Today, let me share with you from the book of Psalms. Psalms is a compilation of 150 - songs and poems; by different authors, at different times. Some of them were written as an expression of joyful thanksgiving for God's goodness; some written under 'present' danger while seeking God's protection, and others written as fervent prayer requests. Out of these psalms, I've chosen Psalm 115 and Psalm 135 for today's meditation.
There was a time when the people turned away from seeking God to worshipping idols. They wanted to imitate the Gentiles in making artifacts of silver and gold and presenting them as gods! The psalmist writes this psalm 115 against this backdrop of rampant idolatry; he reminds God’s people about the futility of idols and the trustworthiness of God.
As we look around us, in Mumbai today, we can sense the indignation of this writer! People around us make their gods, carry them, worship them, dump them and wait for another year! Their gods are idols - nothing but work of men’s hands; with mouth, ears, eyes and noses – but really mute, deaf, blind and dead (Ps. 115: 4-6). Why would anyone trust them? The psalmist declares ‘those who make them are like them; so is everyone who puts their trust in them’ (v8). But as children of God, we do not make our gods, but know 'God is our maker'! We do not carry Him – He carries us! Our God is in the heavens (v3) and can’t be confined in an artifact. He is our ‘ever present help’!
TRUST HIM
The author of the psalm 115 exhorts his people – ‘O Israel…’, ‘O Aaron…’, and ‘You who fear Him…’: ‘TRUST in the LORD’. He goes on to explain WHY they must TRUST Him. They must TRUST in the LORD, because…
1. ‘He is their HELP and their SHIELD’ (v9, 10, 11)
a) The idols can’t help us! But we have a God who can help us… who is ABLE to help us! Sometimes in our lives, there are situations where no relative, brother or sister can really help us. But He is the help of the helpless! Look at Is. 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you: Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will HELP you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”. And in v13 “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, Fear not, I will HELP you”. If you are feeling small, insignificant and worthless as a worm, still God promises in v14 ‘“Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel'. God has promised us His HELP … and we can TRUST Him!
b) God is our shield – our protection! In Gen. 15:1, God, in a vision, says to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceeding great reward”. If you’ve imagined Abram as only a pious man of faith, here’s the news - Abram was a warrior too! In the previous chapter, we read about how Abram, with his choice men, went to war against kings, to recover the goods and persons captured from Sodom, including his own nephew - Lot. When he came back after defeating the kings, God reminds Abram of His protection. When we think of our children's protection, many times we as parents are helpless! But we can know that God is a shield to them too and will protect them.
2. ‘The LORD has been mindful of us’ (v12)
The Lord remembers us! He thinks about us! If we turn to Jeremiah 29:11, it reads, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Not those thoughts that are random and hurried! But with a definite plan and purpose for our lives – of peace, future and hope! We may not know God’s thoughts; we may wonder why we are in such a situation. But we can certainly know, God thinks about us! And we can TRUST Him! And God’s thoughts are not just one or two thoughts for each one of us – but many; more than the sand in the seashore! See the psalmist declaring in Ps. 139:17, 18 “How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;” When we put our trust in Him, knowing that He thinks about us, the adverse circumstances around will take a lesser meaning. We can ‘know, that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose’ (Rom. 8:28)
3. ‘He will bless us’; ‘He will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great’ (v13)
The LORD will bless us! He is the Lord who blesses His children. When we see the lives of great men, we remember how the Lord has blessed them. But, the Lord will bless those who fear Him, both small and great (Ps.115:13). There is no partiality – He will bless everyone who fears Him. In the history of King David, while He was bringing the Ark of the Covenant (Presence of God) into Zion, because of a certain incident, he keeps the Ark in the house of Obed-Edom – a simple and an insignificant person. But, because of the Ark, God blessed Obed-Edom, so much so, that it reached the ears of King David. So after 3 months, he made arrangements to bring the Ark from the house of Obed-Edom and into Zion. The point is, it does not matter, whether it is the king or whether an ordinary man like Obed-Edom, God will bless us.
PRAISE HIM
Now let us turn to Psalm 135. If we read this Psalm from v15 onwards, we find a striking similarity to the words in Psalm 115. When we come to verse of Psalm 135: 19, we see the psalmist exhorting the people to ‘BLESS’ (or ‘PRAISE’) the Lord (Remember, the psalmist exhorting to TRUST in the LORD in Psalm 115). If we read from Psalm 135:19, 20, it goes as “BLESS the LORD, O house of Israel; Bless the LORD, O house of Aaron; Bless the LORD, O house of Levi. You, who fear the LORD, bless the Lord”. When we compare the worthless idols and the trust-worthiness of God, praise is a natural response. Our heart bursts forth in singing praises to our God. We can PRAISE the Lord, for…
1. ‘…the LORD is good’ (v3)
One quality that we must always associate with God, along with Holiness, mercy, etc., is ‘goodness’. We must understand that the Lord is extremely good. Incomparable to any human-being – any human goodness, if at all there is such a thing! Remember, the young man coming to Jesus (Luke 18:18), not knowing Jesus is God, calling Him “Good Teacher”. Jesus replied saying ‘No one is good, but One, that is God’. Our God is good and He gives good gifts to His children. We can count on God’s goodness and PRAISE Him! James 1:17 tells us that, ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning’. You know, it is not like the sun, high at the noon-time and light waning in the evening. Some do imagine, God being good with His gifts sometime in life, and then the ‘Not-so-good’ phase and then again ‘Good’ phase! But NO! The Bible teaches us, that there is no variation in His goodness or in His giving good gifts. Therefore ‘sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant’ (v3)
2. ‘…the LORD has chosen…’ (v4)
We did not choose God, but He chose us! Many are called, but few are chosen! Out of the millions of people around us, God showed His mercy toward us, and chose us. Jesus told His disciples, ‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you…’ (John 15:16). Peter writes that ‘we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:9). We can PRAISE God, that we are His chosen people!
3. ‘…the LORD is great … and above all gods’ (v5)
How great is our Lord! Look around and see – the greatness of God! In His creation, from sun and stars, clouds and sky, mountains and rivers, trees and fields to birds and songs! All declare the greatness of our God. In fact, this whole psalm is PRAISE to God in Creation and Redemption. In Isaiah 40:26, it is recorded that God calls the hosts of the heavens – the stars, by name, and not one is missing. Nothing is hidden from His sight. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him"! (2 Ch. 16:9)
4. ‘…the Lord is compassionate’ (v14)
Our God is full of compassion - the One who understands OUR feelings, OUR pain. Every sorrow is known to Him, every tear accounted. In Psalm 103, it says that ‘As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him’ (v13). Our God’s compassion – pity towards us is like a father’s compassion towards his children. Recently, my son left one of his exercise note-books in an auto-rickshaw; he was all worried. I went down with him trying to search as many autos, nearby, as possible. The exercise book means nothing to me – but my son felt it was important. The point is God’s compassion towards us is like this; understanding things from OUR perspective – though it may be limited.
Finally, let me take you to the verses in Psalm 106:12 “Then they believed His words; they sang His praise”. Our belief and trust in God and His word, brings out this response: praising Him with songs from our heart. Trust Him! Praise Him! ‘Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name’ (Heb. 13:15). Amen.
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