Embrace God's Plans for His World

Well, good morning, folks. Really good to be with you all here this morning.

I don't know why, but as I was driving here this morning, I wasn't thinking that I would arrive and see so many familiar faces.

But it's really good to see also familiar faces.

Even Keita, who was speaking to us earlier, we just worked out that I know her dad.

So that's nice. There's not many follow-wills in the world, I guess.

But today, as Alistair said, we're continuing your series in the Psalms.

Before we get to that, I'd just like to tell you a little bit about myself and where I've come from.

So this morning I came from Kirkliston, just outside Edinburgh, where I live with my wife and our four kids.

I worship at Kirkliston Community Church, and I want to thank you as a church for giving us some of your best people.

Because the Johnsons, who were members of this church for a long time, are in KCC.

And also, I think we stole your youth pastor, but then again, you've got Peter.

So it must have been quite a while ago that Pip, Lynn, was here as youth pastor.

So she's now youth pastor at Kirkliston Community Church, where we worship.

I'm married to Jude.

We've got four kids. Jude's a primary teacher.

And we have Katie and I, who are twins, age 10.

Anna's 7.

And little Struhan is 21 months, and he has to be sat on to have his nappy changed at the moment.

He's bonkers.

So it's nice to get a break from them this morning.

Only joking.

I have the privilege of teaching at the Faith Mission Bible College,

which is in the south part of Edinburgh in Gilmerton.

And I'd like to just tell you very briefly a little bit about it.

The Faith Mission Bible College is part of a wider organisation called the Faith Mission.

It would be very interesting for me if you could raise your hand if you've heard of the Faith Mission.

Oh, loads of you have.

Wonderful.

Now, I'm not just talking about the cafe and the bookshop.

So the Faith Mission was set up over 100 years ago as a mission organisation with a unique calling,

or a specific, particular calling, to reach the lost of Great Britain and Ireland,

of the UK and Ireland, with the good news of Jesus Christ in rural areas.

And that's still the focus of the Faith Mission today.

The last great move of God in Scotland was the Lewis revival,

the Isle of Lewis in the north.

And one of the key individuals in that revival was a man called Duncan Campbell.

He had been a faith mission worker, faith mission evangelist,

then became Church of Scotland minister,

and later he became the principal of the Bible College.

And that sense of mission, that focus on evangelism,

that desire for God to come again and work in us and through us and among us

and in this nation is still very much at the heart of what the Faith Mission is about.

And so we have a Bible College to train people for the mission.

But again, one of your former assistant pastors trained at the Faith Mission Bible College,

Alistair Chalmers, he's now at Fernie Hill Evangelical.

And so students come to us for training in all kinds,

to go into all kinds of Christian ministry,

but many do go into the Faith Mission as evangelists.

That's me on the screen there.

That's me teaching a course on apologetics.

And look, the people are absolutely gripped.

So our vision is to train passionate servants of Jesus Christ

for evangelism, mission, and ministry.

And so every day I arrive at the college and I meet with my colleagues

and we open the scriptures together and we pray together.

And then we pray for the students, we pray for the day,

and then we go and join the students.

And one of them leads us in morning devotions and we worship together

and we pray together.

And then we spend the rest of the day studying the Bible and theology together

in Christian community and fellowship.

Does that not sound wonderful?

Well, my friends, you could join us.

So if you've thought for years, I would just like to have the opportunity to go a bit deeper,

to study God's Word and all that it teaches us just a bit more deeply

and with some more structure and more discipline.

Well, you could come and join us just for one day on the 21st of September.

My colleague Marilyn Burton will be teaching a one-day course on the Old Testament,

how the whole Old Testament points towards Christ.

And it's free.

We'd love to see you there on the Saturday, the 21st of September.

But maybe you would like to go deeper than that.

Maybe you could spare a Tuesday, even just half of the Tuesdays in a year,

and join us for our Foundation Certificate in Applied Theology.

Two years to cover systematic theology, Old Testament overview, New Testament overview,

Christian history, and then practical courses like children and youth ministry,

pastoral care, evangelism, apologetics.

So that's the advert over.

But there's an opportunity at the Bible College just up the road from you

if you have the time, maybe a sense of calling even on your life

to serve God part-time or full-time in mission.

And there's an opportunity to come and join with this Christian community

and study God's Word together and see where He leads us all.

So advert over.

It's lovely to be with you this morning.

We're going to dive in now to Psalm 117.

Well, actually, before we start, I want to just ask you a question.

How do you feel about what's going on in our world at the moment?

It's quite difficult, isn't it?

Watching the news, wars and the threat of war,

riots in the streets, and deep, deep political divisions.

And a culture that in many respects has completely rejected its Christian heritage.

And a church, not this church, but many churches in our nation, most churches in our nation,

in free fall.

Are you ever tempted to let fear and anxiety and worry overcome you

when you look at what's going on in our world and even in our own nation?

Do you ever wonder, Lord, what would you have me do about all of this?

Well, I think our psalm this morning contains God's antidote to the chaos.

To the chaos around us in the world, the chaos that we might feel within us.

So we've read Psalm 117.

Do open it.

It is, you may have noticed, rather short.

It is, in fact, the shortest psalm.

It's the shortest chapter in the Bible.

It's been called the Tom Thumb of the Psalter.

But that may be so, but it does not lack anything in significance.

Just two verses.

And yet, the great reformer, 16th century reformer Martin Luther,

managed to write 36 pages of commentary on it.

You'll be pleased to know I've only got 11.

Another commentator said,

this is the shortest song in the whole collection,

but there is none greater or grander in its expression of praise.

Again, another said,

it's a dewdrop reflecting the universe.

And part of what makes this tiny psalm so great

is that it contains God's antidote to the chaos out there

and the chaos in here,

the despair that we might feel in a chaotic world.

So let's just read it again,

because it really won't take long.

I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible.

Let's just read this short psalm again.

Praise the Lord, all nations.

Extol him, all peoples.

For great is his steadfast love towards us.

And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

And I think, as I've been thinking on this and praying through it,

I think the message that God has for each one of us this morning

is through this psalm is,

no matter what's going on in the world around you,

let yourself, let your heart, let your whole life

be taken up in God's great plans for his world.

That's God's antidote to the chaos.

So we're going to think about this in three steps this morning.

Firstly,

firstly,

don't despair when you look at the chaos in God's world.

Even when the world seems full of turmoil,

do not despair.

Praise the Lord, all nations.

Extol him, all peoples.

Now, I heard as folks are arriving this morning,

there's quite a few visitors this morning.

So it's so great to see you here today.

Those of you who've been here for the last five weeks

will know very well that we are working through

a series in the Psalms.

And this, we started off,

and you started off, in Psalm 113.

It finishes next week with Psalm 118.

And this short section of the Psalms

is known as the Egyptian Hallel.

The Egyptian Hallel Psalms.

And the reason they were called this

is an ancient tradition

to sing these Psalms around the Passover meal.

So the Passover was the most important

of the Jewish festivals

where God's people celebrated the Exodus,

the rescue from slavery in Egypt.

And Hallel simply means praise.

So the Egyptian Hallel.

So these were songs of praise to God

for his deliverance of his people

from slavery in Egypt.

And they would sing them around the Passover meal.

So they would sing Psalms 113, 114 before the meal,

and after the meal, Psalms 115 to 118.

Now, again, very cleverly, I think,

this series has been entitled

From the Lips of Jesus,

which I confess,

when Graham first sent me the invitation to speak

and I saw that title,

I thought, wait a minute.

I'm going to have to look into that.

But it's hugely helpful

because, of course,

the Last Supper,

which has been in the news

for the wrong reasons recently,

the Last Supper was a Passover meal.

And this is fascinating.

So we read in the Gospels

that after Jesus had taken bread and wine

with his disciples

and told them,

this is my blood of the covenant,

which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins,

they'd just done that together.

This absolutely core and epochal event

in the history of mankind.

And then they sung a hymn together, we're told.

Well, since from time immemorial,

it was the Egyptian Hallel Psalms

that were sung around the Passover meal.

We can only assume

that it was these very Psalms

that came from the lips of Jesus that night,

just before he went to the cross

to die for the sins of the whole world.

Well, that helps us read these Psalms

a little differently, doesn't it?

So what do you think

was going through Jesus' mind

as he sung Psalm 117 that night?

Despair?

As a first century Jewish person,

an ordinary person living in Judea

in the first century,

there was every reason to despair.

Like, you had been living for decades,

70 years,

under oppressive Roman rule.

They were brutal,

and they were powerful,

and they were clearly not going anywhere

for a long, long time.

And it had been 400 years,

400 years,

since God had sent

a prophet

to his people.

And while they waited,

empires ruled them.

There were wars,

there were massacres,

and there were all kinds,

there was all kinds of suffering

for God's people.

And yet,

praise the Lord,

all nations,

extol him,

all peoples.

What's going through Jesus' mind

as he sings

those words?

Not despair,

not hopelessness,

but something

very,

very different.

500 years before,

in Jerusalem,

there was another

Passover meal.

And this was possibly,

we don't know,

but this was possibly

the time that this Psalm 117

was written.

Then,

to God's people,

humanly speaking,

had lots of reasons

for despair.

70 years before that,

Solomon's

wonderful temple

had been destroyed.

And another mass

of God's people

had been taken off

in exile.

God's people

were devastated,

absolutely devastated.

And yet,

some had returned

to Jerusalem,

and they'd rebuilt

a temple,

not like Solomon's temple,

but a temple nonetheless.

Listen to what it meant

for them

as the foundation

stones

were laid.

This is Ezra 3,

10 to 13.

If you want to look it up,

it's,

I checked,

it's page 474

in the Pew Bibles.

This is what it meant

to them

as the foundation

stones of the temple

were laid.

when the builders

laid the foundation

of the temple

of the Lord.

The priests

in their vestments

came forward

with trumpets,

and the Levites,

the sons of Asaph,

with symbols

to praise the Lord

according to the directions

of the king,

of David,

king of Israel.

And they sang

responsibly,

praising and giving

thanks to the Lord,

for he is good,

for his steadfast love

endures forever

toward Israel.

And all the people

shouted

with a great shout

when they praised

the Lord,

because the foundation

of the house

of the Lord

was laid.

But many of the priests

and Levites

and heads

of Father's houses,

old men who had seen

the first house,

wept

with a loud voice

when they saw

the foundation

of this house

being laid,

though many shouted

also,

shouted aloud for joy,

so that the people

could not distinguish

the sound

of the joyful shout

from the sound

of the people's weeping,

for the people shouted

with a great shout

and the sound

was heard far away.

And some time later,

the people of God

struggling with despair

and hope,

they celebrated

the Passover together

for the first time

in some generations.

And so,

what would have gone

through their minds

as they sang

Psalm 117,

praise the Lord,

all nations,

extol him,

all peoples.

How could this

small, beleaguered,

vulnerable community,

how could they say

anything

to the powerful nations

around them?

How can we

say

to our world,

praise the Lord,

all nations,

extol him,

all peoples,

when we see the mess

in our world?

Well, for them,

in Ezra's time,

they knew what God

had promised.

They knew the promises

to Abraham.

God had said

to the father

of their people

many, many centuries

before,

all nations on earth

will be blessed

through you,

through your offspring.

A blessing to all nations

was coming.

And King David

himself,

God had promised

through King David.

David had prayed,

all the nations

you have made

shall come

and worship

before you,

O Lord,

and shall glorify

your name.

And so they sang

with faith

and with hope,

even amongst

the pain and despair,

praise the Lord,

all nations,

extol him,

all peoples.

They didn't know

how God was going

to bring this about,

but they trusted

that he's faithful

to his promises

and to his people.

There's one more,

one more place

I want to point us to

as we think

just on this first point.

If you turn to Romans 15,

that's page 1141

in the Pew Bibles.

Again, I checked.

In Romans 15,

Paul says,

Paul says,

that Christ became

a servant

to the circumcised,

that's the Jews,

to show God's

truthfulness

in order to confirm

the promises

given to the patriarchs,

to people like

King David,

Abraham and King David,

and in order

that the Gentiles

might glorify God

for his mercy.

And then look down

at verse 11.

Paul quotes

Psalm 117,

Psalms 117:1

verse 1

as evidence.

God has called

all nations

to worship him

and no one

can thwart

God's plans.

It's not

a forlorn hope.

It is what God

is going to do.

The people

in Ezra's time

could trust

wholeheartedly

that God

would fulfill

his purposes

and his promise.

And we today

can trust

wholeheartedly

that God

will fulfill

his purposes

and his promise.

And so when Paul says

we don't

need

to despair

in the face

of a world

that rejects God

and does so much

evil,

verse 13

I love,

may the God

of hope

fill you

with all joy

and peace

as you trust

in him

so that you

may overflow

with hope

by the power

of the Holy Spirit.

So what was it

that was going

through Jesus' mind

as he sung

this call

to the nations

and to all peoples

to praise

the true

and living God?

He is there

having laid out

the bread

and the wine

representing

his body

and his blood

knowing

that he's about

to go to the cross

and they sing

these words together

and he sings them

as the maker

of the universe

with flesh on.

The eternal

Son of the Father

made flesh

come to dwell

among sinful people

to dwell

among his creatures

and so he looks

at the Romans

and he looks

at the Jews

and the Greeks

and everyone else

and he says to them

this is why

you were made

this is what

you need

to praise the Lord

to worship him

with all that you are.

All nations

were made

to worship

the true

and living God

all peoples

every person

everyone

only finds

their purpose

in him

in the worship

of the creator.

and so

Paul said

later to the

Corinthian church

from now on

we do not

consider anyone

from a worldly

point of view

and so when we

look at our

world and all

the turmoil

now

let's not look

at people

from a worldly

point of view

the politics

of the left

or the right

or the wars

and rumours

of wars

we don't look

at these things

as the world

does

we don't look

at our

non-Christian

neighbours

or friends

or family

as the secular

world would

have us

they too

are creatures

made in the

image of God

made to

worship God

who find

who will

only find

their

life

and their

purpose

in the

worship

of the

true

and living

God

God is

working out

his plans

in this

tumultuous

world

and we

can abound

in hope

as we

trust in

him

because one

day all

peoples will

worship him

and praise

his name

so no matter

what is going

on in the

world around

you

let yourself

let your

heart

your whole

life

be taken

up in

God's

great plan

for his

world

so verse

one is a

call to

the world

to worship

the true

and living

God

and verse

two

gives us

the reason

why

so of

course

the bible

gives us

lots of

reasons why

human beings

should worship

God

because he's

worthy

because he's

holy

because God

desires that

we worship

him

but possibly

what we're

given here

is the

very heart

of why

we should

worship

God

so verse

two

for great

is his

steadfast love

towards us

and the

faithfulness

of the

Lord

endures

forever

so in

Hebrew

poetry

there's

often

parallel

ideas

and sometimes

that's to

highlight a

contrast

but here

it's to

drive home

the single

point

that the

greatness

of God's

love

is for

all of

those

who turn

to him

so the

word behind

steadfast

love

or unfailing

love

or in the

NIV

it just

says

love

the word

that's

translated

from the

Hebrew

is

chesed

sometimes

it's

translated

as

like

some

translators

made up

a new

word

in English

loving

kindness

it's not

a word

but

that represents

a bit

better

what

chesed

means

or

sometimes

it's

mercy

or goodness

but really

it's all

of these

and so

much more

so chesed

is a

word

it's used

again

and again

in the

Bible

and it

refers to

God's

unfailing

love

for his

people

his intense

divine

love

love

so great

that only

the best

human

love

is merely

an echo

verse 2

says

that it's

great

great

is his

love

for his

great

is his

steadfast

love

towards

us

and again

that's

the Hebrew

word

gabar

and elsewhere

that's used

for an

army

prevailing

in battle

it's not

like

it's

great

like we

say

great

this is

like

an army

prevailing

in battle

or it's

also used

in Genesis

for the

floodwaters

prevailing

over the

earth

this is

not a

small

thing

the

greatness

of

God's

love

is an

unimaginably

powerful

thing

chesed

is God's

mercy

towards

his

people

that he

doesn't

hold

their

failings

there are

many

failings

in their

sin

against

them

that he

will

forgive

them

completely

only

if they

will

turn

back

to

him

it's

a

love

that

arises

out of

God's

faithfulness

to his

promise

his

covenant

to his

people

that they

will be

that you

will be

my people

and I

will never

let you

go

it's like

the love

of a

perfect

husband

who yearns

for his

wife

and is

jealous

is rightly

jealous

if she's

wayward

and the

people of

Israel

were wayward

again and

again

weren't they

and they

faced the

consequences

of their

sin

and yet

God would

not let

his people

go

that is

God's

chesed

and it's

not

sentimental

it demands

a response

whole

hearted

trusting in

it forever

type of

response

so chesed

God's

loving kindness

is

God's

powerful

steadfast

love

for his

people

the nearest

New Testament

equivalent

is the

word

grace

and when

Jesus sang

this psalm

after laying

out the

bread and

the wine

and saying

to his

disciples

my body

and my

blood

given for

you

surely

God's

chesed

would have

been filled

with new

meaning

or in

fact

with the

fulfillment

this is the

fulfillment of

the meaning

of everything

said in the

Old Testament

about God's

chesed

it's the

fulfillment of

the Passover

of the

temple

of the

sacrifices

of all

God's

promises

because the

absolute

core

of the

message

of the

Christian

faith

is that

God's

chesed

has been

demonstrated

in history

elsewhere

in Romans

the Apostle

Paul says

God

demonstrates

his own

love for

us in

this

while we

were still

sinners

Christ

died

for us

so imagine

the thoughts

that went

through Jesus

mind as

these words

passed through

his lips

after the

bread and

the wine

knowing that

the cross

was before

him

agony was

before him

and yet

he knew

that by the

single act

he was

providing

salvation

he was

securing

salvation and

forgiveness

for the

whole world

and the

very

fulfillment

of the

words

that he

sung

the once

and for

all

total

and complete

demonstration

of God's

great love

and faithfulness

and it's

God's

steadfast

love

towards

us

it's

towards

us

this is

for you

Jesus

warned that

it's quite

possible

to worship

God with

our lips

but our

hearts are

far from

him

the

commentator

Christopher

Ash

says

the phrase

here

towards

us

might be

better

translated

over

us

for the

covenant

love of

God

covers

and protects

us

after

it has

first

overcome

us

life can

be desperately

hard

can't it

we look

at a

messed up

world

and we

think

well

what do

we do

about that

but our

own lives

can be

desperately

hard

just this

morning

my wife

had a

phone call

from one

of our

very close

friends

who lost

both her

grandparents

in the

space of

the last

four weeks

and this

friend said

this morning

that all

she said

is that her

mother died

suddenly last

night

we don't

know how

but we're

very concerned

life can

be desperately

desperately

hard

the

circumstances

that we

face in

our lives

can make

us

miserable

it can

be absolutely

miserable

we know

this

the Jews

of Jesus

day

knew that

the exiles

of Ezra's

day

knew that

but something

changes

decisively

in a

person

when we

get

that God's

love

this great

chesed

is not

just a

concept

it's

towards

us

it's not

just something

that other

people need

to know

that the

nations

need to

know

it's not

just a

set of

ideas

or beliefs

or a

philosophy

this is the

truth of

the universe

and it's a

truth that

we

must also

experience

to experience

the love

and faithfulness

of the

true

and living

God

so this

is

Christopher

Ash

again

this

love

and

faithfulness

is for

me

today

we have

an inbuilt

tendency

to pass

it along

to someone

else

saying this

is for

you

when we

first need

to say

this

is for

me

or we

say perhaps

this will

be for

me

but not

yet

for I

am

busy

or

preoccupied

whether

you're

male

or female

young or

old

rich or

poor

highly

or poorly

educated

whatever

your

ethnicity

this

call

and

invitation

is for

you

today

I remember

years ago

when I was

a student

I

set myself

a challenge

to spend

an hour

in prayer

and I

thought I

was being

very impressive

so this

isn't

if I do

this

I'll

feel very

pleased

with

myself

and I

found

this sheet

of paper

this

instructions

online

that gave

12 steps

five minute

focuses

for my

hour long

prayer

and

the first

in the list

was to

worship God

as creator

the second

finished with

the line

I can't remember

what it was

it was about

the second

finished with

the line

take

time to be

silent

and let

God love

you

and it

hit me

then

for the first

time

I'd been a

Christian

for a

decade

by that

point

but for

the first

time

I realised

that I

actually

needed

to let

God love

me

to receive

God's

love

into my

life

and it

was like

water

for my

soul

this is

how we

become the

sorts of

people who

don't just

worship God

with our

lips

but actually

praise him

and extol him

from the

heart

John

says

the

apostle

John

says

in his

first

letter

we

love

because

he

first

loved

us

when we

realise

that

God's

steadfast

love

is not

just

words

it's not

just a

fact

it's not

just a

concept

it's

for you

it's

towards

us

it's

for me

it's

for you

it's

for now

despite

all our

sin

when we

get that

when we

get that

again

today

it changes

everything

doesn't

it

changes

the pain

it changes

how we

see the

chaos

out there

and we

cannot but

worship

the God

who loves

us

with such

incredible

mercy

and grace

so no

matter

what is

going on

in the

world

around

you

let

yourself

let your

heart

let your

whole

life

be taken

up in

God's

great

plans

for his

world

lastly

and

briefly

we're

told

that

the

faithfulness

of the

Lord

endures

forever

it endures

forever

and that's

not

it's not

exaggeration

it's not

hyperbole

he means

it

forever

really is

in view

in the

scope of

understanding

of God's

purposes

in this

psalm

it's the

same

future

that the

apostle

John

wrote of

when he

saw in

his vision

of heaven

in the

book of

revelation

he hears

there the

song of

heaven

by your

blood

you ransomed

people for

God

from every

tribe

and language

and people

and nation

there they

are again

this promise

that people

from all

nations

will praise

and worship

the true

and living

God

so the

ultimate

fulfillment

of this

psalm

is cosmic

this little

two verse

psalm

this fulfillment

is cosmic

one day

people from

all nations

and tribes

will praise

the Lord

and worship

him with

their whole

hearts

but there's

a sense

in which

if we're

going to

sing this

psalm

a call

to the

nations

to worship

the true

and living

God

we better

be doing

something

about it

that's why

in the first

few centuries

of the church

often when

the great

commission

was spoken

about

Jesus

call

to his

disciples

to go

and take

the gospel

to the

nations

to make

disciples

of all

nations

this little

psalm

117

was often

associated

with the

great commission

F.B.

Meyer says

are we

doing all

we can

to kindle

the nations

to praise

they cannot

praise him

whom they

do not

know

it is mere

hypocrisy

to bid

them

praise him

if we

have never

sought to

spread

by lip

or gift

the mercy

and truth

revealed

in Jesus

our Lord

it's easy

to say

the right

things

isn't it

it's easy

to attend

church

to be good

Christian

people

in our

actions

even in

our

public

prayers

but it's

quite another

thing

to be

receiving

the steadfast

love

of the

Lord

towards

us

and

really

genuinely

desiring

to share

that

with others

and then

doing it

we had

someone come

to visit

us at

the college

recently

to inquire

about

studying

at the

college

he's a

Nigerian

chap

his wife

is working

here

in the

NHS

and

he's

working

elsewhere

but

his heart

is for

mission

and he

was telling

us

that

he was

walking

around

the

streets

of

Stirling

where

he

lives

and

his

heart

was

breaking

for

the

people

who

didn't

know

the

Lord

and so

he

decided

right

I need

to find

out

what I

can

do

in

this

strange

cold

country

of

Scotland

so he

told us

he

went

to

the

police

and

he

said

what

will

I

get

arrested

for

if I

do

street

evangelism

and

they

said

well

they

just

didn't

know

what

to

say

to

the

man

and

they

said

go to

the

council

and

ask

them

so he

went

to

the

council

they

also

didn't

know

what

to

say

and

he

said

I'm

here

because

I

want

to

learn

how

to

do

a

mission

in

this

country

because

it

is

so

different

from

Nigeria

and

we

just

loved

his

passion

for

the

lost

his

passion

to

share

the

good

news

of

Jesus

do

you

know

there

was

a

time

in

Scotland

in

the

early

19th

century

when

people

bought

one-way

tickets

to

the

mission

field

and

they

packed

their

belongings

in

coffins

seriously

they

weren't

expecting

to

come

back

they

were

known

as

one-way

missionaries

there

was a

man

A.W.

Milne

he set

out

for

the

New

Hebrides

in

the

South

Pacific

he

was

aware

that

the

people

there

had

murdered

every

single

missionary

that

had

gone

previously

but

still

he

went

he

said

I

have

already

died

to