JOY IN THE LORD
Psalm 146: 1-10
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Today we live in a humanistic world that has no hope for heaven, instead there is only a worldly promise to bring everyone into a state of prosperity and happiness in this present life alone. I do not know if it is feasible for such a future to be attained, after all, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong. A couple years ago I used a book on Futurology to explain to my students that there were seven scenario's possible to us in the early twenty-first century.
The key scenario was the official future supported by corporate and government organizations. We can trace this technological model back to the World's Fair of 1939. There at that fair were modeled the cities of the future with their overhead rails, their four lane highways, and their gigantic skyscrapers. Equally at home, but slightly off stage were displayed humanistic prophecies of pornographic freedom and social reorganization to allow for a prominent roll for the agencies of a newly benevolent State. Fortunately, this rampaging model for success is only one of seven possibilities. If for any reason there is economic failure, a change in weather patterns or even social disintegration, the fond hopes of the humanists will not be realized! To that certain probability of humanistic failure we like our psalmist today may certainly say: "Praise the Lord."
Of course, any era of change involves certain risks. As the authors of the book Seven Tomorrows described the opportunities of history, they compared the early outcome of the industrial revolution in England and France. In one country, there was the Methodist revival, in the other the Jacobite Rebellion. In one: peace; in the other: war. The essential difference between the two countries was in their focus on man or God. Of course, we could spend the next few minutes railing about the worldly plans and programs, or we could consider a better focus on the joy we may have in the Lord's plans for our present and finally His heavenly plans at the end of the age.
It is well that we learn the true implications of our Godly focus within Christ's Church. To this end may we be instructed by this Hallelujah psalm. "Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." Here we should learn that we are not waiting for any millennial appearance to begin living joyfully according to His word. Life in Christ is for now as well as eternity! In verse two we see this emphatic sense which the Jerusalem Bible translates it "I mean to praise ... all my life, I mean to sing ... as long as I live." This is the orientation of the psalmist's soul, a devotion to a life of Hallelujahs and praise to our Father in heaven. This praise Spurgeon notes is the common cause of all who are saved by the blood of the Lamb.
By contrast the psalmist appeals to God's elect to put not their trust in princes. Twenty-some years ago a political cartoon dressed Jimmy Carter in biblical clothes and promised that JC would save the country. One presidential candidate later, the country followed the Republican cheer leader to the polls believing the he could and would bring about the appearance of an economic revival. At that time, a close friend urged me to be careful in granting any human president too great a confidence. Well, it wasn't until I finally read about the Reagan's fascination with astrological phenomenon that I fully appreciated the impact of this passage.
A Christian news magazine columnist wrote an article about his work with a noted Theologian. He got to know the man behind his work exceptionally well. Well enough to learn about his very human failures. These were enough problems to discourage his commitment to work with the Theologian. After several years distance had grown, the writer noted that even while the human failures were true, the man's commitment to the Lord were very real. Too often in our Christian life we expect other Christians to be more perfect than we eventually discover! This holds true even when we marry in Christ. A speaker at an Atlanta conference I once attended, stated that we all have to realize that at some level married couples are always to a slight degree incompatible! Learning to live with human imperfection is a necessary skill that is hard to learn. So let us learn well that we ought not to put our complete trust in mortal men. They cannot save and the best laid plans of humans come to naught because mortals eventually die.
Again our psalmist shifts his outline in verse five. "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God." Remember Jacob, the ordinary man whom God transformed? He was a cheat, a liar and a thief until God put him under the thumb of one who was better at those skills than he was! Through his troubles Jacob came to appreciate the God of his fathers. His wives and children, while imperfect also were familiar with the spiritual Lord and Master of their husband and father as well.
Our psalmist tells us just who this God of Jacob's fathers was. "Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever". This Almighty Sovereign Lord was and is eternally faithful. Our psalmist tells us that He does three things for the benefit of His people. He gives as Spurgeon notes "justice, bread and liberty". How very different from the humanistic hopes of the French revolutionaries who died by the thousands for "liberty, equality and fraternity". In the pursuit of those goals, the French people created for themselves a blood bath. By contrast the English revival brought not only liberty, and bread but a social consciousness which transformed England.
The psalmist continues with an image well known in the tropical countries where blindness is much more common. We may also apply this eighth verse spiritually as well. The Lord our psalmist assures us lifts up those who are bowed down in praise and worship to Him. The Lord we are told loves those counted as righteous. And as wandering Jacob well knew, the Lord watches over the alien. It was while Jacob was on the run that the God of Abraham and Isaac revealed Himself to him.
The Lord also claims lordship over the fatherless and the widow. Those who today are more and more the wards of our socialistic State. One political writer once compared the subjects of the Welfare State with the situation of the nineteenth century slaves. Our bureaucratic welfare overlords today prosper eight times more than their charges ever receive. Various political groups and private organizations struggle to take complete control of society. Even as the conspiracy theories and groups multiply and compete, we need to remember that God is still sovereign.
Our psalmist finishes with the affirmation we ought to make our own. "The Lord shall reign forever - Your God, O Zion, to all generations." His perfect will is accomplished. We look back to the end of verse nine to hear that the ways of the wicked will indeed be frustrated. For all of these things the Lord God Almighty deserves our trust and our praise. May we learn to ignore the worldly crowd as much as we are able and then go on to regulate our lives and families for the greater glory of our Father in heaven. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
Treasury of David. | |
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Foundation for Reformation. New Geneva Study Bible . (1995) Thomas Nelson, Inc. New King James Version. (1982) | ||
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Psm 146a |
01 September 91 & 03 May 97 | |