June 4 Sermon: Who Is Like the Lord?

Consider these questions as we look at Psalm 113:

1. Why do we sometimes struggle to find the right words to describe awe-inspiring experiences or phenomena?

2. How does the Psalmist emphasize the indescribable nature of God's greatness and majesty?

3. What is the significance of praising God from the rising of the sun to its setting, and how does this call to continual praise impact our lives?

Transcript:

There are some things that we find really hard to describe. The world is packed with all kind of things that can leave us speechless. We could struggle to find words because what we have witnessed is incredible and you struggle to believe what you have seen. Maybe it is because you feel that you can’t do what you have seen justice and so you stumble over your words in an attempt to plumb the depths of your vocabulary to get the right words. Or perhaps you can’t find the words because you and the person you are trying to explain it to don’t have categories to frame what you are trying to explain and you just can’t get on the same page to really describe it well.

‌We’ve all seen a sunset so mind-blowingly beautiful that we struggle to come up with an adjective to describe it. Or imagine the dance the Northern Lights does in the night sky. The first time you see it you aren’t sure what is going on to paint the dark night sky in that way. And think about the power of music. Maybe for you it’s a heart-stirring symphony that get you or the way that someone can hit that high note at the peak of the song. Maybe it’s way the chord progressions come together and it hits you right in the feels but, regardless, we know how we feel and yet an attempt to describe it might render us speechless.

‌Trying to describing awe-inspiring stuff is not something that is new to you and I. In fact, in many ways our creating literature, music, and art is an attempt to convey beauty and emotions that we struggle to explain.

‌Perhaps this is why literature, art, and music so often try to express the glory and majesty of the Triune God. Is anything more indescribable than the one who not only created all that there is but also came and redeemed a people for himself? And that work of redeeming his people is an important part of our understanding the glory and majesty of God. We have all stood somewhere and been in awe of God’s creating power and desired to praise him. The beauty of creation can cause us to say along with the Psalmist “Praise the Lord” but without the active work of God in saving a people for himself what good would any of it do. A powerful God would surely be due praise and worship but that praise would have an expiration date on it, wouldn’t it? The praise that we would offer would terminate when we return to the dust but because God is a God who saves his people, we know that our praise will never end. We also know that his saving work is the greatest reason to praise him. He takes us poor sinners in rebellion against him and in Christ, he raises us to life. We are united to Christ in his death, resurrection, and ascension and because we are united to him, we are children and able to call this great and powerful God Father. That is a powerful thing that we cannot forget. The one who placed the stars beyond where our eyes can view in the sky and to do it, he simply spoke, is the one that we call Father. What a privilege we have to be able to do this as the people of God. We go from rebellious creatures to being sons and daughters of the most high.

‌As we start off our summer in the Psalms today we are taking a look at Psalm 113.

I’ve been asked by a few folks why it is that we are starting off in Psalm 113.    I’ve heard it from a few folks and that means that even more are asking. It isn’t because we have already done a series in Psalm 1 through 8 and that sermon on Psalm 1

was definitive and nothing could ever top it. The reason is that we are going to be looking at different types of Psalms this summer and considering how they can help us to learn to pray and praise God not only in different ways but in Biblical ways.

‌On Thursday I was walking into the softball game in Marshall and some friends of mine were paying at the same time and we struck up a conversation as we walked in to find a place to view the game. As we approached field one, they told me that they had taken some advise I had given them. I find that to be a scary statement because I was not sure what they were talking about. Well, this couple is from Leota and back when I did classical assignment for the congregations there one Sunday morning back in February, I mentioned that it is important to know all of scripture but I encouraged the congregation that morning to live in the Psalms because we find not only the range of human emotion in what is spoken of there but we also find words to pray that we would perhaps not know to pray. We also find words to pray when we are at a loss of how to pray. They shared with me that they had been a couple chapters a day and that they were to roughly Psalm 100 now and that they had found great benefit in getting to know this book that has songs of praise, lament, and even calls for judgment.

‌It is my hope, that as we take our time navigating different types of Psalms this summer, that you will find the same benefit that my friends have found by taking the time to absorb the words of the Psalter and that as God’s covenant people we will grow in faith and have our prayer life invigorated by the idea of praying the very word of God to the one who spoke the words.

‌And of course, as I was mapping out different Psalms to focus on, I didn’t go to an imprecatory Psalm calling for judgment on the enemies of God right away and I also didn’t go to anything super heavy with a Psalm of lament to begin with. We begin with a Psalm of praise that emphasizes the continuing praise that God is due for rescuing his people.

‌As we get into the actual text of the Psalm instead of my thoughts on the Psalms in general ,this morning we find familiar words we expect to see in a Psalm here in verse one.

‌‌Praise the Lord. Those are three words that likely come to mind for you when you think about the Psalms. It is important that we consider a few things about those three words before we move on, even though they are simple words and easy to understand.

‌Have you ever stopped and thought about what praise means. We use the word rather often and probably relatively flippantly without thinking about it too much. It is more than just telling someone they did good like when we give praise to our kids for bringing home a good report card, well, I guess they don’t bring home report cards anymore, today we would let them know we got a good email. But anyway, it’s more than just affirming words. Particularly for us as Reformed folk, the word "praise" carries a deep significance, rooted in the sovereignty and glory of God. Praise is more than a mere act of celebration or adulation; it is a response of heartfelt reverence and gratitude towards the Triune God, who alone is worthy of all honor and praise. It is an acknowledgment of God's majesty, faithfulness, and redemptive work in the world, recognizing His supreme authority over all creation. At the same time, for us praise should not be considered merely the actions of us as individuals. Praise is intricately connected to the corporate worship of the covenant people of God. It’s a communal expression of awe and thanksgiving, that draws us into a deeper communion with their Creator and redeemer by inviting us to respond to His grace with heartfelt devotion and adoration.

‌And as I just mentioned, that activity is directed at the Triune God who has acted in history. We see this in the phrase Praise the Lord in the fact that this is not just anyone that could potentially be addressed as Lord. Notice that the word Lord is all caps. This is how our English bibles indicate to us that in the original language the proper name of God, Yahweh is being used. That name was so revered and the people were so concerned with violating the third commandment that when they would come across the name of God they would say the Word adonai, which is the Hebrew word for Lord, instead of saying the name of God. We continue that tradition in our modern translations but the publishers do us a big favor with putting it in all caps for us so we can identify when the word Yahweh is being used.

‌And, as I mentioned this is valuable for us here because we are able to see that this is not a call for praise of anyone who is in a position of authority. Instead, it is a call of praise for the one true God that has revealed himself by name to his people. The God of history, is the one that we are to offer our praise to.

‌And we also see who is to offer praise to him. Of course, all should praise him but here we see that it is the servants of Yahweh are the ones who are called to offer their praise to him and we are to praise his name. And it is a privilege to be his servants. As the servants of God we are in a position to know who he is and to know his name. He has called us by name to be his people and so we are to praise his name. As his servants we know that we have not come to him on our own but we have come to him because he has revealed himself to us.

‌And notice, here in the first verse the use of repetition. I’m not a person who really grasps poetry very well. I’m far to analytical. I like facts and details but as I’ve spent a lot more time in the Psalms.

I’m starting to notice some of the literary devices at work in the Psalter. When I looked at the text of this passage in the original language it stood out to me that there are 8 Hebrews words here and three references to the proper name of God. That tells us that the Psalmist is driving something home to us. Yahweh is the focus of our praise.

‌And as we move on to verses two and three we get the idea of how immersive this praise is to be for us.

‌‌His name is blessed not only in this moment. The praise to the Lord is something that does not cease. This tells us something about how we understand who God is. When we offer affirmation to someone for something they’ve done it is generally pretty short lived. Believe it or not but my mom doesn’t still talk about that one report card I had 40 years ago where I had straight As. We got pretty excited the first time our kids used the potty but we don’t tell them how awesome they are when they use the restroom on their own when they are teenagers. Praise is usually a fleeting thing but in the case of the Triune God of history it is something that does not cease. This is not only because his work is so majestic but it is because he glory and majesty is continual. It is vast and it does not cease. He continues to bless his covenant people.

‌And we see that this is something that we are called to do continually when we are told that the name of the LORD is to be praised from the rising of the sun to its setting. Here is some poetic language that I can understand pretty easily. We know that the Psalmist isn’t suggesting that once it gets dark out we don’t need to praise the LORD anymore. The idea here is that we are to continually praise the LORD as we are out and about doing the things of life. God is due our praise even in the midst of all of the other stuff that we have going on. He is worthy of praise above all things. The praise of God is to be continually on our lips and on our minds.

‌And as we move through the passage we see why this is. We find that the Psalmist gives us fuel for our praise of almighty God.

‌​We see that Yahweh is above all earthly powers. He is over not just the people of Israel but above all nations. There is not pagan god of their neighbors deserves the praise that he is due. This is a bold statement here. There is a claim of power and authority above all others and it only makes sense. The idea that there would be another god that would share glory and praise with Yahweh is preposterous. If he is the one who made everything then he is the one that is worthy of praise and there are no other divine powers that should receive praise. In fact, we see that his glory is above the heavens. It is beyond what they can see and comprehend. He is above all the nations, their rulers, and their pagan gods.

‌And this causes the Psalmist to ask an important question. Who is like Yahweh? Is seated on high and looks down on the heavens and earth. Do you know anyone like him? The gods of their neighbors are not like this and their rulers are but humans. They do not have the perspective that the LORD God has in the heavens. He is above all.

‌As I started out this morning I mentioned struggling to describe something amazing and here the Psalmist uses this question to get us to see just how indescribable the one true God is. Is there anyone or anything like him? To what would we compare him. How do you explain the God who is so powerful that he speaks all that is seen and unseen into existence. You can’t even begin to hope to put it all into words, can you? The Psalmist here tells us that whatever we perceive as being the greatest, the LORD God is above it. He is beyond our human understanding and explanation and that is why we bring our praise before him.

‌But there is even more to his being worthy of our praise than his greatness and majesty.

‌‌This God who is above all and beyond our understanding reaches down to us. Notice the range of what we have going on here. God is above the heavens and yet he comes to the poor in the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.

‌We praise God for more than just his power and majesty but also for the great truth that he comes near to us and in doing so, he lifts his people up. The reversal that takes place here is that they were poor and needy and yet they are made to be princes. That is an impossible change in status and yet God does this for his people. And he not only gives a barren woman a home but he makes her the joyous mother of children. We have seen throughout our time in scripture together how God shows his faithfulness to his people by the reversal of a barren womb. In ancient times to be barren was looked down upon but the Psalmist says that God comes to the barren woman causes her to rejoice.

‌The fuel for our worship of the one true God is his power and majesty and the reaching down by God to rescue his people from the desperate state of affairs.

‌Yahweh alone can do this and he is to be praised.

‌And as we are looking at these Psalms one things that we will be doing is considering how it is Jesus who unlocks the Psalter for us. We can have confidence that the statements the Psalms make are true for us because we are in Christ.

‌Jesus is ascended on high and he is above all and he is to be praised but this status that he has came at a price. In our sin and unbelief we worse off than being poor and being in the ash heap. We were dead in our sin and yet, the Lord of heaven and earth came down to us and resurrected us to life. We have been united to Jesus in his death, resurrection, and ascension and so we are heirs of the most high God. We are princes. We were barren without Christ and because we have life in him we are truly able to have joy. The story of this Psalm is true for us because we are in Christ and this is our greatest reason to praise him.

‌And so, as we consider how we take this Psalm with us into the week I want to challenge us to consider how we can take our praises with us into every area of our lives. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. May we take the words of this Psalm with us this week and may we hide these words of Gods majesty and his saving work in us. May that praise that flows out of us inspire us to holy living and may our praise be evident to those around us that the name of Christ might be lifted up in all the earth. Praise the Lord. Amen.