutes didn’t come to the Pharisees in open confession, nor with beautiful expressions of a new-found hope. And the effect of the Gospel on people like this should have made the Pharisees think again. There was power in this Gospel of Jesus, power they knew nothing about.

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Jesus’ little parable about the two sons was meant to help the Pharisees see their own sinful unbelief. It was meant to snap them out of their rut, and place within their grasp the forgiveness that Yahweh had promised way back in the garden of Eden. The Father above wanted the Pharisees to go into the vineyard too. To enter with the tax collector and the prostitute, and to find forgiveness, and a new way—the way of life.

And Jesus would have you and I ponder this little parable too. Jesus would have us ask ourselves the question, “What about me? Which son am I? Am I the defiant one, or the liar? What about me? Which class do I belong to? The open sinner, stumbling around in my sins, or the hypocrite, secure in my own tattered righteousness?”

Which of those groups do you relate to the most? Seriously, which one?

Are you the bold son, openly disobeying the father? Have you lived your life on your own terms, according to your own rules? Do you wear your heart on your sleeve, telling others to quit judging you? Have you made excuses for your sins and worn the rut deeper and deeper?

Or are you the hypocritical son, protecting your reputation with finely constructed lies? Professing one thing, but living the opposite? Do you play your cards close to the vest, keeping the truth about your heart carefully hidden? And how deep is the rut you’ve dug?

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Either way, the message of Jesus here is the same. The door is still open. The forgiveness of God is still free. The price Jesus paid to take our sins away cannot be undone, it can only be refused. The fact that Jesus suffered hell for your sins on the cross cannot be erased, it can only be ignored.

By telling this parable to the Pharisees, Jesus testifies that even to them the door was still open. These men had opposed Jesus at every turn! If you read the chapters around our text you’ll see that the Pharisees were trying their hardest to trap Jesus in his words. They wanted him to look bad to the people, and to the Roman overlords. They were at this very moment trying to carry out a plot to have Jesus murdered. But still Jesus reaches out to them. Still Jesus tries to help them see the blackness of their sins, and the foolishness of their unbelief. Still Jesus tries to put the gift of forgiveness in their hands and hearts.

And it is this same gift of repentance and forgiveness that Jesus holds out to you and me today.

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When the prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin of adultery and murder, David was filled with a spirit of repentance. He said,

“I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13 NKJV).

And immediately, immediately Nathan replied,

“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13b NKJV).

Today, and every day, God offers us the same forgiveness. When we humbly bring our sins to him in prayer, his response is the same. He says, “I’ve put your sins on my own Son. He suffered for them, and now they’re gone. You shall not die, but live.”

It really doesn’t matter what kind of sinner you have been. Defiant, bold, secretive, lying, thief, harlot—it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how terrible and ugly your sins have been, because in Christ we have a greater Savior.

That’s what those tax collectors and harlots learned from Jesus. And that’s what changed them. That’s what Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see too. It would have changed them also, forever.

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Human beings are creatures of habit. As we go through life, we repeat things. We develop routines that we follow, good or bad. So make this your habit—go to Jesus in prayer. Confess your ugly choices to him, and trust the promise of forgiveness that follows.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

Wait For Yahweh - Oct 12, 2014

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SERMON:

Our sermon reading for today comes from the book of Psalms. The Hebrew word for “Psalm” literally means “song” (s-o-n-g). The book of Psalms is the “song book” of the Old Testament.

The Spirit of God has preserved 150 Old Testament worship songs for us to read. And of these, about half were written by one man—King David.

David wrote a lot of different kinds of Psalms. Some were written when he was feeling crushed by the Lord. Others were written to express David’s sorrow over his sins, and his deep desire for forgiveness. Some of David’s Psalms are desperate prayers for deliverance from danger. Others were written when he was joyful and full of praise after he had been meditating on how the Lord had blessed him or helped him.

Our Psalm for today is one of the joyful songs. In it David expresses his unshakable trust in the Lord.  

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Psalm 27 (NASB)

A Psalm of David.

   1             The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

Whom shall I dread?

   2             When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,

My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

   3             Though a host encamp against me,

My heart will not fear;

Though war arise against me,

In spite of this I shall be confident.

   4             One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple.

   5             For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock.

   6             And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,

And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

   7             Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,

And be gracious to me and answer me.

   8             When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,

“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

   9             Do not hide Your face from me,

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not abandon me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

10             For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

But the Lord will take me up.

11             Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a level path

Because of my foes.

12             Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

13             I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

14             Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

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Now, to begin with I’d like to talk about how old this song is. The content of the Psalms is often so timeless, that we read these songs as if they were written today. But this song wasn’t written today. It was written about 3,000 years ago in a time and a place that was very different than our situation in America today.

When David wanted to go some place, he had to walk. Sure there were chariots and horses and such, but most of the time a person had to just hoof it from place to place. Especially if the way you were going was over rough country.

When the sun went down, there were no streetlights. No flashlights. No Coleman lanterns. If you needed light in the darkness, that light had to come from the fire of a torch, or the fire of an oil burning lamp that had a wick and a basin.

When David talks about evil men coming to devour his flesh, or host of warriors encamped against him, or a war raging against him—he wasn’t being poetic. He was speaking in literal terms.

When the young David faced the giant Goliath on the battlefield, Goliath told him,

“Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field” (1 Samuel 17:44 ESV).

When King Saul became jealous of David’s popularity among the people, Saul sent real warriors to kill him. These warriors tracked David’s movements, and pursued him day by day, camping in the open country as needed.

Throughout his life, David fought many a warrior on the battlefield. Warriors who carried sword and shield, spear and javelin. Warriors who did their best to end his life.

David’s experience in life was very different than ours.

But despite all the dangers that surrounded David, in this Psalm he expresses an unshakable fearlessness and confidence. But his confidence was not in his own abilities as a warrior. Songs were written about how great a warrior David was, but in his own song he doesn’t sing his own praises. Instead, David gives credit to the LORD. He says,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1 NASB).

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In almost every song that David wrote he speaks of the “LORD”, capital “L-O-R-D.” Whenever you see “LORD” in all capital letters, that means that, in the Hebrew, David is using God’s proper name—“Yahweh.” You may have heard this name pronounced, “Jehovah,” but the more likely Hebrew pronunciation is “Yahweh”, so that’s what I’m going to use.

The name “Yahweh” is not like the term “God”. Yahweh is never used of any other deities. It is God’s proper name. It means, “The One who is.” By giving himself this name God describes himself as the God who has always existed, and always will. Unlike the universe that he created, God has no beginning and no end. He just is.

It is this God that David trusts. When David was alone in the darkness of the Judean wilderness, it made no different to Yahweh. Light and darkness are the same to him.

When human armies came seeking David’s life, it was a small thing for Yahweh to rescue him. The God who created all life had no problem preserving the life of David, no matter what was happening around him.

The cool thing for David, was that he understood this. He trusted in Yahweh to protect him. And the more firmly he trusted in Yahweh, the less reason there was for fear or trembling.

You and I trust in the same God that David did. Yahweh, the God who is. Yahweh, the God who transcends this universe. Yahweh, the God who is above created things, and controls all. The more firmly we trust in his goodness, the less room there will be for fear and trembling in our lives.

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I just finished reading a book about Katie Luther, the wife of the reformer, Martin Luther. Throughout the book I noticed that whenever the Luther family faced some tragedy or danger, Katie was quick to remind them, “God will take care of you. He is everywhere with you.”

David would have agreed. In verses 4-6 David writes,

   4             One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple.

   5             For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock.

   6             And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,

And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

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We don’t know exactly when it was in David’s life when he penned the words of this Psalm. But when he talks about “dwelling in the house of the LORD” he’s not talking about literally  living in God’s Tabernacle. Nobody LIVED in the worship tent that God had the Israelites construct. That worship tent, and the stone temple that came later, were reserved for worship, not everyday shelter.

When David speaks of “dwelling in the house of the LORD” he’s saying that the one thing he wants above all other things is to continue worshipping Yahweh in his own heart, all the days of his life.

Jesus once said,

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹ nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21 NKJV).

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After Yahweh took the Israelite people to be his own special nation, the nation the world’s Savior would come from, he instructed them to build a special worship tent—the Tabernacle. This tent was designed to be movable, because the people would need to take it from place to place on their way to the land God had promised to give them.

What a perfect picture of the Christian life. Once a person has come to trust in the Savior that God sent to take our sins away, we take that faith with us wherever we go. God’s temple is within us. When we pause to read the Word of God, we are “dwelling in the house of the LORD” and “beholding the beauty of Yahweh”. No matter where our physical form is, when we ponder over God’s Word in Scripture we are meditating in his temple.

This idea of an invisible house of God that moves with the believer was very powerful to David. When days of trouble came upon him, David trusted that God was everywhere with him, and Yahweh would hide him safely in his own dwelling.

Imagine that in literal terms for a moment. If your nation was at war in the ancient world, and you were camped out with the army, the safest place to be would be in the king’s tent. There in the heart of the camp, on the safest ground. There you would be surrounded by the kings guards, armed and ready to defend you to the death.

Now imagine the king is Yahweh himself. That is a safe tent to be hidden in.

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David shifts the imagery a bit in verse 5, where he says that Yahweh will lift him up on a rock. In times of danger, Yahweh would not only hide David away in his tent, but would also lift David up onto solid ground, high above the scrabbling hordes below who sought his life.

As New Testament Christians, we can’t help but think of Jesus when we hear this bit about a rock. Scripture says that Jesus is our cornerstone.

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6 ESV).

Because Jesus took our sins on his soul, and suffered for them when he died on the cross of Calvary, we are lifted above the condemnation and hell that was coming our way. On Christ we stand forgiven, and secure, forever in the house of Yahweh, no matter where our feet take us in this life.

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So far, in verses 1-6 of Psalm 27, David’s song has been addressed to God’s believers. David has be expressing his trust in Yahweh to them. But in verses 7-10 David turns and prays to Yahweh himself. David says,

“ 7             Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,

And be gracious to me and answer me.

   8             When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,

“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

   9             Do not hide Your face from me,

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not abandon me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

10             For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

But the Lord will take me up” (Psalm 27:7-10 NASB).

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In the Bible, when you went to “seek someone’s face” that meant that you were going to ask them for help. In Proverbs 29 it says,

“²⁶Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice” (Proverbs 29:26 ESV).

In Psalm 27 David says the Yahweh wanted him to “seek his face.” The God who created us, and still preserves our lives today WANTS sinful people like you and me to come to him for help. In Psalm 50, Yahweh says,

“…call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15 ESV).

As parents, the last thing that we want to see is our children struggling through some frustrating thing without coming to us for help. We care for them. We love them. We want to help.

Our heavenly Father is the same. He tells David to “seek his face” and he wants us to seek his help also.

David’s greatest fear is that Yahweh will turn away from him. David pleads with God saying,

“You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!” (Psalm 27:9b NASB).

David had seen what happens to people who turn away from Yahweh. King Saul had turned away from Yahweh. And without God’s help, Saul had no hope. He was full of fear. He started doing all sorts of things that were harmful to himself and others. Without he LORD to turn to, Saul even tried to get a witchdoctor to help him out. David knew that without the God who is, he would have no light, no salvation, no protection. No solid guidance. He would stand alone as a sinner with no excuse for his sins.

There’s one thing we have to remember about seeking the face of Yahweh. If you come face to face with someone, there’s no hiding. When we come before the God of the universe for help, he sees all. And we must come before him humbly. We can hide our sins from our neighbors, but not from Yahweh. As one writer has put it, “If we stick to our sins, then we’ll be stuck with them.” When we come before Yahweh we must come openly, admitting the wickedness of our choices, and asking for cleansing through God’s Son Jesus. Then, and only then, will we find the cleansing and forgiveness that we seek. Then, even if our own parents abandon us, Yahweh will take us up in his cradling arms.

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In the final words of Psalm 27 David transitions from praying to Yahweh, to addressing his fellow believers once again. In verse 11 David says,

“ 11            Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a level path

Because of my foes.

12             Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

13             I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

14             Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:11-14 NASB).

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Early in his life David found himself hunted by the king’s soldiers. The jealous Saul literally sent out assassins to kill David. There he was, out in the wilderness fleeing for his life. He literally needed a smooth path to get away. A rocky, overgrown trail would slow him down, and his hunters would close in.

These hunters were hunting him because of Saul’s lie. Saul insisted that David wanted the throne for himself, and was waiting for the right time to murder the king.

But as he fled, David continued to trust in Yahweh. Yahweh’s own prophet had anointed David to be the next king. And David would wait for the LORD to make that happen. He refused to take matters into his own hands. And he says that in all this he would have despaired unless he believed that Yahweh would keep his promise to make David king, and bring him great blessing.

You and I aren’t running for our lives like David was. But we face the same thing in a spiritual sense. The world around us wants us to despair. Satan and all his forces are determined to make us doubt Yahweh’s goodness. They want us to doubt the truth of the Gospel, and the forgiveness and future that we have because of Jesus.

If David were here today he would say to us, “Go to the LORD! Have him teach you HIS way again. He will lead you on a smooth path. A path that leads to full forgiveness, and eternal safety in his house. Just wait for Yahweh! Be strong in the faith, and take courage. Wait for Yahweh, his promise will not fail you.”

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Dear Christians, remember who your God is—Yahweh, the God who is.

Remember that wherever you take your faith, there goes his temple. There you are safe under the sacrifice of God’s Son.

When troubles surround you, seek his face. Pray for God’s help. He will not abandon you.

And always run back to his ways. To his words. To his promises. For in those promises, especially the promise of forgiveness in Christ, you will find a smooth path and a solid rock. There you will find a place which thrums with strength and courage, where you can wait for the LORD.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.